Benefits of a Yoga Lifestyle to Manage Stress, Anger, Anxiety, and Obesity

There is a common misconception that yoga is a only practice that leads people being able to stretch better and gain more flexibility. Yoga is actually a set of lifestyle practice that lead one realizing a deeper sense of awareness. With this increased awareness you can choose your reactions differently and from a place of detached objectivity. A yoga lifestyle includes many restraints that involve diet, personal hygiene, patience, compassion, breathing techniques, meditation techniques as well as physical postures.

There are a number of yoga lifestyle practices that can lead to an increased sense of purity and vitality. Since the modern diet, which is centered around convenience, speed and mass production often does not correlate to food that is vitalizing and full of nourishment. Since we are very unprotected by the government to regulate cleanliness and health for the food industry, we are left to our own devices to find food that gives us life and strength.

A vegetarian diet is often more ideal since all the chemicals, hormones and anti-biotics that are in meat and dairy products can make us sick. Even in eating a vegetarian diet it is best to abstain from " the whites" flour, pasta, rice and sugar, as well since these products have been severely denourished with plenty of dangerous chemicals added in the production process.

Eating foods with unprocessed and whole ingredients is a smart start. After you eat something, do you feel full of vitality or do you feel sluggish and yucky? One you start to notice the effects food has, you have begin on the path to making more nourishing food choices. Try eating only chips and soda for two days straight and you will realize how devitalizing these mainstays of the American snack food diet are. Yoga helps us become aware of how we respond to and process stimulation in our environment and helps us on the path to vitality and calm, in our bones and in our brains.

In the business world, many self-management techniques are required to succeed including the ability to manage pressure, deadlines, energize, improve self-esteem, overcome obstacles, overcome fear and setbacks, develop and nurture self-confidence, manage anger, sharpen concentration and persevere in the face of adversity. Yoga is a system of techniques for self-management and achieving personal excellence using breathing techniques, physical poses, and meditation.

Yoga has transformed many beyond just being more bendy on the mat. The skills you use in mastering a balancing pose improve your focus and concentration which helps you to be more effective in the workplace and at home. These meditative poses help you to practice detachment so you don't let fear of losing things (material objects, status, relationships) and the need to hold on to things (or people) have as much power over you. You can then make decisions from a place of being powerfully responsibly for your own life instead of just being reactionary. Yoga poses involve movements which bring stability to the body, the senses, and help further develop our intellect and consciousness.

Yoga helps you to embrace uncertainty. Yoga is more than a set of physical poses that help you bend and flex for a Cirque Du Soleil audition. Yoga is a set of lifestyle practices that leads one to a deep self-realization and self-mastery.

Yoga has helped many to have a more objective point of view on situations and people. Instead of judging people, you come to realize that most people are doing their best for their level of consciousness and you develop greater compassion for others. Yoga has assisted in stemming the feelings of pain, fatigue, doubt, confusion, self-delusion and despair that we all feel. Yoga helps to make your mind steady and clear so decisions are made from a place of clarity and strength.

Yoga is a tool which allows us to experience our selves more fully and more richly. We are at a critical juncture in the evolution of our minds. The earth-wide environmental movement and internet are examples of the world coming together to form a global community.

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Overcoming A Sedentary Lifestyle

If your life involves a job sitting at a desk 40 hours a week, sitting in your car an hour or two a day, and sitting in your favorite chair and watching television in the evening, you have probably put on some pounds. If your girth has been expanding, you may have made earnest efforts to lose weight. But if you find yourself just "treading water" in those efforts and your schedule just doesn't allow for a lot of time on the treadmill, here are some tips to help you.

There are a lot of little ways you can increase the amount of exercise you get each day, without reserving an hour at the gym. Instead of looking for the parking space closest to the store, park in the farthest space. Walk. Walk to the mailbox. Walk around the block when you have 5 minutes. Mow the lawn yourself instead of asking your teenager to do it. These are just a few ideas. You can think of many more that fit into your own daily routine. If you do not live more than a mile from work, how about bicycling to work, at least 2 or 3 days a week?

The idea is to start small. As you increase your exercise level, you become capable of doing more. If you can get in a brisk one-mile walk each day, you will feel far more fit as well as seeing the extra pounds melt away. Replace that intimidating image of hours at the gym with simple, easy changes you can make in your daily routine. Replace the impossible with the possible.

Once you get started, you will have an incentive to go further. You can do exercises lifting 1 or 2 pound weights even while watching TV. Make your dog happy by taking him for a really long walk. Tackle some of that clean up and trimming in your yard that you have been meaning to do. Once you learn to enjoy exercise, you may even want to sign up at the gym!

If possible, work standing at your desk for some time. Keep wooden rollers that stimulate your feet under your desk. When you stand up to go somewhere, take a minute to flex your calf and foot muscles by going up and down on your toes, before you walk away from your desk. Some enlightened employers now offer an exercise room for their workers. If this is available, split your lunch hour and make one half eating time and one half exercise time. If not, you can always walk a lap or two around the parking lot on your break or lunch hour.

Find a book at the library that outlines a good overall set of exercises that will tone your muscles as well as helping you lose weight. The RCMP has a good one. You can fit a few minutes into several brief time slots during your day to do range of motion exercises with your arms or legs.

So, you can see from these tips that it is really not impossible to fit exercise into your day, no matter how sedentary your job, and no matter how busy you are. Put these tips into practice, combined with a healthier and lower calorie diet, and you can succeed at weight loss.

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The Best Weight Loss Plan Is A Life Change

Most people can lose weight by choosing a good diet plan and sticking to it until they reach their weight loss goal. However, if they go off their diet and return to their former eating habits, the weight comes back. A better plan to maintain a healthy weight is to make a permanent change in their way of life. This article outlines some of the basic changes needed.

Check your kitchen cupboards and refrigerator for calorie rich, high fat foods. Throw them out, or donate them to a food pantry if you do not want to waste them. Now you can stock your kitchen with foods and ingredients that are healthy. If those fattening foods are not available, you will not be tempted to eat them even though you know they are not good for you.

Go shopping with a list of nutritious foods, and stock your kitchen with healthy foods. Make sure you include ingredients for recipes you typically make, but look for the low fat and low calorie varieties this time. Also look for recipes created just for people who want to lose weight and eat healthy foods. There are online sources where you can find recipes for delicious foods that will not contain a lot of fat and calories. Also, look for recipes that include nutrition information, such as the fat, calories and cholesterol in each serving.

If you enjoy a snack between meals, measure out an amount limited to about 100 calories into a baggie. It is easier to track your calories this way and helps you avoid eating more between meals than you intended.
If you know you have a healthy meal at home that you can quickly prepare, you will be less likely to grab a hamburger at the drive-through on your way home. Make double recipes so you can freeze serving size portions which you can microwave for a fast and healthy meal.

Most people have gotten used to the larger serving sizes they get in a restaurant. These servings are double or triple the portion sizes you should be eating, so concentrate on putting less on your plate at a meal. If you are eating out, take half of your meal home with you instead of stuffing yourself at the restaurant.
Adequate sleep is necessary for a healthy life as well as reaching a healthy weight. If you are well rested, you will have more energy and be more active. Exercise is important to reach and maintain weight loss, so do not allow yourself to lose sleep and be too tired to exercise.

Many people do not realize how much sugar is in a single serving of soda. Even if you switch to diet drinks, water is still more healthy for you. Toxin buildup in your body can cause you to feel sluggish and tired. Water helps flush these toxins out, so you feel more like living the active life that is good for you.
A healthy diet is a good place to start when you want to reach a healthy weight. It is important to continue to eat healthy and stay active to maintain your weight loss. Use the tips in this article to create that new, healthy lifestyle for yourself.

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An All-Around Approach To Losing Weight

If you're aware that you need to lose weight, there are going to be many things on your mind. Start devising a comprehensive weight loss plan that includes all the different aspects of losing weight. Do your research, and continue reading this article to find out an all-around approach to losing weight.

The very first thing you should be doing is designing a solid diet and fitness regimen. This should be done on paper, so you should consider keeping a journal. This will help you record everything, set your goals, track your progress, and keep you motivated. Think about exercises that you like to do. Maybe you're into sports like basketball or swimming. Perhaps you like to go hiking. Set your short-term and long-term goals for your weight loss plan. Get started!

