When it comes to dieting, far too often we take those first steps towards weight loss bliss for what we later determine are all the wrong reasons. Ultimately however, if your reason works for you there is no truly wrong reason to diet. The trick is in finding the reason that will actually work for you.
I've seen all kinds of excellent motivators when it comes to dieting and taking your dieting seriously. One of the more common reasons is to lose weight. This is as good of a reason as any. Some want to get back into the size 5 jeans they wore in high school while others would simply like to be able to look in the mirror once again without feeling guilt. For some this is a simple matter of vanity and for others it is finally managing to deal with what has become a lifelong problem. If you find the inspiration you need to be successful with your dieting this time as opposed to others, then that is the perfectly plausible and acceptable reason for you to diet.
Other reasons for dieting include a desire to be more physically fit. Some of us have a deep and abiding desire to live as long as possible and firmly believe that the best possible method for accomplishing this goal is to live the healthiest life possible. This is another excellent reason for losing weight and getting into shape. If it works for you that is. The thing to remember is that every person is going to have to find their very own motivation deep within.
Yet another great reason is to have the energy you need to keep up with your little ones. This is one of the most heartbreaking side effects for most when it comes to obesity. There is simply no energy left over at the end of the day to enjoy doing things with your precious little ones who are young for such a very short amount of time. You desperately want to be able to build those precious memories with them but absolutely have no energy with which to do so. If that isn't bad enough you probably (if you are considered morbidly obese) have noticed that many of the simplest activities with your children often bring you physical pain that is the direct result of your weight.
Revenge is a dish that is best served cold and another excellent motivator for some when it comes to dieting and taking off those pesky pounds. Losing a great deal of weight takes time in many cases so you must be able to maintain your motivation even when things are going rough along the way. The path to a new body is not an easy path. This is for those who have some serious emotional healing to do and the best revenge for old slights and wounds is to come back more beautiful than ever before. If this motivation is what it takes for you to take off the pounds then this is the motivation to which you should cling.
Religion is another common weight loss motivation. Some people believe the body should be treated as a temple. There is nothing wrong with this philosophy at all, though it takes some us longer to find our way to that line of thinking than others. Religion and faith are powerful motivators, as they have been known to bring healing to those in need by the power of their faith or their prayers. If your faith can give you the will power and strength you need in order to reach your dieting and weight loss goals then by all means lean on your faith and hold it close.
No matter what motivation you have for dieting and losing weight if you find it is no longer working for you, then you need to find another motivator quickly. Without proper motivation it is quite unlikely that you will ever meet your weight loss goals.
Tips To Lose Weight
Showing posts with label dieting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dieting. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Dieting by Weight Loss Surgery
Those who are what is considered morbidly obese have few options when it comes to losing weight when time is of the essence. Many have bounced from one diet to the next for the vast majority of their lives only to find failure after failure and a growing sense of hopelessness and helplessness.
One common misconception when it comes to the morbidly obese is that they did it to themselves and if they didn't want to be overweight they wouldn't be. While this is nice in theory it isn't always true in practice. There are certain medical conditions that can result in a person being unable to control the weight they gain. There are also environmental issues that can affect the weight of a person as well. It's ironic that in many cases alcoholics and drug addicts are treated and viewed with greater compassion than someone who is obese.
The surgery itself is major surgery and not an option that should be taken lightly and without a great deal of thought. Most people find that weight loss surgery involves a major change in lifestyle before and after as well as an entirely new way of eating that is a lifelong commitment. Because of the life altering changes that result from this surgery it is recommended that those receiving the surgery have a BMI that is greater than 40. This means that it is recommended for men who are greater than 100 pounds overweight and women who overweight by 80 or more pounds.
You should carefully weigh the benefits and the risks of a surgery such as this before deciding that this is the course of action you need to take. The risks are great with this surgery and should not be overlooked in desperation to shed the weight you've wanted to shed for so long. Nutritional deficiencies occur in almost 20% of those who have received this sort of surgery as the result of insufficient nutrients. This can lead to osteoporosis and other conditions as you age. Complications can result from the surgery itself. You can have lifelong issues when consuming too much or the wrong sorts of foods, and there are some who achieve their goals only to find that the weight comes back in time. As with anything in life there are no guarantees when it comes to weight loss surgery.
In order to determine whether or not this surgery will be beneficial to you, you may want to ask yourself the following questions.
Is my weight significantly hampering day-to-day activities?
Is my weight causing other secondary conditions that may be harmful to my health?
Is my weight something I honestly feel I can take control of on my own?
Can I commit to the lifelong consequences and follow up that will be required?
The problem with most people who find the need to resort to weight loss surgery is that they cannot take control of their bodies back. The odds of a good candidate for weight loss surgery losing the weight of his or her own design are very slim as he or she has most likely tried and failed every diet in the books.
Only you can determine whether or not weight loss surgery is a viable option for your weight loss needs. If you decide that this is something you are interested in learning more about, be sure to discuss the possible consequences thoroughly with your physician.
One common misconception when it comes to the morbidly obese is that they did it to themselves and if they didn't want to be overweight they wouldn't be. While this is nice in theory it isn't always true in practice. There are certain medical conditions that can result in a person being unable to control the weight they gain. There are also environmental issues that can affect the weight of a person as well. It's ironic that in many cases alcoholics and drug addicts are treated and viewed with greater compassion than someone who is obese.
The surgery itself is major surgery and not an option that should be taken lightly and without a great deal of thought. Most people find that weight loss surgery involves a major change in lifestyle before and after as well as an entirely new way of eating that is a lifelong commitment. Because of the life altering changes that result from this surgery it is recommended that those receiving the surgery have a BMI that is greater than 40. This means that it is recommended for men who are greater than 100 pounds overweight and women who overweight by 80 or more pounds.
You should carefully weigh the benefits and the risks of a surgery such as this before deciding that this is the course of action you need to take. The risks are great with this surgery and should not be overlooked in desperation to shed the weight you've wanted to shed for so long. Nutritional deficiencies occur in almost 20% of those who have received this sort of surgery as the result of insufficient nutrients. This can lead to osteoporosis and other conditions as you age. Complications can result from the surgery itself. You can have lifelong issues when consuming too much or the wrong sorts of foods, and there are some who achieve their goals only to find that the weight comes back in time. As with anything in life there are no guarantees when it comes to weight loss surgery.
In order to determine whether or not this surgery will be beneficial to you, you may want to ask yourself the following questions.
Is my weight significantly hampering day-to-day activities?
Is my weight causing other secondary conditions that may be harmful to my health?
Is my weight something I honestly feel I can take control of on my own?
Can I commit to the lifelong consequences and follow up that will be required?
The problem with most people who find the need to resort to weight loss surgery is that they cannot take control of their bodies back. The odds of a good candidate for weight loss surgery losing the weight of his or her own design are very slim as he or she has most likely tried and failed every diet in the books.
Only you can determine whether or not weight loss surgery is a viable option for your weight loss needs. If you decide that this is something you are interested in learning more about, be sure to discuss the possible consequences thoroughly with your physician.
