Increasingly, people have become interested in eating less meat or even going vegetarian. There are many great reasons to start to reduce and even remove meat from your diet entirely. Not only is reducing your meat consumption good for your health, but it's actually good for the planet as well. Producing livestock for the amount of meat that the planet currently consumes is one of the most destructive, non-eco friendly practices in existence today. However, reducing or giving up meat can be challenging. Here are five tips to make it easier!
Start Small
Don't try to give up all meat at once! Phase yourself into it. Start by just practicing Meatless Monday to get used to a day without meat as well as to start to learn to cook without meat. Like anything else, if you try to give up something entirely at first, you'll be challenged to be successful.
Select Easy Vegetarian Recipes
Don't begin by trying to cook the most complicated vegetarian recipes possible. Eating vegetarian can be challenging, so invest in a book of simple vegetarian recipes. There are a number of great cookbooks that featured fully, hot vegetarian meals that can be cooked in thirty minutes or less.
Don't Eat Only Salads
Much like eating meat doesn't mean that you should eat only hamburgers each day, eating vegetarian doesn't mean that you should eat only salad every day. You don't just want to be a vegetarian, you want to be a healthy vegetarian. That means a diversity of diet that extends beyond lettuce and tomatoes.
Research Protein Sources
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge when you give up meat is finding alternative sources of proteins. As we said above, you don't just want to be a vegetarian, you want to be a healthy vegetarian. If you're only giving up meat, consider eggs as a great source of protein. You may also want to consider continuing to eat fish. Alternatively, do the research about the best nuts, soy and other products to supplement your protein.
Find a Message Board and Ask Other Vegetarians
The best advice on going vegetarian can be gained from other vegetarians. Find a good message board or online community and talk to other vegetarians about the best way to go meat free, stay meat free and be healthier (and kinder to the planet).
Even if you don't want to go vegetarian, reducing how much meat you have in your diet will pay off for both your personal health and the health of the planet. Start today by having just one meat-free meal and go from there!
Jocelyn Saurini became a vegetarian because of her desire to go green with her life. Now she not only writes about green living tips, she also writes about how to go vegetarian. She eats meat-free and lives waste-free as much as she can, and she hopes she'll be able to help you do the same.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jocelyn_Saurini
How to Be Vegetarian : Transitioning to a Vegetarian Diet
Transitioning to a vegetarian diet from eating meat can be difficult for many people. Learn how to transition from eating meat in this free vegetarian video. Expert: Jean Smith Bio: Jean Smith as been a vegetarian for her whole life. Filmmaker: julio...
Sunday, October 2, 2011
How to Strip Off Body Fat and Keep Your Muscle
So you have finally decided to shed those extra pounds and uncover those long buried abs?
Here's what will happen:
You'll go on a diet, start working out and everything will be great. For the first two weeks, the pounds will drop off and progress will be quick and painless.
But then things will grind to a halt. Your metabolism will slow down to a snails pace. The scale will get stuck.
You will re-double your efforts. Cut calories. Add more cardio. And it seems to work. The scale is headed south once again.
But one day you look in the mirror and you'll notice that your muscle is (gasp) gone! The fat is still there, but the muscle is disappearing.
So you immediately start eating more, hoping to save your hard-earned muscle. But because you have lost muscle, your metabolism has dropped. And all those extra calories end up as fat.
Your best intentions back fired. You tried to lose some fat, and instead you ended up even fatter with less muscle.
Ain't life cruel?
But don't worry. Because today I'm going to show you how to strip off fat WITHOUT sacrificing your hard-earned muscle. (In fact, if you follow these rules you should actually get STRONGER even while you lose weight.)
Without further ado, here are my five rules for stripping off body fat while preserving muscle.
Rule #1: Don't Drop Carbs To Zero.
People often make the mistake of avoiding all carbohydrates. This can result in some quick weight loss (mostly water weight) but a lack of carbohydrates can also slow your metabolism.
So don't eliminate carbohydrates completely. Instead,
Rule #2: Focus On "Nature-Made" Carbs.
When trying to burn off body fat, steer clear of "man-made" carbs like cakes, cookies and white bread products.
Instead, focus on "nature-made" carbs like fruits, vegetables, potatoes and whole grain products.
