The problem isn’t that you don’t have enough will power to achieve what you want. You have will power, but it’s not will power you need, it’s want power.

You have to first want

You must want to change your habits, want to lose some weight, want to give up your evening snacking before your will comes into play. Once you want a thing badly enough, you will do whatever it takes.

If you think you want something (to make a change in your eating habits perhaps), but then find it difficult to follow-through with your plans, most likely you simply want your current reality (your current habits and patterns) more than you want your goals (less weight, better health, etc.)

I can hear you all the way over here, telling me I’m wrong: “No, that’s not right! I want this more than anything, I just don’t have any willpower!” Round and round you go, but the truth is, you will get what you really want. Think back, has there ever been a time when you really wanted something? A certain piece of clothing, a certain house, car, job, spouse? Hum… Yes, we go after what we want, if we really want to acquire or achieve it we do. Nothings going to fall in your lap, you’ve got to go get what you want.

What’s Going on?

Put another way, you may want to avoid the pain (breaking old habits, avoiding some favorite foods, simply not overeating…) more than you want to gain the pleasure (losing some weight, gaining new habits, eating favorite foods in moderation …)

Since losing weight takes time, from weeks to months to years, it’s easy to fall off the path. It’s always easier to get back into our old habits of eating, eating, and more eating. There’s always more food. Unless you are too poor to purchase it, there’s plenty food in America - in fact, too much food, and so it becomes even more necessary to keep the longer-term goals in mind.

How do you keep the longer-term goals in mind, when the short-term food is staring you in the face? What about all the treats offered, what about the commercials, the billboards, the signs everywhere that say EAT?

Wanting, in fact, is the “W”, the first step in the W.H.A.C.K approach. See it in the free e-book, Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss.

Think back to when you last really wanted something. Wanted it more than anything, had to have it, would do just about anything to get it. To want is a mighty powerful motivator, but surprisingly we aren’t all motivated by what we want. Some of us are motivated by avoiding what we don’t want.

What is your Motivation Strategy?

Motivation comes in two (or more) flavors. You can be motivated towards something (what you’ll gain) or you can be motivated away from something (what you’ll lose). This desiring to avoid can be confusing. I’m saying you must want something, and you’re thinking, but I don’t want to be fat. I can’t think about my future, only what I don’t want. Here is what’s going on:

Motivation: Toward

If you are motivated by what you’ll gain you find it easy to look ahead and see your future shapely body, you’ll see people around you with admiring glances, you’ll hear their compliments, you’ll smell the good food and feel good knowing you can eat enough to be satisfied, and then say you’re full. You’ve had enough, thank you. You’ll be in control of your life. You’ll want what you visualize more than anything, and you’ll do whatever it takes to get it. If asked what movie to go see, they’ll have a few ideas, and tell you why.

Motivation: Away

If you are motivated by what you’ll lose you’ll focus on what you want to avoid. For example, you want to avoid dying, you want to avoid being too heavy to enjoy playing with the kids, you want to avoid gasping for breath when you climb a flight of stairs. You want to avoid the embarrassment, the humiliation of other people’s remarks and rude glances. You don’t want any of that anymore, and you don’t want it to the extent that you’ll do whatever it takes to avoid these things. If you ask them what they want for dinner, they’ll tell you they don’t want Chinese, or pizza. It can be difficult to get someone motivated this way to actually say what they do want!

Knowing your motivation strategy makes it easier to find methods that support your preferred strategy. If you are motivated toward, you may enjoy cutting our pictures of people in great shape with similar body types to yours. Find models wearing clothes that would look good on you, pictures of swimming pools, holiday places you’d enjoy; the types of things that go into a dream board.

If you motivated away, then make a list of what you want to avoid and elaborate on that list. Why don’t you want these things? The more detailed you are, the more likely you’ll truly do what it takes to avoid them.

