Does Diet Soda Make You Fat, or is it Really Good for Weight Loss?

We all know by now that soda (aka "pop" in some areas) is one of the most evil things you can put in your body... the nasty chemicals, the gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, and a myriad of health problems caused by this carbonated cocktail worshipped by those that don't care about their health or body.

Since you're one of my subscribers, I know that you actually do care about your health and the appearance of your body.

Surprisingly, many people falsely believe that "diet" soda is in some way a good thing for losing body fat.  In fact, I hear people all the time proudly state that they eat so healthy and only drink diet soda.

So let's set the record straight...

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here's some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that I had read...

An excerpt from the study author:

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

Ok, as if we didn't already know how bad regular soda was for us, and now they're showing us studies that diet soda makes us even fatter than the already bad stuff!
There's a lot of complicating factors as to why this occurs...

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.

Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

I've said this all along, but the bottom line is that if you're serious about your health and body, soda of any kind (and artificial sweeteners in anything for that matter!) should be avoided at all times, except for very rare occasions when you can't avoid them.

SEE MORE  . . . >

An Energy Drink that's Safe and Healthy

It never ceases to amaze me the answer I get when I ask people… “Hey Bob (or insert any name here), how are you doing today?” “Oh Isabel, I’m so tired.” Tired. Yes. That is the answer I get most often, and it’s usually directly followed by BUSY. Why do I bring this up? Because more and more people are asking me about so called healthy Energy Drinks and whether or not they really are ok and healthy to drink for a good and fast pick me up. Here is the best article I’ve found breaking down exactly what’s in energy drinks….the good and the bad (and the absolutely horrendous). The Energy Drink Scam – Read Here It’s an article written by my good friend Mike Geary and what I love about Mike’s articles is he gives you a thorough, fact filled explanation AND he gives you a healthy and easy alternative when needed. Do Energy Drinks Make you Fat? – Find out Here Now I’m off to drink my healthy energy drink as Mike describes. You’ll love this stuff!

Foods that will put you in PAIN - you are probably eating these every day.

I am passionate about many things…nutrition and health being at the top of that list.  But there is also another “health issue” that is near and dear to my heart and that is Back Pain. No, I don’t suffer from back pain myself, but my husband has been a long time sufferer of this annoying condition since his college football days and I’ve seen firsthand how it can really impair not only his own life but our whole family’s life as well.  Imagine if Daddy can’t come outside and play with the rest of us or if I don’t have my hubbie to help me bathe, dress and run after the kids…like I said, it doesn’t just affect the person in pain, it’s tough on the whole family. Today I want to share with you 2 very, very useful tips to help alleviate back pain that I just read in Jesse Cannone’s latest book, “101 Back Pain Relief Tricks” (with Jesse’s permission, of course). Tip 34: It’s a Dirty Word, But… Somebody has to say it: constipation. That’s because extra abdominal gas and fecal matter can create enormous pressure on your spine. Think of it… if you only have one bowel movement a day, there could be as many as eight meals backed up in your bowels.  Here’s a few practical tips for preventing back pain from excess gas and constipation: •        Drink more water! Dehydration is a common cause of constipation which is easily eliminated by drinking a daily ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight (e.g. if you weigh 100 pounds you should drink 50 ounces of water daily). •        While fruit is great for breakfast, avoid eating fruit and sweets before bed. Your body will convert sugars found in them to gas and without food behind it to push it through you’ll wake up in the morning with more back pain from the extra pressure •        Try a visceral massage, also called Sun-Moon. To begin, lie on your back and with both hands starting just above your right hip, apply inward pressure on your abdomen, going straight up to the bottom of your rib cage. Then follow along the bottom of the rib cage to the left and then down to the top of the left hip. Go slow and repeat to tolerance. Tip 47: Don’t Feed the Fire Within Not all foods are created equally when it comes to staying away from pain. Many foods you are eating may be causing an inflammatory response, keeping you in unnecessary pain. Cool the burning fires of inflammation pain by eating more anti-inflammatory foods and less of the inflammatory ones. Anti-inflammatory foods Alaskan Salmon (wild) Fresh whole fruits, vegetables Bright multi-colored vegetables Green tea Water Olive oil Lean poultry Nuts, legumes and seeds Dark green leafy vegetables Old fashioned oatmeal Spices, especially Turmeric and Ginger Inflammatory foods Sugar, from any source Processed foods French Fries Fast Foods White bread Pasta Ice Cream Cheddar Cheeses Snack Foods Oils such as vegetable and corn Soda, caffeine and alcohol It’s really no surprise that the same healthy foods that will give you a lean, toned and healthy body will also give you back pain relief (not to mention the foods that negatively affect your weight loss efforts are the same foods that cause and make back pain much worse).  To read Jesse’s other 101 Tips, you can take a look at his new book “101 Back Pain Relief Tricks: Quick and Easy Ways to FINALLY Beat Back Pain”. In health and happiness, Read more . . . .>

