At War With Your Weight By Jaime E Schehr

Mindful Weight Loss

The most common weight loss struggle is the mental and emotional commitment. For most, losing weight isn't easy, nor is it fast, yet many look for the easiest and fastest solution to shed those extra pounds. Outside of surgical procedures (which come with their own complications), losing weight is not a quick fix. If it took years to put on, it will require some time-along with nurturing and dedication-to lose.

The importance of exploring your emotional connection to diet is critical for success, as is challenging yourself on how you got to this weight. For some, it's a busy schedule, or the fact that comfort foods are so easily accessible (like the cookies that are always out at the office)! Others have a more emotional connection to food; they use it for comfort, nurturing, or an unconscious need for satisfaction. This all perpetuates the weight cycle. Working on the root causes of weight gain allows you to free yourself, and move towards easier weight loss in the future.

In addition to challenging the behaviors, habits, and perceptions that may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts, here's a look at the other factors that may be contributing to your struggle to lose weight:

Adrenal Fatigue

The adrenal glands aid in managing physical and emotional stress in our bodies. Adrenal fatigue may be the result of chronic or prolonged stress. Symptoms include but are not limited to: feeling tired even after adequate sleep, feeling tired but "wired," a weakened immune system, afternoon fatigue followed by a surge in energy in the evening, and cravings for sweet and salty foods. This is another reason managing stress is so important in successful weight loss.

Abnormal Thyroid Function

Your thyroid gland plays a major role in your metabolism and the rate at which your body uses or stores energy. Therefore, it can play a major role in your war with weight! Common symptoms of thyroid dysfunction include but are not limited to: changes in weight, mood, and body temperature; changes in menstrual cycle for females; hair loss; fatigue; and dry skin. If you believe you have thyroid problems, you should discuss this with your doctor.

Insulin Resistance

Hormone imbalances that go untreated can lead to weight gain or inability to lose weight. A hormone abnormality that may affect your weight is insulin resistance - a problem with the way your body uses blood sugar, which can lead to excess fat storage, especially around the waist. What causes this? Poor diets - especially those high in processed foods and sugars, and low in lean proteins and fiber. Left untreated, this may lead to type II diabetes. Lifestyle changes are the most important step in treating this issue, but sometimes greater intervention is needed to help the body restore its ability to utilize insulin.

Food Intolerances/Food Sensitivities

Gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, headaches, skin rashes, fatigue, weight gain, or inability to lose weight can all be signs of food sensitivities. Food sensitivities are different from food allergies, which are generally more severe and immediate. The most common foods people are sensitive to include dairy, wheat/gluten, eggs, soy, corn, sugar, and some fruits. Eliminating these foods (maybe one at a time to see how it affects you) is taking a step towards losing those "stuck pounds" or relentless GI symptoms.

Regardless of what's causing your weight loss issues, it's important to know that the journey towards losing weight doesn't have to be so overwhelming! Start by making small lifestyle changes, such as the ones listed below. By incorporating one of these changes into your diet per week (start with whatever's easiest and most convenient for you), you'll be well on your way to winning your war with weight:

Don't skip breakfast.

Eating breakfast can help you lose weight by keeping your metabolism up. Your metabolism is the rate at which your body will burn calories. People who skip breakfast tend to eat larger meals and have slower metabolism. A breakfast high in protein is the best choice for weight loss. Examples of this include an egg white and vegetable omelet, a nut butter on high fiber bread, or a low sugar yogurt with 1/4 cup of nuts.

Avoid eating before bed.

Sleep is a time for rest and recharging, so foods that are eaten late at night are more likely to be "stored" (as fat) since we do not need to burn them for energy throughout the night. It's best to avoid eating two hours before bed if you're trying to lose weight. If you're truly hungry and need something to eat, make sure to choose a food that's low in sugar, such as 1/4 cup of nuts or a hard-boiled egg.

Eat protein with every meal.

Meals that lack a protein (such as meat, fish, or beans) tend to be higher in carbohydrates (like bread, pasta, and rice), which can lead to more weight gain. Protein is also responsible for helping us feel full longer, and is an important part of any weight loss program.

Avoid foods high in sugar.

Eating sugar is the fastest way for your body to stock up on fuel for later. Since sugar turns to stored fat, the more you eat, the more weight you'll gain. Cutting the sugars out of your diet is the first and most important step towards losing weight. Start by eliminating packaged foods, since they're especially high in sugar.

Don't drink your calories.

