10 Simple Tips for Weight Loss

If you've been desperately trying to squeeze into those skinny jeans that are taunting you from the back of your closet, fear not. This will be the year that you finally zip the fly and feel good about the way you look. Losing weight can be difficult and many people fail at dieting because it's just too hard, but if you're serious about shedding pounds, these 10 simple tips will make weight loss virtually painless.

1.) Add foods to your diet rather than limiting yourself. This sounds counter intuitive, but adding in healthy goodies to munch on can keep your hunger pangs at bay without sabotaging your day. Try cherries, grapes or even crunchy peas. Add fruit to your cereal and load up your soups, stews and sauces with veggies rather than meat or cheese. If you add things to your diet rather than taking things away, you won't feel the sense of deprivation that leads many people to quit on their diets.

2.) Stop putting so much emphasis on exercising. Exercising is a dirty little word that nobody likes to say because there are so many negative emotions associated with the word, it's best to avoid it all together. There are plenty of ways you can get more active without actually exercising. Park farther away from your building at work, start a garden, take a stroll on the beach, play with your kids or enjoy some adult time with your significant other. There are plenty of ways you can burn calories without ever stepping foot in a gym.




3.) Walk more. Walking more will do 3 things for you. First, it will get you more active without really being exercise. Second, it will get you outdoors where you can commune with nature and enjoy the fresh air. That will give your mental health a good boost. Third, it will take your mind off of food, unless of course your walk takes you past your favorite restaurant. Better plan your route accordingly.

If you don't have time to walk or don't have any sidewalks in your neighborhood, you can always mow the lawn, walk during your lunch break, rake leaves by hand instead of with a leaf-blower, get off the bus a stop earlier, go window-shopping at the mall, choose the stairs over the elevator or dance around while you push the vacuum cleaner.

4.) Give your favorite foods a makeover. If there's something you really enjoy eating that isn't so healthy for you, try giving it a makeover so you can still have it in your life. For example, if you enjoy eating a bowl of ice cream while you watch trash TV, choose low-fat ice cream and garnish it with some great toppings like chocolate sprinkles or fresh fruits. You won't even notice that it's low-cal.

5.) Drink more water. You know you need to drink more water and you always say you're going to, but it just never happens. If you skip water you're probably filling your stomach with food when in fact what your body is really asking for is a refreshing drink. Try drinking a glass of water before meals. You'll see that it helps you manage your portions easier since you won't be as hungry when you start eating.

6.) Share with friends or family. If you're going to a restaurant, consider going Dutch and sharing the meal with a friend or family member. If you can't bring yourself to hand over 1/2 of your entrée, at least share the desert which can be laden with calories. Sharing your meal will not only save you calories, it will also save you money.

7.) Exercise while you watch TV. If you have a favorite show that you love watching, try tuning up while you watch. Get up and dance during a musical number, park your elliptical in front of the TV to exercise while you watch or do sit-ups whenever a commercial comes on. Turn it into a competition with your significant other and make it fun.

8.) Choose smaller plates. You know that portion sizes are a big factor in overeating, but you can't quite feel satisfied if half of the real estate on your plate is left open. The simple option is to just size-down your dinnerware. Choose a lunch plate at dinnertime and heap on the goodness. You'll get the visual satisfaction of a full plate of food and odds are that it'll be plenty to fill you up. Resist going in for seconds. If possible, leave the dishes in another room so you have to physically get up to get more. That will give you time to decide if you're really hungry or just eating because there's more food available.

9.) Get to the table. Resist eating in front of the TV. Eating in front of the TV can turn meal time into a mindless exercise in gluttony. Take a break from the tube, talk to the people in your family or do something that interests you. Turning off the TV helps you focus on what you're eating and how much of it you're actually consuming.

10.) Keep the weight off. You'll need patience to lose weight. The pounds won't come off overnight, but with time it will happen. Know that as time goes on, it gets easier to maintain your weight loss, so work on your patience as you undertake your new diet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Abby_T/1862046

Six Items to Avoid in Breakfast For a Healthy Start to a Day

Too lazy to cook breakfast, you either rush out to eat at your favourite restaurant or you have a stock of muffins, scones, and cakes in your fridge and food cupboard. Forget being lazy you just love to gorge on doughnuts and frozen waffles. But do you realise that the type of food that you are taking for the breakfast is not only unhealthy but makes you feel lethargic and tired throughout the day.

Breakfast is that important part of your meal which should not be ignored at any cost. And eating a healthy breakfast ensures that not only you are physically and mentally active through out the day but also less irritable, more friendly and cheerful. Also breakfast is the only meal where you can get to include the essential nutrients like calcium, fibre, antioxidants, and whole grains. Hence it is advisable to have a healthy breakfast and avoid these six items as breakfast.

1. Sugary delights

Avoid sugary delights first thing in the morning. Although your body goes in the starvation mode during night thus slowing down the metabolism rate and becomes deficient of sugar it is not advisable to start your morning with sugary delights like cakes, pastries, muffins, or scones. Even if they are fruit cakes or pastries, they are glazed with sugar and loads of cream which is just empty calories and no nutrients. One serving of your favourite muffins contains around 680 kilocalories and 48 grams of fat. Scones particularly are rich in trans fat. Hence starting your day with cakes, muffins, and scones is not a good idea.




