There are many factors that cause us to increase body weight, yet three stand out from the rest. Our genetic make up: Every cell in our body has a central control panel, that is a nucleus that contains our genes and chromosomes. This is the instruction manual for your body and this is inherited from your parents. It is this instruction manual that is largely responsible for how your body, and even your mind, behaves. The environment in which we live: Our personal environment may also contribute or cue you to adopt poor eating or exercise habits. This is especially true in today’s society, which is dominated by speed and convenience. For example, escalators, elevators and remote-control appliances make us less physically active. Also, greater availability and the constant marketing of foods that are high in calories, fat and added sugars, and larger portion sizes promote unhealthy eating behaviors. There may also be personal reasons why you are consuming too many kilojoules from food and drinks, or not being physically active enough. For example, when feeling down or bored you may eat more than you need, or if you are feeling depressed it is more difficult to get active. Knowing the reason why you may be consuming excess kilojoules or not participating in physical activity, is an important first step in changing your lifestyle habits to help you reach a healthy weight. Our lifestyle: What we eat and drink and how active we are. This is the gradual gain in weight as a result of eating food and not exercising enough. The extent to which we can affect our genetic make up and our environment are limited. However, lifestyle is the area in which we can significantly manage and if need be, improve our body weight to ensure we maintain a healthy weight for our height, age and gender. This is why learning a healthy nutritious eating pattern and adopting it for life, that is, lifestyle changes has a significant impact on our ability to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Gaining and losing weight works according to some a simple biological principle. When you consume more energy in the form of food and drinks that your body uses each day you will gain weight. When you consume less energy in the form of food and drinks that your body requires each day you will lose weight. Despite what some advertisers would have use believe, weight loss does not occur as a result of any of the following: * Supplements that will melt the fat while you sleep or while you wash * Exercises that don’t take any effort and cause no sweat * Unique food combinations that will allow you to eat what you want and still lose weight In order to lose weight you will need to know approximately your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Your RMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest in a 24 hour period. When your body gets about 500 less calories than it needs each day as a result of eating less or exercising more, you will lose one pound of weight per week. To illustrate how efficient the human body is in motion, the average female would need to go for a brisk walk for 1.5 to 2.0 hours in order to burn 500 calories. When you consume 500 calories a day more than your body’s requirements, you will gain approximately one pound a week! To illustrate how easy it is to gain weight, one 7oz bag of corn chips has approximately 1000 calories. If you ate a bag of corn chips every day in addition to three square meals its possible you could gain 2 pounds in a week!
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In any business, the one who communicates the best usually wins. Our Home Office team takes the important task of making sure that every Vemma product, website, magazine and brochure stays on the cutting edge very seriously. We know that, as Vemma Members, our success at this task helps you present the business opportunity. We also know that you appreciate our efforts. And now, we’ve just learned that others appreciate it as well! On June 5th we were informed that the V2 Fridge Brick was a distinguished recipient of TWO ‘Award of Excellence’ designations from the 13th Annual Communicator Awards for print media. One award for the V2 Fridge Brick was in the Marketing/Promotion category and the other in the Corporate Identity category. The Communicator Awards is an international awards competition that recognizes outstanding works in the communication field. The entries are judged by industry professionals who look for companies whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serve as a benchmark for the entire industry. The Award of Excellence is presented to those entrants whose ability to communicate makes them the best in their field! Not that we’re going to name drop here, but some of the companies that shared this designation in the past with Vemma were: General Mills, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Dell and Microsoft just to name a few! What we’re most proud of is that all the conceptualization and design for this product was achieved entirely in house by your very own Vemma Home Office creative team. Now when you’re sharing the Fridge Brick, you can say it’s won TWO awards for design and marketing. Award winning products, state-of-the-art websites and phenomenal compensation…at Vemma, we do it all for you! Why does Vemma use fructose as a sweetener in some of its products? We use fructose because it is an all-natural compound/sweetener that is known to have the lowest Glycemic Index* of any of the simple sugars. Because of this, fructose results in lower blood glucose levels after ingestion, making it the preferred sweetener for individuals with diabetes and other insulin-related problems.** Additionally, fructose works the best in terms of mixing capabilities and taste masking properties. It masks the natural bitterness of minerals and mangosteen pericarp without creating a chemical sweetness-like taste. It is important to note that the fructose amount in Vemma is 8 grams per serving. As a comparison, there is 12 grams of fructose in one large apple. So, relative to the amount of natural sugar we take in on a daily basis, 8 grams is very small. http://www.myvemma.com/ronelpret
