How To Succeed With Your Diet or Weight Loss Program!

    In order to achieve success with your diet or weight loss plan / program, follow these nine (9) steps:

1. Start with a GOAL in mind.

To successfully and purposefully achieve anything, you must have in mind a desired end result or goal. Take a marathon runner for example, before even starting he/she knows that it is 10,000 kilometres to the end of the race and that is how far he/she must run to win or even place in the marathon. Similarly, you must start with a goal of how many pounds you want to shed or lose after completing your weight loss program.

2. Research the BEST route for achieving your final result/goal.

Continuing with the example of marathon runner, he/she must then devise an effective strategy that will allow him/her to win or place well in that 10,000 kilometre race. The strategy may involve starting fast to break the pack, then pacing him/herself and taking only small sips of water every few kilometres to remain hydrated but not become sluggish. You can devise your diet or weight loss strategy by looking at realistic diet & weight loss programs or product reviews to discern which diet plan feels right for you.

3. BEWARE of instant success diets or weight loss plans.

Your body is a gentle system of organs, cells, muscles, tissues, blood vessels and nerves. When you follow a gradual diet or weight loss program, you eliminate any likelihood of damaging your organs, tissues and muscles or gaining unsightly stretch marks.

Think about it. In which of the following scenarios do you normally feel your best?

1. When you jump out of bed in a rush and start running around to start your day? Or
2. When you gently emerge from sleep, become aware of your surroundings, open your eyes and then get out of bed?

Well similarly, your body reacts best to gradual weight loss changes and you will more likely succeed at burning off the fat, keeping off the weight you lost and maintaining a healthy weight after you complete your weight loss or diet program.

4. Set REALISTIC MILESTONES to monitor and measure your progress.

They say, "The journey of thousand miles begins with one step." Marking the gradual progress made during your diet does four (4) main things for you:

1. It gives you encouragement and motivation as you see some change(s) happening that move you closer to your desired final goal/result.
2. It gives you personalized feedback on how your body is progressing and will progress during your weight loss journey.
3. It keeps you realistic about the progress you should expect along the way and at the end.
4. It gives you an indication of whether you need to alter your diet or weight loss program and/or reduce your weight loss expectation at the end of the programme.

Remember, two (2) persons who undertake the same diet or weight loss program may experience different weight loss results due to a number of factors including, body type, conditioning, metabolism and the body's level of efficiency when burning fat.

5. Use OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT TOOLS to track your progress.

You know the saying, "What gets measured gets done." Well it's the same with your diet or weight loss program. If you don't objectively and periodically measure your progress, you're setting yourself up for major disappointment at the end of your diet or weight loss program. It is better if you know upfront and early on if you're falling behind so that you can make the necessary adjustments and reap the desired goal/result.

Measuring with different scales will leave you with frustrating, fluctuating weight readings. So, if you don't already have one, buy a reliable bathroom scale and a small notepad, so that you can measure your weight loss progress for yourself and record it. Additionally, always measure your weight at the same time of day in order to get an accurate and consistent reading. For example, weigh yourself before breakfast or before going to bed.

6. Properly SPACE your Progress MILESTONES.

In one of the Simpsons' series, the family is taking a trip someplace. From the back seat, the children keep yelling at their parents, "Are we there yet?... Are we there yet?... ," every few minutes causing grave distress to the parents. Your bathroom scale will be as frustrated with your "Are we there yet?" attitude, if you climb it too often to measure progress. Really, although your bathroom scale won't get pissed with you, you'll only frustrate yourself and erode your confidence in achieving your desired weight loss goal. So a realistic time span of one (1) week between measurements is recommended as opposed to everyday.

7. DRINK your 8 Glasses of WATER Daily.

So you have the best diet program, top health products, you've bought a good bathroom scale but you feel lousy. Guess what!! You need to drink your recommended daily dosage of water to keep hydrated, cleanse and flush your system of the fat and toxins you're shedding in your diet or weight loss program.

