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Posts Tagged ‘Diet’

Weight Loss And Cravings

January 7th, 2010 Comments off

There are many things you might know in terms of losing weight.
There is the exercise regime you follow, the healthy low in fat and high in fibre diet you mastered, the 8 glasses of water you drink every day, the amount of food you have on your plate, and the time you eat.
Equipped with all the knowledge you are determined to shed off those extra pounds from your thighs or midsection to become new you, the next Pamela Anderson or Daniel creg.
Unfortunately after couple of weeks of your weight loss regime you are as the same as you started your journey. Wondering what went wrong. You may start asking yourself. Feeling cheated and disappointed you are about to call it off.
But there is a solution
You most probably did not recognize the importance of craving factor which didn’t allow you to achieve your results. Because of that you didn’t notice the extra calories you were putting inside you believing you are strictly following your low-calorie diet.
Important: Cravings can be overcome. If you seriously want to lose weight you have to recognize which type of craving it is and deal with it. Tell yourself you can do it but you just have to want to. If you give in to your cravings you will never achieve the perfect body you are dreaming of.
Cravings can happen because of the habit you developed, or boredom, or emotions.
1. Habitual craving
If you crave for a certain type of food each day and at the same time, you have developed a food habit. Your body does not need these sugary and fatty calories, but because it gets them every day and same time you are salivating when you come to even think of the treat waiting for you. You may eat this high-in-fat snack without realizing the bad impact is going to have on your weight loss.
Solution: You have to break the cycle. When you get the impulse to eat something you shouldn’t, do something completely non-food related by changing your activity. If you became habitual to eat your treat after a meal or while reading a book or watching TV go for a walk instead or call a friend.
2. Boredom
You may eat when you are bored. Simple as that but happens to everybody more often than we are aware of.
Solution: Recognize the symptom and ask yourself if you are really hungry or just bored. In that case you need to find something to distract you, something you can enjoy to do to get yourself out of this dead zone. This could be to watch your favorite movie or meet up with your buddy, or in case if everything else failed go for a nap. This will definitely help in not to overstuffed yourself with fatty snacks.
3. Emotions
If you are an emotional eater, you most probably eat a lot of food without even realizing it that’s why this is the most dangerous type of cravings. Most of the time cravings are not truly food related. The cravings come when you feel angry, frustrated, sad, depressed or anxious.
Solution: Examine your mood first before reaching for the chocolate bar or a packet of crisps. Remember: all the food in the world will not help any emotional issues you may be facing at the moment. Try to treat your emotions with something positive and calming like having a hot bath, go for a walk, do yoga or listen to soft music.
Sometimes simple a glass of water can take care of your craving.

The Answer to Fast Weight Loss

January 5th, 2010 Comments off

Weight loss is a huge problem but another problem is some people just don’t simply have the time for long step by step slow process programs and they want results now, not in several months. Well, sometimes the best results come from the simplest most modern things and this is a great example because exercising is the answer to fast weight loss and doesn’t require any expensive equipment or tutorial videos to complete, only two hands and two legs and a head.If you have all of the above listed, you can exercise and hardly have an excuse to not be in shape. One thing to remember is that if your muscles are burning and your out of breath after each and every work out then you’re on the right track because this is a sign of improvement and a sign you’ve worked and while it may not show results overnight, you will see results depending on how often you work out and how consistent you are with your exercises. Push yourself to the limits and when you think you can’t go any farther, you’re just not pushing hard enough. If you only put in 10 minutes a day then you’ll only see 10 minutes a day worth of results and in the long run you’ll wish you had worked out just a little longer and seen better results a lot quicker.Any type and amount of exercise is better than none at all and anything is a great start if you started out doing nothing but being a couch bum but if you want hard quick and fast weight loss results you have to bust your butt and kick the common laziness disease to the curb which most people seem to have when it comes to working out or staying fit period.When it comes to staying healthy or losing weight fast, this is just one of the many steps you can take.

