5 Easy Ways A Treadmill Helps You Lose Weight

So why are treadmills STILL the #1 home exercise machines with shoppers? Because they get results!

Here are the top 5 ways home treadmill workouts can help you lose weight and get into great shape!

#1: A Treadmill Helps You Burn MORE Calories by Battling Exercise Boredom

We all know that in order to lose weight, get firm and fight gravity's pull, exercise is a must! But what do you do if you don't LIKE working out?

What if you get bored or don't like logging hours in the gym with all those muscle boys or short-shorts women?

One viable option is the home treadmill, because of all the things it allows you to do to FORGET that you are exercising in the first place!

You can set it up in front of the television and watch your favorite episode of ER or Oprah. An hour will fly by and you won't even notice that you've been walking (or running)!

Many treadmills also come with a magazine or book rack. What about walking uphill (a MEGA calorie burner) while reading your favorite mazagine or novel?

How easy is that?

And the more you enjoy your workout (or the more you can forget that you're exercising) , the more time you'll spend burning calories on your treadmill.

#2: The Treadmill is Unmatched For Workout Versatility.

Most funky fly-by-night exercise gadgets only allow you to do one thing. One repetitive motion that your body quickly adapts to (and that means less calories burned.)

A treadmill - on the other hand - gives you a lot of workout versatility so your body continues to be challenged to burn calories.

If you're just starting an exercise program you can start with a slow walk and then speed it up as your body gets into better shape. If you're training for a marathon, you can run at a steady pace and even build in sprints.

You can power walk or do a slow steady jog. Many treadmills will let you walk uphill. Some even come with handweights so you can build in upper body exercise as well.

There are countless ways you can vary your workout with a treadmill so that you continue to challenge your body and burn calories.

#3: A Treadmill Helps You Burn MORE Calories by Increasing Your Exercise Frequency

Did you know that a new 3 year study conducted by the University of Stanford's Graduate School of Business has found that consumers are overpaying for gym services?

The study concludes that most people overestimate how often they will use their gym membership and that most don't visit the gym often enough to justify their membership costs.

Perhaps the reason may be that many people just don't have the time to go. But here's where a home treadmill can help you actually increase your workout time and frequency.

Did you know that experts tell us that two 15-minute workouts can give us the same exercise benefits as one 30-minute workout?

Here's where a home treadmill can help:

A treadmill allows you to split your workouts up into mini-workouts and still burn just as many calories!

Maybe you want to go for a 15 minute wake-up walk in the morning. Maybe it's a 20-minute light jog at lunch. What about a 10-minute power walk just before dinner to curb your appetite or fight night-time boredom?

Whether it's 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 or 20, it all adds up in weight loss. With a treadmill, YOU'RE in charge of your workout time.

#4: A Home Treadmill Gives You the Benefit of All-Year-Round ANY Time Exercise!

Ok, here it is - one of the MOST IMPORTANT benefits of having a home treadmill:

CONVENIENCE, CONVENIENCE, CONVENIENCE

If you live in northern climates you know that walking or jogging in the snow and ice is NOT fun. What about when it's raining? Scratch exercise off the list!

A home treadmill can be one of the best exercise comforts around because you can use it regardless of the weather or time of day.

AND you can also exercise in any type of clothing that you want (no worrying about wearing that ratty t-shirt to the gym!).

#5: By Using the Large Muscles in Your Legs, A Treadmill Helps You Burn MAJOR FAT Calories

A recent Woman's World article made the startling claim that, contrary to popular belief, gentle walking is one of the BEST ways to burn fat!

Why?

It seems that gentle walking allows your body to go STRAIGHT to the fat stores for energy instead of first depleting your sugar (glycogen) stores (used by your body for quick energy).

Not only that, there's been countless studies including one by the American Medical Association, that rank a treadmill as the #1 cardiovascular machine for losing weight and burning calories.

Working the larger muscles in your legs burns maximum calories which means more weight lost. You can even increase your calories-burned by walking uphill which uses even more muscles!

Given all their benefits it's no wonder that treadmill sales have continued to skyrocket over the past five years with more and more people starting their own fitness and weight loss programs at home.

So if you want to lose weight and get into great shape, a treadmill can be an excellent investment to help you to achieve your goals. No matter what you decide be sure to have fun and make your health a priority!

