Thursday, June 26, 2008

Deviled Shrimp (Camarones a la Diabla)

NOTES: Gaytán leaves the shells on the shrimp to keep them juicy. Devein them in the shell or buy frozen deveined, unshelled shrimp and thaw. Or for easier eating, use shelled, deveined shrimp. You can grill the shrimp up to 4 hours ahead; cover and chill.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds shrimp (31 to 40 per lb.; see notes), deveined with shells on, rinsed, and drained
1 cup chipotle salsa (recipe follows)
Lime wedges

Preparation

1. Thread shrimp equally on 10 to 12 skewers (if using wooden ones, soak in water 30 minutes first). Reserve 1/2 cup salsa for serving; coat shrimp with remaining 1/2 cup.

2. Set shrimp on a barbecue grill over hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook, turning once, just until shrimp are barely opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 4 to 6 minutes total. Serve with reserved 1/2 cup salsa and lime wedges.

Yield

MAKES: About 12 appetizer servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 70(26% from fat); FAT 2g (sat 0.3g); CHOLESTEROL 70mg; CARBOHYDRATE 3.2g; SODIUM 72mg; PROTEIN 9.9g; FIBER 0.8g

Sunset, OCTOBER 2004

How To Spot Reduce Belly Fat

1. Eating too many sugary or processed foods like sweets, sodas, juices, and wheat products

2. Creating high levels of cortisol in your body from stress and eating inflammatory foods

3. Letting your metabolism drop by not including resistance and interval training in your exercise routine

Now that you know exactly how it got there, we can come up with a plan to get rid of it - fast!

1. Eliminate Sugary/Processed Foods

Begin to cut out any foods that come prepackaged in a box or bag. Start looking at the ingredient labels on your food and make sure the sugar content is low and that the protein content is high. By eating more lean protein like fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, and certain red meats you will feel less hungry, have more energy, and keep your insulin and blood sugar levels within a healthy range. This will stop new belly fat from forming.

2. Cutting Cortisol Levels

Cortisol is one word you should get to know. In the coming years you will begin to hear more about its harmful effects on your body and eventually it will become a household name. Basically, cortisol is helpful at certain times and levels, but it becomes a problem when too much of this hormone is being produced for too long by the adrenal glands. You’ll often see its effects manifested in inflammatory issues, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weakened immune system, abdominal fat, decreased muscle tissue, and a suppressed thyroid. The good news is that you can reverse this trend by eating less inflammatory foods and working to reduce the stress in your life by exercising, meditating, listening to music, or any other way that helps you unwind.

3. Exercise

Aerobic exercise will help you burn more calories and resistance training will allow you to add lean muscle which increases your metabolism. Since you lose muscle as you age, it’s really important that you add in at least 2-3 days of strength training into your routine. The best part is if you complete your resistance training workouts as an interval style workout you won’t have to do your aerobic training separately on those days. You’ll get your heart rate up and your muscles working all at the same time. Make sure to include squats, deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, presses, and pulls into your program if you’re serious about losing belly fat. Lots of ab and arm exercises won’t help you lose body fat in those areas… that’s not how it works. You can’t spot reduce through targeted exercise. Instead you need to work large muscle groups to burn fat and boost your metabolism, so that you’re burning more fat all day long.

If you follow these 3 steps, you will be well on your way to literally cutting inches off your waist within weeks. I see it everyday and I get hundreds of responses a week on what the “magic” of this plan can do for your body and your health.

