10 Natural Remedies for Most Pesky Daily Problems Cramps, Eczema, Bladder infection .....

Natural-born soothers

by Rachel Swalin

You already know that consuming the right foods can boost your intake of minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. But there are a few out there that could also alleviate some of your most pesky daily problems, like hiccups or even rashes like eczema. Though it's important to keep in mind that serious conditions need the attention of a doctor, it might not hurt to reach for one of these 10 items the next time you have a minor health problem.

Ginger for menstrual cramps

Traditional Chinese medicine has relied on ginger for more than 2,000 years. "Ginger can improve blood flow and reduce inflammation in your muscles, including those in the uterus where cramps originate," says Mary Rosser, MD, PhD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, New York.

What's more, a preliminary study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine even found that ginger was as effective as ibuprofen for relieving period pain (more research is needed). To make your time of the month a little more bearable, try brewing up a cup of warm ginger tea.

Cranberries for urinary tract health

Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, a compound that fends off the bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTI). "E. coli is one of the top offenders in triggering a UTI," Dr. Rosser says. "This substance has been shown to prevent infection by keeping the bacteria from attaching to the bladder walls." If you already have a UTI, cranberries probably won't cure it, but consuming cranberries daily may help protect against future infections. About 20% of women who get a UTI will contract another one, so drinking one to two glasses a day of 20% pure cranberry juice will help prevent recurrence, Dr. Rosser says.

Calcium-rich foods for PMS

Prone to irritability and mood swings before your period? You're not alone. About 85% of menstruating women experience at least one PMS symptom each month. The good news is tweaking your diet might help lessen your symptoms. "It's been shown that people with PMS have lower blood calcium levels than those without PMS," Dr. Rosser says. The National Institutes of Health recommends adults consume about 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. You probably already know that dairy products are rich in calcium, but so are almonds, broccoli, leafy greens, and sardines.

Oatmeal for eczema

Calm itchy, inflamed skin using this breakfast food. Oatmeal soothes rashes because it's packed with phytochemicals that have anti-inflammatory properties. Create a soothing bath by grinding 1/3 cup of plain oatmeal (no flavors!) into a fine powder using your blender; pour the powder into lukewarm water and stir in evenly with your hands until the water is a milky color, suggests Kavita Mariwalla, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist. Another option: use 1/4 cup of oatmeal and enough water to make a paste that you can apply directly to the skin for 10 minutes, she says.

Sea salt for dry skin

You don't need an expensive skincare product to treat rough patches on your knees, elbows, and heels. A sea salt scrub made at home will work just as well. "Sea salt is a good exfoliator because it has thicker grains that do a good job of clearing away dry skin," Dr. Mariwalla says. Just mix one cup of sea salt with 1/2 cup of a light massage oil. "Use a bowl to make sure the mixture stays moist, like wet sand, and not runny," Dr. Mariwalla says. It's best to keep this scrub away from your more sensitive areas like your face and the back of your arms, though. It can be harsh on skin that doesn't require as much exfoliation.

Cucumbers for puffy eyes

Laying cold cucumber slices over your eyes may look a little silly, but the age-old beauty trick really does reduce puffiness. Cucumbers, which are 95% water, offer a nice cooling sensation and the cold temperature causes blood vessels to constrict and reduce inflammation. And there's a reason why cucumbers in particular work even better than ice packs. "Cucumber slices perfectly fit to the contours of your eyes to help reduce swelling," Dr. Mariwalla says. You'll only need to leave them on for 10 minutes for fresher-looking eyes.

Prunes for constipation

Dried plums are rich in insoluble fiber, a key nutrient to help fight constipation. "Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water and creates more bulk so waste can push through the digestive system," says Wayne Andersen, MD, medical director of Take Shape for Life, a weight loss program from Medifast. Prunes also contain two substances that act as natural laxatives, sorbitol and dihydrophenylisatin, which will work much better for your system over time than drugstore constipation aids. "The body can become desensitized over time to over-the-counter laxatives," Dr. Andersen says. Start with just one prune a day first and bump up your intake to two if you don't see a response.

Sugar for hiccups

When you hiccup, the diaphragm undergoes a series of spasms, but you can fool your body into stopping that reaction by putting a teaspoon of sugar underneath your tongue. The sweet sensation is strong enough to stimulate the vagus nerve. That's the longest cranial nerve in your body, starting at your brain stem and extending as far down as your diaphragm to control the stomach. "Keep the sugar under your tongue until you stop hiccupping, and then swallow to fill the back of your throat with even more sensation," Dr. Andersen says.

