Friday, September 18, 2009

Foods That Help You Lose Weight Faster

If you are one of the many Americans that have been on dozens of diets that restrict the amount of food that you eat so much that you're always hungry, then I have some good news for you. There are actually foods that help you lose weight. That's right you can eat, be full, and still lose weight.

There is no miracle food that will make you lose a hundred pounds but there are many that can aid in weight loss. One food that that will help you lose weight is oatmeal. This hearty breakfast food is loaded with fiber which helps prevent fat from being stored in your body.

Oatmeal will also help you stay full longer, preventing those between meal snacks that ruin every diet. Plus if you eat oatmeal before a workout you will have more energy. This means that you will be able to do longer workouts and lose more weight.
You should always opt to eat plain oats over prepackaged flavored oatmeal. These packages are loaded with sugars. Instead use raw honey or fruit to add flavor. Low fat yogurt and nuts are also great in oatmeal.

Low fat dairy is among the foods that help you lose weight. Low fat dairy products that are high in calcium, like cheese, milk, and yogurt can help to break down fat cells.

In fact recent studies have shown that people that eat diets high in low fat dairy lose about seventy percent more fat then those that aren't. As an added bonus food high in calcium have shown to reduce the amount of calcitriol, a hormone that makes your fat cells larger.

Soy can also help you melt away those unwanted pounds. It helps in preventing unwanted weight by breaking down the fat in your body.
If you're looking for a snack look to raw nuts. Nuts are full of fiber, protein, and Omega-3 fatty acids. The fiber helps you to feel full, warding of cravings for fatty foods and helping to keep the pounds off. The protein and Omega-3 fatty acids aid in burning off fat faster.

Everyone knows that fish is extremely healthy. Did you know that it can help your body become more sensitive to Leptin, a fat burning hormone? This hormone decides if you keep calories as fat stored in your body or if you burn them as energy.
If you feel that most diets are full of bland tasteless foods then here is some good news. Spices can speed up you metabolism by twenty percent for hours after you eat it. That's right you can lose weight simply by spicing up your food.

Another one of the foods that help you lose weight is lean proteins. If you eat lean proteins like fish and poultry as part of a healthy diet with exercise, you can build more lean muscle. The more lean muscle you have the more calories that you burn.

How to Get an Edge on Lose Weight Hypnosis

There are plenty of studies to suggest that lose weight hypnosis
can have a very positive benefit for many people who are battling extra pounds. There are even success stories that abound. When the decision has been made to give lose weight hypnosis a try, one of the best ways to capitalize on that decision is to plan for success.

Ensuring the success of lose weight hypnosis is something potential patients can do days or even weeks in advance of their first session. As most lose weight hypnosis practitioners will say, one of the techniques employed during a session is planting the idea that something other than food can feed the cravings that drive some people to overeat. Whether it's a desire to gain pleasure or a need to combat the blues, finding a substitute that has a similar effect as food can be very beneficial when lose weight hypnosis is at hand.

While it is possible for a lose weight hypnosis specialist to assist in coming up with ideas, this is one area a patient can really help with in advance. This might require some serious brainstorming, but there are ways to speed up the process.

The first thing to consider when determining what can replace food when lose weight hypnosis is planned is to study one's own behavior. Ask these questions when strong cravings to overeat arise:

•What am I feeling right now? Do you have a desire to eat simply because food is there? Or, is it possible you're down in the dumps? Does that second piece of chocolate cake just look too delightful to pass up? Knowing this can help with lose weight hypnosis.

•How does this food make me feel? If you're planning lose weight hypnosis, this likely will be a very important question. The answer for some will vary greatly from their instant response to several minutes later.

•Does anything else make me feel this way? Do you, for example, get a similar euphoric feeling from doing something? Is there a possible substitute for food that provides the same kind of pleasure? Whether it's watching a movie, playing with the kids, gardening or twiddling your thumbs finding just the right alternative to eating can be very beneficial when lose weight hypnosis is on tap.

While it's not necessary to do this in advance of a lose weight hypnosis session, it can really help ensure the process is successful. The more a person knows and understands their own overeating cues, the easier it is for a therapist to assist.

