The Secret Tips For Losing Weight

Most tips for losing weight include what exercises to perform or what to eat. What about working on your mind to convince yourself that your weight loss goal has already been achieved before you even begin.

‘The Secret’ if you haven’t heard of it yet teaches you to how think this way and communicate your thoughts to the universe. {if you already follow ‘The Secret’ then GOOD ON YA!}

Positive thinking is no secret on how to achieve your goals but having the medium to do it helps greatly because there are times when we as humans sink to a lower thought process and we’re caught swimming in a negative pool of stuff that happened yesterday or years ago, incidents and predicaments we can no longer control!

Losing weight takes positive thinking and discipline. If you picture yourself already thin and fit there is no turning back because success is inevitable. Don’t expect a huge transformation in 2 weeks, your mind wants to change but your body will take some time to get out of it’s comfort level.

Here’s an excerpt form “The Secret Daily Teachings” by Rhonda Byrne the author and Producer of “The Secret” movie . I’ve watched it several times and read her “Daily Teachings” book which is a great motivational tool.

I know you will get inspired as well and that’s gratifying for me. Gratitude is one of the main focuses of “The Secret” and it’s fulfilling to thank people instead of fighting them or things that happen that you know are out of your control.

From: The Secret “Daily Teachings”

“Negative thoughts are not who you are. Your true nature is all good. So if by chance a negative thought comes, say to yourself, these thoughts are not mine and they do not belong with me. I am all good and only have good thoughts for myself and everyone.

Now you are speaking the truth”

Following ‘The Secret’ is one of my favorite tips for losing weight because it works and all it takes is your decision to change the way you think. Tell yourself RIGHT NOW

I am (fill in the blank___ ) lbs thinner and look great! keep thinking that way every day and your wish will come true.

Visualization is a powerful tool to help you reach your goals
All you need to do is make the decision to get started!

Try These Low Cost Weight Loss Tips?

Exercise has many benefits as we all know but there are also some monetary benefits as well. It’s easy to implement a low cost comprehensive exercise plan that will kick you into shape and save you money.

You can save thousands of dollars staying away from the medical system since working out boosts our immune system and keeps sickness at bay. Research has proven this fact and it really doesn’t take a lot of time and money to stay in shape.

Besides increasing your quality of sleep exercise increases mental alertness, fatigue leading to bounds of extra energy and productivity which equals a steady income.

A comprehensive exercise program consists of two components; aerobic and anaerobic. They work together to give you all the benefits you can derive from an exercise program.

1. Aerobic exercise refers to exercises like brisk walking, jogging, swimming, aerobic dance, outdoor cycling, stationary cycling, rowing, stair climbing, etc. The benefits of aerobic exercise are numerous including increased caloric expenditure, increased metabolism, increased energy levels, decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease, etc.

Which exercises can you do at literally no (or very little) cost to you? Let us count the ways:

1. Brisk walking
2. Stationary cycling
3. Aerobic dance
4. Swimming
5. Outdoor cycling
6. Rowing
7. Stair climbing

The benefits of any kind of movement like the activities above means an improvement with your cardiovascular health, stamina, higher metabolism and burned calories.

So mix in a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables along with lean meat and water(before and after you eat) you have an easy way to health and freedom. Plant foods are so natural they digest easily throughout our bodies.

Us humans did not come with huge incisors like a Bengal Tiger to rip it’s meal to shreds. Predators have a very short intestine for fast digestion which is required when eating nothing but red meat. Think about it and try a 70% meal plan of fresh fruits and veggies of you choice. You will feel light as a feather with more vigor and the desire to do more!

The 14 misconceptions and truths about weight loss

Why can’t you lose weight? Do you have misconceptions mentioned below? It is more likely that it is these concepts that make you fail in weight loss. There’re no secretes in weight loss. Methods for weight control are already known. These weight loss methods include dieting, exercising, pharmaceutical medications, appetite suppression, bowel and stomach surgery. Moderate regulate exercise combined with a well balanced diet is the most effective way in weight control.

Misconception 1, Eating vegetables and fruits ALONE will achieve a healthy weight loss
The truth: Research shows vegetarians have leaner body mass that other people. But if you are a vegetarian, you have to work out a strict diet plan, so as avoid malnutrition due to the long-term single diet structure. The supply of nutrients necessary for human health, such as iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc, and animal protein can not rely solely on the intake of vegetables and fruits.

Tips: Choose vegetarian diets rich in above nutrients, in combination with a healthy diet plan.

* Iron-rich foods: cashew nuts, spinach, soy products, black fungus
* Calcium-rich foods: dairy products, fortified soybean milk beverages, tofu, kale vegetables, dried small shrimps, rice, flour, spinach, cabbage, etc.
* Food rich in vitamin D: skimmed milk, cheese, nuts, fortified foods that added with vitamin D
* Vitamin B12-rich foods: soy, Stinky tofu
* Zinc-rich foods: beans, peanuts, millet, radish, cabbage

Misconception 2, Do not try weightlifting and other violent exercises that will make you an ugly ‘muscle woman’
The truth: Weightlifting, sit-ups, and other sports assist to lose weight and build muscle. Muscle tends to consume more calories than fat. Which means if you have more muscle, there’s more consumption of calories during metabolism. Of course, you don’t have to worry about to become a ‘muscle woman,’ because exercising two to three times a week is not enough to develop a strong muscular body. It only brings you solid and well-developed muscle masses though.

