I think part of the problem is that there are so many diets out there and so many experts, who all seem to contradict each other; and we have ended up confused. We don’t know if we should be eating Cabbage all day long, or drinking Watercress soup or consuming only raw food.

Taking care of your weight will help your health even if you only lose a pound or two. Every pound you lose is a step in the right direction. Start with a small goal and celebrate your success. Too often, we dieters aim for too much and when the weight doesn’t drop off quickly we lose motivation.

You should begin by keeping a food diary. By writing down everything you eat but also the mood you were in when you ate i.e. bored, happy, and sad, you will get to know your trigger points. A lot of us eat for something to do not because we are hungry. Keeping a diary also helps you to remember exactly what you ate so you can see how many calories you are consuming.

Start every day with a decent breakfast. That way you are less likely to snack on the things we all love, but drive our weight out of sight. Be sensible and keep away from chips, cakes, biscuits and sugar in all its guises including diet soda pop. Fill up on fruit and vegetables aiming to eat more than the recommended five portions a day. Cut alcohol out for the moment as it not only contains empty calories but it lowers your inhibitions making it more difficult to stick to a diet. If you can’t give up altogether, then aim to drink two glasses of water for every alcoholic drink you have. This will help to flush the toxins out of your body.

Cut down on your sugar and salt intake by cooking your own food rather than relying on take aways or packaged foods. Too much salt can hinder weight loss as it causes you to retain water.

Start exercising as well. You don’t need to go to a gym. Walking, swimming, jogging and skating are all good examples of how easy it is to build exercise into your day.

The secret to losing weight and more importantly to maintaining your new figure is to lose pounds gradually. Forget about faddy diets that promise to lose ten pounds overnight – the weight you lose will be mainly water. And studies show you are likely to put back on even more weight than you lost. Don’t obsess about being on a diet as this will only make you hungry.

As the pounds drop off, your friends will soon be asking you what is the easiest way to lose weight.

No related posts.

Chinese slimming tea works on your metabolism. Ssome studies have shown green tea has the ability to increase metabolism.  This makes your body burn extra fat.  The catechin polyphenols in green tea react with the chemical transmitters in the nervous system to increase metabolism.

Because Chinese slimming tea has terrmogenic properties, it promotes fat oxidation beyond what caffeine in ordinary teas as well as coffees, chocolate, and soda does.  This helps increase the rate at which you lose weight.

There are many different kinds of Chinese slimming teas to consider.  I’ll address three in this article.

Slimming Tea is a dietary supplement.  It is made from natural Chinese herbs and reinforced with Panax Ginseng.  This tea helps you maintain good health as well as to lose weight.  It has appetite suppressant qualities as well.

The down side of Slimming Tea is that you may experience increased bowel movements during the first few days.  If you shorten the steeping time at first, it will reduce this effect.

Slimming Special Tea combines a number of traditional Chinese herbs.  This brand contains the finest qualities of triple leaf brand teas to ensure maximum freshness and flavors.  Many consider this herb combination the most satisfactory all natural beverage available.

When you drink Sliming Special Tea, you should include a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and also drink a significant amount of pure water.

The third kind of Chinese Slimming Tea I’ll mention in this article is Super Slimming Tea which was recently introduced by TripleLeaf-Tea.com.  It is a combination of traditional Chinese herbs blended especially to promote cleansing, detoxification, and healthy digestion.  It is formulated with licorice root which is known as “the Great Detoxifier” in China.  Orange peel is included to promote healthy digestion and it also gives the tea its robust taste.

Tea of all kinds has been a part of the tradition and culture of the Chinese people for thousands of years.  They enjoy tea not just for the health benefits, but also for the aroma and taste. Also, the tea that they consume brings them other benefits including great skin and overall health.  In fact, the Chinese have the lowest levels of prostate cancer and heart disease in the world, which many researchers believe is a result of the amount of tea they drink.

When you include several cups of Chinese slimming tea in your diet each day, you may well notice your body seems to shed wieght more easily.  You may also feel calmer and more relaxed as you let the effects of the hot beverage wash over you.  Adding moderate amounts of Chinese slimming tea to your daily dietary routine is a good idea, and it tastes great.

No related posts.

What is the status of Ephedra Diet Supplements in the United States?  In 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that ephedra diet supplements are banned.  The FDA first published a rule on February 11, 2004 which declared dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids present an unreasonable risk of illness or injury.  After a long fight with the supplements industry, the FDA was finally able to ban ephedra diet supplements.