Dieting and Weight Loss Drugs
There are many pills, potions, lotions, powders, and creams that promise to melt off the pounds you've put on while you sleep. The sad truth is that only one pill sold over the counter at this point in time has the FDA back up its claims of aiding in weight loss period. This drug would be the over the counter form of the drug that has been prescribed as Xenical. In the over the counter form it is known as Alli. Alli along with diet and exercise is known to boost the weight loss process to provide more immediate and long lasting results.
With any medication such as this there are those that will tout its effectiveness as well as those that will shout out the dangers of this chemical we are potentially introducing to our bodies. The one thing that is important to remember is that Alli holds no claims to work without consistent weight loss and fitness efforts on your part. This product is meant to supplement your own efforts not to work as a substitute for your own efforts.
It should be mentioned that there are consequences that occur as the result of taking Alli and not following up with a diet that is low in fat. Among the side effects that can result are flatulence, loose stools, and bowel incontinence. This is not a drug for the faint of heart nor is it a medication for those that are not completely dedicated to the cause of losing weight and dieting.
While Alli is not the overall solution that so many are hoping for, it can lead to more substantial effects for your efforts and that is nothing to overlook when it comes to importance. According to the website for Alli you have as much as 50% greater weight loss potential when you combine Alli with diet and exercise than dieting and exercise alone would bring. This is a huge break through for the weight loss community and diet industry at large.
While this isn't the magic pill that will melt off the pounds as you sleep it is a pill that is documented to get results and some of these results are quite impressive for those who stick to the plan. If you have been struggling with dieting, diet plans, weight loss, and incorporating a bold and beneficial fitness routine into your life there is no time like the present to check out Alli and see what outstanding results this product can introduce into your fitness plan.
If Alli helps even a tenth of those who decide to take it achieve their fitness and weight loss goals then this is the miracle product we hoped it would be. Most miracles, after all don't come free and most of them do not come for less than $100 a bottle for certain.
If you are one of the many out there who is struggling with obesity and feels hopeless when it comes to controlling your weight and your life, then perhaps Alli is the answer to your prayers. My best recommendation is to discuss this product seriously with your doctor before making any sort of commitment in order to decide if you are committed enough and ready to take the next step or if your physician feels this may not be in your best interest at the time.
With any medication such as this there are those that will tout its effectiveness as well as those that will shout out the dangers of this chemical we are potentially introducing to our bodies. The one thing that is important to remember is that Alli holds no claims to work without consistent weight loss and fitness efforts on your part. This product is meant to supplement your own efforts not to work as a substitute for your own efforts.
It should be mentioned that there are consequences that occur as the result of taking Alli and not following up with a diet that is low in fat. Among the side effects that can result are flatulence, loose stools, and bowel incontinence. This is not a drug for the faint of heart nor is it a medication for those that are not completely dedicated to the cause of losing weight and dieting.
While Alli is not the overall solution that so many are hoping for, it can lead to more substantial effects for your efforts and that is nothing to overlook when it comes to importance. According to the website for Alli you have as much as 50% greater weight loss potential when you combine Alli with diet and exercise than dieting and exercise alone would bring. This is a huge break through for the weight loss community and diet industry at large.
While this isn't the magic pill that will melt off the pounds as you sleep it is a pill that is documented to get results and some of these results are quite impressive for those who stick to the plan. If you have been struggling with dieting, diet plans, weight loss, and incorporating a bold and beneficial fitness routine into your life there is no time like the present to check out Alli and see what outstanding results this product can introduce into your fitness plan.
If Alli helps even a tenth of those who decide to take it achieve their fitness and weight loss goals then this is the miracle product we hoped it would be. Most miracles, after all don't come free and most of them do not come for less than $100 a bottle for certain.
If you are one of the many out there who is struggling with obesity and feels hopeless when it comes to controlling your weight and your life, then perhaps Alli is the answer to your prayers. My best recommendation is to discuss this product seriously with your doctor before making any sort of commitment in order to decide if you are committed enough and ready to take the next step or if your physician feels this may not be in your best interest at the time.
Atkins for Dieting
Most people around the world by now have heard of the Atkins diet. It has been one of the most highly touted and highly controversial diets of our time. Those who love it have nothing but great things to say about it but those who are critical are not shy about their opposition either. The largest criticism when it comes to the Atkins, or low carb diet would be the near absence of whole grains, which are considered the cornerstone to a healthy diet by many.
Dieting with the Atkins diet involved eliminating a large degree of carbohydrates from your diet. In the past there hasn't been as much of an emphasis on fitness and exercise with the Atkins diet as there seems to be currently. This is good news however as an active fitness regime is as essential to successful weight loss as cutting calories and in this case cutting carbohydrates.
You should take great caution that you are getting accurate information when it comes to Atkins dieting if this is something you are considering in order to meet your fitness and weight loss needs. There is a great deal of misleading and incorrect information that is floating around out there when it comes to the Atkins diet and weight loss plan. First of all, weight loss is the direct result of burning more calories than you consume. It doesn't matter how many or how few carbs you enjoy or deny yourself during the day if at the end of the day you've consumed a few thousand calories too many.
The notion that you can eat anything you want during the day as long as there are no carbs is simply incorrect. Calories still put on the pounds whether you are using the Atkins plan for weight loss or not. That being said there are some interesting insights in this diet and a good man of the foods that are eliminated are those that have the most complex sugars for the body to dispose of. For this reason there are many who have followed the honest to goodness plan to tremendous results.
If you are considering dieting with the Atkins plan you should realize that this is a lifelong commitment in order to achieve the maximum benefit of the plan. There will be lesser restrictions as you reach the maintenance phases of the plans but you are making a conscious decision to pretty much sacrifice a good deal of the carbohydrates that many of us have enjoyed throughout our lives. This is a concept that is much easier said than done over an extended period of time and especially in a society when most of us cannot commit to a mate for that long.
At any rate, dieting with the Atkins plan has produced results for a good deal of people around the world. The news of these results has made it one of the most talked about, tested, and tried systems for dieting on the planet and many people have mixed reviews. Those who love it and feel that it is effective are enthusiastic in its support though those that are honest will admit that you do feel as though you are sacrificing a good deal for the sake of your dietary needs. Those who hate it hate it, and there is nothing that is going to change their opinion. The only way to know for sure is to try for yourself.
Dieting with the Atkins diet involved eliminating a large degree of carbohydrates from your diet. In the past there hasn't been as much of an emphasis on fitness and exercise with the Atkins diet as there seems to be currently. This is good news however as an active fitness regime is as essential to successful weight loss as cutting calories and in this case cutting carbohydrates.
You should take great caution that you are getting accurate information when it comes to Atkins dieting if this is something you are considering in order to meet your fitness and weight loss needs. There is a great deal of misleading and incorrect information that is floating around out there when it comes to the Atkins diet and weight loss plan. First of all, weight loss is the direct result of burning more calories than you consume. It doesn't matter how many or how few carbs you enjoy or deny yourself during the day if at the end of the day you've consumed a few thousand calories too many.
The notion that you can eat anything you want during the day as long as there are no carbs is simply incorrect. Calories still put on the pounds whether you are using the Atkins plan for weight loss or not. That being said there are some interesting insights in this diet and a good man of the foods that are eliminated are those that have the most complex sugars for the body to dispose of. For this reason there are many who have followed the honest to goodness plan to tremendous results.
