The Paleo Diet: Getting Eaten by a Lion and Losing Weight

ByJeremy Hendon

It's gone by a variety of names (the Paleolithic diet, the Caveman diet, or simply the Paleo diet). By any name and in any of its forms, though, the Paleo diet has become increasingly popular and also increasingly ridiculed.

It's not uncommon to hear critics say that the Paleolithic diet is a "fad" or simply weird or ridiculous. However, despite all of the criticism, more and more people are adopting the diet. In addition, a growing body scientific research supports and underpins the core principles that make up the Paleo diet.

What, then, are the core principles of the Paleo diet and lifestyle? And why have so many people chosen to adopt it?

A. The Food (the Diet)

Although many experts emphasize the need for change in various aspects of the modern lifestyle (stress, sleep, exercise, etc.), Paleo is first and foremost a diet centered around food choices.

The core dietary principle of Paleo is that modern humans should attempt to eat more like our 'cavemen' ancestors. No matter where your ancestors originated from, it wasn't until pretty recently that humans were able to eat certain foods. For most of human existence, foods such as processed sugar, as well as wheat, rice, and other grains were not able to be eaten by humans.

The primary problem with eating these foods is that the human body never evolved to digest these foods very well. And because we can't digest the foods very well, they can cause a lot of problems in our body, especially if we eat these foods for a long time. Prolonged ingestion of these foods can often lead to long term illnesses, such as heart disease, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. Highly processed grains and sugars (such as cakes, cookies, breads, and sodas) are particularly bad and are highly discouraged by experts.

What should someone eat if they want to adopt a Paleo diet?

Basically, most experts encourage us to eat a lot of unprocessed meats and vegetables (especially green leafy ones), along with small amount of fruit and nuts. If you think about it, these recommendations are not all that surprising - after all, how many people really think that cakes, cookies, breads, and sodas are particularly healthy? Very few of our mothers or grandmothers would have encouraged us to eat our bread and soda at every meal.

One of the main complaints about the Paleolithic diet is that preparing unprocessed meats and vegetables can take a lot of time. After all, we don't actually live in the Paleolithic area, where our primary concerns would be hunting and gathering food and escaping predators. We all have high-stress jobs and kids to take to soccer practice.

That's why many Paleo diet practitioners adopt a more flexible diet. If you're able to cook your own food every day, then kudos! However, if you don't have the time, then there are more and more ready-made "Paleo" products being made available for purchase. These products range from cereals to diet drinks. As the diet grows in popularity, more and more of these products are becoming available.

B. Exercise (and Movement)

Besides the dietary aspect of Paleo, most experts recommend also trying to be more like our ancient ancestors in terms of exercise.

In particular, our ancestors rarely sat in one place for very long - very unlike we modern humans do for 8 or 10 hours in our office jobs. When possible, Paleo practitioners try to move around more during the day, rather than sitting for a prolonged period of time. Unfortunately, this is one of the aspects of the Paleolithic lifestyle that is the most difficult to actually implement, since most of our bosses wouldn't appreciate us getting up from our desk every half-hour to stretch, walk around, and do a few squats.

Although many of us can't adopt that aspect of the lifestyle, there is another aspect that is easier to fit in. If you picture life in the Paleolithic Era, then it probably involves images of running from lions and bears and also images of chasing and hunting deer and wild boar (or similar animals). The common theme to these activities is that they required our ancestors to exert a lot of energy and strength in a short period of time. These activities didn't require our ancestors to run for an hour or to be continuously exercising all day.

Many Paleo dieters seek to replicate this sporadically but intensely active aspect of our ancestors' lifestyle. One way that this is done is through a program known as "CrossFit." CrossFit is a brief, high intensity workout involving a lot of strength training and emphasizing "natural" movements. Many of the movements involved in CrossFit workouts seek to imitate the movements often performed by humans in a natural environment (i.e., not sitting in an office chair!).

CrossFit exercises are very diverse, but some examples include pull-ups, squats, and deadlifts. In each case, our ancestors probably didn't do these exact exercises, but the exercises approximate movements that they did do. If our ancestor wanted an apple or coconut high in a tree, they probably had to pull themselves up the tree to get it. If they wanted to move a big rock or create a temporary shelter, they needed to be able to push heavy objects around to do it. Likewise, if they killed an antelope and actually wanted to get it back to where the rest of their tribe was, they were going to have to lift it off the ground in order to carry it.

Conversely, although our ancestors were in pretty good shape and could probably jog for quite a while, it's unlikely that they did so particularly often. One doesn't "jog" away from a dangerous animal or after a fast-moving meal. In addition, continuous work-outs that take several hours and occur several times a week can cause severe inflammation in our bodies and often lead to overuse injuries.

C. Stress

Weren't our ancient ancestors stressed? Surely when a hungry lion wandered by, our ancestors got a little worried, right?

Of course our ancestors got stressed. However, it was most often what's called "acute" stress. In other words, the stress was severe, but it was very short-lived. Either you got away from the lion or it ate you. Either way, you weren't stressed for very long.

Experts emphasize that the modern human faces a lot more "chronic" stress. We may not be quite as worried about our job or our bills as we would be about seeing a hungry lion, but the stress our jobs and bills cause never ends. Having this sort of chronic stress actually does physical damage to our bodies because of the hormones that constantly get released as a result. Like the dietary advice, this is not particularly surprising, since most of us know that we feel much worse physically during times when we're constantly stressed.

Getting rid of the chronic stress is the hardest part, but many Paleolithic practitioners find that eating better, exercising well, and just paying attention to what stresses them help to begin relieving some of that chronic stress.

D. Sleep

Most cavemen slept a healthy 9 hours while the sun was down. After all, it's pretty dangerous in the dark.

Experts suggest that we should all sleep when the sun sets and wake when the sun rises, perhaps by using thick curtains to ensure that street lights don't disturb our sleep. This is not controversial for the most part, but many people don't know just how much lack of sleep can affect their lives. From heart disease to weight loss, lack of sleep has been scientifically shown to negatively affect almost all aspect of our health.

Weird, Ridiculous, or Mostly Common Sense?

Now that you know all about the Paleolithic diet and lifestyle, what do you think? Is eating more vegetables and fewer cookies ridiculous? How weird is it to suggest sleeping for 9 hours every night? Does it really defy common sense to exercise in ways that mirror movements we might need to use in our every-day lives?

Perhaps mirroring some aspects of the caveman lifestyle isn't so crazy after all. Cavemen may have died early due to a lack of medicines and many natural dangers, but they didn't die very often from cancers or diabetes-related illnesses. Many of our modern-day foods, exercises, and stresses combine to put our minds and bodies into situations that we simply were not designed to handle. Perhaps one day we will evolve to easily digest grains and work for 72 hours straight without sleeping, but sadly(?), that day has not yet come.

Jeremy is one of the founders of Flax Gold, which produces food products designed to make it easier to adhere to a healthy diet. In particular, Flax Gold produces a healthy and delicious breakfast cereal designed for anyone trying to stick to a Paleo or Low-Carb diet.

Jeremy also regularly blogs about health and nutrition issues and how to more easily stick to a healthy diet. You can find his blog at simplehealth.co.

