Many people struggle with their weight throughout their lives. They often start diets that leave them hungry and frustrated, and they soon gain the weight back after stopping a diet. One of the best things anyone who wants to lose weight can do for themselves is to skip fad diets and learn to make easy, healthy changes to the way they eat. This article will teach you a few changes that will help you keep the weight off much more easily.

Eat more fruits and vegetables. That may seem obvious, but the trick is to place larger portions of fruits and veggies on your plate than any other food item. Many people make the mistake of filling up on processed carbs or high-fat meat, while eating less of the healthy foods they need. You should be able to look at your plate and see processed carbs or high-fat meat portions that are no larger than a cigarette pack. Fruits and vegetables can be very filling, and you can eat more of them. They will help make you less inclined to care as much about stuffing yourself with the less healthy foods on your plate that you should cut back on.

Cut out processed foods. These are foods that are no longer in their natural state. They have been altered in various ways by companies who add preservatives and other chemicals that have been shown to affect our general health and weight loss. Choose fresh apples over ready-made applesauce or make your own homemade applesauce. Rather than purchasing cans of dull, soggy green beans with added sauces and chemicals, head to the fresh food aisle and pick out beautiful fresh green beans instead.

Start your meals with a healthy salad or soup. It’s not uncommon to start a meal with one of these starter foods when eating at a restaurant. However, most people don’t start their meals that way when they eat at home. A salad or soup that contains only low-cal ingredients can be quite filling. It helps you to care less about filling up on larger portions of food that are less healthy for you. Your best bet is to make your own homemade salad dressing for your salads and your own homemade soups. But if you are low on time, check food labels on any ready-made versions you buy to make sure they are not high in fat and calories.

You may also understand that it is common for people who are not physically active to struggle with weight. It is a fact of life, and you will not keep weight off easily without adding some exercise each week. Make the changes shared in this article to your eating habits, add thirty minutes of exercise at least three times per week, and then watch how much weight you will lose in the next six or twelve months. You can do it, and making these changes is much easier than starving on a diet! –

Losing weight and maintaining the weight loss for an extended period of time requires some simple lifestyle adjustments. As long as you keep your adjustments within a sustainable reach, you should be able to lose weight and keep it off without much shock and interruption to your daily life.

Not surprisingly, losing weight does not have to require extended trips to the gym or engagement in some fad diet. Here are there steps to a healthier day that can help you slim down on weight without slimming down on your free time.

Exercise Daily

Daily exercise can make a difference in your body shape and in the way your body processes calories. When you exercise, you work your heart, mind and body. You are building your muscle mass, which in turn will increase the effectiveness of your metabolism.

Additionally, you encourage your heart to pump blood throughout your body more effectively, which means that you will have healthier blood and a reduced risk of heart disease. You reduce fatty deposits, which in turn helps reduce your risk of many health problems, such as diabetes. You also increase the number of endorphins that flow through your body, which means that you will note an increase in your positive attitude.

It does not require a large amount of time exercising to receive all of the above benefit. You simply need to workout regularly for a minimum of half an hour. Working out means taking a two-mile walk at a fast pace, throwing a Frisbee or riding a bicycle. Whatever the workout is, keep in mind that it should elevate your heart above it standing heart rate and it should make you breathe slightly heavier than normal. It is also good if you can break a sweat or feel your muscles challenged.

Eat All Things in Moderation

When you are trying to lose weight or sustain lost weight, it is vital that you allow yourself to eat all foods, but eat the unhealthy ones in moderation. The primary reason for many diets to fail is that people reduce the foods that they allow themselves to eat so drastically that they feel anxious after awhile eating the same things time and time again. When you allow yourself to give into simple cravings, you are rewarding your body and making it less tempted to crave larger portions of the bad foods.

You should also eat small portions of every food, regardless of its nutritional content. Eating smaller portions will help your stomach adjust to consuming less food. You can also drink water to help you feel full. American’s especially have a habit of eating more than one portion of food per meal so be aware of your food portions!

Call a Buddy

Studies prove that having a Buddy help you work out increases your chances of maintaining a diet, exercise routine, or long-term weight loss. Buddies are fabulous motivators. They will keep you attuned to your habits and help you feel accountable throughout the day. If you must, enlist the help of a partner to be an appointed weight loss guardian. He or she will be tasked with ensuring that you stick to your weight loss goals by encouraging you to report your progress several times a week. –

Many popular weight loss strategies actually just set you up to fail. You do not want to invest your time, energy, emotion, and money into a plan that is going to end up leaving you disappointed. You need to have a plan that gets you off the weight loss roller coaster and sets you up for success. The tips below will help you to spot and avoid the typical weight loss pitfalls.

