Treadmills & Weight Loss: Does Running On a Treadmill Make You Lose Weight?

 Running is the best choice for weight loss. You are in control of your movements during the treadmill running! You will even advance your leg and move your arms (unlike other devices) which promotes energy expenditure! The whole body is in motion which allows you to burn more calories!

This fitness device is ideal for thinning the thighs and stimulating the loss of fat mass all over the body! Thanks to the treadmill, you can lose your arms, stomach, legs). Indeed, the blood circulates throughout the body for a maximum of lost calories and for a rapid weight loss. 

How to lose weight on a treadmill?

For weight loss on a treadmill , it is advisable to have a regular practice. The ideal is to run on a minimum mat every 2 days to see results! During your run, remember to play on the incline! The more the incline of the treadmill is at its maximum, the more you increase your energy expenditure. treadmill how to lose weight

The best way to lose weight on a mat is to train in the heart rate zone that burns the most calories! This zone is at 60 - 70% of your maximum heart rate (HRM). The FCM is 226 - age for women and 220 - age for men. Then just apply the 2 percentages (60 and 70%) to your result to determine your ideal heart zone for burning calories.

At first you will lose weight very quickly. In the long run the body gets used to the effort and you will see slower results on your cardio machine. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the duration as you go and integrate interval training sessions (about 2 times a week). Running on an empty stomach may be a solution if you are stuck in your weight loss. However, this practice is recommended for people in good physical condition.

Is the treadmill a good choice for losing belly fat?

Yes, you can lose stomach weight while you run! Indeed, by running, you will not only slim the thighs. The whole body is in motion, which encourages blood circulation throughout the body and helps burn fat everywhere!

To lose belly fat faster, consider weight training while you run. Consider bringing the navel closer to the spine. If you find it hard to gain weight while running, brisk walking can be a good addition. Brisk walking is great for building muscle mass.

Obviously, you won't see results if you don't eat a healthy diet. If you supplement regular physical activity with good eating habits, your flat stomach goal will be reached!

Do you have a treadmill weight loss program?

Here are a few exercise example you can follow as a guideline:

1.Brisk walk for 5 minutes to warm up.

2. Run 25 minutes with a maximum incline of 60 - 70% of your max heart rate (HRM calculation). The speed will depend on your heart rate.

3. Finish with 15 minutes flat (without tilting) while jogging.

And yes contrary to what you may think there is no need to be constantly stamina or short of breath to burn more calories. You will see that by following this small program 2 to 3 times a week by adding a balanced diet there will be results. It may also be beneficial to do 2 endurance sessions per week on your fitness equipment.

Can you lose weight while walking?

lose weight with walking on a treadmill or taking a brisk walk on a treadmill (at a fast pase) is great for turning body fat into muscle mass. Running is very effective at burning more calories. However, walking is an excellent complement to refine and sculpt your thighs and buttocks.

Starting with walking is very effective for getting back into shape. A beginner can alternate walking and running until the day they are ready to run for 30 minutes or more. Brisk walking is excellent for muscle toning and is also suitable for experienced athletes! Don't underestimate it and add it to your weight loss program! Also remember to play on the incline of the mat, and keep up with your heart rate and watch your diet!

Bike or treadmill to lose weight?

Are you hesitating between an exercise bike and a treadmill? Do you want a cardio training machine that burns as many calories as possible? bike or treadmill to lose weight

Go for a treadmill! It is the most effective fitness device for burning fat. Indeed, unlike the exercise bike, your whole body is dynamic during the run which encourages energy expenditure! Losing weight will therefore be easier on this cardio machine!

The exercise bike, for its part, only solicits the lower limbs. It is used above all to strengthen the lower body. Weight loss is possible on the bike as long as you train at the right heart rate. The elliptical trainer will be a better choice for this purpose, however, since you will have your whole body in motion.

Treadmill or elliptical trainer?