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

Did you find this article helpful?00Get Involved0 commentsSuggest a topicArticle ToolsPrint this articleE-mail to a friendEzinePublisherReport this articleCite this articleStay InformedGet notified by email when new articles are added to this category or written by this author.Subscribe to New Article Alerts:

Health and Fitness: Popular-Diets
Jeremy Hendon

Email Address:SubscribePopular Diets Article FeedFind More ArticlesSearchSimilar ArticlesPrimal-Nutrition: Ancestral Wisdom for a Modern EpidemicLose Weight In 2 Weeks By Eating RightConsider Calories In Vs Out AND Macronutrients For Maximum ResultsRecent ArticlesWhat's the Deal With Gluten?Top Ten Health Benefits of RaspberriesCookie Dieting - Why It Will Become Mainstream One DayAbout the Atkins Diet and Great Atkins RecipesLearn Important Methods on How to Lower Cholesterol NaturallyPaying More For Nutrisystem Frozen Foods: Three Reasons It's Worth ItHow to Reduce Water Retention NaturallyDo Food Habits Affect Your Singing Performance?Is It Required That You Have Your Medifast Lean And Green Meal At Dinner?A Guide to the Paleo DietSubmitted On April 08, 2012. Viewed 33 times. Word count: 1,438.

Important Disclaimer: Articles provided are for general information purposes only and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychological, tax, accounting, legal, investment, or any other professional advice. EzineArticles.com expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed by any of our members or anywhere else within the site. Lastly, EzineArticles.com does not endorse any article. Use at your own risk.

MLA Style Citation:
Hendon, Jeremy".".8 Apr. 2012EzineArticles.com.25 Apr. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
Hendon, J. (2012, April 8). . Retrieved April 25, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-­Paleo-­Diet:-­Getting-­Eaten-­by-­a-­Lion-­and-­Losing-­Weight&id=6988878Chicago Style Citation:
Hendon, Jeremy "." EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-­Paleo-­Diet:-­Getting-­Eaten-­by-­a-­Lion-­and-­Losing-­Weight&id=6988878EzineArticles.com© 2012 EzineArticles.com
All Rights Reserved Worldwide

About UsFAQContact UsMember BenefitsPrivacy PolicyShopSite MapBlogTrainingVideo ArchiveAdvertisingAffiliatesCartoonsAuthorsSubmit ArticlesMembers LoginPremium MembershipExpert AuthorsEndorsementsEditorial GuidelinesTerms of ServicePublishersFollow UsTerms Of ServiceEzines / Email AlertsManage SubscriptionsEzineArticles RSS

Czytaj więcej »

Are you tired of portion control? Do you want to eat - A LOT - and still wake up the next morning to find out the bathroom scale has gone down? The fastest, and smartest, weight loss diets show you how to ADD the right foods into your daily routine to maximize fat loss and minimize hunger and cravings.

It may seem logical to eat less when you want to lose weight. However, this is creates a perfect diet storm:





For one thing you are constantly hungry because you are not feeding your body enough.

Secondly, your constant hunger is keeping your mind focused on food (not what you want to do when you are trying to lose weight).

And, lastly your lack of food is causing your hormones to go haywire.





Hormones are so important and so overlooked when it comes to losing weight. You have two key hormones that you need to know at least a little bit about when it comes to weight loss. The first is ghrelin and the second is leptin. With just a little knowledge of these two game changers you will make your weight loss a lot easier.



Ghrelin is a hormone that tells your brain to send more food. Think of a bad little gremlin saying "feed me" as a memory jogger. Ghrelin stimulates your appetite and the only way to quiet this hormone is to eat. By the way, ghrelin also causes abdominal fat to build up - bad ghrelin!



Leptin can be thought of as the opposite of ghrelin. When leptin levels are high your appetite is barely noticeable. Typical diets cause your leptin levels to plummet because you cut back on how much you are eating.



So to balance out your hormones, control hunger and cravings, and allow your fat to burn off quickly you need to eat a lot on a diet.



This is why I say the fastest weight loss diets show you how to ADD the right foods into your day. The right foods are those that are naturally high in nutrients and naturally low in calories. I like to call these foods, Super Foods, because, well...they are Super!



One of the reasons super foods work for dieters is because they are packed with fiber, which fills your belly and keeps hunger away. Fiber also stays in your stomach longer and slows digestion so your hormones stay balanced and your appetite goes away.



The average person gets between 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day. This is dismally low amount and it is why you can go from one fast food meal to the next and never feel full. Fast food is pitifully low in fiber.



The easiest trick in the book when it comes to dieting for fast weight loss is to ADD high fiber foods to your diet. High fiber foods include:





Oatmeal

Blueberries

Walnuts

Salad Greens

Green Peppers

Tomatoes

Onions

Carrots

Celery

Almonds

Beans

Flax Seed

Apples





Your goal should be to add enough high fiber foods to reach 40 grams of fiber a day. These foods are naturally low in calories and will kill your appetite for high calorie snacks. The end result, the excess weight drops off faster and faster the more you eat!

Czytaj więcej »

Summertime is here. And you see them everywhere. They can be in the newspaper, on the radio and especially on the Internet. There the little ads promising "shocking" and "easy" weight loss.

They can take other forms as well: make your belly fat disappear, your life happier, your joints lubricated, your muscles bigger and stronger... but are they real or are they a scam?



Many provide "proof" that their miracle pill works. But rarely will you find a real clinical trial and almost never are these studies real scientific proof.



Many news agencies provide shocking proof that many of the use wonderful little ads are completely bogus. In fact, last April, the Federal Trade Commission shut down 10 of the worst offenders. "Nearly everything about these sites is fake," it charged.



So how do you avoid the fake websites and recognize the real ones? It's hard, but a few ticks could help you.



Always look for the disclosure: Sites that receive commissions on products they recommend are supposed to let visitors know this. Most fraud websites as well put a disclaimer at the bottom claiming no responsibility for what's on the website. Authentic health providers always stand by their word.



Never sign up for something 'free' where you need to enter credit card. This is often the company's way of signing you up for automatic payments that are charged monthly. Surveys have shown it takes 2 to 6 months before somebody realizes this is occurring, providing free income for these companies. And then some operators make it near impossible to cancel your order.



Don't fall for pedigree, before and after photos or "reviews". There are hundreds of different type of certifications you can receive with many being absolutely useless. Just because it has the seal, does not mean it's actually approved for use. The same goes for reviews; many are left by affiliate marketers who steer you towards their own products or are paid to leave good reviews.



And those before and after photos, many have proven to be photo-shopped or otherwise manipulated. Many of the good-looking physicians, scientists and spokespeople are actually models being paid.



There are a few good websites out there but there's no miracle cure yet. Remember, it will make national headlines if they find the magic bullet for weight loss. Otherwise, avoid anything that promises quick results if you just take a little pill. The healthiest way to lose weight is still a proper diet and exercise.

Czytaj więcej »

It's time to start a weight loss program you can live with for the rest of your life. One that takes the weight off quickly, one you can live with, and one that is permanent.

Are you tired of the cycle of crash dieting?



You can break the cycle!



