Weight Loss Journey

*** When you think of becoming smarter, you probably think about studying hard, doing lots of math and generally putting in time and effort. But what if I told you that you could get smarter by eating? We all love eating, so in theory this should be no hardship at all. But if you choose your foods wisely, you'll find it can make a significant difference to your brain function and overall mental performance! So, without further ado, here are some of the top brain foods: Oily Fish Oily fish is absolutely crucial for optimum brain health. Why? Because it contains omega 3 fatty acid. This benefits our brain in two ways. Firstly, omega 3 fatty acid can be used to build cell walls. It is incorporated into their formulation, which means that lesser materials get replaced. In turn, this results in brain cells that are more flexible, more fluid and less likely to become damaged. Better yet, this also increases cell membrane permeability. In simple English, this means that neurotransmitters,...

It is strange how many of us fail to listen to that tiny voice inside ourselves. There is no biological and scientific explanations to this ever present voice but you see, we all hear them. For some the voice is the all-commanding mentor. It is sad though that for some, this little voice has become their inner critic, or worse has for a long time muted. *** It is an innate murmuring voice that we hear. If we would all remember, this tiny voice has been with us throughout our lives, guiding us to make the proper decisions. But during the course of life, when we have become too jaded and have forgotten the beliefs we once had, this voice becomes silent that we no can no longer remember how good it feels to listen to its guidance. It was intended to help us but our negative thoughts turn that voice into an inner critic. This inner critic is the nagging voice that tells you how deficient you are, how ugly you are, how weak and useless you are and how people dislike you for who and what you...

  Improving your health and fitness doesn't have to be hard work. Sure, building an athletic, cover-model body is not easy. But if your objective is simply to feel a little healthier, look a little better and put a bit of a spring in your step, then you have plenty of simple options.  And in fact, knowing these easy hacks to improve your wellbeing is actually crucial when it comes to getting that killer body too. Why? Because a making these changes can give you the energy and the ability you need to make the bigger changes. These are those first small steps that make everything else possible. Here are some good places to begin! Swap All Your Drinks for Water Recent studies suggest that swapping all your drinks for water can make huge differences to your energy levels, your weight loss and even your mental focus. The reason for this is not only that you'll be putting fewer empty calories into your body, but also that you''ll be increasing your metabolism to burn fat at a...

*** I was driving past the gym the other day and I was actually impressed at how full the building was with people diligently getting their workout for the day in. Perhaps it’s because it is summer time here in Los Angeles and everyone wants to look good for this time of the year. Well, as motivating as this may be, and as much as I honestly applaud their efforts, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of these obviously dedicated people were concerned with not just the external appearance of health but the inside as well. It is documented that people spend loads of money on the new weight-loss pill or supplement guaranteed to ‘make you eat less and increase your metabolism…’ and in spite of whatever side effects the product may contain, the average Joe, still thinks this quick fix will be worth the risk. What most people fail to realize is most fitness experts and bodybuilders who may use or endorse such products have a tendency to atrophy and wear down prematurely as sooner or later, th...

This January, when I wanted to look better for my husband's birthday, I intentionally lost ten pounds in a week. I'm telling you this to show you how fast it is possible to lose weight when you adjust right methods. I wasn't consuming any carbs, salt or alcohol and I love my pasta, so I gained 3 pounds back the next week. However, some of the steps and tricks I'm about to tell you are really easy and I find them really helpful, that's why I decided to share it on my blog! 1. Cut out all the carbs and eat more lean proteins  A low-carb diet is a diet that restricts carbohydrates, such as those found in sugary foods, pasta and bread. It is high in protein, fat and healthy vegetables.  Your food choices depend on a few things, including how healthy you are, how much you exercise and how much weight you have to lose. I found a meal plan and wrote down what I should eat and what to avoid, it looked like this: Eat:  Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, high-f...

*** Now, be honest with yourself. Do you "forget" to stock diet friendly foods? What about absentmindedly ordering that Grande Mocha Malt Frappuccino at Starbucks last Monday morning? You know, the Monday you were going to start your diet – again? Maybe you're the type that figures once the morning diet is shot to hell, you may as well blow the rest of the day? Or, better yet, wait until next month? What if you just needed a gentle reminder when you first wake up while your brain is still foggy? Try these two simple tricks: Run a piece of masking tape across your bedroom doorway – something you'll run smack into first thing in the morning. Nothing like being caught in a spider web to enhance the memory! Now run another piece across the bathroom mirror where you shave or apply make-up – another instant reminder. My last favorite "reminder" trick is just a plain 'ol mind game. Hide everything! Trying to break the high calorie coffee habit? Stash the coffee...

