The opposite of motivation is not lethargy, it's not apathy, it's not laziness. There are many practical, easy ways to help you lose weight if applied over time. These tips are often overlooked thinking that it cannot be that simple, but it really is and when you practice these fun ideas consistently, they become part of your lifestyle. They help you maintain your ideal weight and stop the yo-yo trend of dieting. They really work. Try it out. Get involved in your own weight loss game and enjoy the results.
See how many times a week you can use a salad plate instead of the normal sized dinner plate. Challenge yourself to keeping a cut off time after dinner after which you will not eat or snack at least 4 times per week if not more. Find ways to cut out 100 calories per day in your daily eating plan that you will not even miss... Set out to find 1 new healthy and tasty item each time you go grocery shopping. Surprise your family by suggesting a family exercise activity 3 times a week or more.
Take turns choosing what you want to do. Count the number of times per week you choose to leave some food on your plate instead of cleaning up the plate. Go out for dinner to your favorite restaurant and look for how many healthy meals there are to choose from. List them. Compare this number to other restaurants in your area and rate the restaurants. Now you have a choice of restaurants to help you be successful, even when going out. Use pastas, rice or other heavy carbohydrate and fatty foods as toppings on your main meal instead of the other way round.
Mark off on the calendar the number of days in 1 week you consciously make good food choices 100% of the day. Start with 1 and see if you can hold to this or do better. The following week, challenge yourself to 2 days. Set yourself up for success by taking small steps and building yourself up, just like a marathon runner or body builder does in training. No-one starts at the top. Plan your steps and work your way up. In this way you will improve your self-esteem and confidence too. Try not weighing yourself everyday. How about every 2nd day and eventually once a week? Can you do that?
Have fun and stretch yourself to enjoy your weight loss process. You are your own authority. Create a weight loss success plan that works for you and reap the rewards. One last challenge, if I may? Keep your “game” up for 4 weeks and weigh yourself again at the end of your 4 weeks. Please feel free to email me with your insights, new perspectives if any and weight loss results.
Kim Knight is Successful Weight Loss Life Coach and Author. Discover The Weigh Loss Secrets That Will Unleash The Powerful Person In You! Sign up for Kim Knight’s FREE Weight Loss Tips by just visiting her website at: www.thesuccessweightlosscoachYou can also contact her directly atkimknightcoaching@gmail.com
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If you are thinking of creating a weight loss plan that probably means you would like to lose weight. Great – that’s the first step: deciding that weight loss is important to you. But before you begin, ask yourself a few more questions about a weight loss plan.
How much do you want to lose – just a few pounds or many pounds? Why do you want to lose weight – for health reasons, to improve your appearance, or both? Understanding your motivations for weight loss will help you create a plan that’s right for you based on your needs.
This is because real weight loss is an element of an overall healthy and long-term way of living: a permanent lifestyle change. When you look at a weight loss plan based on understanding your own needs and motivations, you can create a plan that’s tailored to your goals. Once you have this understanding, your plan is more likely to be successful.
Set realistic goals for weight loss that include healthy and moderate weight loss over a long period of time – don’t aim for too much weight loss too quickly. Effective weight loss involves realistic weight reduction goals lost slowly but consistently. After you have established your needs and goals, start to develop a concrete plan for weight loss.
Successful weight loss plans that last over the long-term tend to share two other common characteristics: healthy eating patterns and regular exercise. Assess your eating habits. Do you eat healthy, nutritious foods in the right portion sizes? You can use a calorie counter to lookup nutrition information on foods including foods from restaurants and fast foods places. Calorie counting is an important element of a healthy diet.
Learning how many calories you need is an important part of successful weight loss. If figuring out the number of calories seems like a hassle, use a calorie counter. Efficient and portable, calorie counters provide data on thousands of different foods – whether you are at home or on the go. Calorie counters provide accurate nutrition information for the serving size that you choose.
Exercise is an equally important component of a weight loss plan. Exercise burns calories and improves your health. In addition to showing you the number of calories in your foods, calorie counters can show you how many calories you burn during exercise. Possessing this information, you’ll be a step ahead in your weight loss plan.
Do not fall for short-term gimmicks. A happy healthy body is yours if you follow a steady consistent weight loss plan.
Coheso, Inc. ( www.coheso.com) makes handheld devices and other products for diabetes management and weight loss. CalorieSmart is a handheld calorie counter helps people tailor their weight loss plan. More information about CalorieSmart can be found at www.coheso.com/caloriesmart-d.html. Track3 is a small customizable handheld carb and calorie counter that helps individuals self-manage their diabetes. Information about Track3 is at www.coheso.com/track-d.html
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Think Thin - It's More Than Just Wishful Thinking
The opposite of motivation is not lethargy, it's not apathy, it's not laziness. In my opinion, it's wishful thinking. And we all do lots of it, when it comes to starting a weight loss program. I've seen many signs of wishful thinking lately. A number of my readers have written to tell me they wish they could lose weight, but they don't want to give up the fattening foods they love. They want the results, but they don't want to change their habits or diets to achieve their goals. Since I've been in exactly the same state several times in my own life, I know this is a common issue, and it can get in the way of achieving any goal in life. It certainly isn't a problem that is exclusive to those of us who are trying to get our youthful figure back.
