I am somebody who has had an ongoing battle with my weight for most of my life. I have to be very careful what I eat as I seem to gain weight very easily. I have tried many diets, however I wanted to find a way of losing weight without having to starve myself or drink horrible milkshakes etc.
I have known and worked with many people and have been amazed at how much they seem to be able to eat without getting fat. I am sure I eat half as much as these people but am still twice their size, it is not fair!
One day I decided I needed to find my own way of losing weight. It was time to have a reality check and to be honest with myself. I knew that in reality I do very little exercise, I like all of the wrong types of food. I am a bit of a fast food junkie, this is only because of my busy lifestyle . One of my biggest problems though is that I like snack food, such as peanuts, chocolate and crisps.
I know that most people would advise me to stop eating all fatty type foods, especially the pizzas and chips. They would also no doubt, advise me to join a gym and to go jogging every morning. Get real! Those gyms are full of thin people, if I go jogging I might get mugged, and I am sorry but life would not be worth living without my weekly pizza!
I decided that what I would do is to basically eat a healthy type breakfast which would be cerial or toast. I would have a fairly light lunch, such as a sandwich, however for my evening meal I could eat whatever I wanted. The main thing and most difficult to implement would be the fact that I would be no longer eating between meals. The snacks had to go!. I am not trying to say that this was easy to do, however I had a need and was determined to lose weight.
For exercise I decided to leave the car at home, wherever possible, and walk to more places. I also started taking my children to the park more often. At the park we would play games such as football, cricket and baseball. It is amazing how much weight you can lose by having fun.
These things in time helped me to lose a lot of my excess weight.
When you put yourself on a diet you may be setting yourself up for failure from the start.
What!!?
It's true. Diets are stressful. Stress causes hormones to be released that start a whole chain reaction of eating issues for a lot of people. This is why weight loss with hypnosis is so
powerful: change your behavior and your weight will begin to melt off you.
Under stress, many people eat for relief, which, unfortunately, lasts only as long as the last bite. The problems will suddenly reappear. The reality is, they never went away. The inevitable feelings of being a failure set in. Not only didn't you solve your problems, you created a new one, right there around your waist.
The solution?
Find tools besides a fork to attack emotional angst. In the time it takes to forage for your favorite quick-fix food, you can take steps to break the cycle, beat stress, eliminate emotional eating and yes, finally drop that excess weight for good without even trying.
Food cravings, especially for emotional eaters, mean you want something else. It could be creative stimulation, companionship, or more satisfaction in life. What are your eating triggers? Boredom, frustration, and loneliness? Once you figure out what the real issue is youhave a great chance to change the behavior. Here's how to figure it out and "feed" your real issue.
1. Keep a food journal.
Every time you reach for food, write down what you eat and how you were feeling. Patterns will emerge. Once you recognize the pattern you are on a path to start to break it.
2. Shop for some new "stimulants."
Do you eat when you're bored? Time to make a new "grocery" list: buy inexpensive, accessible things such as books, CDs, and tapes or DVDs of favorite films that provide the emotional lift you're seeking from food. Keep them handy, and turn to them when you're down.
3. Call your best friend.
Do you eat to escape painful feelings? Make a human connection instead of eating. Call someonewho makes you feel good. someone who makes you feel good.
4. Create new habits.
Find a hobby. When you're engrossed in something you love, you forget all about eating, especially if you're active. Falling in love with an activity like walking or bicycling is even better.
5. Head toward your dreams.
Moving towards goals, one little step at a time is satisfying. With taking a simple, small step forward the feelings of empowerment and accomplishment provide a heady satisfaction that begins a cycle of satisfaction and for many, satisfaction without food.
6. Find new rewards.
Like most people, you probably eat to celebrate happiness too. Find new, affordable rewards such as earrings or tickets to a play or movie.
Do you eat when you are bored, upset or angry? Do you find that every day requires a chocolate bar to get you through the afternoon? If you are trying to lose weight, you may feel guilty about snacks. As a weight loss coach, I find some folk (particularly women) laugh nervously when I ask them what happens to their food consumption around 4pm. This often is the time of the day when the “Snack Monster” takes control of them! Some berate themselves for being weak, out of control and without discipline. They either eventually give up on their diet altogether or develop counter thoughts so they don’t feel so bad. “It didn’t really matter - it is fat free”. Or, “if no one notices, the calories don’t count”.
The good news is that a healthy eating programme leading to weight does not have to be like this. You can lose weight without being hungry or guilty! It’s possible to take control of the “Snack Monster” and healthy snacking can lead you to weight loss success, not failure. So instead of being full of regret about snacking, choose your snacks wisely and have more energy and vitality, without the guilt.
