Adopting a healthy vegetarian diet is not as simple as scraping meat off your plate and eating what is left. You need to take extra steps to ensure you are meeting your daily nutritional needs. Find out what you need to know about a plant-based diet.

Vegetarian diet planning
A healthy vegetarian diet consists primarily of plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Because the emphasis is on nonmeat food sources, a vegetarian diet generally contains less fat and cholesterol, and typically includes more fiber.

Meat alternatives
Milk: Drink fortified soymilk, rice milk or almond milk in place of cow’s milk.

Butter: When sautéing, use olive oil, water, vegetable broth, wine or fat-free cooking spray instead of butter. In baked goods, use canola oil.

Cheese: Use soy cheese or nutritional yeast flakes, which are available in health food stores.

Eggs: In baked goods, try commercial egg replacers a dry product made mostly of potato starch.

Ensuring adequate nutrition
A vegan diet, for example, eliminates food sources of vitamin B-12, as well as milk products, which are a good source of calcium. Other nutrients, such as iron and zinc, are available in a meatless diet, but you need to make an extra effort to ensure they are in yours.

Protein: Your body needs protein to maintain healthy skin, bones, muscles and organs. Vegetarians who eat eggs or dairy products have convenient sources of protein. Other sources of protein include soy products, meat substitutes, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds and whole grains.

Calcium: This mineral helps build and maintain strong teeth and bones. Low-fat dairy foods and dark green vegetables, such as spinach, turnip and collard greens, kale, and broccoli, are good sources of calcium. Tofu enriched with calcium and fortified soy milk and fruit juices are other options.

Vitamin B-12: Your body needs vitamin B-12 to produce red blood cells and prevent anemia. This vitamin is found almost exclusively in animal products, including milk, eggs and cheese. Vegans can get vitamin B-12 from some enriched cereals, fortified soy products or by taking a supplement that contains this vitamin.

Iron: Like vitamin B-12, iron is a crucial component of red blood cells. Dried beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grain products, dark leafy green vegetables, and dried fruit are good sources of iron. To help your body absorb nonanimal sources of iron, eat foods rich in vitamin C such as strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage and broccoli at the same time you consume iron-containing foods.

Zinc: This mineral is an essential component of many enzymes and plays a role in cell division and in the formation of proteins. Good sources of zinc include whole grains, soy products, nuts and wheat germ.

Since no single food provides all of the nutrients that your body needs, eating a wide variety helps ensure that you get the necessary nutrients and other substances that promote good health.

Fitness programmes abound, from yoga and Pilates to step aerobics and strength training — either at home or in a gym. So which type of fitness programme is best for you? Use these 6 simple steps to find out.

Step 1: Assess your fitness level
You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can help you set your fitness goals and measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition, consider recording:

* Your pulse rate before and after a one-mile walk

* How long it takes to walk one mile

* How many push-ups you can do at a time

* How far you can reach forward while seated on the floor with your legs in front of you

* Your waist circumference at the level of your navel

* Your body mass index

You may also want to consult a doctor before beginning an exercise programme, especially if you have been sedentary or you have any chronic medical conditions.

Step 2: Determine your fitness goals
Keeping your fitness level in mind, think about why you want to start a fitness programme. Perhaps your doctor has suggested that you start a fitness programme to lose weight. If you are already active, perhaps you want to rev up your fitness programme to prepare for a 5K race or get ready for a favorite sport. Having clear goals can help you stay motivated.

Step 3: Consider your likes and dislikes
Next think about the types of physical activities you enjoy most. After all, a fitness programme does not need to be drudgery. You are more likely to keep up with a fitness programme you enjoy.

If you love riding your bicycle, consider a spinning class. If you have a blast on the dance floor, an aerobics class that includes dance moves would be a good bet. If you are a social person and like to be active with others, a gym or health club membership may be the ticket. If you prefer to exercise alone or you find health clubs intimidating, exercises you can do at home may be best.

Step 4: Think variety
Varying your activities (cross-training) can keep exercise boredom at bay. Cross-training also reduces the risk of injuring or overusing one specific muscle or joint.

When you plan your fitness programme, consider alternating among activities that emphasise different parts of your body — walking, swimming and strength training, for example.

Step 5: Do the math
By now, you probably have a sense of which type of physical activities might be best for you. But you also need to make sure that your choices are in line with your budget.

If a gym membership or home exercise equipment is too pricey, consider cheaper options for getting in shape. You can base a fitness programme around brisk daily walks and inexpensive hand-held weights or resistance bands. You might consider buying used exercise equipment — or sharing the cost with a friend.

Step 6: Go for it!
You have thought through your likes and dislikes and the pros and cons of various types of fitness programs. Now it is time to get physical! Remember to start slowly and build up intensity gradually.