Here are 5 of my favorite Easy and Quick Healthy Snacks

There's nothing like real world experience to teach you a thing or two. To all of you parents who have written to me in the past saying "Isabel, with all the responsibilities I have in one day with the kids, work and the house, I just don't have time to eat healthy." I GET IT! Holy Moly...who knew a little 8 lb baby could take up so much time...I mean the whole day. Since eating healthy is an absolute must for me (I just wouldn't have it any other way), I really had to come up with some quick and easy snacks that I could grab at any time, especially if my little munchkin didn't let me get to make breakfast, lunch or dinner. Even if you don't have kids and are just busy, busy, busy all day....here are a few of the healthy snacks I enjoy (most of which can be grabbed with one hand while holding a newborn in the other). 1. Nut Butter and Honey on Ezekiel Bread (or any sprouted grain bread) - Although this would taste better toasted, I can make do with the colder version. I put 1-2 TBSPs of natural peanut butter or almond butter on 1 slice of Sprouted Grain or Spelt bread with ½ tsp of raw honey. I make 2-3 of these at a time and leave them in the fridge for easy grabbing. 2. Deviled Eggs - These do take a bit of prep time so I have to wait for my husband to come home in the evening to make them. I hard boil 6 eggs. Once cooled, I cut them in half and place all of the cooked yolks in a separate bowl. I add Dijon mustard and olive oil to the yolks and mash them up so they become creamy. I put the creamy mixture back into the center of the egg whites and sprinkle Celtic Sea Salt and Fresh Pepper on top. I keep these in the refrigerator for an easy protein snack. 3. Turkey and Roast Beef Rollup - These are simply just deli turkey breast and roast beef wrapped up in a rollup (I only buy the turkey and roast beef that is fresh and natural, not any of the cold cut supermarket brands with added nitrites and nitrates). I add some mustard to each rollup and keep them all in a container in the fridge. Again, another quick protein snack. These are also great with baby carrots. 4. Frozen Grapes - If you're searching for something sweet, grapes in the freezer are a great way to curb a sweet tooth. I keep a bunch of these in the freezer and snack on them along with some raw nuts. Just a handful of grapes with some walnuts really keeps me full and satisfied until I can get to my next meal. It's also a great "sweet" pick me up (for all those sleep deprived parents and even non-parents out there). 5. Bag of Trail Mix - I absolutely do not go anywhere without my bag of trail mix. Right now I have almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, dried apricots and raisins all in a bag with a touch of Celtic Sea Salt added. The other day I took my little guy to the pediatrician and we were there for what seemed to be hours! Thank goodness for my trail mix, otherwise I probably would have cried more than the baby did. Enjoy snacktime!

How breaded chicken just became a health food.