If you need a place to start, check out my free weight loss e-course on “How to Lose Belly Fat Starting Today!” I’ve reserved a limited number of copies to give away and you can grab yours today at http://www.stephencabral.com/FreeReports.html

Committed to your success,

Stephen Cabral

http://www.Fatlossity.com

The Benefits of Weight Training

1. Weight training tones your muscles which looks great and raises your basal metabolism... which causes you to burn more calories 24 hours-a-day. You'll even burn more calories while you're sleeping.
2. Weight training can *reverse* the natural decline in your metabolism which begins around age 30.
3. Weight training energizes you.
4. Weight training has a positive affect on almost all of your 650+ muscles.
5. Weight training strengthens your bones reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis.
6. Weight training improves your muscular endurance.
7. Weight training will NOT develop big muscles on women....just toned muscles!
8. Weight training makes you strong. Strength gives you confidence and makes daily activities easier.
9. Weight training makes you less prone to low-back injuries.
10. Weight training decreases your resting blood pressure.
11. Weight training decreases your risk of developing adult onset diabetes.
12. Weight training decreases your gastrointestinal transit time, reducing your risk for developing colon cancer.
13. Weight training increases your blood level of HDL cholesterol (the good type).
14. Weight training improves your posture.
15. Weight training improves the functioning of your immune system.
16. Weight training lowers your resting heart rate, a sign of a more efficient heart.
17. Weight training improves your balance and coordination.
18. Weight training elevates your mood.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Does Cardio Burn Fat?

One of the most interesting observations you could make about health clubs has to do with the legions of “aerobicisers” who sweat it out every day on their favorite elliptical, treadmill or stairmaster. Those machines are constantly being used and abused by a medley of flabby physiques. In fact, on any given evening there could be a lineup to use them. Yet, where are the leanest, most ripped physiques in the gym? The free weight section. So it begs the question: does cardio really burn fat?

Just based on the popularity of the cardio machines you would think the issue was already decided. So would it surprise you to learn that cardio only might or possibly burn fat? It really depends on the circumstances. And if you’re thinking “what!?! That can’t be right!” Don’t worry, I’m about to clarify myself.

You see, when you perform cardiovascular exercise, your body has two choices. It can burn fat or it can burn glucose. Now glucose is taken from sugars which are stored in your muscles, and when those stores are exhausted your body can make more glucose by breaking down your muscle tissue. In other words, if you’re not careful, you may end up burning muscle instead of fat. So how does this get decided?

Well, do you remember when we talked about how when you ingest a simple sugar it causes your body’s storing hormone to spike and you shift into a “fuel-storing” mode, making it impossible for you to release fat? This has everything to do with what we’re discussing here. Fat loss is a two-step process. You must first release the fat from the adipose cell where it is stored, then transport it into the muscle where it can be burned as energy. The part that most people struggle with, likely without knowing, is not the burning, it’s the releasing.

If you do not first put your body in a place where it is “hormonally-willing” to release fat, you can’t burn fat! So what does that mean? It means what you eat before, and the timing of your cardio workout is vital. Here’s a very common scenario. Let’s say you eat cereal with orange juice for breakfast. Sounds healthy, right? Problem is, that’s a lot of sugar. So now you’ve spiked your insulin and there’s basically no way your body can “get at” your fat stores. This means when you hit that 10am spin-class you can sweat buckets and still not burn any fat!

So how can we ensure that you get the maximum fat-burning effect from your cardio workout? It starts with being better able to recognize and avoid simple sugars. Also, you’re going to do your cardio workouts at a moderate intensity. This means you’ll want to get outside of your comfort zone a little bit, without overdoing it. You can use the “talk-test.” If you’re too out of breath to carry on a conversation, you’re going too hard. Finally, you can do your cardio workouts when your glycogen stores are most depleted, which can facilitate greater fat-burning. So a good time would be either first thing in the morning (before you eat) or immediately after your resistance-training workout.

Understanding this stuff is going to help you get the most out the time you spend doing cardio. But, at the end of the day, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. In order for you to have success, you’ll need to raise your metabolism. This means developing supportive eating habits and having a concern for adding lean muscle tissue. Doing cardio by itself is an inneffective way to lose fat.

