Archive for December, 2008
If you struggle with weight gain it is a good bet that you have tried at least one of the fad diets that crop up on a regular basis.
The truth is that some of these diets may grant you temporary weight loss. In the usual case, however, the weight returns as soon as you stray from the diet.
The bottom line is that you gain weight because you consume more calories than your body is able to use and no diet is a substitute for good eating habits.
Your body requires a certain number of calories in order to function properly. If you truly wish to lose weight, you must burn off more calories than your body requires.
It is important that you fill your arsenal with every possible tool available to insure your success. The most important tool in your weight loss program does not include diet or exercise.
There is no special equipment you need to purchase. You do not need to join a gym or health club. And, you already have every component you need to put this tool to work for you and begin a successful weight loss program. What is it? It is your mind.
If you have tried every diet on the planet, every exercise program from the latest fitness guru and repeatedly failed to achieve your weight loss goals you probably need a check up from the neck up.
Successful weight loss does not just happen. It took more than a few days to reach the point where you are at right now. Give yourself a break and expect it to take awhile before you see measurable results. Take a leap of faith and follow some basic principles.
Begin with your self talk. This is the conversation that runs through your brain continuously. What kind of conversation do you have with your self talk? What type of negative self talk has kept you from reaching your goals in the past?
If you had a chance to do it over again, would you change the dialogue? That is a no brainer is it not?
Well, the good news is that you can turn the tide of negative self talk beginning right now. It is never too late to begin and you start by reprogramming your self talk.
A good starting point is to begin with positive affirmations. Positive affirmations spoken aloud with authority and belief, positively affect your attitude, focus your thinking and lead to a course of action that will help you become the person you want to be and have the things that you want to have.
Begin by writing your affirmations on paper. You need to take some time for this exercise. You can begin with something like, I want to lose 25 pounds before Spring. That is a worthy goal and attainable, but we need to put some work into structuring the afirmation.
First of all, I want gives the impression that what you desire is always in the future. In order to re-program your self talk, you need to trick your mind into believing that you have already achieved success. This is how your subconscious mind functions.
Your subconscious mind has no capacity for understanding the concept of time. Everything is in the moment here and now. When you tell your subconscious mind you want that is exactly what you will get want. You will get want, without ever achieving fulfillment. Unless you change your mental tape recorder, you will achieve exactly what you are telling your subconscious, that you want to lose 25 pounds. You will want to lose 25 pounds for the rest of your days unless you change your self talk.
If your weight is 150 pounds and you desire is to weight 125 pounds, then you need to be 125 pounds from the moment you make the decision to change your self talk.
What if you write your affirmation to read something like this: I am healthy and fit, weighing 125 pounds.
What are you telling your subconscious now? It is extremely important that you phrase your affirmation as if you have already accomplished what you desire. Work on writing it out until you have it precisely as you wish to become.
It is particularly important that your affirmation is crystal clear because what you affirm is exactly what your subconscious mind will bring you.
You need not limit yourself to one affirmation either. Write another one that reflects your new exercise program. I enjoy my healthy new exercise program, or, I love the healthy foods I eat.
Write and rewrite until you are absolutely certain that you have written your goals in the here and now AND to represent precisely what you desire. Then, and only then, begin to speak it aloud and do so several times a day.
Remember to use the present tense. I acknowledge achievement in all my weight loss goals. I have the skill and talent to exercise every day. I am a winner. I am grateful for all of my accomplishments no matter how small.
At first you will feel awkward and uncomfortable and you may not feel or believe what you are saying. You may feel silly saying them out loud. It does not matter. Continue to speak the affirmations aloud with as much conviction as you can muster. Try using driving time in your car for firm, strong voiced self talk. It has taken a long time to train your subconscious to use negative self talk. If you will persevere with speaking your affirmations aloud, firmly and confidently, you will be amazed at how quickly you can turn your thoughts around.
You did not hop on a bicycle the first time and just take off down the street. It took practice to train your body to balance on those two wheels. This will take some practice as well. Continue to repeat your affirmations aloud, several times a day for the next 30 days and you will be amazed at how much you change your thinking and attitude.