5 Proven Ways to Safely Make Positive Life Changes

One of the most important aspects of living a healthy and
prosperous life is understanding "risk." By this I mean knowing
how to understand and analyze situations in life that affect
health. Being able to accurately weigh benefits and risks when
making health decisions is very important! Too often decisions
are based on incomplete or inaccurate information and this is a
huge mistake with significant consequences!
Failure to accurately assess risk keeps people locked in all
kinds of unhealthy situations including poor eating and exercise
habits (lifestyle), relationships and jobs. Sometimes people are
just afraid to step out and make a change. They see "risk" in
making a change when the REAL risk comes from NOT making a
change. From my perspective, living with the stress, unhappiness
and frustration of indecision and poor health is the greatest
risk of all, and one that is definitely not worth taking!
Accessing "risk" is nothing more than collecting information,
weighing the alternatives and then making appropriate decisions
based on the information.
Some risks to our health are more "real" than others. For
example, it is common knowledge that obesity is associated with a
wide variety of health problems. On the other hand, there are
some health risks that are so remote we rarely think about them.
On a practical level, eating highly processed foods and avoiding
a daily dose of fresh fruits and vegetables is rarely considered
serious. But, as too many have already discovered, the long range
consequences of this practice are real and devastating.
Failure to accurately assess risk limits us in many ways. We
imagine the "risk" of talking with our children about drugs,
dating or sex and we put off having the "talk," even though the
risks of NOT talking are infinitely greater. Fear of flying and
public speaking are two more "risks" affecting millions of
people. But practically speaking, these fears are unfounded.
People ride in cars every day, even though cars are far more
dangerous than commercial aircraft! It's a failure to accurately
assess risk, and it limits our health, prosperity and pleasure in
life.
The goods news is that failure to accurately access risk is
reversible! The effects of those decisions to eat inappropriately
or NOT to exercise are, as the common expression goes,
"do-overs." We can effect positive change in our lives by
following a few simple steps to accurately access risk:
1. Accurately define your present situation and access your
health "risks". Are you eating a healthy diet? Are you getting
enough exercise and good quality sleep? What are the consequences
if you DON'T change? Weigh the benefits of healthier living vs
the potential risks such as increased cost, inconvenience or
discomfort.
2. What do you stand to gain if you change your present
circumstances? Assess the "up-side" potential. Too often we look
only at the "downside" risk and forget the benefits. What good
things might happen if you take the risk and win?
3. Limit the "down-side" if you happen to make a wrong decision.
Don't continue down a path if it does not produce results. This
is especially important when following weight loss programs. If
the pounds are not coming off or if the weight loss is only
temporary, find a new program! You not only want to lose weight,
but want to sustain the weight loss for as long as possible. Take
steps to ensure this will happen. Clear, concise, realistic
objectives will definitely help.
4. Reduce your risk by being smart! Understand the situation and
seek the advice of experts in the field of health and nutrition.
This includes finding and forming partnerships to receive support
and get good advice.
5. Have a fall-back position. If the decision you make fails to
produce the desired results, be prepared to take a long, hard
look at the circumstances and be prepared to change what you are
doing.
Everything in life involves some element of risk. Driving your
car, meeting someone new, crossing the street...but we do them
every day. Winners in life are willing to accept the risk and
continue on their way! Get involved, be smart about how you play
the game, come prepared for a few failures along the way, but
don't quite. You will reap the benefits for your effort and live
a happier and healthier life. I like to remember the words of the
great Winston Churchill when he said, "Never, never, never give
up!"
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.

