Calorie Definition and Weight Loss

The food calorie is sometimes capitalized as Calorie to distinguish it from the chemistry calorie; however, this capitalization is rarely observed in practice.

The Nutrition Calorie

Nutritionists measure the energy content of food in "calories" (sometimes capitalized and abbreviated as Cal or sometimes C, or abbreviated kcal as if small calories were being used), where each food calorie represents 4,186 joules. This is equivalent to 1000 of the calories used in chemistry, and thus the food Calorie would be called a kilocalorie if small calories were being used. However, in chemistry calories have been deprecated as a scientific unit of measure in favor of joules, and therefore in common modern usage the word "calorie" usually refers to a food calorie.

This situation provides two ways of talking about the amount of calories in food which look quite different but that express the exact same amount of energy. One may say that dietary fat has nine kilocalories (kcal) per gram, while proteins and carbohydrates have four kcal per gram, or, one may say that fat has nine Calories per gram while carbohydrates and proteins have four Calories per gram.

The amount of food energy in a particular food is measured by completely burning the food in a bomb calorimeter, a method known as direct calorimetry. Dieticians recommend counting calories to avoid obesity. The government of the United Kingdom recommends consumption of no more than 2000 Calories (2000 kcal) by women each day and 2500 Calories (2500 kcal) by men each day.

The Physics and chemistry calorie

In physics or chemistry, a calorie (abbreviated cal) is a unit of energy that equals the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius, at a pressure of 1 atm. This amount of heat depends somewhat on the initial temperature of the water, which results in various different units sharing the name of "calorie" but having slightly different energy values:

* the 15 °C calorie,
* the 4 °C calorie,da
* the mean 0 °C to 100 °C calorie,
* the International Steam Table calorie,
* the thermochemical calorie,

The slight variations in these units can be seen if you convert them to joules. For example, one 15 °C calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 g of water from 14.5 °C to 15.5 °C. This is approximately equal to 4.1855 J or 3.968×10-3 Btu. The International Steam Table calorie is approximately equal to 4.1868 J and the thermochemical calorie 4.184 J.
Of these various units, what is most commonly meant by calorie in cntemporary English text is the 15 °C calorie.

The nutritional Calorie represents 1000 of these 15 °C calories. Since this could be a source of confusion and error, these units are now deprecated. The International System of Units (SI) unit for heat (and for all other forms of energy) is the joule (J), while the (obsolete) cgs (centimeter gram second system of units) system uses the erg (unit of energy and mechanical work in the centimeter-gram-second system) - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Before start losing weight and counting calories you must first calculate the number of calories your body needs everyday, because this amount changes from person to person, depending on sex, age, weight, muscle content or height. Averages are situated around 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men. An easy, but not so accurate calculation is that for every 500 less than your normal amount of calories eaten every day you will lose up to one pound (453,6g) per week. 

Counting calories must be included as part of your diet, because when you loss weight is best to know how many calories your food has, and so ensuring that the amount of calories burned each day is more than the amount stored.  All nutritionists agree that a healthy low fat diet without counting calories could not exists, so take your time and solve that problem with various calorie calculators.

By knowing all the time the amount of calories consumed you can control how much you can eat and how it will affect your body. When dieting and counting the calories you can eat almost anything as long as you do not exceed the number of calories burned every day.

When you eat fewer calories, your body is forced to consume the fat stored to make up the deficit in your calorie count. Nutritionist’s advice is that you must combine psychical exercises with healthy eating in order to create some calorie deficit.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here 

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Boost Energy & Control Hunger

Protein is found in all of your body's cells. It is the essential nutrient that is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all of your organs, tissues, muscles, brain and bones. This individual built in repair kit occurs at the cellular level in our bodies. Protein regulates everything - our blood circulation, our metabolism and our immune system. Individuals who lack sufficient protein in their bodies have weaker immune systems than people who consume adequate protein in their diets. Also, people who are constantly on yo-yo diets where they lose and gain weight back frequently usually become protein deficient and have weaker immune systems. This fact has been proven by researchers who have found that these yo-yo dieters have about a third lower the number of killer cell activity than normal individuals. The so-called killer blood cells are essential for the immune system to function properly.

All foods are sources of energy; however, protein provides a greater boost in energy levels since it is absorbed slowly and thus produces a constant source of energy. Protein has real energy-staying power for your active, healthy, lifestyle. Fats and carbohydrates produce quick bursts of energy but cannot be relied upon to provide the body with a continuous source of energy, since they are digested and metabolized more quickly than protein. Fats and carbohydrates also tend to be stored as fat the body for later use. The Protein that we're discussing is lean protein (lean meats, skinless poultry, seafood, egg whites, low-fat dairy products, legumes and beans, soy and tofu foods, skim and low- fat cheeses, and good-fat nuts). Lean proteins are also excellent sources of selenium, which. Is a mineral that protects the body against dangerous tree radicals that can destroy normal cells in the body. These free radicals can damage many different types of cells including connective tissue, which causes joint and muscle inflammation.

High-saturated fat protein products like fatty meats, hard cheeses, whole fat milk dairy products, whole eggs, mayonnaise, luncheon and smoked meats including bacon, sausage, and hot dogs are definitely not good sources of energy production. The reason for this is, that even though these products have some protein content, its value is offset by the saturated fat content of these foods. The saturated fat content of these foods do more harm to the body (heart disease, strokes, hypertension, high cholesterol and some forms of cancer) than the protein portion of the food can repair. These are called harmful proteins and are not recommended for any healthful weight-loss program.

For appetite control, lean protein tops the charts for staying power. By adding a small portion of lean protein to your meal, you'll control hunger pangs for hours. Lean protein also has the advantage of being lower in calories than many foods, particularly saturated fat protein product refined carbohydrates and saturated fat foods. Once you substitute saturated-fat protein products, you defeat the appetite-controlling factor of the protein. The fat content of saturated- fat protein foods prevents the brain's appetite-control center from shutting down. In other words, you'll get hungry soon after your meal of a saturated protein food.

Your body needs between 15-30 of your total daily calories, however, can be dangerous, because it strains the kidneys. This is one of the reasons among many why low-carbohydrate, high saturated fat protein diets are dangerous to your health.

Resoures:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Being Trapped in the BAGGIES!

Remember when you weighed over 300 pounds and you literally felt “stuffed” into your clothes?  Zippered pants and tailored shirts just weren’t your “style”, or closer to the truth, you couldn’t find any zippered pants that fit you well or shirts that didn’t peep open of pop buttons!  Elastic became your closest buddy!  Do you recall how self-conscience you were to not bend over for fear of busting out your seat?  Or how about the way your large thighs would rub so much against the inside seam of your pants, you were glad that nobody could see that you had splitting material in between your legs?

Those are awful and painful memories of what life was like before your gastric bypass weight-loss surgery!  It almost feels as if those memories are a whole lifetime behind you now, doesn’t it?  And for those who have had the surgery and are still working toward their goal weight, those memories aren’t far enough away yet.

Many gastric bypass patients, as they slim down, do not know how to wear smaller-size clothing.  They find the freedoms of loose-fitting garments to be refreshing, less binding, and more relaxing.  They often adore this newly-found delight and are happy with the way their clothing “hangs” on them instead of wraps tightly around their body.