Lets investigate how words affect you in your everyday life. Take a trip down memory lane and recall some real life experiences that made you happy, proud, and successful or any combination of the three.
Spend some time recalling how you felt. Maybe you won a spelling bee as a child, or hit a home run. Who was there? This will help you remember. You had those feelings once and you can achieve them again. What words did others use while you were experiencing those feelings of joy and happiness?
Recall those words, and write them down. Then, put them to work in your daily conversations. They are words that are already proven to have a positive affect on your well being. Recalling and including them in your day will trigger those feelings again because your subconscious already has an association with those words and their results.
Above all, take action. If you have become a slave of procrastination, decide to rid your life of it once and for all. Yes, you can create affirmations to help you there as well. I have the attitude and skills to take action today. I am winning in my life by turning my attitude into action.
Do nothing and nothing gets done. Do something and many things are placed in motion. Regardless of what you are doing in life, you need to take action. Do something every day to put your plan in motion.
How is your attitude? What are your first thoughts when you awake in the morning? You have got quite a lot to choose from.
Do you begin the day by dragging out of bed bemoaning the fact that you have to get to work? Or, do you embrace the morning as another great opportunity to do great things?
Put the universal law of reciprocity to work in your life every single day. Did you know as much as ninety nine percent of our conversation is negative? There are some folks who can hardly wait to get their mouths open so they can one up another person’s current negative situation.
Hmmm, think back to that self talk. If what you hear every day is negative, it is no wonder your self talk brings you down and prevents you from being, doing and having everything you desire. Try this exercise. Make a decision today, right now, from this moment to spend the rest of the day contributing to conversation in a positive way.
Impossible, you say? Not so. Say that somebody complains about another rainy day. Your response might be, yes, is it not great? See that beautiful rainbow! Try and create the habit of saying something positive to everyone.
If you are learning to say something positive to everybody about everything every time, you are disciplining your subconscious for positive results in everything that happens to you.
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So, just what are the good Candida food groups, which will provide me with the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals and will help to prevent the infection from becoming much worse?
Luckily there are a large number of different foods you can consume to help the body combat a candida infection. These foods will also help in the long term to keep the Candida suppressed and so reduce the chances of you suffering from a further infection in the future.
However, a good diet alone may not be enough to relieve a Candida infection, especially if it has been left untreated for a while. So, it is important to visit the doctor for a proper diagnosis, as there are a number of conditions that have similar symptoms to a candida overgrowth.
Once diagnosed, the doctor will normally prescribe anti-fungal medication, and also may recommend a change in diet and some lifestyle changes.
An anti candida diet is one that restricts the foods that “feed” the candida and provide an environment within the body for it to thrive. It should also help by giving the body the necessary nutrients to boost the immune system and friendly bacteria numbers so that the body can regain balance.
Whilst there are number of acceptable foods that can be included in an anti candida diet, one of the best food types to include is fresh vegetables, preferably uncooked, or lightly cooked. It is also better to chose organic foods, as they are less likely to be covered in pesticides and other man made substances, which may upset the flora of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract further.
Ensure that the vegetables are well washed before consumption, as it is important that no mould, fungus or pesticides are consumed.
Also you can eat as much lean meat, poultry and fish that you like. However, avoid meets that have been processed, including smoked or cured meats. Again it is advisable that you look at eating organic meat, poultry or wild, deep-sea fish as opposed to farmed fish, as they are less likely to contain substances help the Candida thrives
Grain products such as oatmeal, oat bran, whole wheat, shredded wheat, brown rice, barley, millet and rice cakes are good to include in the diet. Not only are they nutritious but they also contain fiber as well as minerals in trace amounts which are good for your health and well being. Or you could try some of the grain alternatives, which you should easily be able to get from your local health food store such as quinoa, buckwheat or amaranth.
Although a number of foods are restricted by a candida diet, there are also many tasty alternatives available. The small list above gives an idea of which sort of foods that are acceptable, but it is important to have a list of the foods that should be restricted from the diet.