Pitfall #1: Feeling like there is nothing enjoyable to eat. Many diet plans make you feel as if you cannot eat anything that tastes good or that you really enjoy. If you go into a diet believing you are going to have to eat only bland, tasteless food, you are sure to fail. There are lots of healthy, low-calorie foods that taste great too. If your diet plan does not offer them, then it is not the plan you want.

Pitfall #2: Losing weight only to gain it right back. Perhaps you have had the experience that so many dieters have had of losing a lot of weight and then gaining it all back and then some. This is such a common occurrence for several reasons. Many times the weight loss was achieved by means that are not possible to sustain day in and day out for the rest of your life. In addition, most diets do not have good guidance for maintenance plans. Make sure you choose a weight loss plan that takes the weight off slowly using techniques you can continue even after you are at your ideal weight.

Pitfall #3: Giving up when you fall off your diet plan. You may be an all-or-nothing thinker who feels like one stumble means total failure. Since many diet plans rely on shaming you when you do not stick to the rules completely, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have blown the whole thing by messing up once. Give yourself permission to mess up, brush yourself off, and get up and get going again. A realistic and ultimately successful diet plan consists of a series of several instances of going off track and getting right back to it again.

Pitfall #4: Believing you cannot afford to diet. Since so many diet plans and clubs are outrageously expensive, you may have developed the idea that you cannot afford to do what it takes to lose weight. However, you can eat better, move more, and lose weight without breaking the bank. Good, healthy food does not have to be expensive, and you do not necessarily need to join an expensive club to lose weight. You can diet on your own, enlist the aid of a friend, or join a weight loss group like TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) that charges very little money.

As you can see, your perceived weight loss failures are really your diets failing you. It can be confusing to follow a fad diet and expensive to join some weight loss plans. Now that you know some of the most common weight loss pitfalls, you are better equipped to develop a strategy that will work for you long term. Knowing what missteps to avoid, you can get busy losing weight and keeping it off for good. – See more at: https://gotbalance.com/blog.php?c=231&id=739#sthash.QpkEorWS.dpuf

Stop wasting your time with fad diets, deprivation and bizarre concoctions that keep you spinning your weight-loss wheels! Look into basic tactics with sound scientific principles, to help you shed pounds faster and keep them off. The following tips are a very good place to start.

1. Drop 250 calories out of your daily intake. For most people, this can be easily accomplished, simply by skipping their morning coffee treat. These delightful drinks can fill you up with more than 400 calories a pop! When you consider the fact that 200 calories a day can equal up to an extra 21 pounds gained per year, you instantly realize the value of this tip!

2. Visualize. This is an important mental exercise that can help you reach any goal, most especially one in weight loss. Keep picturing yourself as a thinner person; the power of suggestion will help you stick to a smarter diet. See yourself as you want to be, and constantly reinforce the validity of that image through your actions.

3. Water as a weight-loss weapon. Often underestimated and under-utilized, water is one of the best things to fortify your body with, period. Drink two glasses prior to each meal and see how much less you eat; when you hanker for dessert, opt for another glass of water. Confusing hunger and thirst will keep you reaching for naughty goodies every time, especially the quick ones so arm yourself with a bottled water at all times.

4. Take fruit and vegetables for all they are worth. Use veggies with every meal to help you fill up and give you all the nutritional benefits you need to keep energy high during dieting, and do the same with a piece of fruit for every snack. This automatically cuts down on calories and improves the value of what you eat. Nature offers enough variety in fruits and vegetables that you can easily find plenty of pleasing options.

5. Get up at least once every hour. Be it at work or on your sofa, sitting for long periods is unhealthy and promotes metabolic stagnation. The sedentary lifestyle is extremely counterproductive to weight-loss and will keep you spinning your wheels forever! Get up and stretch, pace or go for quick walk to divert laziness and increase energy; an object at rest stays at rest, whereas an object in motion keeps moving!

6. Determine the cause(s) of failure. Nobody likes to admit it, but continuously failing may indicate some other underlying situation that needs attention. If you keep missing the mark with your weight-loss objectives, think about asking a physician or psychologist for help. The problem could be genetic or metabolic, or even rooted in some emotional issue that you are subconsciously wrapped up in. Don’t let pride stop you and refuse to feel shame; reaching a healthy weight is far too important to let anything stand in your way of it.

