Whether your next season is Spring or Autumn, a change in season is a great time to renew your commitment to weight management and shape up and have fun doing so! Who said losing weight needs to be boring! No so. Here are three fantastic calorie consuming activities that are most enjoyable in the cooler seasons, but somewhat impractical for most people in the height of winter and summer months. Spring is the perfect time to get into the garden before the hot days of summer. If you are just finishing your summer, now is the perfect time to do all those last minute pruning and weeding that was just too hot to do a few weeks ago. There’s nothing like gardening to help tone muscles and burn up additional calories. Weekend Rambling – forget sleepy Sundays, get out and about on a walk with family and friends. Find an opening and play some lively games like football, frisbee or cricket! Walking Holiday – if you normally take ‘lazy beach breaks’ it’s time for a change. There are so many beautiful places to visit that you may never have considered before. Get out and explore….and your legs will get a terrific tone-up! Why Not…. Participate in vigorous voluntary work. Give a few hours a week to a good cause. There are plenty of charities that need help with gardening and odd jobs such as painting, handiwork and maintenance. Spend more time playing with the kids in the garden. Forego hotel niceties and enjoy weekends away camping. Take up action cricket or soccer and meet new people in the process. Get the bikes out for a regular leisurely ride or if you feel more energetic, join a cycling club. Start today! If you focus on having energetic fun, you’ll lose weight effortlessly!
Tag-Archive for ◊ weight ◊
Are you more or less constantly thinking about your weight, or whether you’re eating or not eating? Do you find that at times when you start eating that you just can’t stop yourself? And then when your clothes don’t fit do you decide to resolve that by eating more? Often as a consequence of this common behaviour is that you will feel bad about yourself and imagine that everyone is thinking how big you are, thus increasing your anxiety about your eating and image, so that you eat more to comfort yourself. You might not believe it yet there are steps you can take to get you out this self-destructive cycle and turn around the negative feelings that you experience. When we are in these ‘mind-traps’ we are habitually repeating thought patterns and acting on them without questioning where they come from and what they do for us. A simple question such as: ‘What will that do for me?’ can often be the beginning of understanding ourselves better and our behaviour. Approaching the problem in this way can be the first step towards doing things differently. It works like this: a bad experience gives you the urge to go to the biscuit tin and eat as many biscuits as you can. But this time, instead of binging on biscuits, as yourself: ‘What will that do for me?’ If the answer is something like ‘It gives me a treat,’ ask yourself: ‘And if I have this treat, what does that do for me?; Again, wait for your answer, it may be something like, ‘If I have this treat then I will feel appreciated.’ If this is your response carry on and ask yourself: ‘If I get to feel appreciated, what does that do for me?’ Listen for an answer and keep asking yourself the same question, until you can go no further with your responses. What you’re looking for is the higher motivation behind the behaviour ‘eating too many biscuits’. By doing this on a regular basis you will get in touch with what you really want and take your first step to controlling the food cravings. I worked with a client who was unhappy with her weight and eating. Her name was Mary, a wife and working mother of two young boys. We did this exercise and she realised that she wanted to feel comforted. When we looked at other aspects of her life it became clear that she never put herself first in terms of what she wanted and one way or another she now felt unappreciated and lacking. Mary also realised that rarely gave her self permission to have ‘me time’ to do things like soak in a luxurious bath, or go out with friends, or watch what she wanted on TV, These all may seem like small trivial things, but added together they became the source of her feelings of being invisible, not appreciated and generally unloved. Mary worked on creating ways that she could reward, comfort and appreciate herself that didn’t have to mean eating. Very soon she became very clear about her goals and how to achieve them. People around her noticed a change and responded by being more receptive and positive towards her. As a result, she easily shed weight, looked and was much happier, and forgot all about eating for comfort.
