Winter Weight Loss Tips for 2012

It is easy to gain weight in the winter. With fewer daylight hours and the colder weather people tend to hibernate indoors, watching TV, playing on the computer and snacking. These winter blues actually have a name - it is called SAD disorder or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Extreme fatigue and craving for carbohydrates often leads to increased appetite and weight gain. The weight gain often leads to depression. Findings published in the journal of Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, show an association between obesity and depression, suggesting that people who are obese may be more apt to become depressed. The reverse is also true; People who are depressed are more likely to become obese. That is why during the winter blue period it is more important than ever to manage diet and exercise.
Here are some tips to get you through the winter doldrums:

1. Get outside every day, no matter the weather for at least 5 minutes or so. According to some reports your body produces vitamin D when your skin is exposed to the ultraviolet B (UVB) rays in sunlight. Depending on where you live, you need from 5 to 30 minutes of exposure to the skin on your face, arms, back or legs (some of it without sunscreen - but be mindful of burning the skin) a few times every week.
2. Don't snack endlessly. Measure out a 100 calorie snack and limit yourself to just that while watching TV. Try cutting up a bowl of cucumbers, celery sticks or even a handful of frozen grapes for healthy low-calorie snacks if you are still hungry beyond your 100 calorie treat.
3. Go for a walk. Try sneaking in two 15 minute walks or 30 minutes a day, to get your body moving and burn some calories. Snow piled up outside? Temperatures too cold? Many Shopping Malls now have early opening hours for walkers to lap around the long corridors. However, stores and other such facilities generally do not open at this early hour to distract you from your walk. Mall walkers appreciate the comfortable indoor climate and there is easy access to restrooms. By the time you finish your walk, the coffee kiosk may be open and you can reward yourself with a coffee with skim milk.
4. Try loading up on vegetables. Fill 50% of your plate with vegetables at both lunch and dinner. Split the other half with a protein and healthy carbs for example, brown rice or quinoa.
5. Drink green tea. Green tea is loaded with anti-oxidants and has less caffeine than other teas. Avoid sugary soda's and juices that are loaded with empty and wasted calories. Green tea tastes wonderful hot or iced. Try to get in 4-8 glasses per day, the tea will keep you hydrated plus flush away the toxins from your digestive system.

Just sticking to these 5 easy tips will help you get the required daily dose of sun exposure that keeps the blues away. A bit of exercise motivates you to eat healthier and burn calories, keeping weight in check and last but not least, a healthy calorie conscious diet will help you to maintain a healthy winter weight.

Jennifer Hughs is the pen name for the health and lifestyles writer who is compensated by Value Marketing, Inc. d/b/a Lab88. The author has 20+ years in the cosmetic and health industries and has worked with leading beauty and health publications.

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Get Rid of Flabby Arms With the Preacher Curls Exercise

If you want to get rid of unwanted pounds and get in shape, then incorporating a combination of resistance training and cardiovascular exercises into your daily routine makes an excellent way to achieve your objective. Cardiovascular exercises particularly jogging and swimming help you burn fat and shrink your waist. These exercises enhance your energy expenditure, increase the heart beat and improve the flexibility of your body. Resistance training exercises increase your resting metabolic rate, and increase the size and strength of your muscles. Well-built and strong muscles help burn more calories even while sleeping.
Besides weight loss, resistance training also confers many benefits on the health of exercisers. It helps reduce risk for falls and increases the muscle mass. It improves postural stability, functional capacity and range of motion. Moreover, it helps decrease blood pressure and improves the health of your cardiovascular system. Another health benefit of resistance training is that it improves your blood lipid profile and relieves low-back pain.
There is a long list of resistance training exercises to choose from. Preacher Curls makes an excellent resistance training exercise that helps increase the size and strength of your arms. Perform this exercise at least twice a week to get rid of flabby arms.
You should begin this exercise by lying on your stomach on an exercise ball with a dumbbell in your each hand. Let weights hang down. Next step is to curl dumbbells up toward your shoulders. Return to the starting position to complete one repetition. Perform 2 sets, 10-15 reps each.
Preacher Curls makes a medium difficulty exercise and should be performed in the supervision of an expert professional fitness trainer to reduce the risk of an injury. There are many benefits to hiring the services of a personal trainer. First of all, he or she will help you put together a dedicated weight-loss program suited specifically to meet your needs. Second of all, a gym trainer will serve as your coach, walking you through the fat loss process. Moreover, he will also guide you on what you should and shouldn't eat. Last but not the least; a personal trainer will help you progress through your fitness routine.
Cutting down on your calories intake is also essential to achieve your desired weight-loss results. Doughnuts contain high amounts of trans fat, free radicals, sugar, white flour, and calories and their consumption should be avoided. French fries and other commercially fried foods are high in calories and their frequent consumption may lead to weight gain. Foods that are fried in animal oils can produce damaging free radicals in your body. Replace the unhealthy food items with fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains. Drink a lot of water and consume lean cuts of meat. Avoid smoking and drink alcohol in moderation.