Apples for heartburn

Avoiding trigger foods like soda, high-fat beef, and anything fried is the best way to deal with acid reflux. One food that should keep in your diet: apples. "Apples have pectin, a soluble fiber that's really great at absorbing stomach acid," says Dr. Andersen. Plus, the fruit contains two types of acid (malic and tartaric) that work to beat back any juices that flow up from your stomach. "Buy organic red or golden delicious apples that are sweeter than the tart granny smiths," Dr. Andersen suggests. "Sweet apples are considered alkaline foods that work at a cellular level to restore pH balance and prevent GERD."

Turmeric for infections

Turmeric is revered in India as a "holy powder" that can be used to prevent infections and treat wounds. That's thanks to a compound called curcumin. "Foods with curcumin have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties so they can help with cleansing and healing," says Dr. Andersen. A study in the Biochemical Journal even found that curcumin has the ability to stop bacteria from multiplying. If your medicine cabinet is running low on antibiotic ointment, try dabbing a little turmeric on your cut or scrape instead, but only for minor or superficial wounds. Dr. Andersen suggests using half a teaspoon of turmeric powder with a drop or two of water to make a paste, or if the wound is still bleeding a bit, you can apply the powder without water. After the area is dry, cover with a dressing and let the healing begin.  

Source: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20831757,00.html

How to Lose Weight Fast

How to Lose Weight Fast: A Proven 3-Step Plan That Works

By Kris Gunnars

There are many ways to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time.
However, most of them require you to be hungry and unsatisfied.
If you don’t have iron willpower, then hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly.
The 3-step plan outlined here will:

• Kill your appetite.
• Make you lose weight fast, without being hungry.
• Improve your health at the same time.

Step 1 – Eliminate Sugars and Starches

The most important part is to remove sugars and starches (carbs) from your diet.
These are the foods that stimulate secretion of insulin the most. If you didn’t know already, insulin is the main fat storage hormone in the body.
When insulin goes down, fat has an easier time getting out of the fat stores and the body starts burning fats instead of carbs.
Another benefit of lowering insulin is that your kidneys shed excess sodium and water out of your body, which reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight .
It is not uncommon to lose up to 10 pounds (sometimes more) in the first week of eating this way, both body fat and water weight.
This is a graph from a study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets in overweight/obese women.

The low-carb group is eating until fullness, while the low-fat group is calorie restricted and hungry.
Cut the carbs, lower your insulin and you will start to eat less calories automatically and without hunger.
Put simply, lowering your insulin puts fat loss on “autopilot.”

Step 2 – Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables

Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. Constructing your meals in this way will automatically bring your carb intake into the recommended range of 20-50 grams per day.

Protein Sources:

• Meat – Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bacon, etc.
• Fish and Seafood – Salmon, trout, shrimps, lobsters, etc.
• Eggs – Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs are best.

Protein is the macronutrient that contributes most to fullness and eating adequate protein can raise your metabolism.
Low-Carb Vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Kale
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Celery

Don’t be afraid to load your plate with these low-carb vegetables. You can eat massive amounts of them without going over 20-50 net carbs per day.
A diet based on meat and vegetables contains all the fiber, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. There is no physiological need for grains in the diet.

Fat Sources:

• Coconut Oil
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Lard
• Tallow

Eat 2-3 meals per day. If you find yourself hungry in the afternoon, add a 4th meal.
Don’t be afraid of eating fat, trying to do both low-carb AND low-fat at the same time is a recipe for failure. It will make you feel miserable and abandon the plan.
The best cooking fat to use is coconut oil. It is rich in fats called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These fats are more fulfilling than others and can boost metabolism slightly
There is no reason to fear these natural fats, new studies show that saturated fat doesn’t raise your heart disease risk at all .
To see how you can assemble your meals, check out this low carb meal plan and this list of low carb recipes.

Bottom Line: Assemble each meal out of a protein source, a fat source and a low-carb vegetable. This will put you into the 20-50 gram carb range and drastically lower your insulin levels.

Step 3 (Optional) – Exercise 3-4 Times Per Week

You don’t need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended.
The best option is to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Do a warm up, lift weights, then stretch.
If you’re new to the gym, ask a trainer for some advice.
By lifting weights, you will burn a few calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight .
Studies on low-carb diets show that you can even gain a bit of muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat.
If lifting weights is not an option for you, then doing some easier cardio workouts like running, jogging, swimming or walking will suffice.

Optional – Do a “Carb Re-feed” Once Per Week

You can take one day “off” per week where you eat more carbs. Many people prefer Saturday.

It is important to try to stick to healthier carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, etc.
But only this one higher carb day, if you start doing it more often than once per week then you’re not going to see much success on this plan.
If you must have a cheat meal and eat something unhealthy, then do it on this day.
Be aware that cheat meals or carb refeeds are NOT necessary, but they can up-regulate some fat burning hormones like leptin and thyroid hormones.
You will gain some weight during your re-feed day, but most of it will be water weight and you will lose it again in the next 1-2 days.