8. WATCH What You Eat, Your Portions and Your Mix of Foods.

In a typical choir, four (4) principal voice types - Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bass - are necessary to bring full tonal quality to the choir. Then there must be the right number of voices in each voice type to ensure there is a nice musical blend and harmony when all the voices come together. Likewise, you need to eat from ALL the five (5) major food groups - Grains, Vegetables, Fruits, Milk, Meat & Beans - in order to provide the perfect blend of nutrients to your body, even while dieting. So a good weight loss or diet programme doesn't stop you from eating. Rather, it advises on better ways of combining and incorporating the five (5) food groups in your cooking and eating to lose fat and maintain a healthy body weight.

9. PAMPER YOURSELF!

That's right!! You heard me! You don't have to feel as though you're doing penance while you diet. Pamper yourself, from head to toes, with some refreshing personal care products, such as fragranced shampoos and conditioners, scented body washes, foot scrubs and/or decadent body lotions. If you just want to keep it simpler and all natural, then look for simple & natural beauty recipes that use everyday products to achieve the same fabulous results. While you massage your scalp, or body or feet, you will also be aiding blood circulation to those parts and sloughing off dead cells to reveal younger and clearer skin cells. And here's the BEST part... you won't add one ounce of fat!

And for quick tips, information and resources for your total health and well-being visit MPSE Health.

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The Five Elements of a Raw Vegan Diet for Weight Loss

There are two types of raw food diets - one that involves eating raw meat and eggs (gross, I know), and the other that involves eating a diet solely of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and sprouts. The latter is called the raw vegan diet - which is what I will be talking about in this article. Following a raw vegan diet assists in weight loss and also cures many health problems. Let's see what this diet entails.

Fruits

First of all, let's talk about living fruits. I like to view fruits as a natural dessert given to us by Mother Nature. Fruits are so delicious in their natural raw form, and I really don't see why people have to ruin their lovely flavour and nutrient content by going and cooking them in their high-calorie desserts and cake dishes. If you compare the taste of a lovely crunchy apple to stewed apples, you will never want to stew your apples again! The flavour is so much poorer. Anyway, the point I'm getting at is - fruits play a vital role in the diet of a raw foodist. They are often consumed for breakfast, in juices and smoothies, and for snacks during the day.

Vegetables

The second component to a raw vegan diet is vegetables. Vegetables come in so many wonderful colours, shapes and varieties - how could you not love them? What's great about vegetables is that they are low in fat and calories, so they can be consumed in larger quantities than most other foods. Have you ever eaten raw corn? If you have not tried this - you're in for a treat. You will be pleasantly surprised! The taste is absolutely superb! Vegan raw foodists often make raw vegetable dishes for their lunch and dinner. They also value using them in juices. Many raw vegetables can be juiced for a natural energy boost - try this combination: Beetroot, celery, carrots, ginger and apple. It's seriously amazing!

Sprouts

Sprouts are one of nature's best superfoods and help protect our bodies from diseases. They also provide the nutrients that support and strengthen our immune systems. Why not try adding to your next salad some alfalfa sprouts, mungbean sprouts, or chickpea sprouts. These raw living foods will give your salad a real protein hit and will make you feel fuller longer. I really enjoy the crunchiness of sprouts, and I just can't get enough of them as a side dish, or even just by themselves! Raw foodists are very fond of these powerful minis!

Nuts & Seeds

Nuts and seeds are also great sources of protein and healthy fats. Raw foodists will often incorporate a small handful of these heavenly beauties into their daily diet - they are an excellent healthy treat for morning or afternoon tea. But just stick to a small handful! The reason being is that nuts, although very healthy, are rather high in calorie and fat content, and should be limited if a person wishes to lose weight.

These are the five key elements of a vegan raw food lifestyle. To recap, they are raw fruits, vegetables, sprouts, seeds and nuts. If you wish to undergo the raw vegan diet for weight loss, CLICK HERE to start your journey today.

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Is There a Fitness Machine to Help With My Lower Back Pain?

Absolutely! There are many fitness machines out there claiming to help with lower back pain. The key question is which ones really work? As a sufferer of lower back pain for many years I have tried many possible quick cures.