Tips: Apart from the regular 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, such as walking and jogging, you can also do strenuous exercise 2 to 3 time a week, such as weightlifting, pull stretch, sit-ups, push-ups, and etc.

Misconception 3, Starch-rich foods will let you gain weight
The truth: Many foods are rich in starch and with a small amount of fat and calories. Such foods include bread, rice, pasta, oats, soybeans, fruit and potatoes, and so on. The reason why they appear to make you fat is simply because you eat too much, or a variety of high-fat, high-calorie sauces such as butter, ice cream, syrup, are added in your meals. Remember, the starch is one of the three major energy sources for the human body.

Tips: Try to avoid adding high-calorie dressings to foods. You’re recommended eat 6 to 11 types of food grains in your every day’s meals. Make sure to control the total amount.

Misconception 4, Grapes, celery, and cabbage can help you burn fat and lose weight
The truth: There is no scientific proof to confirm that such fruit and vegetables can help you burn fat, despite some of the caffeine-rich food may speed up your metabolic rate in the short term, but this does not mean that it can help you lose weight.

Tips: The best way to lose weight is scientific dietary intake and moderate regular exercise.

Misconception 5, Natural or green products can help you lose weight healthily and effectively
The truth: Most of those claimed to be natural and healthy weight loss products did not undergo a rigorous scientific test. For example, some slimming products containing natural plant extract from the ephedrine. Ephedrine and will cause serious health problems. Other non-ephedrine weight loss products is not safe because they may contain other harmful ingredients.

Misconception 6, No need to control food intake for natural weight loss
The truth: To lose weight, you have to ensure that the calorie intake lower than the expenditure of calories (calories that are burned during base metabolism and physical activity). Eat whatever you take does not affect the weight loss effect. But you must not eat too much, also meanwhile take some moderate exercise.

The truth: Select low-calorie food as much as possible. If you can not stand the food temptations can not help, taste a little to satisfy your appetite.

Misconception 7, Low-fat food or food with no fat and calorie
The truth: Low-fat food does contain lower quality of calories that those contained in the high-fat food. But there’re exceptions, and some low-fat foods have equivalent quality of calories, or even more. As they may add a lot of sugar.

Tips: Before buying food, check the ingredients list to see if large amount of calories is contained.

Misconception 8, Fast food is unhealthy, step away from them if you want to lose weight
The truth: As long as you have tricks, fast food may help obesity treatment.

Tips: Do not eat large packages of snack food, and share with friends. Never drink coke, boiled water or low-fat milk. Choose some fruit and vegetable salad, and roasting food, for instance, chicken sandwiches or small Hamburg. Fried dishes, for example, French cooking, fried chicken, etc., are usually very high in concentrations of fat and calories, so do not eat often. If you really want to eat, invite a friend to enjoy and share the food.

Misconception 9, Reducing meals can help losing weight
The truth: Research shows that those who do not eat breakfast every day and have small meals have more possibility to get fat than those who adhere to having breakfast and regular meals. Often and little eating helps curb your appetite. Less meals will only make your stomach more greedy and you eat much more in very meal.

Tips: More meals a day, less eating in a meal. Take low-fat and green food.

Misconception 10, Eating after 8 pm will make the body gain weight
The truth: The primary cause of getting fat is not because you eat in an inappropriate time. It’s because your caloric intake is more than your caloric expenditure. Only excessive food intake will make the body gain weight.

Tips: If you want to eat something before bed, think about what you’ve eaten that day and whether these foods have met the energy needs. Avoid having snacks while watching TV, this will only make you eat more without any notice.

Misconception 11, Low-starch and high-protein food structure is conducive to weight loss
The truth: The long term health effect with high-protein low-starch diet on the human body remains to be researched. But eating high-protein foods such as eggs, meat, cheese, etc., along will cause nutritional imbalance. At the same time, this may also result in excessive intake of fat and cholesterol, increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease risk. Meanwhile, it is easy to trigger constipation without having vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain food. In addition, long-term intake of protein only will have side effects including nausea and fatigue weakness. Daily intake of less than 130 grams of starch will increase the blood ketone concentration in the human body, and results in high uric acid levels, causes kidney stones and gout.
Tips: Weight loss with high-protein diet by limiting the body’s calorie intake will be effective in a short term. But eating grains, fruits and vegetables are necessary for your health.

Misconception 12, Seed food is rich in fat and should be avoided
The truth: Seed plants such as peanuts and sunflower are rich in fat, but also contain a number of unsaturated fatty acids, e.g. linoleic acid and linolenic acid which are of great benefit to the human health. Seed plants are also rich in protein, dietary fiber, a variety of minerals.