Guy Long offers Personal Training in Prahran and is a PersonalTrainer in St Kilda where he specializes in resistance training, body transformation, weight control, and overall muscular strength for local residents.

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Reasons Why You Should Buy Shake Weight

If you are looking for ways on how you can increase your weight effectively, you must be wary of the latest products that aim to help you do this task. The market is filled of the various equipments and devices that promise to enhance your body physique and make you add some weight by focusing in the development of your body muscles. One of the products that are now gaining lot of attention and recognition from most people is the Shake Weight.
What is this Shake Weight? If you are just new in the field of body building, then it is not surprising if you will be clueless about this stuff. But if you are one of the individuals who are spending long hours inside the gym just to sweat it out to enhance your muscles. Most probably you have already heard about this product.
Shake Weight is the latest work of technology that can help you to achieve what you are longing to have. If you will take a look at the different reviews of this product, you will see that there are many people that have already benefited from it. In fact, they are even telling and encouraging their friends and relatives to buy Shake Weigh as well.
One of the things that you will surely notice when you see this item is its big resemblance to the regular dumbbells that you are using in your gym. However, their similarities have to end there since this one will not require you to lift it. Although it weighs about 5 lbs, you will not use it just like the typical gym equipment. What you will do with it is that you will shake it dynamically for about 5 minutes so you will get its benefits.
If you will observe the market today, this product is almost everywhere. This only shows that the demand for this item is very high as each person would like to buy Shake Weight and have a taste of its benefits.
Although you might have some reservations on it, there are many people who can attest to you the effectiveness of this equipment. Just look at the Internet and you will see and read the different positive comments and the inspiring stories how particular individuals have successfully gained weight with the help of this device.
If you are really serious in your quest to increase your muscle in natural way without the need to drink of any enhancer or supplement, then this product is the right one for you. All you have to do is to buy Shake Weight and see the changes that will happen to you in the next days.

Alison Gilbert writes about buy Shake Weight for the best price on her blog, visit the buy Shake Weight blog to read more on this topic.

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Is Your Goal Really a Dramatic Weight Loss? (You Must Lose Weight)

Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a goal weight that you want to reach through a dramatic weight loss? (you must lose weight)
I would say, we have been led to believe that weight loss is great. However there is lot of misinformation out there about how to do it. There are weight loss supplements, guides, and many other things that will cause weight loss. Many people even set their goals to be at a certain weight, which can make things even more confusing.
So let me ask you a question. Is your goal really a dramatic weight loss? Unless you are trying to get into some competitive sport, but what you're really trying to lose is that flubry stuff "FAT". Right? So then, why do we measure our development by how much we weigh? Why do you use a bathroom scale and pray its lower today? (you must lose weight) You see, our weight is influenced by more than just how much fat is on our body. This includes water, glycogen, muscle and if we have eaten something earlier on. Our water weight fluctuates constantly. When we sweat we are sweating out water. There are many other factors that can affect the amount of water in our body. Water is what mostly causes that random loss or gain in weight. The no-carb diets are popular because of the large initial loss in weight. However this weight is not necessarily fat! When carbohydrates intake is lowered, then our body uses whats stored in the muscles and liver known as glycogen. When you limit the intake of carbohydrates, your body starts using its own stored glycogen.
However if you want to really start seeing a dramatic weight loss you have to build up more muscles. The more muscle you have the more fat is burned. Try to imagine your muscles as a fat burning furnace and the larger your furnace is the more weight loss occurs even when you're Sleeping. This gain in muscle can also affect the numbers you see on the scale. Muscle is also more dense than fat. However over time you are going to be amazed at how that scale will work in your favor. If you don't want to go out and buy expensive gym equipment take a look at this site to get some inspiration how to be creative with what you most likely already have laying around your own home, so you can be on your way to that dramatic weight loss. Your new goal should be for fat loss. Don't trust that scale all the time since it can be deceiving, and remember that it's almost impossible to lose a pound of fat in a day.