These same patients who wear the loose clothing often have issues with thinking they have not lost enough weight.  They will say things like, “the scale shows I’ve lost weight, but when I see myself in the mirror, I still look so large.” 

For those patients who are feeling that way, I want to make a suggestion that just might be the simplest fix; I’ve dubbed this to be my “Getting Rid of the Baggies” campaign.

And I don’t mean sandwich baggies either!

Losing weight so quickly is an adventure, to say the least.  We go through a lot of size changes every few weeks.  I recall when I was losing, I was going to the thrift stores every three weeks to buy more clothing to fit me until the next drop in size came.  Not very expensive when they are “used” items.  It was something I had to do!

Some patients have no clue that they are trapped in their baggies until someone points that out to them.  This should be done in the kindest of ways, or in the manner that suits your friendship.  If you truly are friends with someone who is trapped in the baggies, then you can be blunt and to the point by saying, “Get out of those baggies!”  Others may require a gentler tone if you are to remain friends.

What if nobody is telling you that you’re trapped in the baggies?  Does that mean you’re not?

NO.  It probably means that they are too afraid to tell you at risk of hurting your feelings.

This is where I jump in… I’m going to give you some clues right now as to how to judge whether or not you are still wearing baggy clothes unnecessarily.

You know you’re trapped in the baggies when:

You’ve lost 50 pounds and you haven’t put on the next smaller clothing size.  Fifty pounds is a LOT, and it SHOWS!

The shoulder seams are nearing closer to your elbows.

Your shirts or sweaters fit you like short dresses.

You can grab a huge fistful of material and still not be touching your body. 

Your shirt or dresses fit you like oversized maternity wear.

Your shirts have leftover “stretch bumps” stuck in them where you don’t have bumps like that anymore.

Your feet shift back and forth inside your shoes when you walk.

Your pantyhose can be pulled up to almost your armpits.

You become tangled as you walk because your pant legs get knotted up in between your legs.

Your half slip falls right off of you and unto the floor.

Your tank tops have become slings for the… 
Your sleeves flap in the wind like sails.

Your turtlenecks are now tortoise-necks that don’t’ even touch your neck.

Your rings are falling off.  Put them AWAY until you can get them resized… I’ve seen the tears of people who’ve lost their rings!

Your socks stretch above the knees.

The rump of your pants sag low and appear to be harboring pockets of air.

Getting the idea now?  If you are guilty of any one of these baggie symptoms, I strongly urge you to go to your nearest store and buy a smaller size!

I can promise you, that if you get out of the baggies, you will feel so much better about yourself, you weight-loss achievements, and begin to appreciate in a deeper sense what the surgery has done for you.  It’s time to stop beating yourself up with unfounded criticism.

This certainly WAS a rough lesson on you, wasn’t it?  Well, at least you have a clue now and you didn’t have to get mad at a friend telling you!  And if one day your fiend DOES tell you that you’re trapped in the baggies, tell them “thank you” and mean it by  wearing clothes that flatter you.

And for the FRIENDS who need to drop the bomb on someone trapped in the baggies…. if you’re too shy to tell them to their face, mail them this article!

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain ~ Otherwise Your Waistline May Pay for It!

As the holidays approach, a feeling of dread creeps in. Not only is money getting tighter, but your pants are, too. It's the same old story. Colder weather keeps you stuck indoors, while the yummy holiday cooking fattens you up. Not this year. Not me! I refuse to gain those holiday pounds and you can, too. No, you don't have to sign any contracts at an expensive gym. You can get the body you want on a limited budget.

You may not realize it, but workout videos are more fun and exciting than they used to be.

Workout videos are also much less expensive than a gym membership or buying home workout equipment like a treadmill or elliptical trainer.

If the thought of buying workout videos reminds you of leg warmers and striped leotards, you've got some catching up to do. You're not stuck with the boring workout videos of the 80s and 90s anymore. Believe it or not, the same sought-after trainers who get paid the big bucks to train celebrities can be on call to train you in your own home for pennies a day.

Some of the newest fitness trends are available on video. 

Ballet: 

Have you always envied a ballet dancer's lean and graceful body? Several ballet videos are now available as workout videos. One of the most popular choices right now was created by the famous New York City Ballet. Although you won't learn to be the next prima ballerina training with exercise video at home, you will shape and lengthen your muscles for a graceful body.

Belly Dancing:

Shimmy your way to a great waistline. Whether you want an instructional video to teach you proper belly dancing technique or you just want to exercise with belly dance moves, you'll find a wide variety of videos available.

Exotic Dancing: 

You read that right. If you've ever thought it would be fun to learn sexy moves, then this is for you. In the privacy and safety of your own home, you can bump and gyrate to your heart's content. I have also heard that laughter is good for your abs, so you'll have that covered as well, especially if you have a mirror in your workout room.

Yoga or Pilates: 

If you're looking for a sleek, lean body, firm core, or more flexibility, then there are hundreds of yoga and Pilates videos to choose from. You'll find yoga for adults as well as yoga for kids. Yes, kids get stressed, too. Yoga is a great way to teach them to relax.

Fitness videos for kids: 

Oftentimes kids can be the best motivators. If you put in a Sesame Street dance video and your three year old asks you to dance with Elmo, you can hardly say "no".

Once you've chosen a trend or video you are interested in, set a specific time each day to "meet" with your personal trainer. It's best to rotate at least two different forms of exercise (or videos) to avoid repetitive use strains. You can do different videos each day, or alternate a walk, bike ride or other activity you enjoy on your non-video days. As long as you are moving, you're keeping those spare pounds from firmly attaching to your body.

So, don't sign that costly gym membership agreement just yet. Blow the dust off the exercise videos in your cabinet, get some good walking shoes, or check out the hottest trends at your favorite online store. It's the frugal way to go.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

The Image About How You Look | Could Be Stopping You from Reaching Your Weight Loss Goals

When someone joins my personal coaching program, one of the first things I ask them to do is to describe exactly what their body is going to look like once I help them reach their goal weight. I ask them to do this in writing – not over the phone, and here’s why…

Deeply imbedded negative thoughts are what cause us to have difficulties in any weight loss or health enhancement program – in fact, our past failures can almost always be traced back to negative thoughts that we didn’t even realize we had.

Most of our negative thinking comes out when we write things down on paper (or on the computer). 

I challenge you to write out 10 brief descriptions about how your body will look in 30 days if you were coached by someone like me – someone who knows exactly how to transform the human body no matter what stage of the game you’re currently at.

Go ahead, take a moment and write out what your face would look like, what your arms would look like, what your legs and your butt would look like – would your skin look different, would your muscles be tighter, would you be leaner – detail everything, then come right back.

Did you do it?

Make your list now before reading any further – I want you to walk away with some profound knowledge of yourself when you’re done reading this article.
OK, now that you have your list, let me show you something that you can use to judge whether or not you’ve been causing yourself to fail in your attempts to lose weight and keep it off.

Here are some examples of statements that a good friend of mine used to have before he and I began working together – statements that were literally holding him back from success:

Face–more chiseled features, no double chin, no doughy jowls or puffy cheeks, no bags under the eyes.

