Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Psychology Of Weight Loss

You see the razor-thin models gracing the covers of magazines…you watch actors and actresses on the big screen who seem to never gain a pound. And you wonder: How do I differ from them? You may be surprised to learn that a number of famous people at one time had difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. But they were able to conquer their problem, thanks to a new-and-improved, healthy view of eating.

You may not realize it, but there is a certain psychology at work in successful weight loss. It is no surprise, then, that the magazine Psychology Today has explored the issue in-depth. In October of 2004, the magazine posted an article on its website detailing the experiences of Diane Berry, a nurse practitioner who studied women who had shed at least 15 pounds and had maintained their weight loss for an average of seven years.

The women shared some important things in common. For instance, they all achieved their weight loss through either Weight Watchers or TOPS, which meant that they had a firm support network as they tried to maintain their weight. The group meetings were highly important, because they learned to recognize that they were certainly not alone in their struggles with weight. The women were also quite unusual because up to 90 percent of individuals who have lost weight end up putting it back on within five years.

Another common trait of these women is that they appeared to undergo a profound mood shift as they made the transition from fat to thin. From all indications, they appeared to be depressed when they were heavy but, as they attempted to lose weight, their mood brightened.

For these women, healthy eating became a habit—a habit they refused to break. They themselves recognized the tremendous role that psychology plays in weight loss. They refused to give in to negative feelings of frustration and denial and chose a positive path instead. The women also made it a point to weigh themselves regularly so that they could chart their progress.

And they recognized that maintaining weight loss would be a lifetime struggle. They knew that they could not attempt a weight loss program then put it back on the shelf. They had to learn new eating patterns that they could continue week in and week out. In some cases, they likened their struggle to that of an alcoholic. In other words, they recognized the gravity of their problem and took steps to correct the situation.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these women’s experiences was the fact that their weight loss actually came in spurts. At times, they regained their weight, but they did not let that deter them from their final goal. They simply viewed their setbacks as challenges that they needed to overcome. This may be the key psychological trait that separates successful dieters from unsuccessful ones—perseverance. In essence, these women were able to change their personalities in a positive way in order to achieve their long-term weight loss goals.

Another interesting aspect of this study was that it showed that the women who had undergone weight loss transformation were genuinely happy. This shows the tremendous psychological impact that weight loss can have on an individual. Once an individual is free from the burden of extra weight, he or she is better able to meet the challenges of life head-on. The dieter benefits from positive reinforcement, as relatives, friends, and co-workers congratulate him or her for the weight loss. In this way, losing weight can be quite a life-affirming experience and can lead to a more optimistic outlook on life.

It must be noted here that the psychology of weight loss is a complicated matter. There is no single ingredient that can turn a fat person into a thin one. However, recognizing that there is a psychological component to successful weight loss may, in fact, be half the battle. Once an individual recognizes that he or she is engaged in a psychological fight, he or she is better able to do battle. By retraining oneself to seek healthy approaches to diet, one can, in effect, mold oneself into a new individual—one that no longer lives to eat, but simply eats to live.

How to Tighten Saggy Skin and Reduce Stretch Marks from Weight Loss

Losing weight can be a happy time, especially if you have struggled with the battle of the bulge for years. However, no matter how thrilling rapid weight loss can be, even the praise and congratulations from others noticing your weight loss won't combat the frustration you'll feel from having saggy skin and stretch marks. Rapid weight loss often causes loss of skin elasticity. While your crash diet is burning fat in overload, your epidermis and skin's collagen levels are unable to keep pace. The result is loose flesh, or even small striations or lines on the skin on the places where a significant amount of fat or muscle was lost too quickly. Overnight weight loss is not great for your health and the visible manifestation of embarrassing red lines, marks, and loose flesh will only more upset. Yet, if you have chosen to do a Celebrity Crash Diet and have encountered loose skin or stretch marks, this article will provide some steps to firm your skin, fade stretch marks, and regenerate your skin's elasticity by stimulating collagen production.

Stretch Mark Reducing Rule #1: Use Natural Oils to Fade Your Stretch Marks.

Try Massaging Pure Cocoa Butter into your stretch marks. Pure Cocoa Butter is only effective; do not purchase drugstore brands loaded with chemicals and synthetic ingredients. To find pure cocoa butter, visit your local whole foods store in your local city or an organic shopping resource online. Cocoa butter contains antioxidants and minerals that improve skin elasticity and fade marks.

Try Soothing Your Stretch Marks With Pure Vitamin E Oil. Again, make sure you purchase Pure Vitamin E Oil from your local health food store. Many drugstores or local neighborhood stores contain Vitamin E oil that has been significantly diluted in cheaper carrier oils. Vitamin E has a regenerative effect on the skin, prevents oxidation and fights free radicals. Buy using it your skin's will look younger and firmer.




