Ion Foot Spa - Self-poisoning by unhealthy foods and unnatural environmental exposures can negatively affect every cell of our body. When toxins accumulate in the nervous system, we feel irritable and depressed. If they back up into the heart we feel weak, our breath is bad if they reach the lungs and we are bloated if they reach the stomach. If the toxins try to escape through our skin, rashes, blotches and acne can develop, we may look pale and our skin may appear wrinkly. We may even look older than our actual age. If the toxins make it to the glands, we feel fatigued, lethargic and our sex drive may decrease. All of these symptoms can result in one way or another to the inevitable, weight gain.
Detoxification through the use of the Ion Foot Spa can help you eliminate toxins that are affecting your body. As the toxins are removed through the sweat glands in the feet, and each sweat gland is directly associated with an organ in your body, the whole system is detoxified and affected all at once. Once excess toxins and poisons are removed, our body can then function more normally, weight loss can occur naturally and the body may return to its natural state.
When our body’s organs lose their ability to detoxify, the excess toxins are generally stored in our body’s fat cells, in an attempt to cleanse our blood stream. While they remain trapped, our fat cells accumulate and can be further poisoned by excessive chemicals and toxins. This scenario can ultimately lead towards diseases and illness.
Toxins found in the body’s fat cells can disrupt the cell’s metabolic processes. When the fat cells are filled with toxins, they feed on calories and carbohydrates we consume to fuel their poisonous state. As they require more energy, our body would signal the brain that we are hungry, although we have eaten enough food. Our essential cells are now being robbed of all the energy by the poisoned fat cells, thus leading to over eating. The body needs to be working as efficiently as possible to lose weight fast. If your body organs are working at maximum efficiency because of the ion foot spa you will shed weight faster.
With excessive consumption of food, it inevitably leads to increased toxin consumption and over-indulgence. Our fat cells then carry more toxins and calories and we gain more weight. You generally lose all motivation to exercise, as you can feel weaker. It’s a vicious cycle of unhealthy lifestyle and improper diet. Even our organs, which can usually help our body to detoxify naturally, lose their efficiency so re-energize with http://www.theionfootspa.com/ by Lenson.
When you detoxify, you force the fat cells to release the toxins. After these toxins are released, the body can begin to repair and rejuvenate and the essential cells can receive the energy they require. After detoxification, weight loss happens because your body reactivates the fat-burning mechanism and improves your ability to metabolize food and absorb nutrients. Proper digestion can help with over eaters, as they feel fuller earlier. A big part of detoxification includes a change in your lifestyle habits. Once you’ve detoxified, it’s important to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. The foods you eat should be healthy to ensure that you don’t fall into the cycle of eating excessive toxins. Good nutrition is a key factor, but our health depends not only on what nutrients we eat, but how much of those nutrients are absorbed and how well and regularly the body’s waste products are eliminated. Elimination occurs through sweat (skin), regular bowel movements (enough fiber consumption is important to ensure this) and through the feet by use of the Ion Foot Spa.
With an Ion Foot Spa maintenance program and healthy eating habits, our bodies will be better able to maintain a healthy weight.
Monday, 7 September 2009
The Ion Foot Spa - Weight Loss is Almost Guaranteed
Weight Loss Surgery for Men Should Include Weekly Massages
There is a direct correlation between weight loss and massage. As men develop a new lifestyle that includes exercise, the center or core shifts. The center of gravity used to be in a different place, with the hips, back, knees, and ankles newly positioned to accommodate a totally different physical shape. Teaching the body to recovery from significant training is essential. Recovery from training ensures continued exercise and strength training. Building muscle will filling and create an underlying structure for men who are experiencing a significant weight loss. Massage therapy is vital.
At http://www.weightlossurgerymen.com/ massage therapy is supported through an affiliate program with SpaFinder. The ability to purchase gift certificates for Spa and spa services around the country makes the commitment to restoring and recovering an easy process. Since most spas offer series or packages of massages, it’s strongly suggested that men commit to no fewer than two massages a month, one a week is best. Simply click the Health & Fitness button on the website and look for the SpaFinder logo to purchase the gift certificates.