The FDA acted after it received over 800 reports linking ephedra with dizziness, headaches, chest pain, psychosis, seizures and strokes. Some states banned the stimulant before the FDA acted. They claimed that when ephedra is taken regularly in weight loss supplements, your body stays in an unnaturally high gear and there is risk for heart palpitations and heart attacks.

The ephedra diet supplements manufacturers did not go down without a fight.  In fact, two manufacturers made a last ditch effort to have the US District Court in New Jersey enter a temporary injunction to prohibit the FDA from enforcing the rule.  But the court ruled that it would not stay the rule immediately and asked that the parties submit additional briefs.  So, the saga continues though the pills are not currently permitted.

Many dieters loved ephedra diet supplements because they could lose weight without diet or exercise.  Clinical studies showed that ephedra products worked on non-exercising people. There are very few supplements in the world that work without exercises. In one study subjects lost 10 pounds of fat in 6 weeks from taking 20mg of ephedrine, 200mg of caffeine and 325mg of aspirin 3 times a day without doing any exercises.

Ephedra occurs naturally in the central nervous system.  It is a stimulant obtained from the Ephedra equisetina plant, but is now made by chemical synthesis.  It is a white crystalline product soluble in water and very soluble in alcohol.  It is closely related to methamphetamines, although much less potent and longer acting.

Sometimes ephedra diet supplements are combined with caffeine and aspirin to help dieters reach their weight loss goals more quickly.

Now that ephedra diet supplements are banned, products made with “ephedra leaves” are being marketed.  But many dieters are finding that these products are no substitute for the real thing.  Ephedra leaves are legal, but many claim they are completely ineffective.

The battle over ephedra weight loss supplements is not over.  While it is currently illegal to sell the substance, the manufacturers and the dieters are fighting back to make ephedra weight loss supplements legal once more.

No related posts.

You see, when people talk about losing weight, they don’t always comprehend exactly what that means. Most people automatically connect weight with fat, but that’s not accurate.

If you want to lose 15 pounds just so it looks better on the scale readout, then it probably doesn’t matter whether you lose fat, water or muscle. If you want to lose that extra bulge around your middle, then you’re looking to lose 15 pounds of fat fast.

Regardless of whether you want to lose fat or pounds, it’s important to know that water makes up part of that loss. In fact, during the first few days of any diet, water makes up the majority of loss.

There are countless sites on the internet that claim to be able to show you how to lose 15 pounds fast. What they don’t always tell you is that losing weight fast can be dangerous to your health. Of course, it all depends on what you consider ‘fast’. For some people, a month would be fast while others see it as something more immediately, like a few days or a week.

The most realistic goal would be to lose 15 pounds in a month, because that’s far more achievable. Still, it can be risky if you don’t approach your weight loss correctly.

If you want to lose 15 pounds fast, it can’t be all water, which is the easiest to shed. Your body needs water to survive. Deprive it of too much water and it could suffer health problems.

Starvation or near starvation isn’t the answer either. In fact, not eating will cause your body to retain and even gain weight. When your body isn’t getting enough nutrients, it goes into survival mode, and hangs onto everything you feed it, which adds weight.

The best way to lose 15 pounds fast is by eating foods such as meat that use more of your energy to digest it. You could eat nothing but meat, but that wouldn’t be healthy either. Your body needs a well-rounded diet that provides all the required nutrients. You can eat a well balanced diet and still lose weight if you know which foods to choose.

Before starting your weight loss plan, take measurements of your body including your weight and fat content. Special callipers (usually part of a weight loss or fitness center’s tool kit) are used to measure fatty tissue on various areas of your body. Keep these figures handy so you can see your progress.

Here are some things you can do to lose 15 pounds fast.

1. Avoid foods that cause water retention, like salt. Cut back on salt and you’ll begin to shed weight.
2. Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day to keep your body’s digestive process working and raises your metabolism.
3. Add foods that use more energy to digest, including meat, chicken, salmon, asparagus, cheese, carrots, squash and green beans.
4. Drink water throughout the day as this helps boost your metabolism.
5. Exercise to build muscle, because muscle increases your metabolism naturally.

Re-take your measurements about every week or two and if you aren’t seeing results, adjust your weight loss plan accordingly.

Stick to your weight loss plan and you can lose 15 pounds fast.

No related posts.

False Mayo Clinic Diet #1
This weight loss diet revolves around eating a lot of grapefruit.  For instance, a typical day’s food would consist of:

Breakfast: ½ grapefruit, 2 eggs any style, 2 slices of bacon.

Lunch: ½ grapefruit, any style of meat (any amount), salad with any kind of dressing.