Weight Loss, Fitness, Health And TV Programs

January 3rd, 2010 Comments off

I was thinking the other day about all the new TV shows that are lining up at the beginning of the new season, each vying for a large chunk of the viewing market and at the same time, as much of a share of the advertising big bucks as they can.
Now this is not a rant about the quality of today’s programming although there seems to be a thinning trend to the substance of said programs. No, this is not a rant about that, nor is it even about the constant bombardment of TV ads every 5 minutes..
But as we, the viewing public, mortals amongst mortals struggle with daily notions of health, money and happiness, we are also confronted with the images of the very healthy, very beautiful, and oh so very seemingly happy actors that populate our favorite programs.
Now I know women (and men) are susceptible to the odd moment of vulnerability, bombarded as we are constantly with images of health products, diet pills, and exercise programs and equipment designed to be the precise and very last missing element in our endeavor of weight loss. And when confronted with perfect people on our TV programs, it is not unreasonable to feel somewhat threatened by the images they project so I was not surprised that my seemingly innocent comment caused my wife to come face to face with her very own boogie man.
A particular book on lose the fat, burn the muscle was immediately purchased and is being read right as I type these lines.
In addition, my wife ordered a supply of weight loss pills called phentremine which has the promise of accelerated weight loss whilst at the same time being safe.
As for me, I will have to remember to keep quiet the next time, and of course, it wouldn’t do me any harm if I was to lose weight myself.

How To Maintain Your Weight Loss

January 2nd, 2010 Comments off

Once you have started losing weight, it is crucial to think of how to maintain that weight loss in the days ahead.

It may seem hard to believe, but taking the weight off is the easy part. Maintaining weight loss for good is where the real challenge lies. If you are like me, you have tried countless diets, only to gain the weight back. People lose lots of weight on diets everyday, but 95% of them gain it back because they have focused only on the weight loss. They follow the diet until they get to a particular number on the scale and then, shortly after, they go back to the old lifestyle that made them overweight in the first place. Over time, of course, the weight comes right back.

The truth is, almost everyone can lose weight but only 5% keep it off. These are the Weight Loss Registry’s figures, not mine. The WLR followed highly successful dieters and came up with seven reasons why people were able to keep the weight off.

Here are the seven reasons the dieters were successful.

1. The dieters accepted failure and kept on trying.

2. The dieters did not deny themselves–they indulged from time to time.

3. They weighed themselves often.

4. They exercised one hour a day.

5. They added little bits of activity into their daily life.

6. They followed a high carb and low fat diet.

7. They ate 5 meals a day.

When I compare my own weight loss success to the list above, I would say I learned how to maintain weight loss due to the following: I do the best I can with what I have available. Sometimes I am not always in a perfect situation with the healthiest choices, but I make do with what is there and I stick to the plan. If I make a not so healthy choice, I don’t beat myself up for it.

I eat YUMMY and whole foods. Using the finest ingredients makes the most delicious meals and has helped me stick to Living Well. If I wanted to indulge, I would make it from scratch using the healthiest ingredients possible. To me, indulging does not mean eating junk.

I use a tape measure to keep tabs on my weight and occasionally weigh myself.

I really struggle with exercising regularly and I have NEVER exercised for one hour a day consistently. I will do heavy housework and other activities around the house to get my heart rate up and I try different forms of exercise all the time because I get bored easily.

I think it is vital to get moving every day, somehow, and it doesn’t always mean you have to be in an aerobics class or on some sort of machine to get your heart rate up.

I eat organic whole foods and healthy oils. I am not sold on the idea that low fat and high carb is the way to go. High fat is not the answer either, but healthy oils are not the enemy. The rights oils will actually speed up the metabolism.

I eat only 3 meals a day and rarely snack. I do better when I don’t snack or graze on food all day. BUT, you may be different. You have to do what works best for you and your unique body.

This is the MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: I think of the health I have now and my future health EVERYDAY. I really want to enjoy my older years and I want to be healthy. I don’t want to sit in a rocking chair, talking about all my symptoms and the things that ail me when I am in my golden years.

The Weight Loss Registry tips and my maintenance tips are not the only path for everyone, but instead are some ideas you can use to come up with your own way to keep the weight off once you have lost it.

Ultimately, I think it is crucial to focus on your health when changing over to a healthy lifestyle. So many people are in a hurry to lose weight. They spend their entire lives putting on the weight, losing the weight temporarily on diets and just wanting to get rid of it as fast as possible, not taking into consideration their state of health. I know you have heard this many times before, but if you don’t have your health, you don’t have much. Being thin will mean nothing to you if you compromise your health along the way.