Each workout puts you one step closer to reaching your fitness goals. If you get bored or lose interest in your fitness programme, do not be afraid to try something new. Reassess your fitness level and set new fitness goals. The result? A future of improved fitness and better health.

Water for good health is an idea that goes back centuries. It is an old belief that an average person should drink at least ’8 glasses of water’ a day.

A lot of people believe that drinking water throughout the day can cure many diseases. But the ’8 glasses of water’ per day is just a rule of thumb, not an absolute standard.

Some people force themselves to drink water throughout the day and facing some small problems as well.

According to some kidney experts of the Pennsylvania University, drinking increased amount of water throughout the day is not beneficial for health. Moreover, they said (Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, April 2008), “since water is cleared from the gastrointestinal tract very quickly, it is likely that people who try to diet by not changing their food consumption and just drinking water, will be hungry between meals”.

There has yet to be a study that compares two groups of people and weight loss through water consumption.

In general, to remain healthy one need to drink enough water to replace the amount we lose daily through excretion, perspiration and other body functions. But that amount can vary from person to person. Different things are important like surrounding weather, physical condition and one’s activity level.

In fact, total water intake includes water in other beverages, and the water in food. But how do we know whether we are drinking enough water or not? Some experts say, “If you are not thirsty, your fluid intake is probably ok.” That is why marathon runners and bikers all need to recognise the signs of dehydration.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that athletes drink 16 ounces of fluids a couple of hours before starting sports practice. And certainly people in hot or in dry climates have increased need for water. They need to understand the importance of dehydration.

A German physician, Wilhelm Hufeland (1764-1836), who practiced natural medicine and vitalism, was one of the early promoters of ’8-10 glasses of water’ a day. He and some other practitioners encouraged their followers to drink lots of water for curative properties and to flush out toxins and impurities. He wrote, “fresh spring or mineral water, was the best drink and an excellent means of prolonging life.” He also added, “Many special curative properties were attributed to fresh, cold water – which was a fortifier of the stomach and nerves.”

Drinking 8 glasses water was rarely questioned until Dr. Valtin’s important investigation in 2002. He tries to find any scientific justification for drinking so much water. Dr. Valtin conducted a 10-month review of the scientific literature and historic documents and interviewed many medical experts. He also tried to uncover a definitive science-based origin for the above conventional recommendation.

Than again, it does not mean that we do not need to drink water. Water is important to maintain a healthy body.

Our body is estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. Water transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and protects our joints and organs. Blood is mostly water, and our muscles, lungs and brain also contain a lot of water. Our body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all our organs.

Anyhow, these views about water have certainly helped the plastic bottled water industries. But remember, bottled water available in our local markets is mostly purified waters. They are not mineral waters. And clearly, we need better sources of information about this bottled water as well.

One of the most basic tenets of weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. It is not terribly complicated, but it can easily lead to one of the most common weight-loss misconceptions: The less you eat, the more you lose.

This truth does apply to a certain extent — if you eat more calories than your body needs to maintain your weight, you will gain weight. However, if you suddenly drop your caloric intake too low, your body will think you are starving and go into survival mode. If you do not eat enough, you will sabotage your weight-loss efforts.

A healthy diet generally will not drop your caloric intake below 1,200 calories, but you will need to find your “magic number” for optimum weight loss. Research suggests that women who consume less than the optimal amount see their resting metabolic rate plummet by as much as 45 percent.

Don’t be surprised if you need to adjust your calories several times throughout your weight-loss journey, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. Your calories will need to be adjusted to account for your changing weight, activity level and metabolism.

The best way to lose weight is to keep your metabolism firing on all cylinders by eating enough calories, which can be accomplished by following these simple steps:

Always eat breakfast. may be there is no time for breakfast, you are not hungry enough and you can save some calories by skipping it. But this is completely wrong. While you are asleep, your metabolism slows down, and it does not pick back up until you eat something. Eating breakfast is crucial for boosting your metabolism first thing in the morning and burning more calories all day long. It does not need to be a hot-cooked breakfast that takes long to prepare, either.

Even if you just grab a piece of fruit and a string cheese on your way out the door, you need to at least eat something to get your system going in the morning.

Eat more often. That is right, eating every two to three hours will not only keep you from gorging at meals because you are starving, but it also keeps your metabolic rate higher because it takes more energy to digest food. Shoot for eating smaller meals and snacks — yes, you can snack! Aim for 200 to 400 calorie mini-meals every few hours and keep your metabolism stoked.

Plan your meals. It does take a little work to learn to plan ahead, but once you get into the groove, it is a piece of cake. You will find that by knowing what and when you are going to eat, you have more energy throughout the day and you will have a steadier stream of nutrients supplied to your body. The other key is to make sure you have proper snack foods on hand, like whole grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts — anything that is high in fiber is helpful, too.

Once you get your body used to a regular healthy routine, you will be on your way to serious weight loss without the starvation associated with it.