Amazing Foods To Eat For Fast Weight Loss

5 Amazing Foods To Eat For Fast Weight Loss

Indeed, you can actually lose weight by eating. Surprised? Well, you can achieve that slim figure you crave for just by eating the right kinds of foods as opposed to going on a crash diet where you will need to starve yourself. If you make the wrong choice of foods that you eat then excess weight/obesity is in your future. So here are 5 foods to eat for fast weight loss.

1. Fishes

Fishes are very nutritious and healthy. They are very effective for quick weight loss. Most fishes contain Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to your body's health as they help to reduce the hormone called 'leptin' that is responsible for storing fat in the body. Therefore, you should make sure to include fish in your diet for fast weight loss.

2. Lean meat

Lean meats contain lots of protein yet little fat and they help you burn fat quickly as they increase the body's metabolic rate. Lean chicken meat or turkey breast should be taken often instead of red meats.

3. Nuts

Nuts are also great as they help in digestion and also help the body burn more calories resulting in reduces weight. E.g. Walnuts, cashew nuts, groundnuts, palm nuts etc

4. Olive oil

Olive oil hardly contains saturated fats which add to the body weight but instead contains a reasonable amount of unsaturated fats. You should substitute your fatty oils with olive oil. One advantage of olive oil is that it helps to keep the level of cholesterol in the body low.

5. Fruits and vegetables

These are a must for anyone serious about being slim, fit and healthy. For fast weight loss, fresh fruits should be taken regularly as they not only taste real good but would help suppress hunger thereby helping you focus less on eating and more on achieving quick weight loss.

The fact that you desire to lose weight does not in any way mean that you have to starve yourself of food. Weight loss by following a steady meal plan with recipes is the best approach. So many people still starve themselves in a bid to lose weight but eating the right foods instead will make you not only lose that excess weight but become healthy as well.

Please note that there are many more foods that you can use to achieve fast weight loss apart from the ones mentioned above. Others like, oatmeal, eggs, green tea e.t.c can also help you eliminate fat easily. You should include these foods in your diet so as to see positive results towards your weight reduction
.

When Is a Calorie Not a Calorie!

Many health practitioners, especially those educated years ago, continue to repeat the mantra that, "A calories is a calorie" like they are all interchangeable. To lose weight, many still recommend counting and cutting calories below your current level, taking the position that calories from fats, proteins and carbs are the same! Many doctors and weight-loss companies also focus on cutting calories to lose weight. We even have computer apps to track and count calories, making the approach seem legitimate. It's not!

What's a calorie:

Some of you might remember that a calorie is: the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of water by 1 degree Celsius. It's essentially a measurement of energy production. It's also an abstraction, removed from nutrition and physiology in key ways!

Digestion and metabolism are the key

The reason that calories are not equal is because the approach doesn't account for the digestive and metabolic process, where different foods are processed differently.

During digestion, sugars and refined carbs break down quickly, starting with chewing and saliva. They are absorbed quickly after leaving the stomach, spiking blood sugar. Proteins and fats need more time in stomach acid, bile (from the gall bladder), and other enzymes to break down, so those nutrients take significantly longer to digest. The simple speed list for digestion is: fats are slowest, proteins second slowest, and carbs, especially sugar/refined carbs like soda, cookies and crackers, are quickest. Refined carbs, those with a high-glycemic index, often spike blood glucose, and high sugar levels are toxic to tissues! The result is extra weight, fat and other health problems.

A flawed approach for weight loss

People who use calorie restriction for weight loss often gain all the weight back, plus more! So if you follow that flawed advice of cutting calories to lose weight, it will backfire! Why?

Calorie restriction is unwise and unhealthy. You lose important vitamins and minerals, as well as lean muscle and bone. It also puts your body into starvation mode, which slows your metabolism further! And any loss of muscle means you now have a smaller engine to use food calories, making weight gain faster and easier once you stop calorie restriction or dieting. In fact, the whole concept of "dieting" or cutting calories/food intake for a few weeks to lose weight is a myth! You will be worse off than when you started!

Consider 2 meals with similar calorie totals (values approximate)

Here is a comparison of 2 meals, a 4-oz. chicken breast, a large serving of mixed veggies with olive oil and spices, a medium serving of brown/wild rice and mug of green tea, VS. a 3-oz. beef burger on a bun, small french fries, and a small, 6-oz. soda.