If you are considering dieting with the Atkins plan you should realize that this is a lifelong commitment in order to achieve the maximum benefit of the plan. There will be lesser restrictions as you reach the maintenance phases of the plans but you are making a conscious decision to pretty much sacrifice a good deal of the carbohydrates that many of us have enjoyed throughout our lives. This is a concept that is much easier said than done over an extended period of time and especially in a society when most of us cannot commit to a mate for that long.
At any rate, dieting with the Atkins plan has produced results for a good deal of people around the world. The news of these results has made it one of the most talked about, tested, and tried systems for dieting on the planet and many people have mixed reviews. Those who love it and feel that it is effective are enthusiastic in its support though those that are honest will admit that you do feel as though you are sacrificing a good deal for the sake of your dietary needs. Those who hate it hate it, and there is nothing that is going to change their opinion. The only way to know for sure is to try for yourself.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
10 Real Life Diet Tips
Are you tired of diet tips handed out by someone with apparently unlimited income and time? For some of us, it may just not be practical to spend half of our Sunday preparing carefully portioned meals for the rest of the week, or financially feasible to buy all our meals prepackaged in just the right portions. And there are those of us who cringe at the thought of weighing food to achieve 'optimal portion sizes'. Here are ten real life weight loss tips for the rest of us.
1. Eating out? Restaurant portions tend to be enormous, and if it's on the plate, we tend to eat it. If it's possible, order from the kid’s menu, where portions are more reasonably sized.
2. Keep healthy snacks around and easily accessible. A bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, a container of celery or carrot sticks in the refrigerator, or a couple of pop-open cans of fruit salad in your desk at work will help you grab for something healthy when those first hunger pains begin. In other words, you'll be more likely to grab something low-calorie and good for you if it's easy to eat.
3. Substitute frozen vegetables for canned. Canned veggies tend to be high in sodium, which you don't need, and low in real nutrition, which you do. Buy economy size bags with zip closures to make it easy to pour out a single serving for a meal.
4. Buy a vegetable steamer. Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables. The food retains nearly all of its natural nutrients instead of leaching it out into the cooking water. Even better, it makes your veggies taste great - which means you'll be more likely to eat them instead of filling up on fatty foods that pack on weight.
5. Never eat standing up. One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Treat eating with the respect that it deserves. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat properly. You'll be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.
6. Spread your meals out. When you eat three meals a day, your body tends to store whatever it doesn't need right that moment. By adopting a 'grazing' habit, you'll keep your metabolism working throughout the day. Have a small breakfast, a piece of fruit with crackers or toast at mid-morning, a light lunch and an 'after school snack' mid-afternoon. Just remember that you're breaking up the same amount of food into smaller meals, not ADDING more food into your daily diet.
7. Grab a fruit juice or flavored water instead of soda. Soda is nothing but empty calories. No nutrients, lots of sugar. Instead, grab a bottle of 100% fruit juice, or water flavored with a spritz of fruit.
8. Drink water. Even the FDA recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right. When you're dieting, you should drink even more. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly and cleans out your system.
9. Can't afford a gym membership? Make a pact with friends to exercise together. Make a date at least three times a week to play volleyball, take a walk or spend half an hour doing something active.
10. Skip the potato chips. Fatty snacks fried in hydrogenated oil like potato chips contribute fat and calories and not much else. Instead, grab a handful of dried fruit or a cup of yogurt for the same amount of calories and a lot more nutritional benefit.
Best fat loss system is a total body cleanse
1. Eating out? Restaurant portions tend to be enormous, and if it's on the plate, we tend to eat it. If it's possible, order from the kid’s menu, where portions are more reasonably sized.
2. Keep healthy snacks around and easily accessible. A bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, a container of celery or carrot sticks in the refrigerator, or a couple of pop-open cans of fruit salad in your desk at work will help you grab for something healthy when those first hunger pains begin. In other words, you'll be more likely to grab something low-calorie and good for you if it's easy to eat.
3. Substitute frozen vegetables for canned. Canned veggies tend to be high in sodium, which you don't need, and low in real nutrition, which you do. Buy economy size bags with zip closures to make it easy to pour out a single serving for a meal.
4. Buy a vegetable steamer. Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables. The food retains nearly all of its natural nutrients instead of leaching it out into the cooking water. Even better, it makes your veggies taste great - which means you'll be more likely to eat them instead of filling up on fatty foods that pack on weight.
5. Never eat standing up. One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Treat eating with the respect that it deserves. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat properly. You'll be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.
6. Spread your meals out. When you eat three meals a day, your body tends to store whatever it doesn't need right that moment. By adopting a 'grazing' habit, you'll keep your metabolism working throughout the day. Have a small breakfast, a piece of fruit with crackers or toast at mid-morning, a light lunch and an 'after school snack' mid-afternoon. Just remember that you're breaking up the same amount of food into smaller meals, not ADDING more food into your daily diet.
7. Grab a fruit juice or flavored water instead of soda. Soda is nothing but empty calories. No nutrients, lots of sugar. Instead, grab a bottle of 100% fruit juice, or water flavored with a spritz of fruit.
8. Drink water. Even the FDA recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right. When you're dieting, you should drink even more. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly and cleans out your system.
9. Can't afford a gym membership? Make a pact with friends to exercise together. Make a date at least three times a week to play volleyball, take a walk or spend half an hour doing something active.
10. Skip the potato chips. Fatty snacks fried in hydrogenated oil like potato chips contribute fat and calories and not much else. Instead, grab a handful of dried fruit or a cup of yogurt for the same amount of calories and a lot more nutritional benefit.
Best fat loss system is a total body cleanse
Friday, February 25, 2011
6 Steps to Ending Bad Eating Habits
A client wrote, "Help me! I thought I was finally getting a handle on my weight issue but the sugar is killing me. I had an awful day. I won't even tell you what I ate today because it is just so unbelievable. All I will say is that 90% of my food today consisted of sugar! I really, really need some help getting past these cravings. I am no doubt a sugar addict. If I could get past this there is no doubt that I will reach my goal."
If you see a little of yourself in this message, you're not alone. Many describe themselves as sugar addicts. They believe if it were only for that one thing, then they could reach their weight loss goals. If you believe only one thing stands in your way of losing weight, consider this: What if that one thing (an addiction to sugar for instance) were gone? Do you really believe, "If I could get past this, there is no doubt that I will reach my goal," or is it an easy excuse to stay stuck?
If I told you I could show you a way to stop craving sugar, would you want me to show you how?
Think about that for a moment. Close your eyes and really think it through. You've said if only you didn't crave sugar, then you could lose weight, but is that really true for you? Ask yourself these questions:
Would you eat differently, and if so how?
Would you act differently, and if so how?
What else would change, and what would stay the same?
What would you lose?
What would you gain?
Until you know what you want, know you can achieve it, and know what else will change (i.e. how your life may be different), you can't discover any obstacles that first must be considered. For instance, you may want to stop eating anything after 7 PM yet your husband doesn't come home from work until 8 and he wants you to join him for dinner. That's an obstacle.
If you've got a habit of watching your favorite TV show with a bowl of ice cream, then breaking that habit is another obstacle.