Running or cardio training on an elliptical machine? These 2 devices are excellent for weight loss! However, they both have advantages and disadvantages!

Treadmills and the Benefits:

1. Best fitness device for weight loss: you are in control of your movements which increases energy expenditure.

2. Allows you to lose weight all over your body.

3. Great diversity during your physical activity (incline, speed, brisk walking).

4. Can be used for muscle building with brisk walking and max incline.

Disadvantages:

1. Risk of injury: impact on the ground, risk of poor posture.

2. Not suitable during perineal rehabilitation.

3. Bulky device.

The Elliptical trainers Benefits:

1. Guides you in the movements: little risk of injury.

2. Protects your joints.

3. Often compact cardio machines.

4. Allows you to lose weight all over your body.

5. Suitable for women who are in perineum rehabilitation.

Disadvantages:

1. Does not allow for muscle building.

2. Less diversity in training.

3. Less efficient than the treadmill in terms of calories burned.

You will understand, if you are in good physical shape, favor the treadmill which allows you to burn more calories. If you are obese or need to avoid impact on the ground, opt for an elliptical.

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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

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 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

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

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

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.

16 Ways to Burn Stubborn Body Fat

Eat less ... lose weight?!? Here's the other stuff you can do to get leaner.

1)  Don’t diet to extremes. Reducing calories by 15-20% a day will almost exclusively burn fat while larger cuts in calories will burn a combo of muscle tissue and fat. Muscle drives the metabolism – calorie burning. If you’re currently eating 3000 calories, reduce to 2400-2550, but do so according to smart guidelines like those laid out in The Living Health Weight Loss Audio.

2)  Graze all day. Professional athletes and models eat all day long yet keep their total calories under control. The grazing method, 5-6 small meals, elevates the metabolism. Each time you eat, the metabolism increases, and over a 6-10 week period, that increase can parlay into another 2-3 pounds of fat loss.

3)  Increase Protein. Carbs, protein and fat – are equal in their efficiency to be stored as body fat, but protein exerts a greater metabolic boosting effect than carbs or dietary fat. When calories drop, protein saves muscle which helps keep the metabolism elevated. Aim for 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight daily.

4)  Play with Carbs. Carbs help retain metabolic boosting muscle yet they can stimulate fat storage. Following a modified low carb diet – staggering your carbohydrate intake is one of the most effective ways to jump start your metabolism and to burn stubborn fat fast (as outlined in Maximize Your Metabolism and the Living Health Audio Program.)


5)  Go Backward. One reason fat loss comes to a halt; the body downgrades its metabolism to meet its dwindling intake of calories. The solution: dramatically increase your calorie intake once every 2-3 weeks. The one day splurge “re-sets” the metabolism by restoring thyroid levels, the calorie burning hormone that declines with dieting.

6)  Skip the Late Night Carbs. Carbs eaten before bedtime are more likely to be stored as body fat so focus on lean proteins and fiber based vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and salad fixings. The lone exception: if you train late at night and your goal is to build muscle mass, you’ll need the carbs to replenish glycogen and support growth.

7)  Go Fish. When calories are controlled, the inclusion of omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, trout and sardines may promote speedier fat loss. One study revealed dieters who ate fish on a daily basis lost more weight than those who ate fish just once a week (Am Journ Clin Nutr 70:817-825, 1999)

8)  Go Spicy. Red peppers, the spicy ingredient in Mexican and Indian dishes contains Capsaicin which can increase the metabolic rate by effecting the Sympathetic Branch of the Nervous system. Spiking your chicken dishes with red might be a small benefit or you can gulp 5 to 10 encapsulated grams of Capsaicin from your local health food store. (Journal of Nutrition 116:1272-1278, 1986.)

9)  Don’t Be Cardio Crazy! Radically reducing calories slows the metabolism short circuiting fat loss. Same is true with radical caloric expenditure. You know: 2 cardio sessions a day. Excess cardio slows the metabolism, promotes a loss in muscle and even can lower testosterone levels. For real results, stick to 4-6 sessions a week, 30 – 45 minutes at a clip and maintain a high level of intensity.