Make sure you have the help and support of your family and friends. These are the people closest to you. Get them involved in what you're doing. Start cooking meals that the whole family can eat. Talk to them and tell them how you're doing and feeling. Exercise with them, and make it a family experience.

You need to be drinking plenty of water. This is essential to a healthy diet and losing weight because your body needs water more than any other beverage. Make sure you drink your 64 ounces of water each day at least. This will take away from you drinking unhealthy beverages, which you need to refrain from doing anyway.

When you go shopping, you need to have a good grocery list and some meals planned out. Life moves fast, so this can be hard to do at times. However, you don't have to know everything, but at least have a good several things planned out. It can be fun coming up with new recipes and going shopping. Looking around at everything, you can feel good that you're choosing healthy options as well.

Make sure you eat out less and cook meals at home more often. Restaurants tend to add extra calories to everything, and the portion sizes are enormous. Cooking at home gives you control over the selections and the ingredients. This also makes for great family time, and it can save you time as well. You will find that you are able to get a good handle on your diet if you're not constantly eating out.

Make sure you do some weight training or similar exercises to tone up your body. This adds to your weight loss. What that means is you might lose a certain number of pounds, but a toned body will make you feel like you've lost even more.

Weight loss takes a full-scale approach, and you need to set goals and make your plans. There is no reason you should have to carry that weight any longer. Make your adjustments, and get ready to shed those pounds. Take into consideration everything you've read in this article as you get ready to design your own weight loss and fitness regimen.

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The Importance of Sleep in Weight Loss

If you are seeking to lose a few pounds, you may or may not have heard about how important it is to get enough sleep. This article will provide the specific reasons why sleep is important in trying to lose weight and how it will aid you in your weight-loss endeavor.

Sleep helps the body with metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which food is taken in, processed, and digested by the body. People with slow metabolisms and fast metabolisms can eat the same amount of food and achieve different results. Sleeping regularly aids the body in metabolizing food by making it easier for the body to store energy broken down from food.

Sleeping helps keep insulin levels down. You need not be a diabetic to understand the importance of healthy insulin levels- you need only be seeking to lose weight. Healthy insulin levels help the body break down sugars, thus preventing them from being stored as excess fats.

Sleep also helps keep leptin levels normal. Leptin plays a key role on energy expenditure, and helps keep the body regular in terms of hormonal balance and in terms of levels of exhaustion. Like many neurological chemicals, it important to have a healthy balance of leptin.

Sleep also prevents insulin resistance, which is important in preventing diabetes and other blood-glucose disorders. Insulin resistance leads to a storage of sugars as body fat. By preventing insulin resistance, you prevent the aggregation of excess sugars in the body as fat.

Sleeping regularly helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. This is important, because the movement of the blood and other circulation-related functions help the body filter out waste.
Sleeping regularly also helps to keep the risk of heart disease low, because it lowers the heart rate and allows the body to repair itself.

Sleep helps give the brain a chance to relax, reboot, and reprogram. This is important, especially in reducing stress. It also helps improve mood, and thus makes it easier to have a positive outlook on life, physical activity, and otherwise restrictive diets.

Sleep helps the body replenish its energy store, thus lowering cravings for carbohydrates-- a prime energy source. By lowering carbohydrate cravings, you lessen the chances of having excess carbs stored in the body.

Sleep also slows the rate of fat storage. This is particularly important in losing weight, as fat storage is particularly undesirable. Additionally, by lowering the rate of fat storage, the rate of waste removal increases, and the body benefits through the detoxification process.

Sleep is very important in overall health, not just weight loss. Healthy sleeping patterns help the body to perform at peak physical condition and therefore helps you perform at your best in any and all aspects, including cognitively, athletically, socially, et cetera.

It is imperative that you get enough sleep, both during and not during weight loss periods. Using the advice in this article will aid you in deciding when to go to sleep, particularly during weight-loss periods. Choosing to sleep over not sleeping is an important decision but may be the one that looses you the most weight.

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Are You Trying To Reduce Weight?

Losing weight is not easy, especially if you are not using an efficient method. You should go over this article to learn more about the most efficient weight loss methods.

Start by completely eliminating unhealthy foods from your diet. Some foods are obviously bad nutritional choices such as candy, fast food and fried foods but some foods are harder to identify as unhealthy. You should check the labels of the foods you buy and pay attention to the amount of fat, sugar, high fructose corn syrup and sodium. Some foods and beverages contain surprisingly high amounts of unhealthy ingredients, even foods advertised as fat free or lite.

Are you eating a balanced diet? Your body needs three balanced meals a day or five to six smaller meals. If your diet is not well-balanced and is lacking certain types of food, your body might store fat to compensate for what is missing. Besides, you will not get enough energy to go through your daily routine if your diet is not balanced. Your meals should contain foods from each food group in reasonable quantities.

Introduce new healthy foods into your diet. Most people do not eat enough fruits and vegetables or whole grains. If this is true for you, find some fruits and vegetables you love and try preparing them in different manners. You can introduce more whole grains into your diet if you replace white bread by whole grain bread and make your usual pasta dishes with whole grain noodles. Look up healthy recipes online and make your diet more fun by trying new dishes.

You need to make an effort to be more active on a daily basis. Find a new hobby to help you be more active, and get a bicycle if you want to get some exercise on your way to work. If you have to sit at your desk all day at work, take breaks and go for walks or bring a yoga mat with you so you can do some abs and a few other exercises at work. When you come home, do not sit down in front of the TV or computer. Do some yard work or another activity that allows you to be more active.

Working out regularly is a good way to lose weight quickly. Start slowly, especially if you are out of shape. You might need to wait until you lose weight from your healthier diet before you can start working out. Find some exercises you enjoy and work out at your own rhythm. Start by strengthening your core muscles by doing abs. You will become more resistant and able to exercise more efficiently once you lose weight in your midsection. You can then find a cardio workout you enjoy and work on your other muscle groups.

These weight loss tips will help you get in shape quickly if you are ready to commit to a program. Introduce changes slowly and give yourself enough time to get used to your new lifestyle so you are not tempted to go back to your old habits.

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Don't Let Your Busy Schedule Keep You From Losing Weight

How To Lose Weight In A Healthy Way

If you decide to start a weight loss program, it is important that you diet and exercise in a healthy way. Read this article for some helpful tips on how to reach you ideal weight while remaining healthy.

A diet is healthy only if it provides your body with everything it needs. This means you should eat three balanced meals a day with some cereal, meat, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and small quantities of oils and fats. Calculate how many calories you need and do your best to get as close to this number as possible. If you feel weak, tired or constantly hungry, your diet might be missing something.

A lot of weight loss programs are based on depriving you from important parts of your diet. You will lose weight if you eliminate carbs or proteins from your diet, eat less calories than you need and skip meals. However, your body will not be able to sustain this diet for very long. Your body will actually store fat to compensate from your insufficient diet and you will yourself lacking the energy you need to go through your daily routine.

If you want to adopt a healthy diet, you will probably have to introduce a lot of new foods in your diet. There are probably a lot of fruits, vegetables and spices you have never tried before and you could be allergic to some of these foods. If you know about any allergies you have, avoid eating foods that are similar to the ones that cause the allergic reaction. Introduce one new food at a time and eat a small quantity at first to make sure you are not allergic to it. Always research the best way to prepare the new foods you are going to try.

Be safe when you exercise. Always stretch before and after your workout sessions and watch workout videos or work with an instructor to learn proper posture. If your joints or back hurt during an exercise, stop immediately and correct your posture. Be especially careful if you lift weights or use machines at your gym. Wait an entire day before exercising a muscle group again and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated during and after your workout sessions, especially if you are working on your cardio.

If you have a lot of weight to lose or suffer from a healthy condition, it is best to meet with your doctor before you start your weight loss program. Your doctor will help you decide on an ideal weight and advise you on the healthiest way to lose weight. You might have to spend a few months dieting before you can safely exercise or completely avoid a certain type of exercise. You can also go see a nutritionist if you need help with counting calories and preparing balanced meals.