More than 30,000 American men had weight loss surgery in 2008; more than 60,000 American men will have weight loss surgery in 2009. By 2015, more than a quarter million men will have weight loss surgery each year.
As morbid obesity climbs, so do the medical consequences of diabetes, hypertension, and other life-threatening conditions. Just because men have more lean muscle mass and a lower body fat percentage than women, weight loss can be just as challenging for men.
Beyond these medical results, men have a different experience following weight loss surgery. The need for protein to support a healthy lifestyle, which may include weight-training, can be most challenging. Finding the best combination of vitamins for absorption or taking care of one's appearance can be brand new for men (whereas women in American culture are conditioned to focus on appearance.) Many men, who may not have felt sexy in a long time, are suddenly seen as attractive, providing a totally new series of challenges and opportunities.
There are hundreds of support groups throughout the U.S. for patients who have undergone weight loss surgery. Since 85% of those surgeries in 2008 were performed on women, these support groups are often run by women and for women. There is very little access to the experience that men have following these procedures.
By: Thomas Cutler
Fast Weight Loss: Tips and Tricks From Spa Cuisine
Presentation is critical at a spa for several reasons. Garnishes take up space on the plate tricking you into thinking that there's more food than there really is. If you're creating an at home spa experience for a fast weight loss program, then do what the experts do and use garnishes.
Contrasts between colors and textures, say a glistening ruby red strawberry against juicy orange slices set off by a dark green curly kale leaf increases the appreciation of the food. Thinly sliced lemon slices alternating with springs of Italian parsley is another easy to do garnish. A radish rose offset by three cucumber slices is a pretty bouquet. Use your imagination when garnishing a plate.
The garnishes don't have to be edible, although they shouldn't be toxic of course. Raw kale with its dark green ruffled leaves makes a lovely garnish but in its raw state it's too bitter to actually eat. Edible flowers make beautiful garnishes. A curled strand of lemon, grapefruit, or orange peal isn't edible, unless you're desperate, but does add scent from the essential oils in the peel and color to the plate.
Arrange the food artistically on the plate. For example: one chicken breast can be cut into three slices horizontally, or 6 slices vertically, and then overlapped on the plate. It looks like considerably more food. Place a fruit slice between each slice of chicken, or an herb sprig for even more color and appeal.
Whether it's a crystal glass with a slice of lime on its rim, a soup bowl with a paprika sprinkle or a dinner plate with wreath of herbs, garnishes are a spa standby.
Use undersized plates when serving spa cuisine, a lunch plate and a small salad bowl instead of a large dinner plate. Use a contrasting charger, a large oversized plate, under the lunch plate for a look of luxury. The servings will look like more. In the same vein, serve courses. Garnish each course. An appetizer, salad, soup, and entree take longer to serve and eat than an entree with a cup of soup. Your stomach needs 20 minutes to signal your brain it's full. If you serve an appetizer and then salad, by the time you're finishing the soup, your tummy is saying you've had enough, so you won't overdo on the entree. Keep portions tiny so you don't overdo the amount of food you're eating at the meal.
Take the time to use the good dishes, silverware and glasses. Seltzer water straight from the bottle is fine for slaking your thirst after a workout, but it is so much more elegant when served in a crystal glass and garnished with a mint sprig. And that's another trick. Use herbs to flavor the water without adding calories. Don't stick with just mint. Lavender adds a floral note, basil and tarragon add a taste of licorice. A cucumber slice with a bit of dill is a refreshing change from sweet beverages.
Use tips and tricks from the spa cuisine masters for your fast weight loss program.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Everything You Need to Know About Weight Loss Fat Farms
Weight loss fat farms became popular in the United States since the early 1950s. With the booming cases of obesity and other related health problems, these camps were first designed to employ a forced diet and exercise to help people lose weight for their benefit. Other terms for weight loss fat farms are weight loss camps and weight loss resorts. These were in the form of private resorts and luxury encampments. In the contemporary times, weight loss camps are of modern, luxury resorts that are specialized to attend to the weight problems of obese Americans.