This week has been all about “time saving” and finding ways to still eat healthy foods without spending hours preparing or cooking (I just don’t have that kind of time anymore!). Today I’ve got 2 more time saving tips for you that really help me to easily get through the week, while still enjoying healthy foods. 1.        Prepare your own awesome trail mix at the beginning of each week.  On Saturday or Sunday I dump approximately even amounts of the following into a gallon size Ziplock storage bag: almonds, brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries (no sugar added), cacao nibs (not as much as all the other stuff) and shredded coconut.  I sprinkle in some Celtic Sea Salt and Voila…a delicious and healthy trail mix.  Next I put approximately 2 oz of the trail mix in Ziplock snack bags to take with me “on the go”.  I usually count this as 1 protein and 1 carb (even though it’s probably not exact).  My 2 year old son has quickly figured out that this delicious trail mix is always in my purse and will go digging for it whenever he’s hungry. 2.       Find recipes that say “Prep Time: 10-15 minutes” (or less).  The prep time of a recipe is usually the FIRST thing I check before deciding whether or not to even consider a recipe during the week (I save the longer ones for the weekend).  The next thing I check is the ingredients list and see whether or not it will require any healthy substitutions or modifications.  Lucky for you and me, we’ve created a wonderful Recipes section in Beyond Diet with recipes that are already “Isabel approved” and have been tested by our wonderful readers. Here’s a new super easy and absolutely delicious recipe I just added today >> Breaded Baked Chicken (must log into Beyond Diet to see the full recipe if you are not already logged in) I hope this week’s tips have helped you to find new and easy ways to make healthy eating simple and still delicious. Remember, if you have a great recipe that you enjoy and fits into our healthy way of life, please share it with the rest of us in the Recipes section of Beyond Diet.

Does your back hurt today?

I can't believe how many times people have said to me "Oh, I can't do those exercises. I have a bad back." Yeah, you and nearly half a million people around the globe. Chances are you or someone you know has said once or twice "Ah, my aching back." What many people may not know about me is during my 11 years of personal training, I became a bit of a back specialist. I didn't really pick this specialty on purpose, it just happened "by accident." You see, my clients would come with the purpose of losing weight and getting into better shape, but would somehow relieve their bad backs in the process. Was it the exercise? The stretching? Their new sense of health and well being? Maybe, but I would strongly argue that their change in diet had more to do with it than any of those other combined. Oh boy Isabel. That's a bit of a stretch isn't it? Now, hear me out on this.. Medical professionals are now starting to realize the direct correlation between chronic internal inflammation in the body and conditions such as arthritis, back pain and fibromyalgia. Internal inflammation is a lot like external inflammation but you can't see it so it is not as obvious to us. When you sprain your ankle, your body's natural response is to signal pain (so you won't keep moving and cause more damage) and will also cause inflammation in the injured area (again, so you'll just lie on the couch and chill out). It will also direct fresh blood, antibodies, and vital cells to the area to aid in the healing process. This sounds all fine and dandy but when your body creates inflammation and pain signals in your lower back, sometimes debilitating you for the day, it is not so fine and dandy anymore. You've been there right? I have had plenty of people look at me like I was crazy when I tried to tell them that if they just eliminated "inflammatory foods" from their meal plans, a lot of the pain would go away. Especially medical professionals who have been so accustomed to just prescribing surgery or pain medications to alleviate bad backs. But I have seen it happen right before my eyes time and time again. People eliminate inflammatory foods like wheat, dairy and sugar, and voilà ...Back pain gone in a few weeks. I was reading this article by Steve Hefferon, from the Healthy Back Institute, and I love how he gives a detailed chart on exactly which foods to eat and which foods to avoid to control internal inflammation. As a result, controlling inflammation will help to alleviate back pain. He also goes into some other great "lifestyle" tips that are absolutely necessary, not only for pain control, but healthy weight loss as well. The Healthy Back Institute's "Lose The Back Pain" system is the only program I recommend for back pain sufferers. Their system for assessing and analyzing the cause of your back pain is so precise, I have even recommended it to non-back pain sufferers for preventative purposes. If you are currently struggling to follow your exercise program because of nagging back pain, this is the perfect place to start. Find out if the "Lose The Back Pain" system is exactly what you have been looking for to alleviate back pain and get started on a great workout program today. You'll want to investigate the "Lose The Back Pain" system for yourself if you value ridding yourself of back pain. Do this from the same site immediately after you print out the chart of foods and lifestyle tips I mentioned above at this link: Inflammation Foods by Lose the Back Pain I know you'll enjoy this great article as much as I did. You can also get a copy of Jesse Cannone's "7 Day Back Pain Cure" book, completely FREE (just pay shipping and handling) here: No More back Pain Have a great, pain free day! In health and happiness, Isabel De Los Rios Certified Nutritionist Certified Exercise Specialist