Other than improved facial shape, I really have no complaints at all about my face, hair, eyes, nose, ears.

Neck–no double chin or “wattle”

Chest–no gynecomastia (womanly breasts), muscular instead. Look, ma, I can see my ribcage and pectoral muscles instead of a soft mattress of flab.

Arms–hard sinewy curves instead of soft breadsticks. Seeing veins and muscles instead of smooth fat.

Abdomen–are there really abs hiding in there? They’ve never made an appearance in 50 years! It’d be nice to have a tight waist not uncomfortably sliced by too-tight underwear.

Legs–less of a conical shape, more elongated and solid. Although my calves have always been rather large and firm–my best body part, next to my brain.

Buttocks–less sag, more form

Back–could be a lot less hairy, would be nice to see a “V” shape instead of a truncated pyramid.

Can you see why he might have had a few troubles in the past reaching his goal?

But I’ll let you in on a little secret – this guy is in great shape now and enjoying life more than ever, and he’s a pleasure to speak with each week in our coaching calls.

Now here’s a list from a woman who recently completed one of my coaching programs – this list was written out after our first session together – watch how positive every statement is:

WHAT MY BODY IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE
———————————–
my face will be thinner, more defined
my posture will be great all of the time
my legs will be free of cellulite and extra fat
my butt will be sculpted and defined
my abs will be tight and defined
my arms will be cut and defined and strong and sexy!
my chest will be lifted and shapely
my back will show definition and be sexy!
I will feel the urge to walk around naked all the time! (around my house and my husband, of course)
I will walk confidently knowing that I look great!
I will compliment my awesome body with cool clothes that show it off 
I will wear a bikini from now on!!! No shorts over the bottom!
I will wear those short shorts I have sitting in my closet
my skin will be clear
I will be unbelievably beautiful and sexy!!!

When making your list, make sure to avoid using any negatives, and have fun with this exercise – the short time you take out of your day to make your list will save you tons of time and frustration in the near future.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Are You Using The Weight Loss Secret That Personal Trainers Use all the time

Whether you like him or not, you have to respect Dr Phil just because of one thing.

He continually asks his guests one simple question: "How's it working for you?"

Success in anything comes from FINDING WHAT WORKS then DOING WHAT WORKS.

I am going to reveal to you the Secret Weight Loss Formula that Celebrity personal trainer don't want you to know about.

Before I reveal the secret, first I need to explain to you that there is process that your body goes through to burn body fat.

So how does your body burn fat?

It is a 2 steps process and in order you need to:

1. Release the fat from the fat cells and only then
2. You can burn the fat

That process is the same for every human being. I will outline the steps and then show you how you can easily apply some fundamental rules to allow your body to burn the maximum amount of fat with less effort and minimum time. Once you understand that simple process, you can easily see why you are not getting the results that you want. Even bigger, you will finally see that getting that dream body is getting so much closer to reality that you will be extremely motivated to get started as soon as you can.

How does your body release the fat from the cells?

Before you can turn your body into a fat burning machine, here what needs to happen: your body fat need to be released from the fat cells. You can accomplish this step successfully with your nutrition program. Here are some specific tips that you can apply right away to achieve that.

1. Eat 4-6 small, frequent meals and never skip meals.
2. Include small amounts of good fats.
3. Eat natural foods; avoid processed & refined foods
4. Eat lean proteins with each meal.
5. Eat more complex carbs, fruits & vegetables.

The most misunderstood weight loss strategy. How to burn the *fat* instead of burning muscles.

Releasing fat from the fat cells is not the end of it; actually, it is just the beginning. Because the fat needs to be transported from the fat cells to your muscles so it can be burned there. This is done through your blood and the cardiovascular system is responsible for that. The more effective is that system, the more effective your body will become at burning fat. You can improve your cardio vascular system by doing so cardio training.  However, don't go out yet and spend 1 hour on the treadmill because you probably not going to be doing too much good like that.

The reason is excessive cardio combined with a restrictive diet burns fat but mostly muscle tissue. That is not a good thing at all, because muscle tissue is where you burn the fat and if you are burning away muscle tissue, you are burning your ability to burn more fat in the future (weight loss plateau). You just don't cut the hand that feed you. So cardio burns fat and it can also burn muscle tissue, this is a huge dilemma. Damn if you do, damn if you don't. But wait there is a solution to that…

You need to do some MODERATE cardio training. The key word here is moderate.
Doing too much cardio can be detrimental and I am sure you have seen those people that are doing cardio on a daily basis and still not getting anywhere. The result is a low metabolism. Low metabolism means, your body fat is not going anywhere, anytime soon. Here is what you need to do:

1. Do some moderate cardio training; the key word here is moderate
2. Never diet but consume little fewer calories that you will burn (No starvation diets, Please...)

The world most efficient "fat burner" is FREE and You already have it.

Before I reveal to you how personal trainer get those celebrities in the best shape of their life in such short period there is one more thing that I want you to understand. Because it is very important.
Weight loss marketers always claim that they have the magic "fat burner" that will melt your fat away. The problem is that they have a new one coming out every year, so I wonder if the one from last year was so effective, why we need a new one. There is only one thing that actually burn body fat is you already have it. It does not come in a bottle or a special recipe. Body fat can only be burned inside of your muscle tissue. I repeat Body fat can only be burn in your muscle tissue. This is the most important concept for you to grasp.

Your muscle tissue is your best friend when it comes to burn body fat. You need to preserve muscle tissues in order to keep losing weight. Most people go on a starvation diet combined a lot of cardio to lose weight. At first it may seems like this is working because they are losing scale weight. Now think about, scale weight does not tell you if weight loss is from fat, water or muscle tissue. Scale weight by itself is not a good indicator of success.

- Losing water is only temporary. 
- Losing muscle will simply lower your metabolism and put you in the Yo-Yo dieting bandwagon. This should be avoided at all cost.
- Losing fat while maintaining muscle mass is what your main goal should be. 

To maintain muscle tissues you need to:

1. Do some resistance training. (This is not optional, it is mandatory)


The secret

Now that you understand the whole fat burning process, I am going to reveal to you how celebrity personal trainers do to get those amazing transformations. The strategy is to combine all the steps that I outlined so the body works as a unit.  First the trainer makes sure that his client is eating the proper food on a regular basis.

By that I mean eating so that fat WILL be released from the fat cells. Then and only then they exercise the body to burn the fat. The important idea to take from this is:

"The fat can ONLY be burned after it is released from the fat cells".

If you know anybody that has been exercising like a maniac and they don't seem to go anywhere, now you know why.

The reverse is also true, Do you know somebody that is eating properly but they are not including cardio AND resistance training. Now you know why their body  still look the same.

All you need to do is to combine a nutrition program, along with some MODERATE cardio program and maintain muscle mass with resistance training. Everything is combined with one goal in mind: Turning your body into an Automatic fat burning machine. It is that easy.

Don't like the results you have been getting?  Then CHANGE YOUR STRATEGY.

How do you change your strategy? How do you find one that works?

DO NOT continue doing something just because "THEY" say it's the way things should be done. Allow yourself to choose the solution that will work for you, regardless of what it may be. The only way for you to know who is right is to measure your progress and ACTUALLY track your results.

