If you’re like me, you’ll love puddings and chocolate and cakes and sweeties, especially pick’n'mix! Not only that but sugar in tea is always a must for me and I love to home bake. But even if you use lower fat butter or marge for cooking and have low fat cakes and treats, they’re not much better for you…Sugar will hinder your weight loss just as much as fat in your diet by adding lots of calories and will cause more fat around your stomach area too!

I noticed that even though I don’t drink high sugar drinks like Coke and Lemonade, I have 2 sugars in my tea, add sugar to my porridge, even the yoghurt’s I get are fairly high in sugar! I did a little bit more researching into my sugar intake and I was astonished at how much I actually consume! Sugar adds a lot of calories to your diet, so if you’re finding you’ve cut right down on fat but not noticing a difference in your weight loss, take a look at the sugar in your diet.

There are ways of cutting back on sugar, getting used to not having so much sweetness or still having sweet things though.

Cutting down gradually on sugar in drinks like tea and coffee is a great way of cutting excess sugar out your diet. Going from 2 sugars, then to 1 and a half, then 1 then a half then non at all week by week is a great way to cut it down.

Comparing your shopping items can really help you learn about the contents of your food too. Take a look at the sugar levels and choose the lower in sugar option. You’ll probably notice little difference in taste and you’ll be healthier for it too! Not bad!

Changing your diet so that sugary foods are few and far between will also help make them taste just as sweet and a nice treat but won’t be a frequent trouble for your weight loss.

If you do want to add a bit of sweetness to food and drinks, try natural sweeteners like fruits, honey and vanilla, even cinnamon can take the bitterness out of something. Or instead of going for something sweet, how about something minty or spicy for a change? You might find you don’t need much sugar after a while!

The deadly duo

Did you know that obesity increases the toxicity of alcohol and together they dramatically increase liver disease?

According to an estimate, people who consume too much alcohol have good chance of making it to the Obesity chart. Pure alcohol contains 7 calories per gram.

Cirrhosis of the liver and deaths from cirrhosis are increasing rapidly in both men and women. Although alcohol consumption has increased over the past 10 years, cirrhosis has increased even faster.

According to the the Million Women Study done in 1.3 million middle aged women in the UK, the risk of cirrhosis in these women is 28% higher for every 5-unit increase in BMI and that almost 20% of liver cirrhosis is attributable to excess body weight. This compares with an estimated 42% attributable to alcohol.

Also, it was found that risk to liver disease increases as BMI increases, but mainly in those with higher alcohol consumption.  Same is true for men as well. Normal or underweight men who drink at least 15 units per week have a 216% higher risk of dying from liver disease than nondrinkers of the same size. Those who are overweight have a 600% increased risk and being obese causes a whopping 1800% increase.

The relation of obesity & alcohol

Many a times the primary reason behind obesity is over eating. And if that is complimented with excessive drinking, it won’t take much time before you find yourself in a severe life threatening problem of obesity.

Obesity causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcohol causes alcoholic fatty liver disease. Alcoholic fatty liver also causes peripheral insulin resistance and therefore promotes obesity and diabetes. This may be mediated through the appetite enhancing effect of alcohol, and/or the failure to compensate for the extra energy obtained from alcohol by decreasing other food intake. The synergistic combination of obesity and high alcohol consumption is so strong it is called a supra-additive interaction.

High calorie intake and low energy burning add wounds to the already overweight body and the more obese you become more difficult it gets to contain it. Excessive calories in alcohol make you unhealthy. When you take in more alcohol you also tend to over indulge in your eating routine. It has been discovered that one drink a day is good for your whole system where as overdoing your drinking habit will land you in deep health trouble. Drinking one peg a day will reduce the health risk of insulin and glucose related diseases such as diabetes in postmenstrual women.

Tips to avoid or break the deadly combination

• Avoid or reduce alcohol intake

• Break your binging habits and prepare a health diet which you are comfortable with

• Once you join the list of obese people, it gets difficult to come out of it. So take early precautions and keep watching your weight

• Count your calories if needed

• Be ready to walk a little, swim or at least lead an active life

• Even when you are on diet pills, you can’t reduce weight without following a good food pattern

• Remember, if you are on a weight losing program, excess alcohol in your body will restrain you from losing weight

• Don’t keep alcohol bottles in places where you can see. If you see it every now and then, your urge to drink increases

• Value your life more. Being an alcoholic and becoming obese is not the only way to enjoy life

All in all, alcohol consumption is much more damaging in overweight/obese people and is hugely contributing to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Alcohol restriction, therefore, needs to be a priority for them.