Hopefully these ideas will get you thinking, and much about making changes in our lives comes down to thinking it through. Realizing what we really want can get us past the hurdles of what we already have. To affect change isn’t necessarily comfortable, until you’ve worked at it for awhile, and then suddenly your changed behavior has become your new behavior and the effort is over.

Kathryn Martyn, is a Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, and author of Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss. Visit OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com to see how she gave up 80 pounds over 20 years ago and how you can do the same.

Throughout my childhood and teenage years I watched as my mother tried every fad diet under the sun. I recall one time she ate boiled cabbage and nothing else for a whole week. I felt my mothers’ frustration and misery, however I could not understand why it was so difficult for her to lose weight and keep it off ? until that is I became a weight management coach.

For the past two years I have been assisting people to achieve their ideal weight and in this time I have experienced what contributes to a successful weight loss story.

Getting serious - It all starts with you and how serious you are about losing weight. The key to successful weight loss is partly dependent on your level of commitment. How would you rate your seriousness on a scale of 1 ? 10 (10 being deadly serious)?

No quick fix - If you have made the commitment to get serious about losing weight then you need to make the commitment to do it safely and effectively. One piece of invaluable advice my own family doctor passed onto me is that slow and steady is always the best option. The longer it takes you to lose weight the less likely you are to put it back on.

Staying motivated - Always keep the end in mind! Write down all of the reasons why you are motivated to lose weight now. Record these reasons on a piece of card that can be kept in your wallet or purse. Each morning and before going to bed remind yourself by reading aloud why you are motivated to lose weight.

Facing challenges - Every day you are likely to face challenges, which can disrupt your focus and get in the way of your weight loss goals. Write down all of the challenges that you know have made losing weight hard for you in the past. This will help you to develop a better strategy this time. Three common challenges are lack of results, boredom and lack of support from spouse, family and friends.

Choosing a weight control program - I recommend choosing a diet / weight control program that offers all of the following for best results:

• Provides a balanced nutritious program that is safe and effective
• Support system and regular progress follow-up
• Teaches you better eating habits
• Teaches you how to maintain your weight once you have reached your goal weight

For two years Annette Croft has been assisting people reach their ideal weight with the aid of a nutritious, simple and convenient weight management program. For a free weight profile and consultation please visit www.getslim-n-trim.com. For more articles please send an email to amcroft@optusnet.com.au

The general approach for treatment of obesity is to suggest a low calorie diet and increased physical activity. There are many weight loss programs in the market. Some over-the-counter wellness products are also very popular these days as they claim to produce the results fast. But many of these products are not researched properly and medical community has expressed doubts about their effectiveness in long term.

Many weight loss programs are based on low carbohydrate diet although its long term effect is not very much different than that of low calorie carbohydrate rich diet, according to a recent research. Low carbohydrate diet produces ketosis which causes low cholesterol levels and reduced body weight. However, there are differences of opinion in medical community as to whether the low carb diet is safe in long run.

Other systems of medicine like Ayurveda and Homeopathy also have their own approach for treatment of obesity. According to Ayurveda, obesity is recognized as a disease called “Medoroga”. Meda means fat and it is one of the seven Dhatu’s that are sequentially produced from food in the human body. Obesity is considered as a nutritional disorder mainly produced due to sedentary life style. Ayurveda puts more emphasis on prevention of the disease and adopting a healthy life style. The medicines for the treatment of obesity contain the substance known as Guggulu which is responsibe for reducing weight. Ayurveda uses natural products in the preparation of medicines and these medicines are generally safer than chemical based medicines and drugs. Also, the Ayurvedic medicines have a long history of use and hence, are more reliable.

Homeopathy has its own approach. It treats the patient, not the disease. It takes into account the constitution of a person for treatment of diseases. The constitution is the physical, emotional and intellectual make up of the person. Hence there are no ready made prescriptions for obesity which can produce uniform results. The patient should have enough patience to take Homeopathic medication otherwise no significant results can be produced.