CHANGE IS HARD, but it's also worth it. Not getting results makes change EXTREMELY HARD.

Get support from friends, family or a coach.

Losing weight is not as hard at it seems once you know what to do. Stop now and get statred on "The 2 Wek Diet System" - because you will receive weight loss secrets that you will not get anywhere else. The result will be that body that you've always wanted.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Are You Struggling With Weight Loss Management?

It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to lose five pounds or more than 50 pounds; all of the same simple laws of physics determine whether or not you will lose weight and how fast your weight loss will occur. While everyone is different, if everyone remembered these simple guidelines and put them into practice, then they would find that these guidelines would generally lead to weight loss without the aid of any special diet plans, books, or medications.

Our weight is determined by the amount of energy that we take in as food, and the amount of energy we expend in the activities of our day. Energy is measured in calories. If your weight remains constant, you are probably taking in the same amount of calories that you are burning each and every day. If you’re slowly gaining weight over time, it is likely that your caloric intake is greater than the number of calories you burn through your daily activities.

Everyone is in control of the amount of food he or she consumes each day, so as a result, our intake of calories is something we can control with relative simplicity. To some degree, we are also able to control our output of energy, or the number of calories we burn each day. The number of calories we burn each day is dependent upon:

1. Our basal metabolic rate (BMR)
2. The number of calories we burn per hour simply by being alive and maintaining bodily functions and
3. Our level of physical activity

For some people, due to genetic (inherited) factors or other conditions, their resting metabolic rate can be slightly higher or lower than average. Our weight also plays a role in determining how many calories we burn at rest – the more calories that are required to maintain your body in its present state, the greater your body weight. As an example, a person that weighs around a hundred pounds requires less energy (food) to maintain body weight than a person who weighs 200 pounds.

Lifestyle and work habits partially determine how many calories we need each day. Someone whose job involves heavy physical labor will naturally burn more calories in a day than someone who sits at a desk most of the day (a sedentary job). For people who do not have jobs that require intense physical activity, you need exercise or increased physical activity to increase the number of calories burned.

As a rough estimate, an average woman aged 31-50 who leads a sedentary lifestyle needs about 1800 calories per day to maintain a normal weight. A man of the same age requires about 2200 calories. Participating in a moderate level of physical activity (exercising 3-5 days per week) requires about 200 additional calories per day.

In order to lose weight rather than maintain it, you will want to eat sensible, well balanced meals with small portion sizes, cut down or reduce your intake of daily calories, try with your best efforts to eliminate fats from your diet and ensure that you exercise on a regular basis.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Are You Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Program? (Overloading)

You've no doubt heard that it is better to eat many small meals throughout the day (approximately 5-6), than to go all day without eating and then "gorging" yourself on dinner in the evening. But did you ever wonder why?

The fact is, your body can only process about 350 calories every 90 minutes. Eat more than that, and you're most likely overloading your digestive system. If your body cannot use all the "fuel" you provide it at any given time, it will use what it can (and only what it can), and then store the rest as body fat. It assumes, through thousands of years of experience, that there will be "lean" times when it will need those fat reserves for fuel. But in this modern age, we, thankfully, seldom face those lean times.

Because of this, if we are to keep our weight from spiraling out of control, we must, by CHOICE limit our quantities of food, as well as the KINDS of food.

So, how do we use this information in losing weight? Simple. Eat light, but eat often. There are many benefits to this strategy.  First, you are only providing your body what it needs, when it needs it. Second, you are able to better maintain a consistent blood sugar level, and so you're not left feeling tired all day.

And by making certain wise and healthful choices, you will find the 350 calorie limit CAN be quite filling. Make poor choices, however, and you'll be left feeling unsatisfied. So be sure to choose healthful fruits & vegetables and limit your intake of breads & cereals (these calories will add up fast). Also, when including meat in the diet, choose ONLY healthful, low-fat fish & fowl.

This one simple tip, if practiced FAITHFULLY, will help you achieve your weight loss goals.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Are You Really Overweight?

If you are overweight, you know it by how you feel, how your clothes fit or how you look.  But, by how much are you really overweight? And how much weight do you need to lose? One measure of how much you should weight is by determining your Body Mass Index, BMI. This index gives you the relationship of your weight to your height. Here is the formula:

Your BMI = [(yourWeight)/(your Height x your Height)] x 705 

If you weight 143 lbs and are 64 in tall, then

your BMI = [(143) / (64 x 64)] x 705 = 26.2.  Based on the chart below a BMI of 26.2 is overweight.

· underweight, BMI = 18.5 
· normal weight BMI = 18.5 - 24.9 
· overweight BMI = 25 - 29.9 
· slight obesity BMI = 30 - 34.9 
· obese BMI = 35 - 39.9 
· excess obese = BMI = greater than 40

If we consider the normal BMI number to be 21.5 then you can compute approximately how much weight you should lose using the same BMI formula but by changing things around in the formula,
(your ideal Weight) = [(normal BMI / 705) x (your Height x your Height)]

For the example above if you have a BMI = 26.2 and the normal BMI number = 21.5, then,

(your ideal Weight) = [(21.5/705) x (64 x 64)] = 124.91

 you should weight 124.91 lbs. That means you need to lose (143 -124.9) lbs = 18.1 lbs.

Try to get your BMI below 25. Under this number, you can expect to have good heath if you are eating the right kinds of food and exercising regularly. If your BMI is greater than 28, you are more likely to have cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and many other diseases related to a toxic colon.

Keep track of your waistline. Your waistline, if you are a man, should be less than 35 ". For women it should be less than 30". As your waistline get larger you become more susceptible to diseases. Of course, waistlines are going to vary because people have different shapes. But you know if your waistline to big for your shape.

Now you should know how much weight you need to lose. Beside your waistline, you should also measure bust/chest, hips, and thighs.. This gives you an indication how your body is changing. As you lose fat you may not lose weight for a while. Your body will become toned as you exercise. The weight scale does not always tell you that your body is changing and losing weight.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

Are You an Emotional Eater?

We go out to eat to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, promotion, etc.  Or we entertain around dinner parties and holidays. At church functions, there are socials and potluck meals.  You name it and somehow it all revolves around food. Yes it has a role in our lives of comfort and entertainment. Culturally and instinctively we prepare and serve foods to comfort those who have experienced loss, to celebrate joy or to show friendship and love. Food is very important in our lives.  Without food we would not be able to perform our daily activities. Our muscles would wither, our nervous system would fail. We all need food.

What Is Emotional Eating? 

But are you also eating whenever you are lonely or sad? Seeing food as more than just a source of energy and enjoying it simply for the satisfaction it gives is not wrong. In fact science shows that food can promote good feelings by chemical reactions caused in our brains. What IS a problem is when an individual cannot experience pain, anxiety, joy or even boredom without turning to food as means of dealing with those feelings, or they are obsessed with food, weight and dieting.

Emotional eaters turn to food as a source of distraction from dealing with feelings. However, eating these foods leads to feelings of guilt which can only be soothed with more eating, restrictive dieting, excessive exercise or purging.

Emotional eaters tend to value themselves based on their weight and how closely they've stuck to their 'ideal' diet. Because of this distorted relationship with food, foods are labeled "GOOD" and "BAD". Emotional eating can lead to serious eating disorders and depression.