If you don't work out ways to overcome your obstacles perhaps through discussion and compromise with your husband, or habit breaking exercises for your ice cream habit, there's bound to be a problem. Just saying you're not going to do something any more rarely works. Instead determine what might stand in the way of achieving your goals, find a way around them, and you're much more likely to actually achieve those goals once and for all.
The statement, "if this one thing were handled, then everything else would fall into place" is an "If Then" statement and gets people into trouble. They want a fairy godmother to make it all better. A strong belief that one single thing such as, "eating sugar is my problem," sets you up to fail, especially if you really like eating sugary foods.
Getting a handle on your cravings is not an all-or-nothing proposition. You must leave room for occasional deviations. It's not the occasional side trip that causes weight trouble, it's the road we usually travel.
In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) a good starting point is the exercise called Establishing a Well Formed Outcome. "Well formed" means it meets all criteria of a well thought-out end result.
NLP: How to Create a Well Formed Outcome & Get What You Want
Here are the steps to creating a well formed outcome:
1) State what you want (not what you do not want). "I want to weigh 135 pounds."
2) Determine whether you can achieve it (do you believe it is possible?).
3) What resources do you have and what do you need (time, money, gear, clothes, equipment, coaching, whatever).
4) Check whether anyone else is involved and any potential obstacles that may come up regarding others. Think of everyone involved in your day-to-day life.
5) Picture yourself "as if" you've obtained what you say you want and see if that picture fits. Do you like what you see?
6) Put together a plan of action for the achievement of your outcome.
While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example, if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job, that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym, you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed, yet it was the plan that failed, not you. You didn't think it through.
A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home, or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later, when you do have transportation, you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.
It's better to look at what you want from every angle, then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want, you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality.
"Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.
If you see a little of yourself in this message, you're not alone. Many describe themselves as sugar addicts. They believe if it were only for that one thing, then they could reach their weight loss goals. If you believe only one thing stands in your way of losing weight, consider this: What if that one thing (an addiction to sugar for instance) were gone? Do you really believe, "If I could get past this, there is no doubt that I will reach my goal," or is it an easy excuse to stay stuck?
If I told you I could show you a way to stop craving sugar, would you want me to show you how?
Think about that for a moment. Close your eyes and really think it through. You've said if only you didn't crave sugar, then you could lose weight, but is that really true for you? Ask yourself these questions:
Would you eat differently, and if so how?
Would you act differently, and if so how?
What else would change, and what would stay the same?
What would you lose?
What would you gain?
Until you know what you want, know you can achieve it, and know what else will change (i.e. how your life may be different), you can't discover any obstacles that first must be considered. For instance, you may want to stop eating anything after 7 PM yet your husband doesn't come home from work until 8 and he wants you to join him for dinner. That's an obstacle.
If you've got a habit of watching your favorite TV show with a bowl of ice cream, then breaking that habit is another obstacle.
If you don't work out ways to overcome your obstacles perhaps through discussion and compromise with your husband, or habit breaking exercises for your ice cream habit, there's bound to be a problem. Just saying you're not going to do something any more rarely works. Instead determine what might stand in the way of achieving your goals, find a way around them, and you're much more likely to actually achieve those goals once and for all.
The statement, "if this one thing were handled, then everything else would fall into place" is an "If Then" statement and gets people into trouble. They want a fairy godmother to make it all better. A strong belief that one single thing such as, "eating sugar is my problem," sets you up to fail, especially if you really like eating sugary foods.
Getting a handle on your cravings is not an all-or-nothing proposition. You must leave room for occasional deviations. It's not the occasional side trip that causes weight trouble, it's the road we usually travel.
In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) a good starting point is the exercise called Establishing a Well Formed Outcome. "Well formed" means it meets all criteria of a well thought-out end result.
NLP: How to Create a Well Formed Outcome & Get What You Want
Here are the steps to creating a well formed outcome:
1) State what you want (not what you do not want). "I want to weigh 135 pounds."
2) Determine whether you can achieve it (do you believe it is possible?).
3) What resources do you have and what do you need (time, money, gear, clothes, equipment, coaching, whatever).
4) Check whether anyone else is involved and any potential obstacles that may come up regarding others. Think of everyone involved in your day-to-day life.
5) Picture yourself "as if" you've obtained what you say you want and see if that picture fits. Do you like what you see?
6) Put together a plan of action for the achievement of your outcome.
While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example, if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job, that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym, you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed, yet it was the plan that failed, not you. You didn't think it through.
A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home, or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later, when you do have transportation, you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.
It's better to look at what you want from every angle, then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want, you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality.
"Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.
5 Super Simple Weight Loss Tips
Weight loss is one of those subjects that everyone is always talking about. It seems you can’t go anywhere without seeing or hearing some type of weight loss message. Stories of the dangers of not losing weight appear regularly on the nightly news. Retail outlets and the Internet both are full of weight loss books and products. Weight loss is discussed in medical centers and at schools and even in the work place. If you’re trying to lose weight, here are a few tips to get you going.
Tip #1 – Stop Talking About Weight Loss!
All that talk about how much you want to lose weight isn’t going to make the weight come off. You’ve got to take action, starting right now. So take this simple advice: Stop moving your mouth and start moving your body! It won’t take long to begin seeing the results.
Tip #2 – Slow and Steady is Best
Slow and steady weight loss is better (and safer) than riding the dieting roller coaster. If you’re looking for long-lasting weight loss results, aim to lose an average of about two pounds each week. In order to lose weight you’ve got to consume fewer calories than you burn. As a bonus, when you combine dieting with exercise, you’ll be reducing your caloric intake and increasing your caloric burn rate at the same time.
Tip #3 – Save Your Money
Don’t spend your hard-earned money on the latest weight loss gimmicks. Pills, fad diets, hypnosis, and extreme surgical procedures are not the answer! These gimmicks won’t slim you down, but they will fatten the bank accounts of those who promote them! Eating a nutritionally-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, good fats and lean proteins will encourage weight loss faster than any miracle cure you can buy.
Tip #4 – Weight Loss is a Way of Life
Unfortunately, the issue of weight is something that most people will struggle with throughout life. Excess processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle are the two biggest contributors to this constant struggle. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you’ve got to change the way you think about food. It should be thought of as a source of fuel, not a passion. Successful weight loss really is about making lifestyle changes, including making the right food choices, and then sticking with those choices throughout life.
Tip #5 – Weight Loss is More Than a Number
When you’re dieting, don’t become a victim of the dreaded scale. When the numbers go down, happiness goes up. But when the numbers stay the same or go up, it is easy to give up and give in. Remember that even if your weight isn’t changing as you would like, your body is. You’ll be taking better care of your heart. You’ll be lowering your cholesterol levels. You’ll be sporting a leaner body and your clothes will begin fitting more comfortably. When you learn to find joy in these other benefits, you’ll want to keep on being a loser!
Tip #1 – Stop Talking About Weight Loss!
All that talk about how much you want to lose weight isn’t going to make the weight come off. You’ve got to take action, starting right now. So take this simple advice: Stop moving your mouth and start moving your body! It won’t take long to begin seeing the results.
