How to Start a Diet and Stick to IT

A common mistake made by people when coming up with any plan – not just weight loss- is not the plan itself but how they are going to stick to it. With this in mind it is important to plan how to overcome situations that threaten your weight loss goals.

For instance think about situations where you will encounter temptations. If there is a vending machine you have to walk past in your work place to get to your desk then you may wish to consider an alternative route to your workspace, or if this is not possible, refraining from carrying small change with you when away from your desk.

This is just one example among many and of course it is not practical to plan for every eventuality. But just from the act of planning itself you will be more consciously aware of your temptations and therefore be better prepared to take a pre-emptive strike on them before they get the chance to tempt you!

Writing your goals and plans down is the best way to make them second nature.

Be conscious stay in control
Eating is a habitual process in the same way that many bodily functions are. In other words it is not something we generally ‘think’ about in any extensive way. This is one of the biggest mistakes dieters make. They forget that the key to weight loss lays in the mind as much as it does the stomach.

By taking conscious control over what you feel and eat you can mentally counter the cravings. This is not to suggest you should mentally torment yourself but rather ask yourself the right questions before you make a choice of what to eat.

For instance ask yourself about the consequences or side effects of what it is you are eating. When confronted by a temptation say to yourself “ I am greater than any urge”

By doing this you are also going to start feeling in control of your mental processes and emotions. You will feel fulfilled in the sense that you are in control of your own fate

Coping with eating ‘Triggers’
It’s an interesting fact that a lot of the eating you do happens when you are not actually hungry. The reason for this can be explained with a little psychology. We respond naturally to mental cues or triggers. These can be internal or external in nature. An example of an external trigger is the smell of fish and chips or in the case of this author the sight of a chocolate gateau! Internal triggers take the form of stress, boredom, anxiety and anger to name but a few.

External triggers are the easiest to remove. For instance throwing out sweet items from your cupboard or avoiding walking past ‘sites of temptation’ on the high street. The internal or emotional triggers are a bit more challenging.

Now while it is not always possible to eliminate the emotional triggers it is possible to adapt our responses to them. For instance replacing eating with a form of exercise even if it is just a brisk walk will go a long way to avoiding the vicious cycle of submitting to cravings.

Fill up on liquids
Did you know that a lot the time, people eat when they are dehydrated? This is because feeling thirsty can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from hunger. Smoothies have gained widespread and deserved acclaim in the role they can play in fighting weight loss. Not only are they low in calories, but they are also an efficient way of getting in your ‘5 a day’ of fruit and veg.

A body that is used to snacking sometimes needs fooling into thinking it is full. One of the best and healthy ways to do this is through liquids. Of course this means low calorie drinks, it does not mean we can start filling up on carbonated (f) sugary drinks.

Of course at the end of the day good old fashioned water (or flavoured water if you find it boring) is the best way to flush toxins out of your system and keeps your metabolism flowing.

Don’t forget to treat yourself
Where is the fun in having goals if you can’t treat yourself along the way! Indeed it is well documented that rewards enhance the sense of achievement felt by the individual and this in turn can lead to the release of positive endorphins into the blood stream.

Once you have set yourself some specific goals- for instance, to cut down on 300 calories a day or to exercise for 30 minutes a day for two weeks, be sure to reward yourself with a special treat. Make your reward a treat, something you want, a new DVD or something similar. Rewards are an integral part of any long term plan and help make losing weight that little bit sweeter.