5 Secrets To Building A Successful Internet Business

Everyday I talk with people who want to get started on the internet with their own business. But the whole process seems a mystery to them whether they have an affiliate marketing program, a real estate course or they sell health and fitness products. The easiest way I found to walk people through the basic building blocks is to use a real life example of building a brick and mortar business. Success on the internet is possible when you know how to build it and drive targeted traffic to your website.
Let's say you wanted to open a coffee shop that would rival Starbuck's®. Where would you begin? You would probably want to do some kind of research to see how many coffee shops were in your town or city. After all, if there are 5 in a ten mile radius, you might want to think about a different location or how you would make your coffee shop unique enough to slaughter the competition.
1. Identify your niche
Well, it's not much different on the web. You want to first identify your niche. First, let's quickly explain what a niche is and isn't. If you are selling every affiliate marketing program under the sun, this is not a niche. A niche would be to focus on affiliate programs in a specific field like health and fitness. Then you want to find out what the top websites are by typing 'health and fitness' into Google. Here you can see the top 10 sites that Google says are important. Remember that even the category 'health and fitness' can be broken down into further niches like weight loss for women or top 20 health products for longevity. See what your competition is doing and how you could do it different or better.
Another way to look for niches is to use Overture's search term tool. Place your keyword in the box and hit go. Overture will spit out anything relevant to that keyword. It will show you possible niches you hadn't thought of and how many people search for that keyword. For example, you may put in coffee beans and it may show you that organically grown and processed coffee beans are all the rage.
2. Build a user friendly website
Back to the coffee shop. Next thing you might do is have the shop built in a good location where traffic can come and go easily. You too must build a website that has what people are looking for, is easy to navigate, easy to shop and checkout with friendly customer service. Tip: If you are selling weight loss products, don't try and sell power tools. While this may sound obvious, many people try to take the 'sell everything' they can approach and what happens is they end up selling nothing.
What will the environment of the coffee shop be like? What experience do you want your customers to have? Your customers will be entering your website with expectations of finding the information they need and the products they want. In that order. You might invite them to sign up for a free 7 part report on 'how to lose 10lbs guaranteed over the next 30 days eating healthy.' At the end of that report you can encourage them to look at your weight loss supplements or vitamins.
3. Good navigation
As in the coffee shop, have your items for sale laid out in a well organized fashion so the buyer can order exactly what they want with little effort except to give you their credit card number. It is best to have your products grouped and images optimized for fast page loads. Think about what you like. Do you want to see ten products described well on a page or fifty crammed in? As you would have nice displays in your coffee shop so will you on your website.
4. Offer something better than your competition does
What other things could you do to enhance your buyer's experience? In a coffee shop you could offer free samples of new drinks or have a discount card for people who drink coffee with you every morning. On your website, you can offer free tips, reports and discounts on volume buys or repeat purchases.
5. Market wisely
So, how do you get people to come try your coffee shop? Typically, a brick and mortar business will advertise in the local paper. It may be that you have the coffee that is guaranteed to get them going in the morning, free internet access, homemade muffins or the freshest coffee beans available. With your website, you may do pay-per-click advertising, exchange reciprocal links or write articles.
Traffic must come in the door of your website, like what they see and hopefully buy from you.
While most of these tips are common sense, it is amazing how few people actually use these critical ingredients in their online business. Pretend you are a customer arriving to your web store for the first time. What could you do to make the whole experience better?

6 Reasons to Exercise During Pregnancy

Everyone knows that exercise is good for your health. Exercising during pregnancy can have additional benefits. Generally, exercise should be light, especially during the first few weeks of pregnancy while your body adjusts to the changes. Heavy exercise can divert blood flow from crucial areas and most women that exercise regularly should tone down their workouts during pregnancy.

Walking, swimming, and yoga are two popular exercise activities suitable for pregnant women. Other forms of exercise like weight lifting are okay too as long as it is not too strenuous. Most experts recommend exercising 3-4 times a week, unless a medical condition prevents it. If in doubt, always consult a physician first. Listed below are some of the top reasons for exercising during pregnancy.

Exercise can reduce the length of labor and reduce recovery times. The right exercise routines will increase stamina needed for delivery.

Improve emotional health - exercise lowers stress and improves emotional health and can make it easier for the new mother to get through the experience of pregnancy.

Exercise can help with weight management after the child is born. A common concern with most mothers is losing weight after pregnancy. Exercising during pregnancy can make postpartum weight loss easier.

Exercise is good for your unborn baby. By keeping your body healthy, you are also helping out your baby.

Reduced pregnancy side effects - Symptoms like headaches, fatigue, swelling, and constipation are common in pregnant women. Exercising has been shown to reduce the occurence of these symptoms.

Decrease risk of premature birth - exercise has been shown in studies to decrease the risk of premature birth by about 50%.