Even if you are losing weight slowly, good for you! The idea here is to take off the weight and keep it off for good. Even just a couple of pounds a month adds up over the course of a year. And for those that were doing everything they could and continuing to gain weight, just stopping that weight gain is a measure of success.

With these tips, you now know how to maintain weight loss. Give yourself time to adjust to a new and healthy lifestyle and enjoy yourself along the way. A year from now your body will be thanking you for it!

Christopher Guerriero, is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning ‘Maximize Your Metabolism’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE teleseminars, visit: Maximize Your Metabolism

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4 Effective Weight Loss Tips

January 1st, 2010 Comments off

Are you one of those diet-hoppers that try diet after diet without losing as much as a pound of body fat? Well, hope is on the way for you and it does not involve starting on another type of diet. It simply is accepting the fact that there indeed simple and logical ways by which body fat can be lost. This advice is not rocket science. It is a set of easily comprehendible recommendations that have been ignored in the recent past.The effectiveness lies in the simplicity. An increased rate of metabolism. For sustained and long term weight loss it is advisable that you find ways and means to increase your body’s metabolism. The best and most effective way to do so is by ensuring that your body contains as much lean muscle as possible. Of course the best way to increase the lean muscle mass in your body is through strength training. Strength training imparts a spike to your rate of metabolism such that more fat is burnt as a result. Fat loss is all about maintaining lean muscle. The bodybuilder should know that the amount of fat that his body can burn is directly proportional to the body muscle content. Provided that your muscles are capable of summoning enough strength to power through workouts then the body will also be capable of burning off excess bodily fat. This is to say that the more strong the muscles are the better equipped the body will be at losing excess fat.The effort to increase muscle strength does not go unnoticed. As the muscle mass increases the body will get a more even tone and the muscle groups will now be more exposed as a result of the loss of sub-dermal fats. Don’t forget that you will be increasingly healthy and energetic. Decreasing the daily calorific intake is vital. Weight loss should never be about depriving the body of food as proposed by the many types of diets found all around. If you deprive yourself of enough food the body will supplement its energy sources by breaking down muscle reserves instead of the fat content. This will lower the rate of metabolism. This rate will remain low even when you start eating properly again and as a result fat will not be burnt but rather it will be stored in the body. The best way to reduce the daily calorific intake is by embarking on a gradual decrease of the amount of calories in such a way that the body won’t respond in ’starvation mode’. Learn to walk fast, it helps burn fat. Fast walking has been attributed as being more effective in losing weight as compared to running or jogging. Fast walking is conventional, easily done, a natural body motion, an injury-free exercise, and generally the most comprehensive minimal effort for weight and fat loss. The above listed methods are some of the most basic ways in which you can mange your weight with ease and efficacy.

Dieting Basics – Weight Loss for Beginners

January 1st, 2010 Comments off

The word “diet” has become defined as a mean for eliminating or limiting a certain foods sources in conventional diets today. The real definition simplified by my own words of diet is, “a prescribed selection of foods.” I believe strongly that this simple definition says everything about what a diet is unlike conventional diets have defined it.

Dieting is not starvation, tormenting, and in other words, a living hell! It can be as 1, 2, and 3.

As most people follow conventional diets, it is proven only 5% will actually lose weight and keep it off. But why only 5% succeed and other 95% fail? They did not follow these three steps.

1. Setting goals and methods of action.

Setting goals are not only for motivation but to give dieters a sense of direction on what they want to achieve. Some excellent question they should ask themselves and write on their goals sheet is what you want to accomplish, when do you want to reach these goals, how are you going to accomplish these goals, and why are they important?

Other question they should write down is why would they give up, what don’t you like about yourself, and when you reach your goals what we be different?

I recommend this to everyone that ask me to help them with some tips on how to stay motivated and the number one tips that does the best is taking pictures of yourself and putting them where you will see them every day.

No this is not a joke as a before and after picture are proven to keep people motivated and reaching for their goals.
In a nutshell, keep your goals sheet with your answers right by your pictures where you will see them every day to help keep you reaching for your goals.