Although weight loss fat farms are now recognized as a rather legitimate way to eliminate fat and diminish cases of obesity, there are quite alarming criticisms to it. Some health experts say that albeit people who confine themselves to these institutions experience a sudden decrease in weight, somehow, the effects of these would not likely be for the long-term. Since the procedures undergone through in these camps are usually forced and go beyond the normal discipline, medical practitioners claim that people do not practically get the most supposed benefits since customers are more likely to succumb to old bad habits after their term at the camp. And because weight loss fat farms were so much a fashion more than fifty years ago, it did not take too long before it somehow fall 'out of fashion.' Perhaps, along with the growing technology and also of research, overweight individuals realize that nothing could still replace the natural ways of eliminating fats in the body.
In the next three decades, during the 1980s, weight loss fat farms were done with a healthier lifestyle; thus, reaping better results. Also, studies were conducted, especially psychological ones, on the real advantages and disadvantages or rather, misnomers about weight loss fat farms. Since then, people were made aware that it is actually much better to subscribe to other stable and established ways of losing weight than this dole-out sort of procedure.
However, a more contemporary form of these takes place through boot camps and weight loss spa houses. These are attended to mostly by women and adults. In the boot camps, for instance, the administrators of the camps are setting programs that include mountaineering, trekking, hiking, forest back packing, and the more usual but relatively moderate meal plans.
To date overweight people in the U. S. even enjoy fat farms on line subscription. There are now a handful of websites wherein people could take a quick virtual trip to whatever the fat loss company has got to offer. These websites though, usually presents disclaimers on who may only enjoy their programs and plans. Usually, these are only for those individuals who are in serious need of eliminating weight faster than others, and for those who could showcase commitment to prepackaged procedures. Also, they let people know beforehand that subscriptions might range from expensive to very expensive, for they are not to be offered a typical vacation there, but ones that are labored, professional, as well as scientific.
Weight Loss Spa
We all know that most weight loss programs are boring and can be exhaustive, so why not occasionally reward yourself with a trip to a weight loss spa. Weight loss spas are places that you can go to where there are activities that you can do that will help you to lose weight but at the same time you can get pampered and feel great while doing so.
There are so many weight loss and diet programs out on the market, yet one of the most popular options is the weight loss spa. The popularity is due to a variety of reasons, with the number one reason is that they are different and actually fun and enjoyable.
If you’re not sure a weight loss resort is for you there are many different things you can do at home to jump start your weight loss efforts.
1.Drink Water – Keeping your body hydrated is important; drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day helps your body metabolize fat more effectively. In fact, you can lose 62 calories by drinking ice cold water.
2.Eat 6 Small Meals – Eating 6 small meals each day will fuel your system giving you energy as well as boosting your metabolism, which helps you to burn more calories throughout the day.
3.Use Smaller Plates – Study after study has shown that the more people have on their plates the more they're likely to eat. Use a smaller plate, eat less food.
4.Eat Slowly – From the time you begin eating it takes the brain 20 minutes to start signaling fullness. By eating slowly you give your body a chance to recognize that you've had enough to eat.
5.Eat At Home – Restaurants serve such large portions that you’re more likely to eat more. When you do eat out, ask for a box and box up half of your food before you start to eat.
If you are wondering what is on the menu at a weight loss spa, you can expect to spot a lot of high fiber foods. There is a simple reason, these are foods that you can eat more of and yet take in fewer calories. They are called complex carbohydrates. The benefits of this type of carbohydrates is that they are very filling, and are a wonderful tool that will help your body get extra calories out of your system. In addition, complex carbohydrates contribute to regular bowel movements.
