Weight Loss Tips

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Cauliflower - 1 no
Cream of celery soup – 1 can
Cheese - fat free - ½ cup
Butter – 2 tbsp
Paprika and parsley

Preparation

Cook cauliflower in salted boiling water. Drain well. Cover bottom of a greased 9″ pan with a layer of soup. Place cauliflower over soup. Add remaining soup. Sprinkle with cheese. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with paprika and chopped parsley. Bake 350° for 20 minutes.

Tip: When you are really short of time, you can think of partially prepared products. Today’s well-stocked supermarkets offer an array of partially prepared products; chopped carrots, broccoli or tomatoes to cooked macaroni and cheese; chopped dried fruit or nuts to rice; sliced red and green peppers, mushrooms, broccoli florets - the list presumed to be endless.

Read more…

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We all know how important protein is to any diet, whether you are trying to achieve a healthy weight loss or not. Certain fad diets tell people its OK to go out and eat as much greasy bacon as you want, as long as you stay away from those killer carbohydrates. As you probably have already figured out, this type of diet does not work. The main reason is that the source of protein comes from animal fats, and eating too much of it will take its toll on your health.

Be very thankful that we have soy in our world. It is the healthy alternative to animal protein for many many reasons. The incorporation of even just a small amount of soy protein into the diet every day is beneficial in the prevention of all kinds of diseases. What does that have to do with losing weight? Everything!

The key to healthy weight loss is proper nutrition. Once your body is healthy on a daily basis, it can perform miracles. Living a healthy lifestyle means choosing soy over bacon when you want to give your body protein fuel. When you feed your body the right way, you will get the results you want.

Soy contains more protein than milk without the saturated fat or cholesterol. Soya beans are the only beans to be considered a complete protein because they contain all eight essential amino acids. Soy protein contains high levels of a substance called Tyrosine, which helps to maintain our alertness and mental energy without the need for excess calories.

Soy is a low-glycemic index food which helps regulate blood-sugar and insulin fluctuations. This helps you to feel more satisfied and less hungry until your next meal, which is beneficial for weight management and control. Some studies even indicate that soy may stimulate the metabolism! How cool is that!

Soy also helps reduce the amount of fat that is stored in your body by converting fewer calories into fat from the food that you consume. Soy protein can also control insulin levels therefore reducing the frequency of sugar cravings. Since your body will feel more satisfied and less hungry, this will also reduce the overindulgent eating.

Soy also enhances energy levels and building muscle mass in a healthy way. Muscles burn energy during daily activities and exercise. Increased muscle mass burns more calories. Since soy increases the speed at which the fat cells burn the fat stored in the body, it once again affects your metabolism. Exercise is not mandatory for a healthy weight loss, but even the smallest workout every day can accelerate your weight loss efforts.

I had chronic asthma all of my life and could not exercise…until I began drinking soy-based protein shake meal replacements. I lost 70 pounds in 4 months and have kept it off for over 15 years now. The best part is that because of the benefits of soy, I can now exercise every day without any breathing problems. I was also able to get rid of all my prescription medications on top of it.

Do I have to drink a soy-based shake every day? No, I do not have to. If I want to go back to being overweight with breathing problems, I suppose I could stop using soy. But why would I ever want to do that? As I stated before, the key to a healthy weight loss and maintaining an ideal weight is the willingness to lead a healthy lifestyle. You can not lose weight and expect to go back to old bad eating habits without suffering the consequences.

A great advantage to living a healthy lifestyle is that you do not need to give up the foods you love. You can sill eat them, just not as often. You must replace some of those foods with healthier alternatives. The road to a healthy weight loss is littered with all kinds of snack wrappers, like soy nuts, protein bars and fruit. (OK, fruit usually doesn’t need a wrapper, but you get my point.

Since fad diets, unbalanced diets, diet pills, diet supplements, weight loss surgery and other short term weight loss methods are the cheaters way to lose weight, why bother? Cheaters never prosper and there is no substitute for proper nutrition. Take advantage of the many benefits soy can give to you and you will soon find yourself living the kind of life you deserve.

