Lose Weight Successfully With a Fitness Journal

If you want to lose weight or you’re just interested in getting in shape, a fitness journal can be your key to success.

Much like a personal diary a journal is the one place where you can share all of your dreams and goals and at the same time create a plan to make those aspirations a real part of your life.

I’m sure by now, you know that in order to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume. Keeping a fitness journal can be a fun way to assess your current eating and exercise habits and formulate a strategy to reduce calories while increasing your physical activity.

Start your fitness journal by recording your current weight and measurements, if you like, you can even add a current photo of yourself. This is your starting point, so make sure you take the time to complete this important step. Months from now when your body is changing, you’ll be able to look back and see how much you have achieved. Once this base is established it will provide the motivation you need to keep you going.

Motivation or the lack thereof, can be the driving force behind your exercise program or the biggest obstacle in your efforts to lose weight. As a personal trainer who specializes in women’s fitness, I have found that women who keep a fitness journal have a far greater chance of success than those who do not.

You see a fitness journal makes you accountable for your weight loss plan. Once you’ve established your starting point and written down your goals, you’ll want to make some time everyday to record everything you eat and drink. That means everything. You many even be surprised when you realize how much food you consume.

Once you begin coming face to face with your food consumption, you’ll be able to determine which foods to keep in your diet and which foods you need to replace with healthier substitutes. There is a certain connection that your brain will make when you put pen to paper and become responsible for your own health. It’s easy to fool yourself into thinking that you are eating a somewhat healthy diet when you keep these thoughts locked away in your mind.

Along with recording your eating habits, you’ll want to write down your daily physical activities. Are you exercising regularly? For optimum women’s health you’ll need to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day for 6 days of the week. You can use your journal to determine your fitness level and increase it gradually for best results.

Challenge your fitness workout by making goals each week. For instance, you could set a goal to add more weights to your exercise program or to take longer walks, swim more laps, take a spinning class or learn to play tennis. The secret is to write down anything and everything that will keep you motivated to exercise regularly and eat healthy.

You can get the body that you desire, all it takes is a desire to succeed followed by a commitment to see it through. But the good thing is you don’t have to do it by yourself. Faithfully keeping your fitness journal will keep you focused on your goals and give you the motivation you need to excel.

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Diets That Work Fast – 3 Tips to Jump Start

Diets That Work Fast – 3 Tips to Jump Start Your Weight Loss

Many dieters want to know only one thing: how to find diets that work fast. However, if you start losing weight on a crash diet, you should know that in time your weight loss will cease.

This is because most crash diets work by severely limiting your caloric intake, effectively starving your body into weight loss. Over time, your weight loss will plateau as your body adjusts and goes into starvation mode.

The most sensible weight loss solution is a fundamental lifestyle shift, eliminating saturated fats and simple carbohydrates. Once you have committed to a lifestyle change, there are things you can do to jump start your weight loss. Following are the top 3 ways you can kick your weight loss journey into high gear:

1. Drink Water

Most Americans don’t realize it, but they exist in a mildly dehydrated state almost all of the time. Between coffees and sodas that serve as mild diuretics and take the place of water in the typical diet, most people simply don’t consume enough water.

Upping your intake of water is crucial to success on any diet, for many reasons. First, your body has a very difficult time distinguishing between hunger and thirst. It’s easy for you to think you are hungry when you are actually thirsty; so drinking more water can satisfy thirst which often registers as hunger.

Drinking water also makes you feel fuller; in fact, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that dieters who drank water prior to meals consumed 75 fewer calories at meals than those who did not drink water. Water also flushes toxins from your body, making you feel more alert and refreshed, feelings that make it easier to stick with a diet program.

2. Start Exercising

Another great way to jump start your weight loss journey is to begin an exercise program. Not only does exercise reduce your body fat and increase your lean muscle tissue, it also kicks your metabolism up a notch.

Moderate aerobic exercise, like walking or cycling, speeds up your metabolism for 4-8 hours after you stop exercising. This means that even after you step off the treadmill, your body will continue to burn calories for hours after you stop.

Over time, a steady exercise program will increase the efficiency of your metabolic rate, allowing your body to convert food to energy more efficiently.

3. Eliminate Simple Carbohydrates

Not all carbohydrates are created equal, and diets that work fast will eliminate some carbohydrates that can slow down your weight loss. Complex carbohydrates take longer for the body to digest and contain high amounts of fiber, which contributes to feelings of fullness as well as bowel regularity.

