Exploring Weight Loss Facts!

Exploring Weight Loss Facts

You must have tried it all, the diet programs that promise to melt away the fat, the magic pills that guarantee to tone your waistline, exercise plans that ensure delivering the perfect abs, only to find them to be false promises and weight loss scams!

Have you ever thought about the real reason why you are over-weight?

Ask yourself, ”When was the last time you heard a friend say that they were able to lose the weight and keep it off using a popular fad diet or some weight-loss drug?” Do you remember some of those, the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, and the starvation diet???

Let’s explore the real truth why we are heavy. Let’s dig into the world of weight loss and open our eyes to what we have tried, why we have failed, how to learn from our mistakes and how to stay focused and healthy.

DANGEROUS DRUGS-

Drugs have been around for centuries, but they were mainly used for remedies. In the modern world, they are a big booming business. Billions are made every year on weight loss drugs and supplements but obesity is spreading at an alarming rate worldwide.

So, while there are many, many drugs out there that promise to eradicate obesity and weight related issues, why is this deadly epidemic spreading like an uncontrollable wild fire?

The truth is right before our eyes. If we only looked closer it would have emerged sooner. Most manufacturers don't care about your well-being; instead, their eyes are on your money! As their bank accounts grow fatter, so does your waistline.

Temptation is the main weapon in their arsenal. We read the flashing ads, watch and listen to the media, and you are off to the drug store to purchase that magic pill that promises to melt away your fat! We are sometimes so desperate to lose weight; we wouldn't even hesitate to try poison! Even when Ephedra was found to be detrimental to a person’s health and removed from store shelves, there were those still trying to find a source so they could continue taking it.

Always take your time and validate those skinny testimonials that are cleverly designed to manipulate you. Be real and think straight. Validate the authenticity of a product, get on the Internet and the world will be at your fingertips!

Always make sure you research and re-research before you purchase. Remember an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure; it is your life that is at stake!

DIETS THAT ONLY MAKE YOU STARVE YOURSELF TO DEATH-

We like to shine like those slim celebrities and our wants get the better of us. While no one can ever blame you for your desires, at what cost are we going to achieve our dream shape?

We hear and read the devastating effects of starvation diets, yet we fail to learn. Why are we not receptive? Why don't we think?

There are so many diets out there from A-Z. But a staggering ninety percent of them fail
They fail so badly that we despise them and take an oath not to try to diet again in our lifetime. But, as a new day dawns we make the same mistakes again. We become addicted and starve our self in the hope it will shed those pounds away. Once we get off our diet, the weight comes right back, many times with the added bonus of a few more pounds! We feel heavier than ever and feel sick to our stomachs.

The bottom line is diets don't work! Yes, they can help you lose weight in the short term but in the long run, it is your lifestyle and discipline that comes to the rescue.

Keep in touch with the media and strive to increase your knowledge. Research new developments in the health industry and keep your information up to date as it can directly affect the decisions you make regarding your health.

DIETS THAT THEY KNOW YOU CAN'T STICK TO-

Just because your good friend recommended it, don't try everything! It may suit your friend's lifestyle and her body type but does it suit yours?

Always ask these questions:

Will it suit my lifestyle?
Can I afford it?
Does it truly stand for what it promises?
What are the benefits?
Is it healthy?

Keep asking questions!

Don't rush into anything; take your time and do the necessary calculations. Choose the right diet and stick to it, it will help you lose some extra pounds. Again, please remember that “diets” cannot last for a lifetime; it's only a temporary cure for your hick-up!

UNNATURAL SUPPLEMENTS THAT CAN PUT YOUR HEALTH FOREVER AT RISK-

We live in a world of pollution and impurities. The fruits and vegetables we consume may no longer provide the vital nutrition our bodies so badly need. Sometimes we may not be getting sufficient nutrition from our food, which can leave our energy levels depleted. It is always advisable to take natural vitamin and mineral supplements to make you feel at your best. But don't take it just because a diet guru recommends it or because everyone is taking it! Most so-called diet gurus and fitness experts are either only interested in selling something to you, or just plain don't know what they're really talking about. A few questions you may consider is whether or not they are receiving a commission on the sale, whether they are taking the product themselves, and don’t forget to do your research on the product, the company and the nutritional values.