Stretch Mark Reducing Rule #2: Use Natural Scar and Stretch Mark Products to Eliminate Your Stretch Marks.
Try natural products that contain essential and natural oils. Many essential and natural oils contain scar reducing and tissue regenerating properties. Many essential oils also have the ability to tone, tighten, and firm loose, wrinkly skin. Look for only natural products. A product that contains the littlest element of a chemical or synthetic substance may potentially ruin your efforts to eliminate your stretch marks, especially the efforts of those with sensitive, mature, or dry skin.
Watch out for "natural" products that contain glycols, acids, alcohols, sulfates, and parabens. These ingredients will only strip your skin of moisture while also exposing it to many FDA identified skin irritants. The fact that they strip the skin of natural oils is critical because moisture is necessary to reduce stretch marks.
Look for products that contain wheat germ, cocoa butter, aloe vera, orange essential oil, lime essential oil, emu oil, and rosehip seed oil. All of these have been studied in clinical trials and proven as effective treatments for individuals with stretch marks. The best, most reasonably priced, all natural stretch marks reducing product is Beauty 4 Ashes No More Shame Shock Therapy System. This system includes: a body scrub to exfoliate the dead skin cells and penetrate the skin with moisture, a heat activated bath oil with stretch mark reducing essential oils, and a scar reducing body butter. The product recently received a 4.5 out of 5 stars in a consumer magazine rating. My daughter used it during and after her pregnancy weight gain and never saw a stretch mark at all. You can find them online at wwwdiscoverb4acom.

Stretch Mark Reducing Rule #3: Eat foods that get skin firming and collage restoring nutrients in your body, such as Vitamin C, K, D, A, E, and Essential Fatty Acids.


If you are still dieting, try to add citrus fruits, such as grapefruits into your meal plan. Grapefruits are lower in sugar, firm the skin, have a diuretic effects, and are great sources of Vitamin C. Eat more whole grains. Whole grains are a great source of Vitamin E and A. Don't skip out on your veggies, which will give you a healthy dose of Vitamin A, K, and more.
Cook your foods in oils full Omega 3, 6, and 9 Essential Fatty Acids, such as Sesame, Safflower, Camelina, Olive and Sunflower. You can even include them on your salad. Essential Fatty Acids are not made by the body, but have an amazing impact on the skin. Up your intake of fish, it will do wonders for your skin.

Stretch Mark Reducing Rule #4: Exercise Your Skin Back to Health
This article would be remiss if it didn't emphasize the most important truth. You should avoid crash diets. Do not be in a rush to lose weight. Normal weight loss is about 8-15 pounds a month, depending on your height, current weight, and build. Avoid crash diets. They wreak havoc on your digestive system and skin. Moreover, always incorporate some form of light resistance training into your exercise regime to keep your skin firm.


Video Source: Youtube

Fat burning furnace

Fat burning furnace

FBF 15 Minute Miracle | Beware the Scam

How can you expect to burn fat from your body in 15 minutes. It would be a miracle!

Surely it is a scam!

But ... there always is a "but" isn't there. But, the 15 minute miracle is not ONE 15 minute session, it is a critical 15 minutes every two or three days.

My wife and I are in our seventies and have been overweight for years. Not obese but just uncomfortable.

We eat sensibly but every now and then we would cut our calorie intake and drop a few pounds.

But, (here is that word again) the pounds soon came back. The yoyo effect.

Rob Poulos of the Fat Burning Furnace showed us that we were mainly losing water and muscle and not fat!

Long duration, lower intensity aerobics calls upon your stored body fat for energy during the sessions. While this may sound good, this can actually cause your body to create more body fat in reserve after the workout is over to have ready for your next workout.

This can lead to a host of other problems including higher chance of heart attack. You are only working within your current aerobic capacity because you're never challenging it to go beyond what it's capable of. And anything that is easy will not yield results even close to what's challenging for the body to accomplish.

But, there is a better way.

The fastest and most efficient way to rev up your metabolism, burn fat faster, and develop lifelong health and fitness is to add lean muscle to your body through resistance training . When you add lean muscle to your body you'll be literally turning your body into a fat burning machine!

When you stimulate your body with proper resistance training, the new growth process will call upon your stored body fat for energy. A calorie deficit combined with this growth process will allow you to burn fat all day long, every day. You'll even get these fat burning effects when you're sitting around doing nothing at all.

In addition, properly conducted resistance training actually increases your heart and lung's capacity for work. By placing intense demands on your body, it is forced into being ready for anything you throw at it. This also makes you more resistant to cardiovascular health problems that plague most people...even those that exercise with aerobics frequently.