The keys to healthy snacking are to select foods that:
* Can satisfy your hunger,
* Supply your body with energy, and
* Provide important nutrients
Look for foods that contain the following:
* Whole grains. Whole-grain snacks are rich in complex carbohydrates and fibre, which give you immediate energy that has some staying power. Consider items such as low-fat whole-grain crackers and whole-grain crispbreads.
* Fruits and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables provides a feeling of fullness with no fat and only a small amount of calories. They also provide vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutrients.
* Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds are a good source of protein, which helps keep you feeling fuller longer. Nuts and seeds are high in calories, however, so don't eat them in large quantities.
* Low-fat dairy products. Cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium, protein, and other nutrients. Be sure to choose low fat versions.
Prepare for your week and have a range of healthy snacks on hand at home or in the office and snack on healthy choices with peace of mind.
Read More..
When I work with my clients, one of the key elements that I incorporate into all of our workouts is INTENSITY. In my view, intensity is the most critical aspect of any exercise regime and can mean the difference between someone who reaches their goals and someone who doesn’t. Increasing your workout’s intensity will stimulate your body to burn more calories and induce a greater cardiovascular response. It will also allow you to have a more time efficient workout.
If you are looking to burn fat and become more toned, then increasing your exercise intensity is critical. Many people have the misconception that if you workout at a higher intensity you will no longer be burning fat since you will be in your “cardio zone”. Whereas, if you keep your intensity low for a longer duration you will burn more fat since you will be in your “fat burning zone”. Let me clarify this for you once and for all. By training at a low intensity (<70% max) it is true that you use fat as your predominant source of fuel. While exercising at a higher intensity (>75% max) your main fuel source is carbohydrate but you will ultimately burn more calories. And since 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, the ultimate goal is to burn as many calories as possible to create a negative energy balance!
One of the best ways to achieve this intensity is through the use of full-body compound circuit training (strength training) in conjunction with interval training (on the cardio equipment). The benefit of full body compound training is that since it utilizes more muscle in any given movement you burn more calories. The intensity of the workout also means that each exercise becomes more challenging as your heart rate is sustained at a much higher level.
Here are a couple of benefits to following an exercise program combining circuit training and interval training:
1. Intervals and circuits vastly reduce boredom. Traditional steady state cardio training and/or weight lifting can become quite boring. Interval training and circuit training offer more variety and excitement to your workouts.
2. Interval training increases post-exercise energy expenditure (calories burned following exercise) more than steady-state exercise, which means that more fat is burned. After intense exercise, the body needs extra calories as it works to repair muscles, replace energy stores (i.e. carbohydrate) and restore the body to its normal state (e.g. reduce heart rate). As this can take many hours, you will keep on burning more calories long after the workout is over. In fact, research shows that metabolic rate is higher for several hours following interval training compared to steady state exercise.
3. Interval training burns more calories. As an example, 30 minutes on an Elliptical machine using a steady state program will burn roughly 292 calories, whereas 30 minutes of intervals will burn approximately 584 calories!
Here is a sample workout that will leave you huffing and puffing:
Warm-up
bike, treadmill, elliptical, rower 5-10 min
Circuit (45 seconds for each exercise, with 15 seconds rest between exercises) 5-7 min
Lunge walks with lateral raises
Plank (on stability ball)
Squats with medicine ball shoulder press
Push-ups
Side Bridges
Reverse Pull-ups
Burpies
Interval Training (cardio equipment)
20 sec @ 100% : 40 sec @ 70% x 5 5 min
Repeat Circuit and Interval 3 times
Total Workout Time: 45 – 60 min
If you would like to experience what an intense workout feels like then please inquire about the revolutionary Fitter U MP3 personal training program! For a fraction of the cost of regular one-on-one training, this proven MP3 program will ensure you get to your fitness goals in less time!
Written by Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK.
Here's news that may inspire many to look to lose weight. You've probably heard a lot about the dire consequences of being overweight-which 60 percent of Americans are-and now research from Harvard suggests that those extra pounds may be bad for your eyes.
Researchers think some nutrients needed in the retina in the eye may not get there because people are either not eating enough foods that contain these nutrients or, when these nutrients are consumed, they stay stored in body fat. Two such nutrients in particular are lutein and zeaxanthin (pronounced loo-teen and zee-ah-zan-thin), which are believed to help protect against age-related macular degeneration or AMD. These nutrients are part of a group of eye-protecting antioxidants-vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and zinc.