Crash dieting never works. They don't give you enough calories in the day for you to feel energized and give you enough nutrients to keep you going. These diets don't work because no one can survive on them, and your body actually feels something has gone amuk and your metabolism will slow down. That's one thing you don't want when you are trying to lose weight...a sluggish metabolism.



Lose weight and stay healthy and happy.



You need a weight loss plan that will teach you how to make healthy food choices. One that you never have to be hungry, and also will show you how to find exercises that you actually enjoy doing, so that you can fit them into your lifestyle.



Need to lose some pounds quickly? That class reunion is in 2 weeks and your former classmates will never recognize you? You then need a diet that has a diet generator that lets you choose your foods from a list of healthy foods that will drop the pounds quickly.



Ready for a more long-term goal? Go to that class reunion looking good but continue with your healthy weight loss diet so last year's swim suit slips on with ease, and look great at those backyard pool parties. And best of all, still remain your perfect size for the end of year holidays!



Everyone is different and most diets don't consider this. A 130 pound woman does not need the same amount of calories as a 200 pound male. They also do not need the same types of foods during the day. They have a different genetic history, exercise habits and metabolism rate.



They will need different diet plans. We are all different and need a diet plan that is molded for each of us.



In other words, you need to personalize your meal plans so that they work for you. Vegetarian? No problem. Hate dairy products? Don't have to eat them. A fussy teenager who still has that "baby fat" that at 18 is not so "cute" anymore. Are you a new mom? The baby has arrived, the baby belly has to go.



3 pieces of broccoli and some fish the size of a gold fish for dinner? Ya sure, not enough. You need a diet plan that allows you to eat until you are satisfied or you will be starving, unhappy, and off that diet in no time. A diet should help you learn how to eat your food slowly and enjoy it, so that you can really understand what your body is telling you and know when you've had enough. Learning portion sizes that work for you is a key to long-term weight loss. You can count calories and measure your portions for a week but not long term. It gets old fast.



A good healthy diet plan should teach you all about food groups, vitamins and minerals so that you can understand why you should be eating what when. Its so much easier to stay with a diet plan when you know the reasons why. A diabetic who understands what all those carbs can do to the body will have a better chance of following that diet than one who was not taught the reasons behind the diet. The diet should also include an exercise plan to improve your overall health. Sometimes that means just throwing yourself out the door for a walk and yes, sometimes I have to throw myself out but I do because I understand the reasons behind the action. Also, if you exercise, you can eat MORE.



A diet should help you become healthier, lose weight, and look better. But most diets are unrealistic and after a couple of weeks you slip back into the old ways and gain the pounds back. Its not your fault really. How much grapefruit can a person eat? Or how long can you go on 2 bowls of cereal and then one main meal a day?



Find a diet that will teach you about food, nutrition and exercise. A diet that makes sense and that you can follow through with.

Czytaj więcej »

The most common approach to lose those extra pounds is to eat less and exercise more. But if you are severely or morbidly obese, this approach may not be enough. Undergoing weight loss surgery to shed excess body fat may be the most trusted way to end your struggle with obesity forever.

Rates of obesity are rising alarmingly around the world, and in several countries it has even reached epidemic proportions. This obesity rate explosion has led to a parallel popularity of bariatric surgery as a treatment for severely obese individuals.



The surgical options for morbid obesity are classified as restrictive, malabsorptive or both, each containing various procedures and variations. All weight loss methods work in two ways - by limiting food intake and restricting calorie uptake from the intestine.



As a growing number of people are getting fatter in many parts of the world, the number of weight reduction surgery procedures including gastric bypass, gastric banding, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, and roux-en-y gastric bypass, has also jumped. The most commonly used weight reduction procedures for patients with weight issues are Laparoscopic Lap Band Surgery or Adjustable Gastric Banding (AGB), and Roux-en-Y (RNY) Gastric Bypass.



Lap Band Surgery - an Overview

Adjustable gastric banding is a restrictive weight loss method that works by decreasing the amount of food intake and making you feel full sooner.



In lap band surgery, three to five small incisions of a few centimeters long are made in the abdomen and a small pouch is created in the upper part of the stomach with a controlled and adjustable stoma.



This pouch or altered stomach dramatically reduces the functional capacity of the stomach, which results in the slowing down of digestion that reduces the appetite and prolongs the period of fullness.



The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the lap band surgery in 2001 for use in severely obese patients who are having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 and those of age group 35 to 40 with one or more weight-related diseases.



Today, AGB is the most chosen bariatric procedure in the United States, with more and more people with weight issues preferring to undergo lap band surgery for quicker weight loss.



Why Have Adjustable Gastric Banding?

There are several advantages of lap band surgery over any other weight reduction surgery. The first and the foremost reason why many people prefer this surgical method for losing excess fat is that it is an easy, safe and minimal invasive procedure.



This form of surgery requires no large incisions in the abdomen and no cutting or stapling of the stomach as well. This means no risk of deterioration of the staples and leakage in gastrointestinal system.



The operation is performed under general anesthesia in a hospital operating room, and can last between 30 minutes and 1 hour.



A lap band beneficiary usually experiences less pain and scarring and does not experience dumping syndrome including symptoms like nausea, vomiting, cramping, dizziness, weakness and diarrhea.



In addition, gastric banding surgery patients have a shorter hospital stay and quicker recovery than patients of other types of obesity treatment.



Another big advantage of getting lap band surgery is that the surgery is reversible and lap band can be removed by performing a small laparoscopic surgery.



The highest success rate and lowest complication/mortality rate of adjustable lap band surgery are the other advantages enticing many obese patients to go for this form of obesity treatment.



If you are suffering from severe obesity and considering going under the surgeon's knife to say goodbye to that stubborn body fat, undergoing adjustable gastric banding can be a worthwhile step for you to take in order to reach your weight loss goals.

Czytaj więcej »

Finding a weight loss program that is gluten-free can be difficult, because of what you cannot eat. If you are gluten intolerant, one of the side effects is weight gain, even though weight loss is associated, it is not always the case. Let me show you a gluten-free weight loss program that shows you how to eat gluten-free foods, and lose weight.

I want to first explain that there are a couple of reasons for choosing a gluten-free weight loss program. The first one is because you are gluten intolerant, and want to lose weight, and secondly you are choosing a gluten-free weight loss program because you have tried many other diets, and this is something you would like to try,



It is true that taking gluten out of your diet can aid weight-loss, and many experts say for one main reason. Gluten is a substance that some people find hard to digest, and to put it simply they stay the same weight over a period time, or gain and lose weight all the time. Wheat products are one of the main problems, with some people saying that these products cause fatigue and sluggishness.



Many famous sports personalities have recently been known to go gluten-free, noticed slight loss of weight, and improved energy levels. If this sounds like you, and you suffer from these, then going on a diet free from gluten may help you.



Is any weight loss program gluten-free?



Yes, there are a couple of diet programs that are free from gluten, and work for those who do not have a choice of eating this diet, and for those who want to try something new and different. I don't want to name those programs, but be assured they do exist and they do work. Many people who have tried these types of diets have noticed significant weight loss in the first 7 days, and for one main reason. Not eating gluten has been shown to speed up metabolism, and you are simply going to burn fat quicker.



