Hearty Beef & Veggie Bowls (Gluten Free Meal)

Rich, Meaty and satisfying, these bowls are like a sloppy joe

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 tsp safflower oil
• 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
• 2 cups diced green bell peppers
• 14 1/2 oz boxed or jarred diced unsalted tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp balsamic vinetgar
• 1/2 tsp each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream 
• Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish, optional

Instructions: 

in a medium pot, heat oil on medium-high. Add beef and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 4 mins. Add bell peppers, tomatoes, corn and worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 mins, until bell peppers are tender. Remove from heat and stir in cumin, vinegar, salt and black pepper. spoon into serving bowls and top with sour cream, dividing evenly. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.  

From: Clean Eating 

Enjoy Chocolate in Moderation

Many  individuals with IBD ask if they can still eat chocolate, and the answer is yes! Chocolate is a plant food made from the bean of a South American tree, and like other plant foods it contains phyochemicals such as antioxidants. Unfortunately, the more processed it is, the less phytochemicals it contains. Darker chocolate contains the most flavonoids, so be sure to look for dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. 

The key is to enjoy small amounts in moderation, as even dark chocolate is high in fat. Commercial chocolate is processed and includes ingredients such as cocoa butter (fat), cocoa powder, sugar and milk. (While chocolate is not really chocolate at all; it is just cocoa fat, sugar and flavorings.) Remember, too, that chocolate contains some caffeine; for sensitive individuals, this may be enough to stimulate cramping or more frequent bowel movement. 

If you are following a low- residue diet, choose chocolate without dried or candied fruits, coconut or nuts. Chocolate that contains caramel, wafers, biscuits, smooth peanut butter or marshmallow is fine. 

Acid Reflux Diet and Nutrition Guide

Do you suffer from acid reflux or chronic? well diet and nutrition are key consideration if you suffer from acid reflux or chronic, they are known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GRED). GRED is related not only to how you swallow food, but also the type of food that you eat. When you swallow, a muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) usually closes to keep food from returning up your esophagus after it enters your stomach. if the LES relaxes when it shouldn't, stomach acid and digestive juices can go back up the esophagus. This reflux action can lead to the uncomfortable or painful symptoms of GRED, Including heartburn, regurgitation, coughing, and choking. 

Tailoring Your Diet
Harvard Medical School pinpoints poor functioning of the LES as the culprit behind most cases of GRED. While some foods and beverages aren't problematic, others can make the LES malfunction or irritate the esophagus and exacerbate reflux. NO single diet can prevent all symptoms of GRED. However designing an appropriate meal plan for GRED involves finding the right foods you can tolerate and which "trigger" food worsen your symptoms. 

Keep a detailed personal food journal for one week to track what foods you eat, what time of the day you eat and any symptoms that you experience afterwards. Once you have identified the specific foods and drinks that help and hurt your condition, you can modify your diet accordingly. 

Foods That May Hurt
Although there's still some controversy in the medical community about which foods actually cause reflux symptoms, many researchers agree that avoiding certain types of foods and beverages may help prevent indigestion, heartburn, and other symptoms of acid reflux. 

High fat Foods: fried and fatty foods can decrease pressure on the LES and delay stomach emptying. This puts you at greater risk for reflux symtoms. 

• French fries and onion rings
• Full-fat dairy products such as butter, whole milk, regular cheese, and sour cream
• Fatty or fried cuts of beef, pork, or lamb
• Bacon fat, ham fat, and lard
• High-fat desserts or snacks like ice cream and potato chips
• Cream Sauces, Gravies, and Creamy salad dressing

Tomatoes and Citrus Fruit: As important as fruits and vegetables are to a healthy diet, certain item have been shown to commonly cause or worsen GRED symptom in many people. Examples include: 

• Oranges 
• Grapefruits
• Lemons
• Limes
• Pineapple
• Tomatoes
• Tomato Sauce
• Salsa
• Chili
• Pizza

Foods That May Help

• Yogurt 
• Probiotics
• Peanut Butter
• Fiber

From: HealthLine, written by: Robin Madell, George Krucik, MD

Can Drinking Water Help Me Lose Weight?

How important is water in helping me reach my leanness goals? 

Water is one of the most abundant and important substances in your body, making up 55-75 percent of your  total body-weight. Even the food you eat is roughly 70 percent water. 

When we don't get enough water, bad things happen: a 10 percent reduction of water in your body can make you sick and a 20 percent loss equals death. You can survive weeks without food but you can only survive a few days without waters. 