Tips: Moderate consumption of seed food is conducive to health. But keep in mind seeds in amount of a third of small bowl contain 270 calories.

Misconception 13, Meat is not good for health and weight loss
Truth: It is a part of a healthy diet plan to eat a small amount of meat. Chicken, pork, and fish contain some nutrients for human body, for instance protein, iron, zinc, and etc. Although they contain certain amount of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids.

Tips: Choose lean meat, such as steak. pay attention to the amount of meat (2-3 ounces are enough)

Misconception 14, Fat-rich dairy products are harmful for health
The truth: Low-fat or skimmed, yogurt, and cheese are rich in nutrients as those in whole milk, but contain less fat and calories. They are rich in protein and calcium, as well as vitamin D, which’re beneficial for muscle and bone health.

Tips: Those with 9-18 years of age and people over the age of 50 should take three servings of dairy products everyday, and people of 19-49 years of age need to drink two servings of dairy products a day (a glass of milk or yogurt, 1.5 ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese)

If you have lactose intolerance syndrome, you can choose the low-lactose products or other foods equally rich in calcium and vitamin D, for example, enhanced fruit juices, soy milk beverages, or tofu.

Want More Energy? Give Up Soda

When we’re looking for a jolt to get us going in the morning, many of us grab a soda. All that sugar and caffeine gives us just the energy boost we need to get through the day, right? Well if you want to feel more energetic through your whole day, you’ll probably see a bigger difference if you give up the soda.

Most sodas are chocked full of sugar and caffeine. While they give you a boost when you first drink them, you also trigger your body’s insulin response, which counteracts all that sugar that’s entering your body. This counteracts the effects of the sugar and usually leaves you feeling even more tired than you started. The only way to get yourself going again is to drink more soda, which continues in a vicious cycle.

When you eat sugar with other foods, there are other materials that help to slow the absorption of the sugar. This decreases the insulin response and leaves you less tired after a meal than if you just had the sugar alone. When you drink soda, there is just sugar and nothing else to slow the absorption. If you drink soda with your meal it can help counteract this response, but it will still happen somewhat.

So, if sugar is so bad, why not just drink diet soda for energy? Well, recent studies have shown that your body reacts in a similar way to sugar substitutes as it does to real sugar. This leaves you craving not only more soda, but other sugary foods as well.

Once you get rid of all that sugar, there’s a good chance you’ll start losing weight, which will give you an additional energy boost. Plus, that energy will help you exercise more and lose even more weight!

In addition to giving you a jot of energy, the caffeine in soda also affects the hormones in your body, particularly the ones that cause stress. If you regularly drink soda or other caffeinated beverages, you will increase your regular levels of stress, which can take a toll on your body. If you give up soda, your hormone levels will be able to return to normal, leaving you less stressed out with more energy to take on your day.

Caffeine can also alter the hormones that affect your sleep cycle. Not only can it keep you from falling asleep due to excess energy, but it can also change what kind of sleep you get. So, even if you do get a full eight hours, you may be left feeling drained. Giving up soda will allow you not only to sleep more, but also get a more restful sleep.

Many people are sceptical that giving up soda will give them an energy boost, and why not? If you are drinking soda every day and suddenly stop, you’re likely going to feel tired, sluggish and unable to get through the day. The good news is that if you get over that initial withdrawal from caffeine and sugar, you’ll start to get more energy without it. You can’t just give it up a day or two, however. It may take weeks to get over your addiction and notice a real effect; you just need to stick with it.

5 Great Tips for Curving Your Cravings

Starting a diet is pretty easy. The biggest problem with diets is not getting started, it’s sticking with them. Most of use start out fine, but eventually succumb to cravings for sweet or fatty foods (or both). Here are some tips for keeping your cravings at bay.

1. Drink water. Many times, your body experiences hunger when you’re really not hungry at all, but thirsty. When you feel a craving coming on, instead of jumping for your favorite foods, try drinking a glass of water and waiting fifteen minutes. You may also want to try a low-calorie flavored water if the regular stuff isn’t cutting it. After a short wait, you’ll probably find you’re not so hungry anymore.

2. Give in. While you shouldn’t give in to every craving you have, breaking the rules every so often can actually help give you the willpower to stick to your diet. If you completely stop eating your favorites, you’re only going to crave them more. Just remember that “occasional” means once or twice a month, not once or twice a day.

3. Find your triggers. One of the best things you can do for a diet is to keep a food journal, but don’t stop there. Why not add what you’re craving to your journal, along with what you’re doing or feeling at the time. You may find that you often crave chocolate when you’re sitting with the kids, or only eat potato chips when you’re feeling lonely. If you figure out what’s making you want to eat, you can figure out ways around it.

4. Distraction. Before your next craving hits, make a plan of something you can do instead of giving in. If you like puzzles or brain teasers, you can keep some around to work on and distract yourself. Many people exercise whenever they’re craving their favorites. This not only distracts you, it helps burn more calories and keep you on track.

