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Who doesn’t dream about having a more toned core, thinner thighs, less cellulite, and in general a more awesome body? Everyone, that’s who! There are exceptions, of course, but wanting a thinner, healthier body is certainly a common concern in Europe and North America. With the prevalence and abundance of rich, greasy pre-packaged and processed foods has come the scourge of obesity.

The overabundance and convenience of these types of foods, coupled with a more sedentary lifestyle and an obsession for body image has made us ripe for abuse of all sorts, from fad diets to exercise machines and quick-fix diet pills that can sometimes be dangerous.

When you are considering – seriously considering – investing some time and effort into losing weight, you have to start in the right place, and that place is in your head. Why do you want to lose weight? Without the proper motivation, your weight loss efforts, whatever they may be, are doomed to failure. Without motivation, you won’t eat the proper food, go to the gym, walk the dog, or whatever else you have decided to do to lose weight, so it is crucial that you start on the right foot!

Decide on your motivating goals in a two step process, short term motivation and long term motivation. Splitting your goals – your motivation! – in two parts like this will give you something to look for immediately, or in the short term, while keeping your eyes on the ball for the long term.

For example, you may decide that in three years’ time, you wish to run a marathon! That is certainly a noble goal, but if you are carrying 200 pounds of fat, this is a goal that is more likely to crush your spirits than to motivate you! In this example, a good short term motivating goal could be to get used to moving enough to be able to comfortably walk to work, if possible, or an equivalent goal.

Your short-term motivation should be in line with your long term goal, and should work to strengthen your convictions and your motivation.

Many people – not me – enjoy going to the gym to pump iron. Your long term goal may be to become Mr. Universe, but you are going to be disappointed every time you realize that you still can’t bench press 300 pounds. Instead, you should focus on bench pressing a little bit more each week. If you can convince your head that pressing a little more is a victory, then you will be motivated to keep going to the gym and keep bench pressing a little bit more. Very soon, you’ll realize that your goal of pressing 300 pounds is not only feasible, but easily within reach!

Motivation, like most things in life, is relative. It all depends on what you’re comparing it to. By being the master of what’s going on in your head, you’ll be able to decide on your motivating factors. It will not matter if you have 50 pounds extra, or 250 pounds extra. Whether you want to become a runner, a bodybuilder or the next Bruce Lee, or you just want to be healthier to spend quality time with your significant other, you will be able to work towards that goal with a smile on your face every day, and face the future with the confidence of someone who knows where they are going.

Why do we eat? The most basic reason is hunger, however with the growing rate of obesity this shows us that people eat for more reasons than just hunger. People eat out of boredom, loneliness, hunger, or deprivation. All of which can lead to excessive overeating and added weight gain. By choosing the right foods to eat when you are actually hungry you can limit cravings to eat for these other reasons. Superfoods contain essential nutrients that the body needs to properly function. When the body is functioning optimally it will speed up your metabolism, boosting calorie burning, making it easier to lose weight. Superfoods contain fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals, which play a role in how your body responds to calorie absorption and fat cells. Superfoods tend to be lower in calories and take the body longer to digest. This leaves you feeling fuller for longer, giving you less reasons to eat unneeded calories. They also provide the body with a steady flow of energy, keeping the metabolism working to burn more calories. By adding these foods into your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks you can lose weight and feel great.

Apples- Apples are great for weight loss. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Apples are low in calories, low in sodium and high in fiber, which keeps the body feeling full while providing a stable source of energy. The low sodium in apples helps to prevent excess water retention in the body, which can lead to higher weight on the scale. Apples nutrient content such as the enzymes it contains help to digest food more efficiently thereby eliminating unwanted fats from the body. Pectin one of the fibers in apples drains out cholesterol from the bloodstream thereby managing blood cholesterol levels. Apples fiber also helps to slow the absorption of carbohydrates, the foods most notably known to be stored in fat cells. Eating an apple a day can help to reduce the number of calories you consume per day.

Lentils- These small legumes pack a real big punch against weight gain. Lentils are high in folic acid, iron, magnesium, fiber and protein. Lentils are a low fat protein, which is a prefect substitute for meat. Plus their fiber content alone will satisfy hunger and reduce ones appetite. The soluble fiber in lentils lowers blood cholesterol by binding to bile. This forces the body to use cholesterol as a replacement, thereby stabilizing blood sugars. Lentils also contain resistant starch which shrinks fat cells; smaller fat cells means less fat.

