Tag Archives: how to lose weight

Healthy Eating Habits That Can Also Help you Lose Weight

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Healthy eating habits are about making smart food choices that you can incorporate into your daily life and live with forever. I don’t personally believe in making a change in your routine that you don’t see yourself doing in the long-term or converting into a habit. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you can’t switch up what you eat or do different things in your daily diet. I am talking about getting rid of unhealthy food choices and replacing them with healthy choices.
Let’s say that you are somebody that loves to snack on Potato Chips, you know that that should not be your go to snack not only because it’s going to make you pack on pounds but also because it’s not a healthy snack choice. You could have a fruit, handful of nuts, a vegetable, yogurt, maybe some whole grain crackers/bread/pretzels with a nut butter of your choice, a few slices of turkey meat with lettuce or vegetable of your choice, some cheese (I like Parmigiano Reggiano), or anything that is going to nurture and benefit your body and you don’t have to eat the whole bag and still feel unsatisfied and hungry.

   VS      

It’s all about the choices we make. I used to be 18 and what I would drink and snack on would be chips, snickers bars or what we have her in Italy would be Tronky/Hanuta/Duplo/ Kinder or a Luik (which is a type of Lemon Ice Cream on a Liquorice stick), and then possibly accompanied by a soda Fanta, Coke or Lipton Iced tea.
Oh my, so not nutritious, Packed with sugar, additives and whatnot. I wasn’t fat or anything of the sort but I did look older and I know that I was unhealthy. I decided that I would do a master cleanse at age 20 (oh did I mention I smoked from ages 19-20ish about 2 packs a day, gross) the reason for the master cleanse was a personal challenge and I thought that if other people could do it then so could I.
I did the whole 21 days (I never in my life up until that point skipped a meal, or a snack…NEVER).
I got off the cleanse and felt like I had won the lottery, I felt energized, I felt light, I felt younger, and most of all I was healthy. I never touched a soda again, I am 28 and only drink water I mean it doesn’t even cross my mind to grab anything other than a bottle of water or a tea (hot and no sugar) when I am thirsty. It’s amazing. Just that right there is a healthy choice and this is what I mean by letting your choices become a habit, a lifestyle if you may. To me it became a habit because now it would probably taste nasty to me, but also because I look at it as not worth it. It’s not worth it because it has absolutely no good effect on what my body needs and so I don’t want it. I have friends that live off this stuff, like many of you out there that sit in front of me, offer it to me and it doesn’t even phase me. I mean now that I am talking about it, it does but generally it’s a subconscious reaction to reject it.
I have had the occasional chip, keyword ‘occasional’, not habitual snack. They are yummy especially now they have the baked, the Adzuki, the Sweet Potato, the Rice, etc….but they are chips non the less and not the best snack, maybe small occasional indulgence.

Ok, so to follow are a few life changing Healthy Eating Habits, let’s get healthy together.

Drink Plenty of Water:
Water helps you feel full throughout your day. Water also provides innumerable health benefits to your skin and your digestive and circulatory systems.

Eat Slowly:
Your food isn’t going anywhere, so sit down enjoy every bite and put your fork down in-between bites. It takes your body about 20 minutes to register that you’re eating and to turn off the hunger signal.

Eat Vegetables as the Main Course at every Meal:
Vegetables should be the star of your meal they are packed with fiber and few calories. They fill you up and you end up eating less of the high-caloric food on your plate. If you have to pick what to finish always opt for the vegetable.

Evaluate your Eating Habits:
Are you nibbling while cooking, are you finishing the food off your husband’s or kid’s plate, are you eating in bed? Think about it and try to not eat until you finished cooking, or leave the food on your husband’s plate, (he left it why should you eat it?!) See what you can change.

Shop on a full Stomach:
Make a list so you keep impulse buying at bay. When you shop hungry it’s a recipe for disaster in your refrigerator and in your wallet. You have to buy healthy food and when your ravenous it makes that nearly impossible because of everything you see and smell.

Switch to Healthy Snacks:
The most nutritious snacks contain complex carbohydrates and a small amount of protein and fat. Like nut butter on apple slices, they will make you feel full longer.

Eat regular meals. Figure out the frequency of your meals that works best in your life and stick to it. Regular meals help prevent bingeing.

Keep a Food Diary:
This way you can see what you’ve eaten throughout the day and help balance out your next meals/snacks. It makes you more conscious about what is going in your mouth.