I sometimes blame the new-age folks, since they insist that we can have anything we want if we just 'think positive thoughts' - but I know they're just exploiting a basic flaw in human nature.
We all know people who wish they could buy a house, but whenever they have a few extra dollars in their pocket they spend it instead of putting it in the bank. They really do wish they could have a house, (or some other major investment), but they never actually buy one. Or they wish they had a better job, but never invest any time in learning new skills. Many people who fit this description actually feel that life has dealt them an unfair hand, because they don't have the things they've always wished they had. Or they believe that they haven't done a good enough job of creating a mental image of what they want, without realizing that the next step after setting a goal is to determine (and follow!) the steps that will let you reach your goals.
That's the problem with wishing. It's a hold-over from our childhood. Wishing comes when we believe that only magic could get us what we want.
I'm talking about the kind of magic that comes with wishing on a star, or blowing out all the birthday candles in one breath. While true prayer and a belief in miracles can actually help people to become more grounded and responsible, wishing can prevent us from ever having the things we really want and need.
Why? Because wishing keeps us slightly removed from the painful reality of being the only one who can ever really make a difference. If I wish I had a house, but spend my money at the movies, I will have to wait until I win the lottery before I can ever have a home. And will I ever win the lottery? It's extremely unlikely.
And if I wish I could be thinner, but pour heavy dressing on my salad, and push aside the broccoli, and eat out every other night at the pizza parlor, then only the fairy godmother can make me thin again - and she seems to be busy elsewhere these days.
What if you wish you had more willpower? Isn't that really saying that you'll make the needed changes when you finally, magically, get in the mood? And that your moods are entirely governed by the whims of chance? If you wish for willpower, will you ever have the strength to make the changes that will bring back your health?
This kind of wishful thinking can make us look silly to our friends, but it's often difficult to recognize when we've fallen into the habit of wishful thinking. In fact, the more fervently we hope for a thinner body, the more we make ourselves believe that we have really committed ourselves to change, even if we make no actual changes in our diet or lifestyle.
We tend to believe that the intensity of our longing proves how much we want to change - and when change doesn't happen, we convince ourselves that it isn't our fault. It's all a matter of luck.
We all wish for things, sometimes. We all need to let our "inner child" express herself occasionally. But most of the time our "adult" self needs to take charge, and take action. Our health should never be left entirely to chance.
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How Did Hoodia Gordonii Diet Pills Come Into Being?
The unique plant- Hoodia Gordonii, has long been consumed by the South African Indigenous people called the "San Bushmen". For longer than 25K years it has been keeping them from getting hungry and feeling fine without food or water.
Massive interest has been raised by the pharmaceutical industry regarding the abilities of this plant. This has in-turn resulted in many new safe and effective herbal Hoodia Diet Pills and other supplements being developed for weight loss. Today you can find many versions of Hoodia Gordonii supplements on the market, but all of them are possible only from the remarkable research that has happened over the last 30 years.
Since being 'discovered' by the rest of the world in 1970, lots of studies have been completed in the search for the secret fat burning ingredient that makes Hoodia so effective. The plan, once it was isolated was to take out the active ingredient and mass produce it as the a revolutionary diet pill.
It turns out that this very compound was isolated and named P57. The SANL (South Africa National Library) was responsible for the rigorous research and applied for its patent in 1977. It soon turned over the rights for the commercialization of the plant extracts to a United Kingdom company named Phytopharm.
In 1977 Phytopharm began pre-clinical trial testing with lab animals and held it up for comparison against other compounds with qualities that were similar. Dr. Richard Dixey conducted and supervised these experiments. When the results were similar with good results, Phytopharm developed Hoodia Gordonii as an anti-obesity supplement.
In October of that same year, Phytopharm worked with Pfizer to make Hoodia Gordonii diet pills a common household name.
In 1999, a research center and plantation was started in South Africa to allow ongoing testing, clinical research and development of Hoodia Gordonii for dietary purposes. Joint research was conducted by both Phytopharm and Pfizer on the synthesis of the active ingredient which is now used over the counter herbal supplements.
Because they deemed it too hard to synthesize, Pfizer in 2002 released the rights to the active ingredient because it was too hard to grown in the laboratory. The same year, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research acknowledged the rights of the Sans Bush people over the Hoodia Gordonii that was harvested locally.
The Sans Bushmen were given a percentage of the worldwide profits, as long as the plants were sold as extracts. This extract is the same as what is used today by many companies who manufacture and sell Hoodia Diet Pills.
After 2003, much clinical testing and analysis was done to see how well Hoodia Gordonii diet supplements worked. The experiments proved once and for all that a Hoodia Gordonii diet is an effective and safe solution for fighting obesity. Best of all it did not require a prescription and was readily available over the Internet.
In one of the studies, 18 overweight males were on the Hoodia diet pills on a regular basis. The most instant results were: hunger cravings were greatly reduced, and there were less intake of calories. The end result was as much as 10 pounds of weight loss in the first month.