How Do I Know If I'm an Emotional Eater? 

Do you turn to food for reasons other than hunger? Are you obsessed with thoughts of food - whether you plan to eat it or are concentrating on restricting yourself from eating it?

Do you regularly try diets and fail - leading to guilt and further over eating? Do you think about or attempt to purge excess food by throwing up or using laxatives? Do you exercise compulsively when you think you've eaten too much?


How Do I Overcome Emotional Eating?

Since emotional eating is caused by looking to food as a coping strategy for emotional distress dieting can actually create more problems. When the emotional eater fails to stick to a diet they suffer feelings of guilt that can only be soothed with more food and in turn, more guilt or punishment.

Instead of trying to focus on what they are eating, the emotional eater needs to learn new skills for coping with stressful emotions. Often this requires the help of a Personal Coach or Psychotherapist who deals with emotional eating. It is only by finding replacements for the comfort food provided that the individual can put food into its rightful place and learn healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.

Resources:

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Are the barriers of dieting psychological or physical?

On the last count the word ‘diet’ produced in excess of 157 million web pages of diet plans, pills, potions and dieting tips from health institutions, diet companies, nutritional professionals and otherwise - from all over the world.  And yet we are approaching the peak of an obesity epidemic which is causing untold mental misery and depression, aside from the ever increasing debilitating diseases being linked to those overweight or obese.  With such an abundance of information available -  how can this be?

The trend is unforgiving and is second only to smoking in terms of the cause of self-inflicted premature loss of life, but left to its own devices within the next five years obesity is sure to take the number one slot.  Mother Nature is ruthless in her approach to life, in that she only allows the fittest to survive and the trend we see today is her reaction to the effects of a diet that is clearly not suited to the well-being of the human body and mind.  We only have to stop, take a step in back and look around us to see that there is one hell of a serious problem.  There is no need for statistics, reports or media news to tell us such.  It's clear that we as individuals have to make a change in what we do if we have any intention to reverse the current obesity trend.  The ultimate responsibility lies with each and every one of us to act for the benefit of ourselves.

We have to accept the fact that the grocery industry is a host of contradiction in that it sells both dietary products along side the very products that cause us to be overweight or obese in the first instance. This is so obvious in our supermarkets today.  It has become human nature that profit has a higher weighting than human health, and this is evident in many industries around the world, and is far from unique within dieting circles.  We must also bear in mind the diet companies, whilst they portray an air of interest and concern, in reality they are totally dependent on your failure to diet for their very own business survival.  If they were good at what they do – their businesses would surely fail. So who can we trust aside from ourselves.  The evidence is clear -there is no debate.

We may have one reprieve but it will be sometime in the future, but not now.  Science and technology is getting nearer and nearer to the possibility of a wonder drug with the ever-increasing understanding of the human genotype and genetic engineering.  But in reality, who would ever wish or want to be dependent on diet drugs,  potentially an ongoing daily basis, simply because of a lack of understanding about the relationship between the food our body has been designed for, and the food we eat.  Why is it, we knowingly overeat when we know it is bad for us and that we are doing harm to ourselves?  Why is it, that the only time we choose to ignore our food is the time when we are eating it!

So, is it a psychological thing, a physical thing or is it both?

In order to answer this we must first look at the change in our diet over the last 50 years. Consumption trends of refined carbohydrates such as sugar has risen dramatically, but at the same time the consumption of fats and proteins has remained reasonably stable.  Saturated fats has indeed become and still is a problem although thankfully now overall consumption of saturated fats has dropped slightly, but still remains an issue.

Many studies particularly those associated with research in how the Atkins diet worked revealed that the effect of refined carbohydrates and fats both have a form of addiction associated with them.  Studies have shown that refined sugars have the effect of playing havoc with the fine balance of maintaining the level of glucose in the bloodstream.  This in turn has a detrimental effect on our hormonal activity, such as insulin and glucagon which are both responsible for maintaining the level of glucose to its normal level following a ‘surge’ intake of refined carbohydrates in our diet.  These acceptable levels of glucose in the bloodstream are maintained at surprisingly narrow margins.

Refined sugars therefore induces excessive hormonal activity in its attempt to restore homeostasis. These unnatural  ‘swings’ in hormonal activity often cause differing mood swings from that of being happy and content to being sad, on edge, and even feelings of anxiety or panic.  Prolonged exposure to these hormonal swings can often lead to the whole process becoming less effective and subsequently diabetes can be the end result.

Other studies have shown surprisingly that the effect of eating significant quantities of fats actually leads to an unexpected human reaction in terms of nutrition.  You would think that eating food rich in fats would have the effect of satisfying feeling of hunger. But amazingly medical research has shown the opposite to be true.  Clinical trials have shown that foods rich in fats actually induces people to eat more not less.  At the time the results from such experiments were groundbreaking as they completely contradicted the nutritional thinking of the time.

It is also interesting to learn that further medical studies have suggested that foods rich in protein have been linked to the response that indicates that you have consumed sufficient food. In other words, it is believed that proteins in some way, triggers the ‘I am full’ response.

And then of course there is the massive change in our energy expenditure. We used to hunt and gather food but now we happily pop to the local supermarket to buy it, or at worse, have it delivered to our front door. Food has changed from being scarce to being in abundance (at least for us), and we have changed from being ‘active’ to relatively ‘dormant’. Move less and eat more…what should we expect?

And many believe that even the act of not exercising can trigger the bodily response to lower the metabolism and build fat layers under the skin for 2 key reasons, both being linked to human survival.  In evolutionary terms, it may be that you are unable to ‘hunt’ and therefore unable to secure food. Reducing the metabolic rate of your body makes total sense to preserve energy. Secondly, if food is available during a spell of non activity, does it not make a whole load of sense to lay down fat layers under the skin to retain bodily heat and secure an energy source during potential ‘lean times’. Perfect sense, perfect design and yet we don’t understand ourselves and if we do, many choose to ignore the warning signs out body is offering.

In essence therefore, it is very clear that part of the problem within the dieting world that we humans face is certainly a physical one that is linked to the interaction of the food types we eat with that of our body.  And clearly, over the last 50 odd years our diet has changed out of all recognition and yet our body is doing the same as it has been doing for well over the last 100,000 years.  We are in the 21st century, our body is still in the ‘Stone Age’. Evolution is a slow slow process but over millions of years the relationship and reaction of chemicals in our food with the cells of the human body has been cemented and cast, for eons of time.

So, it is us that need to change…because Mother Nature will not entertain us for thousands of years to come…

Run with it, eat what your body has been designed for and successful weight loss will follow for sure.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Are Meal Replacements A Good Idea For Weight Loss?

Think about the number one reasons why people are overweight nowadays. Overweight people fall into one of two different categories.

Either they have an unhealthy lifestyle – working long hours, eating out all the time, not getting enough exercise – or they simply eat too much, often in a compulsive way.

This type of eating – eating when one isn’t hungry, for example, or eating for emotional reasons rather than physical hunger – is really a type of addiction. It should be understood as an addiction, and it often is.

For example, the group Overeaters Anonymous functions on many of the same principles as AA or other twelve step programs. Excessive eating is treated like an addiction because that’s exactly what it is.