Prepare dinner in HALF the time - Not One, But TWO Ways

Time is such a precious gift.  Never did I understand that more than after I had kids. This week I decided to dedicate my newsletters to “time saving” tips to eat healthy. Why? Because I quickly realized when my 2nd son was born that if I didn’t start implementing good “time saving” strategies right away, eating healthy and exercising were going to be really, really difficult to keep up with. I already shared my Leftovers strategies earlier this week.  If you missed that you can read it here: Healthy leftovers? Good or bad idea? Today I wanted to give you 2 others that have become absolute life savers…(ok, maybe not life savers, but definitely dinner savers!) The crock-pot is my best friend.  Whoever invented this wonderful piece of equipment deserves a thank you card from every busy person in the world.  I am convinced you can throw an old shoe in there and it will somehow make the whole house smell wonderful and turn out to be a perfect dinner.  Ok, ok, I’m exaggerating, but I can throw just about any meat, chicken, or pork in the crockpot along with some veggies, chicken stock and a few spices and dinner is ready when I get home from work.  How easy is that?  Many nights I will get all my crockpot food items ready in the evening so I can just throw them all in in the morning and just turn the thing on.  If you’re a crockpot newbie, try this delicious and super easy recipe: Slow-Cooked Chicken Hardboiled eggs are also my best friend.  Yes, I should probably make friends outside of my kitchen, but hardboiled eggs are another great lifesaver…I mean dinner-saver.  In a pinch, I love to make an egg + avocado + greens salad, where I chop 2 hard boiled eggs and ½ avocado over a salad of romaine lettuce and tomatoes. I top it off with my famous salad dressing (link) and dinner is served…super easy and very filling.  Here’s another wonderful recipe that can be made in minutes: Tangy Egg Salad - No Mayo Recipe With just a little forethought, you can always be sure to have your healthy foods and meals available even when time is limited. Definitely try these delicious recipes and I’ll be back with some more “time saving” tips. In health and happiness, Isabel De Los Rios Certified Nutritionist Certified Exercise Specialist * Check out what's happening right now on Beyond Diet "I just had to share. I just completed my second month and I am 23 lbs. closer to my goal. I walk at least three times a week and have changed my eating habits. Even though it is busy at my house, we eat at home a lot more, which I believe has made my family closer. I am going to keep doing what I am doing. My focus is just on making healthy choices and the weight loss just seems to be an added benefit." - Frances,  Lake Dallas, TX It's our mission to get over a million people to shed their belly fat, fit into clothes that once were tight, have supportive friends, prevent diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer just by eating delicious foods that are also good for them.

A 2-year-old on Beyond Diet?

Did you happen to see the new 2 year old member we have on Beyond  Diet…hahaha. Ok, maybe it’s not quite a new member (It’s actually  my son). So many people ask me, “Isabel, what do you feed your child?”, that I decided to film exactly what I feed my 2 year old son. Find out what healthy foods make my 2-year-old stuff his face I’ll show you exactly what I prepare for my son for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you’ll see how much he enjoys it! Why would my son choose a banana over a cookie? In health and happiness, Isabel De Los Rios Certified Nutritionist Certified Exercise Specialist * Check out what's happening right now on Beyond Diet It's our mission to get over a million people to shed their belly fat,  fit into clothes that once were tight, have supportive friends,  prevent diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer  just by eating delicious foods that are also good for them. JOIN WITH US . . .>

I Need to Lose Weight without Feeling Hungry

“I need to lose weight but I’m sick of feeling hungry all the time,” is a common statement made by individuals who follow fly-by-night diets. If your diet leaves your stomach rumbling every hour on the hour, it’s time to make a change. I used to think that losing weight meant starving. It took me a while to accept the fact that I could actually eat heartily and still drop weight.

The time I spent starving in the name of losing weight was miserable. When I did manage to shed a few pounds, I would gain it all back in a matter of weeks. Sometimes I’d even gain a few extra pounds. Talk about depressing!

What I learned through years of research (and trial and error) is that when you follow a healthy eating plan, you can chow down until you’re full, and still see amazing weight loss results.

Read More . . . .