10)  Separate Cardio From Weight Training. What happens when you do cardio first and follow it up with weight training? You don’t build as much muscle density. How about cardio after training? You risk overtraining and the negative hormonal milieu that can stifle the metabolic rate. The best scenario; hit the cardio in the morning – on an empty stomach – get in a few meals and return to the gym later in the day to build muscle density.

11)  Serotonin Control. Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps controls hunger. Guess what? It can take a nose dive with dieting. ( R.J. Wurtman and J.J. Wurtman, “Brain serotonin, carbohydrate-craving, obesity, and depression.” Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 398 (1996): 35-41.) One way to prevent a drop; smaller, more frequent meals.

12)  Garlic Chicken! Mother Earth’s flavor enhancer stimulates adrenaline and uncoupling proteins (UCP). Adrenaline triggers fat breakdown and UCP, located in metabolically active “brown fat”, increase calorie burning. Garlic also controls cortisol levels which can supports muscle retention while dieting. For best results use fresh raw garlic in your salads or on your other meals, but if you can't handle raw garlic then use fresh bulbs in you cooking or give supplements a try. (Oi Y, et al., Allyl-containing sulfides in garlic increase uncoupling protein content in brown adipose tissue, and noradenaline and adrenaline secretion in rats. J Nutr 129:336-342,1999.) (Wang HX, Et al., Natural products with hypoglycemic, hypotensive, hypocholesterolemic, antiatherosclerotic and antithrombotic activities. Life Sci 65:2663-2677,1999.)

13)  Sip Green Tea. Green tea contains caffeine and polyphenols called epilgallocatechin gallate which have been shown to increase calorie burning. These special calorie burning compounds help burn an extra 100 or-so calories a day, about equal to a brisk walk. In maximizing fat loss, every calorie counts. (Dullo, A.G., et al., Efficiency of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans. Am J Clin Nutr, 1999. 70(6):p.1040-5.)

14)  Fat? Yes Fat! To rip up, you have to eat fewer carbs, but on occasion – say once a week - you can add a little healthy fat, 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, some red meat, walnuts or cashews. The reason? Dietary fat can make the body more effective in using and burning fat – as long as calories and carbs remain under control. (Thomas CD et al. Nutrient Balance and Energy Expenditure During the Ad Libitum Feeding of High Fat and High Carbohydrate Diets in Humans. Am J Clin Nutr 1992;55:934)

15)  Thyroid Support. Irony of Ironies. When you eat less and try to dump body fat, a lot of times the metabolism adapts and burns quite a bit fewer calories. One way to get around the slowdown is with phosphates. A combo of 537 mgs of calcium phosphate, 107 mgs of potassium phosphate and 25 mgs of sodium phosphate given to strict dieters yielded a 12-19% more elevated metabolism than dieters who did not use phosphates.

16)  Write It Down. This one seems simple, but it’s one of the most overlooked tips in shedding fat. Dieters who record what they eat, meal by meal, day by day, not only make better choices, but cheat less and eat fewer total calories. Writing it down “keeps you honest” and is a tool for reminding you that getting lean is a day by day process.

Resoures:

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

Secrets to a Fit Family

It's no secret that many parents and their children are overweight. These 10 simple ‘secrets’ can help you change your family's lifestyle so that you can all become fit and healthy.

1) Eat Whole Grain Foods

Processed and refined grains, such as white bread, white rice, cereal, pasta, and other foods made with white flour have a high glycemic index, low amounts of fiber, and less vitamins and minerals as foods made with whole grains. Making the switch to whole grain foods, including whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and cereals made with whole grains, are an easy and healthy way to make your family's diet more nutritious.