Many people are not convinced by these types of diet, and I can understand why. They think not eating gluten based products means your diet is going to be boring, with tasteless food, and that is simply not true. You do not have to sacrifice the foods you love, such as pizza and pasta, and many other bread based meals.



A gluten-free weight loss program is something of a super weight shedding program for many, simply because of how it works. Planning and a guide is what is needed, and if you have a busy work schedule and find it hard to eat healthy meals at the right time of the day, then trying a regular calorie counting diet can be really difficult. If you could prepare meals in 30 minutes or less, and have everything planned, then you have more of a chance of losing those extra pounds.

Czytaj więcej »

Everyone can lose weight, so long as they take the right steps. You will find some good tips here to help you along your way. While losing weight can be difficult sometimes, perseverance and hard work will get you through.

Avoiding red meats will help you lose weight. There are high levels of fat and cholesterol in red meat that can be detrimental to your health. You should swap good lean cuts of meats like fish or poultry for red meat cuts.



Immerse yourself in the color blue. Research has shown that blue colors tend to suppress one's appetite. It is especially effective on a table. Stay away from red, yellow, and orange, as they increase appetite. The link between what we look at and what we eat is subtle, but real. Try this as an interesting experiment when choosing new food plates or clothing to wear out to dinner.



You can improve your health by eating smaller portions of food. Research has revealed that eating smaller meals enables you to reach and keep a body weight that is healthy. The evidence will be how much better you look and feel. When you maintain a healthy eating style you will increase your energy and suffer fewer health problems.



One task that will help keep extra pounds at bay is the daily cleaning of your house. When you clean up your house, those calories stack onto your weight loss. Listening to music can pump you up, making you dance or do more work efficiently which can cause you to lose more calories.



Record your progress when you are trying to lose weight. Keep track of your weight on a daily basis and it will remind you of your goals. Regular weigh ins will help motivate you to achieve your goals quickly.



Substitute regular noodles for noodles with whole wheat in them when you eat pasta. You will get more health benefits from eating whole wheat noodles, and they will fill you up quicker than various other pastas. Even when you are eating whole wheat pasta you should avoid eating pasta too often and avoid all sauces that rich in fat.



A pedometer is a great investment when you are planning on walking or running. A pedometer is a small, electronic tool that will count the number of steps you take throughout the day. This can help you walk more during the day. You should make a goal to walk an average of 10,000 steps a day. Walk more if you are under that amount.



Food nutrition labels are a great source of helpful information when you are trying to lose weight. The calories is something that you should pay special attention to. Nevertheless, remember that food packages often contain a lot of servings, so be sure you count the calories for each serving you consume. Also, pay attention to the carbohydrates and sugar counts.



Don't give into your cravings. This takes considerable willpower. Do not give attention to your cravings, find another focus instead. Brushing your teeth and gargling with mouthwash can help deter you from giving into your cravings. Appetite suppression can be accomplished psychologically as well; reminding yourself of memories or images that deter your cravings is one example.



A lot of people who embark on a weight loss program try to do it alone. A good support group should be used as an advantage for motivation and encouragement if you let them in on your weight loss goals. By knowing your goals they will not give you fattening foods that they normally would.



Preparing your own food rather than eating out can aid you in achieving your weight loss goals. People who eat at home more often tend to make healthier decisions about what to eat. While dining out is quite unhealthy, it is also quite expensive. Thus, eating at home will save you a lot of money.



Keeping track of your weight can help encourage you to continue losing the pounds. This can change from person to person. Check your weight weekly at least. It is best to be done daily.



You can alter your favorite foods so that they contain less calories. Try your next pizza with fewer high-fat meat toppings or less cheese. Many flavors of ice cream are also available in low-fat or sugar-free varieties. When it comes to beverages like soda or beer, there are light versions.



Weight fluctuates naturally for everyone, so don't worry. It is more important to pay attention to your weight's overall trend than to its day to day shifts. As long as that number shrinks, you are on the right track.



When you are trying to lose weight, it is imperative you treat high-calorie foods differently from other, better foods. If you eat something forbidden, supplement it with healthy food so that the forbidden food seems like something special. Every small nibble of cake should be eaten with a serving of fruit; this will leave you satisfied.



Before you start obsessing over calories, work to cut down your portion sizes. Many diets now a days are focusing on the ingredients and the chemistry of the food. This is not the right thing to be looking at. How much you eat at each meal obviously affects your weight, yet nobody talks about portion control. You can lose weight and improve your health just by eating less.



Having handy packets of healthy food can fight those urges that can damage your weight loss. Ziplock bags filled with nuts or fruit are great, healthy snacks.



Potato fans on a diet can substitute the starchy potato with cauliflower, a much healthier, low calorie alternative. Simmer the cauliflower in a tightly covered pot with chicken broth and chopped onion. When it's tender, puree it and add spices to your liking. You can enjoy a delicious and satisfying side dish without the carbohydrate overload.



Once you finish shopping for groceries, take time to divide food portions into containers. Use containers and baggies to weigh and portion your food properly. When you have your portions in separate containers, it is easier to avoid overeating.



Don't forget to include exercise in any weight loss plan. Weight loss happens when you burn more calories than you take in. Exercise will help this to go faster. Biking and jogging are no-cost, simple ways for you to burn calories, while resistance training helps build up muscle and speed up your metabolism.



Once you begin to notice your weight loss, donate clothes that have become too large for you to local charities. This will build your confidence, and help you reflect on your success. It also gives you further motivation to maintain the size you currently are.



If you are trying to lose weight or get in better shape, this article can help you out. By following the information presented above, you can start positively changing how you look and feel about yourself.

Czytaj więcej »

Nowadays, many people suffer from overweight problems, sedentary lifestyle, or both. If for some reason you decide to change only one of the issues - more physically active or lose weight, which could be the better option.

According to Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, in which researchers monitor the health, body weight and exercise levels of more than 14,000 middle-aged men for 11 years, being more physically fit may be more beneficial than losing weight. The level of physical fitness of the participants was estimated by measuring their metabolic equivalents (MET) through a treadmill test.



The results showed that men who maintained their fitness levels, compared to those whose levels declined, over the course of the study, reduced the possibility of dying from cardiovascular disease by about 30%, even if they didn't lose any significant excess body weight. The men whose physical fitness was improved - reduced their chance for cardiovascular disease by 40%.



How Is Physical Fitness Measured?



There are countless definitions of physical fitness, related to feeling comfort in your body and having an athletic figure, but one of the most accurate ones reflects the ability of the cardiorespiratory system to supply energy/oxygen during low to moderate-intensity exercise, as well as the ability of the muscles to utilize that oxygen.



A clear and effective way to measure fitness levels is by using a treadmill for estimating peak physical capacity. While you are running on a treadmill, the speed and incline are gradually increased until you can't go any further. The fitness capacity is usually measured in METs - the amount of oxygen used while resting or sleeping. The respective number of METs is estimated through a formula according to the speed and incline at your peak performance.



Increase Fitness to Reach Closer to Your Healthy Weight



Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, and increased physical activity are proven to be two of the best things you can do to improve your long-term health. But what if you are overweight and inactive? This study and many others suggest that being more active is a good starting step toward better health.