Make sure to drink plenty of fluids before exercising, have a nutritious diet, and avoid over exertion. Also, listen to your body - if you start feeling sick or nauseous, then you should stop and rest.

6 Surefire Ways to Achieve Your Goals for 2005

Hope you had a good rest and are all fired up for the year ahead.
Whilst you were sitting on the beach or lazing around during your time off, which of the following changes to your life did you decide to make this year?
To have the body of Elle McPherson or Nathan Buckley
Find a stimulating job
Take up a sport or hobby
Buy your dream home
Travel to an exotic destination
Have more time with your family
Establish your own business
Double your income
Become involved in the community
Develop your creativity
Improve your skills
Create a plan for your financial future
Have more fun
Enhance your current relationship or find a new partner
All of the above
To help you channel your energy into achieving this year's goals, here are some practical ways to get started. After all, there is no reason why you shouldn't start immediately, is there?
How to Get Started
1. Write a list of what you want to achieve this year.
2. Make sure what you've written down is specific, measurable and attainable. e.g. Lose 5 kgs
. ..by 30/2/05.
3. Write no.1 against the most important goal. Write no.2 against the next most important goal.
Continue numbering the rest of the goals.
4. Look at the goal with no.1 next to it. i.e. lose 5 kilos. Start a separate list with the heading . .. Lose 5 kilos. by 28/2/05
5. Write down the action steps you need to take to achieve this goal:
a. Join gym
b. Decide which specific days and times you will attend
c. Purchase gym gear
d. See nutritionist
6. Enter the action steps into your diary/electronic organiser on the day(s) you will do these:
Jan 15th - join gym
Jan 16th - book nutritionist
Attend gym Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 6.00 a.m.
Ensure when you book time for yourself in your diary you treat it as a top priority. Unless there is an earthquake or equally devastating disaster occurring, keep that time sacred.
To ensure your goals are achieved it is imperative to write them down and then plan the appropriate steps to take in your diary. Otherwise your goals could end up being wishful thinking!
Goal/Dream Chart
Having visual reminders is a great way to prompt and keep you motivated to follow through. Cut out a picture of the body you'd like to have from a magazine and stick a photo of your head on top of it. Alternatively if you want to recapture the way you were some time ago, find an old photo of yourself. You can place these on your desktop, car dashboard and the fridge at home.
Do this for your other goals (minus the head). In fact having a dream chart with pictures or words of the things you want to achieve is a great stimulus for your sub-conscious mind. Sticking these reminders onto green paper is even more effective. I have one of these in my office and guess what? It actually works!
Action Is The Key
Once you've identified what you want, written it down, planned when you will take action and done your goal/dream chart, nothing will happen unless you get off your butt and take action towards those goals.
Avoid the 'Too Much Too Soon' Syndrome
Often people try making many changes at once then get disillusioned because there are too many things to do and just give up. If you've done this in the past, tackle one goal at a time. If you really have difficulty going it alone, you may benefit from using the services of a coach like myself who will keep you on track. The right person will help you accelerate your success.
Jenny's Story
One of my clients was extremely overweight by at least 30 kilos. Apart from her business goals, losing the weight was her highest priority …or so she said. We looked at her diet and exercise and worked out a plan, according to what she was committed to do. Notice here I've said committed. Over the three months I worked with Jenny she was like most people in this area…inconsistent. She'd exercise regularly and eat healthily for a couple of weeks and then make excuses as to why she couldn't or wouldn't stick to the plan.
There was no reason why she couldn't achieve her weight loss goal, after all the program we worked out together was easy to do. A few changes to her eating habits, regular exercise and planning would do the trick. The only challenge was Jenny. She wouldn't consistently do it. It all boiled down to that she wasn't serious enough about losing the weight and was not prepared to make the changes…yet. I did suggest seeing a nutritionist or making contact with a specific weight loss organisation to provide her with continuing support. However, Jenny was adamant that she could manage herself.
After three months of coaching, Jenny lost 5 kilos. It was certainly better than nothing, however she could have lost much more if only she took the necessary action, consistently.
A few weeks later I rang Jenny to see how she was progressing with the various changes she had made through coaching. She excitedly told me she had finally got her act together as a result of the progress she had made with me, joined Weightwatchers and lost another 20kgs! She got committed.
Dare to Fail
In Billi Lim's bestselling book "Dare to Fail" he shares the following story:
A woman once walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch.
"I couldn't help noticing how happy you look", she said. "What's the secret for a long happy life?'
"I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day', he said. "I also drink a case of whisky a week, eat fatty foods and never exercise."
"That's amazing, the woman said. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-six", he said.
The Final Word
You too can achieve your 2005 goals if you really want to. The goals you set must fit in with your values. For instance if you really value your health and well-being (and you should…you're no good to anyone if you're sick or even worse…dead,) then it will be easier for you to take action around this area.
Plan and get off your butt now because it won't be long until you hear that familiar cry "I'm too busy, I don't have the time!"