Another approach that can help in curing obesity is that of Yoga. Yoga advocates a healthy life style with its specific techniques to clean the body from toxins and improve emotional and intellectual balance. It covers a broad spectrum of life. Besides physical aspects, it also covers emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of life which are mostly ignored by modern science when treating a patient. Certain types of pranayama (breathing techniques) greatly help in the cure of obesity. Meditation can reduce mental stress which is also a cause for tendency of over-eating.

A person should be kept motivated and focused on the goals in order to implement a particular weight loss program. Hence behavioral therapy is also popular these days which suggests to set specific goals and have a reward other than food for achieving those goals. Regular recording of weight and activities is also important to track the progress.

An integrated approach is required which can address the issue more appropriately. A good weight loss plan should be based on a synthesis of different approaches for treatment of obesity. A weight loss formula is available at http://www.free-weight-loss-formula.com that incorporates the following steps:

Step1 - A Meditation technique to eliminate mental causes of obesity

Step2 - A simple but powerful fat burning exercise

Step3 - Pranayam (breathing techniques)

step4 - Balanced diet

It provides a step by step method which anyone can follow to reduce weight and get a perfect body shape. It incorporates the traditional wisdom about healthy life style. It is based on an integrated approach which addresses multiple causes of obesity. You are not required to purchase any expensive wellness product to implement it. In this way, you save money which you would otherwise have to spend on the treatment of obesity related problems.

This article can be reprinted freely provided it is published in its entirety.

I would like to introduce you to an incredible new weight loss product: Your brain?

I discovered this technique for weight loss many, many years ago from a great New Thought teacher. When I posted it on a business forum last year, a member publicly thanked me for her weight loss a short time later.

I hope some of you will accept this and give it a try also.

To lose weight, here is a technique to use. As you drop off to sleep, repeat over and over again to your subconscious mind, your ideal weight (or your goal weight). For example, just repeat as you fall asleep, when your mind is most receptive to suggestion: 140 pounds?140 pounds?140 pounds.  In the waking state, an affirmation might be: “I weigh 140 pounds in divine order” or something similar. You will be conditioning your subconscious mind to accept your goal weight and it will compulsively guide you to do everything necessary to accomplish that result.

Am I qualified to make such a claim about this technique? I will let you decide. The photos you see of me that appear on my website were taken within the past couple of years and with some fluctuation, I have maintained this body for most of my life. I am healthy, trim, fit and look 20 years younger than my years. However, I come from a “fat” family. My mother wasn’t overweight…she was obese, and when she died in the 80s, she was just a few years older than I am now. I won’t give details about my younger sister - she’s gone, too. And don’t think I can’t gain weight easily. Oh, yes I can, but my mind won’t let me. It has been conditioned too well to keep me fit and healthy. I don’t think about what I have to do to maintain that, it does it for me - I lift weights, I eat healthy foods and can indulge in fattening foods sporadically without repercussion. Automatic pilot. Will this technique work for you? I say?what have you got to LOSE? Body back guarantee.

The whole point of the subconscious conditioning is to bring our consciousness to the point of acceptance that we already are where we want to be. Then the subconscious is compulsive and will intuitively guide us to the right foods, exercise, whatever it takes to fulfill that vision. But we must give the mind the right message.

The subconscious mind technique does not “replace” your healthy eating habits. It creates them! That’s the whole idea. The subconscious is the seat of habit. And of intuition. With the right mindset, your healthy eating habits will become just that - healthy “habits” - instead of the compulsively unhealthy ones.

“When the imagination and the will are in conflict, the imagination always wins.” - Emile Coue

This is not a diet. This is the natural way we are created to use our minds - constructively and in alignment with Universal laws.

So again, we use our minds to accept the idea, thought and picture of a fit, healthy person at his/her ideal weight. Once that idea is instilled in the mind, you will automatically be guided and directed to all that is necessary for you to fulfill that idea. You will just intuitively want the right foods and pass on the wrong ones. You will adopt the proper exercise habits. You will be guided to the right coach or nutritional information to manifest your subconscious idea. It must happen because that is the law - the nature of mind. Mind will always create according to the seed thought.