Remember, don’t assume that you can get on the treadmill or your favorite cardio machine and automatically burn fat. Here’s what you need to do in order to get maximum benefit from this article:

1. Recognize that if you do not first ensure your body is in the right state to release fat, you’ll have no success burning it. That means…
2. Learn to eat supportively, and to be able to identify and avoid simple sugars.
3. There is an advantage to performing your cardio workouts either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or immediately after your resistance-training workout.
4. The maximum fat-burning effect of cardio occurs when it is combined with a comprehensive plan of supportive eating and resistance-training.

Use these principles and you’ll get maximum effectiveness from your workout routine. Pretty soon, all the “aerobicisers” will be asking you what you did to get so lean!

By Conor Kelly
personaltrainerstoronto.com

The Facts and Myths about Burn Fat Fast

How to burn fat fast is a question that’s on the lips any bodybuilder or else anyone else who is conscious of weight and wants to burn fat and get healthy. You get swamped with info about stuff like this if you don’t know where to look, so read on for the real skinny on how to burn fat fast.

Burn Fat Fast - Myth 1

If you slow down your eating or diet, your body will burn more fat. Sorry but that’s not true - that’s not how to burn fat at all. If you diet, your body panics, thinking that it may never get food again, so it stores as much fat as possible, which it can then use as a long term food source. Do you see why your weight fluctuates so much when you diet?

Burn Fat Fast - Myth 2

Weight loss patches can help you burn fat. It’s false. They can’t. This is not how to burn fat fast. Any subtle benefits you may find aren’t caused by the “herbal” ingredients, they are caused by the caffeine derivatives. Basically, it overworks your heart to make it burn calories. Not cool, and not healthy.

Burn Fat Fast - Truth 1

Exercise while eating well. This is almost the perfect method of how to burn fat fast. The exercise teaches your body to use all the food as fuel, and the dieting means that it has less food to use as fuel, meaning it has to burn some of its fat stores. Simple huh?

Burn Fat Fast - Truth 2

More muscle = more fat being burned off. This is 100% true. More muscles need more fuel, yet another basic rule of how to burn fat fast 101. If you can implement some basic weight or resistance training into the exercise as you diet, you will see even bigger differences. Your muscles will grow and need more fuel, so your body will burn more fat.

As you’ve seen, there are some very popular myths about how to burn fat fast, but hopefully this article has shown you some truths.

By Brian Waters
MusclebuilderReview.com

Saturday, June 21, 2008

High protein diets for weight loss

A high protein diet can aid weight loss although for reasons not previously foreseen by many dieters. It is believed that a high protein diet, low in carbohydrates helps burn more calories when the body converted protein to glucose, a process known as gluconeogenesis. In fact evidence suggests that the amount of extra energy used for this process is insignificant.

Many Atkins diet devotees were also lead to believe that additional energy is lost in the urine when in ketosis, a metabolic condition often experienced on high protein diets. A recent study proved there is no real difference in energy losses in urine between low fat dieters and high protein diet followers.

So how do high protein diets aid weight loss?

Atkins dieters believed they had the best of both worlds, the ability to eat high protein, high fat foods and as much as desired while still losing weight quicker than on conventional low fat diets.

The weight loss is fast and mainly during the initial stages on a high protein diet, however the loss is caused by a net loss of body fluids. Protein and carbohydrates both help hold water in cells, during the high protein diet there is a net loss of protein and carbohydrate stores are virtually emptied. When lost from the body these nutrients draw water and thus extra weight from the body but fat stores are hardly changed.

Despite the loss in body fluids a high protein diet continues to produce weight loss after this initial period. A study has revealed people on high protein diets actually ended up consuming less calories even though Atkins high protein regime suggests they eat all they want. Protein seems to act like an appetite suppressant thus hunger pangs are easily controlled. High protein dieters no longer seem to binge between meals.

Eating only high protein foods also restricts food choices, there is less variety of foods. Studies have shown eating the same or similar foods at each meal dulls the palate and encourages people to eat less. People will consume more when a meal or diet contains a greater variety of food. They believe this may be linked to primitive times, its possible our ancestors were born with a physiologically active appetite that craved a variety of foods in order to obtain all nutrients, this would help decrease any chances of nutritional deficiencies.