Among the food offerings will be a number of colorful fruits and vegetables. But they may look a bit different than you are used to seeing them. Instead of salads being covered with globs of creamy high-fat and high-calorie dressings, you will find them with healthy dressings made from items such as garlic and lemon. Other differences will be seeing bowls of bean dips such as hummus served with whole grain crackers instead of typical cheese dips and white crackers.
The best spa resorts offer fitness programs that are tailored to meet the requirements of different individuals. However, each program focuses on healthy and balanced nutrition and overall body health and well being of the mind. Weight loss is the main aim of most of the spa physical programs. Many of the queries about spa treatments find their answers in change in the mindset and behavior and not any dieting regime that is harmful in the long run.
Weight Loss Spas - The Luxurious Option Women Love
When people think about weight loss programs, or losing weight in general, the images that come to mind are of overweight people sweating it out in gyms, huffing and puffing around the track, and carefully counting calories in kitchens across America. But not everyone fights the battle of the bulge alone. Weight loss spas are quickly becoming the newest dieting trend since Weight Watchers!
For those who have the time and the money, weight loss spas offer a luxurious, calming alternative to traditional weight loss programs. Surrounded by magnificent natural settings and with a full-time staff of people to assist you, it means you can come back from a vacation thinner than when you left. Let’s take a look at some of the more exciting weight loss spas available today.
If you’re stuck in a cold climate and are dreaming of—and dreading at the same time—bikini weather, you can head down to sunny, warm Florida. Even in the depths of winter in the rest of the country, Florida is going strong all winter long with many kinds of weight loss spas to choose from.
Remember Pritikin? It wasn’t just a diet fad way back when (over 100,000 people have benefited from its health and wellness program at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Aventura, Florida). They have a full menu of spa services as well as stress management workshops, one-on-one counseling with physicians, and education classes lead by nationally acclaimed nutritionists, scientists, and lifestyle counselors.
If your darling husband is also looking for a getaway, why not choose the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida? Let him hit the links, while you treat yourself to a full spa makeover, including exercise programs that will jump-start your diet.
For those of you further out west, the Eden Valley Institute Lifestyle Center in lovely Loveland, Colorado has everything you could want in a weight loss spa, from cooking classes to vegan diet counseling to more spa-like features like massage and weight management. They even have smoking-cessation programs.
Want to combine your weight loss spa trip with some real traveling, as well as kick the luxury up a notch? Stobo Castle in Scotland is a 19th century beauty that combines beauty treatments with weight loss management in a stunning setting that will make you want to stay forever.
The Caribbean has gotten into the act as well, with the CuisinArt Report and Spa in Anguilla, British West Indies. It’s very exclusive, with only 20 guests at any one session. Your meals come from the resort's hydroponic farm, and exercise classes include long walks on the pristine beaches.
For a trip south of the border, those in the southwest might enjoy a “health vacation” in Melaque, Mexico, which features aerobics classes held in the sea, yoga, massages, and healthy juices made fresh to order.
Up north in Alberta, Canada is the home of the Abundant Life Wellness Centre. They host a 10 to 14 day advanced “whole body detox” and cleansing retreat, which features a six-day juice fast to get you started right.
If you look online, you’re sure to find a weight loss spa that fits your lifestyle, your budget and your location. If you need a jump-start getting that weight off or if you just need a vacation that helps as well as relaxes you, then weight loss spas are your answer.
Weight Loss Or Fat Loss - Important Differences To Lose Weight And Fat Healthily
When you step onto your bathroom scale every morning, what you will be reading from the scale is weight loss and not fat loss. Bath room scales are never accurate in determining fat loss.
Why? Because it measures your overall weight and not your body fat per se. If you weigh yourself in the morning before breakfast after your bowel movement, you will probably get your lowest reading of the day because your body is dehydrated through hours of non fluid replenishment when you were sleeping and after emptying your bowels, more water and wastes are flushed away so much so that you are you are lighter. After a night of sleep and not eating anything, your carbohydrate store is running low and therefore you are even lighter without the stored carbohydrate known as glycogen. What happened then? You just loss weight not loss fat! Your body fat is still there while the weight of other substances such as glycogen, wastes, water etc are depleted.