1. For the chicken/veggie meal, the overall nutrient totals are: 

• 480 calories for the chicken breast, veggies, rice mix and tea
• 32 grams of protein
• 28 grams of complex, high-fiber carbs
• 22 grams of fat, mostly healthy

2. For the burger/fries meal, the overall nutrient totals are: 

• 500 calories for the burger, bun, fries and small soda
• 24 grams of protein
• 54 grams of low-fiber, high-glycemic carbs
• 23 grams of mostly unhealthy fat

Note: It was a challenge to get the calories to match exactly. I had to use smaller servings of fries and soda for the burger meal or would have been much higher.

Results 

• What stands out the most is that the burger/fries meal has far more refined, low-fiber carbs, and almost twice as many total carbs, 54 vs. 28. Those refined carbs (bun, fries, soda) will spike your blood sugar more quickly, whereas the veggies and rice blend in the chicken meal are more complex carbs. They will digest far more slowly, even slower than protein.
• The chicken meal has more protein grams (32 vs. 24 grams for the burger), meaning the chicken meal will also digest more slowly because of the extra protein.
• The fats in both meals were similar but the chicken meal had less saturated fat and more healthy, monounsaturated fat from the olive oil.
• The chicken meal will give you more sustained energy over a longer period of time, resulting in little or no weight gain!

Similar total calories bring different outcomes

The impact on weight and health is clear! The lower-nutrient burger meal has 54 grams of more high-glycemic carbs, along with lower protein levels. That combo will spike your blood sugar faster and higher (think of a steep rise and fall like a sharp mountain peak), adding to weight gain and inflammation (the sugars, refined carbs and veggie oils are more pro-inflammatory).

The higher-nutrient chicken meal with nutrient-rich veggies (vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants), rice blend and higher protein will digest far more slowly. It will keep blood sugar more stable compared to the burger meal (picture a gradual rise and fall over several hours like a small hill). With the slower rise, you can burn off those calories with normal activity more easily, resulting in little or no fat storage. You might even lose weight! It's also a low-inflammatory meal because it has more complex, healthy nutrients and fats. The green tea also adds anti-inflammatory polyphenols.

So the outcome on health is very different for the 2 meals: One leads to probable weight gain and inflammation/health problems (the burger meal), while the other leads to stable weight or weight loss, and can actually help to lower inflammation and improve health (chicken/veggie meal).

In fact, the typical meal of a burger, fries and soda will spike your blood sugar in an hour (or less), adding to weight gain after insulin is released and glucose is removed from the blood and stored as fat. Unless you are very active after you eat, you will probably store them!

I'll burn those calories!

How much activity does it take to burn off the glucose-spiking burger meal? How about 30-45 minutes of running, cycling or jumping rope to keep from gaining weight! That's about how much exercise you will need to do to burn up the calories and the surge in blood glucose! How many people have these fast-food meals (or make them at home), and are working out for 30-45 minutes every time they eat that way?

Keep in mind, many burger/cheeseburger, fries and soda combinations have much larger portion sizes than I used, reaching 700-1,000 total calories. That means it could take a good hour of exercise to use up the calories and spiking blood sugar for one meal! No wonder so many people gain weight, year after year!

If you've seen my other article and posts, you know that the burger meal, with its refined carbs and inflammatory foods, will also contribute to a host of health conditions and diseases, such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, high BP, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and more! Those problems add to the misinformation that all calories are the same. They are clearly not!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Carney

10 Bad mood causes

Ever woken up in a bad mood and not known why? You may be surprised by the cause. While many things contribute to putting us in a bad mood, there are steps you can take to eliminate some common causes. Here are 10 surprising things that can spoil your mood.

Bad mood trigger 1: Food intolerance

Food intoleranceFood intolerances are responsible for a wide range of physical conditions including nausea and abdominal pain, but they can also affect your mood, causing irritability, mood swings, lack of focus, aggression, nervousness or hyperactivity. If you suffer from regular mood swings, try keeping a food diary – noting what you eat as well as any changes in mood – to see if you can identify a link.

Bad mood trigger 2: Your home decor

If you want to give your mood a boost, try changing your home decor as your surroundings can heavily influence your mood. While red can make some people feel irritable or hostile, yellow communicates happiness and blue aids relaxation, so try accessorising your home with colours that enhance your mood. Research has also suggested that hanging up soothing pictures — such as beautiful landscape paintings —can positively affect a person’s mood and reduce stress and anxiety.

Bad mood trigger 3: Getting promoted

While many of us dream of getting a promotion in work, the reality may not be as rosy as you think. A study by researchers at the University of Warwick has found that rather than improving quality of life for workers, following a job promotion employees suffered from increased mental strain and there was on average a 10 per cent decrease in people’s mental health.