This new research suggests it is not the type of diet that is the key to weight loss but rather what many scientists have always believed, the need to control energy intake. The first law of thermodynamics still holds true, "energy cannot be created or destroyed it is merely transferred from one form into another".

Is a high protein diet with all the negative characteristics and potential health problems really worth the hassle just to form an appetite suppressant?


Friday, June 20, 2008

Anaerobic Exercise

The words aerobic and anaerobic refer to energy pathways that are utilised during exercise. Aerobic means "with oxygen" and anaerobic means "without oxygen".

Fat needs oxygen to burn completely so in order to burn fat during an exercise we need to move slowly and smoothly. This enables muscle cells to be supplied with enough oxygen to continue with its aerobic capacity and utilize fat as the main energy source.

Anaerobic exercise requires moving at an increased pace or with greater effort. Exercising this way burns more calories but results in a greater demand for oxygen which cannot be delivered in sufficient quantities to allow cells to continue burning fat. When we breath heavy we start to develop an oxygen debt and muscle cells switch to burning mainly carbohydrates, this fuel burns quickly and does not require oxygen

Anaerobic exercises such as sprinting or weight training require more effort and up to 95% of the fuel used will be carbohydrates. Although anaerobic exercises burn more carbohydrates they can be important in any weight loss program. They help burn fat indirectly by increasing the metabolic rate after an exercise session.

7 Simple Diet Tips

Tips #1

Start any diet with a food diary and record everything - all diet tips, food eaten, exercise, how you felt, more diet tips. That tells you about yourself, your temptations, the emotional state that may encourage you to snack.

Tips #2
A good diet tips if you get hungry try eating a little low fat protein food source


Tips #3

Drink plenty of water. Water itself helps cut down on water retention because it acts as a diuretic, before meals water can dull the appetite.

Tips #4
Substitute activity for eating junk food. When the cravings hit walk around the block, do some housework, read, anything just to take your mind off those old habits.


Tips #5

If you're a late-night eater, eat high fibre carbs such as a slice of brown bread or wholemeal cracker biscuit before bedtime to cut down on cravings.

Tips #6
If you use food as a reward, establish a new reward system maybe buy yourself a non-edible reward.

Tips #7
If tempted by a
treat, you could eat half then throw the rest away

Jogging to Lose Weight

There are some people who believe jogging would be the best exercise to lose weight. Indeed jogging is a great exercise that will help burn plenty of calories, increase fitness and boost energy levels. A thirty minute jog three times each week has helped many people control weight however, there’s a difference between controlling weight and losing it. I personally wouldn’t recommend jogging to lose weight, especially for a beginner or the overweight individual.



The problem with jogging is the potential for injury. The joints of the knees and ankles take a great pounding from the constant impact of the foot hitting the ground. For an overweight person this constant stress could be even more severe. Any potential injury could mean rest and recovery for weeks but that means no exercising for some time and resting is not the way to lose weight permanently. If the dieter starts again after recovery the injury cycle could start again.

Also jogging is an exercise where the full weight of the body is involved with every movement, in other words the weight must be carried, for a beginner this can easily make jogging a more intense than swimming or rowing. When exercising at higher levels of exertion the body tends to burn more carbs, so even though a jog would burn lots of calories it would be no use for losing fat weight if 90% of the calories burned are carbs!

I believe dieters should steer clear of jogging until they have lost some weight and gained a little fitness. Then jogging can become useful for maintaining control of body weight. It may be wise for the beginner to start exercising using a light and low intense activity such as walking.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup

Dried shiitake mushrooms lend this appetizer soup rich intensity. It's delightful with a grilled cheese sandwich for a light supper.