The increase in the amount of physical activity and/or exercise depends on age, gender, current fitness levels and individual characteristics. It is not important where you are starting from. If your fitness is low today, you can boost it with performing regular activity that challenges your body, and gradually improving it by slowly increasing its levels in the long-term. There is no need for strenuous exercise, in terms of health related fitness, it can often lead to more negative than positive effects. To challenge your body, means to work hard enough to speed up your heartbeat and breathing.



For people who don't regularly train their heart, lungs, and muscles, any increase in activity is great. But as much beneficial as physical activity is, it alone can't lead to great weight reduction. To further improve your health and decrease the risk of developing many diseases, this study and countless others before it, suggest that you still would want to reduce your excess body weight. This, of course is achieved by balanced nutrition and gradually reduced daily energy intake. Slow and gradual changes are essential, because it allows eating plans to be followed more easily, it gives enough time for the body to adapt to new changes, and the results are expected to be long-termed and sustainable.

Czytaj więcej »

Healthy eating to fuel your weight loss can be broken down into 7 important and must-follow categories. These are - 1) How often do I eat 2) How do I fuel my muscles? 3) Getting Vitamins and Minerals 4) Which Carbohydrates 5) Good Fats please 6) Hydration 7) Planning and control.

1. How often do I eat?



This is a very important place to start as controlling you're eating times and changing your eating patterns is a very important factor in helping control hunger and helping promote weight loss. The pattern to follow is eating every 2-3 hours, reducing the size of the main meals so you can have 5-6 smaller but nutritionally packed meals. This will prevent your body from entering into starvation mode, and will give your body the confidence that it is going to continually get food throughout the day. This will super-charge your metabolism and will keep your body fuelled for weight loss.



2. How do I fuel my muscles?



It is important understand that muscle is made from something called amino-acids and it is long chains of these molecules which make muscle fibres. Some our bodies can make themselves, but the most important ones when building muscle have to be obtained from our diets. It is massively important to understand where the best place to obtain these nutrients is, so you can factor them into your small nutritionally packed meals. Eating low fat, high quality protein is the best place to obtain the nutrients you need for muscle building.



Meat such as lean red meat, low fat chicken, fish, low fat cottage cheese, white turkey meat and pork tenderloin are all high quality sources of protein with reduced saturated fat content. An excellent way to boost your protein intake is to drink whey protein shakes which will provide a quick boost of amino-acids to help fuel your weight loss.



3. Getting vitamins and Minerals



Vitamins and Minerals are essential for a range of physiological (that's basically your body working) functions. They will help immensely with your weight loss but it is important to increase your intake if you are exercising on a regular basis. First and foremost is obtaining these vitamins and minerals from your diet and this will involve eating a good variety of fruit and vegetables. The more colourful and varied in colour the better for obtaining a wide range of vitamins and minerals,also try to eat good quality produce. Unfortunately it is not always easy to do this so I would highly recommend supplementing your intake using a good quality multi vitamin and mineral supplement. This will ensure you are at least getting your daily requirements with your diet boosting this, it is important to note that the supplement is not in place of a varied diet.



4. Which Carbohydrates to eat?



Sticking to the correct types of carbohydrates will ensure the best supply of energy for your workouts and recovery. It is important to eat as much fruit and vegetable to obtain good quality carbohydrates but also compliment with wholemeal rice, wholemeal pasta, potatoes and yams. This will ensure you are avoiding processed carbohydrates which offer lower quality nutrition and ultimately can affect your weight loss efforts.



5. Good Fats Please.



Eating the correct types of fats is massively important if you want to control your metabolism, control your weight and fuel your muscle recovery. It is important to eat higher levels of mono-saturated and polyunsaturated fats than saturated fats. Saturated fats are needed for nervous function and hormone production but it is important to eat small amounts to ensure your body is dealing with them efficiently. To obtain mono-unsaturated fats you can eat foods such as mixed nuts, olives and olive oil. Polyunsaturated fats can be found in flax seed oil, fish oils and again mixed nuts. The better quality fats, known as good fats, will help regulate weight loss and aid muscle recovery after workouts.



6. Hydration.



With nearly 65% of the human body being made up of water it is obviously important to keep hydrated. The best way to keep your body hydrated is by drinking plain old water on a regular basis throughout the day. The amount depends on age, gender, size and activity levels so it is important to check your basic requirements first. If you increase your activity levels then it is important to increase your intake of water, do not wait till your thirst response kicks in, keep topping up with water throughout your workouts and throughout the day. A good habit to get into is to hydrate as soon as you wake up with 500ml of water before you drink or eat anything else.



7. Planning and Control.



Plan your weekly eating in a diary, making sure you keep a balance of the nutrients and food types mentioned above. Look into the amounts of each food you need to eat in each of your small power meals so you create balance. Track your foods and your progress and look for weaknesses in your diet so you can address them in your planning. Not every day will be perfect and some days you will find it hard to stick to your plan so it is important as a rule of thumb to try and eat 80% of your plan and let yourself have a treat meal or snack within your week. This way you will not deny yourself treat foods and you will be less likely to gorge and binge on them which will really knock you off your weight loss pathway.

Czytaj więcej »

Well we've all been there, the holidays are over and you have put on a few pounds. At this point your weight could continue to go up because you've decided it is too hard to diet or you needed to lose weight already and now you have extra, or you could decide to make this year the year you finally get the weight off. It is your choice and yours alone.

The thought of starting a diet makes everyones stomach turn. You think I don't want to eat salad for the next eight or so weeks. I just want it gone. Well losing weight is not just something you need to do for the next eight weeks it is something that you need to do for the benefit of having a better life. You need a diet that you can stick with and not feel like your missing out. This needs to be about a lifestyle change not just "oh I'll do the diet till I lose 20 lbs" because what is going to happen is your going to gain it back. Why do all that hard work just to be back at square one!



Some of the things you may need to address as I did are: emotional eating, over-eating, or gorging. I have done all of the above. When I get upset or mad, I want something to make me feel better. Usually it is some type of food that I know is not good for me, but I don't care. The weird thing is, is that it makes me feel way worse when I am done. Over eating is another big one for me. I was taught to eat everything on my plate or there are starving kids in China. Some of you younger folk may not have gotten this tirade at dinner, but I'm sure some of you can relate. That mentality is ingrained in me. I feel so guilty leaving food on my plate or sometimes it is just so good I can't stop. Cravings are another diet saboteur. I have found that taking Candida yeast cleanse totally killed my cravings. You can usually find the Candida pills at a health food store or a vitamin shop or body building store.



A couple of tricks I have learned are:



When I feel like just eating to eat, I ask myself if I am that hungry a cucumber or apple would be good enough. If I don't want either then I'm not really that hungry.

When I crave something I shouldn't eat, I eat something good for me a cup of broth, a glass of water, a protein bar etc. and tell myself if I still want it when I am done with the healthy choice I can have whatever it was I was craving. I usually don't feel like eating the craved food

Water is very powerful. When we are dehydrated our bodies interpret thirst as hunger. If you drink water consistently throughout the day it keep fake hunger at bay. Water also helps rid your body of that bloated feel and not the other way around.

Always keep something to snack on with you. That way if you stuck somewhere longer that anticipated then you can eat your snack and not go to that fast food restaurant that is calling your name because your starving.