Wild Salmon- Wild salmon as opposed to farm raised is recommended for weight loss because it’s low in calories, low in saturated fat and high in protein. Protein is needed to build muscle and muscle burns more calories than fat, more muscle in the body more calories burned equals weight loss. Wild salmon also contains omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3’s improve insulin sensitivity, helping the body build muscle and decrease belly fat. Omega 3’s also alter gene expression meaning it acts like a light switch telling the body to burn fat rather than to store it.

Quinoa- Most people have no idea what quinoa is. Often categorized as a grain or a legume, it is low in calories high in essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fiber, and protein. Quinoa is actually a complete protein. It contains all the essential amino acids to build muscle. Plus its fiber content satisfies hunger, and keeps you felling full. Dietary fiber binds to fat and cholesterol so the body excretes it rather than absorbs it. The iron and vitamin B12 content helps to boost energy production, which is needed for weight loss. Quinoa’s low glycemic index balances blood sugar making it easier for you to avoid temptation and diminish cravings.

Eggs- Although most people only eat them for breakfast, eggs are a great food for weight loss. High in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and proteins, eggs help to build muscle, which in turn helps to burn fat. Eggs also contain a compound called choline, which is needed for all cell function but also helps to block fat absorption. Eggs help to control hunger and foods cravings and will make you feel fuller for longer.

Yogurt- Yogurt is a healthy combination of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This combination staves off hunger by keeping blood sugar levels steady. Yogurt also contains a healthy dose of calcium. Calcium signals fat cells to stop pumping out cortisol. This lowers the production of cortisol, a hormone linked to belly fat. The protein in yogurt helps to burn fat and repair and rebuild muscle. The carbohydrates replace muscle energy stores so they don’t get stored as fat.

Olive oil- Olive oil like salmon contain monounsaturated fats which switch gene expression on to fat burning. This enhances the body’s ability to burn stored fats in the body. Using olive oil in meals increases satiety, taming appetite, decreasing the amount of food to make you feel full. It also is a natural anti-inflammatory, which decreases bad cholesterol without harming good cholesterol.

Kiwi- Although peculiar in size, shape, color and taste, this small fruit is loaded with nutrients. Kiwis are high in fiber, both soluble and insoluble, low in calories and high in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps form carnitine, which plays an essential role in burning fat. Kiwi’s dietary fiber reduces cholesterol and fills you up suppressing the appetite. Its insoluble fiber aids in digestion, decreasing the time it takes for stool to be excreted. The soluble fiber provides bulk making you feel fuller. Even though it’s small it provides the body with a powerful tool to combat weight gain.

Sweet Potatoes- Sweet potatoes unlike most other vegetables are higher in calorie content but are worth all of them. Sweet potatoes contain resistant starch, which produces compounds to signal to the brain to stop eating. The bulk in sweet potatoes fills the stomach so you feel full. Carotenoids in sweet potatoes stabilize blood sugar levels and lowers insulin resistance. When cells respond to insulin they can build muscle and reduce fat stored in the belly. Even though they are higher in calories its reasonable because they are fat free.

If you are looking to lose weight as so many of us are then have you considered drinking green tea as a dietary supplement?

You can easily swap green tea for your usual cups of coffee or tea that you consume during the day, green tea has many advantages and health benefits to offer you.

The Main Health Benefits Of Green Tea

Green tea is high in antioxidants and also contains some caffeine.

The antioxidants are particularly of interest to those dieters taking a lot of exercise. You may have heard the term ‘free radicals’ and wondered what it refers to.

Well free radicals are produced as a by product of ordinary metabolism. Free radical production increases in frequency the more exercise you do. The problem is that free radicals are very damaging to the cell structure of your body and can affect the health of all parts.

Antioxidents help to protect your body from free radical damage by deactivating them and making them harmless. But that is not all that antioxidents do, studies have also shown they have a role to play in protecting you from heart disease, cancer and strokes.

It has been reported that green tea inhibits the unnatural formation of blood clots, some of which have been known to cause thombrosis, which is one of the leading causes of heart attacks and strokes.

The caffeine in green tea helps to raise the level of your metabolism which also helps you to lose weight.

That is quite a list of benefits from a simple cup of green tea.

Like all good things though there is also a negative factor to green tea, this is the fact that green tea contains caffeine, and high doses of caffeine can be rather unhealthy for your body.

However, the caffeine count in green tea is substantially lower than that found in an average cup of coffee, and when you factor in as well all of the advantages, they far outweigh that of the disadvantages.