Simple Steps to Thinner Thighs

Fat thighs are a woman’s (or man’s) worst nightmare. Fortunately, help is at hand in fighting back and getting rid of them. The thighs contain more muscle groups than any other part of the body. This means getting rid of the fat on the thighs can be a quick and rewarding process if enough work is put in.
Our lives may be more sedentary these days, but there are plenty of opportunities to burn that fat off the thighs.
Take any available chance you have to walk to the shops rather than taking an easy option like the car or a bus. Walk at a quick pace and along with getting to your destination quicker, you will have increased your heart rate and enhanced your body’s fat burning potential.
Who said exercise had to be boring. One of the best forms of equipment, for trimming the thighs, out there is the mini trampoline - found in any high street.
Jumping on the mini trampoline is one of the best ways to reduce fat legs. You only have to do 2 minute bursts at a time, but do try to aim for a total of at least 20 minutes a day.
Another great way to trim those thighs down to size is through cycling. As well as being economical, and environmentally friendly. Cycling is one of the most effective leg fat burning exercises. With the advantage that using a bicycle can be incorporated into our daily lives and routines. If cycling outside is not your thing then think about investing in an exercise bike. You can trim down your thighs whilst watching the TV.
Cycling exercises the quads and turns fat into muscle. Standing during cycling is especially good at maximising these all important groups.
Cycling uphill will also do a great job of slimming down those legs. When you increase your heartbeat you begin to burn calories much more effectively.
It is a well established fact that swimming is one of the most effective forms of exercise out there. It is also highly relaxing and is linked with the secretion of endorphins into the body that help act as fat burners.
As well as providing your body with an all over workout swimming is highly effective in toning and shaping. Try to put more emphasis on using your legs rather than your arms to propel yourself through the water. Keep a constant pace and maintain a steady rhythm for at least half an hour a session.
There are many straightforward stretching and leg raising exercises you can do from the comfort of your own living room. One you can do right now is the vertical leg lift. Lay on your back with your legs straight out in front of you. Keeping your hands at your side, raise your legs until they are at a 45 degree angle to your body. Hold for 3 seconds then lower slowly again. Once you are comfortable with doing 15 repetitions increase accordingly.
Eat a healthy balanced diet. This cannot be stressed enough. To lose weight on any part of your body, you have to eat right. This does not mean you have to go on a fad diet. If you eat too little your metabolism will slow down and you will find losing weight more and more difficult. So, make sure you go on a good diet where you eat enough to prevent your body from going into starvation mode.
There are many good diets available and you must let yourself be guided by your preferences and lifestyle. It will be of no good at all if you hate the food you have to eat and you will not be able to stick to the diet. Likewise, if your lifestyle is very busy and the specific diet involves a lot of food preparations, you will not be able to do it and once again you will probably not be able to keep it up.
Drinking plenty of water improves the appearance of your skin and will help with reducing the cellulite effect. Water also helps your body with eliminating toxins and that is very necessary when you start burning some fat.
You no longer need to worry about whether you have fat legs or not. Follow the tips in this article and you will see results pretty soon.

Fun Core Methods For Losing Love Handles

A strong set of stomach muscles is one of the best and easiest ways to fight off unwanted tummy fat. Often people can be in fairly good shape but have tummy fat that they just can’t seem to be able to shift. Thankfully if you’re one of these people there is hope on the horizon.

The first thing to do is to avoid things like ab belts that promise to strengthen your core muscles by sending electrical impulses that make your ab muscles tighten. This is a fad product playing up to peoples hope that no work is needed.

If you could just sit there on your sofa, drinking beer and eating burgers whilst your ab belt pulsated the pounds off you the world would be a better place. That is, obviously, a pipe dream that marketing companies play off.

One piece of equipment however that really will help you shed the pounds is called a Swiss ball. It’s also sometimes called a fit ball or an exercise ball. It was first introduced by back therapists but has since become one of the most popular fitness products in the world. Why? Because it works.

The beauty of the exercise ball is that you don’t need an expensive gym membership to use one. Most sports retailers sell them for less than forty bucks and all you need is around six foot spare space to get the best out of it.

The exercise ball will enable you to strengthen those core underlying muscles and provide a barrier against fat. This is not to say a healthy diet program is not needed. The fact of the matter is for the best results you must incorporate a healthy diet with a simple exercise program if you want to lose weight and create the ideal you.

One easy and convenient use of the exercise ball comes from just sitting on it. That’s right. You can sit down and build muscle. When doing this you use numerous muscles through your core to stabilise yourself from falling off of it. By merely sitting on your exercise ball for thirty minutes a day you will notice a change in your core within a few weeks. Sit and watch tv, read a book, anything you want.