It will be easier to go through a weight loss program if it is adapted to your needs and helps you adopt a healthier lifestyle. Do not hesitate to get help from your doctor, a nutritionist or a coach.

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Excellent Way to Lose Weight

If you are overweight, it is in your best interest to get in shape and adopt some healthier habits. Take a few minutes to read this article if you want to learn more about efficient weight loss methods.

Start by eliminating all your bad nutritional habits. This includes snacking, eating at fast food restaurants, not eating at fixed hours and overeating. You might also be buying foods and beverages you believe are healthy because they are advertised as fat free or lite. Always check the label of the foods and beverages you purchase. Most fat free or lite items contain high amounts of other unhealthy ingredients and items such as fruit juice and canned foods contain high amounts of sugar or preservatives.

Set some goals for your weight loss program. You need to have an ideal weight you want to reach as well as a weekly goal. You could for instance plan on losing one or two pounds a week. Weigh yourself regularly to keep track of your progress. If you are not losing one or two pounds a week, you need to make changes to your weight loss program. Reward yourself when you attain your weekly goals, for instance by buying some new clothes. If you are having a hard time meeting your goals, you might have to set some more realistic goals.

You should eat three balanced meals a day and pay attention to the quantity of food you eat so you do not get more calories than you need. If you eat more calories than you can burn, they will be turned into fat and stored. Calculate how many calories you need by using an online calculator or meet with a nutritionist to get a more personalized result. You do not have to eat this exact number of calories, but you should get as close to this number as possible. Each meal should include cereals, meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and a small amount of fats and oils.

Develop a good fitness program along with your healthy diet. Schedule an appointment with your doctor to make sure you are healthy enough to start exercising right away. Once you are ready to exercise, you should plan on working out for thirty minutes twice a week. As you get in shape, try working out more frequently and for longer periods of time. You will progress quickly if you try doing more reps of the same exercise from one week to the next. Add more exercises to your workout routines but keep in mind that each routine should not include more than five or six exercises. Start by targeting your midsection to improve your resistance before moving on to cardio training. Once you are in better shape, tone your different muscle groups with targeted exercises.

These tips will help you put together an efficient weight loss program. Take all the time you need to get used to new foods, get in shape and get used to new habits.

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Useful Ideas That Shed Pounds

More people in the industrialized world are obese than ever before in history. The prevalence of cheap food that is rich in calories but poor in nutrition is obvious in groceries stores and restaurants. It is also bought and used in high volume as consumers struggle to save money, time and stress. Still, many of these same consumers do not want to struggle with their weight. Useful ideas that actually shed pounds are below.

Get routine exercise. Even just walking twenty minutes a day, three or four times a week, is enough to jump start metabolism into a fat and calorie burning state. The nice thing about being more active is that you do not just slouch into the couch and eat in front of the television as much as you used to. A good workout regimen is going to include cardio, strength building and stretching. Cardio in particular is good to start with since it is most likely the activity that will make you sweat. Sometimes, you just feel nasty and want to sit and eat to feel better, but it might just be that you feel nasty from toxin buildup. Sweat is how your body likes to detox.
Keep your alcohol consumption within reason. For some, light to moderate drinking seems to have some health benefits. Heavy drinking on the other hand means gulping down lots of liquid calories that provide no nutrition whatsoever. Add in the impact on your sleep, and you see how booze in heavy doses does not help your waist line.

Eat fewer foods with sugar. Not only is sugar high in calories and virtually empty of nutritional content, it boosts your blood sugar levels. This increases your appetite, and then you are hungry again later after your blood sugar crashes and you have no energy.

Three things to eat more of are lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. Most fruits and veggies are very low in calories but high in nutrition. The fiber within them, combined with protein, makes eating very satiating, so you feel full longer and off of less total calories.

Slow down when you eat. It takes about fifteen to twenty minutes for your stomach to start feeling full, regardless of how much or how fast you eat. Mellow out the pace and you can feel just as full as you would otherwise.

Drink lots of water and stay hydrated. Water has no calories whatsoever and makes it very easy for your body to function well. It can even help keep you full for a while between meals.
Never ever throw in the towel. Your weight is unfortunately a lot like the stock market. It goes up and down constantly, and yet still has a general direction up or down.

Personal motivations for wanting to lose weight can seriously vary; however, the paths to a slender body are often the same. If you can find the motivation and mental attitude that wants to be thin, then the tips in this article can help you manifest your ambition.

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Maintaining Weight Loss Goals in a New Relationship

Your new relationship will modify your schedule as you make time for and spend time with the new significant person in your life. Use the tips below to maintain your healthy weight loss focus while you pursue your new relationship.

Dates often involve food so make some adjustments to how you're eating. Regardless of the types of establishments you visit, you'll likely be eating out more in the early days of your new relationship than you were before you were dating.

If weight loss is important to you, introduce the idea early on in your relationship of scrutinizing the types of places you are going to eat at as a couple.

Make sure you get to know the eating habits and exercise style of the person you're dating, including the big meal that that person eats during the day as well as the time of day the person exercises. It's important that you acknowledge differences in your styles of eating and exercise so that as a couple you can decide on incorporating the diet and exercise practices that are important to each of you.

Resist going to exercise together unless you both exercise for similar periods of time. In addition to making you feel self-conscious about your athletic abilities or appearance in your workout clothing, you can each end up being annoyed by the other person if one person tends to exercise for longer or shorter periods of time than the other.

Plan some active outings such as hiking or taking a walk that you'll both be able to do regardless of differences in your athletic abilities.

Discuss ahead of time whether an after-dinner walk or going dancing is going to be part of your date so that each of you can wear footwear that is comfortable for the activity.

Consider whether your new romance is resulting in a shift in your traditional evening activities such as going out dancing for staying in and watching a movie, a much more inactive lifestyle, and make adjustments to your exercise schedule to accommodate the change in order to maintain your weight-loss focus.

Encourage discussion and activity that revolves around healthy lifestyle including weight-loss goals and enlist your new partner's help in maintaining or further reducing your weight. Similarly, be supportive of your partner's weight-loss efforts.

Don't pretend that you're not worried about watching your weight if you are worried about watching your weight. Turning down an opportunity to eat out can be viewed as rejection unless you communicate that you're trying to limit your eating out in order to pursue weight-loss goals.

Don't eat to please your new partner or others when they encourage you to try something, take seconds or choose to eat a food that is not part of your weight loss diet. This seems obvious until you find yourself saying OK to tasting a fattening dessert or other menu item. Decline the food and if you want, explain that you're watching your weight.

A new romance should not mean unnecessary weight gain that defeats your weight loss goals. Use the tips above for pursuing your new romance while keeping your weight-loss goals in sight.

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How To Prepare Yourself Mentally For Weight Loss

Lots of people believe weight loss is simply physical. Although you must make physical changes, it is more important that you change your mindset. The below article outlines some excellent tips on how to get your mind right to achieve your weight loss goals.

First, you must figure out what will motivate you in your weight loss attempts. Are you going to have a wedding or attend a friend's wedding in the near future and want to look great? Do you want to finally feel good about yourself again? Or perhaps you are trying to improve your health? Regardless of your reason, it's important that you find one or more reasons to lose weight. 

Next, you should ensure that you set some concrete goals for yourself. What's your end goal? Do you want to lose 100 pounds or more or are you simply looking to lose those last 10 pounds? Maybe you aren't looking to achieve a specific number on a scale. Instead, maybe you just want to fit into those skinny jeans again. Just set a goal! You cannot expect to succeed with anything in your life without setting some type of goal.

Aim to have yourself a solid support group. Losing weight is hard, and although you can have success completely on your own, it is much more difficult to do it without anyone giving you support. Whenever you are experiencing setbacks, which are almost certain to happen at some point, you need people you can turn to who will comfort you and get you back on track. Your support group should consist of friends and/or family who you can depend on. If possible, try to have a support group of individuals who are also trying to lose weight. That way, you can help support each other.

Give yourself rewards from time to time for staying on track. Treat yourself to dinner (a healthy one) and a movie with your friends, go get a makeover, or buy yourself a new iPod. Try not to reward yourself with food because food is what got you overweight in the first place.

