Super foods to help your weight loss.

Continuing the theme of healthy diet, I came across this titled 'super foods' to boost your weight loss. Lots is talked about when referring to 'super foods', and this one concerns foods that will can help you in your everyday diet, readily available and inexpensive. Sourced at 'ezinearticles' (http://EzineArticles.com/807364) and written by Sondra Smith (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sondra_Smith) a personal trainer, and it a short read that might prompt you to change to make that change!


You can increase your body's natural fat burning process by eating/drinking moderate amounts of...

Green Tea has been called "the absolute miracle" for weight loss. Green tea has antioxidants called catechins that help to speed your metabolism. It also helps you to lower the bad LDL cholesterol.

Pears and Apples are great snacks. Both contain pectin fibre, which decreases blood-sugar levels. This helps portion control at meal time.

Apple Cider and Balsamic Vinegar helps to detoxify the liver which plays an important role in weight loss. Vinegar can also help control blood-sugar increase that occurs after you eat.

Grapefruit's phytochemicals reduce insulin levels, a process that may force your body to convert calories into energy rather than flab. Several studies has shown that grapefruit helps to lose weight.

Cinnamon has been proven to help control post-meal insulin spikes. Also, one USDA study showed that just a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon a day lowered the blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Oatmeal is high in fibre which makes a great meal for any time of the day, especially in the morning. Warm oatmeal with berries or fruit starts your "engine" in the morning. It increases your metabolism and has proven health benefits such as; lowers chances of heart disease and cancer, lowers bad LDL cholesterol. Also, oatmeal is a slow burning carbohydrate which gives you long lasting energy for work or working out. If you don't like oatmeal, high fibre cereal is a great alternative.

Add these super weight loss foods into your regular diet today!

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-

How breakfast helps you lose weight!

It has been a while since this Blog has made mention to diet, eating and nutritional habits as part of your weight loss and fitness programme, so I thought it time to resurrect this subject given the importance it plays to your end goal. Kicking off with the most important meal of the day, here is an article sourced from 'ezinearticles' (http://EzineArticles.com/8864006) and written by Christina Major (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christina_Major) - a Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting.



We've heard for a long time that to lose weight, eat breakfast. It's very true: if you want to lose weight, eat breakfast.

The best way to eat is high protein and fat - low carb.

But most people choose high carb, low fat, low protein. That's one of the reasons why people gain weight, feel tired, can't get up the energy to go exercise, and just plain eat too much.

Why?

It's all in how breakfast makes you lose weight:

When you body obtains protein and fat, your metabolism recognises the high likelihood you just obtained lots of nutrients. It then works fast and efficiently to rebuild tissues, heal damage, and provide you with lots of energy and mental clarity.

A great breakfast for this would be egg in a pepper:

In a hollowed out pepper, add sauteed potatoes, onion, mushroom, and tomato. Mix with a little cheese as you pack the pepper. Top with 1 scrambled egg. Bake until egg is firm (about 20-30 minutes). This breakfast packs everything: high quality protein and fat, lots of nutrients, some healthy carbs and fibre, and flavor. Weight change over 1 year: -15lbs (6.8kgs)

Compare this to the commercialised breakfast: a bowl of cereal. Lots of processed carbs, low nutrient, poor nutrient replacement , high dairy and allergens. Weight change over 1 year: +23lbs (10.5kgs)

Yes, a real breakfast does take a little more work and time. But the results are worth it. Other side effects are readily apparent:

• More morning energy
• More afternoon energy
• Lower hunger at lunch
• Less cramping
• Less bloating

It may have a health impact as well. Without all those added sugars in the morning, your blood glucose and insulin levels stay in a normal range. Now, if you have diabetes, this is very important.

Big changes in your blood sugar and insulin levels, such as from a bowl of cereal, cause problems:

• Poor concentration
• Sudden spikes in energy (think ADD kids)
• Your pancreas works too hard
• Your fat cells expand to take in the extra sugars
• Your heart works overtime to move the hormones and sugars around
• You get the sugar crash mid-morning
• You are hungrier during the day, even at dinner

Pancakes, French toast, bagels, and all those other pastries are just begging to get you to eat more and more. Think about it. Are you full all morning after what you eat? Or do you crave more and more food after breakfast? Do you feel tired?

Choose breakfast, and choose a breakfast loaded with vegetables, quality protein, and low in processed foods (especially cereal). Your body will thank you.

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late

-Steve, at WhyWeight-

Pre Work-Out Supplements that deliver.

We have now arrived in that twilight zone between Christmas and New Year when you may be suffering from the over indulgences of the festive season, still on holiday and there is a lull before it all ramps up again with more eating, drinking, celebrating and excess on New Years Eve and New Years Day. Taking the opportunity I thought, in readiness for your efforts to kick start 2015, I have a couple of articles coming up on supplements to aid your fitness and weight loss goals. The one below I sourced through 'articalesbase' (http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/buy-pre-workout-supplements-that-deliver-7163318.html) and is written by Bryen Hooper, and provides a good introduction on what to look for in your supplements, is you decide to enhance your efforts in this way.