Stretching and relaxation techniques such as yoga and Pilates are another superb core workout. You can buy DVD’s on the subjects or even take a local class. These methods are often seen as for “hippies” and new age spiritualists. However many people fail to understand just how good these are for getting into shape.

From a fat loss perspective Pilates and yoga have both one major advantage. They help your body to increase its production of endorphins which counter the effects of stress hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol increases the creation of belly fat.

Many people think that to have a flat stomach you need to work hours in the gym. The truth is that a simple healthy diet, coupled with a simple exercise program such as sitting on an exercise ball or actively getting involved in something like yoga or Pilates can get you the results you want.

Don’t look as weight loss as a chore. Go out there and have some fun with it. Not only will it keep you healthy but it may just turn into a fantastic hobby for yourself.

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Loving Yourself Without Weight Loss

Being overweight is something that many of us suffer from. You are not alone. Whether you have a little bit of puppy fat or physically obese both your body and mind are affected.

Whilst losing weight is something that should be done from a health point of view often people want to lose weight because it will help their self esteem. The thing that most don’t understand is that your self esteem comes from what you think about yourself, not what others think.

In everyday life we are greeted with pictures of stick thin models and gorgeous glamorous actors and actresses. This can make us feel inadequate and unattractive. We often find ourselves delighted when we see in magazines pictures of stars without make up and think to yourself “wow, she looks bad without her slap on just like I do!”

In this article I am going to walk you through a simple technique you can use to make yourself feel much more attractive and confident as a person. Whilst it does not take away the fact that being overweight is unhealthy it can help you to feel more comfortable in your body.

I want you to go and stand in front of mirror. What you are going to do is reprogram your mind to associate your reflection with positive feelings. Very soon you will be able to stand in front of the mirror and feel great rather than feeling down about your appearance.

I want you to think back to a time when you felt really good about yourself. It doesn’t have to be about the way you look. It might have been a job you did well, a compliment you received. Anything which gives you that self satisfying glow in your stomach.

Close your eyes and think of that moment. Really remember just how proud of yourself you felt. Remember that inner confidence. If it was from a compliment someone paid you remember their sincerity. Feel that glow and move it up from your stomach to your eyes. Feel the glow behind your closed eyes and smile to yourself remembering that moment.

When you start to feel as strongly as possible open your eyes. See yourself as other people would have seen you when you had done that great job or got that great compliment. See yourself with respect and admiration. Keep smiling at yourself and notice the confidence in your eyes.

When you really feel great squeeze together your thumb and forefinger. This will create an emotional connection between the way you feel at that moment and your reflection.

I want you to practice this every day for a month. Every single day. It takes a matter of minutes and doesn’t cost you a penny. Over a period of time you will start to notice a dramatic change in yourself. You will notice that you have more confidence when you look in the mirror. Your self esteem will grow and very quickly you’ll not worry about your weight as much as you have done before.

It is very important you understand that this technique is not to replace your diet program. This is merely a way for you to start to feel better about yourself. As I have said often people want to desperately lose weight because it will make them feel more confident. By using this technique you can become more confident in the way you look within one month. Couple this with a diet program that works and your results will be both visible and internal resulting in a new, improved you.

Feeling down and depressed about yourself can result in comfort eating. This, of course, can only end up with you putting on more weight and the vicious circle continues. Use this technique to develop the right mental toughness and attitude. And use your dieting to get into great shape.

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Trying out the system

Well I have been making great progress using the systems described in my last article and the middle finger/thumb technique. I have this picture of me in my leather trousers (gorgeous and much too small for me) and it really stops me slipping. I use it every time I am tempted to cheat or give in or whatever and it does really work, so give it a try.

I have also been using my acai berry for the past couple of weeks and I can see that is making a really noticeable difference, so that too is speeding me on and I am starting to see the difference. I am keeping away from the scales - I have learnt from experience that they do not necessarily mirror the results, my clothes show me much better and I can feel the loss of fat round my midriff.

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How To Starve Yourself Of Negative Diet Patterns

The power of the mind has been well known to successful and fulfilled people for centuries. Experts of the sub conscious mind such as hypnotists have come up with ingenious ways that bypass the conscious mind and speak directly to the sub conscious. Often hypnosis is used to help people achieve their weight loss goals. In this article I will show you how to do that without any fancy hypnotist or high fees.