Watch your Portions:
Piling food onto your plate can make you feel pressured to eat it all. Serve yourself a small portion when you’re done wait 10 minutes and if your still hungry serve yourself a little more. Keep in mind that your stomach will grumble early on, until it has shrunk to adapt to the smaller meals you’re now eating.

Healthy does not occur overnight, despite what you may think it takes sometime. Listen to your body and try to make little changes eliminate fried and have baked, replace white sugar with raw sugar, replace sweet iced tea, with hot green tea and no sugar, eventually it will become a part of your lifestyle.

           VS          

 

 

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DETOX ….The Master Cleanse it is!

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We all know how I feel about Food; I love eating it, I love cooking it, and I love shopping for it. Food is a big staple in my life as I am sure in most people’s lives.
However, lately I have been feeling kind of in a slump about it, I feel like I am so consumed with the many recent changes going on, with summer headed our way, the allergies I have due to the pollen and so on.
So after much consideration I have decided that I will do the ‘Master Cleanse’ a combination of water, lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. I have done this cleanse a few times already and it always makes me feel fantastic it gives me that extra energy I need during times when I am not feeling so great.

The Benefits of a Detox

Besides the usual benefits of increased energy, clear eyes, skin and regulated moods, Detoxing has many other benefits:

  • Improves our Immune Function
  • Reduce the amount of toxins and pollution into our body to lessen the burden against the detoxification organs
  • Promote healthy eating, nutrition and supplementation to help our body effectively clear the toxins
  • Scavenge free radicals and eliminate toxins
  • Strengthen body’s fight against cancer cells and generate healthy cells in our body
  • Cleanse mucous, congestion, fermentation, inflammation in our digestive tract
  • Purify our blood
  • Reform our lifestyle addictions for sugar, salt, high glycemic carbohydrates, alcohol, junk foods, nicotine, etc

The first time I did “The Master Cleanse” was back in 2005 everyone had said that I would not be able to go without food for 21 days and it kinda kicked something in me to prove them wrong. I had started to smoke in 2004 and went from hating smoke to smoking about a pack or more a day, I never had it in me to quit and didn’t even want to.
So when I started the cleanse I hadn’t thought of the fact that I wouldn’t be able to smoke either. And, obviously after reading everything carefully and really soaking in the words “DETOX” I realized that I had embarked one tough journey. The first 3 days were torturous I had a horrible headaches from the caffeine withdrawal, I was craving my cigarettes, had muscle and body aches and I didn’t know if I would be able to complete it. However, although every single day I thought about quitting (sincerely only because I missed and craved the food), I started noticing how energetic and wonderful I was feeling, I would wake up in great moods, I had tons of energy (sexually as well, ha!) and felt like I was a new person; and the bonus was that I also lost a few lbs.

When I got off the cleanse I had no desire to put a cigarette in my mouth and felt so great. It was a way for me to push the button and start anew. I felt fantastic. I have consistently done the cleanse just about once a year, right when I start feeling sluggish and not so great, with the weather changes and my not so inspirational mood I know that I need to reset myself and this seems to work fantastic for me.

I only do it for 10 days, I have never re-done the 21 days I initially did. I don’t really know of any other detox because I generally stick to what I like. This one worked for me so I do it. However, you have to know that you are not allowed to eat anything at all, you can only drink the lemon mix, water and herbal teas. So, I don’t suggest everyone to do it because it is tough, there are other cleanses that are less drastic, I will list them below. I do however suggest an occasional detox, it’s good to give your body a break so that it can focus solely on you and help give that extra spark back in your everyday life. However, if you are doing this exclusively to lose weight I would suggest other things and always remember to contact your physician before starting any cleanse/detox. And remember to follow the guidelines carefully, you have to introduce the right foods back into your body slowly, I have attached the original link to the Master Cleanse for instruction.  Ciao

Master Cleanse:

  1. Nightly Laxatives (Herbal tea called “Smooth Move”) you can find it in any health store
  2. Salt Water Flush

Prior to your first day on The Lemonade Diet you should have taken your Nightly Laxative. On your first full day you do not need to do the SWF so you can start drinking your Lemonade immediately upon waking.

Lemonade Diet Recipe

Mix each of the following lemonade diet ingredients into a large glass:

  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Grade B Maple Syrup
  • 1/10 Teaspoon of  Cayenne Pepper Powder – or to taste (as much as you can stand)
  • 8 ounces (250 milliliters of Pure Water)

Little tip: Roll each lemon firmly between your palm and the counter. Put sufficient downward pressure as you rock the lemon back and forth under your hand. You are softening the lemon to make the extraction of juice more efficient.