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in older adults today, accounting for 54 percent of all blindness in white Americans and 45 percent of visual disability in the general population. AMD whittles away at central vision, so people affected with it see large blotches of gray to black when they look straight at something. Ironically, they can still see somewhat with peripheral vision.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the retina at the back of the eye. The amount in the retina is measured as "macular pigment density." The higher the macular pigment density, the better. However, higher body mass has been correlated with lower macular pigment in a number of studies. Studies suggest people carrying extra pounds, especially in the abdominal area and around the waist, are at higher risk of developing AMD. Such people who already have early stage AMD are at higher risk of progressing to late stage AMD. There's also some evidence that higher body fat may elevate risk for cataracts.
If you are overweight, losing weight may be one way to reduce your risk of age-related eye diseases as well as other chronic diseases. At the same time, for the sake of your eyes, try to get extra lutein and zeaxanthin in your diet by eating more spinach, corn, kale, orange peppers and other green and yellow vegetables. You can also get these nutrients in many multivitamin supplements or in supplements specially formulated to support eye health.
It seems like most people can lose weight, but they seem to gain it back and sometimes gain more than they lost. I have done it a few times myself. Right now I have lost 9 pounds and I am wondering how am I going to keep those pounds from coming back. I still have 12 more pounds to lose, but it seems like these next few pounds are not coming off as easy.
Have I Discovered Something... Maybe I Have!
I am getting excited now, believe me this idea is developing as I write this article. I may have come up with a way to lose weight right before your eyes as I am constructing this article. We all know that losing weight lies in those few inches between our ears, the brain. Most diets we try help us lose some weight, but keeping it off is controlled by what our mind is telling us. If we allow our mind to tell us having ice cream each night before we go to sleep is ok, then we will have the ice cream.
Controlling That Mind...That's the Object!
I don't watch Oprah very often, but I do watch occasionally to see how she is doing with her weight. I just happened to check in last night and guess what, she has put a few pounds back on. She does this from time to time, but she always manages to drop the few pounds she gains. I think I know her secret. She exercises, and I know she stays away from certain foods, but I think the key to her success is the mind control. I remember when she began she kept the weight off for a long time, then she gained it back. The next time she lost the weight it stayed off except for a few pounds which she usually loses. I don't remember what her exact words were after she lost weight the second time, but I am sure it was something to do with the mind.
Ready Set Go!...Time To Put It All Together, Are You In?
Here we go. If the mind is keeping us from losing weight and keeping it off, we need to change the way we think. The mind is a powerful thing, it can be difficult to change our thoughts. For example, you have heard of people trying to stop smoking, but they just couldn't. Then they have a heart attack and receive a triple bypass, after the surgery they are able to stop. Their mind continued to tell them they wanted to smoke, but they realized if they didn't stop they could die after they had the heart attack. We don't want anything that drastic to happen to us to force us to lose weight, but there may be other ways. You see, we all want something to be easy. If our mind is asking us to eat now, we might be able to wait ten more minutes before we eat, that would be easy, but it would be much harder to wait 24 hours before we ate.
What we are going to do is fool our mind just a little. We are going to drop a few pounds maybe 5 or 10 pounds, that really shouldn't be that hard, the trick is, that will be all the weight we are going to lose. After losing 5 or 10 pounds we will just be keeping the weight off that we had previously lost. It's much harder to lose weight than to stay at our current weight. Will this work? I can't say, I just got this idea as I was writing this article, but what is the worst that could happen? Even If You didn't lose any more weight you would keep the 10 pounds off instead of gaining it back. You won't be as stressed out, always thinking about how much more weight you need to lose. I don't know about you, but I have talked myself into doing it. As of today I have lost all the weight I need to lose, from now own I will just concentrate on not giving back any of the weight I lost and if I lose more Great!
Good Luck!
In order to lose weight, your body must burn more calories than it takes in, but keep in mind that your body needs calories for energy and when you exercise; your body needs even more calories. Before I talk about energy, the first thing you must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not the same thing. Just because you lose weight, does not mean you lose fat, and just because you lose fat, does not mean you lose weight. When people talk about losing weight, what the really want to do is lose the excess fat on their body and obtain an attractive figure.
When you eat, the body uses most of the calories for energy. If you eat more calories than the body uses, it will get stored as fat. If you do not consume enough calories per day you will lose weight, but you will also lose energy. When you do not consume enough energy (calories) for your body, it will start using up your energy stores to make up for the energy deficiency. Unfortunately, the energy stores used is not your stored fat, but instead it’s protein and carbohydrates (carbs) that will supply most of the energy (stored fat makes up a very small percentage). Your body will take the protein and carbohydrates from your muscle cells; causing your muscle mass to reduce (say goodby to that toned attractive look) which forces your metabolism to decrease (a low metabolism = slow or no fat burning). When this happens your body requires less energy to maintain its new lower body weight (remember the body weight is lower because you loss muscle), which is why your body conserves energy by slowing down the metabolism. In other words, the body has adapted to the new lower energy (calorie) intake which means that you will no longer continue to lose weight.
