Weight Watchers recipes and Success Stories: November 13

Showing posts with label November 13. Show all posts

Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Fad Diets

People fail to lose not because they are lazy but because they follow fad diets. If you too are following or want to follow fad diets, don’t expect to lose and become slim. In this article I will tell you about three reasons why you shouldn’t use fad diets.

If fad diets were really so good, why not everyone is losing with their help? Weight loss cannot be achieved simply by dieting; there are a whole lot of things to consider here. If you are serious about loss, you need to modify your lifestyle habits: you need to change your unhealthy eating habits, you need to stop sitting on the couch, and you need keep your body active at all times.

Can a fad diet force you to do all these things? No. That is why even if you lose a few pounds initially with those fad diets, you will regain them all back as soon as you get back to your unhealthy lifestyle habits. So, if you really want to lose fast, don’t follow any fad diets; rather, be ready to change your lifestyle habits.

More often than not, fad diets put you into such a strict food restriction that you virtually remain hungry most of the time. Two things can happen here. Either, out of extreme hunger, you will eat loads of junk foods and gain loads of pounds in the process, or if you are one of the ‘self-disciplined’ types, then you will try hard to bear with your hunger, in which case, your body would take over.

When your body receives inadequate food supply, it would assume that you are going to kill it. In such a case, your body would move into a ‘starvation’ mode where it would horde fad deposits instead of burning them. Naturally, you

You have a third reason for not dieting. Why the hell would you starve when you can eat and lose ? Believe it or not, if you eat healthy foods and stay away from calorie-rich junk foods, you will automatically start losing weight. Plus your body would love the fact that it is getting more nutrition than before from your meals.

Make sure that you include foods such as natural fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, apples, legumes, soy, lean chicken meat, etc., in your diet. Also don’t forget to drink green tea regularly. These are special loss foods which would not only keep you full but also help you burn fat and lose weight.

I don’t know about you, but if I am offered the option to choose between losing through starvation and losing by eating, I would choose the latter.

The post Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Fad Diets appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

https://ift.tt/2FjMTrr

I am not Paul Plakas

Paul Plakas is the fitness trainer on the TV show X-weighted. I have written about X-weighted before and the show itself is really good from the standpoint of the ideas. Paul Plakas tries his best on the show to help people from where they are now and their attitudes about food and exercise and one of the nice things about Paul is that he is tough on people.

What tends to happen to most people it seems on X weighted is that they change their eating and exercise and of course the early returns are not great compared to the sacrifices, no one seems to get the idea that they may be gaining muscle mass so the scale weight does in fact lie (more on that in another post). I like watching Paul lightly berate the people about their attitudes about food, exercise, and fitness in general.

OK so here is the reason for this post, and I hope Paul does see this at some point, people email me thanking me and the TV show all the time for the help that they have seen in the show and the inspiration that the show is to them.

I am not Paul but it is nice to see how people feel about the show and the questions that they have. If I can find Paul Plakas email address at some point I will try my best to forward messages as I give them but please if you are looking for Paul you should try the Slice network which was formerly the Life Network.

The post I am not Paul Plakas appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

https://ift.tt/2Pq5M0h

Sleep, Rest and Relaxation and Health

Sleep, rest and relaxation are a very important part of your daily ritual. I know that in the past I have gotten reved up with many projects and before long something has to be let go and it is usually the sleep that I need for a while.

Don’t do it!

As your sleep and rest start dropping you lose focus and can be lured into bad habits, sugar, coffee, and bad food.

The worst thing about a lack of rest is that your body will not have a chance to heal from your earlier workouts, this can be very bad as you not only will feel sore longer but it will also suck your optimism for your new lifestyle.

How Much Sleep to Get

How much rest is enough? You probably already know this. I myself do not wake up with an alarm clock or clock radio anymore. I am fortunate to have a flexible start time and know that I will not sleep in past 8:00 in the morning.

Effects_of_sleep_deprivation

Try going to be earlier in the evening for a few nights and see when you wake up. In the fall and winter I always tape the TV shows that I watch so that I can get a chance to watch them when it is convenient to me not when it is convenient for the TV networks.

Another thing that pro bodybuilders do is have a nap in the afternoon, a nap can be great in cleansing your mind and letting you learn to relax better but you will probably find as I do that it is almost impossible to do except maybe on the weekends.

