Today in the USA we Celebrate our Independence Day with all sorts of festivities, most notably, Fireworks and Barbecues!  And of course, we all tend to “over-indulge!”  Try to remember your diet plan and weight loss goals as you share in the festivities!  Have Fun, Stay Safe and Don’t Drink and Drive!

Wishing all of you a Happy Independence Day!

Food is a necessity in our lives.  Without food we would not be able to perform our daily activities. Our muscles would wither, our nervous system would fail. We would die of starvation without it. We all need food.  But what is your relationship with food? Are you eating for the right reasons?

WHAT IS EMOTIONAL EATING?

Are you  eating whenever you are lonely or sad? Does it satisfy and calm an emotional event? Seeing food as more than just a source of energy and enjoying it simply for the satisfaction it gives is not wrong. In fact science shows that food can promote good feelings by chemical reactions caused in our brains. What IS a problem is when an individual cannot experience pain, anxiety, joy or even boredom without turning to food as means of dealing with those feelings, or they are obsessed with food, weight and dieting.

Emotional eaters turn to food as a source of distraction from dealing with feelings. However, eating these foods leads to feelings of guilt which can only be soothed with more eating, restrictive dieting, excessive exercise or purging.

Emotional eaters tend to value themselves based on their weight and how closely they’ve stuck to their ‘ideal’ diet. Because of this distorted relationship with food, foods are labeled “GOOD” and “BAD”. Emotional eating can lead to serious eating disorders and depression.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M AN EMOTIONAL EATER?

Do you turn to food for reasons other than hunger? Are you obsessed with thoughts of food – whether you plan to eat it or are concentrating on restricting yourself from eating it?

Do you regularly try diets and fail – leading to guilt and further over eating? Do you think about or attempt to purge excess food by throwing up or using laxatives? Do you exercise compulsively when you think you’ve eaten too much?

HOW DO I OVERCOME EMOTIONAL EATING?

Since emotional eating is caused by looking to food as a coping strategy for emotional distress dieting can actually create more problems. When the emotional eater fails to stick to a diet they suffer feelings of guilt that can only be soothed with more food and in turn, more guilt or punishment.

Instead of trying to focus on what they are eating, the emotional eater needs to learn new skills for coping with stressful emotions. Often this requires the help of a Personal Coach or Psychotherapist who deals with emotional eating. It is only by finding replacements for the comfort food provided that the individual can put food into its rightful place and learn healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.

Regardless of which side of this debate you are on, it can be argued that advertisers have used food almost as a weapon to gain market share for their clients. The war of fighting to get the consumer’s attention to purchase certain types of food has adversely affected many people’s effort to achieve permanent weight loss.

Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey have also made weight loss and how to lose weight a highly marketable issue on her famous talk show. Oprah herself has suffered with the battle of weight loss and has publicly shown how difficult it can be for us to lose weight in the face of the availability of food and the advertising surrounding food. Everyone at some time in his/her life has tried to lose weight and some have been struggling unsuccessfully with weight loss.

Therefore weight loss is not an issue for the rich or poor in our society but it is an issue for everyone concerned about the health, survival and quality of life of the next generation. We have to avoid the blame game and seek to seriously address the issue of obesity, especially childhood obesity. Society needs to make demands on advertisers. Junk food targeting young, impressionable kids needs to be curtailed and avoided altogether.

Parents should be re-educated on the nutritional value of food for growing, young children. While the ultimate goal is to achieve weight loss and prevent obesity, it is more important to teach people how to prepare nutritious foods and snacks from the simple fruit and vegetables that are found in all food stores across America.

Obese people have learned all their bad eating habits from the advertisements that have been forced on them by special interests groups in society. Maybe the time has come for us to get off our butts and do something other than watch TV and it’s proliferation of food advertisements!