Normally herbal supplements are considered a good source of nourishment, but don't be fooled by the brand name “herbal”. The name herbal no longer stands for what it says. Marketers use this name to cleverly disguise their products for increased sales. Always read the label, study a bit about the nutritional content and then decide whether it's good for you or not. Pass your knowledge on to your children so they know what is good and what is bad from the tender age.

ANYTHING THAT WORKS UNNATURALLY AGAINST YOUR BODY

Do you question whether a particular diet or supplement is beneficial and yet they seem irresistibly inviting? If you think it can be unhealthy or do your body harm, then turn your back at it! Some diets, pills or supplements can work unnaturally against your body and your desired feeling of well-being may fade.

Always know that the purpose of trying a diet or food plan is to make you feel better and healthier. Don't stray away from your goals for a minute or you may find yourself in an unwelcome position.

STAYING FOCUSED AND CONNECTED

It is imperative to stay connected with the world out there if you are to make the best, brightest and correct choice for your health. Be an anxious learner. It is you who has to make the right decision about your health. Stay tuned-in to the facts and in time you will learn how to stay on top of the game and melt away the fat forever!

Food – What to Eat – Part 2 - Snacks

Food – What to Eat – Part 2 - Snacks

This is the second article in a four-part series answering the question, “What do you eat?” and attempting to provide some guidance to those asking for assistance.

Please be sure you have read Food – What to Eat – Part 1 – Breakfast as information is provided that needs to be understood before proceeding to Part 2 – Snacks, Part 3 – Lunch and Part 4 – Dinner/Supper.

It is necessary to restate:

-My success was achieved with approximately 1,400 to 1,500 calories a day with moderate exercise.

-My snacks were usually kept between 100-150 calories so that total snack calories were approximately 300 daily for my three snacks

-Three snacks a day seem to be the choice of many of us who have experienced long-term success.

Here are a few things you may find helpful-

Snacks are as important as the meals we eat; sometimes even more so. Snacks keep our metabolism activated and working to burn calories. They help maintain a “full” feeling, which is beneficial when instituting a successful eating plan and aids in reducing any hunger we may begin to feel prior to our afternoon or evening meal. This additional time allows us to thoughtfully, consciously and healthily prepare our meals without grabbing an unhealthy food, stopping at a fast food restaurant or convenience store on the way home and helps us refrain from tasting many small bites of your afternoon or evening meal as you are preparing it. Remember, those calories add up as well.

Again, these are just samples; pick up packages, read the labels and make your own choices. This is how you will learn to not only broaden your food exposure to new possibilities but you are learning how to change your lifestyle!

• Eat slowly and purposefully

*Enjoy the flavor and the experience of the food you are eating

*Chew your food thoroughly 10-20 times, not 2-3; it takes approximately 20 minutes for your brain to realize your stomach is full. In addition, the saliva aids in digestion and helps you feel full.

• Remember, snacks are not meals; they must be limited but they are necessary and crucial to our success.

One of my favorites: Pop a 100 calorie bag of Kettle Korn, open it carefully and drop in 1-2 TBSP of grated parmesan cheese and some freshly ground black pepper. Close the bag, shake and then enjoy. I eat each kernel individually and it is a flavorful snack. I eat this when I am craving something crunchy after my final meal as my end of the day snack.

Please be sure to journal everything; it is the only true way to know the total calories you are consuming. It is also important to make an entry as to how you are feeling, i.e. happy, sad, lonely, angry ~ in time, you should be able to see a pattern between your emotions and your eating habits. This then gives us a place to start to address a plan of action to make corrections. I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!! Thank you for allowing us to share in your adventure! Now, go make it your reality!!!