Bad mood trigger 4: Your bedside lamp

If you regularly fall asleep reading or watching TV, this can have repercussions on your mood the next day. Research has shown that night time light can suppress the production of melatonin; a mood-regulating hormone which is only produced during darkness. So, try investing in some heavy curtains and make sure you turn off all lights at night to give yourself a happiness boost.

Bad mood trigger 5: Nutrient deficiencies

While depression can be caused by a number of things, symptoms can be worsened or improved by your diet. Deficiencies in vitamin D, the B vitamins (particularly B6, B12 and folate) and omega-3 fatty acids can all lead to feelings of depression and anxiety. Try introducing more foods rich in these nutrients into your diet to see if symptoms improve. 

Bad mood trigger 6: Your friends

You might think that spending time with your friends is a great mood booster; however, that could all depend on their mood. Research has found that emotions – both positive and negative – are contagious and easily passed from person to person, often without you being aware of it. Furthermore, you don’t even need to see your friends to catch their mood, as a study suggests that the emotions of Facebook users directly affect the emotions of their friends for up to three days.

Bad mood trigger 7: Late nights

Many of us are aware that lack of sleep can contribute to a low mood; however, research suggests that when you go to sleep could be almost as important as how much sleep you get. According to a study published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, night owls are almost three times as likely as early birds to experience severe symptoms of depression, so try getting some early nights to boost your mood.

Bad mood trigger 8: The Pill

A study by researchers from Monash University has found that women who take birth control pills are twice as likely to be depressed as those who don’t. For some, certain birth control pills can also lead to mood swings, increased anger and loss of libido. If you think that your mood has changed for the worse since you began taking the pill, visit your GP to discuss the alternatives.

Bad mood trigger 9: Smoking

We all know that smoking causes cancer, heart disease and premature ageing, but it is less well known that cigarettes can also affect your mental health. According to the results of a large study conducted by New Zealand researchers, people who smoke cigarettes may increase their risk of developing depression, and those who are addicted to nicotine may be more than twice as likely to have depressive symptoms than those who are not.

Bad mood trigger 10: Sunlight

Most of us have heard of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) caused by dark winter days, but did you know that sunlight can also bring on the blues? While summer SAD is thought to affect less than one per cent of the population (compared to the five per cent affected by the winter version) it can be a serious condition for those it affects, bringing on insomnia, decreased appetite and depression.

See artical here  http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/10-surprising-things-that-put-you-in-a-bad-mood-gb-en/

5 Common factors that can stop our fitness goals

Ever have those days when you feel like the universe is conspiring to keep you from reaching your fitness goals? Even the most committed fitness enthusiasts face challenges to staying active. Sometimes we sabotage ourselves. Other times, life interferes with our exercise plans. 

Check out this list of common fitness saboteurs and learn how to combat them with practical strategies that really work:

1. Stress—When you’re up against a work deadline or the kids are sick, you may feel you can’t handle one more thing, including exercise. But taking time out to go for a brisk walk or workout is one of the best things you can do during times of intense stress. Exercise helps alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression and helps boost your mood, enabling you to cope with whatever you’re facing. Even a short workout is better than nothing.

2. Unrealistic Expectations—Novice exercisers get frustrated when they expect big results too soon after starting a fitness program. Because they haven’t lost a huge amount of weight or developed six-pack abs after only a week or two of exercise, they throw in the towel. To avoid this mistake, set realistic goals and practice extreme patience. You can’t undo 10 years of a sedentary lifestyle in a week of walking. If you stick with a regimen, your body will respond to exercise. It takes at least six weeks of regular exercise and sometimes more for physiological changes to kick in.

It’s called the training effect. You’ll know it’s happening when your workouts start feeling easier; when you can tolerate longer, harder exercise sessions; and when you can do housework, yardwork, or climb stairs with less effort.

3. Overtraining—Demanding daily workouts without scheduled rest won’t help you reach your goals faster. Instead, it’ll undermine your progress. Overtraining occurs when the exercise load is excessive related to the amount of time allowed for recovery. Overtaxing the body’s systems leads to decreased performance. A day or two off from vigorous exercise each week is recommended for rest and recovery. This can be done through a combination of scheduling rest days into your fitness plan and alternating hard and easy workouts. For example, cross-training, swapping out a few runs for swimming or bicycling, is another effective way to avoid overtraining, but scheduled recovery days are still recommended.