I’m sure many of you have got to the stage where you have said to yourself “Right, that’s it! I’m getting into shape now! No more sweets or cakes. I’m going on a diet!” But then you find yourself eating the same stuff the next day…Everyone needs a kick up the backside every now and again to start better habits. But remember, it’s only you who can really make that change. The sweets and treats are always going to be in the shops, it’s up to you to say no to them. The gym is always going to be tough but it’s up to you to push through it and make the most out of your session.

After a while, you start thinking more seriously about your health. First, you’ll notice you need to lose weight. Then you might try out different diets and health plans along with different fitness regimes. But things will start falling into place at that stage, you’ll have found out what’s best for you at the gym and you’ll have cut down on fattening foods and large portions.

Then you might get that dreaded stage of eating the wrong things, slacking on your exercise and feeling pretty pants about yourself! You’ll get discouraged to carry on with the smaller portions and the weight might creep back….

But you know what? Think back to that moment when you realised you need to lose weight. Think to yourself how much easier and more enjoyable your life would be to fit into the clothes you want, not be ashamed of pictures people take of you and to feel healthier, not needing to comfort eat and exercise more enjoyment over chore. When thinking of it that way, all the healthy eating and exercise doesn’t seem so bad when it can dramatically change your life. Feel that motivation coming back?

I’ve said to myself so many times that “Now is the time” or “This is it” when trying to take charge of my diet and fitness regime. But when will ever be the ideal time? When will you finally 100% say “Right, I’m losing weight now!”

I’ve been overweight for such a long time, and my health conditions are going to get worse once I hit my 30′s. So my only chance really to lose the weight and get as fit as I can is right now. I have to do this for myself for now and the future. Which is why it’s finally clicked for me. I NEED to lose the weight now or I might not be able to do it at all.

Find your true reason for losing weight and it will all click together. You will finally realise what you can do without and what you can achieve in your weight loss and fitness.

Waist size has been linked in the past with heart disease and diabetes. But few studies have looked at the link between waist circumference and risk of death from any cause across different categories of BMI or for the huge waistlines that are becoming increasingly common.

It appears a big waist nearly doubles a person’s risk of an early death from many causes, such as cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illness and the risk is increased even among people who aren’t overweight. In other words, by packing on only a few extra pounds, you could significantly increase your risk of premature death.

In fact, for women, the association between a plus-size waist and greater risk of early death was strongest in those with a normal body mass index, or BMI, according to a study involving more than 100,000 people.

It should be noted that waist circumference is strongly related to the amount of fat tissue deep in the abdomen which is a particularly bad place to have fat. This deep layer of fat, called visceral fat, wraps around internal organs in the abdomen. It’s considered far more “pathogenic,” or more likely to cause disease than subcutaneous fat — fat just beneath the skin that a person can pinch. Some researchers say visceral fat is so metabolically active, it should be considered an organ unto itself. Visceral fat is linked with higher circulating levels of cholesterol, insulin and substances that cause inflammation.

This pattern of increasing risk with increasing waist size seems to be true in every category of weight, including normal weight, overweight and obese. Even if your weight is considered normal for your height, and you haven’t noticed a big weight gain, if your waist size is starting to increase — if you’re having to move into a bigger pant size — that’s an important sign that it’s time to start eating better and exercising more.

The hip measurement: According to researchers, the best way to predict heart attack risk and other obesity-related diseases is a measurement that divides the circumference of your waist by your hips. If you’re a woman, the waist-to-hip ratio should come out as no more than 0.8. Men have a little more wiggle room: a healthy waist-to-hip ratio for them is 0.95.

This means, if your belly has bulged out enough to catch up to the size of your hips, you should start worrying about your heart, experts say. In other words, fat on a woman’s hips doesn’t seem to increase risk, whereas a beer belly does. This fat stored in the belly is the most dangerous type of fat in our bodies.

The waist-to-hip measurement is likely to catch people at risk for fat-related diseases who might otherwise think they were at a healthy weight, based on their BMI scores. It’s quite possible to have an acceptable BMI and still have some belly paunch.

Therefore, you can be thin and still have too much fat!

Act now before it’s too late!

Watch out for TV watching

Many people believe obesity in children is due to bad nutrition and this is partly to blame but even the most well balanced diet can lead to an obese children  if they are  not burning off the calories they take in each day.