By: William Winch

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Bill Winch is a Personal Wellness Coach whose mission is teaching and coaching others who are struggling with losing weight safely and keeping it off for good. To receive his Free Report "9 Weight Loss Myths Exposed," visit his website and click on FREE REPORT or call him directly at (585) 271-3767 for a free wellness consultation.

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Weight Loss Ideas: Get Your Body Moving

How about this for a weight loss idea - exercise. I know I’m stating the obvious, but exercise is very important and a major key to quick weight loss success.

Unfortunately, exercise is most often put on the back burner. You don’t have to purchase a gym membership to workout. In fact, there are easy exercises to lose weight quickly that you can do on a daily basis that will help kick start your metabolism so that your body will burn more fat.

Here are six easy exercise weight loss ideas to help you get moving and start losing:

Exercise Routine
Start off slowly with three days of 30 minute exercise. Add another day after a couple of weeks. Make sure to add some weight training because muscle burns fat!

No Time?
Break up your workouts. Why? Exercise is cumulative. Just do 10-15 minutes in the morning and 10-15 minutes in the evening. It’s much more manageable that way.

Get Out and Walk
Walking is very good for you and will help you lose weight fast without really feeling like you are working out. Make sure to walk briskly. Walk your dog more, walk while talking on the phone, walk to your destination if you can, and walk up and down the stairs.

Exercise Buddy
This should be someone who is as committed to exercising and losing weight as you are. Having an exercise buddy will help you stay focused and keep you accountable. It’s much harder to slack off when you have an exercise buddy.

Step Away From The Computer
If you have a job where you sit at the computer for most of the day then stand up and stretch or go for a walk around the office. You should be moving every half hour or so.

Don’t Be a Couch Potato
If you want to watch your favorite show walk in place, stretch, make up your own routine, or do some crunches. But, don’t just sit there!

The idea here is just to get moving. Change up your routines and the days you exercise. Walk instead of drive or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Making small changes like this throughout your day will help you burn more calories and ultimately lose more weight.

By: Lisa Stoops

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Learn more about how to lose weight quickly and exercises to lose weight.

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Exercise and Weight Loss

Most people know that exercise is an important part of any weight loss program, but there is considerable confusion over what type of exercise and how much is needed to produce  maximum results. Even experts cannot agree as to what the "right" exercise is to produce weight loss, and in part this confusion lies in the fact that many experts rely on only a partial analysis of the available research on exercise physiology, and there is often a tendency to make "one-size-fits-all" recommendations, when the reality is that different people will actually get different results from different approaches.

Let’s begin with what the current research on exercise physiology tells us. It is well-established that it takes  approximately 30 minutes of any kind of exercise for the body to burn off its glycogen (stored sugar) reserves and begin burning fat. So, most experts recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise, and generally 60 minutes or more may be recommended to get a good amount of fat burning. Now, if you are going to be exercising for 30 to 60 minutes, or maybe more, what type of exercise would you be able to do for that length of time? It probably would have to be low to medium intensity. In other
words, you’re probably not going to be able to run full speed or do any other type of high-intensity exercise for 30 to 60 minutes without a rest, unless you happen to be an elite athlete, and even then you’d be struggling. So, by default, the common recommendation for exercise to lose weight has been 30 to 60 minutes of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise. Aerobic translates to "in the presence of oxygen", which in common language means that aerobic exercise is any type of activity that you can do without gasping for breath.

In recent years, some experts have changed their recommendations to using a more intense anaerobic ("without oxygen") exercise program for weight loss. This would include things like intense weight lifting, and something called "interval training". Interval training involves brief bursts of high intensity activity with periods of rest or low intensity activity in between. For instance, your could sprint at full speed for 30 to 60 seconds and once you were winded, you could walk at an easy pace for a couple of minutes until you could catch your breath, then repeat the cycle several more times..