Keep in mind that the weight you had lost in the first place was mostly water weight and you will eventually gain it back in the form of fat, not muscle (in order to get your muscle mass back to the way it was before, you have to work on rebuilding it). When carbohydrates and protein that are already in your body are used as the energy source, your body will lose water weight because both carbohydrates and protein hold water in the cells. In essence, you are dehydrating yourself to lose weight. So yes the scale will go down, but approximately 75% (if not more) of it is water instead of fat. And just so you know, exercising while consuming a small calorie intake just makes the situation worse. This is because when you exercise, you start burning off more energy and the more you workout, the more energy your body needs. I already told you above where the energy comes from, and if you do not give your body the energy it needs, it will just feed on your muscles even quicker now that you are exercising. So eat more food! In addition to this, when you cut down too much on your calorie intake, your body will start storing calories because it doesn’t know when you will eat again. The calories that are stored will be stored as fat. So in other words, when your body is storing energy, it’s basically storing more fat.
To summarize my point: Not eating enough calories results in muscle loss, dehydration, slower fat burning, and your body will always adapt to a lower calorie intake.
Bottom Line: if you can’t maintain that lower calorie intake for the rest of your life, you will gain your weight back when you get tired of starving yourself!
To lose weight properly (burning fat) you must increase your metabolism (weight training) and your need for oxygen (aerobics) while eating enough calories each day (nutritious diet) to give you energy and maintain the protein in your muscles because protein helps build muscles, which indirectly burns fat. This brings up another good point: When you build muscle your weight will increase because your muscles are made up of mostly water, but your body fat percentage will decrease because building muscles increase your metabolism (in other words, muscles way more than fat, but take up less space than fat). So keep in mind that losing body fat can’t be measured by a scale; use a measuring tape and also look at yourself in the mirror, and then you will see the true results. One of the best ways to know if you are losing more body fat than water is by using a body fat analyzer.
Make sure that you focus on fat loss not weight loss. Your goal should be to lose weight by burning fat, not losing water from your muscles. Remember this when you choose your weight loss program.
As the government becomes more aware of the problem of childhood obesity, schools in the UK are now planning to weigh and measure all children at the ages of 4-5, when they start primary school and again at 10-11, when they are about to leave for secondary education. This is something which is already being carried out in the US, but how effective is it?
There are arguments that children will be stigmatised and that this will increase bullying, as well as leading to an increased number of children suffering from eating disorders in the future. In addition, many people feel that parents should be able to tell that their child is overweight and that the money could be put to better use by doing something to help change the situation.
As a parent, what can you do to help your children keep their weight under control?
It is important to be aware of children’s feelings – if they are being bullied at school, parents need to be sure they aren’t feeling “got at” at home by nagging parents, which will only increase feelings of isolation and failure.
Parents can set a good example by providing healthy meals and not eating junk food themselves, but it’s important to allow some treats, as being over strict is likely to cause friction and could be counterproductive. If the whole family learn about healthy eating and try cooking new healthy recipes together, kids won’t feel they are being singled out.
It is also important not to focus too much on food. Although it is an important part of life and can’t be avoided, it should not be made the main topic of discussion in the family. If children are constantly reminded of their weight and what overeating can do to them, they could develop an unhealthy attitude towards food. So be sure to focus on other things, particularly areas of life which are not stressful and which your child enjoys.
© Waller Jamison 2006
You always hear the old adage, “lets go exercise and work up a good sweat” like sweating is a sign that you’ve had a good, productive workout. But what if you exercise and you don’t really sweat during the workout? Was that workout a lost cause? Does it mean you just didn’t exercise long or hard enough for it to be a productive workout?
Well let’s examine the facts here and dispel the ever popular myth about just why you sweat and it’s relation to exercise.
Your body is like an engine that never stops running and like all engines, it produces heat. The more your muscles contract, the more heat is produced. If the body didn’t have ways of keeping you cool, you would overheat and collapse within 20 minutes.
The first method is radiation where heat radiates out of the skin if the air around you is cooler than your body. The second method is conduction which is the transfer of heat by direct contact such as swimming in a pool of cold water where the water absorbs your body heat. The third method is convection where moving air cools us down like when you stand in front of a fan or when the wind blows. The last method is evaporation where water from our blood absorbs the heat and rises to the surface of the skin through the sweat glands so it can evaporate creating a cooling effect.