Speaking of exercise?in my opinion, one of the greatest exercises in the world for getting the metabolism in gear is putting on good cushiony running shoes, going outside and just walking fast — a couple of miles of fast walking. Weight lifting is fantastic for replacing fat with muscle, and for heart and bones, especially for women. But I understand not everyone is into or ready to lift weights. And we still need that aerobic workout. So get outside and start walking. That’s an addiction you will love to have. When you start releasing those endorphins, the whole world looks better.

Important Footnote:

If you have a lot of weight to lose, your subconscious mind may not be able to accept that you can be your ideal weight all at once. The important thing here is to not set up resistance or an argument in the subconscious. So the following is a good method to use to prevent this.

Pick a weight that you feel that you can accept at this time, one that feels believable. For example, if you now weight 180 pounds and your ideal weight is120, that’s a very big leap of faith to accept. So you might use 150 pounds as the target number that you suggest to your subconscious mind as you fall asleep. That is more believable at this point in time and will be more readily accepted by the mind. When you do reach your goal of 150 pounds, you can then change your input to 120 pounds. You may also do this if you have to lose a lesser amount of weight.

The important thing to remember is that the information that is most believable will produce the fastest and greatest results. This same idea also applies to financial prosperity, but I will save that for another time. By the way, I have learned many of these things through brilliant new thought teachers, far ahead of their time. It is time for valuable esoteric knowledge to become mainstream. You can become your own case study in the meantime.

How’s this for a marketing idea: Mental weight loss clinics called “Brain Watchers International.” 

© Copyright 2003, 2004 Marilyn Jenett

Marilyn Jenett, an accomplished business owner in the corporate arena, founded the Feel Free to Prosper program to mentor and teach others to become aligned with Universal laws and accept their right to prosper. Her students, from around the globe and from all walks of life, are enjoying remarkable success using her lessons and participating in her telephone group sessions. For more information, check out her website at www.FeelFreetoProsper.com.
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print as long as the bylines, URL and copyright are included.  Please print the article in its entirety, unchanged and send a copy of the publication to marilyn@feelfreetoprosper.com.

You gain weight when your calorie intake is more than your calorie expenditure. But if this calorie equation is reversed, then it results in “negative calorie” balance in your body. In this negative calorie case, you expand more calories than you take in, resulting in a decrease in the stored calories in the form of body fat, and you experience a weight loss. About 10% of daily caloric intake is used to process foods in the body. You can expand more by doing physical activities.

There are certain foods that show negative calorie effect because the body has to expand more energy to extract calories from these foods. The negative calorie foods need more calories to break down the foods and digest than the calories the foods actually contain. The extra calories are taken up from the stored fat in the body. Thus the negative calorie foods (may also be called as minus calorie foods or fat burning foods) are ideal for reducing the body fat and for losing weight.

Let us take an example. A piece of dessert consisting of 300 calories may require only 150 calories to be digested by our body, resulting in a net gain of 150 calories which is added to our body fat! So if you eat 100 calories of a food that requires 150 calories to digest, then you have burnt an additional 50 calories simply by eating that food. These 50 calories are used up from the stored fat in your body!

These foods are widely available in nature. Some of the foods from the list of negative calorie foods (about 100 in number) are: asparagus, broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, carrot, garlic, papaya, spinach, turnip, zucchini, apples, oranges, lettuce, grapefruit, pineapples, strawberries, and raspberries.

It is a great idea to eat these negative calorie food items to your full satisfaction without counting calories. Include these foods in your daily diet and plan your diet according to food pyramid. You will be amazed to see the fast weight loss results. You can follow a negative calorie diet plan for safe and permanent weight loss.

You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all hyperlinks (HTML clickable) and references and copyright info.