Vegetables, particularly leafy greens, contain complex carbs and should be incorporated in every diet. Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly and found naturally in fruits, honey, and dairy products.

However, most processed foods such as cakes, cookies, candy bars, and the like are also simple carbs that give you a short-term blood sugar rise followed by a crash. You can jump-start your weight loss by eliminating all processed foods from your diet and limiting your natural simple carbohydrate consumption.

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Free Weight Loss Programs

Free weight loss programs are available for dieters not able to spend money on paid weight loss programs. These can be through the Internet or through regular meetings. Often behavioral changes that are meant to prevent a person from venturing on an eating binge are recommended and offered for free. In free trials, the diet is changed for few days. By replacing high calorie food items with low calorie substitutes, the effect of the diet can be noticed within a few weeks.

These programs provide similar resources as paid programs to dieters on taking charge of their own weight loss. Such programs usually lack individual guidance, and that is a major drawback. Secondly, the quality of free programs is often not as high as with paid programs. Thirdly, users tend to complain about vague plans not carefully planned or set out. Attention to detail is usually kept only to the bare minimum. Another drawback is the possibility of health damage due to improper diet and menu suggested.

One needs to avoid extremes mentioned in these weight loss programs/plans and decide for oneself the way a particular plan is to be administered or modified as the case may be. Free weight loss plans are a good way of starting out on weight loss programs and gaining knowledge of the same. They can serve as important aids in selecting the best-paid weight loss program later. Besides, many dieters claim to have been significantly benefited by such programs and thus, experimenting with them sounds a reasonable proposition. These programs mostly come with a ‘try at your own risk’ tagline and therefore discretion is essential when starting with these programs.

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Slim People Have Better Sex

Overweight women are not enjoying their love lives because they are upset about their body image.

A survey by Cosmopolitan magazine revealed that 73 per cent of women are not confident in the bedroom due to concerns about love handles and wobbly thighs.

Men might also be compelled to lose weight because the survey also discovered that women were turned off by man breasts and beer bellies.

Sex expert and life coach Pam Spurr told the Daily Mail: “Women take their body image to heart.”

Research which was published online in the British Medical Journal found that obese women are four times more likely to report an unplanned pregnancy compared to healthy females even though they are less sexually active.

The French study discovered that obese women were five times more likely to have met their partner over the internet and had an increased chance of having an overweight partner compared with women of a healthy size.

Obese men were also more likely to suffer from a lack of sex as the report found that larger men were three times more likely to report erectile problems in comparison to healthy males.

In addition, overweight males were more likely to have contracted a sexually-transmitted disease but were less likely to have had more than one sexual partner in the previous twelve months.

Specialist in psychosexual medicine Dr Sandy Goldbeck-Wood said: “In public health terms, the study lends a new slant to a familiar message: that obesity can harm not only health and longevity, but your sex life.”

Obese people who are concerned that their size is having a negative effect on their sex lives can lose weight by combining a healthy balanced diet with regular exercise.

Taking slimming supplements, such as t5 fat burners and t5 slimming pills, alongside a balanced diet and exercise can help people lose weight faster, according to researchers from the University of Liverpool.

Sylvia Rubery dropped ten sizes and said that her weight loss has resulted in a new lease on life and greater appreciation from her husband.

She said: “I’m one of the most active people I know and I’m out swimming, running and walking the dog at every opportunity. My husband can’t believe my transformation, it’s like he’s got a new wife!”

Nutrition expert Dr Jacquie Lavin has warned dieters that keeping weight off is as difficult as losing it in the first place.

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Managing Weight Loss

It is a well known fact that obesity is now an epidemic in America. Almost 40% of Americans including children are overweight, and most people have tried many different diet plans with varying success.

Before embarking on a weight loss program, it is important to recognize that occasionally, there may be a medical condition that may be responsible for weight gain. Conditions affecting the metabolism such as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome as well as some medications such as corticosteroids, cyproheptadine, lithium, tranquilizers, phenothiazines, and tricyclic antidepressants can cause weight gain

However, for most people the reason for weight gain is too many calories consumed and not enough exercise! The question is, how to curb your appetite and in such a situation. Understanding the causes of hunger can go a long way in managing hunger and weight loss.