7 Bad Eating Habits You Should Change Immediately

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don't believe
me? Just tune-in to any source of advertising...you're instantly
bombarded with the latest diet schemes and "Hollywood" food
fads.
Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to
control our weight and treat the consequences of over-indulgence.
The cost of weight loss and obesity related health care
treatments is staggering...Americans alone spend around $114
billion every year! And even with all this interest in losing
weight, we continue to pack on the pounds like never before...
- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or
obese...up about eight percent from earlier estimates.
- Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost nine
million are overweight...triple the rate in 1980!
- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.
For Americans, modern life may be getting TOO easy. Our cushy
lifestyle means we expend less energy and consequently need fewer
calories to sustain our normal body weight.
Think about it for a moment...
Entertainment no longer requires energy expenditure. In fact,
it's usually quite the opposite. We now entertain ourselves in
the comfort of our own home while watching TV and munching on our
favorite snack. Whether it's television, computers, remote
controls, or automobiles, we are moving less and burning fewer
calories. Common activities that were once a part of our normal
routine have disappeared...activities like climbing stairs,
pushing a lawn mower or walking to get somewhere.
And please do not misunderstand me...I appreciate comfortable
living just as much as the next person. But, here is the
problem...
With all of our modern day conveniences and "cushy" style of
living we have not adjusted our caloric intake to compensate for
our decreased caloric expenditure. We consume more calorie rich
and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Consider a few of
the following examples comparing what we eat "today" vs the
1970's (U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):
- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of
them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption
has jumped 45 percent since the 1970's, from 138 pounds of grains
per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat
flour is consumed as whole wheat.
- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but
only because French fries and potato chips are included as
vegetables. Potato products account for almost a third of our
"produce" choices.
- We're drinking less milk, but we've more than doubled our
cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source
of saturated fat in our diets.
- We've cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the
loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so
that overall, we're eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did
back in the 1970's.
- We're drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than
milk, compared to the 1970's, when milk consumption was twice
that of pop.
- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable
oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has
increased 32 percent.
- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding
waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. People are
consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day,
about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is
found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies. In
1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11
percent of the average person's calories. Now, this number has
ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as
much as 20 percent for American teenagers!
Unfortunately, it would seem that the days of wholesome and
nutritious family dinners are being replaced by fast food and
eating on-the-run. We have gradually come to accept that it's
"OK" to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and
that larger serving portions equate to better value.
It's time recognize that we are consuming too many calories and
time to start doing something about it! Each of us can decide
TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits WILL become a
normal part of our life!
We can begin by exploring our values, thoughts and habits...
slowly and deliberately weed-out the unhealthy habits and
activities and start living a more productive and rewarding life.
And remember, it has taken a long time to develop bad habits, so
be patient as you work toward your goal!
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.