How much Lemonade should you drink during the day?

You will drink between 6 and 12 glasses of Lemonade each day (some people drink as much as 26 glasses per day). The more you can drink, the better. I try to drink at least 8 glasses each day. This will depend on how big or small you currently are (caloric needs), your tolerance to physical and psychological urges to eat, and your desire to to lose weight.

Here is the official Website: http://themastercleanse.org/

Here are some other types of Detox/Cleanses:

1) http://www.cleanprogram.com/

2) http://www.justcleansing.com/juicefasting.htm

3) http://detox-resource.com/10/fruit-flush-3-day-detox-diet-detox-made-easy/

 

 

 

Eating Habits of Naturally Thin People

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I know that we all have ways we like to eat. But sometimes it’s our eating habits that can cause us to feel unhappy with our bodies and ourselves, we form these habits without even knowing that it’s a habit and maybe not such a good one at that. Eating is an essential part of our daily lives and who doesn’t love to eat?! But, we do have to watch at times how we eat. This is why I want to share with you the (secret) actually; known but not practiced eating habits of thin people.
They are simple steps we all know about and actually not that hard to follow if we make them our habits too, it will help our over all mood and way we look. Let’s see:

 

Naturally Thin Habit #1 – Don’t Overeat

Have you ever noticed that naturally thin people don’t over stuff themselves with excess amounts of food? They rarely eat larger portions or go back for seconds, but more often than not they have a natural awareness of their bodies and stop eating when they recognize that little signal that says, “Thank you, I’ve had enough to eat for now.”

Start applying this habit in your own life by paying close attention to how your body feels as you eat. When your body starts communicating that it is now satisfied, stop eating.

Naturally Thin Habit #2 – Get Rid of Guilt

Naturally thin people don’t beat themselves up for eating something they shouldn’t have – in fact, there are no forbidden foods in their world. They eat what they want, but they don’t overdo it. If they do eat something they would consider to be more fattening than their normal food choices, they don’t obsess over it for days. They don’t beat themselves up for eating it, and they don’t jump to conclusions like they are out of control and can’t be trusted to make wise decisions. They simply accept that they ate the food, and move on. No regrets, no guilt.

How freeing would it feel to adopt this habit yourself? Give it a try and notice how much better it feels to not have to carry such a heavy burden of guilt on your shoulders all the time.

Naturally Thin Habit #3 – Fill Up On Greens

Eat a side salad or green vegetable like broccoli to help fill your stomach. This gives you the volume of food that you’re used to without a lot of calories. Then, eat something that will satisfy your taste buds. An example would be an appetizer of a side salad to tame my hunger, then an appropriate portion of whatever sounds good to you. Maybe it’s a juicy steak or a pasta dish that looks good. A smaller portion of pasta will go a long way when you’re already partly satisfied from the greens.

Naturally Thin Habit #4 -Don’t be Obsessive

Don’t Get Obsessive About Losing Weight. When you first decide that you want to start losing weight it’s really easy to get obsessed with it. You may find yourself spending a lot of time thinking about what you’re going to eat or Googling weight loss topics online. This will only backfire on you. What goes up must come down. The key is to fit your “diet” into your life instead of trying to fit into your “diet.” Naturally thin people don’t obsess about working out and burning calories. They think positive and maintain a healthy exercise routine, if they miss one day there is always tomorrow.

Exercise is good, just don’t over do it. Almost all of your weight loss will be a result of your “diet.”

Naturally Thin Habit #5 – Find What Works for You

Naturally thin people eat what works with their body type. They listen to their body, some can stomach grapefruit, other can’t. Some can stomach soy milk, other can’t. Some eat dairy, other don’t. Some eat beans, others don’t.

You have to listen to your body and know what makes you feel good, some food bloat certain people and others don’t so you really have to learn to listen to your body and notice what is working for you in that moment. With this being said, we can all agree that too much sugar, junk food, sodas or artificial stuff doesn’t work great for anyone.
This is just some personal habits that I find to work for me, my husband and all the fellow Mythineaters out there.Thin people shouldn’t have to worry about what they eat, because they know themselves well and don’t feel controlled by food. Have a wonderful day!! Cheers to better eating habits from my Husband and I