Since the research on effectiveness of pre-workout supplements became public, a multitude of such supplements have flooded the market. Very few of these are effective, but all of them claim to be the best product on the market. Choosing a supplement that delivers results can be quite difficult in such a scenario. In order to buy effective pre-workout supplements, you need to know all about the ingredients that are proven to deliver results. Some ingredients used in supplements benefit fitness enthusiasts, sports persons and bodybuilders immensely. The best part is that these help you unlock your great athletic potential without causing any side effects.

Let's first take a look at the positive impacts that a pre-workout supplement should deliver :

Muscle Pumps
Starting from your early 30's and even late 20's, you start to experience a lack of energy in your muscles. The cause is reduced blood supply due to natural ageing effects. Increasing blood supply to the muscles is important to enhance muscle size, vascularity and fullness.

Enhanced Strength
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) or muscle energy production must be optimised for improving athletic performance. Intensity and raw power in sport has a lot to do with the concept of muscle energy production, and some ingredients gear your body's biochemistry to optimise it. With enhanced strength, endurance and energy, you are able to achieve a lot more than otherwise possible.

Enhanced Metabolism
You want to consume a balanced diet full of nutrients, but what if your digestive system is unable to absorb and process it? Your metabolism plays a key role in absorbing proteins and other nutrients and building muscles. Enhancing it by taking a supplement rich in key ingredients is important.

Muscle Recovery
The most important reason for taking pre-workout supplements is to help in muscle recovery, which is the key to increasing muscle mass. For enhancing muscle mass, you need to ensure that muscle loss is lower than protein synthesis. The supplement you choose should contain effective ingredients, which promotes fast muscle recovery.

Ingredients to look for in a supplement
You buy a pre-workout supplement which enhances muscle pumps, improves muscle recovery, increases metabolism and builds strength at the same time. Of course, these should be proven to have safe ingredients that do not lead to any side effects. For muscle pumps, the supplement should contain three forms of Arginine, Citrulline Malate and CarnoSyn Beta Alanine.

Creatine is a known muscle cell energy enhancer but it is associated with many side effects. However, some leading supplement manufacturers offer an effective blend of Creatine, which eliminates such risks. R-Beta-Methylphenylethylamine is a safe metabolism enhancer that promotes fat loss and can be used as an energy enhancer too.

Finally, branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) are the most important ingredient to look for in a pre-workout supplement. It provides the additional proteins needed to make amends for the proteins lost after a strenuous workout session, and build muscle mass. Look for a supplement that contains these ingredients.

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-

Lose fat fast - the natural way!

We've have said it before and I guess we'll say it again but weight loss is all about the amount of calories that goes in compared to the amount of calories that go out! It is that simple really. The food you eat and the type of foods (and drinks) you consume must be in direct proportion to the amount of exercise you undertake on a daily and weekly basis, and when you get the balance right - hey presto - the weight comes off! By which time, you'll be in a routine to keep it off for good. This article I sourced also from 'articles base' (http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/how-to-lose-fat-fast-naturally-69651.html) and it is written by Jason Rich. Enjoy the quick read - it all adds up!



The first thing you need to know if you want to lose fat is that you need to BURN fat. Burning fat is all about using up more calories than you take in. If you eat more calories than your body uses throughout the day, these additional calories will be stored as body fat.

To prevent a build up of body fat you need to either reduce your calorie intake or increase your daily activity levels - doing both will have the best effect on reducing body fat. This simply means that the more fat you want to lose then the greater the amount of calories you have to burn off. To help you achieve and speed up your fat loss, here are few things that help.

Speed up your metabolism. 

Exercise speeds up metabolism. The more active your lifestyle the more likely you are to have a quick metabolism and lose weight.

Metabolism - What is it about?
Metabolism does control weight, this is true. What most people don't know is that they do in fact have the ability to control and adjust their metabolisms and thereby control their weight. Exercise does speed the metabolism up. The more active your lifestyle the more likely you are to have a quick metabolism and lose weight. It may not be healthy for all of us to get into a highly active lifestyle all at once but it is possible to get there as quickly as you safely can as an individual.

Eat a healthy balanced diet. 

Be sure to eat a variety of foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products. Also include low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish, and legumes.

Drink lots of water. 

And, go easy on the salt, sugar, alcohol, and saturated fat. A large part of the battle in fighting fat and a slow metabolic rate is the western world's view of food as entertainment.

In addition to taking on an active lifestyle you will need to stop looking at food consumption as a means of gratification. This is what causes us to be gluttons. Instead of stopping when our hunger is sated we continue on until we are stuffed to get more enjoyment out of it.

Get plenty of rest and sleep. 

Sleep and other lifestyle patterns can help or hinder the rate at which we metabolize foods. An active lifestyle should lead eventually to being able to exercise to exhaustion; this in turn should keep your metabolism quick and your fat content low. By extending oneself to ones limits you fully utilize the lungs, heart, and muscles and burn fat most efficiently.

Be strong mentally. 

Try not to be obsessed by your weight. Everyone has a bad day. Do not punish yourself. Try to lose any guilt feelings towards the mistakes you have done. Instead, just move on, start again and enjoy life as it comes.

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-