Your Weight! Your Health! Your Skin!

So you have made up your mind about losing weight and may have taken it a step further by setting weight loss as one of your New Year’s resolutions.  Great, go for it. You also know that the easiest way to shed weight is to set smaller attainable goals and work towards them. All you are looking for now is the how. Well, it is no secret that one of the best ways to lose weight is to reduce calories. But how do you do this? This article will outline 10 ways to drop 200 calories that will definitely help your goal.

10 Ways to Drop Calories

Tip Number One

Eat smaller portions – It may seem obvious but this is one of the best ways to reduce your calorie intake. The challenge with this however, is that it is not as easy as we would like it to be. However, it is achievable. We need to pay attention to the amount of food that you eat. In fact researchers at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center located in New York discovered that eating excessive portions was the main cause for failed weight loss attempts.

So instead of ordering that quarter pound burger and fries that can contain 870 calories; try a smaller burger that contains 480 calories. Saving almost 400 calories!

Tip Number Two

Eat slowly – It takes the average individual about 12 minutes to wolf down their meals. However, this can lead to us overeating. The reason behind this is that it takes around 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brain that the body is full. This basically means that the faster you eat the less time you are giving your body to recognize that it is no longer hungry.

Tip Number Three

Walking – Walking is a perfect way to burn those extra calories. Even if you are already on an exercise routine, taking a brisk 15 minute walk will help you to burn about 200 calories depending on your pace.

Tip Number Four

Don’t be fooled by the labels – Just because the label says low fat does not mean that it is low in calories as well. In fact it is quite the opposite as sometimes low or no fat foods contain more calories. Basically do not look at low fat foods as foods that you can over-indulge in.

Tip Number Five

Put on your dancing shoes – Most people see dancing as something that is done only on social occasions. However, dancing is a fun form of aerobic exercise that helps you to burn calories. Go dancing instead of having dinner and a movie. Don’t be afraid of ballroom dancing either as one hour of ballroom dancing equals to 200 calories dropped. Think of dancing as exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise.

Tip Number Six

Danger! Snacks ahead – It’s Wednesday afternoon and you have already eaten lunch, however, it is 3:00 p.m. and you’re staring at 2 of those delicious cream sandwich cookies (they contain 160 calories each).  If you were to forgo those cookies you would be reducing you calorie intake by 320. Try pre-making some vegetable sticks from home and bringing them to work. Carrots and celery make tasty healthy snacks.  You can also fill a couple of the celery sticks with a small amount of cottage cheese.

Tip Number Seven

Gardening – If you are a lover of the outdoors and gardening then you will be pleasantly surprised to know that spending a mere 15 minutes in the garden can help you to burn at least 100 calories. Try 30 minutes out on the garden and you may be able to burn 200 calories. Gardening can require you to stretch, bend and squat. All gentle exercise.

Tip Number Eight

Take the stairs – Instead of using the elevator try taking the stairs. This is a perfect way of burning some extra calories especially if you live in an apartment building or work in an office building with a lot of floors.

Tip Number Nine

Avoid eating late at nights – One of the biggest contributors of unwanted calories is late night snacking. Reduce 200 calories by reducing the number of potato chips or cutting out the candy bar that you love to snack on. If you must snack at nights then opt to snack on a piece of fresh fruit. Bananas contain tryptophan which helps the body to produce serotonin. Serotonin has a calming effect on the brain and acts as a mild sedative. Perfect for a late night snack if you can’t do without.

Tip Number Ten

Go for leaner meat cuts – Try choosing lean cuts of meats rather than thick marbled steaks. Generally the cheaper leaner meats will require a little more prep and will need slower cooking, but it can make a difference over time. Or try going for chicken or turkey rather than red meats.  Trim excess fat or skin from your meats where you can also help you in your goal.

Implementing a few of these tips will help you get underway in your weight loss goals. Remember sometimes it’s the little things that can make a huge difference over time.

Mid 2010 I was close to my goal weight but was still 5-6lbs over and no matter what I did the scales refused to move.  I had dropped a fair amount of weight over that year and I guess my body had reached a plateau.  Just increasing my cardio wasn’t cutting it.  So I decided to look a bit closer at my diet.

Generally it wasn’t too bad I I thought.  I follow a loose version of ‘The Mediterranean Diet’ (click here for more info on my favorite diet) but decided to make a few minor changes.

First was to change all fats in my diet to a low fat variety.  So I decreased my butter consumption to almost zero.  A lot harder than it sounds.  Why does butter taste so good?

I then changed my full milk to trim. I generally only use milk for preparing kefir.  Click here if you would like some more info on this healthy probiotic.

So far so good. Next was to decrease my portions slightly, especially the last meal of the day. As a side note of this I found I’m getting better quality sleeps.  Not a bad thing for a habitual insomniac.

I think the last significant thing I did was to try a mini fast on one day of the week. I only did this once but I liked the results so much I will be doing this again. Look out for my post on this later. I tried to go 24 hours without any food but keeping my liquid intake high. I got to 20 hours so pretty good for my first attempt I thought.  Also a lot harder than it sounds.  Incredible how many food cravings I had during that short period.  Foods that I generally don’t eat. Pizza or a good Indian bhujia, mmmm!

