The Japanese Diet - a Diet To Lose Weight, Remain Slim & Be Healthy!

For no people on earth is it more true than the Japanese, when you say, "you are what you eat". The Japanese are, by all accounts, the people with the least obesity problem, the highest longevity rate, and best health record. What are they eating?

The importance of rice

Rice is the main carbohydrate food in Japan, consumed with every meal. However, the real basis of the Japanese diet is not rice but fish, consumed at more than 70 kilos per person per year--which means 190 grams daily. This combination of rice and fish, as their staple food is far superior to the American meat and potato, the European little of this, little of that diets, and light years ahead of the Russian pork, potato and mayonnaise daily fare.

Let's see what else they eat. Miso and other soy products! Miso is a fermented soy product, and a soup is made from it that is light tasting and easy to digest. One gets all the benefits of soy from it. Also, the famous soy sauce. Japanese people, on the average consume about 200 grams of soy products daily.




So why are they so thin and so healthy?

There are a few very good reasons. One is their sparingly consumption of sugar.

Low in sugar

Japanese consume only 20 kilos of sugar per year (compared to the American 71 kilos per year). Another is the Japanese consumption of cereals (which obviously includes rice) to be 105 kilos per year (compared to the American 68 kilos per year).

The human body appears to be doing much better with natural cereals and less sugar than fried potatoes and 'sugar in everything you eat' diets. The Japanese have far less incidence of heart disease and cancer than Americans. As they eat as much meat as the Americans do (or more), and smoke more, the theory is refined sugar and stress are the two biggest contributors to destroying one's health.

Portion size

Another important factor in the Japanese diet is portion size. The portions are small.

This means they savor their food; eat slowly and enjoy it. No "scarfing" down hamburgers and fries here, and king size cola drinks.

Eating with chop sticks help, as you eat more slowly, take smaller bites and are able to appreciate what you are eating. This aids in digestion, and that is a proven fact.

There are two more factors which must be mentioned that make the Japanese diet so successful.

The first is breakfast.

The typical Japanese breakfast can (and usually includes) green tea, steamed rice, miso soup with tofu, spring onions and omelet and both raw and grilled fish.

This gives your body all it needs to start your day well. You will feel better, and such food does not add weight to your body at all. In fact, it stimulates the metabolism mechanism. You will not gain weight, and if overweight, will lose weight.

Variety Never be bored

The second factor is variety.

A typical American will have about 30 varieties of food per week. A typical European (especially southern European) will have about 45. The typical Japanese will have about 100 varieties of food per week, and will include lots of fresh fish, vegetables, fruit and a variety of meats.

There is one over-riding element here as well; the Japanese cook their foods lightly and thus are never feeling stuffed and stuffy after eating.

As you can see the diet is great and its healthy and is perfect for those wanting to lose weight and avoid illness.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sacha_Tarkovsky/24542

Low Carb Diet Plan of 1200 Calories

Nowadays losing weight has become the main priority for all men and women. It's set in the minds of the people that the more lean you are it will further enhance your personality and the appearance. Every one aims to lose weight as early as possible. To achieve the proper shaped body, people will follow all kinds of diet plans which are recommended by the friends and the family.

The low carb diet plan of 1200 calories is the best way to lose weight in much lesser span of time. The 1200 calorie diet program aims at the low carb and low calorie diet. The involvement of these two strategies together help in gaining the weight loss. These two strategies are the best to lose weight faster but at the same time maintain proper levels of energy in the body. This gives immediate and positive results.

The 1200 calorie meal plan gives you many options and variety in the snack items so that people don't become bored by following the same diet in the day to day life style. It is always useful to follow a low carb diet program rather than a no carb diet program. It is recommended by reputed doctors and dieticians that you should not completely remove the carbs from your diet as the carbohydrates to some extent are important for the proper function of the human body.




