12 Tips For Better Health & YES, Weight Loss!
Weight loss it tough. We all have had experience in this department. Whether it be 5 pounds or 50 pounds. We all struggle with our weight. Did you ever wonder why this is? Look at the western diet... Processed and overly processed food, meat every day and sometimes EVERY meal!, little to no whole fruits and vegetables, hardly any nuts or seeds, and not to mention most people don't even drink WATER! They have to drink soda, coffee, flavored water, juices, ect. If you are serious about losing weight you have to be ready for a life change. This is not about some "diet" after all, we find the word "die" in diet. Here are some tips that may help you out. I base this on my own experience...
1.) Cut out ALL forms of corn syrup from your diet. You must read food labels because this junk is found in EVERYTHING! Somethings include bread, jelly, ketchup, some pasta sauces, frozen meals and even in some canned fruits. Be wise, READ THE LABELS!
2.) Get rid of all the drinks! Only drink WATER! Unless you can drink tea without sugar and make your own home made juice, ONLY WATER! And please, do to fluoride levels, use a filter on your tap or drink bottled water. Fluoride is a poison that causes so many problems. I won't even get into that!
3.) Limit meats to only 3 times a week, meaning, 3 meals! I eat it less than that! It may seem hard at first but once you get use to the energy you will gain, you will not even notice! Meats have so much antibiotics and growth hormones in them, its no wonder people are so BIG!
4.) Limit dairy intake to only 3 times a week or every other day. This includes cheese, yogurt, butter, and milk! This one may be hard but there are alternatives. I use cocnut oil and virgin olive oil and both work well with dishes and cooking!
5.) Limit prossessed foods. Try to only eat those that have short ingridient listings. You can eat them everyday just LIMIT yourself!!
6.) Start your day off with fruit! Eat any fruit you like as much as you like! This should fill you up and keep you from craving sugar through out the day. Not to mention the energy boost! If fruit is not enough, add some nuts or seeds in for protein. Stay away from salted and roasted. Go RAW!
7.) Switch your table salt to sea salt. The body will use this salt better because it is natural. Regular iodized salt and processed salt will not only raise your blood pressure, it will make you feel like crap!
8.) Eat around 1,500 calories a day if your a woman and 2,000 calories if your a man. If your eating the right foods you will find that you won't even need that many calories to be satisfied for each day!
9.) Eat fresh vegetables and cooked vegetables everyday! Try to eat a fresh salad for lunch with a nice light dressing and cooked vegetables with your dinner. Soup is a great way to get all kinds of veggies in your diet. You can make chicken soup with no chicken, 70% vegetables and 30% pasta. This will not only fill you up, it will boost your immune system.
10.) MOVE! Do at least 20 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week. You can jog, bike, swim, really anything that gets your heart thumping out of your chest. The heart is a muscle after all and your heart will love you for this!
11.) Do weight training. You don't have to go over board with this. If you don't have time, do simple things that make your muscles shake a little. You don't have to stick to weights, just make house chores more difficult. You can do squats while watching TV or cooking. Make extra trips up and down the stairs (YES this works your leg muscles using your own body weight!). Get creative. Do this 3 times a week or every other day. You will begin to burn more calories and your skin will become tighter. Muscle is sexier then fat, don't you think?
12.) This one is a biggie. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! If you eat something and it makes your tired, stop eating it or limit it! If you feel so sore you can't walk, your over exerting yourself. You should feel pain when working the muscle but not a horrible pain. You may feel bad if you are just starting but this will ease up in a few days. Also, listen to your taste buds. If your graving salt, eat something with iron and B vitamins, if its sugar, try eating fruit high in vitamin C. If you have horrible salt craving like me, eating pickles always does the trick! For horrible sugar cravings, eat a spoon of extra virgin coconut oil or if you can control yourself, eat a small piece of dark chocolate.
I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I have gained weight from lack of exercise, imbalanced hormones and eating crap! This is what I am doing to help myself, I hope these tips help you as well. I am going to go from April of this year till July of this year, following my OWN program the best I can and if it is successful for me, I will share it in hopes to help others. I know how hard it is to look in the mirror sometimes and I know how hard it is to feel attractive to your own self. Just know that your beauty is not based upon your waist line, it is whats in your heart. Stay strong and you can reach your goals. You have to want this to really succeed.