Clearly, water is just as important to your survival as it is to helping you reach your fitness goals. 

The watering whole

I'm in the business of getting you ripped, so let's get down to it. If you are dieting, it is important to drink water so your liver can effectively metabolize body fat. It's also important to drink lots of water when you arecarb loading so your body can store glucose as glycogen.

It's also possible to argue that drinking water can help you lose weight because it makes you feel full and therefore less apt to eat.

However, the medical research is conflicted: some studies say drinking water helps you eat less, other studies says it doesn't. It's probably smart to couple water with a smart diet. Don't depend on water to make your food decisions.

From a fitness and bodybuilding perspective, the more water inside your muscles, the better they function. More water in your muscles increases strength and size capacity.

Nutrition consultant and author Chris Aceto explains: "The consensus in the bodybuilding community is that high water storage within muscles acts as an anabolic factor. This allows the muscles to maintain a positive nitrogen balance, which directly impacts muscle growth." Just like plants, our muscles need water to grow.

You Can Lead A Horse To Water

Not sure how many glasses you should down? The International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) recommends drinking 8-12 glasses of water per day.

The ISSA also recommends that you drink 16 ounces of water for every pound of weight lost during exercise. It typically takes your body 15-to-20 minutes to absorb 16 ounces of water.

The International Sports Medicine Institute has a different formula: 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight if you're not active (that's ten 8-ounce glasses of water for the 160-pounder), and 2/3 ounce per pound if you're athletic (13-to-14 glasses per day at the same weight.

Make sure you drink water before and after you exercise.

It's A Water-Full Life

Water is great for other reasons. In April of 2002, researchers at Loma Linda University found that people who drank five 8-ounce glasses of water daily were about half as likely to die of coronary heart disease as those who drank two glasses of water or less.

A few correlational studies have shown that individuals who consume 8 cups of water per day are less likely to suffer from:

• Colon Cancer
• Urinary tract cancer
• Urinary stone disease
• Salivary gland disorders
• Childhood and adolescent obesity

Water carries many other benefits:

• Drinking plenty of water may help relieve headaches. Some of the most common headaches are due to dehydration.
• Proper hydration will help keep your joints and muscle lubricated so you're less likely to cramp or sprain.
• Drinking water improves the vitality of your skin. You will look younger if your skin is healthier.
• Drinking water regulates your body temperature and helps fuel your muscles.
• Water also helps flush out the toxins and waste products from your body.
• Without water, your heart will have to work harder to pump oxygenated blood to all cells, and so will the rest of your vital organs, which can cause fatigue. Drinking water will relieve fatigue of this kind.

Whoa There, Water!

Although drinking water is important, don't get carried away and drink too much. Having too much water in the body can lead to hyponatremia - when the plasma sodium content reaches a level below 135 milliequivalents/liter.

The normal blood sodium concentrations are typically between 136-to-145 milliequivalents/liter. Over the last couple of years, several people died from hyponatremia.

Good rule of thumb: If you find yourself feeling more fish-like than human, there's a good chance you're drowning in too much water.

Written by: Obi Obadike

From: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-ripped-dude-can-water-help-me-lose-weight.html

The Most Slimming Drink

Which is better: soy protein or whey protein?

A Study published in the Journal of Nutrition may help settle the debate, at least when it comes to losing body fat. Researchers asked 90 overweight and obese subjects to consume either a whey protein drink, a soy protein drink or a carbohydrate beverage twice a day as an addition to their normal diet. Each drink contained the same number of calories: 200.

After 23 weeks, the whey protein group participants lost on average about five pounds of body fat while reducing waist circumference in the process. no such change were seen in the soy protein or carb beverage group. "Though yet-unknown mechanisms, different sources of dietary protein may deferentially facilitate weight loss and affect body composition."

From: Clean Eating. 

4 Must-have Fitness Equipment for a Home Gym

Do you skip your gym frequently due to a hectic work schedule? Are you looking to get fit in the comfort of your own home? Well, you definitely need to consider the idea of building a home gym. However, to make a perfect home gym, you need to have the perfect gym equipment. Here are the top four gym equipment that you can consider for your home gym. 

Exercise ball
    
If your desk job has given you a severe back pain, you should incorporate a big exercise ball into your workout routine. Exercise ball is a great fitness tool for strengthening your back and abdominal muscles. They force a person to use their core muscles in order to sit up straight and balance the body in a right manner. Along with toning up your abdomen muscles, it also improves your over-all posture. Most exercise balls come with an instruction manual or a DVD which helps you to perform the exercise in an appropriate manner.