In colder conditions, you will not need to sweat as much due to the body using radiation to keep cool. In hotter conditions, sweating is the primary method of keeping cool due to the air being hotter than your body but if there is humidity present, sweat cannot evaporate as well and that’s why you will see sweat dripping off you. Since in these conditions sweat doesn’t evaporate, radiation and convection (remember the moving air?) are used by your body to keep cool.
Everyone has a different sweating pattern. Gender, age, fitness level and environment contribute to how much you sweat. Women seem to sweat less and start to sweat at higher temperatures than men. People tend to sweat less as they grow old and thus cannot take the heat as well as a younger person but declining fitness levels may have something to do with that. In laboratory experiments where both young and old people were of similar fitness levels, there was no notable difference in their sweating process.
If you exercise in an air-conditioned room or outside when it’s a cooler time of year, you will not sweat as much because the cold air evaporates your sweat faster and also sets your body up to use more of the radiation method meaning your body can deal with the heat created by exercise more easily. It does not mean you are not burning as many calories because the intensity and length of time of your exercise is what determines caloric burn, not how much you sweat. You are sweating all the time but you just can’t see it because it is always evaporating.
If it were true that the more you sweat, the more calories you burn during exercise then it would also be true that you would be burning more calories simply sitting in a hot, humid room so as to build up a sweat but this is obviously not the case as the sweat you would be seeing is due only to the conditions of the room not allowing for evaporation for cooling the body.
Exercise produces heat, heat produces calorie expenditure, and you produce the same amount of heat whether exercising in a cold environment or a hot one so just because you don’t sweat as much in the colder environment does not mean your exercise session was less productive.
We've all known for some time that breakfast is an integral part of the day. Now research has shown that, regardless of physical activity, eating high fibre cereal in the morning at least three times a week leads to having a lower body mass index. This study followed 2,300 teenage girls over ten years, and was conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the US.
One reason people skip breakfast is because they are trying to reduce their overall calorie intake. Whilst its important not to eat too many excess calories, having breakfast, even if its a simple smoothie, or a couple of pieces of fruit, will reduce the urge to snack on chocolate or other unhealthy options, as well as improving your performance at work and reducing fatigue. Sometimes its not just the overall calorie intake, but the types of foods we eat as well. Grab a couple of carrots instead of some toast - not only will you be getting fiber, but the phytochemicals such as carotene and other vitamins will help you get the most out of your body and your day. And if you're a bit disorganized with buying fruit and vegetables, visit the local fruit street vendor on the way to your local coffee shop before work. It beats a muffin nutritionally.
And for the final word on going overboard with calorie restriction, recent research found that even though mice will live up to 50% longer by eating less, humans don't. The most having a low calorie diet over your life would do is extend your time span on this earth by 7%.
Physiologically, having breakfast will in fact boost your metabolism. And its certainly a cheaper way to do that than investing in a bottle of diet pills.
A couple of weight loss tips for parents and expecting mothers. Early research has suggested that those mothers who eat excessively (think Britney Spears) have children who are more prone to being overweight by the time they are toddlers. This sets up food difficulties from a young age. And beware of teenagers or children who develop poor eating habits, combined with sedentary activities like playing playstation or xbox games too much, and watching television at the expense of even non-athletic activities like having a job or joining school clubs. These kids will have a greater tendency of growing into overweight or obese adults.
One key to integrating changes in your diet, whether with the goal of losing weight, or simply being more healthy, is to add variety. Its easy to get into a food rut, stuck for something tasty to eat that is also going to support our goals. Planning ahead, and doing a little research, can be one way of mitigating those moments when the urge to grab something unhealthy is driven by both hunger and unappetizing dishes.
Following are three breakfast recipes that will add a little variety to that all important meal, as well as supplying essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fiber.
Delicious Tropical Muesli
Serves 2 to 4. Preparation time - 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- Muesli - 100gm
- Wheat flakes- 50gm
- Apple - peeled and grated - 1no
- Low Fat or Skim Fruit Yogurt- 500gm
- Mango - peeled and cut into strips - 1no
- Passion fruit - pulp of 2
- Flaked almonds, toasted - 11/2 tsp
- Mango- peeled and chopped -125 gram
- Chopped pineapple - 1 no
- Papaya- peeled and chopped- 125 gram
- Kiwi fruits - chopped- 2 no
- Tropical fruit juice - 150 ml
- Honey- 2 tablespoon
- Water melon - 1 no (medium size)
- Tomato - ½ kg
- Celery - 20 gram
- Orange -4 no
- Grapes -100 gram
- Pineapple (chopped) - 1 cup
- Raisins - 12 no
- Salt and pepper - to taste
- Salad oil - 6 tsp
- Mustard -2tsp
- Chopped onion - 2 no
- Pepper - 2tsp
- Sugar -1 tsp
Blend all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a mixer.