Eliminating sugary beverages can cut over 500 calories in your diet in just one day. This is equivalent to losing a pound a week-just by changing drinks alone! If you're a soda drinker, consider switching to seltzer or carbonated water. If you're a juice drinker, consider switching to an unsweetened cold tea. Speaking of tea, don't forget about sugars added to drinks such as tea or coffee. Try to reduce the amount of sugar you add to these drinks every day or week, until you're able to skip it altogether. This leads me to my next strategy.

Drink tea. A cup of plain tea or hot water in the morning and a cup of herbal tea before bed can help your body shed pounds. Drinking a cup of hot water upon waking may help to increase your metabolism, which will encourage your body to burn calories faster.

Eat vegetables. Eating vegetables equals losing weight, so eat your greens. Vegetables are high in fiber and low in calories, making them an excellent weight loss tool because they fill you up without adding on the pounds. Try to make sure that vegetables make up half of every lunch and dinner plate, and choose vegetables as snacks over packaged foods, which are higher in sugar and calories. Slices of cucumber or sliced red peppers are great snacks!

Despite the scenarios mentioned above, inability to lose weight most often comes from incorrectly executed diets, inappropriate caloric intake (too much or too little), emotional eating, and/or a combination of all of these factors. I always use the analogy of weight being like money: For many, it's easy to spend and hard to save, and with weight, it's easy to gain but hard to lose. Finding the best diet budget for you and understanding your relationship to food is critical to achieving a healthy weight.

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The Trick to Gain Muscle and Lose Weight Revealed By John Stellman

Over the years many people have tried just about every kind of diet and workout routine imaginable. Every body type is different. Each person responds differently to diet and exercise programs. It's definitely not one size fits all. We need to realize that major body changes such as weight loss or muscle gain are impossible to achieve overnight. It took you years to get this way, and it should take years to change. If you do it in a healthy holistic way.

If you're looking to gain muscle and lose weight you really need to develop a mindset of success first. Having already experienced your weight loss or muscle gain in your head is critical because your thoughts become reality I don't really have ordeal most people have. Most of them are dealing with too much fat I their body. I really can't imagine how difficult it is to fight your cravings in order to lose weight and endure the pain other people cause. I just have an opposite problem. I was really thin and underweight. My metabolism rate was really high and I was really athletic. Many people have grown jealous of me. I am able to eat anything I like and not gain a single pound.

I'm still like that even as an adult. People would always say, "don't worry when you turn 25 then you'll start feeling it!" but that day never came. A skinny person who wants to have big muscles and an obese individual who wants to lose weight share the same troubles. Both classifications of people fall into a single category. They have a body they don't like and have to work hard to change it. As for my case, I needed to do a lot of workout and weight lifting in the gym. But let me tell you, it's all worth it. Once I gained the motivation to build my body in the gym, I immediately saw the changes that I wanted. This motivation of mine allowed me to stay in the gym and workout even in days I didn't want to lift weights. I can remember coming home from work and all I wanted to do was relax after a long exhausting day on the job. Perhaps you get my point.

Perhaps you just wish to live a healthier life and come back to the gym to train again. If you workout hard in the gym you'll develop a level of self respect that will grow in your mind each time you train. You will surely love how your body would look like. Wouldn't it be nice that whenever you look in the mirror you will be pleased by what you see?

Sometimes people have different goals. Let's say your goal is to lose man boobs. In order to reach that goal you have to change how you're living from day to day. You have to make different choices. Remember, it's your past choices on a day to day level that got you here today.

Some other want to lose weight but we have to realize that ultimately being the ideal weight comes down to emotions and self respect. If you respect yourself and love yourself you won't eat to cover up other emotional issues.

John Stellman is the founder of Gain Muscle And Lose Weight, a blog about better living. Get the tools to get the body you want by visiting us today. I guarantee you'll learn techniques

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The Best Way to Kick Start Your Fitness and Weight Loss Goals In 5 Simple Steps By Sean P Mahoney

Just about anything which is worthy of doing usually requires more than just a single step to complete. Things with any complexity take several steps that will take some time to complete. It is just inherent in the nature of things that substantial tasks will not be accomplished overnight. You should prepare yourself very well, get a clear mental picture of what must be done, then stick with your plan. Regardless of your fitness and fat loss goals, don't anticipate any exceptions to those requirements.

However it is not that difficult in reality, you simply break it into clear individual steps. Any big goal, like improving your overall health, can be achieved by making lost of small, incremental changes.