The Various Forms Of Green Tea

Green tea is available in the usual forms of tea leaves or tea bags to which you just add hot water.

However, due to its rising popularity green tea is now available in so many other forms. You can try green tea extract, popular as a weight reduction supplement, green tea pills, gum, ice cream, iced green tea and there are even green tea patches.

Popular for centuries in the Far East, the health giving properties of this simple plant are being recognized more and more in the West.

We all need motivation to make changes in our lives. But some motivations can have short-term effects whilst other motivations can have long-lasting, life changing effects. This article takes a very quick look at how we can cut to the core of making the long-lasting, life changing decisions easier.

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Why do you want to lose weight? Do you want to make someone else happy? Your kids, your husband? The only way to lose weight in the long-term is to lose weight for you.

While some or most of this article might sound like pointless new-age psycho-babble, at its core are valid, solid ways of changing your life. Do not give in, it may well be a life changing experience.

Whilst these are all valid reasons for losing weight they may actually be the reasons why so many people fail to lose weight or lose weight but then put it all back on with a little extra just for desert. In order to understand long term weight loss we need to look at the nitty-gritty at how the mind works and how we become, and remain motivated, to do something.

When we want to change something about ourselves we need to look deep. Not just “Because the doc said I need to lose a few pounds” deep or “I want to look nice when I lie by the pool” deep. We need to look at where we are now, where we want to be and the difference between the two. That is where the deepness lies.

Ok, let’s take any weight measurements out of the equation and look at body size and shape. We might imagine ourselves to look a long way from the way we want to look. But how does that make us feel? Pretty miserable right. But that’s where your change begins – connect with the feelings caused by the difference between the two you’s. The discrepancy between the you now and the person you want to be is the reality and sometimes the reality hurts! The difference between where we are and where we need to get to needs to be bridged.

You need to imagine what it would feel like to be the person you want to be. Stop for a second and think about it. Close your eyes. Really think about it. Think about the person you want to change for. Because this is only a short article I will give you the answer you need to come up with.

The only person you want to change for is you. There are just so many reasons you could have come up with for changing. Kids, husbands, wives, parents, friends, pets, teams – the list is endless.

The only person you need to change for is you. If this sounds too selfish and self-centred for you then I’m sorry. However, the chance of you changing long-term for anybody other than yourself are minimal. If you think about it another way, what would make the person you are changing for happy? Would they be happier to see YOU happy or would they be happier watching you trying to make THEM happy? So if we want to change we have to look at ourselves and see ourselves as we really are. We need to look to the person we want to be. From then on the person you want to be is going to be the person you are.

If you want to lose weight you need to do it for yourself, no-one else. Not only do you get to be the person you want to be but everybody else gets the benefit of basking in the glow of your happiness and success.

Are you interested in formulating an exercise plan that will assist you to remain trim and help you to get thin? Studies regularly show that there are two basic types of exercise that are both extremely efficient and successful. Of course, it stands to reason that you must be motivated in the first place, and that is why therapeutic hypnosis can help solve your problems.

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If you’re like most people, you are interested in creating an exercise system that will assist you to remain healthy and slim. It may shock you to find out that research studies usually demonstrate that only two core kinds of exercise are useful — which suggests that you can’t just choose any type of exercise to become trim.

Due to the fact that so many people have trouble with the motivation to exercise, performing the most efficient kinds of exercise is imperative, since the less time you spend exercising – and the less time you waste on low efficiency exercise – the more likely it is that you will persist in your exercise routine and therefore achieve your personal weight and strength target.

Our first type of exercise which has been regularly proven to aid people to lose weight and get trim is progressive resistance. In brief, progressive resistance is one type of strength training. It functions by progressively ramping up the pounds lifted, the number of sets, and number of repetitions performed. As a result, your muscles are never strained or subjected to damage – instead, they slowly and steadily strengthen without any setbacks.

Our second type of exercise that has been scientifically studied is cardiovascular training. This is any type of exercise that gets the heart rate up to 60 – 85 percent of its maximum rate. Some kinds of cardio training may involve jogging, jumping rope, aerobics, or treadmill, among other types of exercise, but it is your choice.

Although progressive resistance and cardio training by themselves have been found to be very efficient forms of exercise, scientists now know that performing both of these types of exercise is the best bet for success. If you combine both progressive resistance and cardio training, you will increase the strength of your muscle groups and increase overall endurance. According to a recent scientific study, exercisers who used both cardio and progressive resistance during a two month time period lost 45 percent more weight than exercisers who did cardio training or progressive resistance alone.