dramatic weight loss

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Easy Tips for Successful Weight Loss

Have you been trying to lose weight but are unhappy with the results? Are you taking advice from any and every one, only to find that none of it works? You may not realize that there are things that you can do on your own to aid in you losing weight successfully. Not only can you do them alone, you can do them effortlessly.
Water as a Tool
Believe it or not, when you're attempting to lose weight, water is a great tool for various reasons. People have to remember that the body is made of mostly water. The '8-glasses a day' rule may be a bit outdated. Why would you limit the body of the element of which it primarily made of? In terms of weight loss, water serves many purposes.
First, not only does it keep the body hydrated and replenished; it also aids the metabolism in converting fat cells to muscle. Aside from that, consuming water at least 10 minutes prior to meals can help diminish your appetite; causing you to eat less that you normally would. So, not only does water aid in transforming fat to muscle, it acts as a natural appetite suppressor; which may be healthier than options available on the market.
Don't Starve Yourself
Losing weight doesn't require some obscene diet where portion control is the key. It's not how much you eat, but what you eat. The one thing that you should never do when trying to lose weight is skip breakfast. A breakfast that consists of 300-400 calories is ideal. Breakfast is vital to boosting your metabolism after it has rested overnight. Try to keep your daily caloric intake below 1500; while splitting the calories up between 3 meals and 2 snacks. This is when fruits and vegetables, which are generally calorie free, become your friend.
Another thing that you should remember is that not all carbohydrates and fats are bad. The body needs carbs to convert to energy; which in turn is used to convert fat to muscle. The key is to exhibit healthy eating habits by opting for carbs that the body will use instead of storing them in the body's fat storage.
People hear the word "fat" and assume that they aren't supposed to have it. Monounsaturated fats are considered "healthy" fats. When you are attempting to lose weight naturally, the goal is to refrain from consuming saturated fats. The body has a hard time using them and stores what isn't used.
Workout Myths
Another problem that people encounter when they are attempting to lose weight is the many myths in regards to working out. Your workout has to work in conjunction with your diet. The first myth that people have to stop believing is that they must work out, intensely, on a daily basis.
Constant, intense workouts will cause the body will no longer respond to the exercises that you are performing. This is called a "plateau". To workout effectively, an intense routine should be performed 3 times a week; with low intensity routines in the breaks. After a few weeks of working out, regularly, you should take a week off. The body builds muscle when it's resting.
As you can see, there are things that can be done to aid in your weight loss effort and all of them are relatively easy. Many people struggle with weight loss but it doesn't have to be a battle that you can't win. Diligence and dedication, strong will and determination are all you need to accomplish your weight loss goals.

For every lesson in life, there's an article to be written!

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Good Eating Habits - Three Things You Can Do To Keep The Weight Off