*** I went on my first diet around three years ago. Over the past two and a half years my weight went up and down as I tried every diet and exercise program under the sun. Nothing seemed to work for me. Until six months ago I got a guide and it taught me that I need to change the way I look at food. It was then that I realized that I had made many mistakes in my quest to lose weight. If you feel lost as I was before you can keep reading and learn from my experience or see the guide HERE .  In this article I’m going to share with you eight mistakes I made on my quest to lose weight. I hope by sharing my experiences with others throughout the world via the internet I might be able to help people avoid the mistakes I made. So, here are the eight mistakes I made while trying to lose weight. 1. I started to skip breakfast Most people trying to lose weight believe simply eating less and skipping meals helps shed that fat. And breakfast is a real easy meal to skip. This is one of the bigg...

*** There are many people who attempting to lose weight, some will succeed and others will fail, however the biggest battle for people who are able to reduce their weight, is often to keep to their ideal weight. Many people will find that they have soon returned to the weight that they were before they went on their diet or even that they are actually fatter. This can of course be very depressive and can result in them losing a lot of their self-esteem. What is needed is for a permanent solution to their weight problems. There are some obvious routes to take in the battle to lose weight. They would include increasing the amount in which we exercise and reducing the amount we eat. It is this eating issue that can be the hardest to control and to reduce as our temptations often get the better of us. In my opinion what we need to do is to make our house a fat free zone. If we become hungry and start looking through the cupboards and notice for example a packet of crisps, it can often be v...

*** Whenever anyone says or gestures that they want to lose weight, most of the time, they point to their guts saying “I wanna lose all this!” Obviously, abdominal weight loss is a goal for many people.   However, what most people might not be aware of is that-of all exercises-Yoga actually can help immensely for weight loss in the abdominal region. There are specific poses, that target excess weight in the abdomen and coupled with a customized diet, those seeking abdominal weight loss would find success in using these yoga exercises. Let’s go over them, shall we? Abdominal Weight Loss: Yoga Poses to Use. 1. The Sun Salutations: These are a combination of poses that serve as a warm up-routine for a Yoga session or class. They are very similar to the popular calisthenics exercise known as burpees. However, they differ in that they have a spiritual significance included as a result of executing them. Due to the forward and backward bending motions involved, after performing a few to ...

*** To lose weight and get in shape you must have a good diet and exercise regularly to burn fat. The first thing you must understand about exercise is that just because you are burning calories does not mean you are burning fat. Your main focus when you exercise should be losing body fat, and you can’t lose body fat just from burning calories. When we exercise, our bodies will start burning calories, but the calories that are burned are the calories from carbohydrates in our system. In order to burn calories from your stored fat, your body requires the presence of oxygen. There is a certain amount of oxygen that your body needs in order to start burning fat and the only way for you to measure the amount needed for your own body is to keep up with your target heart rate during exercise. Please understand that if you continue to only burn calories from carbohydrates, you will lose mostly “water weight” which leads to a decrease in your metabolism. Also, think of the calories that are bu...

*** You think thousands of thoughts each day. You talk to yourself more than anyone else. You are your most trusted advisor and confidant. Many of the conversations that you have with yourself you would never share with anyone else because to do so would expose the “real” you. The you that is filled with self doubt, worries, sadness, guilt, hurts and disappointments.     But this is not the “real you” at all. This is the you that your ego and belief systems have constructed. These negative beliefs have been constructed by you, and accepted by you as truth. The sad thing is that nothing can be further from the truth. Where did these false ideas about you originate? They mostly came from others; parents, teachers, co-workers, and friends. They might have planted the seed by saying something like “she is fat” and you have cultivated those comments to the point that they have become your truth. You are allowing your entire life to be controlled by some obscure comments made years ...

*** Obesity is now being called an epidemic in the health community. In fact, it will soon be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, even ahead of cigarette smoking. Obesity leads to type two diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke and even an increased risk of cancer. With all of these health risks, as well as the general improvement in the quality of life that can occur, losing weight is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. No matter what we would like to believe, there simply isn’t a magic solution to losing weight. The body will shed excess fat when it needs more calories to function through the demands you place on it in a given day than the amount of calories that you feed it. It’s that simple. So, in order to lose weight, you need to decrease the number of calories that you eat as well as increase the amount that you burn. There is a wide range of options to choose from when looking for a weight loss program. All of them often...