Because this kind of workout is much more strenuous, it is performed over a much shorter period of total exercise time - about 20 to 40 minutes (at least half of which is rest time), as compared to half an hour to an hour of non-stop exercise as is recommended with low to medium intensity aerobic workouts. The question is, how do the two types of exercise compare in terms of their ability to promote fat burning?

The aerobic exercise promoters point to the research that was mentioned earlier that has shown that ny exercise, no matter how intense requires at least 30 minutes to use up the body’s stored glycogen the body will normally burn glycogen before it will burn fat) before fat burning can begin. So, they say, short periods of even highly intense exercise won’t burn much fat and is therefore not a good choice or promoting weight loss. But they are only seeing part of the story. It is true that you must exercise for at least 30 minutes to begin to achieve fat burning - but that’s at the time you are exercising. Brief bursts of intense anaerobic exercise does something that even quite a ot of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise does not. Intense anaerobic exercise stimulates the roduction of growth hormone, which is a strong stimulator of fat burning. The thing is, the release of growth hormone triggered by intense anaerobic exercise comes 24 to 48 hours AFTER the exercise, nd then it produces considerably more fat burning than is possible with all but extremely long periods f low to medium intensity aerobic exercise.

Because of this effect, most people will lose weight much more easily by doing shorter periods of more intense exercise. 20 to 40 minutes of heavy weightlifting, interval training (which could be done on foot, on a bicycle, swimming, kickboxing, etc.Any kind of activity in which there are periodic bursts of intense exertion interspersed with rest periods, or periods of low intensity activity is typically preferable in the long run for weight control than even long hours of lower intensity aerobic exercise. Now, you’ll notice that I said "most people". There is an exception to the rule. People under considerable stress, either emotional or physical, or both, in their daily lives are prone to overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands do a lot of things in the body, but with regards to weight loss, they produce two hormones. Cortisol is one of the hormones, and it stimulates fat storage in the lower abdominal area. This is typically a saggy, pendulous fat held below the waistline. The other hormone the adrenals produce is adrenaline (also called epinephrine), which actually promotes fat burning. Since the adrenals produce cortisol which causes fat deposition and adrenaline which promotes fat burning, you might assume that these two hormones cancel each other out. The thing is, cortisol can be produced by the adrenals for a much longer time than adrenaline, which is produced for brief periods, so in the long run, the cortisol effects (fat storage in the lower abdomen) win out when you are under chronic stress. The adrenals are influenced by physical stress as well as mental stress, so for someone who is under a lot of stress in general in his or her life, high-intensity exercise will only add to the total stress and will tend to make the adrenals produce a lot of cortisol, and therefore will tend to promote lower abdomen weight gain. Yes, you read that right - excessive exercise for someone under a lot of stress can actually cause that person to deposit MORE fat around the lower belly! This can result in the frustrating situation in which one exercises more and more and harder and harder to try to get rid of that lower abdomen stomach "pooch", but never can seem to get rid of it. Because the intense exercise is stimulating more cortisol production, that person is fighting a losing battle. Because of this effect, it is recommended that people under a lot of stress and/or who have most of their weight held in the lower abdomen stick to relatively low intensity aerobic exercise. This kind of activity is usually helpful for controlling stress and reducing the level of cortisol, thereby making it easier to get rid of the deposition of fat around the lower abdomen. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of how to use exercise to maximum benefit for weight loss.

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Weight loss is becoming an unhealthy obsession dealing with body images, but in some cases can improve health and fitness. When weight loss is a result of eating healthy, exercising and/or taking natural weight loss supplements in contrast to synthetic prescription drugs with the risk of harmful side effects, weight loss can be effective, rewarding, and greatly improve overall health.

Extra weight, especially extra fat on a person’s body, applies significantly increased stresses on the heart, joints and back. These stresses can be extremely detrimental to one’s health. Healthy weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis and other health problems, as well as generally extending an otherwise average life span. Recently, the scientific root cause or explanation of obesity has been revealed as being part of one’s physiology. The internal functions of an obese person are different than those of a healthy person, and cause intense hunger pains and food cravings.

