Month: February 2012

Weight Loss & Depression Verses Losing Weight & Positive Mental Attitude

A lot of people find themselves gaining weight very fast rate because of one of society’s biggest negative factors: depression. Depression can influence so many aspects of your life and gaining weight is usually one of the first signs of depression. People that suffer from depression usually suffer from weight gain as well and find comfort in eating food, especially their favorite foods, which usually ends up being all kinds of snacks and foods that are high in fats, sodium, and sugars.

A lot of people that are also trying to lose weight will face depression in their weight-loss efforts as well. They mainly face depression because they don’t feel that they’re losing weight as fast as they feel they should or that they’re not losing as much weight as they want to lose.

Losing weight takes time and it also takes a positive mental attitude. In order to lose weight, you need to constantly find ways to encourage yourself and find ways to maintain a positive mental attitude towards losing weight. Just because a day goes by that you did not lose a pound doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to lose the weight that you’re trying to lose.

Staying positive while losing weight isn’t all that difficult. The first thing that you should do is take it one day at a time. What I mean by that is focus on your weight loss efforts for each day and stay positive towards those weight-loss efforts.

Do all that you can during each day to stay on your course to lose weight. Watch what you eat, continue your exercise, and always, always encourage yourself with the progress that you’ve made up to this point. Don’t ever be discouraged if you’ve only lost 5 pounds in seven days; if your goal was to lose 7 pounds in seven days. Remember you still lost 5 pounds in seven days even though it wasn’t the 7 pounds you were shooting for and that is something to encourage yourself with to maintain a positive mental attitude.

You also need to make every pound count. Along the lines of what I’ve mentioned before, set realistic goals for yourself and don’t try to do too much in too little time. If you set unrealistic goals for yourself and then don’t achieve them, then you’re going to be depressed about that and that is not what you need to stay positive. If you need to, make your goals ridiculously low at first and then as you see yourself accomplishing the low goals, start raising them a bit higher. The key here is to focus on achievable progress and by doing that it will help you to stay positive because you are actually seeing results.

Staying positive isn’t hard really. Focus on what you’re doing, encourage yourself with the results, always continue working toward your goals, and before you know it, you will be encouraging others just like yourself and seeing them achieve the results they desire.

 

4 Health Side Effects of Diet Soda

If you are one of the many “dieters” that believes diet soda is a healthy alternative to a regular soda, then you are totally wrong.  Research shows that diet sodas can be just as harmful as the regular ones.

The following information was taken from: www.3fatchicks.com

1. Weight Gain

Diet soda is made with artificial sweeteners. These sweeteners are made by modifying real sugar. Three hydrogen-oxygen groups in real sugar are replaced with three chlorine atoms. The chlorine atoms make the sugar inactive so that it will pass through the body and the body will not recognize this molecule. This is how the molecule becomes low-calorie. The body not recognizing the molecule makes this molecule have no effect on the body.

Over time, the body not recognizing this molecule will cause the chemistry of the brain to change. The brain will begin to not recognize things that are sweet and will not recognize them as calories. When sweetness is not being internally recorded, the threat to overeat, and overeat by a lot, is always there.

2. Illness

Aspartame is one of the chemicals that is in diet soda. This chemical alone is created from many different chemicals. This chemical was created to pass right through the body and not be metabolized by the body. Many studies have been done on aspartame and it is believed to be the cause for several conditions and illnesses. Some complaints people had were dizziness, memory loss, headaches, mood swings and anxiety.

The side effects of aspartame are hard to link directly to the consumption of diet soda because they mimic the side effects of so many other conditions. On people that were studied, when they stopped drinking diet soda, their health and their symptoms began to improve. This is what caused people to believe there is a negative side to diet soda.

3. Dehydration

Diet soda is made up of many chemicals. Some of these chemicals will cause us to become dehydrated. The dehydration sets in after drinking the first soda. After drinking that soda, our thirst is not quenched and we reach for another soda to quench that thirst. You may feel full and even a bit bloated, but you are still thirsty. If soda is continued to be consumed, the thirst will get worse.