Understanding Cause of Hunger

Sugar intake affects hunger. Insulin levels in the blood have direct impact on hunger. The primary role of insulin is to regulate the fuel in the body by transporting glucose from the blood into the cells. Higher the amount of insulin circulating in the blood, faster it will store the sugar in the cells as fat, if the sugar, that is, energy, is not used in activities such as work or exercise thus lowering the sugar level in the blood, making you hungry and craving for sweets.

Managing Weight Loss

Cut back on sugar in all of its forms; soda, ice cream, cake, dessert and chocolate. Sugar triggers the appetite soon after consumption by raising the blood sugar levels. The rapid absorption of sucrose causes a sudden spurt of insulin, which leads to a rapid dip in the blood sugar levels and causes hunger.

Modify your diet. Add banana, peanuts, almonds, milk, cheese, egg yolk, chicken and lamb to your diet. These foods contain amino acid tryptophan which is responsible for suppressing appetite. It helps in the formation of a brain chemical serotonin, which signals the brain to transmit “I am full” messages thereby reducing your appetite.

According to some researchers, a bowl of chicken soup or a glass of lime juice taken about half an hour before a meal stimulates the level of your hormone called CCK (Cholecystokinin) thereby suppressing your appetite. Black coffee or tea also raises your CCK level.

Stress also has an important role in appetite control. During stressful situation blood stream is flooded with glucose and you do not think of food but later blood sugar drops and you feel very hungry.

Exercise helps reduce hunger by releasing chemicals such as endorphins that diminish hunger and helps alleviate anxiety and depression. Exercise also helps burn extra calories. Endorphin is also responsible for giving you the feeling of well being.

Yoga helps reduce hunger as well. A study undertaken in 10 Type II diabetic patients and published in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India (JAPI) by Dr. Vijay Vishwanathan, Dr. P. T Chacko and others have shown how performing Yogasanas (various routines of Yoga) can be considered not as an adjunct but as an alternative method of treating diabetes. The unexpected results were the improved insulin sensitivity in the Yogasanas group.

Take dietary supplements. Adding nutritional supplements to your diet daily helps balance your body’s needs for necessary nutrients. Supplements such as fish oil supplements, 5HTP, 7 Keto, Guggulipid, Chromium picolinate, Gymnema Silvestre and Green Tea can help manage you weight loss. Supplement websites or stores carry these supplements in Weight Management or Weight Loss categories or section.

Drugnatural.comTM is dedicated to providing you with natural health alternatives that promote resilience and long life. We feature Weight Loss and Weight Management supplements as well as a variety of dietary supplements. Feel free to contact us today at 866-656-9500 or by email at vaishnav@drugnatural.com

Copyright © 2007 DHAN Medical Inc. All rights reserved.

The information listed here has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is meant for educational purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Please consult your healthcare provider for guidance and medical advice.

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Weight Loss Factors and Your Mindset

Many people want to lose fat on a regular basis. To get yourself in shape and have a better health is very important in our lives. This helps us to avoid illnesses and stress. We can look at some of the factors that affect our fat loss progress.

Exercising. When you do exercising on every day basis and you keep the same level of energy, that is used to get better results, you must change the routine, so your body won’t get used to the same process day after day. To lose weight fast and efficiently, try to give your body a shock everyday by mixing your exercising. Walk one hour instead of 30 minutes, run more miles than usually you do. This will help to achieve better and faster results, it will motivate your mind to exercise even more everyday.

Food portions. When preparing your meal always think about the size of your meal and even when you go to the restaurant, always ask for smaller portion of your order. The problem is that many restaurants offer you a lot more bigger sizes of the meal. When buying frozen meals at the supermarket or grocery store, look at the package size and the calories that are used.

Use only natural dieting programs. Natural diet usually consists of everyday meals, that we consume all of the time. Some of the meals should not be taken by us, because they consist off the ingredients, that are not healthy for all body. If your body can’t assimilate some foods that you had, your system may become clogged. Your body will not be able to eliminate the fats as fast as it could do with the other meals.

An natural diet pills may work very well for some people. A well-known diet pill “clinicallix” works good without any chemicals and has no unnatural ingredients, it decreases your appetite. It helps to break down the carbs and it contains a good deal of vitamins and minerals. It claims to help people to lose more than 20 pounds and the price is very affordable. These dietary pills can cost you no more than $60, which is a good deal on the market. Low cost monthly price can help you to achieve fantastic results and you can see your weight loss progress every day.

No doubt, that a mental mind set is needed to achieve these results. It’s the way off a new pattern, that you have to set up in your mind and make it work in your daily life. You either want to work on your weight loss or not. If you have any doubts in your mind, don’t expect any good results. To lose your weight you must have a determination to work hard and never step back, follow the system that you created at the beginning and look for the new ways to lose your weight.