But if that’s the case, it’s easy to see why this addiction might be harder to treat than some others. The way to deal with an addiction is to stay away from the behaviour that’s out of control – alcoholics can’t touch alcohol, for example. The idea is to not do it at all until the addiction becomes a thing of the past – in fact, for many addicts, they can never indulge in their addictive behavior again, not even once.

With food addiction, though, that’s obviously impossible. People have to eat – there’s no getting away from it. That’s why food addiction, though it’s an addiction to a non-lethal substance, may be the hardest of all to deal with. And that’s also why companies such as Slim-fast, who produce and market meal replacements for people to use while dieting to lose weight, actually do succeed in helping some people.

The idea behind meal replacements is that you don’t really eat at all for a good part of the day – instead, you have a special shake or other product that gives you all the nutrients you need, and stops you from feeling hungry. This works in two ways: first, it controls the calories you take in, because the meal replacements are quite low calorie. Second, it breaks the cycle of addictive behavior because you’re not really eating. You can get away from the behavior much as an alcoholic can (and must) get away from alcohol, and that gives you a better chance of breaking the addictive process.

Though most meal replacement plans do recommend that you eat one ‘normal’ meal per day, some people who are serious about losing weight don’t do even that. That’s precisely how Oprah Winfrey once lost a lot of weight – about fifty pounds. She said that she found it easier not to eat at all (subsisting on meal replacement shakes and bars) than to control her eating. When you know that you won’t be eating ‘real food’ at all for a while, it takes the guesswork out of it. Everything becomes very straightforward, and it’s a fact that many people have lost weight using this method of weight loss.

There are drawbacks, though. For one thing, while a weight loss program is supposed to teach you about how to eat for the rest of your life – to establish healthy habits, in other words – using meal replacements clearly doesn’t do so. Once you go back to eating real food, you might find that your problems with controlling your food intake are still there. Though you will have lost weight, you are more likely to gain it back if you haven’t learned healthy eating habits.

Also, there’s a danger that some people will keep on using the meal replacements for extended periods of time, just because it’s easier and more convenient. Thought they re designed to give you a minimum level of calories and nutrition, meal replacement bars cannot substitute for real food over an extended period.

However, if you know or suspect that your problem with food resembles an addiction or compulsion, it may be worth your while to think about using meal replacements for a while in order to lose some weight. Try to make the time you spend using them as productive as possible, though. Really come to terms with your past behaviour, and learn what it feels like to be full but not stuffed. Figuring out the answer to these and other aspects of healthy eating will help make your weight loss permanent.

Resources:

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Alternative Medicine – New Way to Lose Weight

Weight loss is one of the big topics-no pun intended-on the late night television circuit. While flipping through the channels after 11p.m., you are likely to come across several advertisements for weight loss pills and diet supplements, each promising to assist you drop those unwanted pounds and remove stubborn belly fat once and for all.

Let's face it, if these pills really worked, America wouldn't be the top overweight country in the world.

There are types of alternative medicine, which can help with weight loss, however, and with great results. While no alternative medicine is a magic solution, practicing these principles can help you become more limber, feel more energetic, and the end result-or side effect if you will, is weight loss.

Take yoga for example. The low impact stretching involved with yoga will help you feel less stressed, and as a result less likely to over eat as a result of depression or anger. Acupuncture has exact pressure points in the ear which help reduce cravings, and detoxifying teas and herbs can help you feel healthier, and the side effect would be thinking twice before deciding that you want to "pollute" yourself again with oily and fatty foods. In this regard, alternative medicine is wonderful for loosing weight.

The majority alternative medicines for weight loss come in the form of detoxifying teas, energy supplements, and vitamins. The exercise and diet plans are the basis, as they should be, for safe and effective long-term weight loss. There is no magic potion to lose weight. In fact dropping pounds and keeping them off requires regular daily exercise and a change in eating habits, period.

However, to get you ready for weight loss, here are some alternative medicine detoxifying teas and interesting supplements.

Take turmeric, ginger, and lemon-about a half teaspoon each and the juice of half a lemon, and boil it all in 2 cups of water. Drink every morning as a detoxifier before you start your diet.

All diets should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, and buying a juicer is a great way to make a habit out of eating healthy. Please see your doctor before starting any kind of diet plan.

Visit your local food co op or herbalist, they can get you set up with all sorts of alternative teas and nutrition advice, and can refer you to a good homeopathic doctor who will evaluate you as to what your individual nutrition needs are.

Bovine and shark cartilage are two dietary supplements to hit the alternative market. Both have been used for years outside of the United States and Britain, but now are big business in the health food stores.

The most popular form of alternative medicine for weight loss isn't really medicine at all, rather behavior modification through hypnosis. Hypnosis doesn't make you rely on will power, that's one of the reasons it's so popular.

How hypnosis works is that it examines what is subconsciously holding you to the thinking and eating habits that keep you overweight. Hypnotists believe that if the root cause of the obesity can be alleviated, the patient will naturally begin to lose weight. It is actually a very efficient form of alternative medicine, and overall can cost much less than trips to day spas and expensive over the counter weight loss pills. Through hypnosis you can let go of fears that keep you from eating healthy, and begin to allow a positive energy flow through you, causing you to want to stick to the new way of eating and exercising.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Alkalize to Reduce Your Size

It is a fact that over 75% of people who lose weight put that weight back on within a year and of those who put it back on a further 50% will actually put on more weight than they started with in the first place!

How is that for a scary fact?

What I am about to tell you will help you to reduce your weight and help you to keep it at a level you are happy with. You will notice I have put the word help in bold text, this is because this is just the start to reducing your weight and it is without doubt the most important gift you could give to your body to help that weight reduction.

Do you know what a ph scale is?

A ph scale is a measurement guide to acidity and alkalinity. It is a sliding scale from 1 to 14 where 1 is completely acidic and 14 is completely alkaline. This means that 7 is completely neutral, neither acid nor alkali.

Why is this so important? Well our bodies are a fine balance between acid and alkali and the optimum level for our bodies to be at is 7.36 which is just slightly alkali. If you are over weight I guarantee that you body is acidic because that is basically what fat is, stored acid that your body has not been able to break down.

When you start to get your body back towards the optimum level of 7.36 your body will automatically react to get rid of some of the waste acid it is currently holding on to. But your body needs help to become more alkaline and to get rid of this waste.

Fortunately there is a product which is a solution to both of these areas and it is called ‘water’ that’s right – water.

I am sure that you have heard people say many times ‘you should drink at least 6-8 glasses of water per day’, do you take any notice?

I am guessing that you are now in one of the 3 following categories:

1. You have heard people say this and you now do drink this amount of water per day.
2. You have heard people say this but you just can’t be bothered because it means you will go to the toilet more often.
3. You have heard people say this and you just don’t believe them.

I am here to tell you that you absolutely must drink at least 2 litres (3 would be better but do not exceed 3) of alkalizing water (bottled mineral water preferably) per day. This water will re-alkalize your body therefore giving your body chance to get rid of the excess acid it has been storing and it will help get rid of this waste through your natural systems (again I am not going to graphic on this).
I guarantee that if you start to drink at least 2 litres of water per day you will start to feel the effects within a fortnight. But before you rush off to get a glass right now…………. No actually go get yourself a nice big glass full I will wait for you…….