Lose weight hypnosis has proven to be a very successful tool in fighting the urge to overeat. While it might not work for everyone, the prospect can be a real benefit for others.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

How Stretching Out the Muscles can Help You Lose Weight and Slow Down the Aging, Process

In many exercise programs, be it weight lifting for building and toning muscles or cardio vascular exercises for increasing stamina or balance and, to lose weight, most people really do not perform enough stretching exercises even though, stretching exercises can be performed by anyone at any age unless that person has some physical restriction to stretch. And even with restrictions and a Doctors supervision, even then certain stretching exercises can still be performed. What is worse, many people do not even stretch before and after exercising. This can cause great harm to your body that could have far reaching affects that you may not notice for some time. Unknown to most people, stretching also has anti aging benefits.

Let’s talk a little bit about what the benefits of stretching exercises can do for your muscle growth. Stretching is an important aspect of exercising and should be a part of any exercise routine and or program. There are a great number of wonderful benefits you will get when you perform a regular stretching routine. Stretching exercises will not only help you to warm up and cool down before and after your workouts, but it can and will actually help your muscles to grow bigger and stronger too. This is a great thing to help you lose weight and have a better more healthy body. Don’t believe me? Then keep reading on.

Stretching exercises helps with the muscle growth because stretching lengthens your muscles and thus gives your muscle fibers a greater range of motion when lifting weights. By the muscles having a greater range of motion this will help to prevent any damage being done to your muscle groups. So in effect, simply said it recruits more muscle fibers and thus causing your muscles to grow stronger and bigger from your weight training. By stretching your muscles after an intensive workout it will also help to reduce muscle soreness commonly known as DOMS (delayed onset muscle sore) which usually occurs a day after your workout.

Performing stretching exercises before your workout or before a physically demanding sporting activity will also decrease your chances of sustaining injuries and muscle cramps which will certainly destroy the joy of your activity. You can do severe damage to your muscles that may have long lasting effects and you probably will not even notice it for some time down the road. This is the most common reason why Doctors and trainers tell you it is so important to do your stretching exercises first. When you stretch regularly, it will help you to gain agility which will make your daily chores much more pleasant because it may not be so hard to pick things up any more and your overall health improves greatly. Also if you play sports, you will notice your agility is much better than others who do not stretch. This will put you in a more beneficial position against your opponents and give you a greater advantage of being on the winning team.

Another aspect to talk about is the Anti Aging Benefits that Stretching Exercises can have on your body. If you are a baby boomer and age is catching up, this agility will make your life so much easier in so many different ways. First you will be able to avoid stiff muscles and stiff joints unlike your peers who do not stretch. This is such a common ailment with people who are approaching the middle age threshold. In many cases this is the time when arthritis and many other such things start to get a hold on your body. However when you keep a good stretching routine in place you will be more mobile, agile and suffering from less pain associated with aging and stiff body parts. The sooner you get started with a good program the better your body will feel when the time does come. You may even be able to be well into your golden years before you even begin to feel the effects. These anti aging benefits from stretching regularly are priceless. What is more, you can stretch anytime and anywhere, as and when you like.

Stretching exercises need not be limited as a pre and post workout activity, but it is important that you do make it a part of your daily routine. The more you stretch the better your body will feel and the more healthy that you will also feel. It will help you to be more agile so that you will have better balance in all that you do as well as helping to keep the stiffness and aches at bay that so often accompany middle age. So start a stretching exercise routine soon and make it part of your everyday lifestyle. You will surely enjoy the pleasures and anti aging benefits that a regular stretching routine can bring you.
Article source : Randall Drake

Healthy Foods Shopping – What You Need To Know

Are you in the market to shop for your family's food? If you are, it is advisable that you think about how those food stuffs you place in your grocery cart affect your family's health. Aside from that, you should also consider how these food choices will influence your children's mind-set about nutritious foods.

So before paying for your groceries, take some time to scrutinize first the things loaded in your cart. Did you put in healthy foods? Or you just filled it with processed foods containing additives and preservatives as well as drinks that are less or not healthy at all?

Parents who want to provide their family with a healthy diet should begin checking up their grocery list. Whether you want to eat healthy for the purpose of weight loss, or you merely want good nutrition for your family, you should start changing the types of food you are purchasing. Here are some tips on shopping for healthy foods:

• Make a Shopping List

This is one of the most significant things you should bring along when shopping for food. This will keep you on the right track especially if you formulated the list from your meal plan. Since your purpose is to provide your family with a healthy diet, your menus for the week must be made of nutritious ingredients like fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fresh fish, poultry, dairy products, and whole grains. You can also include several raw foods and healthy snacks to perk up your kid's appetite.