However, in regards to the previous paragraph, you should not deprive yourself of any of your favorite foods. If you are a chocolate lover, you need to have some chocolate every now and then. The key is using moderation. Only eat one piece per day, and try to eat dark chocolate if possible because that's the healthiest.

Finally, you should picture yourself at your goal weight. Imagine how you will look and feel. Look at yourself in the mirror, and think about how great it will be to finally not have that muffin top. If you are losing weight for an occasion, such as a wedding, think about how great you will look. Try to have some pictures of people with your specific body type who have the body you want hanging on your walls to help motivate you even more.

As long as your mind is on the right track, you can lose weight. Utilize the tips provided above and lose weight today!

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Great Tips For More Effective Weight Loss

Losing weight is something with which many people struggle. It can be difficult to lose even a few pounds, and if you are very overweight, it can seem as if you will never able to reach a healthier size. However, do not give into despair. With the right advice, you can start to lose weight and become more fit.

One important part of weight loss is learning how to eat less. Many of us have become accustomed to eating enormous portions at every meal, and if you want to lose weight, you are going to have to unlearn this habit. One good way to help yourself do so is to start using smaller plates when you eat. Your mind takes cues from the size of your plate, so a smaller portion that takes up more of its plate can actually make you feel fuller than eating more food on a larger plate.

Diet is only one part of a successful weight loss plan, however. You also need to start burning more calories. This does not mean that you have to become a workout warrior who spends hours a day in the gym, but you do need to start incorporating more physical activity into your daily life. Even something as simple as using the stairs instead of the elevator can help. As you become more fit, start doing more each day until you are able to go to the gym or play sports.

It is important to have realistic expectations that you are actually capable of achieving so that you do not set yourself up for failure. Your goals should be ambitious enough to push you a little but not so ambitious that you will never even get near them. As you lose weight and become more fit, adjust your goals to match your new abilities.

Losing weight does not have to mean subjecting yourself to constant denial and deprivation. There is nothing wrong with an occasional reward or treat. Just try to limit these to special occasions and have them be rewards for achieving a particular goal. Keep these rewards small and reasonable, and know that eating a piece of cake or having a cookie will not hurt you.

Keeping careful track of how well you are doing is an important part of a successful weight loss program. The better your records, the more you will know about what works and what does not. By tracking how much weight you lose and what you do each day, you can figure exactly what gives you the best results. This makes it easier to know whether you need to make any changes, and if so, which changes need to be made so that you can achieve your goals as quickly as possible.

The more weight you lose, the healthier you will be and the better you will feel about yourself. Before long, you will notice an increase in your self-confidence. This can help you stay motivated to lose even more weight. Keep the tips from this article in mind during your weight loss journey.

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The Best Diet Is a Lifestyle Change

Are you someone who has been trying to lose weight for a long time, only to fail again and again? Perhaps what you really need to change your lifestyle instead of what you eat. If an unhealthy lifestyle is what has caused your weight problem, then the best way to lose that weight is to adopt a healthier way to live. Use the information in this article to help make those changes.

If you find you are hungry within a couple hours of eating, eat more often. Just keep the meals you eat small and healthy. Do not snack on junk food or sweet treats, but eat a piece of fruit and a handful of healthy nuts to satisfy your cravings until your next scheduled meal. Avoid eating anything late in the evening. Some people create a cutoff time for food somewhere around six or seven PM.

Make sure you drink enough water during the day. This not only helps you feel full and provides a feeling of satisfaction, but it helps to flush sugar, fat and toxins from your body. Water also helps your digestive system, preventing you from feeling sluggish and tired.

Protein is good for you and provides energy. Your muscles need protein to perform best. Just make sure the protein you eat is lean protein, without added fat or cholesterol. Lean beef is allowed but should be limited to only once or twice in a week. Fish, turkey and chicken are also very healthy, but make sure to choose the lean varieties.

White bread, pasta and potatoes are all bad for you. Look for whole grain breads and pasta, and choose sweet potatoes instead. Make sure you never eat deep fried foods of any kind, and do not purchase breaded fish or chicken in the frozen food section of your grocery store.

There are some healthy fats you can use to cook with and include in your recipes. Olive oil, canola oil and coconut oil are all very healthy, but they are high in calories so limit their use. Check the labels of your foods to make sure they do not contain any transfats. These are very unhealthy in many ways, including causing memory problems and cardiac issues.

Calories do count whether you want to admit it or not. It may be a nuisance to accurately count the calories you take in every day, but it is important to limit your calories to less than the amount you burn. The average man will burn approximately 2,500 calories each day with normal activity, and a woman will burn about 2,000. If you want to lose weight you need to increase your activity level and keep your calorie intake about 200 less than the average needed.

One good way to keep track of your calories is to keep a food journal. This will give you an approximation of the number of calories you eat in a day and can provide an average you should aim for.
It only makes sense that you will lose weight if you begin to live a more healthy lifestyle. There are many ways to do that, but the tips provided in this article will give you a good starting point.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Agusta_Santoso

Selecting An Effective Weight Loss Plan

Are you overweight? If so, then you have likely tried all kinds of weight loss plans. Nowadays, you can literally turn on the television and find a new plan. However, when it comes to success with any weight loss plan, you must keep some things in mind. The below article contains some excellent advice that will assist you in selecting a plan that will get you the best possible results.

First, it's important that you are setting yourself realistic goals. Realistic is not losing 100 pounds in 2 or 3 months. This is just too fast, and unless you are extremely obese, this cannot be achieved in a healthy manner. A better goal would be to lose 10 pounds per month. This comes out to approximately 2.31 pounds per week, which is a healthy and achievable weight loss rate. Setting a higher goal will just cause you to be disappointed in yourself whenever you fail, which will eventually cause you to quit. Worse, you may turn to extremely unhealthy methods, such as starving yourself, in order to lose the weight you want. Starvation diets do not work in the long run, and you could seriously harm your body.

Although your ultimate goal may be to lose 25 pounds, 50 pounds, or even 100 pounds, you should not neglect to set short-term, smaller goals for yourself. Set a goal every week to lose 2 pounds. If you succeed, reward yourself in some way that isn't food. You should also set midway goals. For example, if you are wanting to lose 50 pounds in a year, set a goal to lose 25 in half a year. If you are just focused on the end goal, you can easily overwhelm yourself. Having these smaller goals will help you stay focused to the end.
Keep in mind that you cannot expect to lose all the weight you want to instantly. Although you may quickly lose a few pounds starting off, remember that most of this weight is water weight. Therefore, you will not continue losing weight this fast. It is important that you realize this fact because the truth is that your weight loss will have its ups and downs. You must be patient and dedicated to succeed. Nothing worth achieving in life comes free, including weight loss.

Finally, if your weight loss plan isn't effective, don't be afraid of changing it. Not every plan works for everyone. All of our bodies are different, and therefore, we require different plans. Having said this, you shouldn't jump on a new plan immediately. Give your current plan at least 3 weeks before you make a decision because sometimes, your body may be slow to respond to weight loss. If you still aren't losing any weight after three weeks, then make some changes.

In order to succeed at losing weight, you must utilize the best weight loss plan for your needs. Thanks to the excellent advice provided in the above article, you should now be able to select the best weight loss plan and lose the weight you have been wanting to lose.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Agusta_Santoso

Simple Tips to Lose Weight and Stay In Shape

Many people want to lose weight and stay in shape. However, weight loss is no easy feat as you probably already know. Luckily, the following article has combined a list of effective weight loss tips and stay in shape that you can use to get the body you've always desired.

Best diet to stay in shape
Eat slowly. These days' people are always on the go and meals are virtually inhaled. Take the time to eat your food more slowly to allow your stomach enough time to signal your brain that you are full. This will prevent you from overeating and allow you to savor your food. It is also advised to eat in small portion, divide your meal into five times a day instead of three times in a day.

Drink lots of water! You've probably heard it a thousand times by drinking 8 glasses of water a day will go a long way towards promoting fat loss and it will keep you feeling full throughout the day. It will also supply you with more energy!

Eat your vegetables. Like mom always said, you've got to eat your vegetables. Veggies are among the most nutrient dense foods available and they don't contain too many calories either. Make sure you are getting all your vitamins and minerals by consuming 5-7 servings of vegetables daily.