Ingredients

1 (1-ounce) package dried shiitake mushrooms

2 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
Fresh thyme (optional)
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Preparation

Combine mushrooms and 2 cups boiling water in a bowl; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain mushrooms in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add the reserved mushroom liquid, spinach, and next 5 ingredients (through broth); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with thyme and red pepper, if desired.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 78(22% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 0.3g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 42mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13.5g; SODIUM 261mg; PROTEIN 2.8g; FIBER 2.9g

Chef: Alexandra Jamieson
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007 The Great American Detox Diet

FEW TIPS TO GET FIT WITHOUT GO TO GYM

Many of us prefer to exercise on the gym. This is ok.., or even better, because there are a lot of equipments we can use to help us with exercise. However, there are plenty of ways for you to get fit without spending hours at the gym or running around your neighborhood. In fact, you can exercise without changing your lifestyle at all. And this is good too, if you are too lazy or don't have much time go to the gym (like me... heh ;) ).

The fact is Our bodies burn calories without us even realize. Actually, when we sleep, as we clean our house and even while we are reading newspaper, our bodies are constantly at work. By adding just a few new moves into your daily schedule, you can get an inexpensive workout without ever having to set foot in a gym.

Here are five easy exercises that will get you fit in minutes a day:

1) Invest in exercise bands. These are large elastic bands that come in different resistance levels. They are easy to use, light weight and they can be easily stored in a draw or a in a suitcase for when you travel.

2) Act like a kid again! Buy a hula hoop to burn some extra calories. Or if you are really adventurous buy a game of twister to work on your flexibility! Exercise can be fun and can be enjoyed by your whole family!

3) Dance when no one or everyone is watching! Play your favorite music and dance around the house without inhibitions. It will not only burn extra calories, but you will have fun in the process!

4) Improvise to tone! A gallon of milk can be a great free weight! Use it for bicep curls or hold it with both hands and do some squats. Pillows also work well as punching bags. You may feel silly, but you’ll feel the burn! Be careful while performing these exercises or any exercises.

5) Wall pushups are a great way to tone your arms when you don’t have the room to do a standard push up. Just move your feet about two feet away from bare wall and place your hands against the wall even with your shoulders. Now press down so your elbows bend and your face gets closer to the wall. Than push up back to your original position. This is a great exercise that works your triceps and biceps.

6) When you're watching tv, when the comercials playing. rather than just wait, you can doing some few of crunch or sit up on the sofa. At least you can do 2-3 set of 25 repetitions.

Ok, Guyzz.. Let's do it..!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Get Healthy with Bluberry in Your Diet..!

The blueberry is a very small fruit with big health benefits. This anti-oxidant packed fruit is not only delicious on its own or mixed in a cake or pie, it has important disease-fighting properties.

Your health can benefit by eating more tasty blueberries. Here’s why: The USDA ranked blueberries number 1 in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 other fresh fruits and veggies. Antioxidants play an important role in preventing cancer, heart disease and fighting the effects of aging. Blueberries are also a possible memory booster. They have been shown to slow age-related memory loss and improve concentration. These powerful berries are also a possible urinary tract infection fighter. Blueberries may also be a cholesterol reducer, containing compounds that may help lower cholesterol.

The best part about blueberries is that they are filling yet low-calorie which may help you shed pounds. 1 cup contains 83 calories, 1 g protein, 21 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 1 mg sodium and 3.5 g fiber. The good news is that you only need ½ cup to count towards your daily fruit serving – so stock up!

Here are some ways to add a splash of blue to your day:

• Top oatmeal or cereal with fresh blueberries and vanilla soymilk.

• Stir frozen blueberries into yogurt for a mock frozen yogurt!

• Toss blueberries into your salad and sprinkle with feta for a unique addition.

• Skip the chocolate syrup and top off low-fat vanilla ice cream with a dose of healthy blueberries.

• Add dried blueberries to homemade trail mix. Try almonds, walnuts, dried blueberries and golden raisins.

• Toss frozen blueberries into muffins and quick breads.

• Give your next smoothie a blue hue by adding frozen blueberries and try blueberry juice instead of orange juice.

Start eating more blueberries. It’s one fruit you should learn to love.