Preparation
Chop all the fruits and vegetables. Take the pulp out of the watermelon and put all the chopped fruits and tomatoes into the outer covering of the watermelon. Pour the salad dressing on top. Garnish with raisins.
Serve chilled.
Eating fruit and vegetables raw gives you many of their vitamins undiminished by cooking processes. It also means you get enzymes which are great for helping the digestive process. Watermelon is rich in vitamin C and is also one of the few sources of lycopene, others being tomatoes, red grapefruit and guava. Lycopene is a particularly effective antioxidant. Read More..
One way to lose weight is to just stop eating. It sounds simple but in reality you have to know what you are doing to get any long term weight loss benefits from fasting. Let’s look at the weakness and strengths of fasting for weight loss.
Like most forms of dieting, fasting can be used to bring about dramatic but temporary reductions of weight. You can go on a long fast, taking nothing but juice or eating grapes or taking some other low calorie meal substitute for several weeks, and while you are on the fast you will certainly lose weight. However, during the fast you may not be able to carry on your normal social interactions. It’s not so easy to sit around sipping carrot juice while the rest of your family is eating a normal meal.
Another problem with long fasting is that your body requires vital nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein) and your favorite juice may not contain them. Long fasting without proper medical supervision can be dangerous.
Finally, a major problem with this kind of fasting is that once you stop fasting and resume eating your normal diet, you are likely to gain back all the weight that you have lost during your crash weight loss fast.
So, does fasting have any place in a weight loss plan? Yes it does. Periodic fasting is one of the secrets of a long and healthy life. Our body’s digestive organs require a rest from time to time, just as we require days off from work. One-day fasting done in a methodical and regular manner provides the kind of rest that helps our digestive system, aids in the elimination of toxins from our body, and, yes, also helps us to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way.
How to Do Proper Fasting
Here is a method of doing one day fasts, taking no food and (if your body is strong) no water in a period from the sunrise of one day to the sunrise of the next day.
Successful fasting has three stages: preparation, the actual fast, and breaking the fast. Each one of these stages is important.
Preparation
If you are not prepared both mentally and physically you will find it difficult to go one day without food. The mental preparation is simple, but very important. The night before the fast you have to take a firm determination that tomorrow you are going to fast, that you are not going to eat any food. If you fix your mind in advance then you will not start deliberating during the fasting day whether you should continue or not to continue. If you are undecided or waffling you can always find a hundred reasons why you should start eating!
Physical preparation is also important. The day before you fast you should eat a normal amount of food and take a good amount of liquids (especially if you are going to be fasting without taking any liquids). If you miss some meals on the day before fasting, then you may start feeling hungry during the fasting period. If you do not take enough liquids, especially during the night before the fast, then you will feel uncomfortable when you are fasting.
If you are physically and mentally prepared you will not feel very hungry while you are fasting. Once you decide to fast, your hunger just “shuts off” for the fasting period. This sounds hard to believe, but if you do it a few times you will see that it is true.
The Fasting Day
It is best to do light physical tasks and concentrate more on intellectual and spiritual work during the fasting period. It is not a good idea to spend your time thinking about what you are going to eat tomorrow! If you have prepared yourself properly this shouldn’t be a problem and you can use the time that you gain by not eating to do some constructive things that you normally don’t get time to do.
Breaking the Fast
One of the benefits of fasting is that it helps to eliminate toxins from the body. However, you can only get this benefit if you break your fast correctly. On the morning following the fasting day, take two glasses of lemon water. Put the juice of have of a lemon in one glass and add a bit of salt. (The drink should taste both lemony and salty). After some time, you can eat your breakfast. The lemon water will help you to flush your digestive system with a strong bowel movement and many toxins will be eliminated.
One day fasts like this can be done twice a month. This kind of fasting will give rest to your digestive organs, help eliminate toxins, build your will power and strength of mind. On top of this, the overall reduction in calories that you get from going two days without food each month, will definitely be one of the elements of a balanced and sustainable weight loss program.
Here are 10 tips for helping to lose weight by using healthier meals and 10 tips for helping when you are eating out.