Here's how you can jump start your fat loss and fitness goals by sticking to these 5 easy steps:

Step 1. Clean up your eating habits. This is of crucial significance because diet is actually more important in fat loss and lean muscle building than exercise. Make sure you do not neglect the importance of cleaning the junk out of your diet.

Step 2. Stop wasting your time at the gym doing long, slow cardio exercise. This will be a critical step, so lend it your complete attention. This is how to do it the best way, for the best results. Substitute high intensity intervals into your cardio workouts. The main reason this is very important is that you will burn far more calories long after you have finished your workout.

Step 3. Use heavier weights. You will want to do this in order to burn far more calories. In addition you will just want to be sure to lift the right amount of weight to avoid injury.

In my experience, women tend to not lift enough weight while men often try to overdo it in this area.

Step 4. Limit beer consumption. Specifically, even a couple of beers each night can derail all of your hard work from the entire week.

Step 5. restrict every type of sugar in your diet. In addition to that, Cut out soft drinks.

When you follow these steps and start seeing the results, you will be even more motivated to keep going. Accept the rewards and respect (and envious glances!). You managed to do it you now deserve the credit! It's your success to enjoy, and your opportunity to set the standard for other people to try and follow!

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Simple and Healthy Weight Loss Methods By Nick Preston

Healthy weight loss equals glowing skin and a new 'you'. Weight loss has gained a lot of importance these days. People are conscious about their looks and their overall personality. A slim and toned body is on everyone's wish list. Nevertheless, how many of us take the effort to get that desired body? I would say "not many". One reason for this is the plethora of weight loss methods available. People are spoilt for choice and are often confused. Most of them end up choosing the wrong method for losing weight. A little bit of research and self-analysis will give you an insight into healthy weight loss method. However, before we discuss the ideal way of burning fat, let us also talk about some mistakes people tend to commit. Maybe you can avoid those mistakes.

Common Mistakes

One of the most common mistakes people commit is of taking up physical training. There is a common belief that the word 'weight loss' is synonymous to 'gym'. Whenever someone thinks of losing weight, the only thought that crosses his/her mind is of joining a gymnasium/ fitness centre. Though exercise and weight loss are a time-tested way of losing those extra pounds, research says otherwise. It seems that our body gets used to the physical training and stops reacting. This means that, after a few workout sessions you will stop losing weight. Though the toning of muscles will continue, but weight loss or inch loss may not be observed. Moreover, joining a fitness centre or a gymnasium would mean that you need to spare at least two hours everyday. Not just that, you also have to keep a check on your diet. With a hectic and chaotic lifestyle, it becomes extremely difficult to take out so much time and put in continuous efforts in these physical activities. You have to consider the time spent at the gym, travel time and changing and/or bathing time. Though the session may last for an hour, but when you factor in the time spent on other related activities, it could be anywhere between one and half to two hours. This is the bare minimum time you have to spend on physical training. A fast-paced life, which has no place for "me" time will certainly not allow you to spend hours in physical training. Therefore, it is better to choose a method that suits your lifestyle. A simple and healthy weight loss method is one that does not require a lot of time, it only requires some effort.

Ideal Way Of Losing Weight

The best way to reduce those thunder thighs, big bums, big belly and flabby upper arms is by controlling what you eat. All these years you have been eating a lot of delicious junk! Never bothered that you causing a lot of damage to your body! Filling your tummy with burgers, fries, colas and junk food is like piling up tons of fat. Fat forms a layer on your intestine, liver and the colon. As a result, these organs fail to perform up to their optimal level. Bad eating habits can horribly ruin the metabolism. Even nutritious food is not digested properly and the cycle of weight gain continues.

A healthy weight loss method is one that will detoxify the entire digestive system. It aims at cleansing all the organs. The idea is to keep a check on what you eat, how much you eat and how you eat. Follow a healthy weight loss guide and you will be amazed by the results.

Healthy Weight Loss

http://ww[w.simpledietguide.com]

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Tips For Reducing Weight By Sabih Javed

The demand for various weight loss products, drugs and supplements is increasing rapidly. Why you need such unreliable weight loss products when you can easily reduce weight. Here are a few best weight reduction tips that, if followed strictly, will reduce your weight significantly.

1- Exercise is very important. I mean this is the only way to burn body fat. There is no need to join a gym, of course if you can join a gym that's great; however simple jogging or running on daily basis is more than enough. Jog or run or on regular basis, this will not only help you in staying fit and healthy but it will burn your body fat as well.