Bottom Line: Having one day of the week where you eat more carbs is perfectly acceptable, although not necessary.

What About Calories and Portion Control?

It is NOT necessary to count calories as long as you keep the carbs very low and stick to protein, fat and low-carb vegetables.
However, if you really want to, then use this calculator (opens in new window).
Enter your details, then pick the number from either the “Fat Loss” or the “Extreme Fat Loss” section – depending on how fast you want to lose.
There are many calorie counters you can use to track the amount of calories you are eating. I like Cron-O-Meter – it is free and easy to use.
The main goal is to keep carbs under 20-50 grams per day and get the rest of your calories from protein and fat.

Bottom Line: It is not necessary to count calories to lose weight on this plan. It is most important to strictly keep your carbs in the 20-50 gram range.

Other Weight Loss Tips to Make Things Easier (and Faster)

Pretty much all you have to do is the 3 steps:

1. Eliminate high-carb foods.
2. Eat Protein, Fat and Veggies.
3. Exercise 3-4 times per week (optional, but recommended).

However, there are a few other tips that you may find useful if you want to speed things up even further.
None of these are old wives’ tales, they all have scientific evidence to back them up.
Drink Water, Coffee or Tea: Satisfy your thirst with water. If you’re a coffee or a tea drinker, then by all means drink as much as you want as both can raise your metabolism slightly.
Use Smaller Plates: Studies show that people automatically eat less when they use smaller plates. Strange, but it works.
Sleep Like a Baby: Poor sleep is associated with weight gain and obesity, taking care of your sleep is important.
Reduce Stress: Being stressed can elevate the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause fat accumulation in the belly.
Good sleep and reduced stress levels can also help prevent cravings, the dieter’s worst enemy. There are many other tips to prevent cravings in this article.

Bottom Line: It is most important to stick to the three rules, but there are a few other things you can do to speed things up.

You Will Become a “Fat Burning Beast”

You can expect to lose 5-10 pounds of weight (sometimes more) in the first week, then consistent weight loss after that.
I can personally lose 3-4 lbs per week for a few weeks when I do this strictly.
If you’re new to dieting, then things will probably happen quickly. The more weight you have to lose, the faster you will lose it.
For the first few days, you might feel a bit strange. Your body has been burning carbs for all these years, it can take time for it to get used to burning fat instead.
It is called the “low carb flu” and is usually over within a few days. For me it takes 3. Adding some sodium to your diet can help with this, such as dissolving a bouillon cube in a cup of hot water and drinking it.
After that, most people report feeling very good, positive and energetic. At this point you will officially have become a “fat burning beast.”
Despite the decades of anti-fat hysteria, the low-carb diet also improves your health in many other ways:

• Blood Sugar tends to go way down on low-carb diets.


• Triglycerides tend to go down.


• Small, dense LDL (the bad) Cholesterol goes down .


• HDL (the good) cholesterol goes up.


• Blood pressure improves significantly .


• To top it all of, low-carb diets appear to be easier to follow than low-fat diets.

Bottom Line: You can expect to lose a lot of weight, but it depends on the person how quickly it will happen. Low-carb diets also improve your health in many other ways.

You Don’t Need to Starve Yourself to Lose Weight

If you have a medical condition then talk to your doctor before making changes because this plan can reduce your need for medication.
By reducing carbs and lowering insulin levels, you change the hormonal environment and make your body and brain “want” to lose weight.
This leads to drastically reduced appetite and hunger, eliminating the main reason that most people fail with conventional weight loss methods.
This is proven to make you lose about 2-3 times as much weight as a typical low-fat, calorie restricted diet.
Another great benefit for the impatient folks is that the initial drop in water weight can lead to a big difference on the scale as early as the next morning.
Here are a few examples of low-carb meals that are simple, delicious and can be prepared in under 10 minutes: 7 Healthy Low-Carb Meals in 10 Minutes or Less.
On this plan, you can eat good food until fullness and still lose a ton of fat. Welcome to paradise.

Source: http://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-lose-weight-as-fast-as-possible/

7 Healthy Low-Carb Meals in Under 10 Minutes

By Kris Gunnars

I get asked what I eat all the time, so I thought it would be a good idea to write an article with some of my go-to meals.
I’m not the most creative guy in the kitchen and usually use only a handful of ingredients.
My meals can be prepared in under 10 minutes… but I’ve still managed to make them taste pretty damn good, if I may say so myself.

All the meals are low-carb and weight loss friendly.

1. Eggs and Vegetables, Fried in Coconut Oil

This is what I eat for breakfast literally every single day. I never get tired of it and it keeps me full for a long time.
Ingredients: Coconut oil, Spinach, Frozen Vegetable Mix (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans) and Spices.
Instructions:

• 1. Add coconut oil to frying pan and turn up the heat.
• 2. Add vegetables. In my case, I use a frozen mix so I need to let it thaw in the heat for a few minutes.
• 3. Add eggs (I use 3 or 4).
• 4. Add spices. I use a spice mix, although salt and pepper work great too.
• 5. (Optional) Add spinach.
• 6. Stir fry until ready.