Weight-loss is a billion dollar industry, and if you think about it, why would the companies selling you products really want you to succeed, if that means an end to their income stream? Get off the yo-yo diet train and make the changes necessary to create a healthier, stronger and leaner you. – See more at: https://gotbalance.com/blog.php?c=231&id=740#sthash.cEB6l7iQ.dpuf

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There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat. Thus, if you cut back or work off just 3,500 calories, you will lose an entire pound of fat. While it is possible to cut back on your calorie intake and increase your exercise regimen in order to lose pounds quickly, it is important to note that doctors recommend that you lose no more than 2 pounds of weight per week in order to ensure that your body properly adjusts to the weight loss.

Here are some tips to help you safely drop 3,500 from your regular routine:

Run

Running for about 1 hour at a slow pace will help you lose approximately 350 calories, depending on your body type, speed and terrain. Thus, if you run for one hour five days a week while maintaining a consistent diet, you will safely lose one pound.

It is important to understand that many people who just begin running will eat pasta and other foods high in carbohydrates in order to compensate for the exertion. They think that because they worked out so hard, they deserve a treat. After all, they justify, the pasta will help to keep their energy levels high.

However, what they may not realize is that while they are justified in thinking that the carbohydrates will infuse their workout routine with energy, they are not actually setting their bodies up to lose weight. When you burn 350 calories but intake 450 over a high-carbohydrate pasta dish, you are adding more calories to your body than you otherwise would have.

Running does, however, help to boost our metabolism and change your muscle tone so that you burn calories more efficiently. Instead of inhaling a pasta dish after a run, select instead to have a large salad and splurge for the carbohydrate-rich croutons.

Eat In

When you eat out at a restaurant, not only are you subjecting your body to an array of high fat, high calorie foods, but you are also tempting yourself to eat a larger portion than you might normally eat. Therefore, what could be a simple 500 calories meal can easily turn into a 1500-calorie fat fest. In order to lose weight by cutting calories, it is essential that you are aware of exactly what you are putting into your body. Especially in the beginning of your new routine, it is important that you prepare your meals and monitor your level of hunger.

When eating out, generally you are in a social situation where food is not a priority – but spending time with your friends is. For this reason, people tend to eat more than they normally would. Non-dessert eaters often even spring for the extra round of calories. If you must eat out, help yourself avoid temptation by selecting a salad rather than a plate of pasta or burger. You will be amazed at the difference in the amount of calories you intake when you make simple choices such as meal option.

By reducing your overall calorie intake and increasing your level of physical activity, you will be able to lose those 3,500 calories without much trouble. Make sure that you stay focused, motivated and on task. You’ll shed unwanted weight in no time!

Eating raw foods is natural. Our bodies thrive on all that is fresh and vital. A raw food diet (or increasing the amount of raw food that you eat) is bound to bring a feeling of increased wellbeing.

Raw food diets are based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, preferably organic, such as a variety of fresh fruits and vegies, nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruit, fresh juices and purified water.

Why Raw Foods?

Basically a vegetarian diet, the raw food diet promotes eating and drinking ‘living’ foods. Living foods and juices contain the maximum amount of fibre found in raw produce, fibre that can be lost in processing. Such foods are easily metabolised and tend to be lower in calories than the average diet.

Heating food above 116°F destroys enzymes in food that aid in digestion and in absorption of food, diminishing its nutritional value.

Benefits of a Raw Food Diet

A diet of at least 75% raw food offers numerous health benefits, such as increased energy, improved skin appearance, better digestion, weight loss and reduced risk of serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

A raw food diet contains little or no saturated fats, is low in sodium, high in potassium, magnesium, folate and fibre.
Raw food diets are also excellent detox diets. Different combinations of raw, living foods and juices can be used for colon cleansing, liver cleansing, kidney cleansing and skin cleansing.

The Basics of a Raw Food Diet

Any fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, beans, nuts, legumes, young coconut milk – even seaweed – can be menu items of a raw food diet. Your choice of foods may depend on your reasons for dieting, for example:

– sprouted brown rice slows glucose absorption and improves the metabolism

– cabbage supports healthy cellular function; radish leaves act as an anti-oxidant, as does Shitake mushroom

-carrots are a great source of vitamin A as well as encouraging healthy vision and a healthy cardio-vascular system

You can use a sprouter such as the Easy Green automatic sprouter to sprout seeds, grains, beans – even wheatgrass. Sprouts could be called a ‘super food’ – organic sprouts contain enormous levels of proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, chlorophyll pigments and enzymes, and are the ideal natural supplement.