Are you back, excellent.

There is something else you can do to help your body’s alkali levels and that is to drink green drinks. You can either get these ready made or you can get powders to mix with your water to produce a green drink.

Green drinks are made from all natural ingredients that are high in alkali levels which is obviously superb for your body. Search the net for green drinks there are numerous ones out there.

I personally drink 2 ½ to 3 litres per day of green drinks and since I started I have found a massive difference to my life.

So there you have it, you now know the greatest gift you can give to your body to help you reduce your weight.

Resources:

Water Freedom System - Click Here

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Aged and Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery is gaining popularity with each passing day. It’s the last option for all those suffering from morbid obesity. Weight-loss surgery is riskier among elderly, but may be best option for some of them as it also provides immense health benefits. Gastric-bypass surgery for weight loss has become very common place and one of the preferred choices for getting rid of morbid obesity amongst aged population.

With Medicare picking up the cost, weight loss surgery has become an affordable option for getting rid off obesity. After the surgery, most of the people couldn’t eat as much therefore the weight drop off faster than they could believe. Exercising made it even easier. The best part about these surgeries is that it also takes care of heart problems, poor circulation, wasted knees and sleep apnea that are often faced by most of the aged.

Obesity at an advanced stage of life is a big threat to life. Most the times it’s the result of a fast-food culture and a sedentary lifestyle. They tend to make us fatter than ever. Senior people who are morbidly obese — at least 100 pounds overweight — are increasingly opting for some form of gastric bypass surgery as a last resort to get rid of this embarrassing situation. It helps to improve their health and quality of life for the years they have left.

According to recent research, seniors can benefit from weight-loss surgery as much as younger people and maybe even more. It has been noticed that patients over the age of 60 got the same benefits from the surgery and had a comparable rate of postoperative complications as compared to younger people. The procedure produces good results and improves quality of life with about the same rate of mortality and complications as seniors who have heart-bypass and hip replacement surgery.

The best part about Weight Loss surgery is that besides providing relief from obesity, it helps in correcting a host of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, heartburn reflux and makes the knees and joints last longer. So, it has turned out to be a pleasant option for most of its beneficiary.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

After A Diet, Why Does The Weight Come Back?

Before many Australians recently, a devastating story unfolded on a popular current affairs program. We watched with compassion as the fattest man in Australia told of his most recent, serious attempt to lose weight. Approximately 12 months earlier and weighing close to 300 kilos, he under went life threatening surgery to lose weight.

I doubt there would have been one person watching not moved by this man's depression and plight. Despite undergoing the surgery, today he could barely get through each day, both physically and mentally. He shared with us his sense of hopelessness and wanting to end it all.

It was not only his size that was causing his depression. He had to deal with a heart broken by disappointment.

You see, the surgery had been a success.

He soon lost well over 50 kilos post operation and he and his family rejoiced. But then the unthinkable happened.

The weight came back. Today he weighs well over 300 kilos - more than before the surgery.

This is an extreme case, but nonetheless raises a question that so many people continue to battle with.

After a diet, why does the weight come back so quickly?

To answer this we need to understand how much energy a body requires. For each pound you weigh, each day you need 12 calories to maintain your body weight. If you weigh 120 pounds you will need 120 x 12 calories, that is, 1440 calories per day to maintain that body weight. If you eat or drink more calories than your body requires, the excess energy is stored as fat. It takes 3,600 excess calories to make one pound of fat.

In this example, if your typical daily calorific intake is 2000 calories, in around 30 days you would put on between 4-5 pounds of fat!

Let's say, you then decide to go on a restrictive diet and halve your calorific consumption to 1,000 calories per day. You stay on this diet for around a month and lose 10 pounds and now weigh 110 pounds. You feel fantastic about losing the weight but can't keep up such a restrictive regime because you are irritable and have no energy.

So you go off your diet and go back to your usual routine of 2,000 calories a day. Remember you are lighter now and your body requires less energy to maintain its new weight. You would now require 110 x 12, that is, 1320 calories per day.

In this instance, by consuming 2000 calories daily, because you are lighter than before, you would put the weight back on in just 24-25 days!

If you want to keep the weight off you must develop a consistent change in eating habits to ensure you do not consume more than your body requires. You cannot continue to eat the same quantities and/or combinations of foods that caused you to be overweight in the first place. This will require developing an understanding of the nutritional content of food and raising your body's metabolism through increased muscle mass and exercise.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Aerobic Effort for Good Fitness

No matter who you are in the world, you have to have aerobic exercise. It is required for a healthy body and a quality way of life. It has many of pros and will make you feel greater in all aspects of your life. Why should you do aerobics?

Muscle groups get more blood and oxygen from the body during an aerobic exercise session. It is not good to halt suddenly from an aerobic activity. Cramping and dizziness can occur from this. After a relatively intense work out, a cooling off session is always a good idea. Running in place for a little while is a good suggestion if anyone gets too tired during a work out session. More efficient use of the lungs by raising the oxygen transported to them as well as the heart using this oxygen more effectively are a few of the pros of aerobic exercise. The definition of aerobic translates to with air, or with oxygen.  It is a work out that is lower in intensity and lengthier in duration. With aerobic work outs, a person uses the same large muscle group in a repetitive movement from between fifteen to thirty. A  heart rate of around 60 to 80% is the objective to maintain. Just a few aerobic activities are: light running, cycling, walking, or treading water. These sessions should be able to be done without someone breathing hard. You are possibly anaerobically exercising if you are unable to carry on a short conversation.

Aerobic exercise has so many benefits that it is wild to picture that we sometimes do not take the time to do it for ourselves. It maintains and reduces body fat, boosts our total stamina, gives us extra energy, assists in our resilience to tiredness, increases our muscles, and increases our lean body mass. It also helps us mentally by improving mood, lowering anxiety, reducing depression, reducing tension, and having us sleep better at night. Who cannot benefit a bit from all that?These are pros that people could all use.

Exercise that is higher in intensity and shorter in time is called anaerobic exercise. The body wears out faster and develops muscle more quickly with anaerobics. Many sports are categorized as anaerobic exercises: soccer, downhill skiing, weight lifting, basketball, and football. Running or sprinting is another one. Anaerobic exercise will boost the chances of the body becoming sore.

An aerobics class may be a good start for people who want to reap the rewards of aerobic exercise and aren't positive how to begin. In an aerobics class, you can do high or low intensity cardiovascular. The instructor will be able to show class members how to perform these moves either way. How high you carry your limbs up during the aerobic session is how the intensity is measured. People must do the level of intensity pertaining to their abilities and the frequency of their aerobic sessions.

The objective while working out aerobically is to achieve your target heart rate and remain at that for the entire period you are working that group of muscles. This works the heart more efficiently and has the body burn a greater amount of calories. The aerobic curve is something some people will reach. This is when you begin exercising and elevate your intensity level to the peak then slow down gradually. It is more efficient to maintain that continuous rate as your heart rate rises. The lungs and heart endure longer and work more effectively when they are trained. People that perform aerobic exercise on a routine interval will have to exercise harder to reach their target heart rate as their endurance increases. People who are just beginning will reach their target heart rate fast until their body becomes adjusted to the exercise.

