Weight loss for health

I am not sure if I have ever met anyone that has been on a “diet” that has managed to lose a significant amount of weight and actually KEEP it off.

People are forever on diets and wanting to lose weight. There is a huge industry making a lot of money from people that are desperate to slim down. It is important to know that most of the companies selling diet pills, products and services are trying to make money out of this need. Their intention is not about the greater good of people. Their intention is not about helping people become fit and healthy or achieving lasting results.

The majority of people know that diets do not work so why continue to repeat the same process over and over again??

• We want a quick fix to problems and are not prepared to put the work in to make a difference longer-term.

• We don’t take the time to learn and understand what our body needs to remain fit and healthy.

• We feel like we are depriving ourselves from treats and goodies rather than treating our body with respect.

• We think it’s easier to go on a diet rather than getting off our backside, exercising and keeping physically fit.

• We don’t understand that most of the time, over-eating and weight issues are actually a sign that we have emotional issues that have not been resolved.

• Weighing ourselves down with heavy foods means that we are heavy psychologically. It can suppress emotions and feelings. If we are scared to listen to ourselves and make changes then we often over eat. Food is used in the same way as alcoholics use alcohol and drug addicts use drugs.

• We are weak willed and when we fall of the wagon, we see this as a sign that it is not working and “give up”. Rather than accepting that everyone has bad days or slips, accepting this and starting a fresh.

• We do not understand the power of the mind and how attraction works! If we focus on weight loss, weight management etc we will get more of this. If we really want to lose weight we have to focus on health, healthy living, nutrition and fitness. This is a significant shift and the only one that will lead to lasting results.

The good news is that all of the reasons listed about are actually quite easy to change. It is a matter of mindset and awareness.

People use all sorts of excuses about why they cannot do something but this can be easily resolved if they are willing to make changes and challenge their limiting beliefs. The key is that people have to be willing and ready. If you are working with some who is not willing and ready then you are wasting your time.

The other opportunity is to work on people’s awareness. If the timing is right you have the perfect opportunity to educate them. Lack of knowledge and understand about what we need to be physically fit and healthy is a major reason for our bad habits.

Eating healthy meals to lose weight that also are tasty doesn’t have to be an elusive proposition. It does take a strong determination on your part to resolve to do so. There are tons of recipes out there, healthy and not healthy. It is sometimes time consuming to weed through to the ones you really enjoy plus are healthy meals that will help you lose weight.

Having healthy meals helps you to lose weight partly by decreasing the desire to eat unnecessary calories. Our bodies often signal our brains that we need to eat because it is missing a certain nutrient. If we answer that signal by eating more of the wrong things devoid of nutritional value, your body will signal again. This can contribute to continual weight gain. Of course, our body doesn’t plainly say, “hey, I really need some vitamin C in here, could you eat an orange please?” We need to be aware of the value of our choices. We need to make a conscious effort to provide our bodies with well rounded meals. If we don’t do this, our bodies can’t be expected to function at their best. We will likely at some point develop health problems either from poor nutrition, weight gain or both. This affects our overall enjoyment of life.

Simple Changes To Make Meals Healthier

Changing your daily habits to include healthy meals each and every day may take some effort at first, but once you slowly change these habits, it will get easier. There are a few simple changes that will automatically cut out a lot of extra calories. These are minor changes that can have a major impact. They are things that should be considered in your overall plan to lose weight.

1. Use olive oil as much as possible when needing oil or a vegetable oil. No lard or saturated fats.

2. Avoid frying foods whenever possible. Baking is much healthier.

3. Avoid pure butter and even margarine (as most are full of chemicals). Use a butter specially made without transfat whenever possible. It is much more healthy for your heart.

4. Avoid meats with a lot of fat in them. Cut off the fat whenever possible.

5. Sit down when you eat. If your family resides with you, sit down together for meals.

6. Eat slower, chewing each bite at least 15-20 times before swallowing. This will help you enjoy your food more and give your body a chance to know when its full, avoiding overeating.

7. Limit your intake of sugary drinks like sodas and juices. They add unhealthy calories and actually cause you to want to eat more due to the fluctuation in blood sugar levels. Alcohol can have a similar effect.