Natural weight loss supplements can help counteract this constant hunger and lead to healthy weight loss. Unbalanced hormones are a common cause of weight gain, therefore taking natural hormone balancers and herbal supplements would help to create a healthy weight loss regimen. Restoring your health allows you to lose weight naturally, without excess frustration and effort. It’s all about losing weight from the inside out.

Emotional issues always accompany change, especially changes in our bodies e.g. natural weight loss. Weight loss affects our perception body image, our sense of identity i.e. who am I?, and how we feel about ourselves in general. Weight loss also effects our social relationships in that there may be people in our family or social contacts that are emotionally invested in our remaining the same i.e. overweight with all that it symbolizes e.g. friendliness, non-threatening, protective, jovial, helpful, etc.

Beyond our physical health, it can be said that "size matters" cognitively and emotionally to ourselves and others. Eating and food have come to symbolize being accepted, being cared for and comfort. Having the support of others in our efforts to naturally lose weight and regain our health is a huge advantage.

We have been "conditioned" to fear any kind of loss, including weight loss. Especially if what we may lose is something with which we identify i.e. use to tell us who we are. The emotions of fear, anger, anxiety and depression effect our weight. We often tend to "stuff our feelings" or numb these emotional feelings or stress by overeating. We may even overeat, thinking that will ease the physical discomfort caused by excess weight e.g. physical pain, lack of sleep, and lack of energy caused by moderate depression. To improve our overall health and support us through the process of natural weight loss and the emotional dynamics around it, we can take advantage of natural sleep aids, natural depression relief and natural pain relief health care products.

Our weight and health is greatly dependent upon our having a healthy digestive system or metabolism. Our digestive system converts, on a cellular and muscular level, the foods we eat, eliminates toxins, and uses and stores glucose for energy. Natural enzymes trigger hunger signals and facilitate absorption of nutrition. Good digestion with the help of natural enzymes aids in the conversion of fat to muscle.

Allergy and sensitivity to food, parasites, yeast overgrowth and emotional stress are signals of  digestive disruption and inflammation. Natural essential fatty acids work to reduce intestinal inflammation, decrease harmful acids, help the liver process proteins that grow muscle, balance hormones and facilitate the elimination of toxins. Natural essential fatty acids help clear our digestive system of heavy metals, harmful bacteria, pesticides that we are increasingly encountering in our
environment. Essential fatty acids along with natural fiber help us clean out the intestinal debris that harm our health and often lead to weight gain. Essential fatty acids also help our brain’s  neurotransmitters to function properly in order to deal with  stress, emotions, and cravings that can lead to overeating and weight gain.

Natural amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins. Next to water, protein makes up the greatest part of our body weight. Amino acids help increase metabolism, build muscle, ease moderate depression, and help burn fat. Natural antioxidants help carry more oxygen to cells and muscles to help increase energy, burn fat, build muscle and process the foods we eat.

Hormone balance is essential for natural weight loss. Our metabolism slows as we get older because of the decrease or imbalance of hormones. This contributes to weight gain. Hormone balance also helps us deal with stress that leads to weight gain. Proper hormone balance helps to decrease cravings and binge eating. There are many natural hormone balancing products available, e.g. natural progesterone, promensil, soy isoflavones, essential fatty acids and hormone balancing formulas.

Our metabolism’s primary task is to nourish our brains. We need healthy neurotransmitters to help us curb craving, ease depression, and deal with stress that lead to weight gain. Balancing our natural brain chemistry has a calming effect and allows us to feel a sens of well being and safety. There are
many natural health care products to help balance brain chemistry, e.g. essential fatty acids, natural depression relief products, natural products to increase serotonin, and more. When our brain feels

well and safe, it is prone to change our metabolism from calorie saving to calorie burning. Our bodies were designed to move and be active. Movement requires muscle activity. Muscle activity
uses the glycogen supply found in our muscles. When this glycogen supply stored in our muscles is used, our body is forced to use stored fat as an energy source. Using this stored fat through movement and exercise, results in natural weight loss. There is no reason for us to become athletes to accomplish natural weight loss. Low impact exercise like swimming, walking, etc, can be done slowly and without strain. In order to lose real weight rather than "water weight", it is important to drink extra
amounts of water when exercising. Drinking more water will also help our digestive system and metabolism to use and eliminate extra weight.