 The honest reality is that there is no quick cure - the answer is a minor life style change and a commitment to strengthening your core muscles and relieving pressure on your lower back. So you've heard people talking about core muscles before, what exactly are they going on about and why will strengthening them help with your lower back pain. The other essential aspect of relieving back pain is to ease the pressure and tension that has built up in the lower back area.

The main cause of pressure on all our joints is gravity compounded by our own body weight. So how do you defeat gravity? Simple, hang upside down and let gravity work for you.

 Not many of us are very good at maintaining a handstand or headstand and those would just put pressure on arm and neck muscles anyhow. So the solution would be to hang from a bar like a bat by your feet? Correct, well almost...this is where the fitness machine you read this far to find out about comes in - the 'hangup', in particular the Teeter F7000 or the new improved Teeter EP-550 Inversion Therapy table.

Inversion therapy may help to: reduce back pain, relieve stress, stimulate circulation and lymph flow, improve posture, reduce muscle tension, strengthen ligaments, increase flexibility and range of movement and reduce the effects of aging caused by gravity. Whether you want to enjoy better posture, reduce back pain, or simply minimize your daily stress load, the Teeter Hang Ups EP-550 Inversion Therapy Table makes a terrific choice. Inversion therapy works by placing your body in line with the downward force of gravity. In the process, inversion elongates the spine, increases the space between the vertebrae, and relieves the pressure on discs, ligaments, and nerve roots. Less pressure means less back pain and bonus you experience fewer headaches and neck problems as well.

It is not enough to merely use a Teeter F7000 or the Teeter EP-550 to relieve pressure on your lower back - you need to consider losing weight if you are overweight and adding in exercise to your weekly routine that will strengthen your core muscles without putting further strain on your lower back - swimming is excellent for this as it strengthens all your muscles with the added benefit of weightlessness in the water.

So for images, diagrams, testimonials and more information on how the inversion tables actually work plus reviews including video footage of the Teeter EP-550 Inversion Therapy table in action click here!

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Best Weight Loss Fruits

  The power of super fruits was first realised when Acai Berry supplements arrived on to the weight loss market. This nutritious fruit made consuming a potent dose of antioxidants possible without the need to eat tonnes of fruit and vegetables each day.

In fact consuming enough fruit to get the same amount of antioxidants found in these berries would not be possible for many of us! This has led to consumers turning to super fruit supplements to ensure the consumption of enough antioxidants on a daily basis. The potent weight loss properties of many super fruits have also opened this market up to dieters who are looking to lose those excess pounds.

What are super fruits?

The undisputed king of the super fruits is no doubt the Acai berry, but there is little doubt that what are considered super fruits have grown in recent years. Many berries are not considered a super food and include, maqui berry, goji berries, blackberries, raspberries and even the common strawberry! A number of more exotic fruits have made added to the list too, such as African Mango which is probably familiar to many to the more obscure and recent Baobab fruit.

It seems that what classifies as a superfruit is the antioxidant content contained, which is revealed by ORAC Rating (Oxygen radical absorbance capacity) table. The ORAC table measures the antioxidant content and so can rank superfruits in order of potency. The highest ORAC values have been seen in Maqui berries and Acai berries, explaining why these berries dominate the superfruit supplements on the market today. Surprisingly you see fewer maqui berry supplements on the market today despite it containing the highest ORAC rating! That said, the discovery of maqui berry has been a recent one.

Benefits of super fruits for weight loss

Many consumers are realising that by taking a super fruit supplement you can get the benefits of a traditional diet pill along with boosting the number of antioxidants in your diet. Antioxidants have been shown to "mop up" the damage done by free radicals, which occur during normal cellular activity.

Antioxidants have also been linked to preventing cancer, although scientific evidence is still being collated to scientifically prove the link. Other benefits such as clearing up the build up of toxins in the body have been proven, suggesting you can protect against illness and boost your immune system response.