In total this was done over a two month period and lost three kilos. Now to keep it off.

I hope this helps in some way even if it only gives you some food for thought.

One tip I’d like to share that I have found useful in my dieting especially in the beginning was the use of Guarana. A natural berry originating from the Amazon it has a few handy characteristics.

One benefit I noticed was a definite decrease in my appetite during the day. This was obviously very helpful especially while I was trying to reduce the amount of food and portion sizes. When you get so hungry that all you can really focus on is food then I find that can lead to bingeing or overeating and generally going for the wrong food choices. For me that generally happened around late afternoon. Apparently research has shown Guarana may affect how quickly the body perceives itself to be full.

Second was the slight increase in energy levels and physical endurance. Again a very handy benefit when dieting.  As with other forms of caffeine it also increases alertness and has an effect on mood. I also didn’t find it had any negative effects on my sleep patterns but that was just me.

The FDA has also recognised Guarana as ‘generally safe’ and is widely available.
So all in all I recommend at least looking into it to see if it would be suitable for you especially in the beginning of a weight loss programme when you’re at the most vulnerable to giving up due to low energy levels or hunger issues.

Let me ask you this question, have you gotten to a place in your life where you are just sick and tired of being fat? Or where you are just plain tired because you have tried all these different ways and you are still no where near where you want to be?

Or maybe you have vowed to try something that you are so determined to stick with until you get the results that you want? I know I have . . .

If you look around, you will see that there are many products online that at first glance seem to have a solution to your needs, only to find that smeone out there is trying to make a quick buck out of you.

There are a lot of products, pills, vitamins, supplements and most just seem to know exactly what will help you transform your body. however, there is a new concept that is getting quite a lot of attention at the moment, and it is called Calorie Confusion.

This way of eating teaches people to “confuse” their body/brain & metabolism by switching their calorie intake each day. By doing this, their body/brain & metabolism can never figure out how many calories are coming their way…so they can’t adjust & reset.  So the weight melts off, week after week!

It is a totally new concept to me, and that is why I had to take a closer look. I love that there are no food restrictions, or food combinations that you have to adhere to.

It is totally realistic, and I love the idea of a confused metabolism.

Check out the FREE Calorie Confusion Video

Learn about Calorie confusion and the following:

• Learn why you trying to lose weight never quite worked out in the past

• the secret all the foods that you enjoy and love, and still manage to lose weight

• Learn how to make sure that your weight loss never hits a plateau

• Learn the effective strategies of transforming your body to what you want it to be

• Get your self confidence back and become once and for all the person that you were meant to be

Watch the FREE video out right here, you will learn so much!

If you are a woman who is in your 30′s, 40′s or in your 50′s, you owe it to yourself to watch this video.

Program Yourself Thin – To a Leaner, Healthier and Wiser You

Click Here – Full Package Download

For most of those who want to lose weight, a sight of a chocolate cake on the table is such a torture. There have been loads of promises from products, people and methods in making you slim down. Oftentimes, you end up clinging on wrong beliefs and doing the wrong things. This is where the hope for losing weight becomes nothing better than a delusion.

Jim Katsouli could no longer take the mainstream beliefs about becoming slim. From his years of experience and expertise, he has developed Program Yourself Thin. Guides like this are so queer to find online. With information served everywhere in the web, it can be very relieving to find something that talks about weight loss that is truthful, full of common sense and unassuming. You may have wondered that why with all those attempts to slim down, you end up not being able to trim your waistline.

Reasons can vary from the yo-yo effect and more. Dieting has effects that can never do you good. As you can see, it makes you feel deprived. Not only that, it always give you results that are temporary. Weight loss programs like Program Yourself Thin lets you realize that everything, including getting slimmer is all in the mind. You also realize that you have been missing out the most important points and ways to do it.

Revealed on this guide are important truths that you may have overlooked the whole time:

People always make the best choice they have

Losing weight must start as a choice. If one does not take it as a choice, it can never be started with the right attitude. Most people are hesitant to decide on finally losing weight because they might feel deprived and starved. They miss the primary aim of looking better and feeling better.

People do things for emotional reasons

The decision to slim down is logical. Conditioning the mind that you want to lose weight can be a good start. On the other hand, emotional impulses like boredom, sadness and the like triggers one to eat more or do things that can make you take in calories and eventually gain more weight. To fight against emotions and all the other cravings is a struggle. The right discipline is indeed needed.

To find something to guide you not just in achieving your desired weight is not enough. The ultimate guide for you is something that can help you attain your ideal weight permanently. There are a lot of e-books and audio books that are so into weight loss campaign but are founded on unhealthy ways and measures. You have to be very keen about these. Take note that some materials can be misleading.

Making the right choices especially when you are about to start your weight loss campaign is making the best move for your self.

Program Yourself Thin – What to Eat on HCG Diet: Food Listing

The hardest part of losing weight is sticking to a diet plan. With so many variations of diet programs on the market, you will be confounded as to which plan is most effective. This diet is one of them and also the most talked diet program to date. The reason behind this is the use of the HCG hormone and the restriction to a 500 calorie diet plan. With that very low requirement one must be wondering what to eat on HCG diet. Program Yourself Thin