You can probably see from the tone of this information that I am delivering here that you must stop treating sleep and rest as something that takes away from something. Instead learn to treat it as your own personal time, something a little more sacred than just something unavoidable that has to be done.

The Effects of Sleep

According to leading sleep researchers, there are techniques to combat common sleep problems:

Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule

Don’t drink or eat caffeine four to six hours before bed and minimize daytime use

Don’t smoke, especially near bedtime or if you awake in the night

Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep

Get regular exercise

Minimize noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where you sleep

Develop a regular bed time and go to bed at the same time each night

Try and wake up without an alarm clock

Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for certain period; this will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep

According to sleep researchers, a night’s sleep is divided into five continually shifting stages, defined by types of brain waves that reflect either lighter or deeper sleep. Toward morning, there is an increase in rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, when the muscles are relaxed and dreaming occurs, and recent memories may be consolidated in the brain.

No Hitting the Snooze Button

The experts say that hitting a snooze alarm over and over again to wake up is not the best way to feel rested. ‘The restorative value of rest is diminished, especially when the increments are short,’ said psychologist Edward Stepanski, PhD who has studied sleep fragmentation at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

This on and off again effect of dozing and waking causes shifts in the brain-wave patterns. Sleep-deprived snooze-button addicts are likely to shorten their quota of REM sleep, impairing their mental functioning during the day. (New York Times, October 12, 2004)

Certain therapies, like cognitive behavioral therapy teach people how to recognize and change patterns of thought and behavior to solve their problems. Recently this type of therapy has been shown to be very effective in getting people to fall asleep and conquer insomnia.

According to a study published in the October 2004 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, cognitive behavior therapy is more effec

The post Sleep, Rest and Relaxation and Health appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

http://ift.tt/1cMV9g3

Mayo Clinic lists 8 reasons to do 30 minutes of exercise

Moderately strenuous exercise, about 30 minutes a day, can lead to enormous benefits in terms of your mood, health, and the ability to live an independent and fulfilling life.

The exercise doesn’t need to be athletic or difficult. Studies have shown that simply walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes or more on most days can lead to significant health improvements.

Add simple strengthening exercises two or three times a week and the benefits are even greater.

The Mayo Clinic Health Letter lists some of the benefits of 30 minutes of exercise a day:

Reasons For 30 Minutes Exercise Per Day

Lower blood pressure: A reduction of 5 to 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) is possible. In some cases, that’s enough to prevent or reduce the need for blood pressure medications.

Improve cholesterol: Exercise often increases the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol in the blood), especially when accompanied by loss. Exercise also helps reduce triglyceride levels.

Prevent or manage type 2 diabetes: Exercise helps insulin work better, lowering blood sugar.

Manage Weight: Coupling exercise with a healthy diet is the best way to shed fat and maintain a healthier body composition.

Prevent osteoporosis: Exercise may increase bone density and protect against bone mass decline, especially if -bearing activities are involved.

Prevent cancer: Exercise has been shown to strengthen the immune system, improve circulation, reduce body fat and speed digestion. Each has a role in preventing cancer, particularly cancers of the colon, prostate, uterine lining and breast.

Maintain mental well-being: Exercise may help reduce stress, improve mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety, improve sleep and boost moods.

Increase energy and stamina: A lack of energy often results from inactivity, not age.

http://ift.tt/MscwQl

The post Mayo Clinic lists 8 reasons to do 30 minutes of exercise appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

http://ift.tt/1X4uQlS

How To Figure Out How Many Calories You Consume Each Day

Although most people know that understanding how many calories we consume is essential to losing weight, it can be pretty hard to figure out what that number is (especially if you eat out a lot). Unfortunately, however, ignorance will not work. Many foods contain more calories than you’d expect. If you’re not keeping an eye on how many you eat every day, your loss efforts could be in vain.

So what can you do to ensure you get a good estimate of what you are consuming on a daily basis?

Sign Up To A Calorie Tracking Website

There are a huge number of online calorie tracking services, as well as smartphone apps, that make it easy for you to register what you eat every day.

These websites and apps can easily be found with a simple search online, though note that some do come with a monthly fee.

I use nutritiondata.self.com as well as I know that My Fitness Pal is very popular

You may be wondering how exactly these sites work. Basically, they have a built in food database that already has the calorie count of most foods programmed into it.