Other separate tests were also conducted, and in one of these tests, Stewart Gulian, a resident of Palm Beach Florida, lost 80lbs using a Hoodia Gordonii diet, and was featured on both CNN and CBS.
The primary way that Hoodia Gordonii diet pills work is that by the reduction of desire for food. Results may vary from person to person, but the only standard that seems to hold up is that Hoodia really works.
The supplement has proven time and again that it can help a person to feel hungry less often simply by consuming the extract. That person will eat less than they normally do and in effect loss weight by natural means.
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Waters Importance For Weight Loss
The opposite of motivation is not lethargy, it's not apathy, it's not laziness. Unfortunately one of the main reasons people struggle with weight loss and dieting is the lack of water they drink on a daily basis. Water is the central foundation to every health and fitness goal. You probably know that without water living would be impossible but why is it so important for losing weight?
Not drinking enough water could be the reason you are not losing weight.
Water is the most valuable substance you consume and has a wide variety of essential functions that are the source of life. Let’s take a look at a few of the functions water performs in your body and the reasons why it is so important to drink enough water.
• Water makes up 60-70% of your body.
• It assists in digestion, absorption and assimilation which gives you the complete vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from the foods you eat
• Water helps with the excretion of waste from the bowels and kidneys. It will help you to avoid constipation and will relieve stress on your kidneys.
• Controlling your body temperature and keeping your body regulating in different situations and actions is another task water performs in your body
• Reduced head aches and stomach bloating are a result of increased water intake
• Water also makes up 92% of your blood that helps with nutrient distribution.
• Proper hydration will help keep your skin smoother and healthier
• It also Lubricates and heals the joints and muscles.
These are just a few of the important things water accomplishes in your system.
But why is water so important for weight loss?
Many people search for appetite suppressants to curve their hunger when the best way to feel fuller is to drink more water. Your brain treats hunger and thirst the same so when you think you are hungry, your brain could actually be signaling you that you are thirsty. People who do not consume enough water throughout the day usually develop hunger pains more than those who drink enough water. Drinking cold water is the best choice. It not only quenches your thirst but can actually boost your metabolism as the water has to be warmed up, burning calories.
Another thing that you should know is that drinking water consistently throughout the day will keep you from over eating, having cravings for sweets and can accelerate your energy levels the natural way. There are many other benefits as well; these are just a few select ones.
Try it! When you feel hungry drink a big glass of water and wait five minutes to see if you are still hungry. Try always having a bottle of water with you, taking sips every so often and see the affects it has on your appetite.
You could also try drinking a large glass of water before eating breakfast to accelerate your metabolism, preparing your body to be a fat burning machine the rest of the day.
Are you drinking enough during the day to keep yourself hydrated?
The average person needs about 6-8 large glasses of water every day. You must also take in to consideration how much you sweat, your caffeine consumption, and amount of daily exercise as these are indicators that you will need to increase your water intake.
If you are not a huge fan of water, eating fruit with high water content is another great way to increase your water consumption without drinking plain water. Fruit with high water content will also fill up your stomach with fewer calories and tons of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients for a healthy body. There are other foods that have a high content of water and most can be easily recognized like some fruits and vegetables but certain diets may limit foods with high water content. In this case you will simply have to drink more water.
Diuretics like coffee, pop, and caffeinated drinks cause the body to lose water and dehydrate the body. By cutting back on these drinks, you will decrease the amount of water you need to consume and your body’s absorption of vitamins and minerals will be greater.
Try to always have a bottle of water with you to take sips every so often and see the affects it has on your appetite.
How do you know whether or not you are consuming enough water?
There are several easily noticeable warning signs that your body is not getting enough water and is becoming dehydrated.
• Headaches. Headaches are the most common symptom of dehydration. Water flushes out all the toxins in your body and makes up 75% up your brain. No wonder a lack of water causes a headache!
• Lack of concentration and fatigue. With a built up amount of toxins in your body due to a lack of water, you will see a drop in your energy level as your body is concentration on dealing with the unwanted toxins in your body.
• Constipation. Water in your body will be directed to more vital functions resulting in painful and harder stools from the lack of water.
• Reduced urine output or dark urine. 200 liters of water is passed through your kidney’s every day so a lack of water will limit your kidney’s filtering ability, resulting in darker urine.
• Dry mouth and bad breath. When not enough water is frequently passing through your mouth to rinse away the food particles, bacteria can create dry mouth syndrome and bad breath over time.
• Skin. Water keeps your skin looking and feeling clear and smooth so if your skin develops dry spots, coloring, and roughness, it could be an indication of you is dehydrating your body.
Final thoughts
If you are serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. Nothing is more important to your health than drinking enough water, so give it a shot and start drinking more to help you achieve weight loss the natural way and put you on the right tract to a healthier lifestyle.
Have a great day and God bless!
Jared Wash is an author with certifications by ACSM, NESTA, and ISSA in personal trainer, nutritionist, and online fitness coach for weight loss. His mission with top weight loss siteis to guide people away from false lies and myths in the fitness industry while focusing on true health and how to get ride of belly fat methods.
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