Sprouts can be used in salads and soups, or can be juiced. Fresh juices are a great ready energy supply and a good quality juicer, such as the Kempo Greenpower juicer, produces living juices that are full of essential nutrients.
A great juicing recipe to complement a raw food diet is carrot juice with potato, fennel and apple. Simply juice 4 medium carrots, 2 apples, 1 small potato and 1 small stalk of fennel.
Fennel has been shown to reduce and control inflammation of arthritis, it evens mood fluctuation and depressive states and has the rare nutrient called manganese, plus zinc and vitamin B complex.
The nutritional value of grains and seeds is impressive. They contain most of the vitamins – particularly A, B, and E. They’re also fantastic natural sources of unsaturated fatty acids and lecithin, and an excellent source of proteins.

You can even use soy milk makers (such as SoyQuick) to make non-dairy drinks from different beans, rice, nuts, seeds and grains to have with breakfast. If you want something a little more substantial than soy milk you can make your tofu (or, of course, visit a good health food shop).

Essentially, the idea of a raw food diet is to eat unprocessed foods for at least 75% of the time. If the idea of raw food isn’t very appetising to you, you can warm the food a little as long as the food isn’t heated above 116°F.

Cautionary Note

As with any major change in diet, it’s wise idea to consult your doctor before beginning a special diet. This is especially true for children, pregnant women, anyone with anemia and anyone with a pre-existing medical condition.

Even natural foods can conflict with certain medications, so please ask your doctor or pharmacist if you’re taking any medication.

Because a raw food diet is detoxifying some people suffer a mild detox reaction including mild headaches, nausea and cravings. These symptoms may last for several days and you’ll get more enjoyment out of your raw food diet if you cut down on things like meat, sugar and caffeine a week or so before commencing the diet.

Last But Not Least…

A raw food diet is certainly a good way to improve your overall health and wellbeing. Like anything worthwhile it takes time, energy and commitment. Because many of the foods for this particular type of diet are made from scratch there is some preparation time involved. There are many great products on the market that can help you prepare your own living food and save you some time as well.

Combined with regular exercise, a raw food diet is also an excellent weight loss method. If you’ve been feeling ‘a little off’, or just need a pick-me-up and some extra energy, then a raw food diet is certainly a good way to go.
– See more at: https://gotbalance.com/blog.php?c=231&id=757#sthash.Bbr9y3Bw.dpuf

Obesity is a physical state that refers to excessive body fat. Chances are you have experienced the frustrations of dieting at least once in your life, if you have problems with your weight. Close to a hundred million Americans go on a weight loss diet in any given year and up to ninety-five percent of them regain the weight they lose within five years. Worse, a third will gain back more weight than they lost, in danger of “yo-yoing” from one popular diet to another. The conventional approach to weight problems, focusing on fad weight loss diets or weight loss drugs, may leave you with just as much weight and the additional burden of ill health.

Today, an estimated sixty-five percent of all American adults are obese or overweight. Our culture obsesses about staying thin even as we grow fatter, but this isn’t about appearances. Obesity is known to be a precursor to many debilitating health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and gallbladder disease. Obesity contributes to as many as 375,000 deaths every year. In addition, the public health costs for obesity are staggering. According to researchers at Harvard University, obesity is a factor in 19% of all cases of heart disease with annual health costs estimated at 30 billion dollars; it’s also a factor in 57% of diabetes cases, with health costs of $9 billion per year.

Set Realistic Goals:

No doubt you have fallen for one or more of the weight loss diet schemes over the years, promising quick and painless weight loss. Many of these quick weight loss diet programs undermine your health, cause physical discomfort, flatulence, and ultimately lead to disappointment when you start regaining weight, shortly after losing it. Fad or quick weight loss diet programs generally overstress one type of food. They contravene the fundamental principle of good nutrition – to remain healthy one must consume a balanced diet, which includes a variety of foods. Safe, healthy, and permanent weight reduction is what’s truly lost among the thousands of popular diet schemes.

Some of the weight loss diet schemes reign supreme briefly, only to fade out. While some wane from popularity due to being unproductive or unsafe, some simply lose the public’s curiosity. Examples of such fad diets include the South Beach Diet, Atkins diet, the Grapefruit diet, Cabbage Soup diet, the Rotation diet, Beverly Hills diet, Breatharian, Ornish Plan – the list goes on and on. These fad diets advocate a specific technique (such as eliminating a certain food, or eating only certain combinations of foods) in conjunction with the basic idea that the body makes up the difference in energy by breaking down and utilizing some part of itself, essentially converting matter into energy. This self-cannibalism, or catabolism as it is referred, typically starts with breakdown of stored body fat. – See more at: https://gotbalance.com/blog.php?c=231&id=783#sthash.SNsz8XR4.dpuf