2. Grilled Chicken Wings With Greens and Salsa

This is one of my all-time favorite meals. There’s something “primitive” about eating meat off the bone… love it.
Ingredients: Chicken Wings, Spices, Some Greens, Salsa.

Instructions:

• 1. Put spice on chicken wings (I use a chicken spice mix).
• 2. Insert into oven, heat at 180-200°C (356-392°F) for about 40 minutes.
• 3. Grill until wings are brown and crunchy.
• 4. Serve with some vegetables and salsa.

3. Bacon and Eggs

I wouldn’t exactly call bacon a health food. It is processed meat, after all.
But it is still low in carbs and you can eat it on a low-carb diet and still lose weight. I personally eat bacon and eggs once or twice a week.
Ingredients: Bacon and eggs


Instructions:

• 1. Add bacon to pan, fry until ready.
• 2. Put the bacon on a plate, fry a few eggs (I use 3-4) in the bacon fat.
• 3. (Optional) If you want to add some flavor to the eggs, put a bit of sea salt, garlic powder and onion powder on them while frying.

4. Ground Beef With Sliced Bell Peppers

This is a meal I eat from time to time, not very often. It is perfect if you have some spare ground beef laying around.
Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Onions, Ground Beef, Spinach, Spices and a Bell Pepper.
Instructions:

• 1. Cut an onion in little pieces.
• 2. Put coconut oil on pan, turn up the heat.
• 3. Add onion to pan, stir for a minute or two.
• 4. Add ground beef.
• 5. Add some spices (I use a spice mix, but salt and pepper work fine).
• 6. Add spinach.
• 7. (Optional) If you want to spice things up a bit, add some black pepper and chili powder.
• 8. Stir fry until ready, serve with a sliced bell pepper.

5. Cheeseburgers Without The Bun

This is a meal that I never get tired of. Burgers without the bun, with some cheeses and served with raw spinach.
Ingredients: Butter, Hamburgers, Cheddar Cheese, Cream Cheese, Salsa, Spices, Spinach.

Instructions:

• 1. Put butter on pan, turn up the heat.
• 2. Add burgers and spices.
• 3. Flip until close to being ready.
• 4. Add a few slices of cheddar and some cream cheese on top.
• 5. Turn down the heat and put a lid on the pan until the cheese melts.
• 6. Serve with some spinach. I like to pour some of the fat from the pan on top of the spinach.
• 7. To make the burgers even more juicy, add some salsa on top.

6. Fried Pieces of Chicken Breast

I don’t always eat chicken breasts, but when I do… I add lots of butter to make them palatable.
Ingredients: Butter, Chicken Breast, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Curry and Vegetables.
Instructions:

• 1. Cut chicken breast into small pieces.
• 2. Add butter to pan, turn up the heat.
• 3. Add chicken pieces.
• 4. Add a bunch of salt, pepper, curry and garlic powder.
• 5. Stir fry until the chicken gets a brown, crunchy texture.
• 6. Serve with some greens.

7. Fake Meat-Based Pizza… Meatza

If you miss pizza, then you’re going to love this. It tastes even better, in my opinion, without all the nasty ingredients.
This recipe is very easy to modify and you can add whatever you want to it … vegetables, mushrooms, different cheeses, etc.
Ingredients: Ground Beef, Salsa, Onions, Spice, Garlic Powder, Shredded Cheese and Bacon.
Instructions:

• 1. Cut onions into little pieces and bacon into small slices.
• 2. Mix ground beef, salsa, onions, spices and garlic powder at the bottom of a baking dish.
• 3. Add shredded cheese on top.
• 4. Spread bacon slices over the whole thing.
• 5. Insert into oven, heat at 180-200°C (356-392°F) for 30-40 minutes, until bacon and cheese look crunchy.

Source: http://authoritynutrition.com/7-healthy-low-carb-meals/

Super slimmer flying high after shedding 11 stone in 11 months

By Georgie Keate

Brendan O’Donnell’s dream of becoming a pilot was grounded because he couldn’t fit in a plane's cockpit when he weighed 25 stone

Before and after: Brendan O'Donnell can take flying lessons after shedding 11 stone

Brendan O’Donnell’s dream of becoming a pilot was grounded because, at more than 25 stone, he couldn’t fit in a plane.
Now, after shedding 11 stone in just 11 months, he has booked his first flying lesson and says his life has changed “forever”.
Mr O’Donnell, unveiled today as Slimming World’s Male Slimmer of the Year, told how a series of 30th birthday events had been “ruined” because of his weight.
“We went to Spain first and I just couldn’t enjoy myself – it was just too hot and I was so uncomfortable,” he said.
“Then we went to a festival of tribute bands, Tribfest, and just carrying stuff from the car to the campsite nearly did me in.”
After that, Mr O’Donnell, who works for Aviva, decided to join a Slimming World group.
Since losing 11 stone, Mr O’Donnell, from Fridaythorpe in East Yorkshire, says he feels “incredible”.
“I never knew what it was like to be the correct weight for my height and I never realised it could feel this good.
"I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s with films like Top Gun. I always wanted to be a pilot but could never get in a small plane,” he said.
“There’s an airfield near us and now I can start taking lessons.”