4. The Unexpected—You were going to walk after work, but now you’ve been asked to work late. Or perhaps you planned to swim, but then you find out that the pool is closed for maintenance. Life happens, and you can either throw up your hands and say, “forget it,” or accept it and roll with it. Resilience is your ability to bounce back quickly from life’s surprises and setbacks. This can be improved with practice. Strategies include practicing good self-care, such as eating right, sleeping well, and exercising regularly, along with cultivating good relationships, practicing optimism, taking decisive action, etc. As you become more resilient, you’re less likely to ditch your workout when something comes up. Instead, you’ll be able to quickly modify your plans and move forward.

5. Negative Self-Talk—“I’m so lazy, I’ll never be fit;” “I didn’t even exercise once this week;” “I’m such a loser.” Would you talk to a friend or loved one this way? Listening to negative self-talk isn’t motivating, so what’s the point? Negative self-talk only destroys your confidence and motivation to the point where you can’t visualize success. But you don’t have to put up with it. The next time you recognize a critical thought, stop it and replace it with a positive thought, like this: “I’m so proud of myself for walking at lunch time today. It took a lot of effort, but I did it.” Behavior change is hard. Give yourself some credit for every step you take toward your fitness goals. Practice intentionally giving yourself positive feedback and watch your motivation soar

Before you start exercising

Before you start an exercise program, there are a few questions to ask yourself to determine whether you should see your doctor first.

Question Yourself

Your first step is to ask yourself how active you want to be. This may sound like a silly question—you’re probably planning on doing whatever you’re capable of, whether that’s a slow walk around the block or a vigorous step class. But if you’re of a certain age or have certain cardiovascular risk factors, you may need to see your physician before beginning a program that involves vigorous (as opposed to moderate) aerobic activity.

Here’s how exercise intensities are typically defined:

Low-to-Moderate

This is an intensity that can be sustained relatively comfortably for a long period of time (about 60 minutes). This type of exercise typically begins slowly, progresses gradually and usually isn’t competitive in nature. 

Vigorous

This is an intensity that is high enough to significantly raise both your heart and breathing rates, and is usually performed for about 20 minutes before fatigue sets in.

Are you planning to participate in vigorous activities and are a man over 45 or a woman over 55? You should receive a medical exam first. The same is true for individuals of any age with two or more coronary artery disease risk factors. If you’re unsure if this applies to you, check with your physician.

More Questions

Now that you’ve made it through the first questions, there are a few more to answer. A “yes” to any one of the following questions means you should talk with your doctor, by phone or in person, before you start an exercise program. Explain which questions you answered ‘’yes’’ to and the activities you are planning to pursue.

• Have you been told that you have a heart condition and should only participate in physical activity recommended by a doctor?
• Do you feel pain (or discomfort) in your chest when you do physical activity? When you are not participating in physical activity? While at rest, do you frequently experience fast, irregular heartbeats or very slow beats?
• Do you ever become dizzy and lose your balance, or lose consciousness? Have you fallen more than twice in the past year (no matter what the reason
• Do you have a bone or joint problem that could worsen as a result of physical activity? Do you have pain in your legs or buttocks when you walk?
• Do you take blood pressure or heart medications?
• Do you have any cuts or wounds on your feet that don’t seem to heal?
• Have you experienced unexplained weight loss in the past six months?
• Are you aware of any reason why you should not participate in physical activity?

If you answered “no” to all of these questions, and you passed the first round of questions, you can be reasonably sure that you can safely take part in at least a moderate-intensity physical-activity program.

But again, if you are a man over 45 or a woman over 55 and want to exercise more vigorously, you should check with your physician before getting started.

Britain is the fattest nation in Europe

Obesity rates are rising rapidly across Europe but the UK rate of 26.1 per cent is more than twice that in France, at 12.9 per cent, according to a strudy by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Only Hungary outranks Britain with an obesity rate of 28.5 per cent. More than half of Europeans are overweight or obese, according to the report on health across the 27-nation OECD.

Obesity is more prevalent in women than men in most countries – but fat men outnumber fat women in Norway, Iceland and Malta. The problem is worse among the poorer and less well educated. Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, asthma, arthritis and some forms of cancer are increased by obesity.

Many countries have stepped up efforts to tackle obesity. There have been taxes on foods high in fat and sugar, and several countries including Denmark, France, Finland and Hungary have passed legislation aimed at changing eating habits.