Some were added by the program creators, others may have been added by normal users like you.

All you have to do is sign up for the site, go to the food tracking page, and enter the food you have eaten into the correct search bar. Be specific by entering the exact brand if you can.

Once you’ve done that, you can see entries in the food database that match your search, and you can select the closest match and add that your calorie count.

Track It Yourself (With Some Help!)

If you don’t have constant access to the internet, or prefer not to use these services, then another thing you can do is purchase a nutrition book that has a list of different foods and their calorie counts.

Use this book as a guide to keep a written food diary at home, where you manually count your calories by assigning the values provided in the purchased book for the corresponding foods to the food entries and adding up their total at the end of the day.

The great thing about this is that you can journal how you feel and track how eating different foods make you feel as far as concentration and energy, and even find food intolerances.

This way is more tedious, but for less tech-savvy people, this is enough to work.

There are also some digital kitchen scales available that will work out nutritional data for you. You’ll still need to enter a code based on the scale’s manual, but it’s far quicker than working it out yourself. These scales are very accurate and useful for people with specific health conditions, too.

How Do I Track Calories?

As you can imagine our house does a lot of checking of calories and Macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, and fats in the foods that we eat.

We try to keep a pretty clean diet but of course our kids do like to have snacks so we have always portioned them out to them in a way that makes them know that they are a special food but at the same time they are able to decide what they would want.

As for calories themselves, we do not track calories at all but we really do make sure that we are not eating too much food. We use a lot of portion control when it comes to our meals, we know that we don’t need a huge plate of food to satisfy us and we do try to have a very varied diet with lots of fresh veggies (low in calories), and not as much starchy white carbs (always rice, potatoes, or pasta, just not a lot of them).

Tracking your calories is a wonderful way to tackle dieting, as it offers you a way to eat whatever you want in a balanced way, while teaching you portion control and nutritional estimation.

There’s no need to cut out any particular food out of your diet; just eat what you want but stay within the allocated number of calories for the day.

The post How To Figure Out How Many Calories You Consume Each Day appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

http://ift.tt/1w6V2zR

7 Steps To A Positive Lifestyle

I’m sure you have a bright idea hidden somewhere in the back of your mind that you just can’t wait to test out. Of course you’re not the only one with the bright idea. So what motivates you to churn those creative, or even inspiring juices to its utmost flavor?

It’s always best to set up a personal goal where you can accomplish the most in record time, maybe like mowing the lawn in an hour before the big game on TV. A correct and positive attitude in whatever you do will make things easier, and even enjoyable.
Here are some tips to make it through the week even if you’re just sitting in your favorite couch. An idea takes time to form in your head and is always at work while you are busy sitting.

Having a bit of positive thinking can help you realize things that are never thought possible. Thinking big is indeed the American Way and that what made our country prosperous.

7 Steps To A Positive Lifestyle

1. Take passionate action towards living your life by design. Talk is cheap. Action = deposits in the bank of a passionately authentic future. Without it, passion is void.

This is a perfect example where dreams are made of where you start by tinkering with your mind, then with your hands. And if the idea weakens, you can always go back to it later until you finish it.

2. Commit to yourself as well as those you love to create powerfully a life you can love. Instead of reacting, commit to creating from your heart and soul, out of love rather than fear. The American Dream will always be there, but a dream will still be a dream without motion. Be amazed as the transformation begins.

3. Recognize and embrace the thought that each moment is perfect regardless of its outcome. Every time you hit on something that may appear too extreme, why not give it a shot and see if it will work. You will be surprised to see of there are other ways to get the task done in time. If you are not pleased with the outcome, decide to use that moment to learn from and make the appropriate shift.

4. Dwell completely in a place of gratitude. Learn to utilize what you have in your hands and make use of it in the most constructive way. Slipping into neediness will become less of a habit when you repeatedly shift towards gratitude, away from poverty consciousness.

5. Use a Passion Formula of Recognize/Reevaluate/Restore in place of the Shoulda/Woulda/Coulda whirlwind. The former is based in increased knowledge and abundance while the latter focuses on scarcity and lack. As you face people or tasks that may seem harder than scaling the summit of the Himalayas, allow yourself to realize that the task is just as important as giving out orders to your subordinates. You would rather be richly passionate!