Related posts
Losing weight doesn’t have to be boring when you focus on living foods. What does this mean? Simply by making sure your plate reflects a range of colours, you’ll naturally create more balanced and healthful menus complete with a range of living foods. What are living foods? They are re live, colourful, fresh and raw – fruits, vegetables and salads! Let’s Look At The Positives 1. Colourful foods have no preservatives and no added colour! 2. Provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, water and trace elements. 3. Have a high water content – an excellent source of hydration for the body. 4. Are visually appetising. 5. Their firm textures demand a good chew, so we eat them more slowly and feel full afterwards. 6. Are quickly and easily processed and assimilated by the body – less work for the digestive system. 7. Are safer – contain less undesirable man-made chemicals. 8. Are as nature intended (unlike processed, pre-packaged modern fast foods!) 9. Are pure energy – living food. Consuming Cooked Foods 1. Heat destroys the vitalising nutrients in colourful foods. So much so that sometimes, you may as well be eating cardboard for all the good it does your body! 2. The effectiveness of fibre in cooked fresh foods is reduced – vegetables that are floppy and overcooked pass through the body with a reduced ‘cleansing’ action. 3. If you cook vegetables, always steam them lightly and aim to retain their ‘crunch’! 4. Cooked vegetables tend to turn out soft and therefore require less chewing, which means they are usually eaten more quickly, so are less satisfying. 5. Heat also destroys the enzymes in fresh foods, which are essential for digestion. This means the body has to tap into its own precious supply of enzymes to support the digestive process. 6. Heat also destroys the enzymes in fresh foods, which are essential for digestion. This means the body has to tap into its own precious supply of enzymes to support the digestive process.
Related posts
These days, there is a great deal of pressure for overweight people aroundthe world to lose those excess pounds. Being closer to their ideal weight would not only lead them to have a healthier lifestyle but it will also literally lighten their load, and improve their overall well-being. There is a long list of dieting options available. There are exercise programs, exercise machines, dietary supplements, dietary food and drinks, diet pills – there are even soaps which claim to help you lose pounds while you bathe. One other available option to shed off those unwanted pounds is to go herbal. Herbal weight loss products have been in great demand for people who want to lose weight the natural way. However, when you take herbal supplements to lose weight, you would have to wait for a longer time for the results because of the more subtle effects of medicines which came from plants and natural herbs. Here are some herbal weight loss options that you might want to consider: 1. Herbal weight loss products There are a lot of herbal weight loss products available in the market now. You can check out the Internet and you will find a lot of herbal weight loss pills and products. Be careful, however, as there are some products which claim to be safe and natural because they are herbal, but some actually have side effects because of non-extensive research on the effects of these products. Here are some ingredients and chemicals which make up some herbal weight loss products that you should watch out for, as they might have harmful effects to your health: > Senna. This is an herbal laxative. Senna is a main ingredient in weight loss teas, and it works by stimulation the colon. The downside effect of this herb is dehydration. It can also lead to colon problems and can become addictive. Some people, when addicted, are unable to perform bowel movements without it, so watch out. > Chromium picolinate. This is a synthetic compound found in herbal weight loss products. Chromium is a nutrient which helps regulate blood-sugar level. However, this ingredient, when taken in high doses, may cause damage in the chromosomes. It can also lead to dehydration. > St. John’s wort. This supplement increases the production of a chemical in the brain. If not used properly, it may cause eye and skin sensitivity, mild gastrointestinal distress, fatigue and itching. Although a lot of herbal products claim to be safe and natural, it is better to scrutinize the ingredients and research about the effects of the product itself before going for these herbal dietary pills. 2. Organic food. Around the world organic food has found its way to more homes and restaurants. Organic food devotees believe that consuming organic goodies help their bodies as well as the environment. A person who buys organically raised eggs and vegetables claim to be healthier, and they are not spending money on doctors and prescriptions as these keep them healthier and away from the hospital. This could also be an option for weight watchers, as organic food is known to be kinder to your weight than chemically-processed food products. 3. Green Tea. Studies show that intake of green tea, or green tea extracts burns extra calories. Also, green tea with caffeine can increase fat burning by up to 40% thereby reducing fat. This is one good option for those who want to lose weight. In a study done, people who took green tea were found to lose 2 to 3 times more weight than those who did not drink green tea. These results show that green tea is a natural product for the treatment of obesity. Thus, it also makes for a healthier dietary option, not to mention the good effects that it has on the body as compared to caffeine. A cup of tea gives an emmediate energy lift without the side effects of caffeine. 3. Caffeine. Coffee provides an energy boost to increase fat burning. Caffeine also provides a likelihood to be active, which in turn increases your rate of calorie burn. 4. Immortality Herb This herb, whose scientific name is Gymnostemna Pentaphyllum, is known to have the following benefits: > increases healthy blood flow > reduces artery blocks > aids healthy blood pressure > increases the rate of fat burning 5. Apple Cider Vinegar There are pills and food supplements whose main ingredient is apple cider vinegar. Here are the benefits of taking this herbal option: > weight loss > improved cholesterol level > improved high blood pressure > helps prevent rheumatoid arthritis