Dinner: ½ grapefruit, any style of meat or fish in any amount, any green, yellow, or red vegetables cooked in butter or any other kind of seasoning.

Snack: 1 cup of tomato juice or 1 cup of milk

Avoid: White onions, potatoes, celery

Eat until you are full and then stop.  Eat everything on the menu including the morning’s bacon.  Cut down on caffeine.  Don’t eat between meals.  Don’t eat any sugar or starch including deserts, bread, or potatoes.

The “key” to this false “Mayo Clinic Diet” is the grapefruit.  It supposedly acts as a catalyst that starts the fat burning process.

False Mayo Clinic Diet #2
They way to lose weight with this diet involves eating gallons and gallons of Cabbage Soup.  You can eat as much of the soup as you want throughout the diet.  You make the soup with the following ingredients:

• 6 large green onions
• 2 green peppers
• 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
• 3 Carrots
• 1 Container (10 oz. or so) Mushrooms
• 1 bunch of celery
• half a head of cabbage
• 1 package Lipton soup mix
• 1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
• 1 48oz can V8 juice (optional) (reduce water by appropriate amount if used)
• Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc.
• 12 cups water

The Cabbage Soup version of the Mayo Clinic Diet follows a 7 day plan.  On the first day, you can have all of the soup you want plus any amount of fruit except bananas.  The second day, you can have the soup plus all of the vegetables you want including one big baked potato at dinner time.  The third day, you get all the soup, fruit, and vegetables you want except for potatoes.  Then on day four, you get the soup plus all the bananas and skim milk you want.  On day 5, you get up to 20 ounces of beef plus 6 tomatoes along with the soup.  On day 6, you can have up to 3 8 ounce steaks and all the vegetables you want (no potatoes).  The last day calls for brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, and vegetables along with the soup.

The Real Mayo Clinic Diet
The Mayo Clinic does not recommend that dieters follow either the grapefruit or the cabbage soup plans.  Instead, the Official Mayo Clinic Diet is based on four healthy eating principles that look more like the advice a dietitian would recommend you follow:

1. Eat well using the food pyramid as a guide.
2. Increase your physical activity
3. Set action goals to guide your diet.
4. Get started and stay motivated.

Stop eating lots of grapefruit or drowning yourself in cabbage soup! You’re not following the official Mayo Clinic Diet, which is the real way to lose fat and lower your body weight.

No related posts.

There are slim people who feel uncomfortable when they develop the slightest belly. There are obese people who are quite content carrying around all that extra weight.

Perhaps a better question than ‘How much should I weigh’ would be ‘What is a healthy weight for me?’.

One quick way to find out is through weight charts. Your local community health center should be able to provide you with this chart. The basic chart goes by age, height and bone structure (also referred to as frame size). If you are small-boned (small frame) and 5′8″, your best weight would be considerably less than someone of the same height who is large-boned.

If you’re trying to lose or gain weight, it’s best to avoid weight fluctuations. You’re not alone if you’ve experienced the challenge of losing or gaining just the right amount of weight, and then staying there. Doctors say that it’s less healthy to be losing and gaining weight than it is to stay at a heavier weight.

‘How much should I weigh?’ is a great question for your doctor because he is in a much better position to advise you than by just checking a chart. There are several things to consider, including whether you are healthy at your current weight and if it can cause you problems in the future.

Another method is to check your Body Mass Index (BMI), which compares your height to your weight. The resulting equation will tell you how much you should weigh. Chances are, you can be perfectly safe at 10-20 pounds or more over your suggested weight.

This is especially true if you are developing muscle, because by volume, muscle weighs more than fat. Plus, people with good muscle development are generally healthier than people who are carrying around excess fat.

Next time you ask, ‘how much should I weigh?’, look at all the variables including body frame, BMI, and muscle structure.

The biggest concern is not about weight. It’s more directly related to excess fat in the body, which is one of the major risk factors for disease. Your local fitness center or health clinic can check your body fat with a pair of skin-fold callipers or other devices. These painless measurements are taken at different locations on your body.

Think carefully about who you rely on to determine how much you should weigh because what’s good for one person is not necessarily suitable for another. As discussed, there are certain differences to take into account.

If you’re 150 lbs., 5′8″, medium framed and muscular, in all likelihood you will be much healthier than your friend who is the same weight, height and bone size, but carrying excess fat.

Talk to your doctor to most accurately determine how much you should weigh.

No related posts.

Would it surprise you to know that you probably already participate in some of these weight loss exercises? The real secret is in knowing how to do those exercises for maximum benefit.