2. Gain the knowledge needed.

Researching about healthy eating, weight loss, and exercise can become a struggle and risky with the health industry pointing you towards unnecessary weight loss supplement, diets, and exercise equipment.

Searching now for several years I have become fond of government site that give out a lot of free information, articles, and study’s that are trustworthy and I like to say, “the real thing.” I have made several weight loss websites available to you on my website for easy access to some of the best information online without having to research. Taking the time to learn about the basics of nutrition, exercise, and healthier living is the key towards success.

One of the best sources I believe and back up 100% is by Tom Venuto, “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.” This e-book has become the best selling weight loss book online as its results speak for itself. If you are interested in this book you can review it at http://www.top-weightloss-site.com as I believe you should make decisions when you learn the truth for yourself instead of someone else telling you. I guarantee it is an excellent book.

3. Construct a exercise, eating, and daily planner.

When creating your exercise, eating, and daily planner you need to take several elements and into account. Some things you have to incorporate into your daily planner is the amount of time and money you have to delegate to your goals, fitness level, and schedule.

So let’s recall what the steps just where.

You wrote out your goals and what you want to achieve in how much time, with your questions and answers, and don’t forget about your before and after pictures where you will see them every day. Next, you seek the knowledge to take action correctly and to get maximum results with as less amount of time and money spent.

Last, you created a daily planner that consist of your exercise and nutrition schedules and planners to keep track of what needs to be done to accomplish your desired results.

These three steps have been used over and over again with excellent results and I recommend you try it as well.

Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself on dieting and we hope you take advantage of my latest weight loss news, diets, and inspiration. Good Luck and God Bless!

A Weight-Loss Supplement The FDA Says Might Really Work

December 29th, 2009 Comments off

Government regulatory agencies are usually not big fans of weight-loss supplements. In January 2007, for example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined four supplement companies a total of $25 million for making what the FTC said were unscientific claims about their weight-loss products.
I’m sensitive to such a slight (even if I think the FTC was right in this case) because I’m the co-author of a book about science-backed vitamin and herbal supplements that can aid weight loss, The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy (Broadway, 2007).
I wrote the book with Harry Preuss, MD, a professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, a researcher with more than 300 scientific studies to his credit, a nutritionist, and a world-class expert in using natural remedies for weight-loss.
Dr. Preuss and I were very careful to present only the vitamins, herbs and food factors that study after study shows can safely and effectively help you lose weight-by gently boosting metabolism…or slowing the body’s fat-making machinery…or reducing appetite…or building calorie-burning muscle…or blocking the absorption of fats and carbohydrates.
The natural remedies featured in the book include (get ready for a barrage of acronyms):
• EGCG (green tea extract)
• CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)
• HCA (hydroxycitric acid)
• MCT (medium-chain triglycerides)
• Chromium
• Chitosan and other soluble fibers
• 5-HTP (5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan)
• HMB
And there’s one more weight-loss remedy on that list. It’s a natural substance so effective, that the FDA has given permission for products containing it to include on their labels the fact that the supplement works.
The ingredient is a carbohydrate digestive enzyme inhibitor, or what is more commonly known as a starch-blocker.
Extracted from white kidney beans, it works by blocking the action of alpha amylase, the digestive enzyme that breaks down starch in the intestines. The result: it prevents a portion of the carbohydrates in any high-carb food (like pasta, bread or potatoes) from being absorbed.
And that’s a good thing if your diet includes lots of refined carbohydrates from white bread and white flour, which are often stored in the body as fat. With carb-blockers, you can have your cake (or at least an occasional slice) and eat it too.
In 2005, Dr. Preuss helped conduct a 1-month Italian study on carb-blockers. The researchers gave either starch-blockers or a placebo to 60 overweight but healthy people, aged 25 to 45, who ate a carbohydrate-rich diet of 2000- to 2500-calories a day. Their weight was measured at the beginning and end of the 1-month study.
The people taking the starch blockers lost 10 times more weight than the people taking the placebo-6.6 pounds, compared to 0.6.
A year earlier, researchers at the UCLA School of Medicine found that dieters taking a starch-blocker lost twice as much weight as people taking a placebo.
In both cases, the researchers were studying Phase 2, a starch-blocker ingredient used in many brands, like Carb Intercept from Natrol, Carb Shredder from Vitamin Shoppe, Carbo Tame from Jarrow Formulas, Phase 2 from Now, and Starch Blocker from CVS.
In November 2006, the FDA told the manufacturers of Phase 2, Pharmachem Laboratories, Inc., they could use the following two statements on products containing Phase 2:
May assist in weight control when used in conjunction with a sensible diet and exercise program, and
May reduce the enzymatic digestion of dietary starches.
If you decide to take a carb-blocker, here are a few helpful tips from Dr. Preuss. Take it with 8-ounces of water to help absorb the supplement. Take it with a meal, either right before or right after. And follow the dosage recommendation on the label.
And remember that carb-blockers are not miracle pills. (There are no miracle diet pills.) You can’t eat a couple of doughnuts every day and take carb-blockers and not gain weight.
If you’d like to know more about carb-blockers or any of the weight-loss supplements mentioned in this article, please take a look at my book, The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy. You can find out more about it-and my other books on health and healing-at www.drugfreehealing.com.