6. Keep humor at the forefront of thought, laughing at and with yourself when possible. You may find yourself quite entertaining when you loosen up! I am yet to see a comedian ever go hungry even though his jokes are as ‘old as great-grandma’. Life has so much to offer to allow you to mope around in self pity. Humor is very attractive, very passionate: life-giving.

7. Believe that you are the architect of your destiny. No one can take your passionate future from you except for you! Create your life authentically. As long as there’s still breath in your body, there is no end to how much you can accomplish in a lifetime. The concept of thinking big is all about enjoying your work, which would lead to celebrate a discovery that is born within your hands. Watch everything flow into place with perfect, passionate precision.

It’s interesting how people get wallowed up by something trivial as learning to use a computer, when nowadays that top computer companies are manufacturing software that even the kids can do it. I don’t mean to be condescending, but that’s the idea of not having any positive thinking in your life-you’ll just end up as a dim bulb in a dark corner. So instead of subjecting yourself to what you will be doomed for, make your path by taking the first step with a positive attitude.

The post 7 Steps To A Positive Lifestyle appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

http://ift.tt/1EqaWuR

Health Benefits of Massage

Many people look upon massage as an indulgence that is simply not necessary, I have to admit that I enjoy getting a massage but was always wondering if long term massage was good for me.

This way of thinking keeps them from experiencing the miraculous healing power a good massage can have.

This form of therapy is not only very pleasant and relaxing but offers great health inspiring benefits.

This article is going to reveal some of the key health benefits of massage and debunk the idea that it is a luxury not worth pursuing. Here is what you can expect by receiving a massage every week or two

This form of therapy is not only very pleasant and relaxing but offers great health inspiring benefits

Health Benefits of Massage

Increased circulation throughout the body. This is great for addressing a whole host of health issues. Better circulation brings fresh oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. This allows them to reach optimal health very quickly.

Better flow of lymph fluid. This allows the lymph system to be far more effective in removing toxins and other pollutants. It breaks up the stagnant lymph fluid allowing the whole system to be freshened and cleansed.

Promotes deep, slow breathing. This is very beneficial to both the body and mind. Slow, deep breathing brings much more oxygen into the body. This is wonderful for your health. Oxygen is critical to every aspect of body operation.

The more oxygen you have in your system the better. Deep, slow breathing also eases anxiety in the mind.

Helps the body recover faster from injuries to the muscles and tendons. This is because massage relieves harmful tension and inflammation and brings better circulation to the affected area. Be sure to tell your therapist about the injury so that they can treat it accordingly.

Releases serotonin and endorphins from the brain. These are the bodys natural feel-good hormones. People who have elevated levels of these hormones feel happy and exuberant.

They are also very effective at relieving pain. This is of great benefit to anyone, especially people suffering with chronic disease.

If you are prone to depression you will find a degree of relief by receiving a regular massage. This is because of the release of these natural hormones along with the relaxation of the body.

Makes the skin healthier and more vibrant. Vigorous massage brings new life into tired, old looking skin. Fresh nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the skin resulting in a healthy glow. A massage per week can keep your skin looking its best, deep into old age.

Also, because the therapist uses a lotion to aid in the massage your skin becomes fully moisturized, leading to greater elasticity and a reduction of wrinkles.

The above benefits are only a quick overview of the health benefits of massage. To write about all the great things massage can do for you I would need many pages. It is important that you find a high quality, well-trained massage therapist.

This will ensure you the best experience possible along with the greatest health benefits. Be sure to alert the therapist to any special needs or concerns you may have.

It is important to maintain a regular schedule of massage to receive maximum benefits. While a massage every now then is very healthy, it will not even come close to the power of regular massages.

I find that a massage every one or two weeks provides the best benefits. Simply find a routine that works for you and stick with it. You will be very glad you did.

The post Health Benefits of Massage appeared first on Fitness Tips for Life.

http://ift.tt/1CWOSbO

Related posts:

Related posts:

How Much Sleep to Get

The Effects of Sleep

No Hitting the Snooze Button

Related posts:

Reasons For 30 Minutes Exercise Per Day

Related posts:

Sign Up To A Calorie Tracking Website

Track It Yourself (With Some Help!)

How Do I Track Calories?

Related posts:

7 Steps To A Positive Lifestyle

Related posts:

Health Benefits of Massage

Related posts: