TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL WEIGHT LOSS

I believe in miracles, but not in “miracle weight loss”.  I do not believe that weight loss attempts can be successful without the individual making an effort in exercise, diet and entire lifestyle modification. 

Painful enough, there are many quick fix weight loss solutions with uncertain promises, yet individuals in need of weight solution patronize them. If you have tried and did not succeed, try these tips and be guaranteed of success.

• Do not skip meals; develop a regular eating plan of 3 meals and 2 snacks per day.

• Make a healthy snack choice.

• Eat plenty fruit and vegetables.

• Eat whole grains and get rid of white flour, white pasta, white rice and simple carbohydrates.

• Eat plenty of lean protein

• Study your body’s calorie need, and make sure that you burn off more calories than you are taking in.

• Avoid sodas and other carbonated drinks, fresh fruit juices are a far healthier option.

• Plan your meals, snacks and exercise ahead if you intend to be successful in your efforts.

Finally,

• Include exercise as part of your weight loss plan.

• Remember that you can not eat your cake and have it, avoid the much publicized slimmer’s snacks and other allegedly ‘healthier’ alternatives to the foods we can’t resist. ‘low-fat’ and ‘reduced fat’ claims on most food labels simply means that the product has slightly fewer calories than another similar product, and research shows that we tend to eat more of the foods that we believe are lower in calories.

Add your own tip.

EAT YOURSELF HAPPY!

Do you know that many of the foods that formed a major part of your normal diet can have a negative effect on your energy levels, thereby leaving you feeling tired and unmotivated?

This article below is originally from Mike Adams, editor at "Natural News,"

Can you really eat your way to happiness? The mood food connection
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) Yes, you really can eat your way to happiness, but perhaps not in the way you might first imagine. By “happiness,” I mean lasting happiness, not the fleeting kind of sensory happiness that might be experienced from sucking the cream filling out of a twinkie. And that’s the distinction that really matters here: When I talk about happiness, I’m talking about sustainable happiness, not a brief moment of spurious excitement that soon reverses itself and leads to depression.

You see, a lot of people try to eat their way to happiness by eating the “instant joy” foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies and yes, even twinkies. Sugar can, indeed, make us momentarily uplifted because this refined molecule temporarily boosts blood sugar and actively alters brain chemistry. But like any drug, the depression after it wears off is far worse than the brief happiness it appeared to give us. And in the worst cases, we sometimes fall into a pattern of treating that mental rut with yet another hit of sugar to try to keep the happiness going.
This downward cycle of sugar dependence leads us to long-term obesity, diabetes and depression.

As author Timothy Brantley says in The Cure: Heal Your Body, Save Your Life:
“How did these foods affect their moods? Food Group A (Standard American Diet). The subjects all had radical energy fluctuations, staying in a cycle of having to manipulate to produce quick energy after a radical drop. The subjects all remarked that they never realized how addicted they were to sugar and other stimulants, like caffeine, simply to function. The roller-coaster effect on their energy swung them into high and low moods, and many of them got sick consistently.”
(http://www.naturalpedia.com/book_Th…)
The Standard American Diet is obviously not the solution we’re looking for. But what works better?

Foods for long-term happiness
Fortunately, there are a huge number of other foods that promote long-term happiness. That’s what this article is about: Sharing with you the good news on foods that can support healthy moods and promote a positive outlook on life for the rest of your life.
And I have to say that list starts with omega-3 oils. High-quality omega-3s provide one of the most powerful and sustainable boosts to healthy moods of any commonly-available food.
Read up on omega-3s at NaturalPedia: http://naturalpedia.com/omega-3s.html
You can get omega-3 oils from fish, quality marine oil supplements like Moxxor, chia seeds, flax seeds and other quality nutritional supplements.
Beware of grocery store foods that claim to be “made with omega-3s” because the actual quantity of omega-3 oils in those foods is usually so tiny that it hardly matters to your daily nutritional intake.

Enjoy healthy nuts
Pecans are extremely beneficial to supporting not just healthy moods but healthy brain function as well. It’s the oils in the nuts that do the trick. Read more at http://naturalpedia.com/pecans.html
Other nuts can also be strongly supportive of healthy moods in the long term: Almonds, pistachios, macadamia nuts and walnuts all have powerful health-supporting properties that affect brain function and therefore mood experiences, too. Eat more raw nuts and you’ll create better brain balance for the long term!

Adaptogens and green tea
Green tea seems to provide a subtle mood lift without all the problems of typical stimulants. Just make sure you’re getting decaffeinated green tea, and check your source to make sure it doesn’t suffer from fluoride contamination (some green tea products grown in certain countries have been known to carry a lot of fluoride).
Adaptogenic herbs are also very, very good at helping your neurology better handle stress. This can often translate into an easier day, reduced stress and improved moods. Adaptogens include ginseng, ashwagandha, rhodiola, cordyceps mushroom and many others.
Learn more about adaptogens at NaturalPedia: http://www.naturalpedia.com/adaptog…

Herbal tonics for mood support
While we’re in the realm of herbs, there are several herbal tonic products that are well known to help support healthy moods. St. John’s Wort has been clinically shown to work as well as antidepressant drugs to ease symptoms of depression. I usually take it with dandelion or yellow dock to provide additional liver support.
Learn more about St. John’s Wort at NaturaPedia: http://www.naturalpedia.com/St_John…
Several Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formulas are also known to help support healthy moods. Chinese herbs are always used in combination, never in isolation, but one herb that’s found in many mood-supporting formulas is Bupleurum.
The history and use of this herb is quite fascinating. Check it out here: http://www.naturalpedia.com/Bupleur…

Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies
In addition to the omega-3 oils, nuts and herbs mentioned here, focus on consuming large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables. You simply cannot over-eat fresh fruits and vegetables, so eat all you want. They’re loaded with mood-lifting nutrients that can also help prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Be sure to buy organic produce wherever possible!