A negative side effect too much television is obesity. As of November 2009, the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) notes that children ages 2 to 5 spend an average of 32 hours each week watching television or playing video games. UMHS says 6- to 11-year-olds log about 28 hours weekly. Too much TV can trigger a whole host of problems, including learning difficulties, emotional issues and, notably, physical problems, including overweight and obesity.

According to another study, children who spend more than four hours a day watching TV are at higher risk of obesity, according to KidsHealth.org. Time spent in front of the television requires no physical activity. Kids who consistently watch TV have a sedentary lifestyle that causes obesity. Research from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada found that 1 in 4 Canadian children are obese. Children’s programming also advertises fast food restaurants, unhealthy snack foods and sugary cereals that contribute to childhood obesity.

How watching TV can contribute to obesity?

As mentioned above, watching TV is a sedentary activity. A lack of physical activity is widely known to contribute to overweight and obesity among children. Simply put, excess television time leaves less time for exercise, which promotes healthy weight. UMHS takes this a step further, though. It contends that the rate at which children burn calories is lower when watching television than it is when they are just sitting quietly, doing nothing. Merely being awake in the same room as an active television for more than two hours day is associated with being overweight for kids between 3 and 4 ½.

What to do?

Researchers believe adding structure to a child’s life by limiting the amount of TV they watch, ensuring they get enough sleep and having a family dinner will help reduce the amount of childhood obesity. Limited TV time also gives children time to get out and play. This is necessary for the children to burn off the calories they have consumed throughout the day. Most researchers believe 2 hours of TV on weekdays is more than enough TV for a child. This also included computer time since this activity is also just sitting watching a screen. Children should use the extra time they now have to play and be creative or just do something that takes energy. Not only will this help keep our kids healthy it will also ensure they are tired enough to enjoy the 10.5 hours of sleep that is suggested.

All in all, regular but firm implementation of these simple tips would not  only reduce the risk of obesity in your children but would also positively enhance other aspects of his or her general health and well being such as better emotional status, reduced risk of other diseases and lesser irritability.

Defining the DEERS strategy

Free rapid weight loss has always been considered as one of toughest tasks. What sounds even tougher is achieving this goal in time as short as one week.  However, fortunately, this goal is not only realistic but is also perfectly achievable with the help of following unique strategy.

DEERS strategy to lose weight in one week

DRINK

Drinking 4 – 5 cups of green tea per day will speed up your metabolism and will burn more than 80 calories a day. Similarly, if you are a coffee fan, you can have it too (but without sugar). Also drink plenty of water. Experiences have shown that drinking 12 glasses of water a day helps you keep your water intake up.

EAT

Studies have shown that several people on a strict diet schedule have been able to get rid of as much as five to ten kg of excess weight within a week time. Limit your daily food consumption to frequent small meals (consisting of recommended diet) instead of a fewer large meals. A recommended diet can help your stomach to get accustomed to smaller amount of food you need every day. It will also decrease the whole quantity of consumed calories. Fortunately, all you need to do is select foods mainly comprising of fruits and vegetables. The main rule is not to eat more than 1.5kg (3lb) of foodstuff a day. Here is your quick, at-a-glance recommended foods-to-include list.

Fruits: Fruits rich in fiber e.g. apples, oranges and mandarins, kiwi etc.

Vegetables: Eat as much green vegetables as possible preferably the boiled vegetables and mashed vegetables). Examples include cauliflowers, lettuce, broccoli, carrot, haricot, sweet pepper etc.

EXERCISE

Do you know that an hour a day of moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking helps you burn off an average of 3000 calories? You do not necessarily need to run miles a day or join a fitness club to do this. Practice more intense activities like running, jogging, swimming & bicycling etc. In addition, do remember to use the stairs, or park your car away from the door when going to work. Walking around for two hours in addition to the total physical activity in your day will burn more than you consume.

REFRAIN

You daily calorie intake should have an average of 1200 to 1400 calories / day. As per latest dietary recommendations, 45% to 65% of this diet should come from carbohydrates; 20% to 35% from fat; and 10% to 35% from protein.

You will need to cut out everything and take only what is listed. This means no soda, no chips, no fast food, no bread, and no fried food.

Refrain strictly from drinking artificial juices and sweetened soft drinks.

Also avoid sugar, white flour, white pasta, white bread and white rice.

Avoid all processed carbohydrates e.g. high-fat, high-salt and highly sugared processed carbohydrates.

Avoid deep fried food (cheese burgers, fried chicken, French fries etc.).

SUPPLEMENT

Remember, all the tips and hints mentioned in this article are “natural”. Therefore, it’s essential that the supplement you choose to speed-up your weight loss process efficiently is an all-natural too. A natural, purely organic and safe (free of side effects) supplement Proactol has shown promising results in this regard. People using Proactol have lost as much as 6 lbs in just one week. Proactol works best when a healthy lifestyle including healthy eating and regular exercise is practised. The combination can bring about much needed weight loss even within a week time.

Indeed, while it might sound tough for many, you need a week to lose weight, at least just to begin with. Remember, losing weight starts with you, if you trust and believe that you can lose weight then you can expect to do just that. Following the above-mentioned steps will have a dynamic impact on your weight and just after seven days, you will be pleasantly surprised when you will compare your weight with those you had before. With these easy hints and tips, you could start your “weight loss week” as early as today!

Here begins your weight loss week…

It’s funny how over just the course of one week you might lose your motivation, start getting back into bad habits or started slacking on your gym sessions. It’s very easy to think to yourself that you’ve failed or that you’ll never shed the weight. But don’t let it get to you!

If you’re like me, when it’s the start to something new, I feel much more motivated and determined. Like at the start of a new year, so many plans and goals come to mind to achieve over the new year. To some, the first day of the new year is just another day, but it’s also a new day and you could do something amazing!

There’s so many days when I slack on the gym or eat something fattening and then at the end of the day feel really bad about it. We all do that at some stage I’m sure. But tomorrow is a new day and if you can start that day right by not letting yesterday taint what you want to do then go for it! Just think you can make up for all that lost time and just get yourself to the gym, even if it’s just for 10 minutes!

Make today a healthier fitter day for yourself!

Ok, I don’t mean dropping pounds as in money, although that happens too! I mean make your shopping experience into a work out and motivator for your weight loss!

When you go clothes shopping, I bet there’s always something you’d love to have yet it’s too small and they don’t have it in your size. It’s either that or you find something you really like, you try it on and it clings to all the lumps and bumps you hate and then you feel fed up, put all the clothes you chose back and sulk out the store. I know I’ve done this so many times!

Although at first I feel low and upset, I find this a really big motivator for losing weight as I love clothes shopping but find that I can’t do it often because clothes don’t fit the way I want them to! There are so many lovely styles out there that I just can’t fit into or don’t look quite right in because of my size/shape.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt so disheartened when something really nice on that sale rail doesn’t fit. But you know what? Instead of feeling bad and grumpy, use it for your motivation!

You could buy that top that’s a size too small and make it your mission to fit into it! The money you use on it would be taken away from what you might spend on sweets and treats, but you’ll have a slimmer figure and nice top to make up for it in the end!

One thing you must be though is realistic. You can’t expect yourself to fit into a size 10 top in a week when you are a size 16! If there’s something you love that is a few sizes too small, maybe make the motivation bigger by saying you’ll wear that top to a friends party or wedding in a few months time. The only thing stopping you from wearing that top is you at the end of the day. You spent your hard earned money on it, and you’d look great in it, so go for it and get yourself into it!

Shopping itself can be a work out! Take the stairs instead of lifts and elevators in malls and and stores. When you have lunch, have a salad or sandwich out instead of a MacDonalds or Burger King! Walk instead of taking a bus between places and keep yourself hydrated with a bottle of water on you. These little things all add up and can help you aid your weight loss whilst having a great time shopping around!

With so many varieties of dietary and weight loss supplements available in the market today, it’s rather a tough decision to choose one that could best suit your needs. Unfortunately, today, more and more people are beginning to rely only on several commercially available fat burners to lose weight and keep themselves fit and smart. What is even more alarming is that they even discontinue their normal exercise routine and dieting pattern.

Let’s first know what fat burners are, how they work, how safe they are, and most importantly, do they really work?

What are fat burners?

Well, as the name implies, fat burners are substances / compounds or active ingredients that break down fat in our body by producing and releasing heat (temperature). We all know that it’s fat that make us fat. Therefore, it’s often an enticing attraction for an obese person to choose fat burner to achieve quick weight loss.

Mode of action of fat burners

Simply saying, all fat burners cause thermogenesis, a process in which your body burns fat by adjusting and modifying your metabolism. Fat burners help the body to break down fat which by releasing it from numerous fat cells. When you take a fat burner, blood flow to many of your body organs and muscles increases. This results in increased body temperature which helps break down fat cells. Fat then enters your blood as fatty acids to be transported to the muscle (protein) cells where it is burned.

Fat burners also suppress your appetite. This process involves the active transmission of neurotransmitters (secretions of our nervous system) and hormones.

Some fat burners also act by fat blocking, restraining the body from ingesting fat during digestion.

It’s important to read the news and learn the pros and cons before trying any natural fat burner supplement.

Safety profile

Unfortunately, clinical trials, research and several studies have shown that there have been many hazardous side effects associated with the use of fat burners. Therefore, you must be careful about which fat burner supplement you choose for yourself. For example, just for ephedrine, the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) has registered hundreds of reports of frequent side effects occurring in its regular users. Clinically documented adverse reactions include high blood pressure, muscle twitching, lack of sleep, dry mouth, cardiac palpitations, irritability, paralysis, and even death in some acute cases.

Also, according to a study conducted by FDA, frequent use of ephedrine could even lead to permanent disability. It is, therefore, not considered as safe fat burning supplement. There are also some Chinese herbal supplements available in the market that can give you similar results but are considered as equally hazardous.

Common side effects:

The following side effects are usually reported with almost all types of fat burning supplements:

1. Abdominal stress / discomfort.
2. Decreased appetite
3. Inability to sleep
4. Grinding of teeth
5. Muscle twitching / grinding and fatigue
6. Cardiac (Heart) palpitation
7. Diarrhea / Loose watery motions
8. Allergy (Some people are naturally hypersensitive to certain fat burners)

Drug interactions:

Another danger associated with most fat burners is that they can seriously interfere with the absorption / action of other medications such as birth control pills, estrogen etc. Furthermore, excessive intake of some fat burners may result in improper absorption of nutritious fat-soluble vitamins which indirectly lead to various other diseases / weakness.

Conclusion:

Many fitness conscious people who want quick results choose fat burner dietary supplements because they temporarily suppress their appetite, help them burn calories quicker, and also act as natural stimulants for their nervous system. However, you should be very cautious of what you put into your body by thoroughly researching the supplement. Thinking of the long-term complications rather than the quick benefits will be your key here. Therefore, choosing a natural and suitable “fat binder” weight loss supplement, instead of a fat burner supplement is not only safer but can also save you a lot of money.

We all get stressed from time to time. It might be work, friends, family or even yourself causing the stress! Stress means you need to vent out or calm yourself and sometimes this can lead to making things worse for yourself if you are trying to lose weight.

You’ve come home after a real stressful day at work. You plonk yourself on the couch and can’t be bothered to cook yourself something to eat because you’re too tired and stressed out. So, what do you do? There’s a nice piece of fruit in the fruit bowl, or a yoghurt in the fridge. But there’s also the cookie jar with some Jaffa Cakes or chocolate biscuits in there, or maybe you turn to the freezer and see some ice cream in there, maybe notice the crisps in the cupboard. Which are you more likely to go for? Honestly? Really?

Comfort eating is deadly because it makes you find something you can just eat and eat and eat all night through which tastes really yummy and exactly what you feel like having. But what you feel like having is often something your body really doesn’t feel like having. All that fat and sugar in those sweets and treats is going to make you feel ok for a while, but then later when you get yourself undressed to get into bed, you’ll see yourself in the mirror and hate what you see. Why? Because stress has caused you to eat and you’ve eaten something that fuels another stress; your weight/figure. That stress will then eat you up. You’ll be saying to yourself “Oh I’ll never lose weight” and get into bed feeling unmotivated, fat and grumpy with yourself. Or am I the only one who’s ever done this?

I doubt it.

This is where willpower and motivation need to kick in!

Don’t stress yourself out anymore, ok? Just make those little decisions that make a huge difference to your mood and you’ll feel so much better. Don’t pick up the crisps or cookies. Think how disappointed with yourself you’ll be later when you see yourself in the mirror. Have that piece of fruit and maybe do some yoga or stretching to make you feel refreshed again. I know it’s not the same comfy feeling as a cookie or sitting all snuggly with a tub of ice cream. But is that one moment really worth all the stress and upset later? At the time you might think it is because you’re grumpy at the time, but really and truly you know how much you beat yourself up later on. I know I do….

Try not to have those “comfort foods” in the house or if you do as a treat, put a picture of yourself or the body you want on it to challenge whether you really want to have that right now.