5. Eliminate temptation. One of the easiest ways to avoid temptation is to remove it, or at least make it a lot harder to get to. If you keep sweets in your house, you’re a lot more likely to eat them than if you have to go out to a store to buy them. And if you’re keeping the sugary snacks around for the kids, remember that if you shouldn’t eat them, there’s a good chance the kids shouldn’t either.

While many cravings are simply for foods we like, others are actually for foods we need. If you find yourself having regular cravings, you can research online or ask your doctor to find out what nutrients you might be deficient in. Once you’ve replaced the missing nutrients, you should see a decrease or elimination of your cravings.

With a little work and willpower, you can be well on your way to beating those cravings and seeing results.

Great Places to Find Vegan Food

Being a vegan has many benefits, but convenience has not traditionally been one of them. Over the years, vegans have often had to either eat raw food or make their own fruit and veggie creations. Packaged snacks and convenience foods for vegans were few and far between.

But today, it’s not so difficult to find vegan foods. In fact, most grocery stores carry a respectable selection of vegan foods, including some meat and dairy substitutes. Many of these items aren’t marketed as vegan, so you may have to do some detective work to find them. But there is help available online. PETA has a handy guide to vegan groceries on their website at http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/default.asp.

Another good place to find vegan food is your local farmer’s market or produce stand. There you’ll find fresh, locally grown produce that hasn’t been touched by preservatives. Farmer’s market vendors also often carry sauces, dressings and other locally made items that do not contain animal products.

Health food stores usually have vast selections of vegan items. They feature veggie burgers and hot dogs, soy cheeses, non-dairy frozen treats, and much more. And these stores are no longer just found in major metropolitan areas. Most smaller cities have at least one or two health food stores these days.

You can also order vegan foods online. A growing number of grocery stores are now offering online ordering and will either ship your order or deliver it to your door. There are even some vegan grocery stores that sell online, such as Food Fight Grocery.

Dining Out as a Vegan

It wasn’t long ago that eating out as a vegan was next to impossible. Few restaurants had any vegan choices besides salad, and fast food chains rarely had that. While there still aren’t as many choices for vegans as there are for meat eaters, prospects have improved significantly.

Most restaurants have at least one or two menu items that are suitable for the vegan diet. And an increasing number have entire menu sections of vegan choices. Most fast food restaurants have salads, and some have other items that vegans can eat.

There are also restaurants that specialize in vegan fare. These are most often found in larger cities, but as the popularity of veganism grows, so does the number of areas where vegan restaurants can be found. You can easily locate vegan restaurants in your area online.

Finding vegan food is much easier than it once was. A trip to any grocery store will yield many options, and if you want more, chances are there’s a store nearby that has what you’re looking for. There has never been a better time to go vegan.

Reduce Your Chances Of Cancer With These Healthy Tips

Cancer is one of those things that I don’t really like to think about happening to me or someone that I care for but the reality is that it is out there and since there are ways to help you improve your chances of not getting it I decided to post these tips to help lower your risk of getting cancer. For some reason I don’t see myself getting cancer (my friend Deanna says that I seem to think that I am invincible-I know that I am not but try to be positive) but one never knows so it cannot hurt to live a healthy lifestyle that may keep the evil cancer away.

Easy Tips To Keep Cancer Away-Healthy Too!

Obesity is a risk factor in six types of cancer. Consuming alcohol, red meat and processed meats like ham, sausage and bacon also raises your odds, while eating more fruits and non-starchy vegetables and getting more exercise lower your risk. Apparently these findings are noteworthy because a team of international experts spent five years reviewing all the evidence.

1.) Eat vegetables like baby carrots, a refreshing leafy green salad with some broccoli, tomatoes or cauliflower thrown in, red pepper slices and snap peas instead of eating chips, zebra cakes, and other fun yet not so healthy snacks.

2.) Eat more fruit- freeze grapes, make fruit salsa, warm up an apple with cinnamon and a bit of sugar. Add some berries to your diet-The anthocyanosides in blueberries are currently the most powerful antioxidants known to scientists and are beneficial in the prevention of all types of cancer.

3.) Have a nice relaxing cup of Green tea-Green tea is a rich source of a class of flavonoids known as catechins. Studies have shown that the catechins present in green tea are able to slow or prevent the development of cancer in colon, liver, breast, and prostate cells. Oh how I love my green tea!

4.) Have whole grains whenever possible-Whole grains contain a variety of anti-cancer compounds, including fiber, antioxidants, and phytoestrogens. When eaten as part of a balanced diet, whole grains can help decrease the risk of developing most types of cancer.

5.)Don't count on vitamin supplements to protect you against cancer; in some cases, they may even increase your risk. Visit http://www.howsafeisyourvitamin.com/ for a free report on what really is in vitamins.
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6.) Don't Smoke- "The single most important agent that has been unequivocally linked to cancer is cigarette smoking." It is very ,very compelling:lung cancer, cancer of the throat, tongue,bladder,stomach and lips.