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Yes You Can Lose Weight in 5 Days – Get

Yes You Can Lose Weight in 5 Days – Get Rid of Your Belly Fat

Losing weight in 5 days can be a challenging but you can do it of you put your mind to it. There are many weight loss plans that are available to you but it is most important to find a plan that fits your needs and one that you can feel comfortable doing. If you want to lose weight in a short period of time it is important that make some changes in your life style so that you can accomplish your goals.

The first two things that you wan to do is to increase your water intake and add an exercise regimen to your weight loss plan. Increasing your water intake will help you to detoxify your body and this will get the impurities out and help you to lose weight. Along with increasing your water intake the benefits you will get from exercising will benefit you. You want to increase your metabolism and the best way to accomplish this is to exercise more.

Another great way to lose weigh in 5 days is to change the portion size of the meals that you are eating. You want to decrease the size of each meal but make sure that you eat more meals during the day. It is also very important that you to not eat late at night it is best if you do not eat any meals after 8 o’clock.

Remember that when trying to lose weigh in a few days you need to change your normal routine and add some important things in your diet habits. Water and exercise can be one of the bets ways to lose weight fast and this will also make you feel much better.

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Managing Weight Loss

It is a well known fact that obesity is now an epidemic in America. Almost 40% of Americans including children are overweight, and most people have tried many different diet plans with varying success.

Before embarking on a weight loss program, it is important to recognize that occasionally, there may be a medical condition that may be responsible for weight gain. Conditions affecting the metabolism such as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome as well as some medications such as corticosteroids, cyproheptadine, lithium, tranquilizers, phenothiazines, and tricyclic antidepressants can cause weight gain

However, for most people the reason for weight gain is too many calories consumed and not enough exercise! The question is, how to curb your appetite and in such a situation. Understanding the causes of hunger can go a long way in managing hunger and weight loss.

Understanding Cause of Hunger

Sugar intake affects hunger. Insulin levels in the blood have direct impact on hunger. The primary role of insulin is to regulate the fuel in the body by transporting glucose from the blood into the cells. Higher the amount of insulin circulating in the blood, faster it will store the sugar in the cells as fat, if the sugar, that is, energy, is not used in activities such as work or exercise thus lowering the sugar level in the blood, making you hungry and craving for sweets.

Managing Weight Loss

Cut back on sugar in all of its forms; soda, ice cream, cake, dessert and chocolate. Sugar triggers the appetite soon after consumption by raising the blood sugar levels. The rapid absorption of sucrose causes a sudden spurt of insulin, which leads to a rapid dip in the blood sugar levels and causes hunger.

Modify your diet. Add banana, peanuts, almonds, milk, cheese, egg yolk, chicken and lamb to your diet. These foods contain amino acid tryptophan which is responsible for suppressing appetite. It helps in the formation of a brain chemical serotonin, which signals the brain to transmit “I am full” messages thereby reducing your appetite.

According to some researchers, a bowl of chicken soup or a glass of lime juice taken about half an hour before a meal stimulates the level of your hormone called CCK (Cholecystokinin) thereby suppressing your appetite. Black coffee or tea also raises your CCK level.

Stress also has an important role in appetite control. During stressful situation blood stream is flooded with glucose and you do not think of food but later blood sugar drops and you feel very hungry.

Exercise helps reduce hunger by releasing chemicals such as endorphins that diminish hunger and helps alleviate anxiety and depression. Exercise also helps burn extra calories. Endorphin is also responsible for giving you the feeling of well being.

Yoga helps reduce hunger as well. A study undertaken in 10 Type II diabetic patients and published in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India (JAPI) by Dr. Vijay Vishwanathan, Dr. P. T Chacko and others have shown how performing Yogasanas (various routines of Yoga) can be considered not as an adjunct but as an alternative method of treating diabetes. The unexpected results were the improved insulin sensitivity in the Yogasanas group.

Take dietary supplements. Adding nutritional supplements to your diet daily helps balance your body’s needs for necessary nutrients. Supplements such as fish oil supplements, 5HTP, 7 Keto, Guggulipid, Chromium picolinate, Gymnema Silvestre and Green Tea can help manage you weight loss. Supplement websites or stores carry these supplements in Weight Management or Weight Loss categories or section.