If you walk or climb stairs, for instance, you are utilizing the best exercises to lose weight quickly. You just need to make the most of them by upping the frequency and time you commit to these heart-thumping activities.

Unless you spend a vigorous 45 to 60 minutes every day on these exercises, you won’t lose weight quickly. You’ll just get tired. The key is consistency and that you work your system regularly. Muscle-building exercises are most effective to lose weight quickly.

Whichever fat burning exercise you choose, make sure you put all your energy into it. You want to keep your heart rate up and your blood pumping throughout the exercise period, with a proper cool down afterwards.

If you’re brisk walking, for example, walk slowly for the final few minutes to give your body a chance to cool down. Stopping suddenly can cause muscle cramps and really isn’t good for your heart. Give it time to fall back to normal while you’re moderately active.

Make sure you drink lots of water while exercising to replenish your reserves and to help prevent cramping.

When you’re ready, here are the 8 best exercises to lose weight quickly. Start gradually and let your body adjust to the workouts.

1. Squats: This exercise is great for building leg and buttock muscles. Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart and squat down and then up 10-20 times through two or three sets.
2. Jumping Jacks: You probably remember these from your school days. They provide one of the best whole body aerobic workouts. Do four or five set of 20 jumping jacks for best results.
3. Stepping: If you’ve made numerous trips upstairs while moving or cleaning, you’ll know how much energy this exercise takes. The benefits are multi-fold: burns calories, boosts heart rate,  great aerobics workout, builds leg and buttock muscles. You can use your stairs for this. Step up and down 20 times, rest and repeat two or three times.
4. Walking: Fast walking is better than slow walking, but both are beneficial. If you want an exercise to lose weight quickly, walk briskly for half an hour and you can burn up to 180 calories.
5. Bicycling: The outdoors can be more enjoyable, but stationary indoor cycles can provide an equally good exercise to lose weight quickly. In fact, if you apply the right amount of resistance at the right speed, you can lose between 250 and 500 calories in half an hour.
6. Swimming: This is a great, fun exercise for many people. It provides an excellent cardio workout that uses your entire body. Doing the breast stroke for half an hour can burn 400 calories.
7. Cross Country Skiing: Another fun activity with the same benefits as swimming.
8. Jump Rope: This isn’t just a kids’ game. Adults can get a terrific, unparalleled total body workout by jumping rope for as little as 15 to 20 minutes.

That gives you eight of the top workouts you can try.  They are just some of the best exercises to lose weight quickly.

No related posts.

When you think about how to diet, think in terms of abundance.  Rather than think about what you have to cut out of your life, think about what you can add.

Specifically, think about adding more vegetables to your diet.  Try to “sneak in” five servings of vegetables a day.  (Try to get two to three servings of fruit as well, but make sure you get all five servings of vegetables.)

Vegetables are wonderful foods.  They are high in vitamins and minerals needed to keep your body healthy.  They have tons of fiber which keeps you full.  But, perhaps for weight management purposes, their best attribute is that they are water dense which means that they have very few calories for the amount of food you can eat.

In order to make room for vegetables in your daily menu, you have to get creative about how you serve your meals.  For instance, many people think of dinner as a slab of meat, a hunk of potato, and a garnishment of vegetables that may or may not be eaten.  This is not how to diet.

Instead, use meat to accent and flavor your meals and make the vegetables a prime ingredient.  A chicken stir fry with lots of onions, carrots, broccoli, green peppers, and red peppers has far more vegetables than a spoonful of peas or corn on the side of your plate.

Think about serving soups and stews that have a large vegetable component.  How to diet when you are going to have a heavy meat meal is to start with a vegetable rich broth based soup.  This way, you will start to fill up long before you get to the calorie dense meat portion of the meal.

You can also try to “sneak” vegetables into meals.  There have been several recipe books lately that show moms how to slip veggies into their kids’ favorite recipes, but you can do this for yourself if you want to.    For instance, make mashed potatoes with half cauliflower instead of potatoes.  Or, puree broccoli and add it to spaghetti sauce.  The varieties of how to diet by sneaking vegetables into food are endless.

How to diet with vegetables isn’t limited to dinner either.  Think about how you can incorporate more vegetables into breakfast and lunch too.  For instance, instead of a bologna sandwich with a limp piece of lettuce, add tomatoes, sprouts, and spinach to beef it up.  For breakfast, instead of a bagel, have a healthy carrot raison bran muffin.

And, you can even get your vegetables in when it comes to desert.  A piece of pumpkin pie has a full serving of vegetables.  You can cut the calories by not eating the crust.