Once again many of the same foods keep recurring for good health, burning fat, helping you sleep, and now fighting diseases. Thanks for stopping by.

P.S. I have had several people ask me my favorite green tea and I will tell you it is Tazo Zen green tea. It is a nice smooth tea with spearmint and lemongrass (I am not getting paid to say this). I have tried what feels like a hundred different ones and to be honest (I hate to admit this) completely was disgusted witht the green tea taste. The ones with fruit taste added made me want to spit (although I drank them all it was a true effort to get it down) and then the plain ones bored me but then this one FINALLY came along and I can drink at least 5 or more cups a day and love it (it smells really good too). What is your favorite green tea or try the Tazo and let me know what you think (I get it at the grocery store-Target-and it is only about $3.00 for 20 bags-so affordable). And as always I am way, way, way behind on my commenting and dropping of entrecards but trying to catch up so hang in there with me if you will. I always pop back up somewhere.

Prevent gingivitis, Have a healthy smile.

They say teeth is the most important part of you smile. But how about our gums? Do we take care of our gums whenever we brush are teeth? Does brushing alone can keep our gums healthy.When i was a kid i never thought that bleeding gums would lead to gingivitis. until my dentist told me. So at an early age. I already learned how to take care of my gums.

Most people who suffers from gum problems, are already suffering from gingivitis. There are so many popular ways on how you can actually prevent it. but i gathered for most effective steps of them all.

1. Brushing your teeth. Yes, i know you heard it before, but this is the first thing you shouldn't miss to so. brushing twice daily or more can prevent gingivitis. And dental flossing wouldn't hurt. So try to make it a habit to brush and floss. Food left in between teeth may not only cause cavities but may also cause bad breath.

2.Eat a well- balanced diet. Try to consume 500mg of Vitamin c and calcium, based on studies. Lack of nutritious food are more prone to Gingivitis.

3. Use a good mouth wash. Toothpaste doesn't kill all the germs in your mouth. better have a back up.

4. Massage your gums for few minutes. Before brushing your teeth, try to use the the soft bristles of tooth brush and try to massage your gums, but don't put too much pressure. or just simply massage your gums with the use of fingers. It will help the blood circulation in your gums.
Simple but effective techniques that prevent Gingivitis. I can see some happy smiles on their way.

Healthy food to super food?

Experts gave the latest range of foods that they call super foods. This superfoods will be good to our health if consumed often. Because it prevents cancer, Heart diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Super foods are blueberries, salmon, walnuts, soy, yogurt, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, hot peppers and almonds. Most of these super foods are known to prevent illnesses. But it is still important to know that taking these foods will not cure or prevent diseases immediately. But well-balanced and planned meal with will be the key to a healthy body. So super foods or just your good old healthy foods, They both need balance diet

Here are some of the simple strategies to make those Healthy foods, super effective.

1. Make sure that half of the grains that you consume are whole grains. Whole grains are very popular in preventing heart diseases, Cancer, Gastro intestinal health, Diabetes and definitely good in weight management.

2. When choosing protein-rich foods try to choose lean protein sources like fish, chicken, low-fat beef, soy at legumes. It makes you feel full without the guilt, thus making you stick to your diet. But still getting the right amounts of protein.

3. Limit your sugar and salt intake, read the label. Reading labels will let you know if you just take the right amount of sugar/ salt or not.Try to make this a habit and it will help you in the future.

4.. Try to choose calcium-rich foods, like low-fat cheese, milk and yogurt.

5. Eat fruits, Fresh fruits. There is a big difference with fruit juices in carton boxes and instant fruit juices. You can drink these juices but try to limit and get used to eating fresh ones.

Eating healthy doesn't mean you are healthy. You got to plan and balance what you eat and make those health foods super effective so Happy eating!

Cookie diet in your diet plans?

I came across this box, while checking out some weight-loss products last Saturday at the mall. I have no plan of buying any weight-loss products,because I'm very much satisfied with my weight now. I just want to see this cookie that my sister is planning to try.

So, i have to do my homework and did my research on this.
The Hollywood cookie diet, they say, is the first delicious way to lose weight. You'll only need to take 4 cookies a day. One cookie each meal- breakfast,mid-morning(brunch,) lunch, and mid-afternoon snack.They say that it will actually help you to lose weight, without the bitter feeling of those other weight-loss products and it'll make you feel full.and after those 4 cookies, you have to follow it with a "sensible" dinner.

Each box has 4 individually wrapped chocolate chip cookies inside. It has 20 grams of fiber, 20 grams of protein, 13 of vitamins and minerals, zero trans-fat and based on the caloric restriction of meal replacement and portion control.

Even though the results varies in each individuals. Moderate physical activity or exercise can help you more in loosing weight while taking this cookie. Hollywood cookie diet can help you reach your desired weight, They say that you can eat as long as you want until you achieve the weight you've always wanted.