We now use this "15 minute miracle" system to build muscle while the fat falls off and we not only look better, we feel so much better and healthier.

It is a miracle, the "real deal" and certainly not a scam.

Try it. You will not be sorry. You can't afford not to.

About the Author

Ron Limbert has studied many weight loss programs searching for those that really work not only helping you to lose weight but, more importantly, helping you to keep it off. The top fat loss programs are reviewed at his website 5-best-reviews.com


Video Source: Youtube

5 Easy Steps to Lose Belly Fat

Are you suffering from excess belly fat that won't budge no matter what you do? Have the flashy infomercials convinced you that your belly fat is directly related to stress and that they have the miracle pill that will get rid of it with no effort on your part?

Are clever marketing ads suggesting your can rid your stubborn belly fat by investing in their "breakthrough" ab-machine?Not only is belly fat unattractive, it's unhealthy. You're probably aware of this and have tried to do something about it, haven't you?

Let's face it. You've tried everything and nothing has worked thus far. Stop playing games with yourself. This is your body and your health, and it's about time you got the TRUTH about how to lose belly fat.

Fact #1 on How to Lose Belly Fat - As frustrating and harsh as this may sound, it needs to be said. You will NEVER lose belly fat by doing countless crunches every day. If so, wouldn't most people have them by now? You can do crunches until you are every color of the rainbow in the face and it WILL NOT get rid of belly fat.

Fact #2 on How to Lose Belly Fat ' Fancy and expensive ab-machines won't get rid of belly fat. Most the ab-gadgets marketed focus on spot reducing, suggesting to the consumer that all they need to do is use their "state-of-the-art" ab-device and they will get rock hard abs.

Fact #3 on How to Lose Belly Fat ' Fat-loss potions and other "miracle" quick fixes will not get rid of belly fat. Many marketing companies wait for the next new piece of "scientific evidence" to emerge so they can use just enough "scientific fact" to create a product and make extravagant claims that hit the consumer at the emotional level.

Fact #4 on How to Lose Belly Fat - Fad diets are the worst of all the belly fat scams. Fad diets prey upon the desperate. They evoke restriction and deprivation, cause a loss of muscle, bone, and water, and in the end, completely destroy the metabolism.

What You CAN Do To Lose Belly Fat I know what you are probably thinking at this point and I now have you completely depressed. Alas, I'm going to tell you how to lose that belly fat you hate and have been trying to get rid of.

If you implement these methods I'm about to discuss, you will begin to notice your mid-section decreasing in size and belly fat will slowly melt off, the right way. When you take fat off the right way, it's less likely to return. The idea is to create control and then maintain that control.

Keep in mind that this is not a "quick-fix" and you will not see results overnight. Sorry, but I speak the truth. What you can expect is:

Continual belly fat loss over the course of several weeks or more

To have less cravings

Feel the changes as well as see them

To increase your health and self-esteem

Lose Belly Fat Rule #1 - Detox your body and organs. Studies show that a body that's been purged of impurities functions better than one loaded down with toxins. Cleaning your intestinal track is the first step to good health.

Lose Belly Fat Rule #2 - Clean up your eating habits. The eating rules are to eat natural food derived from the earth. Eat a small balanced meal every 3 hours. Taper off complex carbs toward the end of the day. Doing these small, yet effective dietary changes will purge your body of toxins to allow the nutrients to be utilized and it will also boost your metabolic rate.

Lose Belly Fat Rule #3 - Drink water. If you already drinking water, drink more. Water is vitally necessary in toxin removal as well as getting fat moving and flushing it out of the body.

Lose Belly Fat Rule #4 - Cardio constitutes as an effective means of reducing belly fat, provided you keep it within reason. Losing belly fat with cardio is a tool, not the sole answer as many people may think. Doing 20-30 minutes of high intensity interval training three to five times a week is sufficient to boosting your metabolic rate and burning fat.

Lose Belly Fat Rule #5 - Abdominal exercises are wonderful in building a strong midsection. When you build stronger abdominal muscles you will look and feel better, improve posture, and alleviate lower back pain. You can do a wide array of various forms of crunches up to 4 times a week.

Lose Belly Fat Conclusion The bottom line about how to get rid of belly fat is not by investing tons of money into fancy gadgets, expensive pills, and starving oneself, but it's in nourishing the body, purging the impurities and exercising.

You won't have a model-ready body by tomorrow, but in time you will lose the belly fat and keep it off.

Now that you have the TRUTH about how to banish unsightly belly fat, use this information to your advantage and you will be unstoppable.

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Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988. She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform their bodies. http://www.theelitephysique.com

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