Aerobic exercise may be somewhat difficult to do at first, but it is absolutely necessary for cardiovascular fitness. A healthy body takes steady aerobic sessions and is a continuous process. People who are in good cardiovascular condition can keep this by exercising a minimum of three times a week. Those who are trying to lose weight and elevate their level of health should exercise four or five intervals a week.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Addressing The Fears And Feelings Associated With Weight Loss

It seems a little strange that losing weight can entice feelings of fear. Fear doesn’t seem to have a place in such a constructive process. Usually weight loss is associated with both positive and negative feelings. The positive feelings are more obvious and understandable. You’re feeling better, have more energy, look better, fit in nicer clothes, etc. However, are you aware that negative feelings about your life changing process are also normal?

Weight gain happens for a reason and it’s not all about that familiar hand to mouth motion. It’s not just about food it’s about what is behind the overeating. Smaller weight gains can usually be attributed to just poor eating and exercise habits. However, large weight gain is almost always associated with something much deeper. Gaining weight is camouflage. It allows you to disappear in society, which in turn can make you feel safer. The key is to understand what you were hiding from? Was there a trauma in you life that needs to be addressed?

Conversely, as you begin to understand why you gained the weight, you also need to address your feelings as you succeed at your weight loss efforts. This is a journey that will require time and patience. You may stall and have to restart. You may lose motivation and need assistance to get back on track. You may not fall off the wagon; you may execute a premeditated jump off the wagon. These actions can all be associated with fear.

If this sounds all too familiar, take the time to address these volatile emotions before they take you down. The following pro-active steps can ease the fears and keep you on track.

· Find A Support System. This can be a personal trainer who understands your struggle and is willing to push to keep you on track. The trainer may use motivational techniques or tactics that help you face your fears head on and eliminate the need to self-sabotage your forward motion. Personal Trainers are NOT just for movie stars any more! They are available to the general public. Call your local gym for a referral.

If a personal trainer is not an option, team up with a friend who has succeeded with weight loss and is willing to help you stay on track by exercising with you daily. Share food journals. You will learn as much from your friend’s food journal and your friend will be necessary accountability to keep your eating habits in check.

· Daily Journal Writing. Emotions locked in your mind become bigger and bigger over time which then become nearly impossible to control. Everything starts with a thought! Once you learn to train and manage your thinking you will be able to change your life. Write out your feelings and fears. The mere act of writing helps you to understand why you feel what you feel and releases the negative energy.

· Follow Up With Affirmations. After releasing the negative emotions, follow up with affirmations. It is important to fill the space with a positive turn around. Give your brain something good to dwell on now.

· Take Quiet Time. Often our lives are so busy we don’t have time to breath, much less think. Give yourself 15 minutes a day to sit and let go of the mental stress. This takes more effort than you may think. During these 15 minutes consciously let go of any thoughts that are occupying your mind. Vacuum the mental clutter and empty your mind of all thought. Let your system rest for 15 minutes and you will find that you are more in control of more of your day.

Fear is a normal part of any major life change. Once you understand this you can begin to address this emotion and push past it. Keep that forward motion by challenging any feelings that cause you to sabotage your positive growth.

Reources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Add Flavor to Meals Without Adding Carbs

With all of the low-carbohydrate and no-carbohydrate frenzies lately, you should be aware that adding a dry seasoning blend of quality herbs and spices to your recipes will boost flavor without adding carbohydrates or calories.

I believe in making food exciting - an emotional experience - with bold, but not overpowering, flavors to enhance what you are cooking so the first bite tastes as good as the last.

A dish can come alive with a dusting or sprinkling of one of my Magic Seasonings to replace salt and pepper. Freshness and quality are key - in the way I prepare all of my favorite meals.

People alway's would ask me what type of seasoning I used on my dishes. In response, I would usually tell them I used a mixture of many spices, and I would give them a small bag as a sample. Slowly, people began getting embarrassed to ask for more samples, and they offered to pay for them. So, I started bottling my spice mixtures and selling them from my home. Ultimately, the birthplace of Magic Jamming Seasoning Blends. My seasoning blends are all natural with no MSG and no preservatives.

Today, my Magic Jamming Seasonings is getting a lot of recongnition throughout my community. Through these seasonings, I am happy to spread the joy of great food to people everywhere.

In my city (Chicago, IL), people start talking about what they are having for lunch and dinner at breakfast. Food is simply part of our culture. Food excites us.

In Chicago, meals aren't just about eating; they are about eating well. And meals are seen as an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. I want you and your family to enjoy the bonding experience of sharing wonderful meals together.

You don't have to sacrifice flavor when you reduce the fat and carbohydrates in your family meals. Simply sprinkle your favorite Magic Seasoning Blend on fish, vegetables or meat before you begin the cooking process. The blends work well with all types of cuisine, from Italian to Mexican to French to Chinese.

Resources:

Menu Planning Central: Making life easier for busy individuals and families - like yours when it comes to meal planning. Click here for details

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

A Simple To Follow Weight Loss Program ( a testimony from a blog reader)

Not the actual photo of  the person, who created this acticle

This article gives free tips and advice about how to lose weight. Dieting does not need to be a choir, however many of the weight loss programs that are available make it this way. During the article, I describe an easy to follow diet or weight loss program which has helped me to reach a weight that I am now happy and feel comfortable with.

My background

My name is Steve Hill and I struggled to keep my weight under control for the first twenty-two years of my life. I was often teased at school and found it very hard to meet girls as I believed that there would be no way, that they would want to date somebody as fat as myself.

I was a very negative person and I frequently felt stressed and depressed. I often felt sorry for myself and would feel envious of other people who seemed fit, healthy and happy. During these periods of depression, I would often comfort eat to make myself feel better. I love food and this would temporarily help. The problem I found was that if I ate food for ten minutes, I would feel a sense of guilt for around two hours.

Like many people who are over-weight, I was not happy this way and often looked into different types of weight loss plan or diets. Maybe it is just me, but they seem so unrealistic and for somebody like myself impossible to follow. I needed a simple, easy to follow weight loss program.

The solution to my weight problem

The first thing I had to do was to be honest with myself. I asked myself a series of questions:

Why are you over-weight?

I do not eat the right types of food and I rarely exercise.

How determined are you to lose weight?

Very determined.

Are you willing for this to be a long term project, or are you looking for a quick fix?

The quicker the better, however I realise that crash diets do not work and end up causing more harm than good.

Do you feel you have enough self-discipline to succeed?

I am not sure but I will have to have, to reach my target weight.


**The weight loss plan

These are the things I must do:

Eat three healthy meals a day.

Exercise more. This will be achieved by leaving the car at home more often and by walking to certain places, such as my children's school. I will also take the children to play sports like football and tennis, as often as I can.

Fight the demons in my head who constantly tempt me into eating.

These are the things I must not do:

Snack in between meals.

Eat too many take-aways, I will basically allow myself one a week.

Lie to other people or even myself about what I have eaten.


This sounds so simple and is very easy to follow. I have to admit that it is not that easy to carry off, especially not being able to snack between meals. With determination you can succeed and the sense of happiness and pride you will feel when you reach a weight you are happy with, will make it all worthwhile.