Tip #2 – Slow and Steady is Best
Slow and steady weight loss is better (and safer) than riding the dieting roller coaster. If you’re looking for long-lasting weight loss results, aim to lose an average of about two pounds each week. In order to lose weight you’ve got to consume fewer calories than you burn. As a bonus, when you combine dieting with exercise, you’ll be reducing your caloric intake and increasing your caloric burn rate at the same time.
Tip #3 – Save Your Money
Don’t spend your hard-earned money on the latest weight loss gimmicks. Pills, fad diets, hypnosis, and extreme surgical procedures are not the answer! These gimmicks won’t slim you down, but they will fatten the bank accounts of those who promote them! Eating a nutritionally-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, good fats and lean proteins will encourage weight loss faster than any miracle cure you can buy.
Tip #4 – Weight Loss is a Way of Life
Unfortunately, the issue of weight is something that most people will struggle with throughout life. Excess processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle are the two biggest contributors to this constant struggle. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you’ve got to change the way you think about food. It should be thought of as a source of fuel, not a passion. Successful weight loss really is about making lifestyle changes, including making the right food choices, and then sticking with those choices throughout life.
Tip #5 – Weight Loss is More Than a Number
When you’re dieting, don’t become a victim of the dreaded scale. When the numbers go down, happiness goes up. But when the numbers stay the same or go up, it is easy to give up and give in. Remember that even if your weight isn’t changing as you would like, your body is. You’ll be taking better care of your heart. You’ll be lowering your cholesterol levels. You’ll be sporting a leaner body and your clothes will begin fitting more comfortably. When you learn to find joy in these other benefits, you’ll want to keep on being a loser!
5 Simple Steps to Losing Weight
If you are carrying around a few (I use that term loosely) extra pounds like most of us are, you all know all the reasons why we should take the weight off. It will reduce stress on our heart, reducing the chance of heart disease, cancer, possibility of diabetes; feel better, look more attractive, etc.
There are 101 reasons why, but it can be a real pain to finally get that weight off. You push really hard, make a little progress, get side tracked, and bam you are heavier then you started.
It’s maddening. Enough with that hassle, I have put together 5 simple steps to actually losing weight and keeping it off. These steps can be applied to anything, but we are focusing on weight loss here.
1. Know What You Want
2. Know Where You Are
3. Track Your Results
4. Make Course Corrections
5. Being held Accountable
Now all your extra weight will effortlessly melt off. Yeah right! A simple list of 5 items is not going to do it, so let me explain the intricacies of the 5 items and where the hang up normally occurs when applied to losing weight.
1. Know What You Want
This one is dead simple. Most people that want to lose weight have an idea of how many pounds they would like to lose or how they would like their body to look.
I think we can safely say if your body started looking the way you wanted it, you would know, even if you didn’t have it completely mapped out and detailed.
2. Know Where You Are
This is the big trip up. It is almost always overlooked and is the number one reason for the up and down Yo Yo effect we experience with losing weight. We are unhappy with how our body feels and how it looks and it is painful to zoom in and get an accurate picture of where we are. Unfortunately, we have to know where we are, to be able to accurately judge the results we are getting.
You are on a trip to San Diego, California. You would like to start your trip from Phoenix, Arizona, but you really don’t know where you are. No problem. You get an Arizona/California map and find that a simple 6 hours trip west on interstate 8 will get you to San Diego.
6 hours later, you have no clue where you are and it is definitely not warm San Diego. You feel defeated and you want to give up! Do you blame the car? The stupid maps? San Diego? Yourself?
Now what if I told you, you were actually in New Your City, not Phoenix, Arizona. A 6 hour car ride west from New York City will never get you to San Diego.
If you took the time to accurately find out where you were, you would have been able to choose the appropriate means to get to San Diego and have an expectation as to how long it would take.
This is the same with weight loss and our personal physical condition. In our minds, we think we are starting in a different physical condition then we really are. When the results don’t follow the illusion in your mind, we get upset.
3. Track Your Results
This is conceptually simple. If we have no clue as to WHAT we are doing, how do we know what is working? It might be a simple to do, but is also simple not to do. In the end, most people never track their results.
4. Make Course Corrections
We love to do this one. We have it hands down. It is like step 1 of knowing what you want. We try the new food diet, the super sit up machine, and the cardio hip hop power energy yoga fat burner class.
We might be great at switching it up, but without knowing where we are starting from and a history of tracked results, we have no clue as to what we should change or even which direction we should go.
5. Being held Accountable
No, not accountability! That is an evil word. I don’t want someone to know what I am doing, or more importantly what I am not doing.
So, why do we resist accountability, your secret weapon to weight loss? Because it works! If you know someone is going to be watching, you would follow through or at least feel very uncomfortable not following through.
Accountability when used wisely is the ultimate turbo booster to your weight loss. Since you are going to be accountable anyway, you might as well get something out of it.
Using accountability up front, you can achieve the body of your dreams. If you let your body hold you accountable, it will throw on fat in places you don’t want it to be.
The biggest obstacle to fat loss is not taking any action. It doesn’t matter how good the plan is, it is worthless if you don’t follow it. So what do I do now?
First and foremost get Accountable.
Forward this article to someone you respect and care about and tell them I want to be accountable to finally taking off my extra pounds. When they agree to support you, start working through Steps 1 – 5.
There are 101 reasons why, but it can be a real pain to finally get that weight off. You push really hard, make a little progress, get side tracked, and bam you are heavier then you started.
It’s maddening. Enough with that hassle, I have put together 5 simple steps to actually losing weight and keeping it off. These steps can be applied to anything, but we are focusing on weight loss here.
1. Know What You Want
2. Know Where You Are
3. Track Your Results
4. Make Course Corrections
5. Being held Accountable
Now all your extra weight will effortlessly melt off. Yeah right! A simple list of 5 items is not going to do it, so let me explain the intricacies of the 5 items and where the hang up normally occurs when applied to losing weight.
1. Know What You Want
This one is dead simple. Most people that want to lose weight have an idea of how many pounds they would like to lose or how they would like their body to look.
I think we can safely say if your body started looking the way you wanted it, you would know, even if you didn’t have it completely mapped out and detailed.
2. Know Where You Are
This is the big trip up. It is almost always overlooked and is the number one reason for the up and down Yo Yo effect we experience with losing weight. We are unhappy with how our body feels and how it looks and it is painful to zoom in and get an accurate picture of where we are. Unfortunately, we have to know where we are, to be able to accurately judge the results we are getting.
You are on a trip to San Diego, California. You would like to start your trip from Phoenix, Arizona, but you really don’t know where you are. No problem. You get an Arizona/California map and find that a simple 6 hours trip west on interstate 8 will get you to San Diego.
6 hours later, you have no clue where you are and it is definitely not warm San Diego. You feel defeated and you want to give up! Do you blame the car? The stupid maps? San Diego? Yourself?
Now what if I told you, you were actually in New Your City, not Phoenix, Arizona. A 6 hour car ride west from New York City will never get you to San Diego.
If you took the time to accurately find out where you were, you would have been able to choose the appropriate means to get to San Diego and have an expectation as to how long it would take.
This is the same with weight loss and our personal physical condition. In our minds, we think we are starting in a different physical condition then we really are. When the results don’t follow the illusion in your mind, we get upset.