There is some controversy over the topic of the best fat loss exercises. And different experts hold different opinions about which specific exercises work better than others. But in general, there are some things that everyone agrees on: you need both cardiovascular (otherwise referred to as cardio or aerobic) workouts and strength training workouts. What they disagree on is how long you need to do each of these types of workouts in order to burn fat effectively.

Let’s start with strength training. This can be done without any equipment (push-ups, leg lifts, arm curls, etc), or with resistance bands, weights and other types of equipment that vary in their level of sophistication. It’s important to do the exercises that you choose correctly to get the most benefit out of them. Aerobic fat loss exercises get your heart rate up so you have a huge range of activities to choose from here: ,walking briskly, swimming, dancing, running, bike riding, using stairs, playing sports, cleaning the house, etc. Don’t be fooled into thinking that aerobic activity must be some sort of formal sport or exercise. As long as it gets your heart rate up, it is aerobic. The key to burning fat with aerobic exercise is to maintain a high target heart rate so you shouldn’t be able to carry on a complete conversation while doing this.

Here are some of the most popular exercises that burn fat and don’t take much time.

In terms of muscle strengthening, you can’t beat the classic push-up. When you do push-ups, make sure that your palms are on the floor at your shoulder and just slightly outside of your shoulder width. Your back and legs should be straight when you do these exercises. Exhale slowly as you push your body up and inhale as you let it down. If you want to make this exercise even harder, you can raise your feet up on a step or bench. To make it less strenuous, keep your knees on the floor when you push up so your legs will be bent.

As far as aerobic activity goes, many people enjoy aerobics classes as much for the workout as for the social aspect of that activity. Having a group to support you can really make a difference in your consistency. Kick-boxing, swimming and brisk walking (even with light weights) are also extremely popular. Walking is one of the easiest activities to maintain because you can do it pretty much anytime, anywhere and this is one where you can maintain a minimal conversation with a work-out buddy if you prefer. Jogging is also popular but can be hard on the knees. Popular winter aerobic activities include ice-skating, skiing and snow-boarding. In the end, the best fat loss exercises are those that suit your preferences and lifestyle best. Find what you like for strength building and aerobics activity and stick to it.

Nutritionists measure the energy content of food in “calories” (sometimes capitalized and abbreviated as Cal or sometimes C, or abbreviated kcal as if small calories were being used), where each food calorie represents 4,186 joules. This is equivalent to 1000 of the calories used in chemistry, and thus the food Calorie would be called a kilocalorie if small calories were being used. However, in chemistry calories have been deprecated as a scientific unit of measure in favor of joules, and therefore in common modern usage the word “calorie” usually refers to a food calorie.

This situation provides two ways of talking about the amount of calories in food which look quite different but that express the exact same amount of energy. One may say that dietary fat has nine kilocalories (kcal) per gram, while proteins and carbohydrates have four kcal per gram, or, one may say that fat has nine Calories per gram while carbohydrates and proteins have four Calories per gram.

The amount of food energy in a particular food is measured by completely burning the food in a bomb calorimeter, a method known as direct calorimetry. Dieticians recommend counting calories to avoid obesity. The government of the United Kingdom recommends consumption of no more than 2000 Calories (2000 kcal) by women each day and 2500 Calories (2500 kcal) by men each day.

In physics or chemistry, a calorie (abbreviated cal) is a unit of energy that equals the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius, at a pressure of 1 atm. This amount of heat depends somewhat on the initial temperature of the water, which results in various different units sharing the name of “calorie” but having slightly different energy values:

* the 15 °C calorie,
* the 4 °C calorie,da
* the mean 0 °C to 100 °C calorie,
* the International Steam Table calorie,
* the thermochemical calorie,

The slight variations in these units can be seen if you convert them to joules. For example, one 15 °C calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 g of water from 14.5 °C to 15.5 °C. This is approximately equal to 4.1855 J or 3.968×10-3 Btu. The International Steam Table calorie is approximately equal to 4.1868 J and the thermochemical calorie 4.184 J.
Of these various units, what is most commonly meant by calorie in cntemporary English text is the 15 °C calorie.