These items naturally contain more fiber which will help you feel full. Fiber also helps to lessen the insulin spike and fat storing effects that occur when consuming "man-made" carbohydrates.
Rule #3: Keep Protein High.
Protein is "muscle-sparing" which means that your body will use any available protein for cellular repairs before breaking down muscle tissue.
I've found that by consuming 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily, you can actually build new strength while stripping off body fat.
Rule #4: Don't Avoid Dietary Fat!
It sounds weird, but you want to burn fat you have got to eat (some) fat.
I recommend you try and focus on healthy fats like fish oil, extra virgin olive oil or fats found naturally in nuts like almonds.
Rule #5: Use Weight Training To Build Muscle and Strength, NOT To Burn Fat.
One of the biggest myths about burning fat is that you should lift light weights with high reps. But this is all wrong.
If you take the opposite approach and continue to lift heavy and try to get stronger with every single workout, it sends a clear message to your body that your muscles are still "in use" and should not be sacrificed.
Follow these five simple rules and you can burn off your excess body fat without sacrificing your hard-earned muscle.
Matt Marshall is not a personal trainer or a professional bodybuilder. He's just a former skinny guy who figured out how average guys (with average genetics) can build muscle and develop outstanding physiques. To get your free book, visit http://www.LookGoodWithNoShirt.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Marshall
Here's what will happen:
You'll go on a diet, start working out and everything will be great. For the first two weeks, the pounds will drop off and progress will be quick and painless.
But then things will grind to a halt. Your metabolism will slow down to a snails pace. The scale will get stuck.
You will re-double your efforts. Cut calories. Add more cardio. And it seems to work. The scale is headed south once again.
But one day you look in the mirror and you'll notice that your muscle is (gasp) gone! The fat is still there, but the muscle is disappearing.
So you immediately start eating more, hoping to save your hard-earned muscle. But because you have lost muscle, your metabolism has dropped. And all those extra calories end up as fat.
Your best intentions back fired. You tried to lose some fat, and instead you ended up even fatter with less muscle.
Ain't life cruel?
But don't worry. Because today I'm going to show you how to strip off fat WITHOUT sacrificing your hard-earned muscle. (In fact, if you follow these rules you should actually get STRONGER even while you lose weight.)
Without further ado, here are my five rules for stripping off body fat while preserving muscle.
Rule #1: Don't Drop Carbs To Zero.
People often make the mistake of avoiding all carbohydrates. This can result in some quick weight loss (mostly water weight) but a lack of carbohydrates can also slow your metabolism.
So don't eliminate carbohydrates completely. Instead,
Rule #2: Focus On "Nature-Made" Carbs.
When trying to burn off body fat, steer clear of "man-made" carbs like cakes, cookies and white bread products.
Instead, focus on "nature-made" carbs like fruits, vegetables, potatoes and whole grain products.
These items naturally contain more fiber which will help you feel full. Fiber also helps to lessen the insulin spike and fat storing effects that occur when consuming "man-made" carbohydrates.
Rule #3: Keep Protein High.
Protein is "muscle-sparing" which means that your body will use any available protein for cellular repairs before breaking down muscle tissue.
I've found that by consuming 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily, you can actually build new strength while stripping off body fat.
Rule #4: Don't Avoid Dietary Fat!
It sounds weird, but you want to burn fat you have got to eat (some) fat.
I recommend you try and focus on healthy fats like fish oil, extra virgin olive oil or fats found naturally in nuts like almonds.
Rule #5: Use Weight Training To Build Muscle and Strength, NOT To Burn Fat.
One of the biggest myths about burning fat is that you should lift light weights with high reps. But this is all wrong.
If you take the opposite approach and continue to lift heavy and try to get stronger with every single workout, it sends a clear message to your body that your muscles are still "in use" and should not be sacrificed.
Follow these five simple rules and you can burn off your excess body fat without sacrificing your hard-earned muscle.
Matt Marshall is not a personal trainer or a professional bodybuilder. He's just a former skinny guy who figured out how average guys (with average genetics) can build muscle and develop outstanding physiques. To get your free book, visit http://www.LookGoodWithNoShirt.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Marshall
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