3. Track Your Results
This is conceptually simple. If we have no clue as to WHAT we are doing, how do we know what is working? It might be a simple to do, but is also simple not to do. In the end, most people never track their results.
4. Make Course Corrections
We love to do this one. We have it hands down. It is like step 1 of knowing what you want. We try the new food diet, the super sit up machine, and the cardio hip hop power energy yoga fat burner class.
We might be great at switching it up, but without knowing where we are starting from and a history of tracked results, we have no clue as to what we should change or even which direction we should go.
5. Being held Accountable
No, not accountability! That is an evil word. I don’t want someone to know what I am doing, or more importantly what I am not doing.
So, why do we resist accountability, your secret weapon to weight loss? Because it works! If you know someone is going to be watching, you would follow through or at least feel very uncomfortable not following through.
Accountability when used wisely is the ultimate turbo booster to your weight loss. Since you are going to be accountable anyway, you might as well get something out of it.
Using accountability up front, you can achieve the body of your dreams. If you let your body hold you accountable, it will throw on fat in places you don’t want it to be.
The biggest obstacle to fat loss is not taking any action. It doesn’t matter how good the plan is, it is worthless if you don’t follow it. So what do I do now?
First and foremost get Accountable.
Forward this article to someone you respect and care about and tell them I want to be accountable to finally taking off my extra pounds. When they agree to support you, start working through Steps 1 – 5.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Are the barriers of dieting psychological or physical?
On the last count the word ‘diet’ produced in excess of 157 million web pages of diet plans, pills, potions and dieting tips from health institutions, diet companies, nutritional professionals and otherwise - from all over the world. And yet we are approaching the peak of an obesity epidemic which is causing untold mental misery and depression, aside from the ever increasing debilitating diseases being linked to those overweight or obese. With such an abundance of information available - how can this be?
The trend is unforgiving and is second only to smoking in terms of the cause of self-inflicted premature loss of life, but left to its own devices within the next five years obesity is sure to take the number one slot. Mother Nature is ruthless in her approach to life, in that she only allows the fittest to survive and the trend we see today is her reaction to the effects of a diet that is clearly not suited to the well-being of the human body and mind. We only have to stop, take a step in back and look around us to see that there is one hell of a serious problem. There is no need for statistics, reports or media news to tell us such. It's clear that we as individuals have to make a change in what we do if we have any intention to reverse the current obesity trend. The ultimate responsibility lies with each and every one of us to act for the benefit of ourselves.
We have to accept the fact that the grocery industry is a host of contradiction in that it sells both dietary products along side the very products that cause us to be overweight or obese in the first instance. This is so obvious in our supermarkets today. It has become human nature that profit has a higher weighting than human health, and this is evident in many industries around the world, and is far from unique within dieting circles. We must also bear in mind the diet companies, whilst they portray an air of interest and concern, in reality they are totally dependent on your failure to diet for their very own business survival. If they were good at what they do – their businesses would surely fail. So who can we trust aside from ourselves. The evidence is clear -there is no debate.
We may have one reprieve but it will be sometime in the future, but not now. Science and technology is getting nearer and nearer to the possibility of a wonder drug with the ever-increasing understanding of the human genotype and genetic engineering. But in reality, who would ever wish or want to be dependent on diet drugs, potentially an ongoing daily basis, simply because of a lack of understanding about the relationship between the food our body has been designed for, and the food we eat. Why is it, we knowingly overeat when we know it is bad for us and that we are doing harm to ourselves? Why is it, that the only time we choose to ignore our food is the time when we are eating it!
So, is it a psychological thing, a physical thing or is it both?
In order to answer this we must first look at the change in our diet over the last 50 years. Consumption trends of refined carbohydrates such as sugar has risen dramatically, but at the same time the consumption of fats and proteins has remained reasonably stable. Saturated fats has indeed become and still is a problem although thankfully now overall consumption of saturated fats has dropped slightly, but still remains an issue.
Many studies particularly those associated with research in how the Atkins diet worked revealed that the effect of refined carbohydrates and fats both have a form of addiction associated with them. Studies have shown that refined sugars have the effect of playing havoc with the fine balance of maintaining the level of glucose in the bloodstream. This in turn has a detrimental effect on our hormonal activity, such as insulin and glucagon which are both responsible for maintaining the level of glucose to its normal level following a ‘surge’ intake of refined carbohydrates in our diet. These acceptable levels of glucose in the bloodstream are maintained at surprisingly narrow margins.
Refined sugars therefore induces excessive hormonal activity in its attempt to restore homeostasis. These unnatural ‘swings’ in hormonal activity often cause differing mood swings from that of being happy and content to being sad, on edge, and even feelings of anxiety or panic. Prolonged exposure to these hormonal swings can often lead to the whole process becoming less effective and subsequently diabetes can be the end result.
Other studies have shown surprisingly that the effect of eating significant quantities of fats actually leads to an unexpected human reaction in terms of nutrition. You would think that eating food rich in fats would have the effect of satisfying feeling of hunger. But amazingly medical research has shown the opposite to be true. Clinical trials have shown that foods rich in fats actually induces people to eat more not less. At the time the results from such experiments were groundbreaking as they completely contradicted the nutritional thinking of the time.
It is also interesting to learn that further medical studies have suggested that foods rich in protein have been linked to the response that indicates that you have consumed sufficient food. In other words, it is believed that proteins in some way, triggers the ‘I am full’ response.
And then of course there is the massive change in our energy expenditure. We used to hunt and gather food but now we happily pop to the local supermarket to buy it, or at worse, have it delivered to our front door. Food has changed from being scarce to being in abundance (at least for us), and we have changed from being ‘active’ to relatively ‘dormant’. Move less and eat more…what should we expect?
And many believe that even the act of not exercising can trigger the bodily response to lower the metabolism and build fat layers under the skin for 2 key reasons, both being linked to human survival. In evolutionary terms, it may be that you are unable to ‘hunt’ and therefore unable to secure food. Reducing the metabolic rate of your body makes total sense to preserve energy. Secondly, if food is available during a spell of non activity, does it not make a whole load of sense to lay down fat layers under the skin to retain bodily heat and secure an energy source during potential ‘lean times’. Perfect sense, perfect design and yet we don’t understand ourselves and if we do, many choose to ignore the warning signs out body is offering.
In essence therefore, it is very clear that part of the problem within the dieting world that we humans face is certainly a physical one that is linked to the interaction of the food types we eat with that of our body. And clearly, over the last 50 odd years our diet has changed out of all recognition and yet our body is doing the same as it has been doing for well over the last 100,000 years. We are in the 21st century, our body is still in the ‘Stone Age’. Evolution is a slow slow process but over millions of years the relationship and reaction of chemicals in our food with the cells of the human body has been cemented and cast, for eons of time.
