One-Minute Weight Loss Secrets

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s true. You can cut calories and burn fat in 60 seconds or less. With about 1,000 waking minutes in every day, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to slip these tips into your routine and watch the scale go down. If you’ve already begun to lose weight, these can maximize your efforts and speed results.

Weight Loss Secrets

1. Mix a juice spritzer:- Combine your favorite juice with plain or sparkling water. You can cut up to 85 calories per glass—and lose 5 pounds or more a year.

2. Pick up the cordless:- Burn calories while you talk: Do the laundry (68 calories), set the table (85 calories), or water plants (102 calories). (Values based on a 150-pound person and half an hour of activity.)

3. Pop a piece of gum:- Researchers recently discovered that chewing sugar-free gum all day increases your metabolic rate by about 20 percent. That could burn off more than 10 pounds a year.

4. Study the wrapper:- At a quick glance, that candy bar appears to contain 220 calories. But a closer look may reveal that it provides two or more servings—which more than doubles those calories.

5. Sip green tea before you walk:- The caffeine frees fatty acids so that you burn fat more easily. And the polyphenols (antioxidant compounds) in green tea appear to work with caffeine to increase calorie burn. (If you have high blood pressure, skip this tip.)

6. Ditch diet shakes:- The calorie savings are only temporary; you just eat more later.

7. Pack a lunch:- Dining out more than five times a week may make you eat more—nearly 300 calories a day—than if you dine out less frequently.

8. Dip your bread:- Use olive oil in place of butter. It’s healthier and may also help you eat less. In a recent study, dippers ate a total of 52 fewer calories on average than those who used butter.

9. Sprinkle flax on your cereal:- High-fiber, ground flaxseed can help curb your appetite and eliminate calories. Also add it to yogurt or muffin and bread mixes.

Keeping the Pounds off During the Winter Months

Congratulations ladies! You’ve done the work and dropped the unwanted fat. Unfortunately, the hardest part is yet to come: keeping off the fat. One of the biggest challenges that ladies experience is maintaining the new weight once the target goal has been achieved. It’s easy to fall off that wagon and takes strength and commitment to keep going. The task at hand becomes even more difficult to carry out when executing it during the winter months. To help you through the hard times, here are some quick tips that may make the road ahead a little bit easier to travel.

Merry Mornings-A study conducted by the National Weight Control Registry showed that those of us who worked to keep the pounds off succeeded better if we ate a morning meal. So no matter how busy you are, take time to eat a bowl of cereal and start your day out right. It may help to curb later hunger binges.

Eat Your Calories-One of the biggest mistakes we can make is indulging in high calorie drinks. So next time you reach for a mocha latte, stop and think whether you wouldn’t be more fulfilled with a glass of ice cold water and a nutritious meal.

Make A Schedule- In order to avoid messy schedules that leave little time for exercise, make sure to pencil in a session at a certain time and date. This way, you’ll be more likely to follow through with your exercise plans.

Have Fun- Remember: exercise is supposed to be fun! That means if you dread climbing aboard the treadmill day after day, you’ll be less and less likely to follow through. Instead, plan on an exercise that you enjoy and will be likely to continue into the future. With all the different choices available in exercise videos, gyms and classes, you’ll have more than enough choices to discover something you truly have fun working at!

Jump Out of Excess Weight

Rope jumping is second to none when it comes to losing unwanted belly fat, and best of all, it cost almost nothing. The great thing about rope jumping is that you don’t need a lot of special gear or detailed instructions. With a quick lesson, good form, and a few ideas to keep it fresh, you’ll be on your way to toning up and dropping pounds. The following tips will get you started.

Use good form. With good form, jumping is easier and more enjoyable no matter what your fitness level. The components of the jump look like this:

• The Twirl. Keep your elbows close to your body, your shoulders down, and your upper body steady. Holding your hands level with your hips, turn the rope with your forearms and wrists.

• The Jump. Rope jumping is not a super high impact activity. You should jump only as high as is necessary for the rope to clear the space between your feet and the ground–generally not more than an inch. Keep your knees slightly bent throughout the exercise.

• Cushion your landing. The sidewalk was fine when you were a kid. But your grown-up hips and knees prefer a more cushioned landing surface. Hardwood floors, low carpeting, a thin exercise mat, and even blacktop are safer surfaces.

• Keep the beat. Jumping rope to up-tempo music helps you find your rhythm and makes the exercise feel more like play.

• Run, skip, jump. The classic jump rope move is a single two-footed hop per twirl. So it’s twirl, hop, twirl, hop. But you’re not locked into this two-step jump. These moves not only add some variety, but also are easier on your body, so you can jump longer without needing a break:

• Single-foot hops. Alternate hopping with just one foot, then the other. Hop right then left for counts of one to three hops on a side.

• Rope jacks. Alternate landing with your feet in a wide or narrow stance, as you would during jumping jacks.

Try these and you can burn almost 200 calories in 15 minutes. Good luck!

Don’t Make the Same Mistake

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, and as we strive to lose unwanted fat, the need to be aware of what we eat has become more apparent. So here are a few more healthy eating tips.

