Easy Weight Loss Permanently
September 12th, 2008 by Go Weblog
This article summarizes what a plan must have to be able to result in long-term weight loss. If a plan fails in any one of these, any weight loss will be short-term and the individual will experience “yo-yo dieting”.
Several years ago, a colleague who had tried several weight loss plans, asked me to help her figure out why she wasn’t able to achieve permanent weight loss. After extensive research on how the body regulates weight and studying individuals who had succeeded in attaining long-term weigh loss, I concluded that there are four characteristics that a plan must have to result in long-term weight loss. If a plan fails in any one, it might create short-term weight loss but the pounds will come back and you will find yourself trying something else. At first glance, these factors might look straightforward and simple but I will present the science behind them and why they must be taken into account for you to succeed.
The four characteristics are:
1. The plan must avoid cravings 2. The plan must avoid hunger 3. The plan must call for increasing your activity level 4. It must be a plan you can live with for a long time
What are cravings? A craving is when your body pushes you to want a particular food ingredient. This can occur even when you are not hungry. When you finally give in and get the food, you almost always binge, that is, eat more than you would have if you did not have cravings for it.
What causes cravings? Your body needs 6 essential food ingredients to function properly. They are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins and water. If you deprive your body of any of this, it will create the sensation that will drive you to get it. The most easily identified example is when you deprive your body of water. You develop thirst. Thirst is the body craving for water.
Weight loss plans that tell you to cut out particular foods will always lead to cravings. It is this battle in your body to give it what it needs that creates conditions of discomfort and lead to most individuals ending the programs. There is an area of the brain that controls what and how much you eat and is responsible for creating cravings as a way for you to provide the body what it needs.
So, how do you avoid cravings? By eating all the required food ingredients. The key is that in all the food groups, there are “good” types and “not so good” types. You need to know the good types and eat only those. For example, with carbohydrates, the good types are the ones with low glycemic index (GI). GI is a measure of how fast a food increases the production of insulin. Insulin causes fat buildup. Simple sugars, potatoes and white bread are examples of high GI foods, while whole grains and vegetables have low GIs and therefore good for weight loss.
By understanding the concept of eating all the essential foods and dividing them into “good” and “not so good” foods, you will avoid cravings and overeating.
Next time we will discuss hunger and how successful plans avoid hunger.
About the Author
Dr. David Nganele empowers individuals with the knowledge to take help them take control of their health. His latest book is “How to choose a weight loss plan that will work for you”. Learn more at http://aboutdietplans.com.
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Tags: diet, exercise programs, fitness, fitness programs, lose weight, nutrition, weight lossClose Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #38
August 22nd, 2008 by Go Weblog
What are your neon signs?
Often we find ourselves in the business of things hurrying to the next thing on our agenda. Thus, we send a message to our bodies that we are in the fight or flight mode. Cortisol, a hormone, is released during times of stress. When stimulated over time, cortisol can lead to cognitive impairments and increased risk for disease.
What does this mean to you?
If you are one of these people who continually gets lost in the doing, what are the results that you are getting? Is it bringing you joy or are you experiencing some maladies like anxiety, depression, intestinal problems, fatigue, physical pain, heart conditions? If it is bringing you the latter, then perhaps a dose of ME time is the proper prescription.
Years ago I was lost in the doing until I had my awakening. My doing got me so ill that I became bedridden and felt like I was just moments away from death. I was not paying attention to ME! I had a lot of huge neon signs (stomach aches, worry, sleeplessness, anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, relationship problemsjust to name a few) but I kept doing so that I would be distracted from taking responsibility for my health and wealth–showing up for ME.
This illness was a gift because it allowed me to do self-introspection to determine where I needed to change my mind. Later on I attracted excess weight, another neon sign, and made additional changes. You know, I got to see Lance Armstrong at a conference recently, and he expressed looking at his cancer as a gift as well giving him an opportunity to see where he needed to make some changes in his life. Look at his results!
I can always feel my body speaking to me when I get off track in the doing rather than BEING. My neon signs will be blinking like crazy. I can recognize them easily now, and I say “thank you” to my body for being so patient with me. It’s now so easy to shift my thinking, and I’m very grateful.
Remember, like Wayne Dyer says, we are spiritual BEINGS having a human experience. We are not spiritual DOINGS.
Right now, you have BEINGS all around you just waiting to help you live in that higher consciousness of peace, love and joy. All these energies of light surround you with their love. They are excited to be here with you right now.
Call upon God, your Angels, your Guides, your Masters. Did you know they hang out with you all day long just waiting to help. You have them at your disposal at all times.
