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Ingredients: 1 Medium Eggplant, thinly sliced 1 cup of grated parmesan 2 eggs 1 pound ground beef, browned 8 oz Sausage, browned 2 cloves garlic 1.5 cups of No Sugar Added Spaghetti Sauce 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded 1. Thinly slice eggplant, and put in egg wash. 2. Coat eggplant in Parmesan cheese 3. Heat oil in frying pan, and once hot, fry eggplant 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. 4. Brown ground beef and sausage. Once drained, add garlic and spaghetti sauce and heat for 5 minutes while finishing frying eggplant slices. 5. Layer the eggplant, meat mixture, and cheese to form 3 layers. Optional – dust top with excess Parmesan cheese. Makes 6 servings: Nutrition info per serving: 456 Calories, 33g Fat, 9.3 Total Carbs ( minus 3.3g fiber), 30g Protein.

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With the popularity of low-carb diets today, most of us have at one time or another considered cutting carbs. In this series of articles we have discussed ‘low-carbing’ and whether or not it’s right for everyone.

In this article we’re going to talk about carbohydrates and how they are stored in the body. Does a large supply of excess carbs make us fat?

Many people believe that only dietary fat will lead to body fat. False! Actually, eating more calories than your body needs to perform daily activities and daily metabolism is what causes body fat. It is as simple as putting 20 gallons of gas in a 15 gallon gas tank…..the excess must go somewhere. In the case of human nutrition, the excess is stored as fat.

Just as excess protein can be stored as body fat, excess carbohydrate can be stored as body fat. Unfortunately for the American public, our consumption of simple carbohydrates has skyrocketed over the last ten years! Too many of us took the popularity of the low-fat and fat-free diets as an excuse to fill up on empty carbo-calories. After all, it’s okay to eat the entire package of licorice since it’s all fat free….right? Again, False!

Carbohydrates that the body cannot use are stored as body fat, plain and simple. Carbohydrates usually are ingested in the forms of polysaccharides (starches), disaccharides (sucrose and lactose) and monosaccharides (glucose and fructose). Essentially what occurs in the digestive process is a breakdown of the polysaccharides and disaccharides to the monosaccharides. The primary site of digestion is the small intestine, where the monosaccharides are then absorbed into the blood. Of the three monosaccharides, glucose is of most importance to human physiology. This is called blood sugar. Fructose and galactose are converted to blood glucose either in the intestinal wall or the liver.

A high-carbohydrate meal will lead to a rapid increase in the blood sugar level, usually within an hour. Naturally, the higher the food is on the glycemic index (refined sugars), the higher the blood sugar level will rise. The maintenance of a normal blood sugar level is very important for proper metabolism. The human body regulates blood sugar levels by a hormone called insulin. The rises in blood sugar levels stimulate the pancreas to secrete the hormone insulin into the blood. Insulin then facilitates the uptake and utilization of blood sugar by various tissues in the body, most notably the muscles and adipose tissue.

The fate of blood sugar is dependent on many factors, with exercise being one of the most important.

1) Blood sugar may be used for energy, particularly by the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

2) Blood sugar may be converted to either liver or muscle glycogen. Liver glycogen may then be later converted to blood sugar. Muscle glycogen is, for the most part, locked into the muscle cell once it enters, where it is converted to energy.

3) Blood sugar may be converted to and stored as fat in the adipose tissue. This situation occurs when the dietary carbohydrate, in combination with caloric intake of other nutrients, exceeds the energy demands of the body, and the storage capacity of the liver and muscles for glycogen.

4) Some blood sugar also may be excreted in the urine if excessive amounts occur in the blood, because of rapid ingestion of simple sugars.

So, what happens if we don’t consume enough carbohydrates? Because the carbohydrate stores in the body are rather limited, and because blood sugar is normally essential for optimal functioning of the central nervous system, it is important to be able to produce blood sugar or glucose internally if the stores are depleted by starvation or a zero-carbohydrate diet. This process is called gluconeogenesis, meaning the formation of glucose. In this process, protein is converted to glucose, and fat is converted to glucose by breaking down glycerol in the liver. The by-products of carbohydrate metabolism, lactate and pyruvate, may also be converted back to glucose in the liver.

With this understanding of how carbohydrate is metabolized in the body, it is clear that low-carb or no-carb diets may lead to decreased levels of energy.

Low-carb diets, however, have been proven to take off the weight. In some cases, weight loss has been dramatic when the subjects abruptly switched to a no-carb diet. Such rapid weight loss is attributed to water loss. Low carbohydrate intake depletes liver and muscle glycogen (stored sugars) and water molecules linked to these sugars. This depletion triggers a drop in body weight.