Now, I don't want to sound I'm promoting this kind of diet and i don't want to sound I'm against it. I still believe that even though this kind of diet may be effective. People should not rely on this solely. If you don't have a very hectic schedule like Hollywood actors do, It's still better to at least give your self a time for a little exercise and eat healthy foods..


image courtesy of www.solomonscookie.com

Acne and Diet.

Acne and diet, the great debate. Many people have acne problems that actually hinders to their day to day lives. Sometimes these acne problems has gone so far to the point that it lose someone's self esteem. Worry no more, Acne can actually be controlled or prevented by making some changes in your lifestyle.

Before, Science explains that there is no found connections with acne and diet or acne and sweets/oily foods. No direct relations that it has to do something with why pimples just keep on popping. But because there is no proof, this doesn't mean that you'll no longer get a healthy and a well-balanced diet.

Now, Recent studies have clearly found a significant connection between diet and acne.A healthy diet can prevent or even eliminate acne or pimples. That's why it's important to have a healthy diet regime for over all wellness and for your skin too.

Stress is one of the leading causes of acne. Vitamin B-2 is popular vitamin as an anti-depressant. So foods like whole grains, fish, egg, green leafy vegetables are all rivh in vitamin b2 that can prevent stress and eventually acne. Zinc supplements from eggs, wheat can prevent pimples from showing. They say that if you have a healthy diet you have a healthy skin, so if your eating too much unhealthy foods, it is shown on your skin.Vitamin b-3 helps in the proper circulation of our body, it reduces cholesterol and maintain good metabolism.

Sugar, carbohydrates and milk. oh yes milk. can produce too much hormones, that trigger the hyper-production of sebum oil resulting in more acne.

The debate whether acne has connection with diet or not, continues. However, It is still important that we maintain a healthy diet not only for our skin but for our over all wellness.


image courtesy of www.hbc.com.ph

Eating healthy? Try dragon fruit.

Another healthy food to add in your healthy diet is Dragon fruit. This dragon fruit is really new to me, but i know that it has been in the American/ Asian market for ages. I'm just curious how so many people in my country are now getting into this, This fruit was originally from Mexico,South America, Vietnam,Taiwan and South East Asian Countries. And whenever a new and healthy food is out I always make it a point to try that "something new to me" food and prove it to my self.

So here's another one on my list, Dragon fruit. So what exactly is a dragon fruit? This unusual looking fruit, brightly colored and named Dragon fruit is also known as Pitaya. I heard there's a story behind why it's called Dragon fruit, but don't know the exact story.

At first, i found the fruit a little scary, because it reminded me of the plant from that movie" little shop of horrors " the plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. hahaha! (I'm sorry but i was six then, and even though it was a comedy movie it scared the hell out of me.) But this fruit won't eat you but you will eat this fruit.

This healthy food is rich in vitamins and minerals especially vitamin C. Here are the rest of the nutrients that you can get from the dragon fruit.


Protein, Niacin

Fiber,Iron

Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Calcium, Vitamin A

It also has antioxidants, and we all know how antioxidant helps our body to prevent certain diseases or even cancer. This is one vitamin-packed fruit.The dragon fruit is best eaten by cutting the fruit in half and scooping the flesh out, like eating a sherbet. And best eaten when chilled. It has a refreshingly sweet taste. SO the next time you're looking for a new and healthy fruit to eat. Look for the dragon fruit. The name is too big to forget.



images courtesy of www.nutrexsolutions.com and
www.thirteenmonths.com

Sleepy? Why lack of sleep may harm you.

Do you get better sleep? well, you must.

Just right after i finished college. The first job i got was in a call center, An outbound agent. And i was on a grave yard shift. That was (9pm until 6am) It was ok at first but after just 2 months i felt that i was lacking of sleep.

Even though i knew that i was sleeping around 7 hours a day, it wasn't easy sleeping in the morning. I tried to closed the door of my bed room and pulled down my curtain, but the broad day light was just peeking at my windows.

Of all the health complains i had while i was on that job. There was one thing i learned while working in that kind of environment that up to this moment, I still apply in my daily life. That is to complete your 8 hours of sleep. Why? Because there might be dangers waiting for you especially if you are working.

So what happens when you never complete your 8-hour sleep very often.

Poor vision. this is so true to me. I got blurry vision at work, or just when I'm walking to the elevator. It sucks so much. Short term memory, People tend to lose some parts of their memories due to lack of enough sleep.

Your reaction is slow. Have you ever felt that when everyone is laughing, you seem to be just smiling? why because you don't get it. because you don't understand. Or if somebody is talking to you. You seem to be somewhere else.

Never drive yourself to work if you think you can't focus. My dad caused a very long traffic when he doze off on a green light few years ago. That was humiliating so he got his self a driver.

Moody. you switch moods so easily. Poor performance. Your work suffers because you can't concentrate. So if you feel that you are stating to see these signs. better take a goodnight sleep. or tale some power naps in the afternoon.