Another component to staying healthy is exercise. If you don't like going to the gym you can get DVDs to workout to at home (I love pilates), or you can DVR (digital video recorder) a workout from the television. I have a cable station called FitTV and they always have something good to record. The former workout is actually shorter than the 30 minutes long because you can fast forward through the commercials. They are great to do before work. A super quick workout to do anytime (in between commercials, when you get up etc) is do three sets of the following:



10 squats

10 sit-ups

10 push ups



These three exercises cover the whole body. If you have a bad back you can do the squats with a ball behind your back and lean against the wall. If you not good at push ups (like me) you can do them against the wall using your body weight.



Finally, don't judge your weight loss by the scale alone. Judge your weight loss by the feel of your clothes and how you feel. One time I was feeling really heavy and was afraid to get on the scale, to my surprise I lost weight. I was feeling bad about myself that day and it reflected in the way I felt about how I looked and my weight loss progress. Try to weigh yourself at the same time everyday and naked if you can. Stay positive! My weight loss journey has been a life long one with ups and downs. I am determined to stay on the down side, meaning the numbers on the scale!

Czytaj więcej »

Everybody puts on a lot of weight during the holiday season. Everybody also wants to lose the fat for the coming summer. This can be relatively simple provided you follow a correct fat loss cutting diet. Here are some of the facts that support fat loss during summer months.

The heat: Summer is hot and the external heat is a natural thermogenic. People lose fat without any effort just because of the eat.

The sweat: You sweat a lot in summer. This causes you to lose fat along with the sweat you're losing.

Appetite suppression: People generally eat a lot during winter and automatically eat less during summer. This is because your body cant digest food too well because of the heat. So you naturally take in lower calories.





So what kind of diet are you supposed to follow to aid fat loss? Here are few simple guidelines for that.



Lose the carbs: Believe it or not its the carbs and not the fats that are responsible for fat gain. Excess carbs are converted to fat upon release of insulin. Reduce carbs to as low as you possibly can.

High protein: Eat a lot of protein. This builds up muscle and keeps you full. Proteins are the building blocks of your body and they build muscle. Make sure you get one gram per pound of body weight.

Eat essential fats: Fats are very important to the body because they are the raw materials to many hormones. Most important among these are a group of fats called the EFAs (Essential fatty acids) These comprise of Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Good sources for these are fats are Fish, nuts, olive oil etc.





Now you have a basic idea of what you need to do to lose fat for the summer.

Czytaj więcej »

Most people don't realize the effects of sleep deprivation and how it can affect your health and hamper weight loss efforts.

Numerous studies have found that getting the proper amount of quality sleep actually promotes weight loss. Not only does it hinder weight gain, but it also helps you keep it off.



The belief is that sleep affects our levels of a hormone known as Ghrelin. Ghrelin is a gastrointestinal hormone that regulates the appetite. It is suspected that if we're not getting enough quality sleep, this hormone may be to blame.



The belief being that Ghrelin levels rise when sleep deprived, which stimulates the appetite when we otherwise would feel full, and not feeling full, when we may have only just eaten.



Another hormone known as Leptin may be a secret reason for obesity. This hormone is produced by fat cells, and the Leptin levels tell the brain when we need more food. (or not) The effects of sleep deprivation on Leptin levels is that they rise with sleep, especially a long, quality sleep and conversely the levels drop with a lack-of or poor quality sleep.



This combination of a lack of sleep with these improper hormone levels can really sabotage anybody's weight loss plans. Many people would never suspect a lack of sleep.



Sleep Deprived Equals Weight Gain



Quite simply, it appears the overall effects of sleep deprivation is that we are much more inclined to overeat during those periods when sleep is not adequate.



Studies also indicated that people who suffered the effects of sleep deprivation were 30% more likely to be obese. In addition it showed that women who did get a regular amount of quality sleep, were much more likely to lose weight and to maintain that weight loss.



Personally, I think it's pretty obvious. When you're tired, it's harder to concentrate on anything, and making healthy eating choices is probably not going to be at the top of your list. But when you consistently get a good night sleep, you feel refreshed and you're a lot more likely to care about the choices you make throughout the day, because you feel more awake and alert.



How to Sleep Better - 4 Simple Sleep Tips



#1. Get more light -Our body's Pineal gland produces Melatonin that regulates our wake-sleep cycle. The production of Melatonin is controlled by our exposure to light, preferably sunlight. If an adequate amount of natural light is not obtained during the daylight hours, not enough Melatonin is produced, making it more difficult to sleep.



Conversely, too much artificial light during the evening hours can slow up Melatonin production, throwing off the sleep cycle. So try to limit bright lights, computer time and too much television during the evening. (reading more before bed can be a great help)



#2. Exercise -Around and around we go, we always seem to come back to exercise. Exercise helps to keep us healthy in so many ways and can help us get a great night of sleep as well. Daily exercise will all but ensure it, but not too close to bedtime please.



#3. Stop the Caffeine -I think it's pretty common knowledge by now, caffeine and sleep don't usually mix too well. Don't drink any caffeinated beverages after 12 - 2 pm, that goes for tea as well. A good Chamomile tea however, might be just what the doctor ordered.



#4. Good Nutrition -Eating a healthy nutritious diet is always a good idea, make sure your body gets an adequate supply of vitamins B, C, folic acid, zinc and calcium, especially before bedtime. Adding a multi-vitamin can help too.



If any of these things are suspected problems for you, get to work and you'll be sleeping like a baby in no time. Sleep is so important for physical as well as our mental well-being.



-And it might just be the missing ingredient in your weight loss plans as well.

Czytaj więcej »

Following a diet plan during the holidays can be a really difficult thing and most people just give up dieting during that time. However, you can still watch your weight and enjoy yourself during the holiday.

1 - Work out - even if it's a holiday you shouldn't skip your workouts; this way you can easily minimize the influence all that holiday food will have on your body. If you simply don't have time to work out, at least go for walks or go out dancing with your friends. To make things easier you can always schedule your workouts and make sure you have time for them; they shouldn't last more than 30 minutes - 1 hour so even if you are extremely busy, you can always squeeze 30 minutes of weight training in your program.



2 - Party Eating - We get invited to a lot of parties and gatherings during the holidays and there's a lot of bad food served there. A good tip would be to eat only healthy food at first and then you should start eating the high calorie food. This way you can get full faster with healthy food and there will be little space for high calorie food. Also, alcohol can really influence your metabolism and diet, so don't drink too much. If you have to drink, stay away from sweet drinks and opt for dry wine instead. You can always try to mix your wine with sparkling water to make sure that you don't get too many calories from it. Also, many people don't eat before parties because they think they will eat more and this way they will cut some calories. That's not a very smart thing to do because you can end up eating more than you would have eaten throughout the day. If you want to look slimmer you can eat something light before you go to a party but never leave the house with an empty stomach.



3 - Starting a Diet - Try not to start a whole new way of eating during a holiday because it might be hard for you to commit to it with all those temptations. Instead, you should try only to eat less and exercise a bit. After the holiday is over, you won't have extra pounds and you can start your healthy diet. If you are already on a diet during a holiday, making sure that you follow it and only cheat during family meals is the key. One or two meals where you eat whatever you want won't compromise your diet at all, but the mistake most people do is eating whatever they want during the entire holiday.