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Many shoppers only seem to have an abstract understanding of the benefits of organic foods and products on the environment and their health. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Many people believe that genetic engineering is dangerous, unpredictable, and can reduce the nutritional value of food. But the FDA has said that the amount of hormones used in commercial livestock isn’t enough to harm humans. As a result to be deemed organic, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products must come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Typically organic fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs and meat products are produced within a 50-mile radius of their place of their final sale. Organic produce refers to vegetables that are grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. Only naturally occurring fertilizer, like manure can be used to grow organic produce. While it is still better to eat non-organic vegetables than no vegetables at all, consumers are starting see the value in organic products. The natural and organic skin care product sector has seen a growth of thirty nine percent over the last year. The product formulations rely entirely on natural or naturally-derived ingredients. These products do not use any artificial preservatives. The FDA does not regulate skin care manufacturers, questionable ingredients often make their way into their formulas. Some of these products may claim to be all-natural, while still containing a slew of chemicals and toxins. As a consumer if a skin care product contains an ingredient that you are unsure about, write down it’s name and do a little research. If a product claims to be all natural, its ingredients should be easily recognizable as natural components. Scrutinize the first several listings in the product to be sure that they are the natural ingredients you are looking for. Dirt, dust, pollutants, and other environmental pollutants enter the body through the skin, providing a more significant gateway to your system, so it is important to be aware of what products contain. In response to a growing demand on the part of consumers, more and more organic foods and products are flooding the market. Even in mainstream supermarkets, certified organic foods and organic skin care products are available. Demand for organic production is increasing by at least 40 per cent each year. And while in some cases the price for organic raw materials may be 3 to 4 times more expensive than conventional. If consumer demand increases, prices should continue to drop.
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If you need to drop and few kilos and don’t know where to get started, stop counting calories and start counting colours. When it comes to losing weight, make sure your plate is piled high with a range of colourful fruit and vegetables. You’ll naturally create more balance and health-filled menus. Why? Colour not only brightens your mood – but also your diet. Load your plate with fruit and veges like a box of crayons in colours such as red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, white and green and you’ll also be filling up on power packed phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are naturally occurring chemicals which combat disease, including cancer. Go easy on the beige and brown foods such as pasta and startchy carbs. When there are too many of these drab colours on your plate, weight gain is almost certain. That’s because these beige foods often are high in calories and can leave you feeling hungry later. A cup of beige or brown beans can be over 200 calories….but a cup of red or green vegetables is under a hundred! Add fresh greens, deep purple-reds and bright yellow-orange to a meal, and water the nutrient content go up, while calories go down! Plus, you’ll get more enjoyment from eating when there’s a variety of colours and flavours on your plate. According to Dr David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. and author of “What Color Is Your Diet” the key to designing your colourful diet is to choose from a range of different colour groups: Blue/purple fruits and vegetables contain varying amounts of health-promoting phytochemicals such as anthocyanins and phenolics. Choose from a range including blueberries, blackberries, eggplant, plums, raisins. These assist in memory function. Green group includes broccoli; Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and bok choi. These foods stimulate the genes in your liver to turn on the production of enzymes that break down the cancer-causing chemicals in the body. The yellow/green group includes green peas, avocado and honeydew melon. These promote eye health. The yellow/orange group includes carrots, mangoes, apricots, rock melon and pumpkin. These contain carotenoids (beta carotene is one), fierce antioxidants that help prevent cancer and assist to lower heart-attack risk. The white group includes bananas, white peaches, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, mushrooms and are helpful to maintain heart health. The red group includes tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon all of which contain lycopene. Lycopene is associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. The red/purple group includes grapes, grape juice, prunes, cranberries, strawberries and red apples. These foods contain anthocyanins which have a beneficial effect on heart disease by inhibiting blood clot formation.