10 Tips for a better healthier meal
When it comes to cooking a meal for the family, don’t let your diet take a back seat. Just because you’re on a diet and the rest of your family are not does not mean that you have to eat a different meal. There are times when you have to draw the line e.g. Christmas lunch, Sunday lunch and family gatherings. Take a look at some of the suggestion below for a healthier meal:
1. Try steaming or boiling your vegetables instead of frying or casseroling, also stay away from using cheese based dishes. Try to use herbs and lemon juice instead of butter or margarine.
2. Cooking with chickens can pose as a bit of a problem, although chicken is very healthy in its self, containing half the fat of red meat. Don’t go for the easy option of breaded chicken fingers or nuggets this is very unhealthy. Try roasting or steaming your chicken in a non stick pan, and eliminate the use of oil by using a cooking spray. Beware of the chicken skin as this is very fattening, try to buy a skinless chicken or remove the skin prior to cooking.
3. Watch out for different types of bread, stay away from white bread as it is full of sugar. Try to go for wholemeal bread, seeded bread and whole grain bread. Also look for brown rice, wild rice and basmati rice, the tastes are not all that different from white rice and have a much lower starch content.
4. When buying meats like pork and beef, try to buy lean and extra lean. Try some cuts like fillet and sirloin, these have less fat content than the other cuts. Roasting, grilling and dry frying are healthy methods of cooking meat. Once again try to use a cooking spray instead of cooking oil.
5. If you're preparing turkey, why not try cooking the stuffing separate. You will reduce the fat content by preventing the turkey fat from absorbing into the dressing. Be sure to use less margarine or butter when making the stuffing. Also don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy. Leave the drumsticks for the kids; as with chicken, choose light meat over dark and you'll save a lot in the calorie department.
6. Why not try serving fruit as a dessert? Serving fruit instead of pie or cake can make a massive reduction in the amount of calories you find in your meal. Instead of cake and pie, try serving a whole piece of fruit, some yogurt or a fruit cocktail. You will usually find that we don’t need a dessert and have one just because of habit. I think you will be surprised at how fruit can substitute the sweet tooth in a dessert.
7. If you must have an ice-cream try a sugar free ice-cream of low fat frozen yogurt. Instead of topping with chocolate sauce or caramel, try some mixed fruit cocktail. The taste of the ice-cream is almost identical and the sugar from the fruit stops the sweet craving. All in all it’s fewer calories than the full sugar and chocolate variety.
8. When cooking save yourself a lot of calories by using powdered milk. By doing this you will save on a lot of fat and calories. Also by using skimmed milk instead of cream in your favourite cream based recipes can also save on the calories.
9. Try some substitutions in your cooking. Use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in your desserts, replace 1 egg with 2 egg whites or ¼ cup of egg substitute, replace half of the oil in dessert recipes with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce, try reduced or non-fat frozen yogurt or sugar free ice cream on pies.
10. If you still find yourself hungry after your meal and you do want to tempt your self to seconds, then go for the vegetables. Choosing steamed vegetables over meat and bread is far healthier.
10 Tips for eating out when on your Diet
1. For a starter, try and keep it light maybe a prawn cocktail or a side salad. Make an effort to stay away from creamy starters and red meats.
2. If you are a pasta lover and find it hard not to eat endless amounts. You must try and stay with a single portion. Also don’t worry if you leave a little no one will persecute you for it, especially not your body.
3. When ordering a meat dish, always go for the chicken. Stay away from fried chicken. Always go for boiled, grilled or steamed. If you must ask for red meat, be sure to ask the waiter for a nice lean piece.
4. If you don’t see anything on the menu, that is cooked to your liking. Ask the waiter if it would be possible for the chef to cook you a dish with say, boiled or grilled chicken, instead of fried. Don’t be embarrassed at this request as you will not be the first or the last to ask for it.
5. Avoid the temptation of cream sauce, butter, oil, batter and home made gravy.
6. If you do not like leaving your food, then you can always ask the waiter, to wrap it up so you can take it home afterwards.
7. If you are a take away person as I am. When you serve your take away at home, only serve half of it, and keep the other half for the next day or for another family member. Willpower is the key here!
8. If you know where you are going for your evening meal. Why not ring the restaurant and ask them to post a menu out to you, or go and pick one up. Now you can give the menu a good read and find out the best meal to suit you. When you arrive at the restaurant, your choice is already made and a healthier one it will be.
9. Buffets are the worst of all restaurant temptations. You must know your portion control. Try and have only one plate. Once again the key factor here is will power!
10. When the day comes for you to go out for your meal, try to eat smaller meals during the day, then you can keep an eye on the calories for the day and evening. However do try to remember not to starve yourself as you may just end up eating like a horse, which is never a good diet tip.
Many spas and salons offer a process called “body wrapping.”