6 Tips on the Best Weight Loss Exercises You Can Use Today

December 28th, 2009 Comments off

All of the world’s most effective diet regimens are worthless, or will only succeed in short term, if you don’t have the best weight loss exercises to maintain and improve the results you got from them. The most efficient way to losing weight permanently is to go on a weight loss diet, and complement it with some regular physical activity, to make sure that all the fat and cholesterol you have lost will not come back again.

For people who are not accustomed to extensive physical activities, the best weight loss exercises are those that don’t stray far from their previous daily routines. Low impact exercises such as brisk walking and jogging will serve for a while. As soon as their body starts to become limber, they can start to improve by following these tips:

-Visit your local gym. Most communities have free gym facilities or offer some sort of discount. If you’re not strapped for cash, you may even hire a personal trainer, which could greatly help especially if you are not familiar to regular exercises. Note that you shouldn’t jump with both feet in. Start with easy resistance training and progress to higher levels in time.

-Be more active in everything. Forget about your sedentary lifestyle in the past. Continue brisk walking in the morning, or take the stairs instead of the elevator if you’re not running late. Do some swimming or cycling. If you have a pet dog, you can hit two birds in one stone by regularly taking him for a walk twice in a single day.

-Do some stretching every once in a while. This will also help in situations where you can’t visit the gym due to a busy schedule. This helps keep your body limber and prevent those fats from creeping up again. Some stretching exercises such as yoga and tai chi can also help you relax and improve mental health.

-Use home exercise equipment if you have it, or if you can afford them. This has the added benefit of letting you do some other leisure activities while maintaining your body’s health. For example, you can still watch TV or read a book while on a treadmill.

-Drink lots of water. I can’t stress this enough. While exercising, your body fat will get burned and will usually be expelled through your sweat. If you run out of body liquids you can’t perspire, so you need to regularly replenish your body liquids by drinking copious amounts of water. You also need to remember that failing to replenish your body’s water while exercising can be fatal, since it would lead to heat stroke or dehydration.

-Last but not the least; be consistent in your routines and schedules as well as your diet. A weight loss program’s effectiveness will lessen greatly if not done religiously, as your body may adopt itself to the irregular activity and could hinder your progress. Create a specific schedule and program for yourself, and follow it to the letter.