2- Start playing outdoor games. For instance, swimming, running, tennis, basketball, soccer or any other game. Stop playing useless or unhealthy games including board games, computer games and others.

3- Pay special attention to your diet. Reduce use of carbohydrates and fats. It is practically and logically not possible to reduce weight without reducing use of carbohydrates. Meantime, shift towards vegetables and fruits. Start taking fiber as much as you can. Drink water and juices as much as you can. It is strongly recommended to consult a nutritionist and follow a specific diet plan.

4- You can use special weight reduction supplements and products as long as these are natural and do not have any side effects. For instance, African mango is said to be very good for weight reduction. Similarly,raspberry k etone is also famous for weight loss and is extensively used in weight loss supplements. It is good to use supplements and drugs as long as these are free from harmful effects.

5- Say goodbye to fast food. The basic reason as to why we gain so much weight is due to excess use of junk food including burgers, snacks, pizzas and other fatty foods that we eat almost every day.

6- Do not try any supplement, weight loss drug or medicine without consulting your physician.

7- Always read the ingredients and composition of the product that you buy. Make sure that it doesn't contain any harmful ingredients that may harm your body.

8- Last but not the least, keep measuring your weight and see whether it is reducing or not. If you are losing, it's great. If not, try to figure out what you are missing or consult your physician.

Now you do not need anything else to reduce your weight, just grab raspberry ketone diet and see how it burns your extra fat.

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7 Fat Loss Strategies For Busy Moms By Holly Rigsby, CPT

7 Fat Loss Strategies For Busy Moms

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
www.FitYummyMummy.com

Would you like to "jump start" your metabolism and lose your ‘mommy belly' once and for all? If so, the following seven tips are exactly what you need to improve your workouts and ignite your metabolism. Try some or all of these tips, but beware, the result may be a number of admiring second glances and the need to pull your ‘skinny jeans' out of the closet.

1. The majority of your workouts should be composed of free-weight, bodyweight or cable exercises.

Compared to machines, free-weight, bodyweight and cable movements often require more skill, create muscular balance, and have a greater metabolic cost. For example, it is more difficult to balance the weights, and to coordinate muscles when performing free-weight exercises. Although this may sound like a disadvantage, it is actually a benefit. By balancing and stabilizing free-weights or cables you are working more muscles through a greater range of motion resulting in more muscles developed and more calories burned.

2. Use exercises that work more than one muscle at a time.

When focusing on fat loss, you can't worry about "shaping" exercises, instead you should use exercises that'll get you the biggest bang for your buck and work as many muscles as possible. Isolation exercises can be used at the end of a workout to work on a specific target area, but they just serve to supplement your core movements.

Virtually every savvy fitness professional is privy to the fact that compound exercises recruit the most muscle groups for any given body part.

If you seek lean, toned muscles and the increase in metabolism that comes with them, you must choose exercises that work as many different muscles as possible. One of the main reasons why squats are superior to leg extensions for improving your body is that they also work your butt, hamstrings and inner thighs in addition to toning your quadriceps while leg extensions focus on just the front of your thigh and don't really offer any other benefit. That same rationale hold true for arm exercises too. That's why dumbell presses and dips will are more valuable for your arms than triceps kickbacks and pushdowns.

A good rule of thumb is to use movements that will allow you to use the most weight. These will have a systemic effect on your body that'll help maintain or increase your lean muscle, and in turn ignite your metabolism.

3. Pair exercises.

Pair your exercises together so that you alternate between upper-body exercises and lower-body exercises or between exercises that target opposing muscle groups (e.g. chest and back).

This type of approach will keep your workouts short and efficient by eliminating much of the downtime that comes between sets of a single exercise since you are working on one movement while resting from another. This approach can also yield huge benefits in your mission to burn fat. Since you'll constantly be moving and keeping your heart rate elevated, you'll be burning far more calories than you would during a typical workout.

4. Keep your reps between 8 and 12.

Through research, it has been determined that the best range for building lean muscle is roughly between 8-12 reps. Since the main focus of your resistance training efforts is to gain lean body mass and stimulate your metabolism, this rep range fills the bill perfectly. "High reps for tone and fat loss" is one of the biggest (and most unproductive) training myths! Somehow the aerobics, yoga and Pilates' community have convinced us that when we perform bodyweight exercises or light resistance training for high reps, our muscles magically take on a beautiful shape without growing or bulging. On the other hand, if you challenge yourself with moderately heavy weights, your body will take on a bulky, unflattering appearance. If you believe this, you probably still believe in the Tooth Fairy!