2) Limit Soda and Fruit Drinks

Soda and fruit drinks have low nutritional value and a lot of calories. At about 150 calories per 12 ounce serving, your kids will gain an extra pound about every 3 weeks if they drink just one can of soda each day.

Cutting back or eliminating soda, fruit drinks, and even fruit juice, can be a good way to get rid of a lot of extra calories and leave room for your kids to eat more nutritious foods.


3) Eat More Fruits and Vegetables 

Most children don't eat enough fruits and vegetables and that usually means that they are eating other less nutritious foods. With a high fiber content and lots of vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. And because they have lots of water in them, eating fruits and vegetables can help you to feel full and satisfied so that you don't overeat.


4) Eat More Foods with Calcium

A common mistake people make when trying to lose weight is that they stop drinking milk, eating cheese and yogurt. Calcium is important to build healthy bones and to help you lose weight. You should encourage your kids to drink low-fat milk, eat portioned amounts of cheese and yogurt to help lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.


5) Be More Active

Everyone knows that part of the cause of the current obesity epidemic is that people are much less active then they used to be. Getting kids involved in organized activities, which can be either team or individual sports, and cutting back on the amount of time in front of the TV, computer and playing video games will burn calories and improve fitness levels.

Family activities are also a good way to be more physically active. Even simple things, like walking across a parking lot, using stairs, and going for short family walks or bike rides, can make a big difference.


6) Know Where Calories Come From

While you don't necessarily need to do daily calorie counts, keep a diary of what your family eats for a few days can help you see where extra calories are coming from. Are your kids overweight because of the calories they get from a bedtime snack or those two glasses of Kool Aid or soda he drinks? Or maybe because his portion sizes are too large?

If you know where your kids' calories are coming from, you will know where to make changes and how you can cut back, especially on foods that have a lot of empty calories.


7) Learn About Carbs

Carbs get a bad wrap, especially with all of the proponents of high protein diets, like the Atkins and South Beach Diet. Not all carbs are created equal. While it is a good idea to avoid foods that have refined such as white bread, foods made with white flour, and foods and beverages sweetened with sugar, other carbs should be part of a balanced diet.

Instead of avoiding all carbs, just learn about how to choose foods with ‘good’ carbohydrates, which includes fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grain foods.


8) Learn About Fats

Like carbs, there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fats. Instead of making the mistake of trying to stick to a low fat diet, and simply substituting other foods that are often just as high in calories, you should eat foods that have ‘good’ fat in them. This includes foods with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. On the other hand, you should avoid saturated fats and trans fats.


9) Choose Healthy Meals when Eating Out

Even if your family eats healthy at home, if you eat super-sized fast food meals a few times a week, they are probably still at risk for becoming overweight. If you eat out a lot, review the nutritional facts of the restaurant's menu and watch your portion sizes. Calories and fat quickly adds up when eating out!


10) Stay Motivated!

Most people know what they need to do to be healthier however, eating healthy and exercising is not easy.   Education about the specifics of a healthy diet, getting the whole family involved, and setting goals, can help your family stay healthy and fit.  Hire a personal trainer or seek the counsel of a dietitian to keep you on the healthy track.

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

Ways To Create Balance To Achieve Lasting Weight Loss

Need to lose weight? Dreading the thought of another diet program? You don’t have to follow diets to lose weight. There are many people discovering this for themselves and they are the ones who are finding long term weight loss apposed to short term fixes. The key to weight loss is finding the right balance of what you eat, what you think, and what activity you do. It is not about following a perfect plan. It is impossible to be perfect every day! Finding the right balance helps you to decrease your calorie intake, increase your metabolism and keeps the self-sabotage at bay. Here are 8 steps to bring more balance into all corners of your life so you too can find weight loss success.

1. Eat more frequently during the day-
Skipping meals or waiting too long between meals can have a negative impact on your metabolism and results in overeating later in the day. It’s best to have 3 small meals and 1-2 snacks throughout the day. You will feel more satisfied and eat less. Plan to have a snack or meal every 4-5 hours.