Savor The Flavor... That is what most of us want when we eat. That, and we hate to waste our money. Funny how those two things have worked together to make half of our population overweight.
Most of us have bad eating habits. We indulge in food and we love to eat. When we go out to a restaurant, we usually eat everything on our plate. Mainly it is because we want to get our money's worth. And watch us pig out when we go where there is a buffet to enjoy. Most of us are not even aware of what we are doing. Our habits have made us big and we are not happy with the way we look.
Food is good, whether at home or if we go out to eat. Food, and overeating, is what makes us fat. That is not entirely accurate. Food is good for you, but it is how much you eat that can cause you to put on extra pounds and make you fat.
It takes a lot of discipline to change our eating habits.
But it is possible.
It is possible to get into those skinny jeans.
It is possible to get admiring stares from men and women.
It is possible to have a beach ready body in January.
Here is how you can do it.
1. At home, either have a salad or some fresh fruit before eating the main course. If salad or fresh fruit is not available, then drink about eight ounces of water before your meal. The idea is to partially fill up before you eat more high calorie food.
2. When you go out to eat, order a salad with no salad dressing. If a salad without dressing is not appetizing, then order a lite or reduced calorie dressing. Eat it slowly to give your stomach and brain time to communicate with each other. That will help give you the full feeling and may keep you from eating everything on your plate.
3. If you go to a buffet, head for the salad and fresh fruit first. Have something that is high fiber and will help fill you up without loading you up on calories. Then head for the rest of the buffet. The food is usually awesome and very, very plentiful.
Remember one thing, though. People are watching you and they will judge you by how much food you pile on your plate. It is part of human nature. We all do it and we seldom think of ourselves as being one of the judged. The thing that I find amusing is that some people will pile their plates high with high calorie, high fat food and order a diet soda to help lose weight.
Here is something else you can do.
Put smaller portions on your plate. You can always go back for seconds (or thirds) and other people will admire you for your will power and ability to resist the mountains of delicious food that are available for one small price.
Take time to enjoy your food, eat slowly and savor the flavor with each bite. You can love to eat and still keep the weight off.

If you are truly interested in losing weight, stop watching your weight and start watching the amount of food you consume every day. CLICK HERE and get a lot more free tips and information about keeping the weight off and learning how to love how you look.

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What Is Raw Food and Why You Should Eat It

The raw food movement has been growing rapidly over the last few years, by now you have probably heard someone talking about a raw diet, or their friend on a raw diet. What does this mean, and why would anyone want to eat raw?
Food that's considered raw ranges from fruits and vegetables to unpasteurized dairy, raw nuts and seeds, and uncooked meat products. Most people who eat raw consume a mainly vegan diet, so raw milk and sashemi are not consumed regularly. Most who convert to a raw diet do so to achieve the health benefits that many claim to attain after changing their diet. Some of the reasons people eat raw are as follows.
1. Nature knows more about digestion and nutrition than science. It's true that our scientific knowledge about the body and nutrition is growing steadily, but the amount that is unknown is still astronomical. Some people dislike the compartmentalization of the body by science and the isolation of singular nutrients from food, saying a holistic approach is much more effective to health and vitality.
2. Raw food contains enzymes that help with digestion. These enzymes are destroyed by heat, so once food is cooked over a certain temperature the enzymes become damaged. Some people think this is why those who eat mainly raw food tend to look younger than their years.
3. Uncooked and unprocessed foods have life force. Also known as chi or prana, life force is the energy that is contained in living foods. Consuming this life force has spiritual and health benefits for the consumer.
If these are a little too 'airy fairy' for you, there are more tangible reasons to eat raw food. People report substantial weight loss after switching to a raw food diet, and all the health problems that came with their weight problems disappear. With the help of a healthcare professional, people have 'cured' their diseases including (but not limited to) high blood pressure, allergies, skin conditions, bowel conditions, cancer, diabetes and more. You can find a success story for just about every condition out there, that someone has cured themselves of using mainly dietary changes.
So, how much is enough? The general consensus is the more the better. If you want to receive the best health benefits, more than half of your food intake should be raw fruits and vegetables, with a few nuts and seeds. There is also evidence to show that organic and fresh food is best. Although depending on your location, it's more important to do your best than to stress about eating 100% organic.
The best way to get started eating raw food, is to switch one meal per day to be raw. If it's breakfast you could start juicing your own fruits and vegetables and switch that out for your regular cereal and milk. You're likely to lose a few pounds just making that one small change. If you don't want to splurge on a juicer, make your lunch a raw salad every day and try making your own salad dressings to keep things interesting. Once you create the new habit for yourself, it only gets easier.

Kimberly Sawchuk has more information about raw food including easy raw food recipes at http://www.realrawhealth.com. If you or someone you know is looking to lose weight naturally or just want some questions answered about a raw food diet, check out the coaching services at http://realrawhealth.com/services/.

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