Discover Why A Treadclimber Is Crucial For Weight Loss And Cardio Conditioning

December 26th, 2009 Comments off

A TreadClimber can be your dream machine if you want to lose weight and gain lean-looking, toned thighs. This unique engineering feat combines the treadmill, stair climber and elliptical trainer. Imagine the spectacular results from all-in-one sessions on these extraordinary fat-burners! In fact, with a TreadClimber, you may be able to progress twice as fast, or alternatively cut your cardio conditioning time by as much as 50%.
A TreadClimber is a fairly safe, low-impact exercise solution. The machine’s dual treadles function separately. The action looks similar to that of an elliptical trainer. It has a forward motion as on a treadmill, while also allowing you to step up at the same time. This stair climbing mechanism is where the fat-burning efficiency comes in. The degree of intensity can be adjusted to suit your fitness level. By increasing this range, you will be boosting the strength building aspect of the machine. At the same time, you will be burning more calories.
Develop Those Lean, Dream Thighs
The incomparable design of a TreadClimber brings a wider range of big muscle groups into play at the same time. This is the main reason behind the calorie crunching success of this piece of fitness equipment. Your glutes, thighs, calves, quads, lower back and abs all join in the effort. While the motion is very natural, it produces superior results. In a sense, the action mimics power walking. The machine not only helps you to lose weight, but builds that beautiful, lean-muscled look you desire. The effects are seen in slimmer hips and thighs, a tight backside, and a flatter stomach. You are likely to develop a stronger core. Your hamstrings should display a new, toned look. You will also be strengthening your lower back in the process. You should be able to see how your posture improves.
The combined action of a TreadClimber gets you into your maximum fat-burning zone in short order. With the help of the incorporated programs and the built-in heart rate monitor, you will be kept in this aerobic training zone for prime productivity. While you perceive the workout to be easy, you will actually be working twice as hard as on a treadmill. The gradual hill-climbing motion is super efficient, yet not at all grueling. During tests, users were shown to remain in their optimal training zone for as much as 28.5 minutes of a 30 minute workout.
Crunch Calories, Not Potato Chips
While exercising, you are fed with a constant stream of accurate data about your progress. Your feedback will show you to be burning up to 321 calories in a 30 minute period, compared to around 150 calories during the same workout on a treadmill. You may be able to lose up to 5 pounds per week with regular use. As you are increasing your lean muscle mass rapidly in the process, you are constantly revving up your metabolism, which in turn gives you an even better, fast-paced fat-burning rate. Remember that this benefit continues to work, even while you sleep!
One of the main advantages of having a TreadClimber at home is that you can utilize the machine at any convenient time during the day – even if used for only a few minutes at a time, you will see magical results. You won’t have the whole schlep of going to a gym, dressing up for a gym session, or driving there and hunting for a parking space. You can just drop the vacuum and hop onto your training buddy for ten minutes. You can also watch your favorite soapie or listen to music while working out. This helps to pass the time and keeps you motivated.
A TreadClimber may be one of the best health and weight loss investments you can make for your family.

Coenzyme Q10 Ensuring Weight Loss

December 25th, 2009 Comments off

It is interesting to note that while the dangers of obesity have led to the proliferation of a wide variety of weight loss products in the market, not many are aware of the fact that the human body itself is very well equipped with various resources which can greatly aid the loss of weight. The mitochondria are considered to be the source of cellular energy in the body. There are several sets of mitochondrial enzymes which are extremely beneficial as they possess antioxidant properties and aid the production if energy within the body. The coenzyme q10 is an antioxidant with nutritional properties which is present in every single cell of the body and this mitochondrial enzyme plays a vital role in the conservation of body weight. It has been revealed that not only weight loss, the coenzyme q10 is also equally useful in acting as preventives against diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, high blood pressure etc. there are several individuals who consume the coenzyme q10 in the form of supplements by including them in their diets in case their body does not possess adequate amounts of this mitochondrial enzyme. It is essential to bear in mind in case of this coenzyme q10 that it alone cannot work wonders in reducing weight. A strict and regular exercising regimen along with a balanced diet is also necessary in order to ensure effective weight loss. Within the body itself, there are several organs which are considered to be the best food source of this coenzyme q10. These organs include the kidneys, heart and liver. Moreover, there are also several food ingredients which are rich in the coenzyme q10 supplements. While it is believed that such food items should be consumed raw in order to ensure the best results, not all food items can be consumed in the raw form and so it is often advised that supplementary forms be taken too. The need for raw consumption is related to the fact that these coenzymes are often affected by cooking. Some of the essential sources of the coe3nzyme q10 include spinach, peanuts, wheat germs and broccoli along with non-vegetarian food resources like pork, lamb, beef, mackerel and egg.

Before undertaking the consumption of coenzyme q10 supplements, it is necessary to keep in mind that these coenzyme supplements will only be beneficial only if an individual has a notable coenzyme q10 deficiency in his body. In cases where an individual consumes a coenzyme supplement without any deficiency, it has been noticed that no considerable weight loss could be reported.