2. Fried foods

So you think one plate of doughnuts is not harmful or munching on French fries is fine if you do it occasionally. You can not be more wrong here. Doughnuts are fried foods glazed with lots of sugar syrup and then dip in the powdered sugar for that extra glaze that you love so much. And French fries are not only fried but loaded with extra sodium a deadly combo for anyone. Fried foods intensifies thirst making you drink lots of water and excess salt helps to retain that water in the body making you look, and feel bloated, and tired throughout the day. Hence avoid fried foods first thing in the morning.

3. Aerated drinks and canned juices

You love your colas and lemonades and canned juices but do you know how much of empty calories you are packing in by drinking these in the morning. Aerated drinks have nothing but empty calories, fizz, and loads of sugar which can play havoc with your digestive system. Hence avoid them both in the breakfast as well as throughout the day. Instead have lukewarm water that will keep you fit and healthy.

4. Beverages like tea or coffee

Tea or coffee per se is not calorie laden but the ingredients added to them make them rich in calories. Like sugar, cream, and milk make these beverages rich in calories and less nutrient. So if you must drink these in the mornings drink either with less or no sugar, skimmed milk and no cream.

5. Breakfast meals at fast food chains 

Running late, no time to cook, or don't want to cook you rush out to your favourite restaurant to grab a bite from their breakfast meals. Breakfast meals at fast food restaurants will be the combination of some junk food which will be drenched in high calories, loaded with trans fat and sodium all of which are not good news for your overnight starved body, now, is it? Respect your body and if you don't have time to have a proper breakfast grab a fruit like apple or banana along with a glass of skimmed milk, these would be better options than eating a breakfast meal at a fast food joint.

6. Breakfast sandwiches

These are other things to avoid for breakfast. Sandwiches packed with loads of butter, cheese and processed vegetables are not good for you in the mornings. Unless of course they are made from whole wheat bread, and contain ingredients like cucumber, tomatoes, cabbages, or boiled eggs, chicken or turkey with either no butter or its lower calorie version with loads of fresh mint or coriander chutney.

Avoid these six items in the breakfast for a healthy start to your day. Add loads of fibre to your breakfast and you will see the difference in your day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Swati_Nitin_Gupta/122086

Losing Weight By Eating Cucumbers

Is it really possible to lose weight by simply eating cucumbers? These common green vegetables are in fact a useful supplement to your weight reduction régime.

The cucumber is one of the most common salad vegetables. You can usually get them all year round. However they are best in May through July. The best ones to eat are organically grown ones because then you can eat the nutritious skin as well as the cucumber itself. If you can only find commercially grown ones be careful to peel off the waxed skin, as this contains pesticides, chemicals and wax.

How cucumbers will help you lose weight:

• Low calories: They are low in calories and have high water content. This means that they will fill you up without adding calories. They are in fact a great way to help you lose weight.




• Diuretic: they will help you to lose water due to water retention. This is a common problem with obesity.

• Increase fluids: It is essential to drink as much water as possible when you try to lose weight. This will help you to feel fuller and encourage you to eat less. Water will help you to flush toxins from your body. Plus your body needs at least 8 glasses of water to function well. Cucumbers have a large ratio of water which will increase your fluid intake.

• Fiber: cucumbers like most vegetables will provide you with fiber. When losing weight you should try to have a high fiber diet. Fiber will fill you up and encourage you to eat less. It will also aid in making your digestion better. When you digest your food better you will be able to lose weight.

Nutritional facts: an 8 ¼ inch cucumber has 2 grams of protein, 11 grams of carbohydrate, 1 ½ grams fiber, 5 grams of sugar, vitamins K,C, B6 and A. It also has foliate and potassium. A cucumber of this size will only contain 45 calories and because of the water and fiber in it will help to fill you up.

Choosing cucumbers: there are a number of different types of cucumbers and they will taste subtly different. The best way to get varieties that you like is to grow them either in containers or out in your yard. They will have a distinctive taste quite different from the somewhat insipid store cumbers.

• Lemon cucumbers: these are round yellowish green cucumbers with a nice mild flavor.

• Japanese cucumbers: these are a long thin variety that has a mild flavor and is good for eating in salads or as a salad on its own. They are usually found wrapped in cellophane wrap at the stores.

• American cucumbers: there are many varieties of these. They range from small pickling size to larger ones that are ideal for salads. Hybrids have made the cucumber a mild flavored vegetable which has lost much of the bitterness of the old varieties.

Tips for eating:

• Always choose fresh cucumbers that are not wrinkled or sunken. The older they get the more bitter you will find them.

• Cut the end off your cucumbers and rub a little salt into them by rubbing the ends together. Doing this will takeaway some of the bitterness.

• You can slice cucumbers and put them with a little vinegar, salt and pepper.

• You can also pickle them. There are a variety of recipes you can use.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Catherine_Qazalbash/117738