Copyright 2004 P. Mehta http://www.fatfreekitchen.com
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This article has been written by http://www.fatfreekitchen.com.
For more information on negative calorie foods visit the web site
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/negative-calorie-foods.html

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20 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT

1. Take it one step at a time

Start by paying attention to what you eat. Cut back on fat and sweets and add more fruit and vegetables. After you have that under control, add exercise. If you hate to exercise try it for only 15 minutes a day at first, then a 1/2-hour. Keep in mind that while you are exercising you are burning calories and not eating. Also, it will be easier if you chose an activity that you enjoy.

2. Find a friend

It is always good to have support when you are trying to lose weight. Find a friend who wants to lose weight and compare notes, weigh-in together and maybe even have a contest.

3. Use weights

Working out weights will build muscle and raise your metabolism so you will burn more calories. Also, muscle takes up less space than fat so you will be smaller ( but probably weigh more).

4. Eat fewer carbs

Don’t eat as much bread and pasta and you will see a difference.

5. Set a goal

Set a deadline to lose the weight and write it down. For example, ‘ By Dec 14/04 I will weigh 150 lbs or less’. Put it somewhere you will see it daily.

6. Give up soda

If you drink a soda or 2 a day you are adding empty calories. If you find it hard to stop completely, cut back at first and drink water instead.

7. Grill or boil

Avoid fried meat, grill and use lots of spices. You will get used to it and probably enjoy it more.

8. Don’t buy junk food

When you go shopping, don’t go on an empty stomach and you will be less likely to buy junk food. Keep your home ‘junk food free’ so you won’t be tempted to indulge.

9. Eat breakfast

Consume most of your calories early in the day and always eat breakfast. Don’t eat after 8pm and not only will you avoid those added calories but you will sleep better.

10. Give yourself a treat

When you tell yourself that you can’t have something you want it more. Give yourself a treat once a day ( ie. half a cookie) and you won’t feel you are missing out.

11. Use smaller plates

Trick yourself into believing that you are eating more by using a smaller plate.

12. Drink lots of water

Drink water when you are feeling hungry and you will get that ‘full’ feeling.

13. Don’t eat everything on your plate

Many times we eat just because it’s there. Pay attention to when you have had enough.

14. Eat five or six meals a day

Eating more frequently will keep you from getting too hungry.

15. Plan your workout sessions

Write your workout sessions in your journal or planner.

16. Stay away from fad diets

Fad diets don’t work. If you lose weight fast chances are that you will gain it back ( and more) just as fast. It takes time to put it on and time to take it off.

17. Do several workouts a day

While you are watching TV do crunches and leg lifts.

18. Measure your food

If you decide to have junk food for a snack - be sure to measure and control what you eat.

19. Keep pre-cut vegetables

…and ward off those cravings.

20. Create Good Habits

It is a known fact that when we do something twenty-one times it becomes a habit. Create good eating habits.

Sheila Dicks is a wardrobe and image consultant who teaches women how to look slimmer by dressing to suit their body type. Visit her at http://www.sheilasfashionsense.com to download a copy of her e-book Image Makeovers and get How to Build a Wardrobe free.

Once in a while a good title comes along and “Turn Off the Fat Genes” is one of those titles that just have to be written about. If you are not familiar with Dr. Neal Barnard’s work, he has been writing about how to lose weight on a high carbohydrate diet for at least a decade now.

I’m amazed, as you might be, that his work is not better known. There are a number of advantages to using a high carb diet and as many disadvantages to the low carb/ high protein diets.

There is some great research in his books that document the ability to lose weight on a high carbohydrate diet, which may also be healthier in the long run than the ever-popular low carbohydrate diets.

You might think it surprising, as I do, that more people are not using high carb diets to lose weight. You might also conclude that this is solely due to a lack of awareness on the part of the public.

Turn of the Fat Genes, written by Dr. Neal Barnard features over 150 pages of menus and recipes. The recipe and menu section is very comprehensive and you can definitely find recipes that will delight you out of such a large compilation.

Dr. Bernard discusses the concept that some of the genes that shape and influence us as human beings are themselves subject to influence. The genes that affect taste, appetite and metabolism are subject to the influence of the foods that we eat.