Healthy Meals, Healthy Snacking, Healthy Lifestyle

In addition to choosing healthy meals, to lose weight will include watching your snacking habits too. Healthier snacks between meals will help you feel better and keep your blood sugar level more balanced. These are all lifestyle changes. It doesn’t mean you can’t have a piece of cheesecake or a bowl of ice cream now and then. On the contrary actually. If your daily nutrition level is good, then it will actually allow an indulgence now and then in a snack that is less than nutritious.

Healthy Meals Begin With Your Resolve

Deciding that you are going to have healthy meals to lose weight is half the battle. Some days you will be tempted to revert back to maybe some unhealthy habit, but resolve that you will find healthy meals that you enjoy. This will likely require some trial and error, but you will find them. Same thing goes with your snacking choices. Many diet plans out there can help you lose weight, but most diets are not healthy and they aren’t a plan for lasting weight loss. Only a lifestyle change that you make enjoyable will do that. So deciding on healthy meals to lose weight will be part of that overall health plan for your whole life.

We live in a nation of growing obesity. Statistics indicate that obesity has doubled since 1980. A 2008 report showed that 1.5 billion adults were clinically obese and over 45 million children were obese. There are complications connected to being obese. Approximately 3 million people die yearly from disease brought on or made worse from obesity. These diseases include diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Practice Prevention: There are many things you can do to control your weight and prevent obesity. It is fundamentally a shift in how you think. You must realize that you have a great deal of power over your own health. Consider the fact that you in part, can control how you age and how you can maintain good health throughout your lifetime. Of course disease can occur to any of us. However you can greatly reduce your risks with a healthy lifestyle.

Physical Activity: Exercise is a very important part of any healthy lifestyle. Exercise will strengthen your body and you will begin to build muscle. Your metabolism will increase because muscle has a higher metabolic rate than fat. So add some strength training routines to your exercise program. You can incorporate 2-3 strength training routines weekly. Only 15-20 sessions can have a huge impact on your physical strength and health. You will begin burning fat and therefore lose weight.

Good Fats versus Bad Fats: There are healthy fats to add to your diet. These include omega fatty acids such as those found in fresh fish. Salmon is has one of the highest levels of good omega fatty acids. 2-3 servings weekly could be very healthy and helpful to your weight loss. Research has shown that monounsatured fats are very effective for weight loss. A good food to add to your diet is avocados. Although not the lowest in calories, avocadoes are extremely nutritious and high in monosaturated fats. Try adding some avocado to a salad or make a guacamole dip to eat with veggie sticks such as celery and carrots. Other healthy food choices for good fats include grass fed beef and extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil has numerous health benefits. It has been shown to increase the fat burning response in the body as well as lower inflammation levels.

Sugar: Sugar is something you definitely want to eliminate from your diet, particularly if you are trying to lose weight. When you consume too much sugar, this signals your body to use insulin to begin burning it off. As a result, your insulin will spike. Whatever isn’t used will be converted by your body into fat. Try to limit your sugar intake to no more than 10 percent of your daily calorie intake. So for example if you consume 1500 calories daily, sugar should comprise only 150 of those calories. Always be on the lookout for hidden sources of sugar such as those found in soda and juices.

A Healthy Breakfast: When you are sleeping your metabolism goes into more of a resting state. This is referred to as “catabolism”. In order to turn it on as efficiently as possible, you need to eat a good breakfast. Having a protein with breakfast is helpful along with whole grains. A good breakfast choice might be a veggie omelet with whole wheat bread. Or some oatmeal topped with fresh fruit and a protein bar. And remember to start the day with drinking some fresh pure water to hydrate your body.

Eating Styles: Eating smaller “mini meals” is a very effective way to help you lose weight. Eating your meals at consistent times is helpful. Eating every three hours during the day is a good way to keep your body consistently fueled with energy. This will also keep you from overeating. Many people overeat because they starve themselves all day and then they binge on a huge dinner. The whole key to keeping weight off is to keep your metabolic rate as high as you can. Skipping meals actually lowers your metabolism.