This procedure claims to remove inches from the waist, thighs, hips or other parts of the body.
The process includes the use of special wraps or clothing and can sometimes be used with special lotions or creams that are applied to the skin.
Customers are usually told that they can lose “inches” as opposed to pounds and that fat will melt away bringing about a loss of inches in about an hour. One of the claims is that wrapping will work because cellulite is “water logged fatty tissue.”
What overweight person wouldn’t love to find a product that will render them slim and trim while they sleep?
Unfortunately, many people think that body wrapping is a relatively “new” procedure and jump on the bandwagon quickly.
The truth is that the body wrapping craze has been around for some time.
Over two decades ago, government “watchdogs” reported:
“Who can blame the fretfully flabby for being lured by the promise of losing inches without doing anything more strenuous than popping a pill or wrapping up the offending flesh? Who can resist ads for body wraps that promise ‘to burn away fat even while you sleep,’ to ‘lose 4-6 inches the first day?"
What do these wraps consist of?
Some are plastic or rubber garments worn around the waist, some cover the waist, hips and thighs, and others cover nearly the entire body.
Some are to be worn while carrying out routine activities, others while exercising, and some while sleeping. One is inflated with air from a vacuum cleaner. Another uses an electric hair dryer to blow in warm air. Some are used after a cream, gel or lotion is applied or after the wrap is soaked in a solution.
The garments and wraps, with or without lotions and creams, say that they reduce body dimensions by removing fluids. Most medical experts agree that such treatment will cause a loss of inches and perhaps pounds due to profuse perspiration. But the reductions are temporary. The fluid is soon replaced by drinking or eating.
Remember, rapid and excessive fluid loss is potentially dangerous because it can bring on severe dehydration and can upset the balance of important electrolytes in the body. Reputable spas are aware of any potential hazards such as this, so do your homework and select a spa with a good reputation.
Some people have tried using “plastic wrap” as body wrap material. In fact, that was a very popular practice several decades ago.
Body wrapping has evolved since those days, becoming much more sophisticated. Prices for a body wrap range anywhere from $40 an hour up to as much as several thousand dollars at some of the upscale spas.
Some advertising claims that body wrapping will eliminate, or at the least reduce, cellulite but we’ll leave that up to you to determine. What we can tell you is that visiting a spa or salon for body wrapping may be a wonderfully rejuvenating experience, leaving you rested, relaxed and refreshed.
And who wouldn’t like to have a few hours being pampered and fussed over in a relaxing environment regardless if it helps the cellulite problem.
Some spas advertise herbal and other natural wraps. In fact, the methods and products applied are widely varied. Let’s explore some of the components that make up a good “wrap” experience.
Herbal wraps. Some of the higher end spas go so far as to grow their own “herbs” for use in their body wraps, but that isn’t necessary for a good body wrap experience. Herbs can be fresh, or dried and usually organically grown is best.
Each herb has a specific effect. Some increase circulation, another may soothe the skin and so on.
The herbs are steeped in very hot water (almost boiling) then special muslin sheets are soaked in the solution. It is these herb-infused sheets along with other insulating layers that wrap around the body.
How the treatments work is interesting. The goal is to create a condition not unlike your body when you have a fever. We all know that when we have a fever, our body eliminates toxins by sweating.
It’s the same principle with body wraps. The results vary. Some people report a very intense detoxification while for others it might be mild.
Methods of application and content vary as well. Seaweed, mud and salt are popular body wraps. Most often, the subject is wrapped from neck to toe with the arms set close to the sides of the body. This can be uncomfortable for someone who suffers from claustrophobia.
The easiest correction for this is to keep the arms free from the wrap. Most people who are claustrophobic find the works and that all they need to be able to feel free to remove themselves if they choose.
Whatever type of body wrap you select make certain that you feel comfortable with the spa and that a technician is always close at hand.
Care should be taken when selecting a salon or spa. Some things to consider:
How long have they been offering body wraps?
Do they have a licensed clinician whose sole purpose is massage and/or body wraps?
Where do their herbs and other contents come from?
Do they offer any special pricing for new clients?
Will they allow a tour of their facilities prior to purchase?
Have they had any unresolved complaints reported by the Better Business Bureau?
Do they have any package pricing for multiple visits?
Watch your local publications for coupon offers. This can be a good way to try out a service at a bargain.
Ask your friends if they have had a body wrapping experience and whether they enjoyed it and what kind of results did they experience. You may even want to check for “two for one” specials and try it out with a friend!
Whether the experience reduces your cellulite or not, if you follow the guidelines you are in for a pleasant experience. Who knows, you might just like it enough to include it in your long term personal care budget!