Best weight loss fruits on the market

No doubt the leading super fruit on the market is the Acai Berry. This amazing berry has been around the longest and has seen literally hundreds of supplements make sure of this potent ingredient.

With so many Acai supplements on the market how do you know which one will work for you? Good question, there have been many fake Acai supplements on the market and so you are right to be wary. Thankfully there are some good quality Acai berry products on the market that have been proven to work.

One of the best Acai diet pills has been seen to be Acai Plus Extreme, which combines the potent berry with two clinically proven weight loss ingredients, Green Tea Extract and Acetyl L-Carnitine. The addition of these two ingredients mean you get enhanced fat burning and a boost in energy levels, so no more feeling tired throughout the day!

You can buy dedicated Acai diet pills, with this supplement you get a better detox weight loss diet pill that does not rely on stimulants to work. It looks like super fruits are here to stay and will grow ever popular as the number of consumers look to improve health and to lose weight.

Find out the best weight loss fruits to help you lose weight and improve health. We reveal why Acai Plus is a popular super fruit supplement.

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Best Weight Loss Program - Which One Is It?

Which product is the best for weight management? I get this question all the time, mostly from women who have been on lots of diets. It seems they still want to go on another fad diet, even after failing on so many. I find it amazing how they are still searching for the simple truths about permanent weight loss.

Everyone is always looking for a short cut, but there are no short cuts in real life. Fast weight loss = fast weight gain. Dieters should have figured this out by now. It's just that simple!

So the first thing you must do is this: Figure Out What is Your Personal Goal?

The first thing is to be clear as to what outcomes you want. What is your ultimate goal? To lose weight, get healthier, or both!

Next, you need to formulate your best weight management plan, meaning knowing what the best foods for weight loss are for you to eat. Then, buy only those foods! Additionally, you need to pick the best weight loss exercise programs that will work for you, and then get started!

Best Weight Loss Program - How to Lose Weight

Most women want to lose weight quickly, but extreme weight loss = extreme weight gain. While it would be nice to drop 25 pounds within the next month, this just isn't a realistic goal to be pursuing.

It is ALWAYS best to lose weight gradually, safely eating clean healthy foods, removing processed, sugary, high in saturated fats, fast foods, and all the rest of the goop foods. These foods not only make you fat, they invite disease into your body.

Let me repeat that! These foods make you fat, and invite disease into your body! Why would anybody, in their right mind, eat these foods on a daily basis?

By eating nutritious clean healthy foods, with daily physical activity, you will be amazed how easy it will be to reach your overall goal without even trying to lose weight. Imagine, no stress over losing a single pound.

Remove the "bad" foods that make you fat, and add the "Healthy" foods that rebuilds your body's cells and tissue, and you will find that you will enjoy a much healthier body that will be able to ward off many of the diseases that ravage our society today. It is so simple, yet so few know and apply these simple truths.

Stop suffering with your weight and stop suffering with diets. Follow the best weight loss program and lose your unwanted weight and get healthier. Do it Now! Please visit Http://BestWeightLossPrograme.com

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Resistance Band Exercises and Weight Loss

Resistance band training, or strength training, is a form of exercise that stretches and strengthens the body using resistance bands. By stretching elastic bands instead of free weights or machines for resistance, a person can strengthen one group or a number of muscle groups at any one time through a series of high interval resistance band exercises. The workouts are designed to only last about 30 seconds or so, doing as many repetitions as you can with the exercise, with the focus being on high intensity and good form.

For those wanting to lose unwanted body fat or build lean muscle mass, if you have only just started out it's best you begin slowly with beginner level exercises and work up to a program that eventually includes more advanced resistance band exercise routines. Some resistance band exercises are not only more challenging, but the actual resistance bands themselves can offer a different level of resistance.

 For example, you could be doing step ups with bicep curls using the yellow color resistance bands. If you do the same workout using the red color resistance band which have more tension, this will increase the resistance of the exercise, making it more difficult to stretch the band.

Resistance band training is gaining in popularity because it's effective in weight loss success. The resistance band exercises burn more calories (moreso then aerobic exercises), strengthen muscles and joints (great for rehabilitation from sports injuries, etc), and help prevent injury. All important benefits for overall health and fitness.