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If only we could solve this question, the world (for many) would be a better place! Well, the reality is that there are real answers to this question that will apply to many people. It will take a good dose of reality and a brave heart to stop denying what really happens. Read on to discover some answers that may change your life forever and give you the impetus to lose weight and keep it off! Justification? Being overweight can be used as an excuse for being unhappy, especially when you do not do anything to help yourself. Subconsciously, over-eating is a comfort for many people and this then allows them to hide behind their weight problem and helps them to justify rejection and avoid being hurt. They can then shift the blame of rejection on their weight-problem, without addressing other aspects of their fears. Sometimes it seems easier to hide behind your “weight problem”, than address other matters where you may have a greater fear of failure. Eating Without Thinking? If you are concentrating on another activity while you are eating you are more likely to overeat because you are not fully aware of how full you are feeling. This factor can be difficult to change because it is not a conscious action. Try to only eat when you don’t have a lot of other distractions. Sit down, eat slowly and enjoy the food you are eating, and remember that it is not always necessary to go back for seconds. It takes 20 minutes for food to reach your stomach and for your brain to register that you are full. Cravings? The famous “Pavlov’s dogs” were conditioned to eat at the sound of a bell, and we human are much the same when it comes to habitual cravings. If you wonder why you always feel like a chocolate when you sit down to watch a movie, or you have to have a box of popcorn….think again. You are not necessarily craving these foods because you are hungry, but rather consider force of habit. During the time when you have a craving, try to ask yourself whether you are really hungry or not. If you are hungry, reach for a low fat snack rather than a chocolate bar or bag of crisps. Indulging? Eating or thinking about food can be a distraction from your troubles and you may therefore be unnecessarily over-eating. Emotions and hormones can trigger certain cravings, for example, if you are feeling low, chocolate and carbohydrates assist the production of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin helps you feel happier. This is why we might crave sweet or starchy foods during times of sadness or stress. If you identify with any of the above factors, you could be on your way towards discovering what is triggering you to overeat.
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1. Go for a walk even when the weather is really cold – your body has to work overtime to get warm and you may burn up to 50% more calories than you would on the same walk in summer! But remember, go a little slower until you get warm and keep up the hydration. 2. If you find it hard to get motivated to exercise in winter…just think of spring and how much harder it is to get back into shape rather than maintain your fitness throughout the winter. 3. Be aware of tendonitis and stress fracture if you don’t exercise in winter and expect to pick up where you left off after a whole winter with no exercise. 4. Instead of picking up a cup of hot chocolate to keep yourself warm, try a herbal beverage. 5. Gain an interest in indoor sports as opposed to cycling and jogging outdoors. Don’t forget that swimming at an indoor pool is an option for a great cardio workout! 6. The cold air and indoor heaters can dry out your skin. Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water each day and use moisturizers throughout winter. 7. Buy some indoor plants to soften up the dry atmosphere caused through heating. Indoor plants give off moisture and oxygen and the colours will brighten up a dull day outside. 8. Caught a cold or flu? If the infection is above the neck (nose, throat) you could be OK to complete a low intensity workout. However, if you have symptoms that are worse than an average cold (chest congestion, muscle aches), exercise will only make you worse and delay your recovery. Rest is the best medicine. 9. Wear the right clothes when exercising in winter. Polypropylene is the perfect fabric to wear underneath a tracksuit, which will provide great insulation but minimise moisture loss. Gore-Tex is a fabric used widely for providing protection from the rain and wind. 10. Feel like sitting on the couch with a video and snacking on a cold, wet day? Reach for a protein bar or packet of soy nuts instead of high energy, high fat snacks.