So, it is us that need to change…because Mother Nature will not entertain us for thousands of years to come…
Run with it, eat what your body has been designed for and successful weight loss will follow for sure…
The best fat loss system is a body cleanse
The trend is unforgiving and is second only to smoking in terms of the cause of self-inflicted premature loss of life, but left to its own devices within the next five years obesity is sure to take the number one slot. Mother Nature is ruthless in her approach to life, in that she only allows the fittest to survive and the trend we see today is her reaction to the effects of a diet that is clearly not suited to the well-being of the human body and mind. We only have to stop, take a step in back and look around us to see that there is one hell of a serious problem. There is no need for statistics, reports or media news to tell us such. It's clear that we as individuals have to make a change in what we do if we have any intention to reverse the current obesity trend. The ultimate responsibility lies with each and every one of us to act for the benefit of ourselves.
We have to accept the fact that the grocery industry is a host of contradiction in that it sells both dietary products along side the very products that cause us to be overweight or obese in the first instance. This is so obvious in our supermarkets today. It has become human nature that profit has a higher weighting than human health, and this is evident in many industries around the world, and is far from unique within dieting circles. We must also bear in mind the diet companies, whilst they portray an air of interest and concern, in reality they are totally dependent on your failure to diet for their very own business survival. If they were good at what they do – their businesses would surely fail. So who can we trust aside from ourselves. The evidence is clear -there is no debate.
We may have one reprieve but it will be sometime in the future, but not now. Science and technology is getting nearer and nearer to the possibility of a wonder drug with the ever-increasing understanding of the human genotype and genetic engineering. But in reality, who would ever wish or want to be dependent on diet drugs, potentially an ongoing daily basis, simply because of a lack of understanding about the relationship between the food our body has been designed for, and the food we eat. Why is it, we knowingly overeat when we know it is bad for us and that we are doing harm to ourselves? Why is it, that the only time we choose to ignore our food is the time when we are eating it!
So, is it a psychological thing, a physical thing or is it both?
In order to answer this we must first look at the change in our diet over the last 50 years. Consumption trends of refined carbohydrates such as sugar has risen dramatically, but at the same time the consumption of fats and proteins has remained reasonably stable. Saturated fats has indeed become and still is a problem although thankfully now overall consumption of saturated fats has dropped slightly, but still remains an issue.
Many studies particularly those associated with research in how the Atkins diet worked revealed that the effect of refined carbohydrates and fats both have a form of addiction associated with them. Studies have shown that refined sugars have the effect of playing havoc with the fine balance of maintaining the level of glucose in the bloodstream. This in turn has a detrimental effect on our hormonal activity, such as insulin and glucagon which are both responsible for maintaining the level of glucose to its normal level following a ‘surge’ intake of refined carbohydrates in our diet. These acceptable levels of glucose in the bloodstream are maintained at surprisingly narrow margins.
Refined sugars therefore induces excessive hormonal activity in its attempt to restore homeostasis. These unnatural ‘swings’ in hormonal activity often cause differing mood swings from that of being happy and content to being sad, on edge, and even feelings of anxiety or panic. Prolonged exposure to these hormonal swings can often lead to the whole process becoming less effective and subsequently diabetes can be the end result.
Other studies have shown surprisingly that the effect of eating significant quantities of fats actually leads to an unexpected human reaction in terms of nutrition. You would think that eating food rich in fats would have the effect of satisfying feeling of hunger. But amazingly medical research has shown the opposite to be true. Clinical trials have shown that foods rich in fats actually induces people to eat more not less. At the time the results from such experiments were groundbreaking as they completely contradicted the nutritional thinking of the time.
It is also interesting to learn that further medical studies have suggested that foods rich in protein have been linked to the response that indicates that you have consumed sufficient food. In other words, it is believed that proteins in some way, triggers the ‘I am full’ response.
And then of course there is the massive change in our energy expenditure. We used to hunt and gather food but now we happily pop to the local supermarket to buy it, or at worse, have it delivered to our front door. Food has changed from being scarce to being in abundance (at least for us), and we have changed from being ‘active’ to relatively ‘dormant’. Move less and eat more…what should we expect?
And many believe that even the act of not exercising can trigger the bodily response to lower the metabolism and build fat layers under the skin for 2 key reasons, both being linked to human survival. In evolutionary terms, it may be that you are unable to ‘hunt’ and therefore unable to secure food. Reducing the metabolic rate of your body makes total sense to preserve energy. Secondly, if food is available during a spell of non activity, does it not make a whole load of sense to lay down fat layers under the skin to retain bodily heat and secure an energy source during potential ‘lean times’. Perfect sense, perfect design and yet we don’t understand ourselves and if we do, many choose to ignore the warning signs out body is offering.
In essence therefore, it is very clear that part of the problem within the dieting world that we humans face is certainly a physical one that is linked to the interaction of the food types we eat with that of our body. And clearly, over the last 50 odd years our diet has changed out of all recognition and yet our body is doing the same as it has been doing for well over the last 100,000 years. We are in the 21st century, our body is still in the ‘Stone Age’. Evolution is a slow slow process but over millions of years the relationship and reaction of chemicals in our food with the cells of the human body has been cemented and cast, for eons of time.
So, it is us that need to change…because Mother Nature will not entertain us for thousands of years to come…
Run with it, eat what your body has been designed for and successful weight loss will follow for sure…
The best fat loss system is a body cleanse
Monday, February 21, 2011
All Diets Work--No Diets Work
Have you lost weight in the past only to regain it a short time later? Have you followed every diet including Atkins, South Beach, the Drinking Man's diet, the Peanut Butter diet, or even the Chocolate Diet? All of these diets work, and none of them work, meaning you can and probably do lose weight on any of them, but you won't keep it off. Why not? Because the day will come when the diet is over and you're right back to your regular routine; the same routine that got you fat in the first place.
In the past diets carried a warning not to stay on them longer than the prescribed period; usually two weeks, some a mere three days. Today's popular diets are attempting to style themselves as lifestyle choices, but this isn't working either. People want to be able to eat a sandwich now and then. They want the burger and the bun! Strive for balance choosing foods you prefer, and you'll have a better chance at lasting weight loss success.
Small Changes: Big Answer to Weight Loss Blues
Start today, and work one day at a time making one or two small changes such as switching to the calorie-free soft drinks then weaning yourself down to two or less a day (if you drink more than that now of course). Changes don't have to be drastic. In fact trying to make drastic changes in your lifestyle never works because while you may be happy in the beginning, you slowly grow miserable toward the end. In fact, that's the problem right there: you anticipate an end.
Weight Loss Comes Down to Choices
Talk to people who've lost weight and kept it off. They'll say, "This is a lifestyle." It's about choices you make every day. Are you choosing to take an extra helping, even though you're comfortably full? Change that one behavior and you're on your way. Do you choose to take the bag of chips to the couch? Change that, in fact just stop eating on the couch entirely and you're one step closer. Eliminate the habit of grabbing a few bites on your way past the candy dish, that alone can shave several pounds. I once lost eight pounds simply by eliminating the candy dish I kept at my desk (not to mention the money I saved not buying a couple pounds of candy a week).
Choose one small habit or behavior at a time, not your entire existence, and you'll have a much better chance to reach your weight loss goals.
In the past diets carried a warning not to stay on them longer than the prescribed period; usually two weeks, some a mere three days. Today's popular diets are attempting to style themselves as lifestyle choices, but this isn't working either. People want to be able to eat a sandwich now and then. They want the burger and the bun! Strive for balance choosing foods you prefer, and you'll have a better chance at lasting weight loss success.