You choose snacks that are “made with real fruit”

Pictures of luscious-looking fruit adorn the packaging, and the labels claim that there is real fruit inside–but don’t think you can count these snacks as one of the four to five daily servings the new dietary guidelines recommend. Treat these snacks as candy, which is what they really are, and eat them sparingly. Satisfy your sweet tooth with real fruit instead. If you’re looking for convenience, pack a single-serving box of raisins or other type of dried fruit.

You toast your health with a glass of wine

More than 100 studies have found that moderate drinkers have about one-third lower risk of heart disease than those who abstain. But excessive drinking–three or more alcoholic beverages a day, most studies agree–has also been proven to send blood pressure climbing. New evidence shows that even light to moderate drinking on an empty stomach can contribute to high blood pressure risk. It’s better to enjoy that drink over dinner.

You have an after-dinner mint instead of dessert

The cooling taste of mint may sound like just the thing after a heavy meal, but it could spell trouble. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, mints are high on the list of foods that can cause heartburn, the telltale burning in the lower chest that occurs when juices from the stomach creep up into the esophagus. Mint seems to relax the muscle that keeps the valve at the top of the stomach clamped down, increasing the odds of reflux. Other surprising culprits: caffeine-containing food and beverages, such as chocolate, soda, and coffee.

Live healthy!

Food Mistakes Everyone Makes

You diligently read health reports and you honestly and tenaciously try to eat healthy, keep up with the latest diet trends, and make the smartest choices to lose weight–but are they as healthy as you think? Here’s a reality check:

You reach for multigrain bread or cereal

Foods labeled 7-grain or multigrain may seem like the healthiest choices–especially with new findings showing that a diet rich in whole grains protects against heart disease, cancer, and other ills.

To be sure you’re getting the grains you want, check the ingredients panel. Whole grains should be the first or second ingredient listed. Luckily, finding whole grain products is easier now that manufacturers supplying at least 16 g of whole grains per serving – what’s considered an excellent source – are stamping their packaging with the Whole Grains Council’s logo.

You buy bottled water laced with vitamins

It’s a measure of how health conscious we’ve become that water is now fortified with nutrients and even medicinal herbs. But when it comes to so-called enhanced water, I suggest you save your money.

A smarter move is to drink plain, refreshing, calorie-free water when you’re thirsty and take a multivitamin daily to make sure you get balanced levels of the essential vitamins and minerals.

You choose veggie chips over potato chips

Dozens of munchies are made from carrots, spinach, kale, and even exotic tropical vegetables. Many of these seemingly healthful snacks are still loaded with calories: A 4-ounce bag of Hain Carrot Chips contains 600 calories, just as much as Lay’s Classic potato chips.

When you simply must have chips, look for brands with vegetables at the top of the ingredients list. A tip-off to a snack’s healthfulness is its fiber content. If you’re counting calories, baked potato chips – at 110 calories per serving – are a better choice. An even healthier alternative? A handful of nuts, loaded with fiber, healthy oils, and vitamins and minerals.

Check back tomorrow for some more tips.

Importance of a Healthy Diet

It’s no secret that obesity has reached epidemic levels globally over the past several years. Statistics show that there are over one billion obese adults around the world, and of those, at least 300 million are considered to be clinically obese. One of the main contributors to such high obesity levels is improper diet.

Super Size?

Fast food is convenient, affordable and in most cases quite tasty. For this reason, fast food is the meal of choice for many on the go parents and for college students who need the most bang for their buck. The problem, however is that fast food usually lacks in nutritional value, containing more empty calories and fat than protein, carbohydrates and other healthy nutrients.

Healthy Diet, Healthy Body

A well balanced diet provides the body with the nutrients it needs to fight off various illnesses and improve physical, mental and emotional wellness. Potassium rich foods aid in lowering blood pressure. The fiber contained in veggies and legumes aid in digestion, which in turn may help to lose weight. In addition to stress relief, vitamin C may aid the body in repair of cuts and wounds. Vitamin A promotes eye and skin health. A diet containing plenty of fruits and veggies lessens the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and several forms of cancer.

Conclusion

Obesity, heart disease and several other illnesses while not entirely controllable may be affected greatly by the choice of what we put in our bodies. Something so simple as adding more vegetables to the plate or only eating fast food once per month can lead to a longer, happier, healthier quality of life. The power is ours.

Lose Weight With Half the Effort

Wanting to lose unwanted stomach fat in a hurry? The magic word is half. These ½ Rules will get you on your way to dropping weight in a hurry.

1. Eat Half Your Plate

In today’s super-sized society, controlling your portions can be the key to losing weight.  For example, a bagel from your favorite bakery or restaurant can have anywhere from 300 to 400 calories. Add cream cheese and you’re eating nearly 600 calories for breakfast! Instead, eat half the bagel. You can save the other half for later or even for the next day’s breakfast.

Most food products have their nutrition information printed on the back of the package. Make sure you know what they consider to be a portion size and how many calories it has.

2. Half Veggies

Vegetables are full of proteins, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, calcium and other good stuff. But what they are not full of is calories.