The nutritional Calorie represents 1000 of these 15 °C calories. Since this could be a source of confusion and error, these units are now deprecated. The International System of Units (SI) unit for heat (and for all other forms of energy) is the joule (J), while the (obsolete) cgs (centimeter gram second system of units) system uses the erg (unit of energy and mechanical work in the centimeter-gram-second system) – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Before start losing weight and counting calories you must first calculate the number of calories your body needs everyday, because this amount changes from person to person, depending on sex, age, weight, muscle content or height. Averages are situated around 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men. An easy, but not so accurate calculation is that for every 500 less than your normal amount of calories eaten every day you will lose up to one pound (453,6g) per week.

Counting calories must be included as part of your diet, because when you loss weight is best to know how many calories your food has, and so ensuring that the amount of calories burned each day is more than the amount stored.  All nutritionists agree that a healthy low fat diet without counting calories could not exists, so take your time and solve that problem with various calorie calculators.

By knowing all the time the amount of calories consumed you can control how much you can eat and how it will affect your body. When dieting and counting the calories you can eat almost anything as long as you do not exceed the number of calories burned every day.

When you eat fewer calories, your body is forced to consume the fat stored to make up the deficit in your calorie count. Nutritionist’s advice is that you must combine psychical exercises with healthy eating in order to create some calorie deficit.

When you have “convenience” food bombarding you from every direction, it can be difficult to choose options that give your body the nourishment it needs. However, if you have daily reminders and effective tools at your disposal, you just may find that eating the right foods and feeding your body the best fuels becomes a lot easier. Of course, there will always be temptation, but when you equip yourself with anti-temptation tools, you will be able to quickly re-focus your mind on your greater goal of getting healthy!

Using Affirmations to Make the Healthy Food and Nutrition Choices

When everyone around you at the office is indulging in burgers, fries, and sugary drinks, it’s awfully tempting to join in, isn’t it? But what if you could stop that temptation in its tracks and actually choose to make a healthy choice? You don’t need me to tell you that fatty and sugary choices are not the kinds of food that your body needs – you need to tell yourself!

It can be hard in moments of temptation to make the right choice, but with the help of positive affirmations, you can re-train your brain to replace the desire for junk food with healthy choices. Affirmations can help you stick to your diet, say no to temptation, and eat nourishing and satisfying foods. How? By replacing the negative spiral of thoughts in your mind with powerful, positive ones.

But first you have to believe that it is possible to gain control over your thirsts, desires, and cravings. The first step in making a lasting change in your life is to make the commitment to success. Are you committed? Do you believe that you can overcome your cravings? Once you’ve set your commitment in stone, you’re ready to learn the top 10 affirmations to get you through moments of weakness.

Top 10 Food and Nutrition Affirmations

Before reading the list below, you should know that affirmations are most successful when you internalize the saying and repeat it frequently. Whether you’re having a good or bad day, you need to be constantly repeating these positive statements in your mind. Temptation will strike when you least expect it, so it’s better to be prepared!

1. I can neutralize bad habits with good food, exercise, and healthy living.
2. I am proud to reach out to my support network instead of leaning on food for comfort.
3. I am losing weight for me because I love me.
4. I set aside time just for me.
5. My good health and productivity are the rewards for the nourishing foods I eat.
6. Weight gain happens over time, so my weight loss equally requires time, patience, and lifestyle changes.
7. I use self-care, not self-control.
8. The more I take care of myself, the better I feel.
9. I am firmly committed to staying active and healthy.
10. I deserve a healthy body and mind.

When you look at these food and nutrition affirmations, they may seem like ideals – behaviors and thoughts that you only wish you could have – but each time you reaffirm them by saying them aloud, you’re slowly changing your mindset. Over time, these ideals will become a reality through your thoughts and actions.

But remember, you must first believe you can change. Once you make the commitment to your success, you will change your attitudes about food and you’ll be thankful you did!

Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of people who need to lose weight in order to stay healthy? But you just can’t afford to spend $10.00 a day or more on special weight loss packages. How would you like to learn about the inexpensive green tea health benefits and how it can help you lose weight? This article will give you some down to earth tips about green tea and its benefits.

Green tea health benefits are almost a given. But as always when you are about to start a special diet with a supplement of any kind; you should always check with your doctor. When you do this you will know you are not endangering your health.

A great many people who are overweight are prone to developing high blood pressure and other related cardiovascular diseases. If you fall into this category you may not be able to use other diet supplements due to the increased danger of kicking your heart rate up higher. However, green tea will not increase your heart rate.

Recent studies have shown that green tea can help you lose weight by increasing your energy levels and speed up the conversion of fat into energy. As you gain this increase in your energy levels you will be able to safely step up your exercise program. The increased exercise will stimulate your metabolic rate which in turn will burn your calorie intake more efficiently.

One of the ingredients found in green tea is called catechin. A good number of scientists have theorized the large amount of catechin is what enables the green tea to have a dramatic impact on your energy levels. Some believe it increases the output of energy by as much as four percent.

Another of the green tea health benefits is its amazing ability to help the body eliminate toxic body waste. When it acts as an antioxidant it is believed it helps improve your body’s immunity system. And the end result of this action is you have less chance of becoming ill.

One thing you will notice with the green tea is the quick burning of calories. This may tend to increase your craving for certain foods to replace the calories you have already burned. It’s important for you to remember to control your calorie intake. If you should increase the calorie intake you are decreasing the chances of you losing any weight.

Green tea and a controlled calorie intake should allow you to have a gradual loss of weight over a extended period of time. However, if you should want to increase the weight loss more quickly, you reduce your calorie intake even further. In the mean while you would want to increase the amount of exercise which will also help speed up the weight loss.

There is one little drawback to green tea. You may be put off by the taste, however as you continue to drink it you will get used to it. If you just can’t stomach it you can always try the green tea extract.

By sticking with your controlled diet, exercise and the green tea, you stand an excellent chance of losing all those extra pounds and keeping them off. Clearly the green tea health benefits far out weigh the one little drawback of a different taste.

If you’ve ever been on a diet or searched for a diet, you know that the best diets to lose weight aren’t always the most popular ones but they’re the diets that do work. The bottom line to any diet you chose is that you want to lose weight. Whether you have a few pounds to lose or need to make a major weight loss mark in your life, the best diets are those diets that you can start right away and that help you to start losing weight immediately.

There is hardly anything more disappointing than starting a diet, maintaining the diet’s requirements to a tee for a week and then stepping on the scale to discover that not only have you not lost weight but you’ve gained a pound or two. If you’ve had this happen to you, you know that finding the best weight loss diet helps you to maintain the confidence and stamina that is required to continue your weight lose to your ideal weight and body size.

Actually the best diets to lose weight don’t focus on what your number is on the scale but the amount of body fat you have. It is a proven fact in many studies that this should be the focus because fat is the cause of your body being the size that it is, not the number that you see when you step on the scale. So don’t be discouraged when the scale shows the numbers going down slower than you think. Instead, watch how your clothes are fitting you. A good sign that you are using one of the weight loss plans, which are effective, will be how loose your clothes get, whether the number or the scale changes a lot or not.

It’s important to understand the best diets to lose weight don’t subject you to extremes; such as eliminating the majority of food from your diet or exercising for 12 hours a day. Although these extremes may work in some isolated conditions, they are not the most effective way for you to burn the fat off; and keep it off. In fact it could cause dangerous health concerns down the road as well as causing you to gain back all the weight you’ve lost as soon as you stop dieting

Your best diet to kick the weight are those that take into consideration, the best way to adapt your eating and exercise habits into a healthy lifestyle; that you can maintain. Diets that propose other means to lose weight and are hard or impossible to maintain are not the best diets to lose weight on the market today and should be avoided.