Right now, take 1 minute and express love for yourself by BEING! Instead of do deep breathing, be deep breathing. Say I breathe in, I breathe out. Be aware of your breath and be grateful. Be aware of all the BEINGS of light that surround you.
If you have your neon signs that are blinking like crazy, stop and pay attention. There’s something that you need to change. Unless, of course, you like neon signs constantly blinking in your presence.
We all need assistance in keeping us on track, and I can help you. My weight loss program has all the components that help you live in a state of BEING! I will help you shift your patterns of behavior from being busy to being peace.
Love and hugs,
Tami
Helping people fall in love…with themselves
Tami Close
Weight Loss Consultant
2916 N.W. Bucklin Hill Rd. #291
Silverdale, WA 98383
360-792-2209
http://www.tamiclose.com
Tami Close helps people fall in lovewith themselves. She is a weight loss consultant and uses an integrative method, including cleansing and nutritional products from Isagenix, in her weight balancing program. She is certified in healing modalities (Rapid Eye Technology and Emotional Freedom Techniques) to assist people in releasing their negative emotions to help them change their behavior. Tami is a recipient of a grant from the Sumasil Grant Foundation in her work with RET and EFT. She is a master trainer and has a B.S. in Training and Development. She is a #1 best selling co-author with Mark Victor Hansen, Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra, Wake Up…Live the Life You Love Finding Personal Freedom. She has also written an e-book, Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss, along with other e-books.
http://www.tamiclose.com
http://www.closekeptsecrets.com
Use It or Lose It!
August 5th, 2008 by Go Weblog
Who can forget that song from the 1980s about nobody walking in L.A? It turns out that far too many seemingly took it to heart. People just don’t walk that much these dayslet alone bicycle, swim or engage in other forms of movement that does a body good. America has become a car driving, desk riding, TV watching, video game playing, Internet surfing, elevator taking, fast food eating society. Is it any wonder that we are fighting a veritable epidemic of obesity, when pressing the buttons on the TV remote, clicking the mouse, and handing the fast food drive-thru clerk money is the extent of our “exercise.”
Researchers, again, have recently underscored the severity of the problem this lack of activity is posting to our nation’s collective health. According to an October 2005 press release issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health, a recent Framingham Heart Study shows that “we [Americans] could have an even more serious degree of overweight and obesity over the next few decades” and that “If the trend continues, our country will continue to face substantial health problems related to excess weight.” In response to these findings, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Director Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D. boils it down to this: “taking simple steps to make sure that the overall the number of calories you consume do not exceed the amount you burn can play a major role in lowering your risk for many chronic conditions. How is this done? You guessed itexercise!
Even with the knowledge of study findings and other health news-making events, it seemingly goes in one ear and out the other. People continue on the same unhealthy track despite medical warnings about lack of activity. The study’s leading researcher and Boston University Medical Professor, Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, cited a litany of dramatic, life-altering conditions that can be experienced from lack of activity. Even with the threat of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and osteoarthritis, most of us still do not budge from the sofa unless we absolutely, positively have to.
For those who really do wish they were more active, it can, admittedly, be difficult to put that desire into action. In today’s fast paced society, many of us cannot find time to sit down as a family for dinner let alone get in the car and drive to and from the gym. Even with the best of intentions, many with home gym equipment end up using the devices as (very expensive) clothes racks. With enough stuff piled on it and shielding it from view, perhaps they don’t feel guilty when passing it by on the way from the couch to the refrigerator to bed.
Others who do have the time to get to the gym may feel intimidated by all of the strange equipment. Some feel uncomfortable next to the cute girl in spandex who looks like she doesn’t even belong at the gym, not to mention the beefy guy snarling in front of the mirror as his biceps appear poised to explode. And, while some can afford to hire a personal trainer, many must venture into this unfamiliar territory on their own. This can lead to ineffective workouts, a serial lack of motivation or, worse, injuries. Soon after any of these events, enthusiasm naturally drops and it’s just your credit or debit card that it’s getting a workout as the gym continues to charge - whether you show up or not.
On the upside (sort of), the spike in gasoline prices has got a few people moving a bit more. Recent news reports indicate more people riding their bicycles to work and, yes, even walking! So if medical advice is not enough motivation, maybe a dent in our collective pocketbooks is enough to get America on its feet.
At the end of the day, it’s all about making time for something you want - make that NEED - to do. Even a minimal amount of time and effort can make a real difference when compared to no body movement whatsoever. In this case, something is indeed better than nothing.
Child health advocate, weight-loss industry veteran and former bodybuilding champion Merilee A. Kern is co-founder and CEO of Healthy Kids’ Catalog
Tags: child, childhood, children, diet, exercise, fat, fitness, health, kids, nutrition, obesity, overweight, weight