What to avoid
This section can be summed up in just two words: Sugar, Caffeine.
Seriously. If you want to maintain healthy moods, it’s crucial to avoid refined sugar and caffeine from all sources. That means no caffeinated coffee, no donuts, no cookies, no Pepsi, etc.
These two chemicals do more to destroy healthy moods in the long term than probably any other chemicals in the food supply. And yet, ironically, they are precisely the two chemicals that people reach for to try to get short-term mood lifts.

They do provide short-term boosts, much like a drug. Heroin might make you feel good in the short term, too, but it’s highly addictive and causes huge health problems over the long haul. Sugar and caffeine are similarly addictive and problematic; except they’re legal and you don’t inject them with a syringe. (Well, at least I hope not.)

If you suffer from mood swings or depression right now, the first and most important change you need to make in your diet is to eliminate refined sugars and caffeine. The second change to make is to start bringing in mood-enhancing health foods such as omega-3s, raw nuts and lots of fresh produce.

But the really important step is to find new ways to enjoy your feed by expanding your experience of all the amazing tastes to be found in the universe of foods provided by Mother Nature. If you’ve never tried raw food cuisine, definitely check it out at a local raw food restaurant (or find a raw food chef in your area). You’ll be amazed at the new spectrum of tastes and sensory experiences provided by raw foods — and you’ll experience huge long-term health benefits from the raw foods, too!

Stay happy with healthy foods

Yes, food can make you happy, but only if you focus on consuming health-enhancing foods that are natural, non-refined and packed with nutrients. Don’t compromise your mental experience of life by turning to sugar, caffeine and other short-term stimulants. Or if you’re on those right now, find ways to slowly transition off them while embracing some of the healthier choices I’ve covered here
.
In the long term, you’ll discover that healthy foods = healthy moods.

But give it time: It may take 30 days of eating right before you really feel the full effects with improved mood. Foods are not isolated chemicals that kick in right away. Transitioning to a healthier body and brain with healthy food takes some time. But it’s time well spent. After all, you get to eat your way to a more positive outlook on life. And that sounds kinda fun anyway, doesn’t it?

Why you should eat the fruit

This  is sequel to my last post Tips: Eating the fruits.

My 3 year old son would ask “why” for every instruction given to him. He would ask why he should eat, sleep, go to school and why! Why! Why! My job here today is to let you know some of the reason why you should eat fruits and perhaps list some of the benefits eating fruits can offer to you. If you read the bible, you will agree that fruits were the first food God introduced man to. This is a reason why you should eat fruits (I thought). Now let’s explore some of the reasons why you should eat fruits.

• Fruits contain a lot of healthy natural fiber. We know that a diet with plenty of fiber is necessary for optimum digestion, and help fight against high blood pressure and other factors that increase the chance for a heart disease.

• Fruits are the best source of natural sugar, this is needed for energy.

• Fruits are loaded with vitamins and anti-oxidants.

• If you run away from bad cholesterol, eat fruits. They are completely bad- cholesterol free.

• Fruit is the ultimate brain fuel; it has a positive effect on our brains and can make you recall information easier and faster.

• Fruit is easier to digest than grains, it hardly requires any digestive enzymes, and is therefore less demanding to the body.

• Fruits do not require much preparation before they can be eaten. You do not need to slaughter them first before eating.

Incorporate more fruits to your diet and enjoy great benefits from great Mother Nature. A good way to add more fruits to your diet is to make fresh fruit smoothies and make fresh fruit cuts a major part of your snack.

TIPS: EATING THE FRUITS

Of all the foods available to us, fruits are the most attractive, delicious and enjoyable. Yes!  They are loaded with a lot of vitamins and nutrients, but the question is, do you benefit from them all? Just like you wear your pants correctly, you also need to eat your fruits in the right way so as to get maximum benefits from them. 

Natural Hygienists have known for a long time that fruits do not combine well with other foods. This simply tells us that they need to be treated specially. Unlike other foods, fruits do not stay long in the stomach; they contain simple sugars that require no digestion. Hence, if you eat fruit after a meal, the fruit sugar will stay for too long in the stomach and ferment. This is one of the reasons for digestive problem and subsequent hatred for certain fruits. Now see how and when to eat the fruits.

• Eat fruits alone with no other foods.

• Eat fruits in an empty stomach, or at least 15-20minutes to 1 hour before the main meal.

• Do not mix acid fruits with sweet fruits. For example, do not mix pineapple or grapefruit with banana.

• Eat Melons alone, especially if you have a history of digestive problems. Melons are 90 percent liquid and leave the stomach quickly if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods.

• Do not combine fruits with any vegetables except lettuce and celery

Note please:  Respect these tips even if your life of imprudent eating defy all food combining rules.