Easy on the sugar. Everybody likes to indulge once in awhile, and this is fine, however make sure you limit the amount of refined sugar you allow yourself to consume. Things like sodas and ice cream are full of sugars and empty calories that do nothing but get converted to fat.

Get enough protein. Proteins are the building blocks of muscle. Muscle promotes a faster metabolism. A faster metabolism means faster weight loss. Make sure that you have some sort of protein source with each meal you eat and if need be, drink a protein shake as a means of getting plenty of protein without any unnecessary calories.

Easy on the alcohol. Alcohol has been proven to promote fat gain, particularly in the mid-section, so make sure to only indulge on occasion. It also contains lots of sugar and like we mentioned above, sugar is not your friend when it comes to losing weight.

Regular exercise will help you stay in shape
Exercise! In order to lose weight and stay in shape you have to burn more calories than you consume. You can eat the healthiest diet in the world but if you aren't working with a calorie deficit at the end of each day, you'll never lose an ounce. Try and work in about 30 minutes of cardio and strength training at least 3 times a week.

To stay in shape and keep weight off, be sure to alternate your activities. This will help you avoid boredom and also help you to attain complete fitness. Alternate between aerobic type exercise and weight bearing type exercise, this will give your muscles a chance to rest and recover from one day to the next and enhance the effectiveness of your workouts. Additionally, it will help control the gain of muscle weight. Just make a schedule of walking one day and doing a 15 minute lightweight workout video the next day. One or two days a week do something like swimming to relax and work your muscles in a completely different way.

Remember to include fun exercise such as horseback riding, playing with your kids, going for a bike ride, or just taking a day at the beach. This will help you stay motivated for exercise. Additionally, every time you do something active and fun, you're sure to notice that you have a better endurance level and are able to enjoy yourself even more. This, combined with steady and healthy weight loss, can be tremendously motivating.
Some people like to pursue weight loss and fitness alone while others find having a diet and exercise buddy very stimulating and motivating. If you like to share weight loss tips and recipes and challenge yourself against others, you may like having a companion or joining a group. Additionally, if you exercise with a good friend, the two of you can cheer each other on and encourage each other when the going gets tough.

As you drop pounds and get in shape, continue to challenge yourself more and more. You may have started off with walking, water aerobics and 5 pound weights. If you're consistent in these workouts, within six weeks or so you should be ready to step up to jogging, regular aerobics and 6 pound weights or more! On your weight work be sure to vary your routine to prevent muscle soreness and to get the most benefit from the exercise. Remember that, if you become serious about weight training, you will probably gain muscle weight, but you should not let this bother you. Muscle weight is healthy weight.

Losing weight is not easy, but you can be successful. The important thing is that you must remain consistent with your weight loss efforts. You are sure to meet all your weight loss and stay in shape before long.
 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Agusta_Santoso

ViSalus Science - The Secret Behind the Success

In this world's economic system, being successful is the challenge of all companies. ViSalus Sciences is one company that has shown the world that anything can be achieved. What makes the company stand out from all the rest? What is the secret to their success?

Leadership

Blake Mallen, Ryan Blair and Nick Sarnicola are the three founders of ViSalus Science. All three share in their passion of changing lives and improving health thus making the company a steadfast, growing business. The founders also realized that in a world where many things are out of our hands, one of the things that we can control is our health. With this in mind the company has been growing and evolving to help people improve their lives.

Products

As the number of people that are overweight and obese rises, medical experts are calling this an epidemic. It is said that more than 60% of American adults are over-weight due to personal lifestyle and the number keeps growing. For the people that seek change in their lives and improve their health, ViSalus Science provides great ways to help them change and reach their goals. Success of the company is based on the target reach of the products and the success rate. With knowledge of the epidemic that the U.S. is facing the company has put in a lot of effort in their dietary products to help people shape up and tone down thus counteracting this epidemic.

Adaptation

Change is inevitable in this age that we live in and has driven many companies to the rocks. ViSalus Science however has adapted to this economic system and has taken advantage the aspects that the world has to offer. The company utilizes the technology available offering promoters the first portable sales terminal, a smart-phone compatible credit card processor called "the swiper" that allows members of the company to process orders anywhere, anytime. Also with social media sites that are at peak in this age, VISalus Science has more advertising power and is able to spread their products and goals to people throughout the world.
The company indeed has proven that success is possible with motivation and dedication. The company now has one of leaders in the fitness industry and is still growing. With promoters like wrestlers, Hulk Hogan, boxers like Roy Jones JR and models like Lindsay Messina, the company has got a new edge in this technology age.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_L_White

The "Best Protein Shakes for Weight Loss" - A Closer Look At the Visalus Claims

Protein shakes have been created to try and encourage weight loss while making sure that the person keeps a high energy level. There have been a lot of debates as to whether these shakes are effective in weight loss programs. The usual cycle when some new product that claims to be the best protein shakes for weight loss comes along in the market is that a lot of people try it and then the internet ends up flooded with negative comments about it.

Visalus Science is one of the companies that claim to produce some of the best protein shakes for weight loss. The internet too has quite a number of responses both negative and positive. Let's take a close look and examine if their claim has any proof.

How it works
Everything starts with the Body by Vi 90 day challenge. The challenge in turn starts with the individual making/setting their personal goal with regards to weight loss. It may be being able to fit some pair of jeans you have, knocking down a few pounds, gaining more muscle, keeping a high energy level and the like.
Then, you sign up for the challenge and select the most appropriate challenge kit to suite your needs. The claimed 'best protein shake for weight loss' is said to "taste like cake" which is something not common for a losing weight shake.

Once you start out with the shake, you can do your part in keeping the shake exciting and new. There are many ways to vary the way you make your shake: simply add your favorite fruits, coffee, chocolate, or use the 'mix ins' that come along with the pack. Visalus also have a Facebook page which contains a list of different recipes that can be created with the basic pack.

Making money
The claimed best shakes for dieting that the company produces are also a source of income with the compensation plan that Visalus has put into place. You simply start with your 90 day challenge and once you have ample proof of success, invite three others to also start out with their challenge. You then get to receive your Visalus challenge kit for free.

True, all of the mentioned does sound too good to be true. However, there are a great number of people online giving testimonials about this company that claims to have the best protein shakes for weight loss. If you are in search for such a plan, make sure to consult your physician first.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_L_White

Simple Tips to Lose Weight and Stay In Shape

Many people want to lose weight and stay in shape. However, weight loss is no easy feat as you probably already know. Luckily, the following article has combined a list of effective weight loss tips and stay in shape that you can use to get the body you've always desired.

Best diet to stay in shape
Eat slowly. These days' people are always on the go and meals are virtually inhaled. Take the time to eat your food more slowly to allow your stomach enough time to signal your brain that you are full. This will prevent you from overeating and allow you to savor your food. It is also advised to eat in small portion, divide your meal into five times a day instead of three times in a day.

Drink lots of water! You've probably heard it a thousand times by drinking 8 glasses of water a day will go a long way towards promoting fat loss and it will keep you feeling full throughout the day. It will also supply you with more energy!

Eat your vegetables. Like mom always said, you've got to eat your vegetables. Veggies are among the most nutrient dense foods available and they don't contain too many calories either. Make sure you are getting all your vitamins and minerals by consuming 5-7 servings of vegetables daily.

Easy on the sugar. Everybody likes to indulge once in awhile, and this is fine, however make sure you limit the amount of refined sugar you allow yourself to consume. Things like sodas and ice cream are full of sugars and empty calories that do nothing but get converted to fat.

Get enough protein. Proteins are the building blocks of muscle. Muscle promotes a faster metabolism. A faster metabolism means faster weight loss. Make sure that you have some sort of protein source with each meal you eat and if need be, drink a protein shake as a means of getting plenty of protein without any unnecessary calories.

Easy on the alcohol. Alcohol has been proven to promote fat gain, particularly in the mid-section, so make sure to only indulge on occasion. It also contains lots of sugar and like we mentioned above, sugar is not your friend when it comes to losing weight.

Regular exercise will help you stay in shape
Exercise! In order to lose weight and stay in shape you have to burn more calories than you consume. You can eat the healthiest diet in the world but if you aren't working with a calorie deficit at the end of each day, you'll never lose an ounce. Try and work in about 30 minutes of cardio and strength training at least 3 times a week.