Reward System: Everyone once in a while you really need to just reward yourself. If you are too regimented in your eating habits and never allow yourself a little indulgence now and then, one of two things will happen. Either you will end up binging or you will quit and begin to go back to your old habits. It is well known that when you are too restrictive in your diet you will usually binge within a month and potentially gain even more weight.

Supportive Relationships: Being with like minded people who take care of themselves will really help you. If you are with peers who are overweight and have no motivation to get in shape you will probably do the same. We tend to mirror those we associate with. So if this is your situation, why not look to broaden your horizons and meet new and interesting people. You could join a gym, or a local meet up group that does walking, hiking, swimming, dance, etc. This will change your outlook on yourself. Before you know it, you will incorporate new and healthy habits into your own life and be on your way to successful weight loss.

Eliminate Junk Foods: Go through your kitchen and eliminate all of the unhealthy junk foods and processed foods you have around. You will benefit yourself and your family by doing so. If you have easy access to junk foods, the odds are you will eat it. Anytime you feel rushed or upset about something you will reach out to these types of foods. Focus instead on filling your pantry with healthy, wholesome foods. Keep snacks such as fresh fruit and no sugar yogurts in your home.

Water: Water is very important to your good health. You need to stay hydrated. If it is hard for you to drink water, add fresh lemon or lime. Try drinking 4 to 6 glasses per day of water. Drinking water is helpful to weight loss because it keeps you feeling full. An easy way to get your water intake is to bring a few bottles with you to work to have readily available to you. This will lessen the temptation to consume soda or fruit juices that are high in calories and filled with sugar. Remember, whenever beginning any dietary or lifestyle changes, always consult with a medical professional, particularly if you are taking prescription drugs or suffer from any disease or ailment.

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A quick search on Amazon reveals 115,924 results containing the word “diet.”

That’s 115,924 different ways to lose weight, burn fat and let those long-lost abs finally see the light of day.

I find that amusing because there are only TWO diet strategies that work.

In this article, I’ll reveal the only two diet strategies that actually work – and how to pick the right to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

It’s Your Choice: Eat Without Cheating? Or Cheat Without Eating?

Losing weight is simple – you just need to burn more calories than you consume over a consistent period of time.

Notice I said “simple”, not “easy.”

Because we’re basically hard-wired to overeat. This presents a challenging dilemma. If we’re hard-wired to over-eat… yet we need to “under-eat” in order to lose body fat… how do make that happen?

The first method I call…

“Eat Without Cheating”

By this I mean eating “anciently.” In other words, just eat the kinds of foods your ancestors would have eaten thousands and thousands of years ago. Basically, meat, eggs, chicken, nuts, vegetables and a bit of fruit.

When you eat in this manner, it’s more difficult to overeat because these foods are naturally filling.

Now this method works like gangbusters for many people. Because there’s very little thought involved… and you don’t have to be hungry.

It’s a simple matter of eating as much as you want of the acceptable foods, and eating NONE of the forbidden modern foods like cakes, candies, grains, cereals, etc.

But let’s be honest: What if you simply don’t have the willpower necessary to swear off ice cream, cake, candy, etc? Then what?

Luckily, there’s another strategy.

I call it…

“Cheat But Don’t Eat”

Again, remember what we have to do to lose weight: We have to eat fewer calories than we burn each day.

So how can you do that while still enjoying high-calories snacks, like pizza and cake?

The solution is to shrink your window of eating.

If you eat junk food all day long, you’ll get fat.

But if you give yourself only a short window of time, you can eat ALMOST whatever you want and still lose fat.

For example…. if you skip breakfast, skip lunch and eat only two meals at night… well you don’t have to eat perfectly clean at night and you’ll still lose weight.

Sure, you’ll be hungry during the day. But as time goes on, the daytime hunger will fade into the background and you’ll find it’s a small price to pay for the reward of eating almost whatever you want at night.

The Promised Land: Eat And Cheat?

If someone has absolutely no willpower at all, then simply switching back and forth between these methods can work well.

Feel like eating during the day? Then stick to the approved foods. (Meat, eggs, veggies, etc.)

Feel like eating junk food and desserts? Then abstain from food during the day and eat what you want at night.

Sounds simple but this approach works like magic for fat loss.