Brendan's daily diet:

Before
Breakfast: Croissants, large latte
Lunch: Pre-packed sandwiches, large bag of crisps and a bag of sweets
Dinner: Frozen pizza, portion of chips
Snacks: Sharing bags of crisps or chocolate bars.

After
Breakfast: Fresh fruit with fat-free fromage frais and granola
Lunch: Tuna pasta salad
Dinner: Pulled pork, oven-baked chips and roasted vegetables
Snacks: Sushi, cooked lean meat, fresh fruit, ice lollies.

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/super-slimmer-flying-high-after-3896152#ixzz38rapMyCT

Weight Loss Stories - Rachael Partridge Lost 20 Pounds

Name: Rachael
Age: 23
Family Status: Single
Occupation: Personal Trainer
Location: Michigan
Height: 5'2"
Starting Weight: 160 pounds
Current Weight: 140 pounds
Pounds or Inches Lost: I lost 20 pounds!

Rachael's Weight Loss Story!
I’d like to share my story with you so you will know everyone has to start from somewhere. People do not just wake up and "be awesome", as much as we would like to pretend we can do that, there is no such thing.
All throughout high school I was a 3 sport athlete; 2-a-day practice was my thing. My senior year of high school I became a member of Snap Fitness in Belmont, Michigan. I got into a great routine and every day after school I would head to the gym. I would stay on ANY cardio machine for at least 45 minutes and make my round on the machines and then be on my way. I lost a few pounds here and there but was mostly using the gym as my "get away" time for a stress reliever. I soon moved out of my parent's place and into my cousin's house in Hudsonville which was right across the street from the Georgetown Snap Fitness location!

At the time I also changed jobs and my routine quickly went from going to the gym every day to paying the gym for 2 complete years and not going more than 3 times (WITHIN 2 YEARS!). I was the member the gym loved; I paid my monthly dues, but never came in! I was working at a bar in downtown Grand Rapids and was working night shifts. The gym was open 24/7, but who really wants to work from 4:30pm to 5:00am and then go workout for an hour. Trust me, I’ve tried it and it ain't happening! All I wanted to do was go home and sleep, wake up and repeat. Because of this way of living, on came the pounds.
A little over 2 years ago I was on my way home from a road trip with my brother and couldn’t fit into any of my clothes. Again, I lived across the street from the gym, paid the membership dues but never went. Coming home from a southern state where you are always wearing shorts, tank tops or even swimsuits, you’re always revealing a lot more skin than normal. That’s when the judging began, not from others but from myself. I couldn’t fit into anything! I’m young and I should be able to run a mile. I thought maybe if I just don’t eat I could get down to the weight that I wished to be. Maybe then guys would be interested in me. I judged myself up and down. About 5 hours away from the Michigan line I got on Facebook and messaged the Georgetown Snap Fitness about personal training.
Within a few hours I got a response back from the gym. I setup an appointment and was ready to rock-n-roll. This began my training journey. I met with Jeff twice a week, but going back to where I was in high school thinking, "I know how to workout, heck I played three sports, practiced twice a day and even on the off season" so BRING IT!" At my first session, about 15 minutes into the workout I THREW UP! I never threw up during a workout before! I gave Jeff one goal, I wanted to be able to run a 5K. I’m in my 20’s and I should be able to run a 5K no problem! I was also 32% body fat, and weighed about 166 pounds. This is the heaviest I have ever been! A goal weight for myself, at the time, was 135 pounds. That means I had to lose AT LEAST 31 pounds to just meet my goal weight. I had not seen 135 on the scale in YEARS.
About 9 months later of pushing myself day in and day out with workouts in the gym, changing what I was eating, and doing extra work outside of training, I finally hit the 20 pound loss mark. Long story short, I went from not being able to run a mile to now training for my second marathon (26.2 miles). I'm down to 18% body fat and I now weigh 140 pounds. I still have not met my 135 pound goal weight, but my goals for training have also changed.
I share my story to help all of you who are on your own weight loss journey to understand that goals DO NOT COME OVERNIGHT. I’m 2 years into training and STILL have not met my goal weight. I struggle with diet and exercise just as much as all of you! Although I am a trainer, I am the furthest away from being any super hero, although I may think I am at times, I’m not. I would like each and every one of you to know that I have been through exactly what you are going through and I am here for you at any time, any day of the week! Goals take time to meet and being awesome does not come overnight! If you have a goal weight, a race or a competition that you would like to compete in, then GO GET IT!