The road to reaching your ideal weight and body size should be one that is marked by intermediate weight loss successes along the way. So when you’re ready to take control of your body and lose the weight, the best diets to lose weight will help you regain that control today and keep it for good.

Do you think any free diet meal plans aren’t worth anything because there free? In a lot of cases when you get something for free it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. However, you will find it’s not necessarily the truth when you get free diet plans from a legitimate source. The following information will give you a little food for thought. (pun intended)]

When it comes to dieting there are many things you have to take into consideration. But the one thing you can’t do without is a good diet plan. You may have to spend a little time finding which one will work for you; but its well worth the time.

When you find a diet program you’re interested in, most of them will ask for some specific personal questions. It is imperative for you to answer each and every question truthfully. If you shade the truth or tell what you consider to be a little white lie your chances of success on that particular plan have been reduced.

Not only will the white lie come back to haunt you, it has been shown to have an impact on your emotional and mental commitment to the plan. In addition if you fudge your actual weight or your height you may receive the wrong diet plan, which in turn could harm your health.

Another important step when you are asking for your free diet meal plans are to be sure and set your weight loss goal realistically. Don’t just grab something like a 100 lbs out of the air, even though you need to lose a 100 pounds, set your goal at a more modest level say twenty five lbs. When you do this you find your chances of succeeding on this diet have just increased two fold.

Remember the old saying “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day”. It took you a lifetime to gain those extra pounds. With a realistic weight loss goal your commitment will be stronger and you will see results faster than going for the grand prize of 100 lbs right off the bat. Besides when you reach your first goal you can always increase the next one say for 35 lbs. By then your free diet meal plans will have helped you lose 50 lbs of the hundred.

Most good weight loss plans will have provisions for allowing you to “cheat” a little with your favorite foods. The point of this being by supplying a little of your favorite desert, you will be less likely to crave it as strongly if you cut it completely out. However, this won’t work unless you can resist the temptation to gorge yourself on what ever food you are hooked on.

If this happens the main thing is to climb back on the horse that threw you; as soon as you can. Don’t put it off get right back on your diet the very next meal. Otherwise your diet will be history.

You will be glad to know you can go on line and find 100’s if not 1000’s of free diet plans. All you to do is log onto your favorite search engine and type in the words “free diet plans” or better yet “free diet meal plans”. Be sure and include the quotation marks as it will narrow your search down for you.

Check out more than one or two of these plans offered so freely. Don’t get caught up in one which sounds to good to be true. If it does there is a good chance it’s not true. Once you find one which fits you personally, be sure and verify it’s a legitimate diet plan that won’t hurt you.

It would be a good idea for you to visit your doctor and ask for a review. Chances are your physician will tell you if it is one you can do and if you follow it, will not affect your health adversely.

There are more and more plans for losing weight out there every day. Some are good and some are downright scams. Then there are the ones that fall anywhere between the two. However, with proper caution you will find the free diet meal plans which will work for you.

It’s time to lose weight and you’re ready so increase your chances of success by finding some of fastest weight loss secrets that exist. You may be surprised when you start searching because these secrets aren’t kept under a tight lock and key and can be discovered to help you with your dieting initiatives just like they help the celebrities and athletes who use them and keep their bodies in great shape.

There are lots of secret pound shedding solutions floating around on the market today. You can find them in many different places ranging from your local library to the Internet to the check out to newsstands. Some of the quickest secrets are right alongside some of the secrets that work a little slower or not as well at all. The key is to understand that not all of these claims and diets will work for you. This means you need to know what your body type is, how your metabolism is working whether fast or slow and what foods that help you to burn the most fat the quickest.