Snack Ideas

Item		Portion		Calories
Egg, boiled		1 lg egg		92
Toast, whole grain, 100% whole wheat		1 slice		100
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray Topping		5 sprays		0
Peanut butter OR		1 ½ tsp		50
Blackberry Jelly		1 ½ tsp		25
Bacon, Ready to Serve, Oscar Mayer		3 slices		70
Coffee		1 cup		0
Creamer, Caramel, Coffee Mate		1 TBSP		30
Oatmeal, regular, quick or instant, cooked		1/3 cup		104
Milk, Cow, Fat-Free, Skim		½ cup		45
Tea (bag, loose, instant), brewed		1 cup		2
Splenda, sugar substitute		1 packet		2
Propel, Mandarin Orange (Various Flavors)		1 bottle (18.9 fl ox)		20
Walnuts, English		½ oz		90
Cashews, dry roasted, no salt added (try curried cashews, they're Great ~ especially combined with dried mangos)		1 TBSP		49
Pumpkin Seeds (and Squash Seeds), dry roasted, no salt		1 ounce		148
Sunflower Nuts, dry roasted, no salt		1 TBSP		47
Soy Nuts, Herbalife		1 package		130
McDonald’s Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, without granola		1 serving		130
McDonald's Side Salad		1 serving		20
McDonald's Newman's Own Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing		1 serving		40
Espresso Hot, Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Starbucks, with sugar free syrup and non-fat milk, no whipped cream		1 tall (12 oz)		96
Hot coffee, Northern Lite Latte, Caribou Coffee, with sugar free syrup and skim milk, no whipped topping		1 med (1 pint, 4 oz)		123
Cereal, Cheerios, Original OR		1 cup		100
Mini Delights, Cinnamon Streusel, Multigrain Cakes, Quaker		1 individial package		90
Mini Delights, Peanut Butter, Multigrain Cakes, Quaker		1 individial package		90
Popcorn, Kettle Korn, Pop Secret		1 individial package		100
Popcorn, Butter Flavor, Pop Secret		1 individial package		100
Rice Cakes, Caramel Corn, Quaker		1 cake		50
Sour Cream and Onion Toasted Chips, Baked, Ritz		14 chips		130
Banana, fresh		1 small (less than 6" long)		72
Blueberries, fresh		50 berries (2.4 oz)		39
Apple, fresh		1 medium (2 3/4" diameter)		72
Mango, fresh		1 cup		107
Pear, fresh, average all varieties		1 medium		96
Grapes, green or red		10 grapes		34
Watermelon, fresh		1 cup		46
Cantaloupe, fresh		1 cup		54
Peach, fresh		1 medium (2 1/2" diameter)		38
Orange, fresh, average all varieties		1 medium (2 5/8" diameter)		62
Tangerine or Mandarin Orange, fresh		1 medium (2 3/8' diameter)		45
Raisins, dried fruit		50 raisins		78
Mango, dried fruit, unsweetened		1 ounce		21
Creamy Chicken Soup Mix, Protein based, Herbalife (16 g protein, 1 carb)		1 packet		80
Carrots		1 medium (6 1/2" long)		25
Celery		1 medium stalk (7 1/2' long)		6
Tomato		1 medium (2 3/5" diameter)		22
Yogurts, fruit flavored, fat-free		1 container (4.4 oz)		118
High Protein Breakfast Bar, South Beach, Cereal, Chocolate		1 Bar (10 gr protein)		140
High Protein Bar, Herbalife, Deluxe Chocolate Peanut		1 Bar (10 gr protein)		140
Coffee		1 cup		0
Creamer, Caramel, Coffee Mate		1 TBSP		30
Baby Greens, Salad, fresh		3 cups		10
Green onions		2 TBSP		4
Tomatoes		1 thin slice (5 oz)		3
Mushrooms		2 oz		2
Green peppers		1 TBSP		2
Pepper Jack Cheese, 2%, Singles, Kraft		1 Slice		50
Parmesan Cheese, Grated Fresh, Kraft		2 TBSP		20
Swiss Cheese, No Fat, Singles, Kraft		1 Slice		35
Beef Jerky, Jack Link's Original		1 18 oz package		140
Fudgesickles, Blue Bunny, Sweet Freedom		1 Fudgesickle		35
Popsickles, Sugar-Free, Popsickle Brand		1 Popsickle Stick		15
Jello, Flavored, Fat-Free, Sugar-Free		1/2 cup		10

Any ideas you’d like to share? Please place below under comments.

Food – What to Eat – Part 1 - Breakfast

Food – What to Eat – Part 1 - Breakfast

One of the most frequently asked questions is, “What do you eat?” Before discussing this topic at some length, there are a few statements that are important to be made.