Small Changes: Big Answer to Weight Loss Blues
Start today, and work one day at a time making one or two small changes such as switching to the calorie-free soft drinks then weaning yourself down to two or less a day (if you drink more than that now of course). Changes don't have to be drastic. In fact trying to make drastic changes in your lifestyle never works because while you may be happy in the beginning, you slowly grow miserable toward the end. In fact, that's the problem right there: you anticipate an end.
Weight Loss Comes Down to Choices
Talk to people who've lost weight and kept it off. They'll say, "This is a lifestyle." It's about choices you make every day. Are you choosing to take an extra helping, even though you're comfortably full? Change that one behavior and you're on your way. Do you choose to take the bag of chips to the couch? Change that, in fact just stop eating on the couch entirely and you're one step closer. Eliminate the habit of grabbing a few bites on your way past the candy dish, that alone can shave several pounds. I once lost eight pounds simply by eliminating the candy dish I kept at my desk (not to mention the money I saved not buying a couple pounds of candy a week).
Choose one small habit or behavior at a time, not your entire existence, and you'll have a much better chance to reach your weight loss goals.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Regain Your Health Through a pH Balanced Diet
People have been dieting for as long as I can remember. I have tried plenty of diets myself. Recently I have been learning about pH medicine and the value of having a balanced pH. It is not necessary to understand everything about pH and the body, but you should gets some pH strips and measure your own pH levels.
The pH scale is from 1 to 14, with 1 being very acid, and 14 being very alkaline. To remain healthy your body needs to be slightly above 7. There is nothing new about eating a vegetarian diet from organic foods, but adding in the pH factor is unknown to most people. How many times have you been told to eat your vegetables, and how good they are for your health, but were you ever told that you needed them to keep your acid/alkaline balance in proper proportion?
Maybe you have never heard of the pH miracle diet, but learning about the concepts and benefits to your health, you should be motivated to start eating this way. It is definitely not the normal American diet, and may be difficult to do, unless you can see the value in it.
What most people do not understand is their good health or lack of good health is determined by the food they eat. The standard American diet has made people overweight and unhealthy. Western medicine has no answers other than dealing with symptoms, never getting to the cause of problems.
The pH miracle diet is a total new way of thinking, and will be difficult because it is going against the norm, just like trying natural cures to health problems rather than traditional medicine. To do a pH balanced diet you will have to look at food in a new way, such as the importance of meat and dairy.
It is hard to make a complete 180 degree turn in anything in life, but with eating and cooking this can be extremely difficult because eating habits are hard to break. The good thing is that to change to a balanced pH diet it does not have to be done all at once. It can be gradually, changing one food at a time.
It is hard to stay on a radically different diet for a long time if you cut out all of your favorite meals all at once. The best approach is to go slowly at your own pace. Understanding why you should have the right acid/alkaline balance may get you motivated to try a pH diet, but you will not really learn the benefits until you start replacing the acid foods with alkaline foods and see how your body is being affected.
The goal of the pH miracle diet is to only eat 30% acid foods while eating 70% alkaline foods. Since everybody is different in their likes and dislikes, the success of the diet will be dependent on which aspects of the program you are willing to do. Once you understand the pH concept of food, you will be able to decide which of your favorite foods you are willing to give up.
When you see the pH of what you drink, such as alcohol or soda pop, you will understand why they are so detrimental to your health. A pH balanced diet is a new way of life. It is not just a fad diet to lose weight quickly, but once you understand how it is that acid foods make you fat, you should want to eliminate them from your diet.
There are lots of different foods, all with a certain pH value, so finding foods that will work for each individual should not be that hard. Most Americans have a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5 and would benefit greatly from changing to a mostly alkaline diet. If your pH level is below 5.5 you probably already have serious health problems, or you are headed that way.
An ideal pH balanced diet should be your goal, but it can be done at your own pace. For me it started by cutting down on pop with the intent to eliminate it completely. I have cut back on eating out, and have totally removed certain things from my diet. I have been drinking way more water, and have also started juicing.
Everyone needs to begin in their own way, deciding for themselves which acid-forming foods to replace with alkaline foods. The goal is to have a pH balance above 7.0 and become more healthy, and this can be done by eating alkaline foods. If you have been eating mainly acid-forming foods your body will need a time of adjustment to your new diet.
The pH scale is from 1 to 14, with 1 being very acid, and 14 being very alkaline. To remain healthy your body needs to be slightly above 7. There is nothing new about eating a vegetarian diet from organic foods, but adding in the pH factor is unknown to most people. How many times have you been told to eat your vegetables, and how good they are for your health, but were you ever told that you needed them to keep your acid/alkaline balance in proper proportion?
Maybe you have never heard of the pH miracle diet, but learning about the concepts and benefits to your health, you should be motivated to start eating this way. It is definitely not the normal American diet, and may be difficult to do, unless you can see the value in it.
What most people do not understand is their good health or lack of good health is determined by the food they eat. The standard American diet has made people overweight and unhealthy. Western medicine has no answers other than dealing with symptoms, never getting to the cause of problems.
The pH miracle diet is a total new way of thinking, and will be difficult because it is going against the norm, just like trying natural cures to health problems rather than traditional medicine. To do a pH balanced diet you will have to look at food in a new way, such as the importance of meat and dairy.
It is hard to make a complete 180 degree turn in anything in life, but with eating and cooking this can be extremely difficult because eating habits are hard to break. The good thing is that to change to a balanced pH diet it does not have to be done all at once. It can be gradually, changing one food at a time.
It is hard to stay on a radically different diet for a long time if you cut out all of your favorite meals all at once. The best approach is to go slowly at your own pace. Understanding why you should have the right acid/alkaline balance may get you motivated to try a pH diet, but you will not really learn the benefits until you start replacing the acid foods with alkaline foods and see how your body is being affected.
The goal of the pH miracle diet is to only eat 30% acid foods while eating 70% alkaline foods. Since everybody is different in their likes and dislikes, the success of the diet will be dependent on which aspects of the program you are willing to do. Once you understand the pH concept of food, you will be able to decide which of your favorite foods you are willing to give up.
When you see the pH of what you drink, such as alcohol or soda pop, you will understand why they are so detrimental to your health. A pH balanced diet is a new way of life. It is not just a fad diet to lose weight quickly, but once you understand how it is that acid foods make you fat, you should want to eliminate them from your diet.
There are lots of different foods, all with a certain pH value, so finding foods that will work for each individual should not be that hard. Most Americans have a pH level between 5.5 and 6.5 and would benefit greatly from changing to a mostly alkaline diet. If your pH level is below 5.5 you probably already have serious health problems, or you are headed that way.
An ideal pH balanced diet should be your goal, but it can be done at your own pace. For me it started by cutting down on pop with the intent to eliminate it completely. I have cut back on eating out, and have totally removed certain things from my diet. I have been drinking way more water, and have also started juicing.
Everyone needs to begin in their own way, deciding for themselves which acid-forming foods to replace with alkaline foods. The goal is to have a pH balance above 7.0 and become more healthy, and this can be done by eating alkaline foods. If you have been eating mainly acid-forming foods your body will need a time of adjustment to your new diet.
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