4. Caffeine Addiction

Caffeine is very addictive and some people compare it to a drug. Caffeine is very hard to give up and the more diet soda you drink, the worse your addiction will be. When you go without caffeine for too long, it will take a toll on your body.  Coming down from a caffeine high is very hard on the body.  Caffeine also affects your bones.  Caffeine removes calcium from your bones and can be dangerous to children because of this.

Diet soda is everywhere in our culture and because of it having no calories, it is very intriguing.  Because of the chemical makeup, diet soda is not healthy for you and can cause damage to your body.

Eat your breakfast

I hear people often say they don’t eat breakfast.  There are many excuses as to why they don’t eat breakfast, but none of them make any sense when you consider just how important your breakfast meal is when attempting to lose and maintain weight.

Here is a great article I ran across on the importance of breakfast and what you should eat for breakfast.

http://diet.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Important_Reasons_Why_You_Should_Eat_Breakfast

Emotional Support

Emotional Support is vital when attempting to lose weight and get healthy.  I know for me I would not be where I am without support from my family, friends, and most importantly God.  Praying for strength when I have felt weak has been a key factor for my success.  So in what ways should we seek emotional support?

Friends & Family

If you have a friend or family member who is also trying to lose weight, you can support each other by sharing more than just recipes and workouts. Talking about your feelings, especially when you’ve had a bad day, helps put things back into perspective. We are often our own worst critics and your loved ones can and will support you regardless of whether you ate that whole box of cookies. Although this is usually the first choice, friends and family can also be too close to the situation, so be sure to choose your confidant wisely.

Online Community

Online weight loss communities are an excellent source of information and support. Message boards help like-minded individuals find each other. Plus, the online community has the best of both worlds: you can make real friends who help you deal with real issues, while maintaining a certain amount of anonymity and distance. Your online friends are not intricately involved in your daily life, so they can offer insight on situations from an unbiased perspective. Since it is a whole community, the amount of emotional support is amazing. You will find that many people are having the exact same feelings you are and you’ll be able to get advice from those that have gone through these situations before.

Organized Meetings

Whether you choose to attend meetings run by specific weight loss companies or want to opt for community support groups like Overeaters Anonymous, in-person meetings can be just the right thing. Like online communities, meetings give you a group of people going through the same struggles. Since weight gain is often tied to emotional eating, we need to learn how to deal with our personal feelings and experiences in new ways. Organized meetings give tips on how to get through universally tough food times, like the holidays, as well as helping members deal with difficult personal issues.

Medical Professionals

Medical professionals have experience helping people lose weight and can also be a source of emotional support. Your family doctor may be able to help you fight through feelings because he or she has known you for a long time. Dietitians are experts when it comes to weight loss. They have worked with clients just like you and can be a source of both information and understanding. For many people, excess weight is a symptom of some other internal problem. By working on these private issues with a therapist you may find that once the cause has been resolved, the symptoms, in the form of extra pounds, may slowly melt away too.

 

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/4-types-of-emotional-support-to-rely-on-during-weight-loss.html

The benefits of strength training

The benefits of strength training for women are so powerful! Strength training has been overlooked as a viable weight loss method for way too long.  Women are beginning to realize just how important a proper strength training routine is for their overall health.  Below are my top 10 benefits of weight training for women. Soak each one of them up and start your routine today!

1) Increased Metabolic Rate –Here is one of the most important benefits of strength training for women. We always want to discover the secrets to weight loss… well here is the first secret! Strength training increases your metabolic rate by increasing the calories you burn on a daily basis. The more calories you burn, the more chance you have to drop body fat.

2) Increasing and Restoring Bone Density – Strength training prevents and fights osteoporosis. Read my entire report on strength training benefits for osteoporosis by clicking here.