Now go weigh yourself again after dinner when you are fully replenished through meals and consumption of water and it may surprised you that you may probably weigh 2kg or more heavier and that is at least 4.4 pounds! You just gained weight and may even gained fat! Now you can see that it is such a misnomer when people think weight loss and fat loss are the same thing.
Why must you know the difference? Because for most of us, especially those who are on the fat side want to lose fat and not necessarily want to lose weight. Getting the drift?
Now for the more important part. Mere weight loss may cause you to lose muscle and in turn, make you gain body fat later. Yes, it is ironical. That is because the more muscle mass you have, the more you burn fat efficiently because muscle is an active tissue and it requires calories to function. Body fat just sit there doing nothing and thus do not burn calories on its own. So the less muscle mass you have, the less calories your body will burn. The fewer calories your body burn, the more calories ended up being stored as body fat! Therefore it is important to lose fat but not merely lose weight which may include the loss of muscle tissues.
How is it that a person may lose muscle on a weight loss program? Well for starters, we commonly hear about people going on this diet and that diet. Most diets demand a severe restriction of food or calorie intake. Your body will then signal to your mind that you are in a starvation mode and the body is designed to store fat for the impending famine and will use up your muscle for energy in your daily activities.
Some diets advocate a severe cut in carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is your body's first source of energy. When your body is depleted of carbohydrate, it turns to your protein (muscles) and body fat indiscriminately for energy. Now to make matters worse, because of the restricted carbohydrate consumed, there will be fewer carbohydrate calories to be used as energy calories and that again will signal the onset of starvation mode again. The vicious cycle of your body cannibalizing its own muscle is set in motion again. The same applies to people on slimming pills or salon fat loss programs.
So some people say ok, Chris, I see your point, so I will just do plenty of cardio exercises to lose weight. Another grave mistake. Have you ever wondered why marathon runners, those who run many kilometers often and are doing cardio exercises almost everyday are so skinny with no muscle tone? Because your body is a wonderful machine. It is designed to adapt. When you run or skip or swim long enough, it will say, look, I better get lighter so that I can take the stress better and improve the endurance. Guess what? Your muscles are heavier than fats and what will your body shed more when it wants to get lighter? Muscle or fat? Your body will shed both but more muscles than fats.
Anyway, why would you want to lose weight only to become a smaller you with the same body shape without any muscle tone? Why would you want to be on a weight loss program that eats your muscles and lower your fat burning rate so much so that when you are off the program, the fats come piling back on again?
Therefore, while you are on a lose weight program, you must also be on a build muscle program. That will mean a combination of correct dietary habit, cardio exercises and weightlifting exercises to maintain muscle preservation and a fat loss result.
From now on tell people you are on a fat loss program and not a weight loss program. That you are on a correct eating habit instead of just simply dieting.
With the distinction clearly in mind, you will then know how to lose fat effectively, preserve and grow your muscles and at the same time losing weight on your bathroom scale. That would be an ideal way to achieve your weight loss objective because you will lose body fat instead of muscle and mere body wastes.
By: Chris Chew
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Weight Loss - Weight Loss Tips And Tricks
Lately you may have heard a lot about low carbohydrate diets and claims that they are working and that people are getting healthier without paying attention to the amount of fat they are eating. You may have even heard that the USDA is looking at changing the food pyramid.
There is a major flaw in the low fat diet plan and scientist are finally having to admit to it. Very little of your bodies Cholesterol comes from diet. Your body manufactures most of your Cholesterol from Carbohydrates. The culprit of turning these carbohydrates into fat is Insulin.
Insulin is vital to life because it regulates blood sugar, controls the storage of fat, regulates the liver’s production of cholesterol, functions as a growth hormone, is important in appetite control, drives the kidneys to retain fluid and much more. It is absolutely essential to life, but too much of a good thing can sometimes cause problems. Too much insulin can cause fat storage, cholesterol production and is caustic to the blood vessels. Insulin, by activating or inhibiting various metabolic pathways, can make us sleepy, hungry, satisfied, dizzy, lightheaded or bloated.