Not only are they subject to influence, the proper use of foods can mean that you don’t have to sacrifice and starve yourself of decent nutrition. You can modify your diet, eat perhaps even more frequently and still enjoy weight loss. Does that sound incredible? It is real. You might feel incredulous because the masses of people out there have been told that low carb is the way to go.

I have been following some of the suggestions in one of Dr. Barnard’s books and I can tell you that a high carb diet can help you lose weight. Using his suggestions, I can eat a lot of food frequently and I still seem to stay thin.

To give you an idea of what kind of information “Turn Off the Fat Genes” can provide you with, here is a list of some of the Chapter titles:

Taste Genes: Broccoli and Chocolate

Appetite and the Leptin Gene

The Fat-Building Gene

Fat-Burning: Turning the Flame Higher

How Genes Influence Your Exercise

Children and the Fat Genes

Food Choices for Optimal Weight Control

Dr. Barnard writes, “Contrary to popular opinion, scientific research reveals that genes are not dictators; they are committees. They do not give orders. They make suggestions. Genes are not rogue tyrants exerting despotic control over your waistline. Rather, they work in groups, often with subtle effects, and you can nudge them in the direction you want them to go. You can counteract the fat genes and boost your thin genes.”

In ancient times, Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.” Of course we aren’t really talking about healing as much as we are discussing losing weight, but the principle applies.

One thing I learned from another of Dr. Barnard’s books is that carbohydrates don’t make people fat. It is fat that makes people fat. And it makes sense. Carbohydrates pack around 4 calories per gram and fats have about 9 calories per gram.

By the way, even though it is correct terminology, the fact is that the calories discussed here are actually ‘thousands of calories’. In nutrition they decided to make a calorie equal to 1,000 real life calories as measured for energy.

Anyway I don’t want to confuse anyone, because the RDA is based on nutrition calories, also known as Calories, but no one capitalizes the C as should be done. You can just keep thinking of calories as calories and don’t worry about the technicalities.

Back to the story. Dr. Barnard’s books on high carb diets are great reading and may inform you about healthier weight loss than you are currently use to. Did I mention the recipe list?

This article is for information purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or prevent any health condition. If you have or think you have a health condition or even just want to diet, please consult your physician.

Dave Snape is a health, fitness and wellness enthusiast. His website is http://tobeinformed.com

If I were asked, “what is the most difficult thing many people find to do when they start a weight-loss program?”, I would have to say right near the top of the list is this - they don’t drink enough water!

Few people realize at first just how essential water is to the success of their weight-loss program. In fact, the essential place of water in our diet extends to everyone - whether they want to lose weight, gain weight or stay the same weight! We all know we can’t live without water, but just why is it so important? Well there are many reasons. Read on and discover why water can help your loss weight and why it is your essential life-force.

Apart from 60-70% of your body being composed of water, water has an extensive range of functions essential to life.

. Assists digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. If you don’t drink enough water you can’t get the full benefit of nutrients in the food you eat.

. Assists excretion of waste from bowel and kidneys. If you don’t drink enough water you get constipated and put your kidneys under stress.

. Regulates body temperature. If you don’t drink enough water you compromise the evaporation process you skin uses to keep you cool.

. Your blood is 92% water. This is your body’s transport system distributing nutrients around the body.

. Body secretions and digestive juices are almost entirely water.

Why should you drink water when you want to lose weight?

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Do NOT underestimate the power of this statement. Lack of water can lead to over eating. You brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst. So, when you think you are feeling hungry, your body may in fact be signaling to you that you are thirsty! If you are not consuming enough water each day and you feel hunger pains, chances are, your body really is crying out for water. In many instances people will find what they thought were hunger pangs were in fact, satisfied by water. Try it! You have nothing to lose, except some weight.

How do you know whether you are drinking enough water each day? Well the answer is not difficult. The average person needs around 6-8 large glasses every day.