To stay in shape and keep weight off, be sure to alternate your activities. This will help you avoid boredom and also help you to attain complete fitness. Alternate between aerobic type exercise and weight bearing type exercise, this will give your muscles a chance to rest and recover from one day to the next and enhance the effectiveness of your workouts. Additionally, it will help control the gain of muscle weight. Just make a schedule of walking one day and doing a 15 minute lightweight workout video the next day. One or two days a week do something like swimming to relax and work your muscles in a completely different way.

Remember to include fun exercise such as horseback riding, playing with your kids, going for a bike ride, or just taking a day at the beach. This will help you stay motivated for exercise. Additionally, every time you do something active and fun, you're sure to notice that you have a better endurance level and are able to enjoy yourself even more. This, combined with steady and healthy weight loss, can be tremendously motivating.

Some people like to pursue weight loss and fitness alone while others find having a diet and exercise buddy very stimulating and motivating. If you like to share weight loss tips and recipes and challenge yourself against others, you may like having a companion or joining a group. Additionally, if you exercise with a good friend, the two of you can cheer each other on and encourage each other when the going gets tough.

As you drop pounds and get in shape, continue to challenge yourself more and more. You may have started off with walking, water aerobics and 5 pound weights. If you're consistent in these workouts, within six weeks or so you should be ready to step up to jogging, regular aerobics and 6 pound weights or more! On your weight work be sure to vary your routine to prevent muscle soreness and to get the most benefit from the exercise. Remember that, if you become serious about weight training, you will probably gain muscle weight, but you should not let this bother you. Muscle weight is healthy weight.

Losing weight is not easy, but you can be successful. The important thing is that you must remain consistent with your weight loss efforts. You are sure to meet all your weight loss and stay in shape before long.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Agusta_Santoso

The Sure Ways To Lose Weight Naturally

When you want to lose weight naturally all you have to do is to make some little but significant changes in your daily routine. When you have found out that you are carrying more weight in your body and want to shed the unwanted weight you might have searched for and found a variety of ways to lose weight. You also might have found that not all of them are good in giving you the required results. Most of them are bad for your health and even put back more weight to your body after you have stopped using them. So, there is nothing more effective than trying to lose weight naturally.

For this all you have to do is just to make some small changes in your daily routine and have a steadfast mind to reduce the excess weight. When you have done this you can feel that you are on the road to grand success in getting healthy weight loss. When you are planning to lose weight naturally you need not have to go on strict dieting but you have to make small adjustments to your eating habits. This is necessary for you to achieve the goals that you have set for yourself. When you have set the goals it will be easy for you to take action towards them and begin seeing the results.

When you take a look at your eating habits you will realize that how much you are eating and what are all the things that are not good to your body are included in your diet. By making your diet well balanced with all the nutrients required for your body and by fixing the quantities you have to take you can easily set your way to lose weight naturally without going for rigorous dieting. You have to eat sensibly and for getting the weight loss you need not have to starve yourself. This may lead to negative effect by increasing your craving for food and may lead to overeating and weight gain. To prevent this you have to opt for smaller meals at least 5 to 6 times a day. This helps in increasing the metabolism in your body and boost the fat burning giving you good results for weight loss.

When you want to lose weight naturally you have to mind what you are eating and you have to drastically cut down your fat intake and if possible switch to a vegetarian based meal plan. Add more fruits to your diet as they supply your diet with all the nutrients without the hazards of getting more harmful fat and carbohydrate that leads to weight gain. Do not forget to drink at least three liters of water every day, as water is one of the best weight loss drinks. This takes away toxins out of your body and gives a good boost to your entire bodily functions. It is also very important that you go for the right type of physical workouts and doing them regularly is a sure way of getting good results.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Abernathy

Top 5 Exercises to Help You Lose Weight

A varied workout and combination of exercise and the right foods are the keys to living a healthy lifestyle. When you are healthy, you don't gain weight and if you are looking for some of the most effective exercises out there, then read on...

Swimming

For an all-body workout swimming is great exercise for anyone who enjoys being in the water. Swimming is great for an arm workout but also works other muscle groups. The muscles it works in particular are: Your back, neck, shoulders, triceps, biceps, abs, calves, hamstrings and chest.
A good all a rounder which can burn 800 calories an hour whilst toning up any body parts you hate. For a varied workout, change the strokes so you can work different muscles.

Cycling

A great way of getting out and about and enjoying some new scenery, this exercise is also a great way of burning a lot of fat and calories. Cycling as a group is a great social activity and going on family bike trips even means you are able to spend time with your loved ones as well as exercising.
When you are on cycling, you can burn between 500 and 1000 calories an hour, depending on how fast you go or how hard you're pedalling. If cycling outdoors isn't your thing, then a stationary bike in the gym or at home is a great alternative. Cycling works all your leg muscles at once, plus helps you tone your core and upper body.

Running

A great high impact exercise, walking, jogging or running are great for burning fat and calories. Walking fast you can burn 400 calories an hour, and is ideal for starting you off or getting you back into exercising. Running helps burn fat 4 times faster than walking however, so if you want to lose weight fast, running is better.

Weight Lifting

Losing body fat is the result of lifting weight. It not only improves your strength and tones up your muscles but also helps you lose weight too. A great exercise to add to your weight loss program, lifting weights can help you build muscle but is also a great way of stripping fat and toning up fast.
Dance and Aerobics

A really fun way of losing weight is dancing or taking an aerobics class like Zumba where you can burn about 600 to 800 calories an hour. It's a great way of having fun whilst working out which also means you're more likely to exercise for longer for a more effective workout!
Even though these exercises are all great, there are still a few things you must do if you are serious about losing weight:

• Never skip a meal - snack healthily if you're hungry to satisfy cravings. This stops your body storing fat.
• Hydrate - drink plenty of water to stop hunger pangs and keep you fresh for a weekly exercise routine.
• Keep a record of diet and workout plans and stick to them!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Abernathy

Sticking to Your Weight Loss Diet Plan

Losing weight isn't difficult, but trying to stick to a good exercise routine and a balanced diet can be difficult if you don't plan ahead. Here is a great 5 weekday diet plan which you can use:

Monday
• Breakfast - Low fat whole grain cereal, 1 apple, glass of water/milk.
• Lunch - 3 bean wrap with cheese, 1 orange.
• Dinner - Salmon and broccoli mix ready to microwave.
• Snack - Carrot sticks and 2tbsp hummus.

Tuesday
• Breakfast - Muesli, skimmed milk and 1 banana.
• Lunch - Turkey wrap, bunch of 20 grapes
• Dinner - Chicken pasta with salad and 2 tbsp vinegar dressing
• Snack - 1 orange

Wednesday
• Breakfast - Omelette with 3 egg whites and spinach
• Lunch - Avocado and salad in pita bread, fat free yogurt.
• Dinner - Lemon chicken, broccoli and rice
• Snack - ½ cup Fat free yogurt, 1 cup dried apricots

Thursday
• Breakfast - Toasted English muffin with ricotta cheese and 1 pear.
• Lunch - Grilled chicken breast salad, 2 tbsp low fat yogurt dressing.
• Dinner - Salmon steak, salad and steamed string beans.
• Snack - 1 banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter

Friday
• Breakfast - Low fat Greek yogurt, 1 grapefruit.
• Lunch - Ploughman's sandwich on whole grain bread or roll.
• Dinner - Vegetable chilli with rice
• Snack - 1 orange

As you can see, each lunch is easy enough to make the night before you go to work and taken with you as a packed lunch.

These meals are between 1200 and 1600 calories a day, so are better suited for women who want to lose weight. Remember, for the best weight loss help you need to exercise on top of eating well. Men and women have different daily calorie intakes per day. Depending on your height and amount of exercise you do, the amount of calories need to consume per day to maintain or lose weight can vary.

Men should consume between 2400 and 3000 calories a day to ensure they have enough energy to support them in their day to day routine. The less active you are, the fewer calories you need to consume - it's that simple.