As you age your insulin receptors become less sensitive to insulin so your body overproduces insulin to meet what it thinks is it’s need. By carefully monitoring the types and amount of carbohydrates we eat we can clean up our insulin receptors. Decreased insulin receptor site sensitivity is frequently the problem that Type II Diabetics (Adult Onset Diabetics) have.
Not mixing certain food types is a dietary concept out there now that actually makes some sense. For example it is a fact that if you eat only a fat and a protein together the fat goes right through you. Dietary fat by itself is not the culprit but when you add a carbohydrate to the mix the body will turn the dietary fat into body fat. If you eat a little protein and carbohydrate (Low Fat Diet) together your body will make fat to either store or use for energy depending on your activity level at the time. But why? You didn't eat any fat?!
As an example: After that fat free ice cream cone, your body produced more insulin than it needed because of your plugged insulin receptors. The insulin does what it is supposed to; it lowers your blood sugar level but then there is extra insulin circulating around so it goes to work and turns some fat into cholesterol and stores some fat somewhere else incase you decide to skip supper tonight.
By decreasing your intake of concentrated sweets, like sugar sweetened food and not overeating starches like breads, pasta and potatoes you may keep your body from the overproduction of insulin. Carbohydrates actually have a metabolic affect that make any fat you eat worse for you. Carbohydrates affect the hormone balance in your body to add to depression, lack of energy and mood swings.
Exercise really is the key for healthy weight loss. By increasing the strength and mass of your muscles you are better able to burn calories. Exercise makes the rest of your everyday activities easier therefore burning up more calories not only from the exercise but from having more energy to complete your daily activities. Having that energy is more likely to keep you busy so you think about eating less often.
Not eating 3 hours before bedtime is something you may have heard that will help you loose weight. There is much truth in this too, for more than one reason. We know that if you go to bed shortly after a big meal you don't sleep as well and you also don't have a chance to “work off” your meal but their is also another big factor.
Human Growth Hormone (hgh) is produced at night to help our body build and repair muscle. If you eat a carbohydrate within 2 to 3 hours of sleep time your body will not produce near as much of this hormone.
Exercise first thing in the morning now makes some sense too. If you have not eaten after your evening meal your body in the morning is fasting. If you exercise before breakfast it forces your body to burn fat. It looks like if you followed that exercise with a protein breakfast it would keep you in the “fat burning” (glycogen dominant) phase a little longer.
Quality protein sources like that found in meat, eggs, fish, and nuts is the best and quickest way to build lean body mass when you are part of an exercise program. Lean body mass (muscle) will help you burn calories. Because carbohydrates are what turns dietary fat into body fat it is healthier to avoid the carbohydrates than to avoid the fat because frequently by avoiding naturally occurring fats you also avoiding good quality protein sources.
Protein requirements are figured based on lean body mass so it is difficult to state the requirements. An average sized adult female (about 140 lbs) requirements are 50 grams protein a day but may need to be as high as 75 grams when very active during an exercise program. For an average adult male (about 175-180lbs) is 65 grams and could be as high as 90 grams a day during an exercise program.
Tip on foods to eat and foods to avoid:
Avoid:
All sugar sweetened foods if you are serious about a weight loss program.
As often as possible foods that are all or almost all starch content like potatoes, white bread, and pasta.
Processed foods often have unhealthy fat sources and chemical additives that drag your system down.
Eat:
All vegetables especially green vegetables raw vegetables and salads.
Meat, eggs, nuts, fish, tofu and beans. Whole grain cereals, pasta and breads.
The carbohydrates you do eat make them from whole foods in their natural state fresh fruit with the skins because the extra fiber will help with the carbohydrate digestion.
Fresh fruits to get your vitamins needed to make you feel good while exercising and taking care of your health.