Remember, the first objective, accomplished through natural weight loss, is to improve our physical and emotional health. This involves having a healthy digestive system, a healthy emotional system and a healthy nutritional system. We can build these healthy systems with natural vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, natural digestive aid, pain relief aid, natural sleep aids, natural emotional and mood aids, essential fatty acids and many more helpful natural health care products. We need to concentrate on
improving our general health, feeling good, and living well through natural weight loss, rather than constantly comparing ourselves to someone else’s idea about appearance from some magazine. Physical and emotional health is primary. Appearance may be important to us, but it is secondary.Through natural weight loss, we can live well and live long.

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How I lost 57 pounds in less than 4 months, and, I ate as much as I wanted!

I went to a doctor and paid him a lot of money to help me lose weight, but I’m going to share with you  exactly how I did it for free.

The doctor is a family practitioner and nutrition specialist that uses homeopathic as well as traditional medicines. The first visit he told me I was going to go "cold turkey" and give up a few things:

1. No sodas
2. No coffee / tea
3. No fruit juice
4. No alcohol
5. No milk

I told him it would kill me!

He did give me an vitamin IV drip to relax me the first night but it was not easy for the first week or 10 days. I had a headache for at least a week because of the caffeine withdrawal.

Some vitamins were suggested to take as well :

1. Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)
2. Vitamin C 1000 mg per day
3. Evening Primrose Oil

Dietary restrictions:

1. No cow’s milk products at all - use mocha mix in the morning
2. Limit fruit intake to 1 serving a day in the morning
3. No dried fruit
4. No sweets
5. Water only as a beverage
6. Limit bread because of yeast

The diet was planned to eliminate sugar cravings that make you hungry and yeast in the body. I got sick of drinking water, so I would buy Calistoga sparkling mineral water for something different. There are also flavored sparkling waters with no sugar or anything else in them.

So what did I eat? Anything I wanted with no cheese or sour cream on it. If I went to Taco Bell I would get a tostada or taco without it. I ate french fries instead of a baked potato. A lot of meals were prepared by firing up the grill and cooking steaks, skinless chicken breast, and beef, pork, or chicken kabobs. The kabobs are great tasting and and easy to prepare.

Even if you are cooking a steak you can make vegetable kabobs. I make them with red, yellow, orange, green bell peppers, onion, whole mushrooms, and a few slices of yellow or green squash. Another way to cook potatoes is to slice them into rounds then spray then with Pam cooking spray on both sides and sprinkle seasoned salt. Bake it in the oven or cook on the grill.

This diet made me not feel as hungry and restored my energy levels. I also slept much better at night and it eliminated the mid afternoon yawning. This method not only makes you lose lots of weight, but it also detoxifies your body.

If this is not a diet you can commit to, the other way I have lost weight with is very simple but slower. I have lost 15-20 lbs in a month or so using this method:

1. Get yourself off of caffine (sodas, coffee, tea) and drink herbal tea and caffine free drinks instead.
2. Stop drinking alcohol
3. Eat what you want during the day and don’t eat after 3 pm
4. In the evening about 8-9 pm I would eat a Yoplait yogurt (it feels like you are cheating but your not)
5. Get plenty of sleep and take a Benedryl to relax if needed

My Energy Secret:

If you are dragging during the day DON’T use energy drinks!  They are not good for you and contain lots of caffine and junk. If  you want more energy take a Vitamin B Complex tablet. It will not make you jittery and nervous feeling like an energy drink that makes you crash later.

This is what worked for me and is not intended to be medical  advice. Please contact your doctor before starting this or any  diet and using herbal / dietary supplements.

Posted by Lanny

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