LOSE WEIGHT VERY FAST!

Most of us want to lose weight fast. For people who want to start a weight loss program with me, i often tell them to start with the cabbage soup diet. The cabbage soup diet would help you lose an initial 4 to 6 kilograms, after which you can continue with the other part of the diet which i formulated for nigerians who want to lose weight.

The soup is not tasty, in fact while taking it, it can really be frustrating, but as usual, you would remember that you are trying to lose 5 kilograms fast, and with your goal in mind, you should be determined.

Also, you must also do the following:

1. Try to take at least 8 glasses of water daily, but take more if you can

2. No fizzy or alcoholic drinks, the only fluid you drink during this diet is water.

3. Follow the timetable strictly.


The recipe for making the soup is as follows:

3 onions

2 green peppers

Seasonings: little salt, maggi, curry

3 raw tomatoes

5 carrots

1 cabbage


Directions:

Slice the onions, the green pepper, the tomatoes, the cabbage, the carrots, and put them all in a pot with some water.

Add your seasonings, maggi, curry, and dry pepper if you want.

cover the pot and allow to boil for about ten to twenty minutes.

Your cabbage soup is ready to be eaten.

Now to use this meal to lose your 5kgs in one week, you have to eat it in a particular sequence.

Day 1:


Cabbage soup (as much as you want), Fruits, any type of fruit except bananas

Day 2


Vegetables, 1 big baked potato, As much cabbage soup as you want,Stay away from fruit and beans

Day 3


Combination of days 1 and 2, but omit the potato, Cabbage soup


Day 4


As much as 8 bananas, skimmed milk, Cabbage soup


Day 5


300-500grams of beef, six fresh tomatoes, 8 glasses of water

Cabbage soup

Day 6


Vegetables, Beef,No potatoes,Cabbage soup

Day 7


vegetables, Cabbage soup


Remember, after doing this for one week, you can now commence on the trim's nigerian diet for weight loss!


Bookmark this site, so you could always come back for more!

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT (A MUST READ)

Metabolism is the rate at which your body uses up energy, the rate at which your body burns up food to provide energy. .As you all know the body stores excess food as fat. Once it has utilized the amount it needs, every excess is stored as fat for the rainy day, so that at any point in time it needs to utilize energy, it mobilizes fat from its stores.

If the total of calories you ingested is less than what it requires it would mobilize fat. If it is more than what it requires, it would store the rest as fat!
So to lose weight, you have to create a deficit in the body which would be done in two ways:

1. Doing more exercise, so that your metabolic requirements for the day increases.

2. Eating less, so that your body has to go to its fat stores to mobiles energy.

1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500calories. For every additional 3500 calories you eat, your body gains 1 pound of weight. For every 3500 calories you work out, your body loses 1 pound. For the major food groups, this is an estimate of how much calories they contain:

Fat: 1 gram of fat contains 9calories

Carbs: 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories

Protein: 1 gram of protein contains 4 calories

The factors which determine how much calories you burn per day depends on the following:
1. Your Basal Metabolic rate. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories your body would burn at rest, i.e. if you did not do any physical activity that day at all. At rest, your body still needs energy for everything it does, the pumping of the heart, breathing, urinating, every single thing,.

2. Activity: i.e the kind of lifestyle you live daily. If your work entails sitting down in a chair all day, you won’t expect to burn much, but if your daily activity involves moving around, exercising, etc, then you would burn more.

3. Health disorders: Some health disorders like hypothyroidsm might slow down your metabolism, while hyperthyroidism increases it.

4. Sex: Men usually have a higher metabolic rate than women

5. Body weight: Your body weight also influences your metabolism. Fatter people need more energy to sustain their daily activities than thinner people.

6. Age: The older you get the slower your metabolism goes!

7. Muscle composition: More muscle in the body burns more fat. So the more muscles you have, the more your metabolism.

I have added a BASAL METABOLIC RATE CALCULATOR widget in the sidebar, so you can calculate yours there. When you calculate it, you multiply the result by your activity factor which is as follows:

Multiply by 1.2 if you live a sedentary lifestyle and don’t exercise at all.
Multiply by 1.375 if you exercise moderately between one to three times a week.
Multiply by 1.55 if you exercise three to five times weekly
Multiply by 1.725 if you exercise six to seven times weekly.



After you have calculated this, you need to calculate the amount of food you eat, to ensure that you take in less than what you require, or exercise more than what you eat. For those who exercise, you do not need to over-starve yourselves, else you would faint. To lose weight effectively and healthy try not to eat less than a thousand calories daily. You could also use the BURN CALCULATOR at the sidebar to calculate how many calories you lose when you do certain exercises.

Take for example, my BMR is 1600calories, i would eat 1200 calories a day, so that my body burns the extra 400 from its stores. Alternatively, i could also exercise to burn 300 extra calories, so that a total of 700 is lost per day, and in 5 days, i would lose 3500 calories which is equivalent to 1 pound.