It is recommended that women who are active should consume 2000 calories per day but if you want to lose weight you need to reduce this to about 1500. Cutting back your calorie intake by 1000 calories has been proven to help you lose 2lbs a week, and cutting back by 500 calories a day can help you lose 1lb a week.

If you want to lose weight fast, make sure that you aren't eating less calories than can support your active lifestyle. If you starve yourself for 2 weeks leading up to a holiday for example and begin to eat a lot afterwards, you will put weight back on quickly. It is better to lose weight slowly and keep it off.
If snacking is your main problem, just stock your fridge full of healthy food so you can graze throughout the day and don't get hungry!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Abernathy

How Exercise Can Make You Happy

Scientific studies have shown that there is a direct link between mental and physical health. People that are healthy physically are much more likely to be content with their life, so if you feel like you are often suffering from a range of emotions and don't have much stability in your life, starting an exercise regime may be the answer...

When it comes to your emotions, feeling well mentally is about having a healthy mindset. This might mean you feel confident, have a good sense of purpose, feel self assured, can deal with difficult situations and generally have a good outlook on and contentment with life. A person with a good sense of well being will be able to stay happy, healthy and strong and develop good relationships with the people around them.

The Relation Between Exercise and Happiness
Although exercise is of course great for your body, it has also been known to help create a good sense of mental well being as well, and although it may seem hard to believe, it is true that exercise can indeed make you happy!

Exercise is a great way of getting rid of sad feelings, stress and anger. When you exercise, your brain allows your body to release a range of hormones and neurochemicals which make you experience a feeling of euphoria. This can be a sudden rush of the happy feeling, or it can be an overall sense of well being in day to day life.

When you are stressed, the hormones of adrenaline and cortisol are waiting for release in your brain and body. Without a productive output, these can block your receptors in your brain which help with dealing with emotion, staying calm and improving memory. When you exercise, these chemicals can be released into the body in order to make you happy.

Benefits of Exercise
Exercise is great for a number of reasons, and when it comes to emotional well being, exercise is the number one treatment.

Stress Relief - Exercise puts your body under a very small amount of pressure, and when you exercise on a regular basis, your body builds up a stronger immunity to dealing with other stressful situations. This means your body is less likely to be sensitive to stressful situations and can deal with them much better than if you had not exercised at all.

Exercise also has a number of health benefits on top of the advantages it can do for your mental health. These include reducing the risk of heart disease, improving muscular strength to prevent back or joint pain, regulates your blood pressure, prevents premature ageing, some cancer forms, and also helps prevent against early death.

To prevent a number of health issues and keep your mind healthy and happy too, then it is recommended that you about 20 minutes to half an hour of exercise more than three times per week. Whether it's an aerobic class, swimming or cycling to work you'll soon feel and see the benefits!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Abernathy

Top 6 Crazy Weight Loss Myths

Want to know the truth about weight loss and hear the ridiculous lies you've been told? Read on...

1) Myth: "You need a fast metabolism to lose weight"
The Truth: As people gain weight, their resting metabolic rate speeds up - therefore disproving this myth. This means that when you are bigger you need to eat more to sustain your weight. This means that your metabolism is sped up but won't mean that you're burning fat fast at all.

2) Myth: "Low fat products are great for losing weight"
The Truth: Foods you find in 'healthy ranges' in supermarkets or products marked with 'low fat' or 'fat free' labels don't mean that they are free from calories - in fact they are more likely to contain more calories because of the amount of extra flavourings and sugar added to them. If you really want something that is genuinely low fat, look at the label and make sure it has 3 grams or less fat per 100 grams.

3) Myth: "Being fat is genetic"
The Truth: Obesity is very rarely a genetic condition. You are more likely to inherit the bad lifestyle habits from your parents and guardians rather than actually being born with a gene that makes you fat. Being big isn't the only problem that you may face if you are overweight but high blood pressure and diabetes may also be a side effect of excess weight.

4) Myth: "Diets never work"
The Truth: Starving yourself doesn't work, and neither do fad diets which you will give up on after a few weeks. However, if you think about dieting, it is really just making healthy food and exercise choices. This type of diet works well because you are staying active and getting a balanced diet without overindulging and having more calories than your body can process.

5) Myth: "Frozen vegetables aren't as nutritious as fresh vegetables"
The Truth: 5 portions of fruit and veg a day is what you should aim for - regardless of whether it is frozen or fresh. Fresh fruit often tastes nicer, and raw veg is nice in salads. Frozen veggies have been proven to keep the nutrients locked in for longer - even during transit. However, boiling them can often results in many nutrients being lost - try steaming your vegetables instead!

6) Myth: "Pasta and bread make you fat"
The Truth: Although bread and pasta are high in carbohydrates, it is only over eating these types of foods which can make us gain weight. Because of this, many people avoid high carb foods when on a diet - you can however just limit your intake instead. Also, rather than having white bread or pasta, switch to whole grains. You will also find that the foods you eat with these products can also be culprits when it comes to weight gain - don't blame the pasta and bread - it could well be the creamy pasta sauce that boosted your calories or the sugary jam on your toast. Try low fat spreads and tomato pasta sauce instead!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Abernathy

Best Detox for Weight Loss

Liver detox for weight loss - the best guaranteed and proven key for weight loss. Look lean and healthy - fast and drug free - when you follow the best detox for weight loss. Liver detoxing before a weight loss program is today's latest medical breakthrough in losing weight. This breakthrough explains why some lose weight slowly or not at all. Lose weight easily when you detox your liver before you begin your weight loss program. Learn why detoxing the liver is so important for weight loss along with other key tips to help get your body looking lean and healthy in no time at all.

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 70 percent of Americans are overweight. This, for the most part, is because fat people have dirty livers. Let me explain. The liver is 'the' key player in fat metabolism and toxin breakdown. Overtime, livers are bombarded with chemicals and hormones from the food we eat. Livers are designed to quickly and easily get rid of these harmful toxins, but without rest and proper nutrition, livers become overworked and begin to fail at their key functions. Livers no longer work properly to metabolize fat and breakdown toxins. So fat people usually have livers that are dirty with toxins. A toxic liver has problems burning fat and even increases the amount of fat in your body. This is why the liver must be detoxed for weight loss.

With a toxic liver, the body may display belly fat, a protuberant abdomen, and/or a roll of fat around the upper abdomen. A toxic liver loses its ability to eliminate chylomicron remnants. This results in fatty deposits under the skin leading to cellulitus. Chylomicrons are small fat globules that help transport fat after digestion from the small intestine to tissues in the body. Abdominal fat increases until liver function is improved. So, detox your liver for weight loss. Turn it back into the fat metabolizing and toxin eliminating power house burning fat 24/7.

Here are the best ways to detox your liver for weight loss:

1) Drink more water. Drink half your weight in fluid ounces of water per day. If you weigh 250 lbs., drink 125 fluid ounces of water daily. Water allows the liver and colon to flush toxins easily. The liver passes toxins to the colon to flush them from the body. Without sufficient water and fiber, the colon becomes constipated. Toxins are then reabsorbed back into the blood stream and returned to the liver to repeat the cycle. If this condition becomes chronic, you will experience discomfort, fatigue, and even weight retention. Begin your morning with a glass of warm water. Mix in a tablespoon of lemon juice, some cayenne, and some flax seed for fiber. This mixture will stimulate your system and help clean your colon.

2) Stay away from ALL artificial sugar. These sugars include Aspartame, Splenda, Saccharin, and High Fructose Corn Syrup, also known as Crystalline Fructose. Many of them advertise zero calories, but they are poisonous to your liver. Weight loss will be much easier using natural sugar.

3) Stay away from pasteurized milk products. They make you fat. Start using raw milk products. Russel Eaton, author of The Horror of Homogenized Milk, explains that the problem with pasteurized milk is that it's homogenized. This is how milk companies stop the cream from rising to the top. "Homogenization is a mechanical process that forces the milk through thin nozzles to break down and disperse the fat globules into very small particles." Homogenized fat globules (micronized fat) are so small, they bypass the liver and go directly into the bloodstream. What's worse is they bring toxins right along with them such as bovine growth hormones (IGF-1) and heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lead. Homogenized fat globules are long chain saturated fatty acids. Our bodies cannot simulate this type of fat until converted into non-saturated fat. Because this conversion isn't easy, our bodies decide rather to store the saturated fat as surplus fat for later use.