9 Tips to Stop Food Cravings and Help You With Your Diet

Most of us are "regular" people. We don't eat the perfect diet
all the time and have our struggles with food, same as everyone
else. But having an awareness of this fact and knowing a little
bit about our health and food nutrition can help when it comes to
making wise decisions.
Many people struggle with food "cravings." Studies tell us that
it's fairly common for food cravings to happen at certain times,
quite often at around bedtime. Your guard may be down, you may
have had an unusually hard day, and off you go on your
not-so-merry way to find that tasty treat. Fatigue and stress
often combine to take their toll on the best of intentions.
When food cravings are unconstrained, what starts out as a
bedtime snack quickly turns into a full blown feeding
frenzy...not something most of us fully understand or appreciate.
We head to kitchen and every other place where food can hide,
clearing a path as we go.
Most food cravings are not about satisfying a nutritional need or
imbalance. They seem to be more emotionally related, or God
forbid, are caused by plain old gluttony. Exactly why we
over-indulge is not completely understood, however our knowledge
about this subject continues to grow.
Listed below are some thoughts and ideas about food cravings:
- If the food isn't available, you can't eat it! Empty the cookie
jar and keep it that way! Keep healthy food choices on-hand.
- Recognize the feelings and emotions that lead-up to a food
craving. Do you have food cravings when you’re bored, lonely, or
stressed? If you can identify a trigger, you can deal with the
emotion that’s making you desire a certain food. Try to deal with
the triggers in the best way you can.
- Sometimes, even recognizing that a craving is about to happen
doesn't seem to help. Don't beat yourself-up. There is always
tomorrow. Call a friend, make good use of your support network
and share your feelings with someone.
- Get enough sleep. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to
crave things.
- Never give-up. When you "slip", press-in, bear-down, get a
grip, do whatever is necessary to re-gain control. Try to
practice restraint most of the time, but don't get legalistic and
un-balanced in your weight loss approach. Think moderation and
not abstinence at all times!
- Understand that self-control and discipline by themselves,
won't cut it! If you depend totally on yourself for control, you
will fail. Forming caring and supportive relationships is
required. If you do not currently have a support network, start
building one TODAY.
- Exercise. It increases feel-good endorphins that cut down on
your cravings. Try to get at least 30 minutes of physical
activity every day.
- Use moderation. Instead of stuffing yourself with every kind of
food hoping that your craving will go away, eat 100 to 200
calories of your "craved" food.
- Substitute with low-fat foods and complex carbs. If you’re
hungry for chocolate, eat non-fat chocolate yogurt. Try fig bars
or raisins for a sweet craving.
- Never skip a meal. Eat every three to five hours. Try six
smaller meals or regular meals with nutritious snacks.
- Understand that hunger craving are oftentimes stress related.
Practice other ways to treat chronic stress – a walk in the park,
spiritual connections, a cozy fireplace, baths...all these
stimulate neurochemicals that activate regions of the brain that
stimulate pleasure. Relaxation techniques may work by reducing
the psychological drives on stress output, which can be the root
causes of stress. Bottom line, substitute pleasurable experiences
for comfort foods.
- Beware of certain medications. They can stimulate appetite.
Drugs used for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder
can be appetite stimulants. Other drugs, both prescription and
over the counter, may influence appetite as well. If you are on a
medication, and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your
doctor or pharmacist. You may be able to find an alternative that
doesn't send your cravings out of control.
- Distract Yourself. What's that old expression...idle hands are
the devils workshop? Get busy. Do anything other than cave-in to
your desire for food, and keep doing it until the cravings
subside.
- One final thought, take a look inside your refrigerator and
kitchen cabinets and do some general "house cleaning." Throw-out
all that unhealthy stuff that is waiting to sabotage your diet,
and start shopping more wisely. A little forethought and careful
planning will go a long way for improving your chances of
success.
Eat wisely, be happy, and live long!
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.

10 Tips To Reduce Fat In Your Diet

1. Steam, boil, broil, or microwave vegetables, or stir-fry them in a small amount of vegetable oil.

2. Season vegetables with herbs and spices rather than sauces, butter, or margarine.

3. Try lemon juice or fat-free dressing on salad, or use a yogurt based dressing instead of mayonnaise or
sour cream dressing.

4. To reduce saturated fat, use vegetable oil or tub margarine instead of butter or stick margarine when
possible.

5. Replace whole milk with skim or low-fat milk in puddings, soups, and baked products. Substitute plain
nonfat yogurt, blender-whipped cottage cheese, low-fat sour cream, or buttermilk in recipes that call for sour cream.

6. Choose lean cuts of meat, and trim any visible fat from meat before and after cooking. Remove skin from
poultry before or after cooking. Monitor portion sizes. (Lean meats end in "loin".)