While obesity is rising, smoking and alcohol consumption are falling. Even so, the EU has the highest alcohol consumption in the world at 10.7 litres of pure alcohol per adult. Life expectancy in the EU was 79 years in 2010.http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/britain-is-the-fattest-nation-in-europe-8324262.html

Exercise facts for men and women

Exercise is Good for Women

A large-scale, six-year study involving 39,372 American women over age 44 confirms that exercise reduces the risk of coronary heart disease in women.

The study found that the more energy women spent exercising, the lower their risk of developing heart disease, including heart attacks, regardless of other factors.

Among the approximately 23,000 women who did not engage in any vigorous activity, women who walked as little as one hour per week had about half the risk of more sedentary women of developing heart disease.

Intensity was less of a factor than the total amount of time spent walking.

Exercise is Good for Men.

Men who exercise have a reduced risk of dying from both cardiovascular disease and cancer.

And, according to a new report from researchers in Finland, being out of shape increases the risk of premature death as much as commonly known risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and smoking.

These findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on a 10-year study of nearly 1,300 men.

At the start of the study, none of the participants, whose average age was 52, had cardiovascular disease, lung disease or cancer.

Researchers found that those who performed well on a maximum oxygen uptake test and could exercise longer were more likely to be alive at the end of the study.

Conversely, men who performed poorly were three times more likely to die from any cause.

Exercise Essentials

During a recent  survey over 36,000 certified Fitness Professionals were asked to name their single most important exercise items.

Some answers were obvious (my body), while others were more abstract (daily goals, plenty of space).

Here are their top 12 exercise essentials

          Good shoes

                      Fun or appropriate music

                      Free weights

.                   A positive attitude

                      Comfortable clothing

                      Fresh, clean air and/or sunshine

                      A supportive sports bra

                      Safe, well-made equipment (e.g., cardio machines, heart-rate monitors

                      Weight-training gloves

1                  Enough time

                       A workout partner

                       Lots of water

But How Much Water is Too Much?

While dehydration is a more common concern for exercisers, some experts think the public should be aware of the danger of drinking too much water, which can lead to a potentially fatal condition called hyponatremia.

Characterized by an abnormally low blood concentration of sodium, it is most often seen at extremely high-endurance events such as ultra-marathons.

Hyponatremia is more common among women than men, and was responsible for the death of a 43-year-old woman running in the Chicago Marathon last year.

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, headache and disorientation, and bloating in the face and hands.

Research suggests that drinking about two cups of fluid two hours before exercise and another six to eight ounces every 20 minutes can help optimise performance.

Some exercisers may opt to measure the amount of fluid they lose by weighing themselves before and after exercise to determine the number of pounds lost through perspiration. For every pound lost, experts recommend drinking one pint of fluid during exercise.

Sports drinks may also be a good choice because they help replace lost sodium and have been shown to enhance performance during prolonged exercise.

Fitness Myths

Top Six Fitness Myths

Don,t you find it overwhelming when you start reading all the suggestions and advice and do's and dont's about what you should do with your body.

With so much health and fitness information coming from so many different sources, it's no wonder people are confused.

What does it take to get fit? Will crunches get rid of my spare tire? What’s the best way to lose weight? These are the types of questions numerous certified Fitness Professionals hear on a daily basis.

In a recent survey around the globe more than 1,500  certified Professionals responded to our request for the most pervasive myths and misconceptions about exercise.

And here are  their top six responses which makes interesting reading.

1. Women who lift weights will get bulky muscles.
2. 
   

If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want.

Exercise requires a hefty time commitment.

1. Spot reducing is possible.
2. 
   
3. No pain, no gain.
4. 
   
5. There’s a magic bullet (quick fix) out there somewhere.

Simple ways to get healthy

We’re all less physically active than we used to be, mainly because of the sort of jobs we do. Regular exercise, playing sport or taking some form of physical activity for 30 minutes at least five days a week will have a positive effect on your health.

Regular exercise can help increase your energy levels, reduce stress and burn fat to keep your weight down. It can also keep organs, like your heart, healthy.

You could go to a gym, join a class or go for a swim. You can join in with teamsports, such as football or netball. If you’re short of time, why not keep fit by riding a bike or walking briskly instead of driving or taking the bus.

There are many ways to get fit and do some simple daily and weekly exercise and the aim of this blog is to educate, inform and encourage you to look after your body.

I will recommend activities, food and  drink that are vital for good health, I will post interesting articals on general health, both mental and physical and recommend books, digital information, health courses and a wide range of health and fitness advise all tailored to help you stay healthy to look after yourself and your body to enjoy and live a long healthy life.

My own passion is health and fitness and I want to share my passion with others who care about their bodies.