Just as important as the type of exercise you perform is, the way in which you exercise is also important. It probably will be unsurprising that being consistent is the name of the game. Exercising inconsistently may strain your muscles and will probably not aid you to build strength and endurance. In addition, it is unlikely to improve your whole-body health. According to most scientists, the best regime is to exercise for forty minutes to an hour three to five times per week.

Unfortunately, it turns out that for a significantly sized subset of the population, getting sufficient exercise is not as easy as attending the health club a few times every week or listening to what scientists claim. For this group of people, the motivation to exercise is the primary issue – this group of people simply doesn’t have the motivation to go to the gym. Actually, they might resist any and all exercise, to the point of severe anxiety.

Nobody knows what percentage of the population suffers from problems with the motivation to exercise, but scientists say that up to 20 to 40 percent of people claim that they “hate” or “dread” exercise. An even larger percentage of people might have more mild problems with the motivation to exercise, finding that even though it is simple enough to commit themselves to an exercise regime for a week or two, motivation eventually degrades, leaving them where they were initially – unhealthy and heavy.

If you are one of these people who struggles with the motivation to exercise, the good news is that there are some easy strategies to deal with the struggle. In a recent research study, volunteers who needed to start an exercise program were provided with a brief learning program that aided them to decide on the right kinds of exercise, were provided with a therapist who specialized in exercise motivation, and were given a brief course in hypnosis. After six months, they were asked to evaluate their progress. It turns out that over 85 percent of the participants had adhered to an exercise program throughout the whole six months. Even better, they generally lost an average of fifteen more pounds than the control group.

If you have an interest in this study, it might make sense to look into locating a motivational therapist, habit control therapist, or therapist who deals with hypnotherapy. These therapists are provided with special training in helping people to transcend anxieties, build the motivation to exercise, and reinforce the creation of good habits. One more choice for exercise motivation is self-hypnosis – which is a simple and inexpensive process that often helps people take control of their own inborn abilities to be motivated.

Hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis are risk-free ways of increasing motivation that have been proven to provide success in the case of exercise motivation. Hypnosis works by using hypnotic relaxation to enhance the powers of the unconscious mind to influence the modification of behavior and habit development. Hypnotherapy is a good choice for the exercise adverse because it can help increase the drive to get trim and lose weight easily and effectively.

Are you tired of the yo yo effect? These simple 5 steps can help you KEEP the weight off once you do lose it

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Why do some dieters suffer the endless frustration of losing and then gaining weight again and again, while others lose weight and keep it off forever?

And we know you don’t want to be the latter group?

Here are 5 very simple tips successful dieters implement – and you can easily adapt these good habits yourself.

1.) You know that old conventional wisdom that goes “The scale doesn’t matter when you’re dieting”? For a long time experts scorned the idea of frequent weigh ins, pointing out that the scale can be inaccurate because of fluctuations caused by water weight. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat. So if you’re exercising you may be gaining muscle and that will throw the scale off.

However, it turns out that weighing yourself every day is actually an excellent motivator for dieters. A study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that dieters who weighed themselves every day lost the most weight, and kept it off more successfully, compared to a group of dieters who did not weigh themselves regularly.

2.) Keep a log of everything you eat. When you log everything you eat you will feel MUCH more guilty when you cheat because you have to see it and read it.

3.) Do at least 1 15 minute activity everyday. ANYTHING. Walk your dog, go jogging, do tae bo. Most of us work at desks and sit at home all day – then do it at least three times a week. You will lose weight quicker and this is one of the big contributors of keeping the weight off.

4.) Plan ahead. If you are going out to dinner with friends or to a holiday office party or even to the movies, what are you going to do when hunger pangs hit? Eat something before you go and decide BEFORE you get to the party or movies.

5.) Schedule the occasional indulgence. Most weight loss experts suggest and encourage a cheating day. When you get to eat some pizza, brownie or some ice cream at some time in the week your chances of ditching your plan is much less likely. This can also be a day when you throw in some more activity.

For those of you out there who believe that you can only lose weight through fasting, you cannot be more wrong! Facts have shown that it is not how much you eat but actually what you eat that results in weight gain in most people. If you decide to eat correctly, you will surely be eating your way to weight loss naturally.