Especially during the introduction phase of a low-carb diet (2 weeks), the dieter is encouraged to eliminate virtually all carbohydrates from the diet. Even a slight intake of high glycemic foods during this phase would cause immediate weight gain by rebuilding glycogen stores.

Because carbohydrate is the body’s preferred fuel source, this first phase of the diet would most certainly challenge exercise enthusiasts.

So, is the low-carb lifestyle right for you? Maybe. We hope that this series of articles has helped you understand low-carb diets and their potential impact on the body.

SOURCE: (International Sports Sciences Association; Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D.; 2001)

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Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last few months, you’ve probably noticed that low-carb mania is sweeping the nation. Food manufacturers are in a heated race to see who can get the most low-carb fare into the grocery stores, and every advertiser worth their salt is emphasizing the low-carb message. Popularized by the late Dr. Atkins, the low-carb diet has taken the nation by storm and was by far the biggest trend of 2004.

So, does the low-carb diet work? Anecdotal evidence and recent studies both conclude that following a strict low-carb diet will in fact help you lose weight. Serious questions remain, however, and must be addressed before fully embracing the low-carb lifestyle. Some of these questions include:

* What are the long-term effects (10-20 years) of low-carb eating?

* Can you stick with the low-carb diet, or will your love for carbohydrates keep you cheating and frustrated?

* How does a low-carb diet mix with exercise? In particular, what impact does it have on your muscle?

* Have you read the materials on the low-carb diet, or are you just following the second-hand information you heard from a co-worker?

In this series of articles we will attempt to address these issues.

Real fitness experts emphasize that you should make changes to your diet that you can stick with for the long term. All too often, people start on a new “diet” and willpower their way to weight loss. They don’t enjoy it, mainly because their “diet” is telling them they can’t eat the foods they love. BOOM They’re off the diet. Perhaps a few months later they try another diet, just to find that it is also too restrictive and BOOM they’re off again. This yo-yo dieting takes a toll on the body, often leading to lost muscle mass and even worse a feeling of failure.

For any “diet” to work, it has to be created in such a way that you can live with it. Life is simply too short to be absolutely miserable, and trying to willpower yourself into a “diet” that you can’t stick with is a sure path to misery.

So, should you start a low-carb diet? That’s the million-pound question! And the answer is…..drum roll please…..maybe! If you think you can stick with it, and if you take the time to read about it and get the facts, and if you discuss it with your doctor, and if you know what you are getting into, and if you have the support of your family, then maybe the low-carb diet is right for you.

Why not just a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’? Because everybody is different and no single plan is going to work for everyone. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Slim-Fast, the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet, and hundreds of other plans have all helped people, but not one of them has helped everyone.

What’s important to realize is that you must discover your own nutritional plan: one that works for you.

And finally, a reminder to exercise must be shouted from the gym floor! No matter what nutritional approach you take, all of the experts recommend that you exercise on a regular basis. Think about it: there are hundreds of diet plans out there in the world today, and many of them offer conflicting information, but the one thing that they all have in common is that they strongly encourage you to exercise. So although the experts may disagree on what you should eat, they do agree on what you should do: exercise!

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You can get people worried and anxious with the mere suggestion of following cooking low carb recipes routine or any other diet for that matter. Nobody wants to count what one is eating. But unfortunately we must, and have to do it. We should make it our daily habit. The best thing about Atkins’ Low Carb Recipes is you are allowed to eat stuff that you can’t imagine while undergoing a regular diet routine. You can eat eggs, shellfish, and lots of vegitables, cream, tea and coffee without milk, cheese, avocados, nuts, butter etc. Please also remember the stricts no-nos too while we are discussing all that we can eat. You can’t have fruits, potatoes, rice, pasta, and alcohol.

There are books published by Dr Atkins, which is full of interesting and easy to make Low Carb Recipes especially for people who’d like to follow the Atkins way of life. Atkins Diet recipes books are easy to get, and you can even order them online.

 A normal Atkins day-to-day diet will look like this: Breakfast may comprise Italian sausage frittata with a cup of herbal tea. Lunch that people ideally prefer is tuna salad with mixed leafy greens topped with some bacon. Again dinner can be bacon cheeseburger, cauliflower and broccoli, with fresh fruit kebobs and if you are used to munching snacks then visit any low sugar high protein snack/salad bar!

Celery is a food that is low in calories and it’s also said that it helps to prevent cancer. Celery, Avocado and Walnut salad can be a very delightful option plus good to taste.