2. Watch portion sizes-
Appropriate portion sizes are still quite misunderstood. Most Americans are eating 2-3 times the recommended portion sizes. Limit your grains, cereals, pastas, and rice to ½ - 1 cup serving sizes. Keep meat, poultry and fish to 4-ounce portion sizes. Restaurants are notorious for giving extremely large servings of food. Keep this in mind when eating out. Eat half of the food on your plate or take the rest home for lunch the next day. Studies show that when people are given large portion sizes, they eat up to 56% more calories without realizing it. To add insult to injury, our portion sizes are larger than they have ever been. Start to become more aware of the portions you are served wherever you are.

3. Eat the right fats-
Yes some fat is important. Omega 3 fatty acids are an important strategy for weight loss success and yet most Americans are not eating enough of these healthy fats. Some reports show these fatty acids may be helpful in increasing your metabolism. They are also shown to be a wonderful mood supporter and people report significantly less food cravings and triggers to eat when they incorporate omega 3 fatty acids on a daily basis. This is especially important for any emotional eaters out there. Omega 3’s are found in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, cod; they are also found in canola oil, walnuts, and ground flax seeds.

4. Increase fruits and vegetables-
Fruits and vegetables are not only packed with important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, they are also loaded in fiber and low in calories. Include 5-8 fruits and vegetables every day. This is one of the most important diet changes you can make. When you fill your plate up with fruits and vegetables you eat less of the higher calorie foods. For example, let’s take a sample steak dinner.

Original meal:
8 ounce steak 
Whole baked potato with fixings 
½ cup steamed broccoli 

Meal Makeover:
4 ounce steak
½ baked potato with fixings
½ cup steamed broccoli
Side salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, and 1 tbsp light vinaigrette dressing

By changing the balance of this meal to include more vegetables while decreasing the steak and potato we saved approximately 350 calories. Saving 350 calories daily can result in almost a 1 pound weight loss per week. Small changes are the key.

5. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full-
Our bodies have an innate weight management mechanism. It performs this task by making you feel full when it is time to stop eating. Every time you eat past full you are taking in more calories than your body needs which will result in weight gain. Start to become more aware of your internal cues for hunger and satiety (fullness). You will be amazed how many times you wait too long to eat and how often you eat past full and enter into stuffed. It’s common for all of us to do this from time to time. However, it’s time to check in with yourself and see how often you are falling into these food patterns. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you are physically ready for food and when you are ready to stop.

6. Exercise regularly-
I know, this isn’t anything you haven’t heard before but it is a crucial part of weight management. It is important to engage in regular aerobic and weight bearing activity. The aerobic exercise helps you to burn the fat and weight bearing activity increases your metabolic rate. Muscle burns up to 90% more calories than fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn in a day. By adding three to five pounds of muscle you could actually burn 100 - 250 additional calories a day. This combination of aerobic and weight bearing activity is what really kicks weight loss into gear.

7. Limit sugar-
Sugar becomes a major issue for many people wanting to lose weight. Not only does it add calories, it also causes insulin spikes leading you to store more calories as fat, it stimulates your appetite, and is a major food trigger for emotional eaters. However, it doesn’t mean you need to go all or nothing. When people try to omit all sugar from their diet they can become obsessed about sugary foods and end up in a binge. Find the right balance for sugar. Avoid daily use of sugar and instead have some guiltless treats once in awhile. A little cake at a birthday party or some ice-cream with friends is a good way to incorporate sugar once in awhile to avoid the negative outcomes.