Well then, how should you drink the 6-8 glasses per day? The aim is to drink water consistently. If you drink too much all at once or too fast, it will simply pass through you, with little or no benefit to your body.

If you are someone who enjoys the ‘taste’ of water, then perhaps you could fill a 1 litre empty soft drink container with water the drink through it twice during the day. Room temperature or cold water, even warm as some people like - whatever you prefer. Place it on the desk at work in front of you as a constant reminder to sip continuously throughout the day.

Other people find they need a water ‘diet’ to help them keep on track. So for you, here is a program easily followed to ensure you are well hydrated every single day.

. When you wake up you will often be thirsty because your body loses water while you are sleeping through breathing and perspiration. Drink a large glass of water with a slice of lemon for zing.

. Drink another glass of water with breakfast or a cup of herbal tea before setting off the day.

. Mid morning - snack on a piece of juicy fruit such as orange, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew. Have a glass of water and perhaps try a dash of herbal aloe juice which is wonderfully soothing to the digestive system.

. Lunch - think of soup or have a glass of water before your meal, or perhaps a herbal tea.

. Mid afternoon - While you are preparing your evening meal, drink a glass of water and snack on some crunchy fresh vegetables.

. Evening - Sip a glass of water before your meal with a dash of your favourite fruit juice for flavour.

. After dinner - before bedtime drink your final glass of water and sleep well!

A few changes will happen when you start out with your water program. Obviously you may find that you need to ’spend a penny’ more often. Why? Because you body isn’t used to being well hydrated.

There is absolutely is no doubt about it. When you start drinking enough water regularly, there are great benefits. You may notice your skin significantly improve and even tired muscles will thank you. Many people find their energy is increased and constipation and headaches are reduced, as well as hunger pains.

Now here’s the really exciting part?many people notice a reduction in weight and centimetres, as their body’s water store become redundant and so decrease. If your diet has been one that did not provide you with adequate water, your body will have developed a pattern of storing water. It’s part of the body’s in-built survival mechanism - to store up the essential nutrients in short supply?just in case they aren’t available in the future. So if you don’t drink enough water, you are ‘conditioning’ your body to store water. And water is bulk and unwanted centimetres.

It’s so simple…drink water! 6-8 large glasses a day.

How do you know if you are not getting enough water each day? This is a really important question because so many of us have deprived ourselves of water for years that we have become accustomed to doing without the full amount of water our body requires and we don’t recognise the symptoms of thirst.

. The most common symptom is headaches. A major function of water is to flush toxins from the body. Your brain is 75% water, so even being slightly dehydrated can cause headaches.

. Poor concentration/fatigue. If you body can’t get rid of the toxins it will struggle and you will feel less energetic as your body diverts energy to deal with the toxins.

. Constipation. Your body will divert water to more essential functions and as a result your stools will be harder and more difficult to expel.

. Reduced urine output or dark urine. Did you know that up to 200 litres of water is passed through your kidneys daily? Without a fresh supply of water for the kidneys to filter waste products out of the blood, your urine will become darker.

. Furry tongue or bad breath. If you don’t have enough water passing through the mouth to wash away food particles, bacteria can proliferate and result in that ‘furry’ feeling or bad breath.

. Skin. Your skin should feel elastic. When you pinch the skin on the back of your hand it should snap back instantly.

Final thoughts. Caffeinated drinks cause the body to lose water. They are what’s known as diuretics as they cause your body to dehydrate. You will do your body an enormous favour by cutting back. For every cup of coffee you drink you will need to drink another TWO glasses of water to counter the diuretic effect. Explore the world of herbal teas instead, you may be pleasantly surprised!

(c) Copyright Kim Beardsmore

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Yes, my healthy diet has at times suffered at the hands of fast food, I admit it ? I am addicted to fast food ? it makes me feel good, it makes us all feel good, that’s why its everywhere and thats why the fast food chains make millions.