• Follow a Good Path When Shopping

This is a good strategy if you really want to spend your shopping budget wisely. The first area you must go to are the aisles where the healthiest foods are placed. Lean meats, fresh fish, and dairy product are usually found in the same area of the grocery stores. Then, go to the aisles where you'll find fruits and vegetables, whole grains, cereals, baking supplies, and sauces. Then make the sections for less healthy foods your last drop-off point. This will reduce your chance of overdoing it on unhealthy processed foods and snacks.

• Shop at Food Co-ops and Local farmers' markets

These are the best areas where you can find the freshest produce. Foods from these sources are usually safe because food co-ops usually sell produce that are pesticide-free and organically-grown.

• Find out What Produce are In-Season

No matter where you're going to shop, it's better to know first the fruits and veggies that are in season. Shopping for in-season produce is usually a great deal not just in taste but also in price. One thing to remember, though, avoid buying more than your family can eat.

• Choose Fruits and Vegetables Carefully

If you aren't given the chance to personally pick those fruits and vegetables, then at least be careful enough in selecting what to buy. Fruits and vegetables do give a clue about their condition so it will be way easy for you to determine if they are fresh and ripe. When choosing vegetables, pick the ones that are firm and crisp. Do not get those with signs of decay. For fruits, avoid getting ones with bruises.
Article source : Reid Marilyn

8 Best Exercises To Lose Weight Quickly

The best exercises to lose weight quickly are not secrets reserved for a mere few. They are quite common, yet they are overlooked by many. People seeking to lose weight might think there's some magic program or exercise that will get it done.

Would it surprise you to know that you probably already participate in some of these exercises? The real secret is in knowing how to do those exercises for maximum benefit.

If you walk or climb stairs, for instance, you are utilizing the best exercises to lose weight quickly. You just need to make the most of them by upping the frequency and time you commit to these heart-thumping activities.

Unless you spend a vigorous 45 to 60 minutes every day on these exercises, you won't lose weight quickly. You'll just get tired. The key is consistency and that you work your system regularly. Muscle-building exercises are most effective to lose weight quickly.

Whichever exercise you choose, make sure you put all your energy into it. You want to keep your heart rate up and your blood pumping throughout the exercise period, with a proper cool down afterwards.

If you're brisk walking, for example, walk slowly for the final few minutes to give your body a chance to cool down. Stopping suddenly can cause muscle cramps and really isn't good for your heart. Give it time to fall back to normal while you're moderately active.

Make sure you drink lots of water while exercising to replenish your reserves and to help prevent cramping.

When you're ready, here are the 10 best exercises to lose weight quickly. Start gradually and let your body adjust to the workouts.

1. Squats: This exercise is great for building leg and buttock muscles. Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart and squat down and then up 10-20 times through two or three sets.

2. Jumping Jacks: You probably remember these from your school days. They provide one of the best whole body aerobic workouts. Do four or five set of 20 jumping jacks for best results.

3. Stepping: If you've made numerous trips upstairs while moving or cleaning, you'll know how much energy this exercise takes. The benefits are multi-fold: burns calories, boosts heart rate, great aerobics workout, builds leg and buttock muscles. You can use your stairs for this. Step up and down 20 times, rest and repeat two or three times.

4. Walking: Fast walking is better than slow walking, but both are beneficial. If you want an exercise to lose weight quickly, walk briskly for half an hour and you can burn up to 180 calories.

5. Bicycling: The outdoors can be more enjoyable, but stationary indoor cycles can provide an equally good exercise to lose weight quickly. In fact, if you apply the right amount of resistance at the right speed, you can lose between 250 and 500 calories in half an hour.

6. Swimming: This is a great, fun exercise for many people. It provides an excellent cardio workout that uses your entire body. Doing the breast stroke for half an hour can burn 400 calories.

7. Cross Country Skiing: Another fun activity with the same benefits as swimming.

8. Jump Rope: This isn't just a kids' game. Adults can get a terrific, unparalleled total body workout by jumping rope for as little as 15 to 20 minutes.

That gives you eight of the top workouts you can try. They are just some of the best exercises to lose weight quickly.
Article Source : Marcilio David