Continue reading to sign up for our free newsletter where you will discover natural methods to relieve candida and find out which foods to avoid in your diet to help relieve symptoms.
It is important to remember that following a candida food diet is only one part of the treatment for a candida infection, and so the approach being adopted should always be discussed with your doctor or dietician.
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The perceived causes of acne are plenty, and most of them are old wives’ tales. Everyone who enters into the teenage years, and experiences that first pimple, would always be advised not to eat greasy food or chocolate until it clears up. You hastily agree, and go without your favorites treats hoping that darn zit goes away.
Researches have come up with a few reasons as to why teenagers get acne, and why some adults get acne way into their twenties or even thirties:
Hormones
One of the first speculated reasons for the cause of acne is Hormone fluctuation, which is especially prevalent in the teenage years, and the changing body. The changes in the body’s chemistry can cause the pores in the skin to collapse on themselves, thus clogging the oil from escaping the skin. In adults, an excess of the male hormone androgen may cause clogging hair follicles, thus causing a breakout in pimples.
Diet
Most researchers deem that the common belief that poor diet is linked to acne is false. Eating foods such as chocolate, pizza, or burgers will not exacerbate your acne problem. However, most doctors will suggest that keeping a somewhat healthy diet rich in Vitamin D ( with foods such as milk and cheese) will help keep your skin healthy.
Stress
One major factor of acne is the amount of stress in your daily life. When you are under mental anxiety, the change in brain chemistry can trigger an imbalance in your hormones, thus causing breakouts.
Treatments
The mainstream treatment for acne is generally benzoyl peroxide, and this is found in products such as Clearasil and Oxypads. These products can be purchased at any retail store. Other stronger products such as Pro Activ can be purchased online, or through the mail. This product has been proven to have amazing results, and costs around $20.00 a month. Three steps are used with Pro Active; the cleanser, toner, and lotion. The cleanser and toner are used to clean the pores of any dirt or bacteria, and the lotion is used to rejuvenate the skin afterwards.
In the end, there is no specific cause of acne. But it is largely dependant upon hormone levels, stress, and your own biological makeup. The best way to deal with acne in your teenage years or even in your adult years, is to use a method of treatment that is right for you. Consider products such as Pro Activ for acne that is severe. But whatever method you choose, do not pick at your pimples, it will only leave scars. That is one old wives’ tale that is actually true.
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In this day and age, everybody wants to improve their looks with a thinner waist line. For that, people may need some directions for finding healthy solutions to lose weight. The best choice someone can make in order to lose weight and gain health, energy and vitality is switching to a raw food diet.
People discover each day the benefits of raw food recipes. When switching to a raw food diet you will see improvements to your daily behavior like improved sleep, some anti-aging benefits, increased vitality and health. Owing to such advantages, the popularity of raw food diets is bound to increase, because we all want to improve the way we look and the way we feel about ourselves, don’t we?
In the beginning people didn’t cook their food and they consumed it raw. Eating like this helped them keep very healthy. Our bodies are built so that we can consume raw foods. The only thing we need to do is to rediscover the way we were in the beginning and enjoy all that nature has to give us. Consuming raw foods helps our bodies because they contain enzymes that help digestion. These enzymes are destroyed if the fruits and vegetables are cooked. Our body digests the foods through its own enzymes, but the enzymes in our body also give us energy. Therefore, when we use the enzymes in our bodies for digestion and not the ones in fruits and vegetables, it means that our energy levels and vitality are decreased.
Basic guidelines for planning your healthy raw food recipes recommend that you should include in your diet mostly fruit and vegetables, which are our most biologically conducive meals. Something that can help you in planning your raw food recipes is the categories in which fruits and vegetables are divided.
Fruits can be divided in sweet fruits (tropical fruits, persimmons, sweet grapes), acid fruits (lemons, citrus), sub-acid fruits (apples, pears, tart grapes) and fatty fruits (avocadoes, durian). Melons constitute a separate category of fruits. Some of the vegetable categories are non-starchy greens (spinach, cabbage), fruit vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes) and root vegetables (carrots, celeriac). Another category of vegetables includes lettuce and celery. The vegetables named here can be found as items on a list of raw low carbohydrate foods. All these fruits and vegetables are the common components of raw food recipes.