8. Pamper yourself regularly-
Who wants to argue with that?! The reality is many people eat for emotional reasons. Food makes us feel good on many levels. The problem occurs when eating becomes the only coping mechanism your subconscious knows of. This is why that pesky urge to emotionally eat is so strong. It is hard to reason your way out of it. For many people food is the only thing they know that makes them feel better. When you start to do other things that make you feel good on a regular basis such as taking a hot bath, going for a walk, having a hot cup of tea; then your subconscious starts to register these activities as coping mechanisms as well. Over time this will decrease the constant urge to use food. You can’t expect to have a bad day, go take a bath and not have an urge to eat. It is something you need to do regularly and something you truly enjoy so your subconscious starts to recognize it as a new choice.

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Reasons to Lose Weight Now

Obesity is the second leading cause of death after smoking. It is associated with an increased mortality rate of all ages including children. Losing weight though commercialized is still to your benefit if you carry more weight than you should.

Obesity and overweight are term often used interchangeably. However, technically they refer to two different states.

Being overweight technically means excess body mass. This includes all the body tissues. Obesity on the other hand refers explicitly to excess body fat e.g. a professional heavy weight body builder is overweight because of excess muscles but is not obese.

Obesity is what should concern you. Losing weight is no longer an issue you can afford to procrastinate, and probably a good health scare is in order.

Reason #1 to lose weight

Diabetes:- It is well known that 80 -90% of type-two-diabetes patients are overweight. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., as well as the leading cause of adult blindness in the world. One of the direct causes of obesity is eating wrong foods. Some of these wrong foods include high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods are energy dense foods that quickly increase the level of blood glucose in your body after been eaten. This results to the body reserving the unnecessarily high glucose/energy into fat. This makes losing weight very difficult.

Releasing a hormone called insulin does this. Type-Two-diabetes occurs because the body cannot produce enough insulin to remove the excess blood glucose and store it as body fat. This will occur after straining insulin production for some time. And that’s how you end up being fat and diabetic.

Reason #2 to lose weight

Stroke:- Obesity is associated with arteriosclerosis, the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries through out your body. This makes them narrow slowing blood flow and among other things increases risk of the blood clotting. Arteries at risk include those supplying blood to the brain. If clotting occurs due to narrowed artery, it blocks blood supply to an area of the brain resulting to stroke. Losing weight reduces this risk.

Reason #3 to lose weight

Cancer:- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates between 25% - 33% of cancer world wide are overweight and physical inactivity related. Body fat evidently promotes higher levels of insulin production and excess estoregens, a hormone. Both insulin and estorogens accelerate cell division.

[Probably to create adipose tissue; new fat cells to store fat, in addition to the regular cell division]

As research has indicated, the faster cells duplicate the more they increase chances of a cancerous cell developing. The situation is further complicated as the rapid cell division caused by the excess hormones lead also to rapid cell reproduction of the one cancerous cell, hence cancer starts to develop actively. In addition fat cells tend to keep carcinogenic i.e. cancer-causing agents, trapped in the body which increases chances of developing cancer.

Types of cancers you will be at high risk to get include:-

*Breast cancer- affecting the breast possibly in both men and women.
*Colorectal cancer- affecting colon and rectum.
*Prostrate cancer- affecting the prostrate gland in men.
*Endometrial cancer- affecting the uterus.
*Esophageal cancer- affecting the esophagus.
*Renal cell cancer, the cancer of the kidney, etc.

Reason #4 to lose weight

Respiratory problems:- Obesity causes lungs to “become smaller” in size and chest wall become heavier to lift in the process of breathing in. The most common respiratory problem is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where by an individual stops breathing for some time while asleep. A soft tissue in the throat collapses around the air way probably due to weight, blocking it. For the severely obese sleep apnea may get more complicated with hypoventilation. Hypoventilation is accumulation of toxic levels of carbon dioxide (the gas we breathe out) in the blood, due to inadequate breathing. Losing weight would be the only permanent safe and healthy solution to sleep apnea.