4) Buy organic. Believe it or not, this does make a difference in liver performance. Most all farmers today use chemicals. They use pesticides to kill bugs and herbicides to kill weeds. Farmers feed livestock drugs and hormonal additives. As these chemicals, drugs, and hormones add up in our bodies, our livers get toxic. If you want a healthy liver, it's important to switch to organic.

5) Read ingredients on the food you buy. The food we eat today is full of poisonous chemicals. Look for ingredients such as hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. These chemicals are added to keep food fresh and looking its best. Food and drug companies don't care what these chemicals do to our bodies because the dollar rules in today's food market. These ingredients abuse the liver and contribute to weight gain.

6) Do not exclude fat from your diet. Our bodies require fat to keep running properly. Fat provides energy and allows the body to absorb necessary nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, and K. Stay away from bad fats such as hamburgers and fries and include good fats like nuts, avocados, tuna, and salmon.

Here are a few simple steps to take towards losing weight quickly and naturally.

1) Avoid WHITE food. White food is usually high in carbohydrates and highly fattening. A few examples are potatoes, rice, white bread, pasta, many cereals, and even crackers. Foods such as cauliflower, fish, and chicken are OK to eat.

2) No more pop. You will lose an easy ten pounds just by cutting soft drinks out of your diet. Too much sugar is stored as fat and most pop has harmful sugar such as high fructose corn syrup that harms the liver.

3) Do not eat any wheat products, not even whole wheat. Wheat has been the staff of life for millennia; but wheat today has changed. Yesteryear's Einkorn Wheat was rapidly replaced with today's Dwarf Wheat. Norman Borlaug, in 1970, won the Nobel Prize for engineering Dwarf Wheat. This wheat was engineered to grow a heavy head of grain, produce more starch for fluffy breads, and to produce more gluten to give baked foods such as cookies and pizza crust an evenness and pliable texture. Einkorn Wheat contains 14 chromosomes while Dwarf Wheat contains 28 chromosomes, twice as much. Dwarf Wheat has twice the starch and gluten. Wheat contains amylopectin A, a super starch that is super fattening. Amylopectin A is the most digestible form of sugar. Just two slices of whole wheat bread will raise your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar. This is little different than drinking a soda or eating your favorite candy bar. Whole wheat also contains forms of a highly addictive drug that makes us crave and eat more. Our digestion breaks down specific proteins (gliadins) in wheat into shorter proteins (polypeptides) called exorphins. Exorphins, like the endorphins we get from a runner's high, bind to the opioid receptors in the brain, making us high, and addicted just like a heroin addict. Exorphins are absorbed into the bloodstream and go straight across the blood brain barrier. They are also called gluteomorphins after gluten and morphine.

Following these three easy tips may be challenging at first, but you will notice a difference in your weight loss in just a few short weeks.

Including exercise in your weight loss program will give you that leanness to make your weight loss look good. Exercising for weight loss can be as easy as 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week. Cardiovascular exercises are not what you want. You want to exercise in bursts. Burst training alternates between high intensity and low intensity intervals, forcing your body to burn more fat, making your workout much shorter. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue. This gives you the ability to burn fat even when you're sleeping.

Detoxing your liver is crucial for weight loss. When joined with simple tips to lose weight and a simple exercise program, weight loss is easily achieved giving you that lean and healthy body your friends will be jealous of. Once your liver is toxin free and your body is fueled by natural foods, you will begin to lose weight much more quickly than any other diet and you'll keep the weight off. You won't need any diet pills or other trendy supplements to get the body you want.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Caleb_M._Munsey

Fast Natural Weight Loss

Fast natural weight loss is a heavily sought after goal for many Americans. Our diet is characterized by fast food, excess sugars, and saturated fats. This reason prevents many Americans from attaining the toned, lean bodies they desire. On top of poor diets, the public community and media channels flood us with faulty information claiming unmatched results with minimal effort. The common misconception that six or eight small meals a day will "boost" your metabolism and lead to a fat burning furnace just isn't the case. There is no secret to fast natural weight loss except hard work and dedication. However, with these following tips, you will be able to attain that lean body in no time.

- In the morning, try to load yourself with protein and fruits. These will provide you energy and a satisfying, filling meal which will keep you full until lunchtime - avoiding snacks and extra calorie consumption.

 

 

 

-At lunchtime, try to have a balanced meal with protein, veggies, fruit, and a carbohydrate. This will give your body a well balanced array of nutrients, minerals, and electrolytes, which will maintain energy levels and avoid overeating.

- At dinner, do just as you did at lunch - a balanced meal.

- Try to have at least four cups of vegetables a day in order to fuel the body and keep full with minimal calories.

- Do NOT eliminate carbs! Low-Carb and No-Carb diets are scams and counter-productive to fast natural weight loss. The body needs carbs as the primary fast energy source, restricting them only makes things worse.

- Keep dairy products to a minimum: Americans are really the only culture in which adults consume the milk of another animal. Our bodies are not meant to maintain consumption of animal milk into adolescence and it disrupts natural digestive patterns.

- Drink at least ten, eight ounce classes of water per day. Water helps you maintain fullness and removes toxins from the liver which needs to be clean to metabolize fat.

- Fish are a great source of lean protein and omega 3 fat acids which increase energy levels as well as metabolic features.

- Whole grains and foods rich in fiber are very filling and help to suppress appetite. When in doubt, ask for whole grain.

- Alcohol in moderation! Alcohol slows your metabolism for as much as 48 hours after consumption!

- Don't eat late. Often times late night cravings are just that - cravings - and should be ignored. Though meal timing is an urban myth which does not directly affect metabolism, giving the body time to fully digest meals prior to sleep does provide better sleep and thus higher energy levels therefore less reliance on food in the morning.

- Fast natural weight loss requires discipline. Exercise is inherent to this mission. A regular exercise regimen will drastically speed up weight loss and will help to maintain motivation.

- Calories in versus calories out. That is the true strategy. Expend more calories than you consume and you are guaranteed to lose weight. It truly is that simple!

Though none of these individual bullets are too challenging, it is combining them all into a daily lifestyle which presents such difficulty. If you should learn one thing from this article, realize that calories in versus calories out is the end all be all at the end of the day. Regardless of any of the other strategies out there, as long as you expend more than you eat you will be well on your way to shredding fat and attaining the tone body you've always wanted.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zachary_Lee_Rogers


 

 

Your Weight Loss Guidebook

This is a simple, short and indeed very effective weight loss guidebook for all those who are looking for tips, suggestions, techniques, methods and recommendations for weight reduction. This guidebook and all its content is based on my personal views, research and experience. You have every right to disagree. It is not mandatory to follow all these tips and techniques rather you are free to pick a few of these based on your needs.

1. Include any physical activity in your daily routine. This physical activity range from walking to running to any outdoor game and others. The idea is to burn your calories on daily basis. If you eat and keep sitting in office and then sit at home, you will surely going to gain. Those who play any outdoor physical game never become fat.

2. Use dark-colored crockery. Use black plates for your meal. People are supposed to eat less in dark-colored plates.

3. Fruits are very helpful. Add fruits in your meal. Fruits will never make you fat no matter how much you eat them. Red berries, oranges, lemon and apple are very good at burning human body fat. Do include them in your daily meal.

4. Drinking water is a very good habit especially those who want to lose weight must drink up to 3 liters of water in a day in winters. In summer, you must drink at least 4 liters of water per day. Drink one glass of water before every meal and snack.

5. Juices and non-carbonated drinks are very good for obese people. Fruit juices are best for reducing weight.

6. Eat vegetables. Become vegetarian. Use vegetables in salads, in meals and eat them in any way you like.

7. Do not cut off carbohydrates and sugar rather reduce the quantity of carbohydrates. It is not possible to live without taking carbohydrates in the long-run, so it is useless to stop taking carbohydrates for a few months and then switching back to it. Instead, you must try to reduce the usage of carbohydrates.

8. Similarly, reduce the intake of cheese, butter, cream, oil, cholesterol, fat and other fatty products.

9. Eat salad as much as you can. Since it contains fresh non-oily vegetables, it is extremely good for health.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sabih_Javed