Drugnatural.comTM is dedicated to providing you with natural health alternatives that promote resilience and long life. We feature Weight Loss and Weight Management supplements as well as a variety of dietary supplements. Feel free to contact us today at 866-656-9500 or by email at vaishnav@drugnatural.com

Copyright © 2007 DHAN Medical Inc. All rights reserved.

The information listed here has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is meant for educational purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Please consult your healthcare provider for guidance and medical advice.

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Slim Down Quickly

If you need to slim down quickly, because of an upcoming event such as a wedding, a holiday, or you need to meet the qualifications for a particular event or program, then following the calorie shifting diet plan will help you reach your goal, at the pace of about 9 pounds every 11 days.

The calorie shifting diet is by far one of the easiest crash diets you can follow. Unlike other crash diets which require you to reduce calories, carbohydrates, or to eat only one type of food while eliminating all others, this diet plan allows you to eat as much food as you desire at each meal until you are satisfied (but not too full).

Not only that, but while on this diet, you get to eat food from all four food groups. Even better than that, this diet requires you to eat four full meals each and every day, as long as those meals are spaced out by at least 2.5 to 3 hours.

Perhaps the most riveting feature of the calorie shifting diet is that you are required to take a mandatory 3-day break from your diet every 14 days, to give your body a chance to rest from the rapid weight loss you will have been experience. Now, if you need to slim down quickly and don’t have the patience to wait 3 days before resuming this crash diet, rest assured that your net weight loss will be at least 20 pounds in one month, on average.

How does calorie shifting work? How is it possible to lose 20 pounds a month while eating plentiful foods from all of the major food groups, four times a day, every day? Simply put, calorie shifting is based on the premise that you can manipulate your body’s metabolism at will and induce the burning of fat by shifting the types of calories that you consume, from meal to meal. Essentially, you are simulating a sustained nutritional deficit in your body that normally triggers your metabolism’s “survival” response which causes it to tap into your body’s fat reserves for energy. This is achieved by withholding and reintroducing certain nutrients into and from your diet on a rotational basis.

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Weight Loss Plans – A Review

Weight loss is a function of burning more calories from your body than you intake. A successful weight loss plan is measured by its ability to deliver the desired results; its safety, viability, long-term adaptability and its holistic approach.

There are a number of weight loss plans out there – and choosing one that fits you can be daunting. It is important to remember that every individual’s body type and lifestyle is unique; therefore any plan should take into consideration your individual body type, weight, metabolic rate and any specific conditions or predispositions that you’re facing, and a check on your lifestyle. It is always recommended to speak to a certified health professional or your physician before embarking on a specific diet or weight loss plan.

The elements of a good weight loss plan are as follows:

Sound strategy: a good plan is based on the individual’s needs and includes specific short and long term goals. The plan is based on the person’s lifestyle, eating and exercise habits, and above all, should be achievable. The end-result of your weight loss plan should be clearly defined, as should be the path to get there.

Reality-check: to find a plan best suited for you, take note of the following parameters: your Basal Metabolic Rate, your current body weight and height, your level of physical activity – sedentary, active or moderate, your lifestyle and your dietary habits. Also be aware of any medical conditions you have – hormonal imbalance, hereditary obesity, etc.

Exercise routine: the role of exercise in a weight loss plan is to get you to work out at an intensity that pumps up your heart rate and maintains it at that level for a period of time. This is conducive to loss of fat in the body. A cardio exercise like brisk walking for 20 minutes to one hour does just that. Along with weight loss, the focus should also be to convert body mass into toned muscle -therefore, weight training is also essential. Your exercise routine should keep building intensity as the days/weeks pass – otherwise your body will ‘plateau’ out, and there will be no visible results.

Diet: your plan should promote healthy eating to aid the loss of weight. ‘Fad diets’ can give you short-term results, but their viability and safety in the long term is highly questionable. For healthier eating, switch to unprocessed foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole nuts and grains, whole wheat products, unsaturated fats like olive oil, reduce your intake or red meat, eat lots of fiber (found in foods like cabbage, broccoli, fruits, etc.) and drink plenty of water – at least 10-12 glasses a day.

Monitor progress: maintain a chart of how you’re faring. Monitor your short term results and get together a support group to keep you motivated.

Keep stressors at bay: a healthy, happy lifestyle and positive body image is conducive to weight loss. If stress or anxiety is causing you to make unhealthy choices resulting in weight loss, work on those first – either with a therapist or through self-talk and motivation.

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