Czytaj więcej »

Summer holiday has become the biggest challenge of the today's life for an average person to fight against overweight and maintain their weight loss.

This challenge becomes more difficult and inescapable when there are a lot of people eating delicious and tasty food items in front of you in picnics, festivals and ceremonies. Here I am going to explain for you some trick to maintain your diet plans without overeating and make your body more healthy,beautiful and athletic. Zotrim supplement is the solution for that which makes you feel full without overeating. Its suppressing capability to hunger makes it greater choice in summer season for an average person to maintain his/her day today weight loss plans. Zotrim can also be used with any other diet plan to suppress hunger cravings, making fulfillment of your diet plans easier so you can gain your bikini body quicker and easier. When your cravings overcome just take, zotrim to help you maintain your beautiful bikini body and let your diet plans work accordingly. Otherwise, go to my blog from resource box for free tips, tricks and advices - don't let your weight loss temptation be in vain and useless.



Here I want to guide you through an exercise with,Zotrim is herbal weight loss suppressant medicine used to maintain or make your body like a beautiful bikini and athletic body. It is not a good idea to leave you only on herbal or other types of medicines and not to guide you for your active healthy life with effective weight loss diet. If you only depend on medicines for your diet plans they may work but could lead you or your body to other disorders. It is an easy exercise for the improvement of your belly. It's a fifty to one hundred percent fulfillment of health diet plan. Half the efforts you make and double the results you will see in your weight loss.



Lie straight on the ground with your back while your legs rest at a 90-degree angle in front of a wall.

Put your arms folding beneath your head and slowly swirl forward from your waist, moving your head and shoulders up the floor as far forward as you can.

In this posture, swiftly throb backwards and forwards for a count of 30 then lay back down to the floor.

Rest for 30 seconds and repeat.



For more exercises and diet plan tips and diet control products visit my blog.

Czytaj więcej »

Are you sick and tired of weight loss pills, diet plans and exercise routines?

If so, let me tell you that a good quality diet patch can help you get over all your weight loss voes.



A weight loss patch is the perfect way to lose weight quick and fast without fearing any side effects. Such weight patches deliver the ingredients into your body transdermally (through the skin) so that they reach the bloodstream directly and do not come in contact with stomach acids or fluids.



This ensures greater potency of the ingredients since stomach acids tend to destroy a large part of the ingredients.



Once the ingredients reach you bloodstream they begin seeking out for the thyroid since it is responsible for regulating your metabolism. Once they seek the thyroid, they help enhance the production of iodine which ensures faster burning of fat.



Another aspect that a slim patch works upon is that it tends to suppress your appetite and curb cravings for food. This is extremely important to achieve effective weight loss. Losing weight is not possible without diet control.



A good patch can easily make you strip off up to 5 ponds within a week. Many people are able to lose up to 20 pounds within 30 days.



Top quality diet patches include ingredients such as gaurana, yerba mate, zinc pyruvate, 5HTP, lecithin, fucus vesiculosus etc.,



Such ingredients can be highly effective in helping you lose weight. While herbs like gaurana helps boost your metabolism so that your body is able to burn fat more quickly, yerba mate and other ingredients like zinc pyruvate are highly effective in reducing your appetite.



Lecithin, on the other hand, helps breakdown fat and lower cholesterol. This is great for the health of your heart. Fucus vesiculosus or bladderwrack is a brown algae that is also extremely effective in weight control. A lot of nutritionists recommend using for natural weight loss.



One of the major advantages of using such a patch is that it does not make you feel dizzy. On the other hand, it helps increase your energy levels. This is a highly pleasant effect of a good quality slim patch.



Top notch weight patches do not have any side effects and are backed with clinical approvals as well.



No wonder, they are the "hottest" slimming product!



So, If You Want to Lose Weight Quick and Fast to Get a Body that You can Flaunt this Summer, Check out the Best Diet Patch Ever!

Czytaj więcej »

There are so many exercises that are being performed to lose weight, and it cannot be done without eating the necessary foods that will help you achieve your main goals. That aside, I want to discuss the best exercises for weight loss which are cardio workouts, which has been of great help to many people.

There are different forms of cardio workouts, and they will be detailed out shortly, but you should understand that they cannot be achieved without doing them regularly. These exercises help in the building of strength and stamina, and most importantly, in the loss of weight. They are the best form of exercise that has ever been performed.



The Best Cardio Workouts



These best workouts help in the burning of calories and also in the strengthening of the bones. It also helps in the increasing of the chemical changes that take place in the body system. It has so many advantages, and one of them is it increases the heart beat rate, and also the strengthening of the muscles in the circulatory system. Examples of these workouts are listed below for your benefit, and I urge you to read carefully so that you will not miss anything.



Cycling



This can be done anywhere and at any time. In the gym, a stationary bike can be used, and it helps in the building of the muscles in the leg, and also more fat can be burnt easily in the form of sweat. If you do not like going to the gym, you can ride your bike around, and note that it helps in the loss of weight. You can perform this exercise for as long as possible, depending on your own strength and ability.



Jogging



This is one of the simplest forms of cardio exercise. It can be performed indoors and outdoors. It helps in the burning of fat, improving of stamina and strength. If you cannot jog fast, try doing it slowly to free the muscles around the knee, then the rest is child's play.



Swimming



This exercise has to do with the flexing of muscles in every part of the body, and it also involves the rapid beating of the heart. It is advised that you can swim for about 30-40 minutes daily to obtain good full body workout, and lose more belly fat.



Kickboxing



This is not really practiced by everyone, but it is also a very good form of exercise. It involves the breaking of sweat and also the loss of calories.



There are other simple exercises such as running, walking, and climbing of stairs. Others can be performed in the gym, and they can be very helpful if you obey instructions. All these are best exercise for weight loss, and the more you practice them, the better your chances of fulfilling them.

Czytaj więcej »

The recipe to longevity and all round vitality has two very important ingredients, they are diet AND exercise. It is all good and well to want to lose weight. Yet what most people do not realize is that when you free yourself of the excess weight, you need to do toning exercises as to prevent saggy skin and firm up your muscles.

When you exercise you burn calories and when you eat you provide your body with the fuel needed to function effectively. So... if you stick to rule of burning more calories than you consume then weight loss becomes inevitable and toning exercises become a necessity.



An important fact to remember when you do toning exercises is that muscle weighs more than fat therefore you should not put too much faith in your scale. In fact, it will probably be best if you stop weighing yourself all together. A scale will give the wrong impression about your weight loss efforts because you will be losing centimeters. Even though you may not be showing much improvement on the scale, does not mean it is not working and should take your measurements at your waist with a tape measure for a more accurate assessment. Remember to measure your fitness by how you feel after climbing stairs instead of how much you weigh.



Aerobics is a form of exercise that is notably affective as a toning exercise tool because it is sweat inducing cardio workout that gets your heart pumping. Aerobics helps burn those calories and firm up those flabby bits. The relentless movements without pause to attain the adrenaline required to increase your heart rate, is sheer exhilaration. Enjoyment is the added benefit to this form of toning exercises and your body learns endurance.