Fitness bike       
If you like cycling, but cannot follow your cycling routine due to unpredictable weather, you must equip your home gym with a fitness bike. It offers all the benefits of walking and cycling in the comfort of your home. The fitness bike gives you the option to adjust the resistance level, so it becomes easy for you to set your strength at a level you can easily handle. It helps improve your heart rate and cardiovascular health.  Working out regularly on a fitness bike will give you a toned body, but it mainly works on your legs and thighs. Some fitness bikes also allow users to lean back while working out.



Treadmill

The treadmill is one of the most popular exercise equipment in homes and fitness centres. Running on treadmill helps tone up the muscles in your legs and buttocks. The best thing about having a treadmill in your home gym is that you can do running exercises anytime you wish to. So, the next time you binge on junk food during weekend parties, you can shed those extra calories by running on a treadmill at your home gym.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are one of the best fitness tools for building muscles and toning the body. These little fitness gears are perfect for your home gym, as they do not take too much of space and go easy on your pocket. Dumbbells are a great option for both advanced weight-lifters and novice trainers, since they are available in different sizes or weights. If you are a beginner, you can start your strength training with one pair each of 3-pound and 5-pound weights.

Whether you are looking into equipment for your exercise or a diet plan, these top four fitness equipment are the perfect option for your home gym. However, you need to ensure that you use the equipment regularly. If you won't follow your fitness routine stringently, buying fitness gears will be a sheer waste of money.


adds from: Google

How to Stick to Your Diet While on Vacation

For many of us, vacation is a time to relax,  explore see friends or relatives and eat good food. But this break from routine can pose a challenge to your diet. A week of overeating and not exercising can derail your food and fitness goals.

The good news is you don't have to leave your diet at home. With a little planning you can enjoy yourself and not pack on the pounds.

Here are seven tips that will help you maintain your weight during your time away.

Get Ready Mentally: 
Before you leave, decide how you want to manage your diet. Pack your exercise clothes and set small goals. Once you hit that tropical shore, running may be the last thing on your mind. But because you decided to be active every day, you might find it easier to get moving. Also, enlist the help of your partner. This way, they will try a salad with you or join you on your morning hike.

Pack Snacks: 
Eating small snacks between meals will help you not overdo it at mealtime. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests vegetables, whole-grain crackers. trail mix. or raw or dry-roasted nuts. Fresh fruits like bananas, apples and pears, or even boxed raisins, are also convenient snacks. Buy some of these snacks before you leave on vacation, but don't forget to stop by a local grocery store or farmer's market once you arrive at your destination.

Eat in:
If you  have access to a fridge, purchase your favorite healthy cereal, milk and fruits. Starting your morning off right can dictate the rest of the day. Not only will you save money, but you will also save in calories. if you don't have a fridge, try instant oatmeal or breakfast bar.

Drink Alcohol in Moderation and Avoid Sugary Beverages: 
Margaritas are synonymous with a day at the beach. But, Sometimes a single cocktail has more than 500 calories. You can still drink, but try light beer or a glass of red wine. And stay hydrated. Liven up plain water with lemons or limes. or order sparkling water. Don't forget about fruits teas and sugar-free lemonade.

Be Active: 
If you can walk to your destination, do it. Staying with mom? Have her watch the kids while you go out for a morning jog. If you're in the mountains, go for a hike. At the lake? Swim. Many hotels have exercise centers and some even offer classes like poolside yoga.

You might even take to social media to find a running. cycling or walking tour of the city you're visiting. For example, in Paris, Nike conducts weekly running tours of the city at 8 p.m. You get a chance to meet locals and fellow tourists from around the world, and get your exercise in while learning about the city for free.

Plan Your Indulgence: 
You're on vacation so you're allowed to splurge a little. Choose one or two meals ahead of time where you know you'll want to enjoy yourself, and then go for it! Think of the indulgence as a reward for working so hard all week. Just be sure to get back on track for the rest of the trip.

Cut Your Portions: 
According to the Journal of Nutrition, food portions purchased at restaurants have increased sharply during the past several years. Instead of ordering a full meal, choose an appertizer as your main course. Split a dish with your travel companion. Otherwise, eat half, take the rest-to-go, and enjoy it at another time.

Remember: Vacation should not equal disaster when it comes to your diet. If you make good choices, it's entirely possible to maintain your weight.

By: Suzanne Corey/ For Active.com