The sub conscious mind is the most powerful force in any human being. When you first learned to drive you had to think about every single thing to keep that car driving in the way you wanted to. Gears, mirrors, indicators, steering and many other factors were constantly thought about. After a while though all of these become a habit. You repeat them so many times that your conscious mind no longer has to think about them. Your sub conscious runs you on auto pilot to carry out the manoeuvres.

So what does this have to do with weight loss? Well by using a concept called "auto suggestion" you can help your sub conscious mind "reprogram" yourself to stick to diets, eat healthier foods, enjoy working out (seriously) and much more.

The reason so many people fail to lose weight is because they program themselves for failure each and every time they try a new diet. Because of bad experiences with shoddy diet programs in thepast they often tell themselves "This won't work for me" and give up a few weeks in. Think about whenever you've tried to diet in the past. How long did you stick at? Probably not long enough if you're honest with yourself.

The technique I am going to teach you now will enable you to starve yourself of these negative thought patterns that you are constantly bombarding your sub conscious mind with. It will retrain you to be more positive about your weight loss and in turn develop a thick skin that won't give up whenever a diet doesn't show instant and massive results.

Your emotions and thoughts are like signals. Whenever you feel bad about weight loss or dieting and have thoughts such as "I'm always going to be overweight" stop what you're doing and follow these steps.

Step One. Think about what it is that makes you feel you'll always be overweight. You'll get an image come into your mind. Maybe it's of you feeling down about a diet or you in the future and you haven't lost any weight.

Step Two. Pay attention to this image. This is your unconscious telling you what thought is holding you back in your quest for dieting. This is the image that you consistently put into your subconscious. You have programmed yourself to think this way and that's why it is so easy to give up on diets when things get a little tough

Step Three. Drain all the colour out of the image. Shrink it and move it into the distance. If it happens to reappear repeat the process. Drain it, shrink it and put it into the distance.

Step Four. Replace the image with an image of what you really want to be like. Fit, healthy and at your perfect weight. Get emotionally involved with the image. Think of how great it would feel to have lost all the weight you want to. Make it full colour and bring it closer to you.

Step Five. Hold your thumb and middle fingers together when you feel that rush of excitement about the new future you.

Whilst this may all sound a little crazy, this a very cool technique for programming your sub conscious. If you do this every time you feel a little down about weight loss or have any negative thoughts soon it will become a habit.

Eventually you will have created "a mind anchor" so that you can press your thumb and middle fingers together and get the rush of excitement about your new, slim self. Any time you feel negative about weight loss you put your fingers together and your sub conscious will recognise this habit and use it to your advantage.

Ok. I do understand that this may seem a little "out there" but this is based on the science of Neuro Linguistic Programming. This is not some pie in the sky idea thought up by a lunatic. It is based on the science of the mind and it works in reprogramming yourself. Give it a go and stick at it!

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Weight Loss Tips

I was sat here this afternoon thinking about the first time I lost weight. After my third child, I piled on the pounds - whilst I had never been really skinny, this was a shock to me.

First of all I tried a diet out of a magazine but after a few days, I woke up one night feeling really sick. I had to get out of bed and when I went downstairs, I realised that I felt hungry and I heated a little warm milk and forced it down. As this made me feel a little more human, I fried and egg and made some toast - hey I felt great then and went back to bed.

Next morning I told my husband who told me not to do any more dieting - this made me upset, I needed to lose weight. In the end he relented and asked me to do it 'his' way. Every night I put my evening meal out and then took a spoonful off, after a few nights I took 2 spoonfuls off - that continued until my meal fitted on a small plate - I ended up losing 2 stone with this technique.

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This system is simple, it means you can eat with the family, no 'special meals' and it does work. Try it for yourself and see how you go.