5. Rest only 30 to 60 seconds between sets.

When you keep the rest periods under one minute, it's easier to stay focused on the task at hand and keeps your heart rate elevated. In addition, it forces your muscles to recover more quickly between sets, along with keeping your nervous system revved up.

If your first movement in an upper/lower body pair is squats, you might want to rest 60 seconds before attempting your second movement. However, if your first exercise is a fairly "easy" exercise, like lat pull downs, you might only wish to wait 30 seconds before doing the second part of the pair.

6. Perform total body workouts.

You must drop the notion that muscle groups work independently of one another. Muscles work together and should be trained that way. Besides, not only does this approach mean less time in the gym, but by working the whole body three times per week, you'll be maximizing the fat burning effect of your program.

7. Cardio is not the cure-all for fat loss.

Cardiovascular exercise aids in the creation of a caloric deficit, but the caloric expenditure during cardio is temporary. Strength training addresses the core of the problem by permanently increasing the rate at which the body burns calories by adding muscle. The best programs will include both strength training and cardiovascular training, but the core or the programs effectiveness is resistance training.

Take these strategies and incorporate them into your workout routine. Not only will you save a lot of time, but you'll also soon see a leaner and more toned body. Not to mention a few more turned heads and the re-emergence of your skinny jeans.

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women’s fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back. Go http://www.fityummymummy.com to to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

Tips Avoid Holiday Pounds! By Steve Carney

In honor of Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I decided to offer some tips for avoiding holiday pounds. I've followed these approaches for years and they work great!

1. Appetizers

Go for more unprocessed foods like nuts, olives, veggies (minimize dips), guacamole and proteins like chicken or shrimp, with a few slices of cheese. Skip crackers, chips, breads or foods in fried or baked wrappers as the carbs will spike your blood glucose, adding to weight gain. Many pre-packaged foods also have extra salt, trans fats, sugar, preservatives and additives which can interfere with digestion.

2. Drinks

Hydrate as you go. Keep a glass of water nearby or alternate each drink of alcohol with a glass of water (for mixed drinks, you add water as you go before your next drink). The goal is to drink an equal amount of water for each drink you have. Sip your drinks and eat as you go to slow the rate of alcohol absorption. Red wine and beer are some good choices (1 or 2 drinks total) and go easy on mixed drinks or soda. For egg nog just have a small sample taste if you want.

3. Main meal

Focus on lean proteins and lots of veggies to fill your plate, especially with simple sauces like olive oil or light butter sauce. Watch the green bean casserole and fried onions! For white carbs, have smaller servings (about ½ a serving spoon) for mashed potatoes or bread dressing (wild and brown rice are good alternatives). You can skip rolls or bread (do you really need those today?). And a touch of gravy is enough as it's often thickened with refined flours/starches.

By having only small portions/tastes of white starches, you can participate in the meal and not offend the host. Sweet potatoes or yams are okay in a modest portions, but be careful of the sugary glazes and marshmallows! A small serving of cranberries is okay (aim for a few tablespoons).

4. Dessert

Go for sample sizes of pumpkin, fruit, or pecan pie (½ slice or less) with a dab of topping. With a sampling approach, you can enjoy a mix of flavors while you have the equivalent of one normal slice. Again, you can participate and sample and taste everything but avoid excess weight gain!

5. Multivitamin

Before you go out, take an extra multivitamin. That will help supply extra vitamins and minerals for the sweats, carbs and any alcohol you drink, keeping you out of deficits (you need vitamins and minerals to digest sweets and refined carbs properly).

The overall approach is to focus on whole foods and lean proteins with veggies, nuts, olives, etc. Keep the carbs and sweets to small, sample sizes and you will avoid those extra pounds. The hydration will also keep you fuller so you're be less prone to overeat.

And if you gain just a pound from this approach, you should lose it easily in a day or two as your body returns to its normal patterns! So you can enjoy this special holiday and those to follow with good food, family and friends!

Drop me a line if you have any questions, and let me know how things worked for you! Were you able to hold your weight pretty steady?

Helpful links:

http://www.endsicknessnow.com/toxic-sugar-and-health

http://www.endsicknessnow.com/power-your-life-with-power-foods-and-drinks

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