Rachael's Weight Loss Interview!

When did you become unhappy with your weight?

I was on a spring break trip with my younger brother when I was 20 years old and could not fit into my clothes.

What made you decide to lose weight?

Feeling like I was being judged. Also not being able to fit in my clothes. The scale was 40 pounds away from being 200 pounds! At the rate it was moving up, I would have been that heavy in no time!

What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?

Going to the gym on a regular basis and watching what I eat.

What was most challenging about losing weight?

Keeping a food journal and not eating when I am bored, upset or mad.

How long did it take you to start to see results?

A little over a year.

How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?

Two years.

How long have you maintained your weight loss and how do you do it?

Going on 3 months. I stay consistent with eating clean and working out.

What keeps you motivated to continue your weight loss success?

My personal trainer, friends, family and pictures of where I want to be in the fitness industry.

How has your life changed now that you've lost weight?

I'm happier and I have more confidence. I think differently about what I am putting into my body.

Do you have any advice for others who are trying to lose weight?

Just keep going! Weight loss is not a straight shot and you will go up and down, so keep going. Also, YOU are the only one keeping YOURSELF from your goals, LOCK IT UP and push it!

How did ShapeFit help you reach your weight loss goals?

ShapeFit's weight loss stories are very inspirational.

Rachael's Weight Loss Tips!
Weight loss tip #1:

Lock it up.

Weight loss tip #2:

Just do it.

Weight loss tip #3:

Keep going.

Weight loss tip #4:

You against you.

Weight loss tip #5:

Always give your 100%.

Rachael's Weight Loss Eating Plan!
Breakfast:

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, 1 nectarine, 3 strawberries, 1 package of oatmeal.

Lunch:

2 ounces of ground turkey, 1 sweet potato, 8 ounces of milk, 1 scoop whey protein.

Dinner:

2 ounces of turkey or a lean meat with veggies.

Snacks or Mini Meals:

Raw almonds, PowerBars.

Nutritional Supplements:

CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), 4 daily C4 (pre-workout), whey protein.

Rachael's Weight Loss Workouts!
Weight Training:

I workout 3 times a week for 1.5 hours and I do full body weight training.

Cardiovascular:

I do full cardio training 3 times a week for 30 minutes. I used to not be able to run a mile (2 years ago) and have now completed 2 full marathons!

Source: http://www.shapefit.com/success/success-stories-weight-loss-rachael-p.html

Just for a Laugh 2

 

                                              

                                  

Source: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fitness+jokes&tbm=isch&imgil=2StiUGN308kKxM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcTG6aacNm5xWXurNE19grsHZFo56I2r0mui-KWv8ng94Zh2VaMH%253B400%253B285%253BijV03sIGrwqS5M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fleanhybridmuscle.com%25252Faccess%25252Ffitness-humor.html&source=iu&usg=__x3VgkoiV6QifFhcN4vFmASX83qQ%3D&sa=X&ei=NYzTU5TvOpDb7AbnroG4Cg&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQ9QEwAA&biw=1280&bih=675#facrc=_&imgdii=xz0VPEnG2yxB6M%3A%3BdDNH6aF9JTe2kM%3Bxz0VPEnG2yxB6M%3A&imgrc=xz0VPEnG2yxB6M%253A%3Bfc7FqXYpjVNCHM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbeautyofstrength.files.wordpress.com%252F2012%252F05%252F80290805827058596_d5kmyvbv_c.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fstrong-is-the-new-beautiful.com%252F%3B554%3B415

8 Myths About Dieting

 8 Myths about dieting from the article by Michael Mosley in The Times. 

On my first day at medical school a hundred of us gathered in a lecture theatre to be greeted by the Dean. He talked for an hour but there are only two things he said that I still remember. The first was that, based on previous experience, four of us in that room would marry. He was right; I met my future wife that day.

The other thing he said was that while we would learn an enormous amount over the next 5 years, within 10 years of graduating much of what we had learnt would be out of date.  Medicine is constantly changing and unless you keep up you are doomed to cling to outmoded ideas.

This is particularly true in the field of human nutrition and dieting. So what are some of the most common and firmly held dieting myths?

Claim 1 Eating breakfast is important if you want to avoid putting on weight.

We are often told that eating a good breakfast is a simple way to control your weight. If you skip breakfast then you will get hungry later in the day and snack on high calorie junk food. Eating breakfast revs up your metabolism, preparing you for the day.

It seems a plausible suggestion but is it true?