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In the developed world today, a whole lot of people seem to be struggling with a particular challenge common to them all and that is the issue of how to lose weight so as to live a healthier life. In the same vein, a good number of the people concerned tend to believe that the only way to lose that excess fat is by starving themselves or fasting. Nothing can be further than the truth in this case. It has been proven by the experts that one can achieve weight loss naturally through correct dieting.

In order to lose weight naturally, the main thing one has to keep in mind and practice is to eat wisely, take enough water and do some regular exercise. This combination of actions will surely help you get rid of that unwanted fat as well as give you a fitter and sexier physique.

It is pertinent at this stage to note that when I talk of losing weight naturally through correct dieting, I am not talking about some very strict diet but simple ones that can be found in some cook books such as the Metabolic Cooking. I am also not talking about a particular diet for the whole day but an intelligent mix of recommended diets that will end up giving you a healthier body through weight loss.

I suppose that at this stage some of you out will want to know exactly how to eat wise and reap the benefits of losing weight naturally in the shortest possible time. It is not rocket science but simply doing what is right as already suggested. For an example, the diet experts claim that our ability to shed fats is eighty percent correct dieting and twenty percent how much exercise we give to our body. This also means that you need to steer clear of that attractive and sweet junk foodstuff you have been destroying your system with only to go back to the gym to try to burn the fat you got from wrong dieting practice.

Another important aspect of correct dieting is the issue of the water intake level. It is a fact that taking a good amount of water on a daily basis helps in ensuring a clean body system. As a matter of fact, the experts have made it abundantly clear that in order to keep our body system in a clean condition we need to take as much as sixty ounces of water daily. This is much better than the sugary drinks that many people use to replace water in their diet. It is recommended by medical experts that every adult should drink at least eight glasses of water in order to enjoy a healthier life devoid of obesity.

In summary therefore, anyone who wishes to enjoy the benefits weight loss simply needs to combine a correct diet with a good water intake and do some exercise. That also means such a person needs to as well avoid taking junk food and replace that with the consumption of lots of fruit and vegetables. When fruits are added to your meals, it is easier for you to ward off the cravings for sweet since you are ingesting natural sugar instead of the artificial one. You are advised to take fruits such as oranges and or apples in between your meals as a means of eating your way to weight loss and good health.

You can begin to lose weight by reducing your stress level. Here’s how!

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There may be many reasons why you engage in the behavior of overeating. Overeating helps some people gain a sense of control over their lives. Other people overeat when they are stressed or upset. Think about the times that you have had a binge eating session? What was the motivation behind it? Do you turn to food when you are upset or have a stressful day? Do you find a sense of comfort in the food that you eat? If stress is a major factor in your eating habits, finding ways to help reduce stress can help you lose weight.

1. Find a Support System

Having people that you can rely on is a great way to start reducing stress. Call on your friends or family when you are in a stressful situation. They can be a great source of advice or just a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes going out with work friends after a long stressful day can work wonders to melt the stress that you feel. We all need to rely on our friends and family at some point. Being able to talk about your stress is a health alternative to overeating.

2. Post Positive Mantras

Think about the negative comments you make about yourself when you are feeling stressed. Most people struggle with negative self-talk at sometime in their lives. Begin to challenge your old ways of thinking. Replace those old thoughts with positive thoughts that will help you push through stressful times. If a long stressful day at work leaves you thinking that you are “no good at my job”, change your thoughts. Think about how hard you worked today. You put in your all and achieved a goal you had set. Whatever your new thoughts are going to be, post them around your house. This will help you stay focused on them even when you are headed for a stress out moment. Thinking positively can help curb overeating.

3. Find Time to Relax

It is important that you take a few minutes everyday for relaxtion. There are many different things you can do in order to relax. If you had a busy day at work and spent the evening running errands, take a long soak in a tub. If you find yourself working late one night, close your office door and read a chapter in a book. On the weekends, go for a walk around a nature trail. The activity can last five minutes or five hours; the important thing is to take some time to relax.

4. Meditate or Journal

Another great way to reduce stress is to be alone with your thoughts. This can help you sort out what is going on in your life in a healthy way. One way to do this is to meditate. Another way is to write in a journal. Writing in a journal is a great way to begin organizing your thoughts about the stresses in your life. Dealing with your stress in this productive way makes it less likely that you will overeat.

5. Listen to Your Body

Stop beating yourself up for overeating. Move forward into a new way of thinking about eating and food. By listening to your body, you will learn when your body is telling you it is full or hungry. Know the signals that your body gives off in order to begin recognizing the difference between hunger and emotional eating. You can pull through this struggle and be on your way towards a natural weight loss.