The new report from the researchers and scientists may be pretty close to finding out and proving why low-carb recipes or low carbohydrate diet, such as the one developed and promoted by Atkins diet, are more effective than low-calorie diets. In a paper published in the Nutrition Journal, researchers from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, show that low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets can be expected to be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets.

 There was a study conducted on Mexican women (the study was conducted on 1,866 of them) and it was found that women who got about 62 percent of their calories from carbohydrate were more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer compared to women whose carbohydrate intake was less than 52 percent. Including more Low Carb Recipes in your daily food is a far healthier option

 There are hundreds and thousands of Atkins recipes doing the rounds online. The secret  is to get organized. Prepare yourself in advance because tossing up atkins diet recipes is not going to be easy on a day to day basis. Being overweight is  hardly easy either. So instead of settling for the latter lets make peace with the former. And I am hardly trying to discourage you by saying it. I am trying to state facts without mincing words. Don’t let some vague surprises hit you on the face. The only surprise that you can be open to is the pleasant one – that you are losing weight and gaining self confident and good health. And Atkins Diet promises you that – if you follow them as per instructions. Atkins Diet recipes do what only Atkins Diet recipes can- Make you thin, fit, and happy. And all this with eggs, fish, butter……wow!

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With all low carbohydrate diets claiming success, it can be hard to start the correct low carbohydrate diet for you? Are all low carb diets alike? It can be overwhelming with all low carb diets, products and plans you see everywhere. Luckily, these diets have been analyzed extensively. We’ll get into all low carb diets – what works and what doesn’t.
First enjoy this delicious recipe that is ok for all low carb diets:
Yummy Fast Breakfast Recipe
Easy Mushroom-Zucchini Greek Omlette
2 eggs

2 Tbsp water

Dash of onion, cumin and/or garlic powders

1 tablespoon olive oil (or nonstick cooking spray)

1 cup diced, or chopped Zucchini squash

1/4 cup sliced white mushrooms

1/4 cup shredded cheese

Green Olives for garnish
Add oil to small skillet, (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) and heat over medium heat.
Saute zucchini and mushrooms for 7 minutes, or until tender. Lightly whip by hand eggs and water, add dash of onion, cumin and/or garlic powders. Pour egg/water mix into skillet.
When top is firm, sprinkle cheese onto half the omlette. Fold over other half. Serve each portion with Green Olives and sliced tomatoes.
Yields 4 servings

Total Net carbs: 3 grams per serving
Ok, Here are is the first review of the most well known of all the low carb diets: The Dr. Atkins Diet
Of all low carb diets, Atkins is probably one of the most popular there is. Most reviewers offer several reasons why Atkins is so attractive. The Atkins Diet can bring fast results. Atkins dieters notice a weight loss of eight to fourteen pounds within the early induction phase of the diet.
Also, most dieters like following the Atkins approach. Watching carb levels is all that’s required , and the foods you are allowed to eat with Atkins, like hamburgers, steaks, and rich foods are enjoyable to many people.
Negative comments, though, may include the fact that the body may respond poorly in the early days. You may feel overtired, stressed. Some may even have a headache.
Studies are still being evaluated, but many suggest that this diet lowers blood sugar, triglycerides, cholesterol and saturated fat levels, helping heart health.
Dr. Atkins believed that nearly all obesity is caused by overactive insulin production and not by overeating. He believed that overeating could be caused by carbohydrate addiction and that most overweight people actually ate less than their slim counterparts.
However, they crave and eat carbohydrate, which raises their insulin levels and suppresses fat burning. He also recommends the use of dietary supplements to help balance nutrition and the bodies systems.
The Atkins Diet has four stages: the Induction diet, the Ongoing Weight Loss diet, the Pre-Maintenance diet, and finally the Lifetime Maintenance diet. The Induction diet is very strict as far as carb elimination (20 grams or less per day), but generous in the allowance of fat and protein. Low starch vegetables are the recommended source of carbs.
This phase of the diet lasts 14 days and is followed by the Ongoing Weight Loss diet (OWL). The OWL phase allows for the reintroduction of certain good carbs but the levels are kept below 40 grams a day. Dieters stay on OWL until they reach their ideal weight.
Once the ideal weight is reached dieters transition into the Pre-Maintenance diet, where they experiment with reintroducing certain good carbs until they discover the total carb grams they can consume in a

day and still not gain weight.
Here is a tip for success with all low carb dieting:
Start your diet with a daily food diary, record everything you eat, what you were doing at the

time, and how you felt. That tells you about your temptations, the emotional states that cause you to snack and may help you lose once you see how much you eat. It is good to keep detailed records, in order to guarantee your success.
Often people go off low-carb diets, even those that help you lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, because they lack good recipes. It’s too boring. Get good recipes!

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