Get a journal, divide in two columns, record how much you ate at the end of the day, and how much exercise you did. You need to do this honestly. So that you can calculate how much weight you would lose.

REMEMBER, ONE POUND OF FAT EQUALS 3500 calories.

GREEN TEA AND WEIGHT LOSS

Green tea has been talked about, as one of the natural substances that help you lose weight. When going through any weight loss website, you would most likely find an article on green tea there. Apart from the weight loss attributes, green tea has also been praised for having other medical advantages.

How exactly does green tea assist in weight loss?

Firstly, i want to clear up some facts. Don’t start thinking that if you drink ten cups of green tea daily and eat all you want to eat, you would lose weight..................you would not.
The amount of extra calories burnt by drinking green tea is not just enough to make you lose a considerable amount of weight in a short period.

Green tea contains substances called catechin polyphenols. Green tea actually contains a very high amount of this substance. The catechin polyphenol helps the body increase its rate of fat oxidation, fat burning, thereby increasing your metabolism. One of the catechin phenols which is called EGCG increases the 24 hour energy utilised by the body, and the break down of fat. Therefore it is increasing the amount of fat burnt daily by your body.

However how much extra calories are you burning? Researchers have said that drinking an extra 5 cups of green tea a day (and trust me, it doesn’t taste good. Drinking one cup is bad enough), could help you burn off approximately 90 extra calories.

90 calories isn’t much, but for those who plan to take it over a long period, at least after forty days, they would have lost approximately 2 kilograms. I doubt if anyone could take up to 5 cups of green tea anyway.

For me, i would advice still sticking to a good diet, and exercising!

GBEGIRI SOUP AND WEIGHT LOSS

Gbegiri soup is made mainly from beans. Other ingredients added to spice it up contain little calories, except of course if you add excess amounts of red oil.

Today we are going to talk about the nutritional info, but we would be talking about Gbegiri alone, after which i would talk on ewedu in a different post, so you would know the total amount of calories you are taking in when you eat gbegiri.

Gbegiri is actually one of the good soups for weight loss, but the main problem is what you eat it with, by the time you add assorted meat, three wraps of iyan or semo..........

Gbegiri soup alone for one person contains only about 125calories.

Here is a list of the Food group content per serving


* Has Fat content of just 5grams out of which cholesterol makes up about 11mg


* Carbohydrate content of 4grams out of which dietary fiber makes up 1 gram

* Protein of 10 grams

Other elements like sodium and co. make up the rest.

So gbegiri is a good soup for weight loss. high in protein content and overall contains little amount of calories.

EWEDU SOUP AND WEIGHT LOSS

Ewedu is one of the good soups for weight loss. You're looking for a low calorie meal, you can count on Ewedu, especially considering the fact that her brother Gbegiri is also low in calories.

A serving of Ewedu alone without meat contains only 97 calories!

Lets break down each of the food groups:

Fat content of 4 grams out of which ten percent is cholesterol.

Carbohydrate content of 300mg (0.3g)

Protein 18 grams

Talk about a low carb meal, ewedu comes first to mind. Ewedu leaves are also called Jew's mallow and have been used for many medicinal purposes.

Do for people who are trying to lose weight, ewedu is a very good meal.

EATING AT NIGHT AND WEIGHT GAIN

Eating at night leads to weight gain/ less weight loss. This has been debated time and time over and over again. Some schools of thought believe that eating at anytime does not actually matter, but what actually matters is ensuring that the amount of food you eat in is less than the amount of energy burnt per day.

For me anyway, i would say i disagree, to an extent. The calorie deficit matters quite alright, but you stand to gain more weight when you take in the calories at night.

Let’s take for example, your last meal of the day is supposed to be a 600calorie meal. When you take that 600 calorie meal by like 5pm in the evening, you definitely are not going to sleep immediately. You do some house work, cleaning, and some more walking around before finally going to bed.

Now when you take in the same 600 calorie meal by say ten pm or eleven, most definitely, you would feel tired, it’s almost time for bed. You either go straight to the television or to bed. Thus all the calories you took in are all going to be stored.

For some other people they love snacking at night. One of my patients used to snack at midnight, biscuits, drinks, every silly thing you can think of. That’s a sure way to gain weight.

Also, by ensuring that you don’t eat after 7pm, you are most likely cutting off more calories than you would have eaten normally. For me, most times, after eating breakfast i eat lunch by 3 to 4 pm, and by the time i get home, its 7pm and i can’t eat again., so most times i end up cutting off the extra amount of calories i would have eaten that day.

I would suggest if you can, try to eat your last meal before 7pm or around that time, so that you won’t feel hungry during the night. Try not eating after 7pm, it helps.

Get more information about your heart

You must take look at this site guys with or without heart problems because this is really useful and you'll get more relevant information that you can share to your friends and love ones for prevention or even those in the process of curing. In HeartLibrary.com website you can find out more about the heart by browsing through their interactive heart video library. Very interesting information about atrial fibrillation and more. I am watching the video that explains about it at the moment. So be there and learn more.