When you sit down to meals, make sure that at least half your plate is vegetables. Preferably the green leafy kind. Think plain old broccoli is boring? To keep things interesting, switch up your side dishes. Brightly colored veggies like tomatoes, carrots and spring peas will excite your eyes as well as you stomach.

3. Exercise for at Least Half an Hour

Any weight loss plan should include some form of exercise. Aerobic exercises like jogging or playing basketball raises the heart rate and helps burn calories quickly. Taking time during your lunch to go for a walk or to hit the gym will bring fast, lasting results.

Eat Slowly to Lose Belly Fat

Sporting a jelly-belly?  Some call it their “spare tire.” And for women, there’s just about nothing as humiliating as being mistaken for being “preggers” when you’re not. Does this happen a lot if you’re carrying quite a bit of fat around your midsection?

Hearing someone else comment on your size can drive even the sanest person to the nearest fast-food joint to temporarily comfort themselves the only way they know how.

Overeating is one of the main causes of obesity. However, there is a relatively simple way to help you lose belly fat safely. And, the sweetest thing about it may be that you don’t have to dish out any dough! You can do it without experiencing profoundly agonizing cravings to “stuff your face more,” too.

The scoop on how to feel fuller faster and cease hunger pains sooner is to eat slower.

Perhaps you’ve been programmed to “hurry up and eat your food before it gets cold.” Or, maybe you’re from a big family and had to compete for food on the table. Regardless, have faith in yourself — you can really consume your food more slowly and break your habit of overeating.

Here’s how it works: When you put food in your mouth, it takes a certain amount of time for receptors in your brain to receive the message you’re being satisfied from it and do not need to eat more. According to additional research, those with obesity have food-satisfaction signals that do not get to their brain until 20-plus minutes after having eaten. Yet, “skinny minnies” who do not rush eating have their brain notified by satiation signals within 12 or more minutes. Hence, such findings illustrate eating slowly ensures that those important messages have time to reach the brain.

The Scale Can Ruin Your Diet

Today’s scales are supposed to help you lose weight by allowing you to document your weight loss, but sometimes they can be more of a hindrance than a help. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to keep track of how much you weigh, but stepping on the scale too often can ruin your attempt at shedding excess pounds.

Weighing yourself every day, or many times a day, can sabotage your eating plan for getting to a healthy weight. It can be frustrating to see movement on the scale, and it might take you away from sticking with your plan, especially if the numbers on the scale go up.

The problem is that a person’s body weight can fluctuate wildly day to day, and even hour to hour. If you weigh yourself first thing in the morning, you’re going to have a different weight than if you weigh yourself at 5:30 p.m. You weigh less in the morning because you have an empty stomach, and you’re usually a little bit dehydrated.

What you eat also makes a difference. For example, if your meal the night before was high in sodium, you might be a little bloated, with water affecting the weight on the scale. In addition, women’s menstrual cycles can play havoc with the amount of water they retain. These hormonal variations can cause the scale to tip in a way not reflective of your overall healthy weight.

An individual should weigh themselves once a week. Once a week is a good time to check in and see if the scale is moving in the desired direction. Weigh yourself at the same time on the same day so there’s consistency in your measurements.

The 6 Healthiest Weight Loss Foods

Losing weight safely takes a realistic approach. This includes changing eating habits and plenty of exercise. A lifestyle based on healthy eating and regular physical activity can help you look and feel better. These top six weight loss foods do double duty when it comes to losing weight and keeping if off. These foods nourish and support cell rejuvenation, help detoxify and eliminate the bad stuff your body doesn’t need.

This list only consists of SIX but there are so many healthy foods out there:

1. Flaxseeds - Are very high in fiber and this helps to keep weight down in several ways: first, high-fiber foods have fewer calories relative to the total weight of the food. Secondly, flax contains high levels of the “good” fat – polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats are an essential part of our diet, and should not be cut out.

2. Ginger - Traditionally used as a digestive aid. It helps you lose weight by burning calories. In many cultures ginger was used as a digestive aid with meals. Ginger is known to neutralize the stomach acids that cause nausea, diarrhea, cramping and control inflammation.

3. Watermelon – This fruit can help reduce water retention in tissues. One cup of diced watermelon is about 90% water, and contains 50 calories 44 of these calories do come from sugar (this is a natural, healthy fruit sugar).

4. Salmon and Sardines - Two of the best sources of omega-3 fats. Omega-3s have a positive effect on heart rhythm. Both contain high amounts of protein, plus they are rich in a naturally occurring nutritional compound found in some fish which helps boost energy, fight fatigue and burn fat.

5. Protein (chicken, turkey, fish, legumes, nuts, seeds) – Protein contains the building blocks that your body uses to make hormones and enzymes, but most important protein repair cells. To figure out your protein needs, multiply your weight by 2.

6. Peppers - Both hot and sweet peppers contain substances that have been shown to increase the body’s heat production and oxygen consumption for about 20 minutes after eating

Keeping these tips in mind will help you feel better. It’s not about dieting, it’s about eating right!