When people ask you how to diet, you can now tell them that you fill up on vegetables and don’t need to worry about cutting out other things.

No related posts.

Weight Watchers, for instance, is perfect for the busy woman.  There are no “forbidden foods,” elaborate recipes, or fancy food combinations.  Instead, each food is given a points value based on its calorie, fat, and fiber quotient.  Then, the dieter is given a maximum number of points to be used each day.  There are also floating points for the week that can either be divided up equally over the days or used for a once a week splurge.

There are weekly meetings on the Weight Watchers program.  At these meetings, dieters weigh in and have their weight recorded and attend a 30 minute pep rally.  Seasonal issues like dealing with eating during the holidays are always addressed.  There are no special foods to buy.  There is an initiation fee and a $10/week meeting fee that is charged whether you attend your meeting or not.  Over all, this is one of the easiest diets you will find.

You should be able to make the same kinds of foods for your family that you make for yourself.  While you might choose to eat less than you normally would or skip the potato or desert course to stay under your point limit, you will find that you can eat with your family at all times.

Another of the recommended easy diets is Jenny Craig.  With Jenny Craig, you are given a pre-set menu and most of your meals are provided for you.  You simply buy the produce for salads, fruit snacks, etc.  You meet with a weight counselor once a week to monitor your progress and buy your next week’s worth of meals.  Some of the meals are shelf stable, but the tastier ones tend to be frozen.

Jenny Craig is expensive.  In addition to an initiation fee, the meals you buy will cost you more than comparable groceries will.  Additionally, you will have to go speific grocery stores to buy your diet food.

You will not be able to eat the same foods as your family when you follow Jenny Craig’s easy diets. You will need to prepare normal foods for the non-dieters at your table and bring your Jenny Craig food to dinner. If you are single, however, the portion controlled foods make Jenny Craig one of the easy diets to follow.

Nutrisystem is a cheaper version of Jenny Craig and an equally easy diet to follow.  While you won’t visit your counselor in person, you will have access to him or her over the phone.  The food is a lot less expensive, and it is all shelf stable which is mailed to you in 4 week boxes.  Taste might be an issue with some dieters. You still have to go to the grocery store to buy some of the diet food, but most is shipped to you in the box.  Like the Jenny Craig diet you won’t be able to sit down to dinner with the family, but cooking the Nutrisystem food is no problem.

So, there you have it, three easy diets that won’t complicate your life while you are losing weight.

No related posts.

Whether you want to lose 10 lbs once or until you reach a certain weight, a proper weight loss plan must include eating the right foods and getting sufficient exercise and sleep.

Sleep is one aspect of losing weight that isn’t often talked about, but it is as important as exercise. Researchers have discovered that two hormones that trigger appetite come into play if we don’t get enough sleep. This causes us to overeat and gain weight because our desire for high carbohydrates and rich foods increases.

Next time you crave these foods, see whether you’ve been getting enough sleep.

Another key to lose 10 lbs a week is to eliminate sugar and starch from your diet. They are the first and easy sources of energy that your body uses, which leaves the other food you eat to turn to fat. Any sugar that isn’t used turns to fat.

Believe it or not, deep breathing exercises can also help you to lose weight. Deep breathing 15 minutes a day will boost the oxygen flow into your body and promote weight loss.

To lose 10 lbs in a week, you’ll want to incorporate all the natural weight loss methods available to you. You might find pills or fad diets that can get you there, but in most cases, it’s not a permanent weight loss. The pounds will come back and your efforts will have been pointless.

The most obvious way to lose 10 lbs in a week is to get rid of the excess water in your system and eat healthful, fat-free foods. Stay away from junk food, high carbohydrates and sugar.

With a good diet plan, you will see results quickly. The first to go is the water that your body has retained. This quick weight loss can be encouraging, but it is not fat loss. That comes next.

Incorporate sufficient exercise into your weight loss plan. Simply eating right won’t cause you to loses 10 lbs in a week. It takes a combination of exercise, deep breathing exercises, good nutrition, and restful sleep.

Take each of these and apply whatever measures are necessary to get them into balance. If sleep is a problem, try to eliminate stress from your life. One way to do this is with exercise, which will also help you to meet your 10 lbs loss.

With a good plan, you can lose weight through water loss and energy consumption. Expect to lose little in the first few days, but an average of about 1-2 pounds per day thereafter.

If you’ve struggled to get to your desired weight, know that with the right plan applied consistently, you can lose 10 lbs in a week.

Related Articles:

1. What Is The Easiest Way To Lose Weight Just what is the easiest way to lose weight, I hear you ask! Well, it is kind of simple really....