Weight Loss Tips

I would guess you are familiar with the video recorder and I am sure you’ve had to enlist the help of a small child to help you program it so you can record your favorite soap opera. Do you remember all the numbers and dates you had to enter in order to make the program work?

The computer you are reading this on has a program behind it - this webpage has code behind it that tells the computer how to display the words in a meaningful format.

Do you know, that just as you can program a VCR or a webpage, so you can program yourself?

Did you know that you are doing this all the time every single day and you are probably not aware of it!

And did you know that probably 80-90% of this programming is negative?

When you talk to yourself you are programming your sub-conscious mind. So if you look in the mirror and say, “Wow I look fat” your sub-conscious mind says, “I’m fat - must make sure it happens”.
Your sub-conscious mind is incredibly powerful yet so few people ever really bother to access its abilities. In fact most people are happy to let it run riot and cause chaos!

Here’s another of my favorites for you. You will, I bet, frequently say to people “I’m trying to lose weight” but do you actually know what it means?

Let’s start by looking at the word try as in trying in the above sentence. You know the dictionary definition of try, but what does it really mean?

Try means that you will give it a go, put a bit of effort in to it, but you won’t give it your all because you don’t really want to achieve it. And the nice thing for you is that you can tell everyone you tried afterwards and enjoy their sympathy when it didn’t work.

Try basically means you are HAPPY TO FAIL!

Now let’s look at the last two words in that sentence “lose weight”.

What would you do if you lost your car keys? Think about it what would you do?

You would find them again, wouldn’t you?

Whenever you say lose, it is implicit in the word that you are going to find it again. So when you say “lose weight” you are telling your sub-conscious “I want to shed a bit of weight and then find it again sometime in the future please.” And guess what? Your sub-conscious obliges!

So how do we improve that sentence?

If you had an old sofa you no longer wanted, you wouldn’t try to lose it would you?

What would you do?

You would GET RID OF it, wouldn’t you? You don’t want to find your old sofa turning back up on your doorstep in six months time and asking if you missed it? Or worse still, turning up with a matching chair and pouf too?

So now let’s rephrase our original sentence (I am trying to lose weight) into something that will program your sub-conscious for success.

“I am getting rid of weight”

Say it to yourself now - how does it feel?

This simple change in language may sound childish and ridiculous, but do it and notice the difference - just this tiny change can make a massive difference in your weight loss program.

Visit Patricia’s site for Weight Loss Information, Weight Loss Products, including Hoodia

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1. Do some resistive weight training 3 to 4 times a week using short rest periods between sets of 30 to 60 seconds. Work out no longer than 1 hour to keep your anabolic (muscle-building) hormones high and catabolic (muscle-wasting) hormones low. Over-training is a quick way to lose muscle along with fat. Maintaining muscle is the goal, and it will help keep your metabolic rate high so that fat loss continues at a steady pace. Attempt to lose no more than 1 to 1.5 pounds of fat per week.

2. Avoid traditional long duration cardio, instead perform HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) 2-3 times per week on alternating days or after weight training to burn fat and increase metabolic rate. HIIT cardio is best done on alternating days from weight training if possible.

3. Watch what you eat. Beware of low-fat or fat-free products. Typically, these products are loaded with carbohydrates and while you are not getting the fat, you may be getting way too many calories from simple carbohydrates. Avoid simple sugars and eat complex carbohydrates in moderation to reduce insulin output and prevent blood sugar fluctuations. Insulin is the main hormone responsible for storing body fat, and high insulin levels prevent the burning of stored body fat for energy. High-carbohydrate diets are not the optimal way to lose fat while preserving lean muscle. Rely on complex, high-fiber carbohydrates such as oatmeal, lentils and brown rice. Avoid breads, pasta, white rice and other highly processed, low-fiber carbohydrate sources, as well as sweets. As a guide, reduce carbohydrate intake to 0.8 to 1.2 grams per pound of body weight. For example, a 150-pound person would eat between 120 and 180 grams per day of carbohydrates (150 x 0.8 = 120 / 150 x 1.2 = 180).

4. Increase the amount of lean protein you consume daily to increase your metabolic rate, increase anabolic hormones and prevent muscle loss during dieting. Lean muscle mass is the active tissue that burns calories and maintains metabolic rate. The goal is to preserve the active tissue we want while encouraging the body to reduce the tissue (fat) we don’t want. Eat high-quality, low-fat protein sources like skinless chicken, lean red meat and seafood during your weight loss program. High-quality protein supplements may be used when the diet does not yield enough daily protein.

5. Reduce saturated fats whenever possible and replace with polyunsaturated fats such as flax oil and monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats are considered “good fats” and should be a part of your diet. Research shows that omega-3 oils from many sources of fish like cod, flounder, haddock, monkfish, perch, red snapper, sea bass, salmon and tuna help improve health and fat loss. Essential fatty acids (EFA) are required for optimum health and fatty acid metabolism. Avoiding “good fats” is a sure way to sabotage a fat-loss diet and degrade your health.

6. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration and help liberate fat stores to be burned as energy. Water intake is often cited as the most underrated and overlooked part of fat loss.

7. Eat fibrous vegetables to increase transit time of food, improve digestion and improve weight loss. Increasing fiber intake from vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and other raw vegetables adds fiber, minerals and vitamins with very few calories. They add bulk to the diet while reducing appetite.

8. Spread food intake over 5 to 6 meals per day. Distributing your food throughout the day will improve nutrient absorption, prevent blood sugar fluctuations and decrease fat-storing hormones and fat-storing enzymes. Simply spreading the same number of calories over 5 to 6 small meals per day rather than the standard 3 meals per day will improve fat loss due to the above effects on blood sugar, hormones and fat-storing enzymes.

9. Avoid alcohol (or keep it to a minimum) while you’re dieting. Alcohol contains nearly 7 calories per gram, and is easily metabolized and stored as fat. When you consume alcohol with a meal, your body will metabolize the alcohol first. The rest of the calories and the excess alcohol calories inevitably will be stored as fat. Alcohol is generally regarded as empty carbohydrate calories because you get no other nutritional benefit as you would from the vitamins, minerals and fiber that you get from the carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables.

10. Be snack smart. When you must have a snack, make a smart choice. Avoid sugary or fatty snacks like chips and soda, crackers, nuts, frozen yogurt and so on. Instead, try some air-popped popcorn (no butter or salt) or a slice of lean meat like turkey. When you space your meals to 5 or 6 a day, snacking becomes less important to you. Check the nutritional panels on your snacks for sugars and fats, remembering that fat-free does not mean calorie-free, and remember, excess carbohydrates in your diet will be stored as fat.

Robert DiMaggio is first and foremost the founder and editor of IronMagazine.com LLC, an online bodybuilding and fitness magazine that has been dedicated to helping people achieve their bodybuilding and fitness goals. IronMagazine.com has been online since 2001 publishing new articles, content and a newsletter every month, along with a growing online community IronMagazine Forums.

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For most people, the Chinese green tea is a stuff of legends. It has been known to be very beneficial to human health and has been talked about and written about because of its countless positive effects for thousands of years.

According to legend, the first person to ever taste Chinese green tea was the Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. It was said that while boiling some water for drinking, some leaves fell into his pot from a tree nearby. Green tea leaves when boiled smelled and tasted so wonderful that Shen Nung even urged his people to drink it. The fame of the green tea did not stay at one place for long. It is believed that in A.D. 800, Chinese tea was brought to Japan by monks who studied Buddhism in China.

What makes this green tea different from all other teas?

Chinese tea is produced from Camellia sinensis, the same plant where the oolong and black tea are derived. Yet, even though they all come from the same herb, the Chinese green drinnk truly stands out as an exceptional health drink. So what makes it different?

The difference lies in the method by which this tea is produced. Oolong and black tea leaves are traditionally oxidized and then dried while the Chinese green tea leaves are steamed and then dried. This method of producing green tea actually preserves most of the beneficial antioxidants present in it.

Chinese Green Tea for Health

While it is already common knowledge that green tea has several health benefits, modern scientists were able to provide several concrete proofs of the positive effects of Chinese tea. Its antioxidants are said to be the ones responsible for making the tea very beneficial.

Recent findings show that the antioxidants in Chinese tea can reduce cholesterol levels in a person; can improve how blood vessels function; and can reduce blood lipids. It was also discovered that this healthy tea can have an anti-inflammatory effects and may provide protection against cardiovascular diseases.

Chinese Green Tea for Weight Loss

Significant findings were made that pointed to the benefits of such a tea in weight loss. According to the researchers of the University of Geneva, green tea has thermogenic properties which aid much in weight loss. In their study, they investigated the weight loss benefits of Chinese dieting by observing the interaction between the caffeine in green tea and a compound called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

When these two substances in the tea react, thermogenesis of the body increases by four percent. The tendency of Chinese green tea to enhance metabolic rates has given people reason to believe that this tea has weight loss benefits as well.

Another study concerning the weight loss benefits of Chinese dieting system was also conducted. The results of the research showed that green tea drinkers have a better propensity for weight loss. Drinking Chinese tea allows the body to burn an additional 70 calories a day, a feat that weight loss enthusiasts would relish.

Today, Chinese green tea is widely available as a beverage and as an ingredient for weight loss products.

Cathy Freeman is a green tea lover and you can join her at her website http://www.green-tea-time.blogspot.com/ to discuss Chinese Green Tea and other ideas about this healthy beverage.

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