Reason #5 to lose weight

Urinary Incontinence:- This is involuntary release of urine. Being overweight can contribute to urinary incontinence. A heavy abdomen due to body fat deposit may cause valve of urinary bladder to be weakened. The weight also exerts pressure on the urinary bladder, trying to push urine out. This results to leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing or laughing. This is because of a slight relaxation of the bladder valve that normally will not result to leakage. It can even result to bed wetting at night. This particular problem can be a very effective motivator to lose weight.

Reason #6 to lose weight

Varicose veins:- Also known as Venous Stratis Disease. The leg and thigh muscles assist the heart in blood circulation just like most large muscles in the body. They are involved in pumping blood against gravity back to the heart with the help of valves that close to avoid a backward flow. Pressure as a result of a large abdomen may increase the work load on the valves eventually causing damage. Damaged valves then allow for blood to back up, due to gravity, causing high pressure in these veins leading to swelling, thickening of skin and skin ulcers.

Reason #7 to lose weight

High Blood Pressure:- The BMI (Body Mass Index) and age together are the strongest indicator of risk of hypertension or high blood pressure. At least a third of hypertension is related to obesity.

Reason #8 to lose weight

Other Diseases:- Other diseases which MAY occur as a result of being overweight include;

*Gout
*Coronary heart disease
*Lower back pains
*Osteoarthritis
*Rheumatoid Arthritis
*Gall stones
*Pregnancy disorders such as
*Neural tube defect,
*Prenatal mortality,
*Maternal hypertension,
*Gestational diabetes etc.
*Impaired immune response
*Liver disease
*Pancreatitis
*Bad body smell
*Depression

Research shows that even modest weight loss of even 10 pound for the overweight significantly reduces the risk of developing these diseases. Weight loss is in fact a challenge taken by many every year. Unfortunately many fail in this healthy endeavor. And all because of one thing; they lack proper information on effective weight loss. Effective weight loss is permanent, and a permanent weight loss depends fundamentally on how you eat, what you eat and when you eat (time).

Resources:

The 2 Week Diet System - Click Here

Top Foods to Include in your Kid’s Diet

Here is a list of the top 7 healthiest foods to feed your kid and why it’s so healthy:


1. Oatmeal: A fabulous breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium. Old-fashioned oatmeal offers plenty of carbohydrate for quick energy and high fiber.  Add berries and honey to make it a delicious perfect food for those fast-paced school day mornings! 

2. Yogurt: Kick your child's dairy consumption up a notch and include yogurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than regular milk, and the cultures (check the label to make sure they're in there!) are very beneficial to good colon health. Watch it on the sugar content though.  A great idea is to buy plain yogurt and sweeten it yourself with fresh fruit!

3. Broccoli: it is one of the best vegetables for anyone, especially growing kids.  It has loads of calcium, potassium, beta-carotene and a wide variety of the B vitamins.  If your child is not a fan of plain vegetables include broccoli in a casserole or put a little shredded cheese on top to add flavor.

4. Protein: One size does not fit all when it comes to protein. The fact is that growing kids need protein to keep growing. How you're going to give it to them can vary widely, according to your preferences. Good choices include legumes, beans (combined with a grain to make a complete protein), soy products like tofu, eggs or lean meat, fish or poultry.

5. Whole Grains: The best nutrition is found in whole grains. Brown rice and whole wheat bread are a quantum leap over their white counterparts and offer necessary fiber, minerals and vitamins.  Choose grain products with the words “whole”, “unbleached” and “intact” or “ground”.

6. Nut Butters: Peanut butter and other nut butters are great fast and easy foods for kids. Kids need fat (it's a good fat if it doesn't have hydrogenated oils mixed in it) and they need the protein.  Try spreading almond or sunflower seed butter on crackers, toast or celery sticks for a quick and nutritious snack.

7. Fresh Fruit: My personal choice would be cantaloupe in the melon department. Vitamin C, beta-carotene, bits and pieces of B vitamins and trace minerals and calcium fill every juicy bite. Any in season fresh fruit is sure to be packed with healthy goodness!