*“Diets” simply do not work; the very nature of the word implies the “beginning” and an “end” to a way of eating that has, historically, been unhealthy.

* A lifestyle change is needed to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

* Changing your lifestyle is fun, exciting, rewarding and an exploration into new and heightened flavors, an adventure to new lands through various cuisines that allow for choices that are healthier and more nutritionally sound. It’s all in how you adjust your mind to a positive approach!

* The way I begin to counsel someone is to ask them to create a list of the foods they would normally eat if calories were of no concern. This provides a starting point and allows me to see where their tastes lie. None of us are the same and we must study this and make choices together to be successful.

* Next, we examine those choices and let them guide us in making comparable flavor choices while instituting better preparation choices and learning how to substitute and alter some of the key ingredients that can easily be exchanged for healthier components.

* Following success in changing our thought process about food and evaluating our willingness to look inward to the root of our behaviors, we can move forward in developing and instituting a plan to begin the most rewarding journey of a lifetime.

* Intuitive eating is introduced to assist in making the total transition and is a crucial component for a successful long-term lifestyle change.

*Basically, three meals and three snacks seem to be the choice of many of us who have experienced long term success. Here are a few things you may find helpful.

-Calories in, minus calories used, equals your weight loss/gain.

-Caloric intake must be regulated according to the amount of exercise a person is performing.

-My success was achieved with approximately 1,400 to 1,500 calories a day with moderate exercise.

• My meals were usually kept between 300-500 calories so that total meal calories were 1,200 throughout the day for my three meals.
  
  
• My snacks were usually kept between 100-150 calories so that total snack calories were 300 daily for my three snacks.
  
  
• These figures could fluctuate somewhat so that total calories remained between 1,400 to 1,500 calories.
  
  
• I lost 137 pounds, which averaged 1.67 pounds per week. There were weeks I lost nothing and a few I gained. Losing nothing is still winning! The weight gained was not put on overnight; it should take a respectable amount of time to lose it as well.

-Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day! This meal starts your metabolism, which enables your body to begin burning calories. It provides the nutrition to stimulate your thought processes and the stamina to begin your day energized and ready for action!

Item		Portion		Calories
Egg, fried, no added fat		1 lg egg		92
Oils, cooking spray, all varieties		1/3 second spray		2
Toast, whole grain, 100% whole wheat		1 slice		100
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray Topping		5 sprays		4
Bacon, Ready to Serve, Oscar Mayer		3 slices		70
Sea Salt, McCormick Grinder		¼ tsp		0
Fresh Ground Pepper, McCormick Grinder		¼ tsp		0
Coffee		1 cup		0
Creamer, Caramel, Coffee Mate		1 TBSP		30
TOTAL CALORIES				298
Item		Portion		Calories
Oatmeal, regular, quick or instant, Cooked		1/3 cup		104
Milk, Cow, Fat-Free, Skim		½ cup		45
Banana, fresh		1 small		72
Walnuts, English		½ oz		90
Tea (bag, loose, instant), brewed		1 cup		2
Splenda, sugar substitute		1 packet		90
TOTAL CALORIES				403
Item		Portion		Calories
Eggs, scrambled		2 med eggs		140
White toast, reduced calorie		1 slice		45
Peanut butter OR		1 ½ tsp		50*
Blackberry Jelly		1 ½ tsp		25
Hashbrowns		½ c shredded, 2.8 oz		68
Olive oil		1 tsp		39
TOTAL CALORIES				292*
Item(McDonald's)		Portion		Calories
McDonald’s Egg McMuffin, without Canadian Bacon		1 (4.3 oz)		290
McDonald’s Minute Maid Apple juice		1 box (6.8 fl oz)		90
TOTAL CALORIES				380
Item (Starbucks)		Portion		Calories
Loaves, mini, no sugar added, whole wheat pumpkin		1 mini loaf (3.4 oz)		250
Espresso Hot, Cinnamon Dolce Latte with sugar free syrup and non-fat milk, no whipped cream		1 tall (12 oz)		96
TOTAL CALORIES				346
Item(Caribou Coffe)		Portion		Calories
Biscotti, original, almond		1 (2 oz)		230