Some of the best, safest and fat loss solutions are a combination of healthy eating choices combined with a high octane exercise regimen such as weight lifting, aerobics, swimming or some other form of calisthenics. Let’s face it, not everyone who is overweight has the time or inclination to go from a sedentary lifestyle to working out like an aerobics instructor overnight and truth be told, you shouldn’t have to. The fastest fat burning secrets that focus most directly on losing the fat through what you eat are probably the best solutions that can be found. These types of secrets ensure that your dieting efforts yield you fast fat loss results.

When you start searching for the fastest way to rid of those extra pounds, be sure to take advantage of all of the resources that you have available to you. Check to see what other people have lost weight using the fastest weight loss solutions and secrets that you have found and are considering using. See if they offer live support or some form of support network that you can be in touch with if you feel like you need help or are concerned about whether or not you are making enough progress.

Chances are you’ve tried one or two diet secrets at some time and perhaps they worked or maybe they didn’t. It’s important to understand that not all diet plans, pills, shakes and the like work the same for every person. You shouldn’t blame yourself if you’ve tried a diet that didn’t work for you or that you couldn’t stick to.

Instead, just keep looking for the plan that will work and that helps you lose the weight safely and quickly for good. There are many fat loss secrets that you can try but using the fastest weight loss secrets will help you to lose the weight so fast that you’ll be encouraged to continue to your ideal weight.

The best exercises to lose weight quickly are not secrets reserved for a mere few. They are quite common, yet they are overlooked by many. People seeking to lose weight might think there’s some magic program or exercise that will get it done.

Would it surprise you to know that you probably already participate in some of these exercises? The real secret is in knowing how to do those exercises for maximum benefit.

If you walk or climb stairs, for instance, you are utilizing the best exercises to lose weight quickly. You just need to make the most of them by upping the frequency and time you commit to these heart-thumping activities.

Unless you spend a vigorous 45 to 60 minutes every day on these exercises, you won’t lose weight quickly. You’ll just get tired. The key is consistency and that you work your system regularly. Muscle-building exercises are most effective to lose weight quickly.

Whichever exercise you choose, make sure you put all your energy into it. You want to keep your heart rate up and your blood pumping throughout the exercise period, with a proper cool down afterwards.

If you’re brisk walking, for example, walk slowly for the final few minutes to give your body a chance to cool down. Stopping suddenly can cause muscle cramps and really isn’t good for your heart. Give it time to fall back to normal while you’re moderately active.

Make sure you drink lots of water while exercising to replenish your reserves and to help prevent cramping.

When you’re ready, here are the 10 best exercises to lose weight quickly. Start gradually and let your body adjust to the workouts.

1. Squats: This exercise is great for building leg and buttock muscles. Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart and squat down and then up 10-20 times through two or three sets.

2. Jumping Jacks: You probably remember these from your school days. They provide one of the best whole body aerobic workouts. Do four or five set of 20 jumping jacks for best results.

3. Stepping: If you’ve made numerous trips upstairs while moving or cleaning, you’ll know how much energy this exercise takes. The benefits are multi-fold: burns calories, boosts heart rate,  great aerobics workout, builds leg and buttock muscles. You can use your stairs for this. Step up and down 20 times, rest and repeat two or three times.

4. Walking: Fast walking is better than slow walking, but both are beneficial. If you want an exercise to lose weight quickly, walk briskly for half an hour and you can burn up to 180 calories.

5. Bicycling: The outdoors can be more enjoyable, but stationary indoor cycles can provide an equally good exercise to lose weight quickly. In fact, if you apply the right amount of resistance at the right speed, you can lose between 250 and 500 calories in half an hour.

6. Swimming: This is a great, fun exercise for many people. It provides an excellent cardio workout that uses your entire body. Doing the breast stroke for half an hour can burn 400 calories.

7. Cross Country Skiing: Another fun activity with the same benefits as swimming.

8. Jump Rope: This isn’t just a kids’ game. Adults can get a terrific, unparalleled total body workout by jumping rope for as little as 15 to 20 minutes.

That gives you eight of the top workouts you can try.  They are just some of the best exercises to lose weight quickly.