Now that the categories have been established, here are some rules of combining them in order for you to avoid fermentation in the intestines, indigestion, water retention and toxicity. Sweet fruits are to be eaten with other varieties of sweet fruits only or with sub-acid fruits. Don’t eat acid fruit with anything other than celery and lettuce. Avocadoes and olives should be eaten with non-starchy vegetables. Melons should be eaten alone or not eaten at all. These are combinations that you should try. But there are a few combinations that you should try to avoid like starch and acid (tomato and potato), protein and protein (avocadoes and nuts), sweets and starch (maple syrup and rice). Think about these combinations when you are developing your own raw food recipes.
Raw food diets are not all about fruits and vegetables. Organic foods can also be included in the diet. Organic cheese is very nutritious and can be included in raw food diets because it does not involve a cooking process that destroys enzymes. You should make sure that the organic cheese you buy is organic, and not a scam. The process that is followed by farmers to obtain organic cheese consists of letting nature take its natural course, from harvesting the milk from the cows and letting it coagulate with no help from additional catalytic agents. Incredible products made from raw ingredients and that may include organic cheese can be found here, on rawbakery.com.
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Staying on your diet can be a challenge for anyone, but for a busy working mom the challenges can be especially tough. A busy lifestyle can make it impossible to get to the gym for a daily workout, prepare your meals ahead of time, or even to remember to pack your lunch for work each day. Being in a rush can make it difficult to stick to your diet when it’s so easy to grab something at the drivethrough. Here’s a collection of hints and tips from other busy women that will help you stay on your diet despite all the temptations.
Don’t try to ’save time’ by eating on the run, or snacking at your desk while you work. No matter how rushed you are, take the time to eat like a civilized human being, to quote my mother. Set the table, put your food on a plate and have a meal. You’ll eat less and feel fuller – and not feel the urge to snack because you ‘haven’t eaten anything all day’.
Cook just what will be eaten. Ignore all those homemaker articles that suggest that you ‘cook for tomorrow’ to save time. Cook one portion per person at each meal. That way you’ll avoid the temptation to finish off the leftover – and teach your family healthy eating habits.
Get up early enough to eat breakfast at home. The morning rush to get ready may make it tempting to grab something on the way to work, or skip breakfast entirely. Don’t do it. You’ll end up eating up all that saved time – and a lot more calories – with midmorning trips to the snack machine, or fight off the blahs all morning long. Stock up on easy breakfast foods. A piece of fruit, a container of yogurt and a slice of toast are a healthy, balanced start for your day.
Most diets suggest that you drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day. If the thought of drinking a half gallon of water makes you queasy, there are ways to make it more appealing. Stock up on flavored bottled water in the fridge at work and keep one icy cold on your desk. At home, float mint sprigs or lemon slices in a crystal pitcher. There’s no added calories, but oh what a difference in presentation and flavor!
Trying to lose baby weight can be frustrating. You want to take it off as quickly as possible – but your body may not be cooperative. Keep in mind that your body is designed to nourish a child for up to a year after you give birth. Putting it on a starvation diet will kick it into survival gear, making it even harder to lose the extra weight. Instead of fighting your body’s natural tendency to store up nutrition for the baby, eat healthy portions and increase your activity level. And if you’re breastfeeding, remember that your body needs up to 1000 more calories a day than usual. Don’t skimp – you’ll just convince your body that it’s starving.
Employ the buddy system for moral support. Making a pact with a friend to exercise together makes it easier to stick to your resolution. Instead of meeting with friends for lunch, challenge friends to a tennis game, or take a brisk walk in the park together.
Remember that a healthy, active lifestyle and a nutritious diet are the true keys to losing weight permanently. By choosing a diet that makes sense for your lifestyle, you’ll make it easier on yourself to lose weight, and keep it off for good.
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