The looks like it would be a great tool to count the grams of protein and carbohydrates eaten each day.
With this we have come back to the basics again. Eating whole foods in their natural state is always your best bet. Now we can see why our grandparents could eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and still be in great health. By eating certain foods at certain times and with some moderation in what we eat we can eat well and feel great doing it. We can improve our health and emotional well-being while improving our physical body.
By: Kaushik Das
Natural Weight Loss Equals Effective Weight Loss
The basics in natural weight loss and weight management are the following: nutrition and exercise. In this article we will discuss these two main topics in the categories of diet, resistance training, and cardio exercise.
Diet and Nutrition
While its very cliché to say that you are what you eat, there is a lot of truth to this statement. Let’s look deeper at this statement and think about some every day examples and evidences of this statement as well. Think about the last time you went to an all-you-can-eat buffet. For the most part, what was the overall physical condition of the people eating there? You make the call: are people that eat in the style of an all-you-can-eat buffet becoming what they eat? Does eating large amounts of food high in fat make your body react a certain way? Of course it does! Granted, this is some what of an extreme example, but the concept is true. Eating clean and reducing highly processed foods, lots of sugar, and the wrong types of fat will definitely help your body composition. For a great example of this, see the movie “Super-size Me.”
Resistance Training
There are many different types of resistance training that are effective. Weight training, pilates, yoga – all can be effective ways to get your body moving. Why is resistance training than cardio training? Because resistance training helps to build muscle more than anything else. Simply put, if your body has more muscle it tends to function and burn fat more effectively. So in summary, resistance training does more than just get your heart pumping and your muscles burning, but it builds muscle and improves your overall physical appearance and condition.
Cardio Training
As with resistance training, there are many ways to do cardio training: running (either outdoors or on a treadmill), biking, using an elliptical trainer, stair climber, rollerblading, and many more. There are several reasons why you should include cardio training in your natural weight loss or maintenance program. One of the main reasons is that doing cardio helps your body to burn more fat. Cardio will really get your heart pumping and will also put your body in a prime stat to burn more calories. Another reason to do cardio is overall conditioning. Do you find yourself getting easily winded when doing normal things like going up a staircase? Cardio training will help your body get used to that type of work.
In summary, for a natural weight loss or maintenance program to truly be effective and work over a longer period of time, you need to include proper nutrition, resistance training, and cardio training. These are the three pillars of your program and if any one of them is missing or being in some way neglected you will find that your program is not working as well as you might have hoped. When it comes to using supplements, remember that they are only supplemental to what you are already doing, hence the name “supplements.”
By:Dan Patterson
Weight Loss Tea: Should You Drink Green Tea For Weight Loss?
Western medicine has recently been doing lots of studies on green tea to see if it is, in fact, a potent natural healer. This herb has been credited with aiding in digestion, healing wounds, and regulating blood pressure. The good news is that studies have shown that green tea is a great antioxidant that can protect you from viruses and possibly cancer. It’s 100 times more powerful than both vitamin C and vitamin E.
Recent studies have shown that green tea aids in boosting the body’s metabolism, which has caused a real jump in the use of green tea in all kinds of diet supplements and health related products. The active ingredient that causes all these benefits is called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG). This anti-oxidant can be found in all green tea and you’ll see a lot of green tea diet supplements with it as well.
Even with all of its benefits, green tea is no miracle weight loss cure. While it has a positive effect on your fat cells, it must be used in conjunction with a regular healthy diet and moderate exercise in order for you to be successful in your weight loss goals.
Green tea does contain caffeine, about 1/4 of the amount that coffee has, as well as, two caffeine like substances that are stronger than caffeine. You can replace your regular cup of coffee with green tea and gain more health benefits. If you are looking to reduce the amount of caffeine you ingest, this is a real plus.
Just like with coffee beans, there are several types of green tea to enjoy. The tea is grown in many different regions of China, Japan and India. There is high quality and low quality. Higher quality green tea only needs to be steeped in hot water for 30 seconds or less. I’m sure that once you start drinking this wonderful tea, you’ll enjoy the different nuances of flavor.
