Losing Weight ..Iron for Babies

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Losing Weight

Although people are eating less than ever because there is less need for manual exertion in most jobs they are storing the extra calories as fat. It is healthier to be a bit overweight than underweight but if you waist size or hip size exceeds your chest size then you should lose weight. Men tend to lose from the face , then hips and finally waist while women tend to lose from the face then the waist and finally the hips.

Each food has a certain calorie value for example a piece of toast is 100 calories. We need about 2000 calories total in a day to maintain weight and keep our body heat . So if you ate 20 pieces of toast in a day (2000 cal) then you would neither gain nor lose. If however you ate a total of only 1000 calories of food then your body would have to make up the other 1000 by burning your fat stores. If you stuck to 1000 calories a day ie losing 1000 each day you would lose 7000 calories in a week .

Since each pound of fat is 3500 cals ,losing 7000 in a week would lose you 2 pounds or about a kilo that week. So the first thing to do is to go to the local bookshop and get a book on all the calorie values of food. Write down for 2 months everything you eat and its calorie value. A boiled egg has for example 80 cals while a fried one has 200.Try and eat as little fat -butter , margarine , oils , cream as possible and eat more potatoes , vegetables etc.

Each day total up the calories you have eaten , subtract from 2000 and that is your loss for the day. When your losses reach 3500 , you will have lost a pound of fat !.

Excercise can speed up weight loss a lot. Get a set of weights and do 15 minutes a day of weight lifting and body building esp important for women . You will lose 300 calories a day on top or nearly 2000 a week ie 100,000 a year or nearly 30 pounds of fat a year just by doing that !

For example if you want to lose 20 pounds (10 kilos) you need to lose 20x3500 or 70,000 calories in all. So your 100 calories a day diet might look like this:

January 2 

Breakfast - never skip this , it gets the furnace going !

2 boiled eggs                                             160 calories 
2 toast lightly buttered                                  160
Coffee with no sugar under 50 cals                          0
                                                                           .......
Total so far                                              320
  
Lunch
Chicken salad                                             280
                                                       .........
Total                                                     600

Mid afternoon
Apple under 50 cals so not counted                            0

Evening meal
Lamb Casserole                                             400

Bed time snack             
Biscuit + Milk 1 cup                                          100
                                                                    .........
Total intake for the day                                 1100

One mile -2km fast walk              minus                  100
                                                                   ..........
Net Intake                                                         1000

Subtract from the 2000 needed          
Net loss for the day     2000-1000    =            1000 calories 

NEVER skip the excercise otherwise your metabolism
 will slow down and when you stop dieting you will put 
on all the weight and more !

More to follow if requested

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Iron for Babies- by a Health Visitor

From 6 months IRON is important in your baby's diet and the baby gets most of its iron from solid food. There is not enough in milk.

Iron improves a baby's appetitie and helps it fight off infection.Drinking only milk can prevent your baby getting enough iron for its needs.

Toddlers can have a bottle of milk in the morning and before going to bed but do NOT give it milk at night when he wakes up ! It just becomes a habit and he will not eat properly in the day.

Milk and rice have too little iron . Cereal in the morning with a Vitamin C drink is a good source of iron as is meat.If your child eats vegetables , pulses , fruits , meat , eggs and cereals and even if its only small amounts he will be having a healthy diet.

Sweets , crisps ,fizzy drinks , biscuits should be avoided or kept for a treat after meals.Avoid underfeeding the baby . Its healthier for a baby to be a little bit overweight.