Source : www.diet.com

Monday, June 16, 2008

What evidence is there that Hoodia Gordonii works as an appetite suppressant?


For thousands of years the Bushmen of South Africa having been eating Hoodia Gordonii to fight off hunger during their week long hunting trips. For the Bushmen there is no question as to the appetite suppressant power of Hoodia Gordonii - it is a simple fact of life - if you are going on a long journey you chew on hoodia to avoid hunger.

While the Bushmen did not do formal clinical studies, there is thousands of years of real world evidence that eating Hoodia works as an appetite suppressant. To the Bushmen eating hoodia to suppress appetite is as clear as drinking water to quench thirst.

There is also a growing body of journalist who can attest to the powers of hoodia. Here is a piece of the transcript from 60 Minutes (aired in Nov 2004):

So how did it work? Stahl says she had no after effects - no funny taste in her mouth, no queasy stomach, and no racing heart. She also wasn't hungry all day, even when she would normally have a pang around mealtime. And, she also had no desire to eat or drink the entire day. "I'd have to say it did work," says Stahl.

- Leslie Stahl reporting on CBS News 60 Minutes

Tom Mangold, a correspondent from the BBC News reporting the following after eating Hoodia from the Kalahari Desert...

At about 1800hrs I ate about half a banana size (piece of hoodia gordonii) - and later so did my cameraman. Soon after, we began the four hour drive back to Capetown.

The plant is said to have a feel-good almost aphrodisiac quality, and I have to say, we felt good. But more significantly, we did not even think about food. Our brains really were telling us we were full. It was a magnificent deception.

Dinner time came and went. We reached our hotel at about midnight and went to bed without food. And the next day, neither of us wanted nor ate breakfast.

I ate lunch but without appetite and very little pleasure. Partial then full appetite returned slowly after 24 hours.

- Tom Mangold, BBC News reporting on 5/30/03

It is very rare for such established journalist to be so positive on a food supplement. Normally, the media is quick to find fault with any new dietary supplement and point out potential problems. Not only is Hoodia is being positively "field tested" by journalists, they are some of the most respected journalist in their field.


Source : http://www.hoodia-advice.org/hoodia-plant.html


Lemon Chicken and Rice with Artichokes from COOKING LIGHT


Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 1/4 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups instant rice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken, chopped onion, and red bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in rice, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in artichokes, and cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 324(8% from fat); FAT 2.8g (sat 1g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.5g); IRON 3.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 69mg; CALCIUM 120mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.7g; SODIUM 773mg; PROTEIN 35g; FIBER 8.3g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2004

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Are These Bad Habits Keeping You Fat...?

How great would you life be if we all didn’t have any bad habits? Unfortunately, we all know this isn’t possible; no one can avoid bad habits there are so many out there. But there are ways we can reduce the number of ones we do take up.

Take for example the bad habits you may have that are making you overweight. You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to realize that if you eat badly and take no action to correct this you’ll continue to gain weight.

But as we know, we all need food to survive, so we can’t just stop eating altogether. Well you could, but you wouldn’t be around too long to show off your new figure :) Instead you need to look at the habits that aren’t serving you and are keeping you overweight.

Here are 6 bad habit that are keeping you fat.

1. To start to lose weight you need to think differently about food, you need to see food rather as the fuel your body needs to get through your day rather than how much of this can I pack in at each sitting.

2. Lack of exercise is another bad habit that can be keeping you over weight. You know deep down that you really should be increasing how much you exercise, and have every intention of doing it but you give up because it seems too hard or you don’t have enough energy to even start.

To start to get rid of this habit take it slowly you shouldn’t expect yourself to go straight out the door tomorrow and do a half marathon! Take it gradually and work your way up. Take up a sport or hobby that makes you have fun and makes you break out in a sweat, even if it’s only chasing the kids around the back garden.

Also it may sound like a contradiction but if you are lacking in energy, the only way you can increase your energy levels is to start to burn more energy.