When purchasing green tea for weight loss, you want to be cautious about paying too much. There are some unscrupulous marketers who will charge you an arm and a leg for their magic weight loss diet tea, or claim that it’s the same tea that Oprah loves. For one thing, Oprah hasn’t endorsed any brand of green tea and secondly, you can get a nice, high quality tea for half the price that those opportunists are charging.
People who are buying this diet tea are finding out that it may be good tasting tea, but they are not dropping huge amounts of weight overnight.
So, should you drink green tea for weight loss?
Yes, green tea will definitely benefit your body and increase your natural defenses against many illnesses. Drinking one to three cups a day is a healthier alternative to several cups of caffeine-laden coffee. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll still need to combine this delicious drink with eating healthy and doing some moderate exercise, like going for a long walk.
Free Weight Loss Tips: 4 Positive Ways To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals
Of course, this isn’t going to be easy – nothing worthwhile ever is. You should pat yourself on the back for making a commitment to yourself that you’re finally ready to do this. So many people can’t even make it this far. So, in a sense, you’re already ahead of the game.
Your goal should be to lose one or two pounds a week, if you lose more than that, great, but don’t push for it. You want to stay mentally focused, healthy and determined. If you push too hard, or try to force your body to lose big numbers, then you’ll eventually stress yourself out and hit a wall that may lead to failure.
Here’s some suggestions that you can use to create a successful weight loss plan:
Set a Reasonable Goal
Your first step should be to decide how much weight you want to lose. Get some 3x5 index cards and write one goal or positive statement down on each one. Start by writing down your ideal weight, this is your ultimate big goal.
Next, you want to set smaller goals for yourself. Write down a goal for losing five pounds, then ten pounds, twenty pounds, etc.
Write down some positive motivational statements about yourself.
“I love myself unconditionally”
“I’m a great person inside and outside”
“I’m going to smile and laugh today”
“I deserve this and I’m worth it”
Keep these cards where you’ll be able to look at them every day.
Eat Smaller Portions More Often
Growing up you were probably taught to eat three meals a day. You were also probably taught to clean your plate. While this schedule of eating meals is well-intentioned, the fact is that you are going to get hungry between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner.
Not only are you probably having a large portion for each meal, but you are also snacking on junk food in between. Unfortunately, this way of eating leads to a lot of weight gain. It’s been proven that if you eat several small meals during the day, you won’t get hungry between meals and when you do, it’s easier to snack on something that has less calories.
Plan to eat five small meals a day, instead of three, and see if that helps to curb your food cravings.
Keep a Food Journal
Just like a diary is a snippet of events that happen in your life, a food journal helps you to keep track of what you’re really putting into your mouth on a daily basis. You probably have a mental picture of what you normally eat, but when you see it in writing, you may be surprised at all the extra foods you’re eating without even thinking about it.
Write down what you ate, what time you ate it, and how you felt when you ate that particular food. Sometimes when we eat certain “comfort foods” we’re really trying to use food to fill up an emotional hole in our hearts.
Feelings of loneliness, boredom, stress, anger and low-self esteem are often triggers for food binging. Write it down and you can go back and evaluate it later.
Treat Yourself
When you reach one of your weight loss goals, go ahead and treat yourself to something special. The only catch is that your reward cannot be a food item. That’s right, you will not have a bowl of ice cream or a big slice of pizza.
You want to mentally get away from thinking of food as a reward or a security blanket. So, think of some other things that will put a smile on your face. Money is always a good reward. Maybe you can create a reward jar and pay yourself five dollars for every milestone achieved. You could go on a nice shopping spree after you’ve reached your final goal weight.
You could also buy yourself some fresh flowers, a nice pair of earrings, a new video game, a new tie, etc.
Another great idea is to make up your own reward coupon books.
I hope these tips are helpful and that you are successful in creating a healthier and happier new you.
By: Star Smith