Here is the sample of the low carb diet plan of 1200 calories:

· Breakfast
1 whole wheat English muffin
1 tablespoon peanut butter
½ Bananas

· Mid-morning
20 almonds
1 apple

· Lunch
2 slices of whole wheat bread
1 oz cheese
1 tablespoon mustard
Lettuce tomato
1 orange

· Mid-afternoon
8 oz low fat yogurt

· Dinner
1 cup cooked broccoli or vegetables of your choice
2/3 cocked brown rice

· Late evening snack
1 cup milk
2 low-fat big cookies

The above diet plan is recommended for an ideal body. The diet program changes according to the age, gender, basic metabolic rate, and body size and exercise schedule. The main point which needs to be taken care of, is that before you start with the low carb 1200 calories diet plan you should get a medical test of your body and should get it checked by your doctor.

The medical conditions say a lot about the physical health of the people. Also the mathematical calculations are performed to know that how much intake of calories is required by a particular body.

There are few disadvantages involved in this type of diet plan. There is a possibility that many dieters experience the signs of fatigue and hunger. Also, this type of diet plan is not suitable for the physically active people. There is huge possibility of yo-yo effect and all your lost weight can come back with vengeance once you leave the diet plan. One needs to be really dedicated towards the diet plan to achieve a healthy body.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jasmine_J/36007

4 Tips for Building Pure Muscle

Gaining pure muscle sounds simple, but it is far easy. How many people do you know start working out at the gym, only to quit 2 weeks later when they become frustrated with their lack of progression? When it comes to packing on muscle, there are 4 important things that you need to focus on to increase muscle mass. If you aren't focusing on these 4 things, you probably will not grow.

First and foremost, muscles need to be stimulated to grow by training near maximum intensity. Training at a high intensity physiologically forces the body adapt to the stress you have put on it. It is best get the heaviest lifts done right after a thorough warm-up and should be taken near or to failure. The only way the body will stronger and more muscular is if you give it a reason to. Heavy sets near failure with compound movements will signal an anabolic response. To really let the testosterone flow you should be failing within 3-6 reps for 3-6 sets. Use exercises such as squats, dead lifts, bench press, rows and overhead press for best results.

Volume sets should also be included near the tail end of the workout. Remember, hypertrophy is directly proportional to the amount of blood that can be forced into the muscle. Isolate muscles that are lagging behind and force as much blood into them as possible. This is achieved by constant moderate tension over a long period of time, while performing the exercise at full range of motion. Obviously, the rep range is going to be a little higher to achieve the volume pump. 3-6 sets of 8-12 reps, even as high as 20 reps should get the job done. Increase the weight for more tension if you can perform more than 20 reps with proper form.




Intense training means nothing if the body is not fed the proper nutrients to recover. Perhaps the most difficult part of gaining muscle mass is eating the proper types and amounts of food. I am sure you have heard it a thousand times "you are what you eat", and this is absolutely true. Keep that in mind the next time you stuff your face with that greasy cheeseburger.

So if you want to be lean and muscular it obviously a lot of protein is needed (1.2-1.5g per pound of body weight should enough for most people). But, no matter how much protein is eaten, muscle cannot be built without a caloric surplus. Obviously in order to gain, more energy needs to be eaten than the body is burning. During a bulking phase, an extra 300-500 calories per day, every day, should result in steady weight gain of 1-2 pounds per week.

The final point is perhaps the most neglected for most people. You will not grow if you do not get enough sleep, plain and simple. Keep in mind that the majority of natural anabolic hormones are released during deep sleep. Sleep is when the body is repairing itself from most of the damage of the training session. If you are sleeping 5 hours or less per night, you will most likely never going to grow because the body is too stressed. Lifting too much and not sleeping enough will inevitably cause exercise burnout and/or over-training of the central nervous system. The magic number for most people based on average sleep cycles is actually 7 hours, not 8 like we have always been told. You might think that more sleep is better, but more than 9 hours doesn't seem to have any additional benefit for most people. Beyond 9 hours, studies have shown diminishing returns. So it seems your parents were on to something when they were nagging not to over-sleep.

In review, the 4 things needed for weight gain.

1. Lift heavy with compound movements
2. Force blood into muscles with high volume sets with constant tension
3. Eat at a caloric surplus and eat plenty of protein
4. Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night.

Stay consistent and persistent and undoubtedly you will see results!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Quinn_Little/2082464