 Contrary to what you may have heard from some fitness experts, resistance exercise is actually more effective then aerobic exercise (walking, swimming, cycling) for burning fat. This is because with aerobic exercise you are only burning calories during the exercise and your resting metabolic rate is increased for a few hours post exercise. In comparison, while resistance exercise may not burn as many calories during the exercise, where the great benefit lies is the fact that it permanently increases your resting metabolic rate (RMR) so you are burning more calories even at rest.

 Because your RMR accounts for 60 to 75% of daily caloric expenditure, this means it plays a large role in how much fat you will lose. The bottom line is that you need to increase your metabolism for successful weight loss, and regular resistance band training is a great way to do this.

How much weight you can lose will depend on several factors. Keep in mind success shouldn't just be based on how much weight you show on the scales. Muscle tissue is more dense then fat, so although you may be losing excess body fat, because you are adding lean muscle mass you may actually weigh the same. Some of the factors which will determine how fast you can lose body fat include:

1) How many days you exercise per week
2) The intensity of each workout session. High interval training is best.
3) You current metabolic rate
4) The number of calories you are consuming daily
5) How overweight you are to begin with. Those who are very overweight to begin with who start a dedicated training program with a good diet tend to see the fastest results.

You don't need to own expensive exercise equipment or gym memberships in order to build muscle and lose fat. There are many resistance band exercises you can do at home or when traveling.

Are you a busy person who wants to burn fat and build muscle as quick as possible? Learn more at the Resistance Bands blog.

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Exercises for Weight Loss - Achieve Your Aspirations for a Beautiful Balanced Body

If you are looking for exercises for weight loss, you do not have far to search as there are myriads of them on the Internet that you could consider to achieve your weight loss aspirations. You can also find access to several brick and mortar gyms with specialist physical trainers who will tell you the right way to go about exercises for weight loss.

Every exercise has its own levels and methods that help in weight control and their individual rate of success depends entirely on the rate of metabolism that they can generate, and these differ from exercise to exercise.

You have two types of exercises, which are the aerobic and the anaerobic or strength training exercises that have their own distinctive ways of contributing to weight loss. During the aerobic exercises the calories and fats burn while the exercise is in the process, while strength training causes weight loss by increasing your RMR or resting metabolic rate that refers to the quantum of calories that you burn while resting.

There is a misconception in some circles that walking is not a good enough exercise, but this is not true as it is one of the best exercises for achieving weight loss because it enhances the body metabolism. It also, surprisingly maintains the increased rate even up to four hours after walking and the continued higher rate of metabolism is instrumental in burning calories and fat rapidly.

Most fitness experts opine that aerobic exercises also called cardiovascular exercises are the best way to burn calories and lose weight. You must remember that strength training, weight lifting and interval short bursts of training do not really contribute heavily to fat burn, but instead, are ideal for building muscle and contribute indirectly to weight loss by coercing the body to burn up the fats to build and maintain the growing muscles.

In all types of exercises, you must remember the useful importance of a warm-up, as this is what prepares the muscles to remain flexible and avert injury during the major exercises. Slow walking, low intensity movements or rotations of your trunk are ideal warm-up exercises if done for about 10 minutes. You can also go for endurance exercises and other simple weight exercises along with a few push-ups.

Some other exercises that could give you great results in muscle-building and weight loss are:

- Lower Body Stretch - This is an exercise where you keep folding your hands behind your head and stand with your feet shoulder apart. Now bend forward to try to touch your toes, hold the position for 30 seconds, revert to the original position and repeat at least 10 times.

- Bent Torso Pull - In this exercise, you stretch your legs wide apart without straining while you are in a sitting position. While you bend one knee towards your torso, you should pull your chest downwards to touch the thigh on this leg and then twist at the waist, hold the position for 10 seconds and repeat the same movement on the opposite side. Do these exercises 10 times each.

Click here to know more about Chapel Hill NC Health Club.

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