There have certainly been plenty of studies which have compared people who skip breakfast with people who don’t and the breakfast eaters are often found to be slimmer and healthier. This could be for the reasons stated above, or it could be that breakfast skippers are generally less healthy individuals and the fact that they are a little bit fatter has little to do with when they decide to break their fast.

One way to test the merits of these claims is to take two groups of people, breakfast skippers and breakfast eaters, and make them swop habits. Get the breakfast skippers to eat breakfast and vica versa.

In a recent study, “The effectiveness of breakfast recommendations on weight loss: a randomized controlled trial”, http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/06/04/ajcn.114.089573.abstract, researchers did just that. They got 300 overweight volunteers and asked the breakfast skippers to eat breakfast, while those who routinely ate breakfast were asked to skip breakfast for the duration of the trial.

They weighed the volunteers beforehand and then at the end of 16 weeks. There was high compliance with the new regimes, so what actually happened?

Well, the breakfast skippers who had made themselves eat breakfast lost an average of 0.76kgs. That is not a huge amount, but it is consistent with what breakfast advocates might expect.

Except that the breakfast eaters, who had spent 16  weeks skipping breakfast, lost an almost identical amount, an average of 0.71kgs.

The researchers concluded that, contrary to what is widely believed, a recommendation to eat breakfast  “had no discernable effect on weight loss in free-living adults who were attempting to lose weight”.

 A similar randomised study done years ago, but with smaller numbers, came to a similar conclusion. The researches thought that making people change their habits was what made the difference, or as they put it “those who had to make the most substantial changes in eating habits to comply with the program achieved best results”.

I like breakfast, it is one of my favourite meals to the day, and I certainly think that children should eat breakfast. If you want to keep fuller for longer then the evidence is clear that you should eat a breakfast that is rich in protein, like eggs, ham or fish, rather than sugary cereals or toast. Protein is more satiating than carbohydrates.

If you are one of those who don’t like eating breakfast and who, perhaps, find that eating breakfast first thing makes you hungrier, then there seems no compelling scientific reasons to do so.

• Claim  2:   It is important, before you start dieting, to set realistic weight goals. Otherwise you will become frustrated and give up.

Again, this seems like a reasonable assumption. But is it right? A recent review article titled Myths, Presumptions and Facts about Obesity in the prestigious medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine, put this claim firmly into the “myths” category.

As they point out, “several studies have shown that more ambitious goals are sometimes associated with better weight-loss outcomes”. In one of those studies, “Weight loss goals and treatment outcomes among overweight men and women”,  nearly two thousand overweight men and women were asked about their goals before they started on a weight loss programme. They followed them for 2 years and found that, with women, “less realistic goals were associated with greater weight loss at 24 months”. For men there was no link, one way or the other, between how realistic their goals were and whether they succeeded.

• Claim 3   It is better to lose weight slowly and steadily, rather than rapidly

This is another of those claims that seems to be self-evidently true but which the  obesity researchers behind Myths, Presumptions and Facts about Obesity describe as a myth. Or as they put it, “Within weight-loss trials, more rapid and greater initial weight loss has been associated with lower body weight at the end of long-term follow-up”.

Very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs), based on consuming less than 800 calories a day, have been used since the 1970s to induce rapid weight loss, but the assumption is that once you stop you will simply put it all back on. In a thorough meta-analysis, The evolution of very-low-calorie diets: an update, reviewers looked at the results of 6 randomised trials that had run for at least a year comparing very-low-calorie diets with standard low-calorie diets.

They found that the VLCDs led, not surprisingly, to much bigger weigh loss in the short term and though the dieters did, on average, later put back on much of the weight they had lost, so did those on the standard diet. In the long term there didn’t seem to be any significant difference between these approaches. The researchers point out that doing VLCDs can be more expensive but that “Cycles of weight loss and regain do not seem to have the adverse health and metabolic consequences once feared”.

An interesting recent development is the use of VLCDs (600 calories a day over several weeks) to try and improve blood glucose control in overweight type 2 diabetics. A small trial in Newcastle produced very positive results and larger trials are planned.

• Claim 4. It is better to eat several small meals a day rather than a couple of large ones.

A common belief is that if you spread out your food into lots of small meals this will increase your metabolic rate, keep you less hungry and help you lose weight. In a recent study researchers at the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague decided to test this idea by feeding two groups of type 2 diabetics meals with the same number of calories but taken as either two or six meals a day.

Each group ate around 1,700 calories a day. The group eating two meals a day ate their first meal between 6:00am and 10am and their next meal between 12pm and 4pm. The others ate at regular intervals throughout the day. Despite eating the same number of calories the “two meal a day” group lost, on average, 1.4kg more than the snackers and about 1.5inches more from around their waists.