Aerobics helps your fitness levels by strengthening your heart as well as your lungs and tightens muscles making them leaner. It also works your whole body, targeting every muscle through continuous movements and actions. Strengthening as well as toning. Challenging your body by pushing it to the max is an important and fundamental key to achieving weight loss. Remember once you reach that plateau meaning, when you stop seeing results, it means your body is in its comfort zone and needs to switch to a new endurance level. Signifying a change in toning exercises is needed.



There are many forms of aerobics that suit each individual specifically by fitness level so it is important to research which ones are safe for you. Seeking a professional opinion is advised if there are any health issues to be concerned about. These professionals will be able to help choose a good workout program suited just for you and allay any concerns you may have about any type of toning exercises you would like to try.



Toning exercises are hard work. Remember confidence to wear whatever you want and having the feeling of actually liking what you see in the mirror is definitely worth it.



Eat five small meals a day and drink eight glasses of water daily. Again, an important point to remember for fitness sake is that it is not about how much time you spend burning calories but how much you can challenge yourself. Your muscles need to burn more calories for hours after your workout and your energy levels need to sustain you through out your day.

Czytaj więcej »

Do you know any acai berry diet side effects? Some things that are truly good exist, and they are effective just like this Acai berry. People get the wrong idea about this fruit as a simple weight loss aid. Every time people hear about this particular berry, what comes to their mind is the weight loss diet plan.

However, this berry does more than losing weight. This super food that is grown in the heart of the Amazon forest has a lot of health benefits to offer. It has the highest content of antioxidants among the berry family, and the third highest among all other fruits and vegetables that are rated by the ORAC.



Due to the antioxidants present in this specific fruit including the essential vitamins and minerals, the Acai berry is excellent in fighting off the free radicals that are found in our body. It is rich with protein, essential fatty acids, vitamin C and D, Anthocyanins, and soluble fiber. The presence of these valuable nutrients enables them to protect the entire system from bad cholesterols, arthritis, cancer and diabetes. Indeed, this berry is able to control the blood sugar levels and hypertension. It has detoxification properties which certainly improves the overall health of the consumer. The acai also hold back the signs of aging and gives you a healthy glowing skin.



The weight loss benefit in Acai berry is not drastic. Certainly, it does not interrupt the normal digestive process in your body. The fiber found in this super food improves your digestive system. It cleanses your digestive tract and removes the toxic waste in your body. It also enhances the metabolic rate, thus it is able to digest food at the same time speed up the burning of calories and stored fats. These benefits lead to a healthier and leaner body.



As of today, there are so many people who are incorporating in their diet the Acai berry. The only thing you need remember is to choose pure Acai berry products and avoid falling for scam. Besides those things, there are no noted acai berry diet side effects yet.

Czytaj więcej »

Are there really five best weight loss foods for men? You betcha there is!

But before I tell you what five foods to eat, we need to talk about some of the strange advice I'm seeing out there about how many meals per day you should be eating.



There are so many schools of thought, eat 8 small meals a day, eat six meals a day, eat four meals a day, eat three meals a day, it's enough to drive one crazy, we see all this conflicting advice about how many times a day you should be eating.



I eat the standard three meals per day, and a snack in the evening. That's it!



In the morning I like to get loaded with some protein and some fruit. I will have an egg micro waved with no added butter or fats and some tea or coffee with just a table-spoon of milk in it and NO SUGAR, use Stevia or Splenda instead.



Lunchtime I like a little bit more balanced meal, a protein, vegetables and a fruit.



For supper, I like to have protein, vegetables, fruit and. Then for a snack latter in the evening I may have a fruit smoothie.



So what foods would fill the bill so that we can eat three meals a day and have a snack in the evening?



Number One: Protein is the fuel that stokes your metabolism to lose more weight and add muscle instead of flab. Some examples of protein are, lean meats such as turkey, chicken, pork, beef, lamb, Tuna, white fish, walnuts and, eggs.



It's important to note that it's just as important how you cook your meat as it is to what kind of meat that you eat. No fried meats in butter or oil and no deep fried foods such as chicken patties, chicken wings, fish fries. What you need to do is grill your meat using no additional oils but its okay to add some seasoning. Just be careful that the seasoning you use isn't full of sugar that will defeat your diet. Try not to use any marinates as they often contain corn syrup, brown sugar or some other type of sugar.



Number Two: Fresh vegetables such as green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, tomatoes, bell peppers. There too many more to list so just check out your Grocers produce department. Vegetables contain many of the nutrients that the body needs to operate properly. They also contain fiber which is important for digestion.



Again its best to grill your veggies. Avoid steaming or boiling as it washes away many of the nutrients.



Eat at least 4 cups of Vegetables per day, ideally 2 cups with lunch and dinner.



Number Three: Some fruits to consider are apples, pears, peaches, bananas, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, and again check out your grocers produce department. Always eat fresh fruit if possible, most canned fruits are packed in tons of sugar water and that's not good for a diet.



Number Four: Eliminate Carbohydrates! Potatoes, breads, pasta and rice, cereals, they are usually loaded with sugar and other undesirable chemicals. Carbohydrates are mainly starches and they and the undesirable chemicals are quickly stored by the body as fat especially if are sedentary and you're not eating enough Lean protein and veggies. Absolutely no fried carbs such as hash browns or French fries.



Number Five: Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurts can be beneficial in general. But dairy products are often full of fat and tons of added sugars. You have to really cut down on the dairy unless you are in an intense workout program to compensate for consuming them.

Czytaj więcej »

If the thought of seeing yourself in a bathing suit or swimming trunks this summer is making your knees buckle then keep reading. I am going to share 10 tips you can use to lose weight and look your best all summer long.

1. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day. Water helps your kidneys to remove toxins and your liver to metabolize more fat.



2. Eat 4 or 5 meals of smaller portions per day.



3. Eat fish that are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids to increase your metabolism and energy level.



4. Eat low fat milk products like yogurt and cottage cheese. They contain "good proteins" which help suppress cravings for food and are essential to building muscles.



5. Eat vegetables, beans, and fruits. They contain "good" carbohydrates that help suppress hunger naturally.



6. Eat whole grains and other foods that are rich in fiber. These foods are more filling and also help to suppress hunger.



7. Do not consume large amounts of Alcohol. Alcohol slows down your metabolism which helps the body store more fat.



8. Avoid eating desserts that are high in sugar.



9. Avoid late night meals. Do not eat anything 2 or 3 hours before going to bed because this gives your body enough time to properly digest your meals before you sleep.



10. Avoid eating anything that is high in saturated fats.



What are the benefits of following these 10 simple summer diet tips? For starters, you will lose weight, regulate your blood pressure and lower your risk of heart failure. You will feel better about yourself because you will look your best in that bathing suit or those swimming trunks.



Remember that losing weight is influenced by what we eat and the amount of physical activities and exercises we perform each day. The keys to your successful weight loss summer will be determined by how much exercise you engage in that burns body fat and your eating habits.



If you exercise regularly and follow these 10 tips then you will reduce your intake of excessive calories which causes weight gain and have a healthier body this summer.

Czytaj więcej »