3) Increased Lean Muscle Mass –Note: You will not get big and bulky by strength training! You simply do not have enough testosterone in your body. Yes, if you train for hours and hours and dedicate your life to becoming a bodybuilder you can bulk up.

But simply lifting weights as part of a regular strength training routine will not cause women to bulk up. With that said, for every pound of lean muscle mass that you have, you burn 35-50 calories per day!

If you have 10 pounds of lean muscle mass then you burn between 350-500 calories. If you have 20 pounds you burn between 700 and 1000 calories per day! This is one of the biggest benefits of strength training for women.

4) Injury Prevention –Strength training strengthens our muscles and tendons. The stronger we are the less chance of an injury. This is especially important as we grow older. The benefits of strength training for women and men are highly touted for injury prevention.

5) Improved Balance –Especially important as we grow older. Strength training builds a strong foundation. Strengthening our legs and core section means an increase in overall balance and coordination.

6) Decreased Risk of Coronary Disease –Strength training can reduce your blood pressure. It can also decrease your cholesterol levels. These benefits of strength training for women alone are a great reason to begin your program today. Heart disease is one of the highest (if not the highest) killer of women in America every year.

7) Aids in Rehabilitation and Recovery –Strengthening the muscles around our joints is one of the best ways to prevent and recover from an injury. For example, the best way to recover from a knee injury is to strengthen the quads and calves.

8) Enhanced Performance in Sports, Exercise and Life In General –The benefits of strength training for women all boil down to one point- a better overall quality of life. We can perform our favorite activities with more ease and less pain. We are able to increase our health and mental state from a regular strength training routine.

9) Aging Gracefully – With less falls and less injuries we are able to age gracefully. Our lean and toned bodies create a warm and strong persona. Strength training is a major factor in aging well. Enhancing our muscles and reducing body fat are prime ways to prevent sagging body parts too ;)

10) Feeling Better and Looking Better –I don’t think it is much of a secret that we all want to look great. We are all searching for ways to look young. Strength training is a vital part of a fitness routine.

Strength training has been shown to increase our muscle tone, decrease body fat, and so much more. A toned body is but one factor to looking great. The other is purely mental. There are so many positive mental benefits of strength training for women. We feel accomplished, secure, and strong after a strength session.

Information taken from~




Belly Fat Fighting Foods

A great list of foods which are proven to fight belly fat!

  • Instant Oatmeal (Unsweetened & Unflavored) – Oatmeal which is high in soluble fiber not only can help in burning fat it can help lower your cholesterol.
  • Low Fat Dairy Products – Recent studies have shown that people who consume at least 3 servings of low fat dairy each day lose up to 70% more than people who do not consume dairy. The key appears to be the calcium in foods such as yogurt, cheese, and milk.
  • Eggs – Eggs are an excellent source of protein and vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 aids the body in breaking down and burning fat.
  • Citrus Fruits – Citrus is very high in Vitamin C which has some fat burning properties. Basically, Vitamin C makes fat less effective and can help dilute fat which makes it easier to be released from the body.
  • Chilies – Chilies contain capsaicin which appears to not only help boost the pain tolerance but also the metabolism.
  • Beans – Beans including soybeans are high in fiber, protein and iron. Soybeans in particular have the chemical lecithin which may assist in the process of shielding cells from accumulating fat.
  • Fresh Fruits & Vegetables– Especially apples, berries, beets, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and asparagus contain pectin. Pectin can help limit the amount of fat which the cells can absorb and can help the cells absorb more water which can help release fat deposits.
  • Whole Grains – Whole grains are less processed than other forms of grain based carbohydrates which allow them to retain more of the natural fiber and minerals.
  • Lean Meats– Lean meats such as turkey, chicken and beef are extremely high in protein and can help boost the immune system. Fish such as salmon and tuna have the “healthy fat” omega 3 fatty acid in addition to being high in protein which is excellent for boosting the immune system
  • Olive Oil – Olive Oil is considered a “good fat” because it is high in monounsaturated fat.