What was also surprising is that the volunteers eating their 1700 calories spread out as 6 meals a day felt less satisfied and hungrier than those sticking to the two meals. The lead scientist, Dr Kahleova, believes cutting down to 2 meals a day might also people without diabetes who are trying to lose weight.

• Claim 5. when you stop eating for a while your metabolic rate slows down as your body tries to conserve your fat stores.

Fear of going into “Starvation mode” is common and yet, at least from an evolutionary perspective, it makes little sense. Our remote ancestors often had to go without food for a while and if, every time this happened, they had simply curled up on the floor of their cave and waited for pizza to be delivered they would have gone extinct. Only during periods of prolonged famine would it make sense to slow the metabolism down, wait for better times to come.

The myth seems to be based, in part, on the Minnesota starvation experiment, a study carried out during World War Two in which young volunteers lived on extremely low calorie diets for up to six months. The purpose of the study was to help scientists understand how to treat victims of mass starvation in Europe.

After prolonged starvation there was a drop in body temperature and heart rate, suggesting that their basal metabolic rate (the energy burnt by your body when you are at rest) had fallen. This, however, was an extreme situation.

A more recent experiment on the effects of short term calorie restriction, Resting energy expenditure in short-term starvation, produced very different results. In this experiment they took 11, healthy volunteers and asked them to live on nothing but water for 84 hours.

The researchers found that the volunteers’ basal metabolic rate went up while they were fasting. By day 3 it had risen, on average, by 14%.

One reason for this may have been the significant rise they detected in a catecholamine called noradrenaline, which is known to burn fat.

If they had continued then, I’m sure, the volunteers’ metabolic rates would eventually have fallen, not least because they would have begun to lose significant amounts of weight. But, certainly in the short term, there is no evidence that starvation mode is anything other than a myth.

• Claim 6.  If you stop eating for a while then your blood sugar will fall dramatically and you will faint.

In the trial I mentioned in the previous post, Resting energy expenditure in short-term starvation, they also measured the volunteers’ blood glucose levels. They found that their blood glucose levels did slowly fall over the three days, from 4.9mmols/l on day one to 3.5mmols/l  by day 4.  These, however, are the sort of levels you might expect to see in a healthy individual who had their blood taken before breakfast . They are not, in any sense, abnormally low.

At the same time the levels of fatty acids in their blood shot up, showing that their bodies had switched into major fat burning mode.

Your body evolved to cope with periods without food. Modern humans, however, are used to eating lots of regular meals and there is evidence that the hunger hormone, ghrelin, rises simply in anticipation of a meal. Intermittent fasting can be tough, but there is no evidence it is will cause you to faint

• Claim 7. Juicing is a good way to lose weight.

There are juice diets out there promising that you can lose “7lbs in 7 Days”, but are they credible?

Let’s start by looking at some of the numbers. There are around 3500 calories in a lb of fat and the average woman consumes 14,000 calories a week (2000 a day). So if you ate nothing at all for a week and lost all your weight as fat (which you won’t), then the absolute maximum amount of fat you could lose is 4lbs.

So why do the scales sometimes drop far more than that? Well, excess glucose is stored in your muscles and liver in a form called glycogen. This also binds water. When you stop eating your body burns through the glycogen stores, releasing the water. After a week you may well have lost 7 lbs but much of that weight will be water, and also some muscle, since, on these diets. you’re eating little or no protein.

The body doesn’t store protein, so after 24 hours without it in your diet your body will start to cannibalize itself. Not surprisingly, once you start eating normally again your body will replenish its water and glycogen stories and much of the weight will come back on.

Claim 8 Drinking 2 litres of water a day will help you lose weight.

This myth dates back to the 1940s when researchers calculated that 2 litres was how much water someone’s body used in 24 hours. However, the researchers also said (and this gets ignored) that we obtain much of the water we need each day from our food. Drinks such as coffee and tea also count, despite what many people believe.

Drinking eight glasses of water a day could help you lose weight if you drink it very cold. Drinking ice-cold water burns through a few calories simply because you have to raise that water to body temperature. Drinking lots of water will also mean you have to get up from your chair more often to go to the loo, which has to be a good thing.

Water can help you lose weight, if it comes in the form of soup. If you drink water with your meal (a bit of chicken and a few vegetables) then the food will be kept in your stomach for digestive juice to do their bit, but the water passes straight through the stomach and into the intestines, where it is absorbed. Drinking water has very little effect on how hungry you feel a couple of hours later.

Ultrasound and MRI studies have shown, however, that if you take the chicken and vegetables and blend them with the water then the stomach will stay fuller for longer, staving off hunger pangs.

In head to head comparison studies, volunteers eating soup reported feeling full for up to an hour-and-a-half longer than when they ate the same calories, but consumed as food and water. .

Source: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/food-thought-fast-day-losing-weight-drinking-water/