7. Roast, bake, or broil meat, poultry, or fish, so that fat drains away as the food cooks.

8. Use a nonstick pan for cooking so added fat will be unnecessary, use a vegetable spray for frying.

9. Chill broths from meat or poultry until the fat becomes solid. Spoon off the fat before using the broth.

10. Eat a low-fat vegetarian main dish at least once a week.

10 Ways to Curb Your Snacking Binges

When you're dieting, the thing that can really wreck a healthy eating plan is that awful feeling that comes over you to just grab a huge bag of potato chips and polish it off while watching your favorite sit-com.

We've all been there before!

There are things you can do to help yourself avoid the ugly urge to snack uncontrollably.

1. First things first:
Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plan to have healthy snacks throughout the day. Do not skip meals or planned snacks. Skipping nutritious foods will make you feel uncontrollably hungry!

2. If you can, avoid purchasing any unhealthy snacks. There are so many "good-for-you" snacks on the market today, there is really no reason why you should have a cupboard full of ring-dings and cheesecurls. Start learning to read the back of the packages of foods - look at the fat content - if it says that the fat content is over 5% per serving - look for a different snack.

3. Here's a list of healthy snacks that are low in fat content, but still high in satisfaction (and I'm not talking about carrots and celery!):
- pretzels (watch the sodium content, though.) - graham crackers
- any type of low fat crackers - (there are many different varieties - read the back of the packages to make sure that they are low in fat. Again, be wary of the salt content.) - low fat cookies
- popcorn without butter (you can buy butter flavored salt.) - a cup of fruit with non-fat cool whip on top or a spoonful of honey.
- fat free pudding
- a stick of sugar-free chewing gum - a couple pieces of licorice - a cup of raw veggies with non-fat salad dressing for dip (ok, so you may have to eat a few carrots.)

4. Treat yourself to scented candles. When you feel like you need a snack - light the candles and enjoy them! This actually does work - I've tried it.

5. Instead of a snack, have a drink. Try a non-caffeinated herbal tea with a spoonful of honey. There are several drinks on the market with no caffeine and no sugar - buy a lot of that stuff - different kinds - and keep it on hand. Before you go for a snack - drink 8 oz. of your favorite drink, then decide if you really need a snack.

6. Take up something you can do with your hands -- crochet, knitting, puzzles, cross-stitch, sewing, playing piano, paint your nails and toenails, weed the garden, do a little housework, look at a magazine for the fashions you will buy when you're thinner... In other words, get your mind off food and onto a healthy hobby.

7. Don't watch TV. TV encourages snacking - you're sitting there, you feel like you should be doing something - so you go for the snack. Also, most of the commercials are about food. Stay away from TV, take up reading or another activity in number 6 above.

8. When you're finished with a meal or a planned snack, brush and floss your teeth - this will help you stay away from food for about an hour.

9. THINK - just take about one minute to think about what you are doing. Go look at yourself in the mirror during this minute. Ask yourself, "Do I really want to eat this and PAY the CONSEQUENCE?"

10. Use your NutriCounter - Every time you eat something - input it into your NutriCounter - This will help you keep track of what you've REALLY eaten. Snacking and nibbling can be the death of a healthy diet. Here's info on the NutriCounter: http://nutricounter.com

Last month, we had a fabulous testimonial from a satisfied NutriCounter user. Here's what he has to say about keeping track of what you eat:

"I already have a NutriCounter, it has done wonders for me. In April, I had my gallbladder removed (I'm only 33). I am 6' 4" and was 304 lbs., in pretty good shape. After my operation, I started to watch what I ate, the doctor said it would be a good idea. Writing everything down was a real pain, although I thought it was working well.

21 Secrets of Fit People

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. Water *is* the drink of choice, but if you don’t enjoy it (I admit it… I don’t), drink Propel, Diet Ice, Reebok Water, Vitamin Water or some other form of healthy fluid intake.

2. Think twice before deciding what to eat and why, making sure that it is healthy and will provide you good nutrition.

3. Measure intake based on activity, not how you "feel.” Need should mandate intake, not mood.

4. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excessive calories, even if they are fat-free and high protein will turn to excess weight!

5. If your diet is unbalanced, try a daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health. 6. Limit caffeine and exposure to even second hand smoke.

6. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.

7. Keep a daily log of what you’re actually eating… this includes grabbing a handful of chips here, the crust of your kids sandwich, and all your snacking.

8. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you’re working out, if you’re consuming too many calories, you’ll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.

9. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) “unhealthy” treat, but never an “unhealthy” week or “unhealthy” vacation.

10. Limit alcohol intake to special occasions.

11. See fitness and health as a privilege, not something to take for granted.

12. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friend to exercise with, as well as recruiting others who desire to feel better and have more energy.

13. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising or using things that keep you motivated and inspired like new shoes or great music.

14. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.

15. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life.

16. Invest in the right tools, good shoes, a health club membership, a portable MP3 player, fitness equipment, a personal trainer, etc.

17. Don’t compare your body to others. Instead, work to be your personal best.

18. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, and not a number on a scale.

19. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6-7 days a week.

20. Create an exercise schedule the day before, instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to “find” the time. If our last two Presidents of the United States can find the time to work-out 5 days a week, you can find the time too!

21. Get adequate amounts of sleep. Remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

4 Great Diet Tips

Here are 4 diet tips we all need reminded of from time to time.
Diet Tip 1: Never eat standing up.
Mom was right. Sit down and eat your food! Never eat standing up. One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat properly. You'll be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.
Diet Tip 2: Fluids
Drinking plain water is always top choice on a diet. You can also drink flavored water instead of soda. Soda is nothing but empty calories. No nutrients, lots of sugar. Instead, grab a bottle of water flavored with a spritz of fruit.
Drink water. Even the FDA recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right.
When you're dieting, you should drink even more. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly, cleans out your system and hydrates you. Many people are a little dehydrated part of the time.
Diet Tip 3: Skip High Fat Foods and Snacks
Skip the fatty snacks fried in hydrogenated oil like potato chips and french fries. These kind of snacks contribute fat and calories and not much else. Foods like this are a no no on a diet.
Instead, grab a handful of dried fruit or a cup of yogurt for the same amount of calories and a lot more nutritional benefit. You want to upgrade your diet in general.
Diet Tip 4: Yes, You Need Exercise
Can't afford a gym membership? Make an agreement with friends or family to exercise together. Make a date at least three times a week to play volleyball, take a walk or spend half an hour doing something active. You will draw closer to your friends and family, while burning off excess weight. Pretty soon every one will notice your weight loss.

5 Easy Steps To Help You Lose Weight

When loosing weight, most of us don't have the time to drastically change our lifestyles. We need a practical and convenient way to integrate effective habits into our daily lives. The following steps are easy and practical ways to get you on the track to loosing weight and feeling better.

1. Drink Water! Water doesn't just help quench your thirst. All metabolic processes within the body utilize H2O and drinking plenty of it helps your body function optimally. It also helps you feel your best---many of the common daily headaches and fatigues we experience can result from a lack of water intake.

2. Eat Breakfast! Many Americans fail to realize the true value of a morning meal. It not only boosts energy for the long day ahead, but keeps your metabolism regulated. Skipping a meal can put the body into "survival mode" which means that it actually begins storing and saving fat as opposed to burning it.

3. Exercise! There is no easy way around it: successful and sustained weight loss requires a commitment to physical activity. The best way to be loyal to physical activity is to work it into each day. Take a small part of each day to go for a walk, do aerobics, do yoga, or whatever other type of activity you enjoy. Mix it up so that you don't get bored with it. Soon, you will not only get used to it, but you will feel better too!

4. Choose Variety! Don't let popular dieting trends fool you: Carbs are good for you too! In fact, carbohydrates are what your brain run on and are very important for proper body functions. Following a high-protein diet over a long period of time can not only cause headaches, but also places considerable stress on the kidney. The important thing is to eat a variety of foods. This includes fruits, vegetables and even carbs. Just remember to be smart about the types of carbs you eat:: whole wheat instead of white.

5. Eat Slowly! We all get in a hurry from time to time, but it is important to take the time to listen to our bodies. Eating quickly doesn't give our bodies time to tell our brains that we have eaten enough. Consequently, we continue eating and are left filling stuffed and bloated. Eating more slowly allows us to recognize when we actually have eaten enough and stop—it also helps us savour and enjoy the food we do eat.

Essential to loosing weight is giving our bodies what they need. This means drinking plenty of water, eating timely and proper meals, staying active, and giving our body the time to tell us when it is full. Our bodies will reward us for our attention.