3. Avoid skipping meals this bad habit can be caused by poor time management or just thinking that a meal missed will make a difference to your waistline. Unfortunately it will, but in the wrong direction. By skipping meals you usually overeat at your next meal or grab the most convenient thing that’s usually heavy in calories or fat.

4. Although I’ve talk about bad habits here a good habit you next habit you should take up is to never do your grocery shopping on an empty stomach. When you’ve got a empty stomach it can be really hard to focus on the right things to buy and you usually come home with things that really aren’t going to help with your weight loss. A way to get around this is to make up a grocery list at home and stick to it religiously, if it isn’t on the list don’t buy it!

Also as a side note always go to the fruit and vegetable section first and fill up there before visiting the rest of the store. This leaves you with less room in your trolley or basket to put other less healthy options in.

5. Never eat while standing or watching TV, this bad habit can really affect your waist line. By eating in front of a TV your mind is distracted and you’re not consciously aware of how much food you’re putting in your mouth, you look down and suddenly your plates empty and you don’t even remember eating it or even tasting it.

6. Get out of the habit of having to clear your plates during meal times. It may have been something your mother liked seeing when you were a child but you don’t need to continue this way. If you find it hard to get out of this habit just buy smaller plates, this way your conscience is clear and you’ve still eaten less.

Finally

I hope this short article has given you some ideas of habits you can change in your life to lose weight in a healthy way. Remember for every habit there is a way to avoid it or a way around it, you just need a bit of creative thinking.

By: Barry J McDonald

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Barry J McDonald is the author of "The Conquering Cellulite Guide", a free 41 page report that shows you the best and the worst treatments for cellulite. Drop by www.EscapeFromFat.com now for your copy while its still available.

Safely Lose Weight

Those who are looking to lose weight always think about reducing the amount of food they eat before anything else. This may be a solution but not exactly the best they could do. The fact is, depending on how much food intake one removes their your diet, it may even be dangerous to one's health. So how does one lose weight effectively without risking it? Here are some free tips one should consider when trying to lose weight:

Beware of the "low cal" diets
Most people think that cutting down calorie-intake alone will shed off their unwanted excess weight. This is probably because of the current advertising in today's world about low-calorie food products and beverages. What people don't know is that this is dangerous because when they decrease their calorie intake below their required levels the body begins to digest the fats. Sounds like a plan doesn't it? Think again. Burning fat requires a lot of energy. Since there is not enough energy in the body to facilitate metabolism of fat, it will run at a very slow pace with the end result being fatigue, illness and weak immune system. Not what you're looking for at all.

Eat right
You have to constantly pay attention to what you're eating. Variety must always be considered so that one may be able to get the necessary nutrients from his or her diet. It is also healthier to eat food which is roasted, steamed or broiled rather than fried. Fried foods are filled with fat; not what you want. It's important to include a lot of fiber in the diet also, as well as frequent rehydration.

Adding lean muscle
Most people know this: muscles burn calories when they work; even when they're resting. Unlike fats which just buldge around the pants and require you to buy new clothes, muscles burn calories all-day long. Knowing this, one could start weight loss by increasing lean muscle mass. More muscle = less fat. This is easily accomplished with resistance training.

Cardio and aerobics
Aerobics also help in increasing lean muscle mass while decreasing excess body fat at the same time. Aerobics will make the metebolic process more efficient and its rate high, even after a long period of time. Imagine burning fat efficiently while watching your favorite television programs!

Some extra effort
A lot of people believe that smoking and caffeine actually help in losing weight. This may be true; however, they're doing more harm than good because of the side effects. If you need some outside help one can try out taking supplements. Before doing this I'd recommend talking to your personal doctor.

Losing the excess weight doesn't have to mean suffering and starvation. It means opening up to a more full and healthy life where self-confidence is high and the sky is the limit when it comes to physical activities. There's guaranteed lifestyle adjustments and maybe some discomfort, but as the old saying goes, "no pain, no gain". You have nothing to lose... except fat.

By: Joshua G

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2 Minutes to Tight Abs!