How to Shed the Pounds Without Changing your Lifestyle

Have you tried a number of diets and failed? Maybe even tried some exercise only to find you lose a little weight but it comes straight back again? Well don't worry. There's a reason for thatand in this article I'll explain why it happens, and how to combat it.Stress it not just a mental reaction but a physical condition. When placed under stress your body will produce adrenaline but it also produces a hormone called Cortisol. This hormone is responsible forpumping energy in the form of sugar into the body to fuel the adrenalin rush. Stress is then a natural bodily function designed to help keep us alive and reactive to things going on in the world.Unfortunately there is then a negative by-product if you are not using this energy. Stress in the modern world often takes the form of money worries, issues in the office, family problems and much more. The extra blood sugar that is being released has nowhere toto except settle around your stomach to be used later. As fat.Because of this many people are keeping or gaining weight without even realising it. Of course, there are other factors, but stress is one that very few people talk about. Stress however needs to becontrolled and fought against such as an unhealthy diet needs to be. It may be the one thing stopping you from losing the pounds you so desperately want to.Stress and anxiety is in fact a double edged sword. Not only does it produce the excess blood sugars that turn to fat but it also encourages you to use food as a comfort tool. You may tuck intochocolate or fast food for that instant hit that is the culinary equivalent of a warm hug from a loved one.Eating these foods that are bad for you when you are stressed does not mean you are weak minded. You are just following your biological programming. Tests on rats have shown that under stressorganisms naturally engage in pleasure seeking behaviour. In particular high calorie food.Other tests have shown that men who only manage to get four hours sleep a night have on average a thirty seven percent higher level of Cortisol (the hormone that is responsible for energy - sugar)that those who get a full eight hours? And what is one of the biggest reasons for lack of sleep? Stress!On top of that it is imperative you get a good nights sleep when trying to shed the pounds because a deep sleep leads to higher secretions of a natural occurring hormone called Human Growth Hormone. This protects your muscle mass and it is muscle that helps to maintain a steady burning metabolism. We're not talking bodybuilder type muscle here either. Just the natural kind we allhave.Of course if you are already stressed the chances are you are not getting enough sleep already and so are caught in a vicious circle that is affecting your weight loss. Going to your doctors to askabout prescriptive sleeping tablets is one option, but should be used alongside a healthy lifestyle not in place of one. Fortunately, despite stress being the silent diet killer, there are some easy ways to fight it.Firstly with a little bit of exercise you can help yourself get an easier nights sleep which kills two birds with one stone. Just a brisk walk every day will be enough for your body to fall to sleepnaturally at the end of the day.A good breakfast is also associated with reduced stress levels. Skipping breakfast is just asking for trouble and will actually have a negative effect on your weight loss. You need to eatbreakfast to fuel your energy resources. This will also manage your Cortisol levels. Cereal is especially good at thisFish, although not to everyone's liking, is another food that should be added to your diet to reduce stress and therefore help weight loss. Oily fish particularly are high in Omega 3. A tin ofboneless sardines costs little and is delicious on toast. This alone contains a week’s worth of Omega 3 which is great for your diet plan.Finally learn to accept stress and use it. In other words make stress work for you. We all need a little stress to keep us on our toes and in this day and age it is everywhere. The trick is to putthings into perspective and ask yourself "Are things really that bad?". There are sick children and sadness across the world and often we let every day things stress us out needlessly. Remember,combating stress with a healthy diet could just be the miracle weight loss plan you've been looking for.

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Starting this Blog

Hello everyone, my name is Barbara and I have been promising myself I would do this for years!

I now have more time to do the things I want to do which is great.

All my life I have had to battle against gaining weight, I am not huge but I easily could be. I have always tried to be careful with what I eat and that has enabled me to keep my weight reasonably under control most of the time. However this has not been easy and sometimes I have failed miserably.

I have tried lost of different methods and researched lots of products and I now have quite a lot of information on weight loss in my head. Therefore, I am now going to write about things I have learned in the hope that others will be helped.

Currently, I need to lose weight - I can't get around too well because of a bad hip, so exercise is very difficult and I just got into the old habit of eating just a little bit more than I needed because I was enjoying it too much. Now hardly any of my clothes fit and I need to take action again!

Hopefully this blog will help some of you and hopefully also me!
Thanks for reading
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