But let’s face it, it’s not that simple to be disciplined and no one’s going to go to a restaurant with friends and tell the restaurant that they can’t eat that rice because its white rice and it’ll send my blood sugar levels sky high and release insulin into my body, can I have basmati instead ? ? well, maybe just the hardcore diet enthusiasts.

So what to do about fast food nutrition ? well, I am going to give you my five most important principles for choosing food generally, but also quick things to look for when you’re out in order to complement your healthy diet:

1. Find Out How The Food Was Cooked. It’s not the actual food that matters, it’s the way it was cooked. Little things like this can make a world of difference.

2. Drink Lots Of Water When you’re out, have a water bottle close by ? you’d be surprised what a difference it makes.

3. If it doesn’t look natural, then it probably won’t do your diet much good Generally the more processed a food is, the more likely that it will be absorbed into your body very quickly and will not give you sustained energy. If it looks like it’s gone through a lot of processes before reaching you, then give it a miss.

4. Steer away from unhealthy fats and highly processed carbs when you eat out This is nothing new, don’t eat those fries with that burger. But I have two very good reasons for saying this. If you successfully navigate your way away from these two ? you will be doing a lot for keeping bad cholesterol levels at bay and staving off accidental over-consumption of calories.

5. Go for raw There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that the food you’ve just eaten is burning calories even as you sit at the café talking with friends. It’s even confidence building to know that you have a healthy diet. The food that will do this is quite often raw and are adorned with fat burning principles because they have low energy density.

So step back from those fries, and consider that there are plenty of satisfying, tasty and healthy alternatives when snacking or dining out. Instituting these healthy diet principles will mean that your social life and weight loss goals are not an either / or situation.

References:

Elizabeth A Bell and Barbara J Rolls Energy density of foods affects energy intake across multiple levels of fat content in lean and obese women Am J Clin Nutr 73: 1010-1018.

Prentice AM, Jebb SA. Fast foods, energy density and obesity: a possible mechanistic link. Obes Rev. 2003 Nov;4(4):187-94.

Weil, A., (2000) Eating Well for Optimum Health p. 77-78

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A ‘diet’ is always seen as a temporary measure. An unpleasant episode that must be endured in order to reach some weight target, often in time for a major event such as a wedding, your own or your children’s. Afterwards, with a big sigh of relief that its over, we get back to normal eating. In what seems no time at all, especially if a holiday is involved, the weight is back where it was, and you wonder; was it worth it?

The truth about diets is that they train us to “live on less” so normal food is now far too much. Many people have managed to get to their chosen weight and then find that they cannot come off the diet without putting the weight back on. They are trapped in a regime of half starvation and misery. Their life revolves around how much can they eat and when they eventually break, which they always do, they eat like it was an Olympic event.

The answer is simple - just eat slightly less for all of the time. It may be slower than you would like but it works, and its forever not just for Christmas or weddings.

If you reduce the fat content of your ‘normal’ food you can eat an enormous amount of other stuff, so you won’t feel hungry. You will actually eat less calories without eating less food. Avoiding fat is easy. Obvious targets are dairy fats and margarines. Spread butter or margarine thinly, or buy fat-reduced spreads, or even better, try without. It works for sandwiches with lettuce and tomato to provide some moisture but I’d rather have some spread on my toast than just jam. Trim the fat off your meat and bacon before cooking.

Try semi-skimmed milk and then progress to the fully skimmed. Ignore the slightly grey colour and enjoy its increased calcium and vitamins compared to the greasy un- skimmed product. Vegetarians should also be aware that many vegetable-based products could be as heavy in fat as those that are meat based. Biscuits are generally very high in fat, typically around 25% but much higher again if chocolate coated. The problem with biscuits is that you can easily take in a substantial part of your daily calories without feeling as though you have eaten anything but a few mouthfuls. If you need a snack have some fruit instead or low fat yoghurt.

Attention! Read This Before Wasting Hundreds, Possibly Thousands On Expensive Online Fitness Programmes, “Wonder-Cures”, Fad Diets Or Potentially Dangerous Low-Carb Experiments…

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