Tina A. asked:


Ladies, if you have been trying various diets and failing at losing weight or keeping it off, try these five suggestions for easy fat loss. Ironically, the less you struggle, the easier itis to lose fat and keep it off.Try these tips and watch yourself shrink…effortlessly.

Five essential tips to ensure easy fat loss for women

Motivation: You won’t succeed at your weight loss goals if you do not have motivation. Motivation is a powerful, sustaining reason for you to continue to change your bad habits for good in order to lose fat. What is your motivation? For some women it is love. They use the love and support of the ones they are closest to and decide to lose fat in order to be a better mother or spouse. For other women, it might be the joy of fitting into a coveted dress. Still others use a recent health scare as motivation. What motivates you depends on you. Don’t try to use someone else’s motivation as your own. Find out what makes you feel deeply passionate. Use that as a motivation. It can be anything, including unusual motivators like charity. For example, some women pledge a certain amount for each pound they lose to their favorite charity. This is a very powerful motivator as it ties up with a higher purpose and gives the giver a sense of satisfaction as well as the joy of fat loss. No one particular motivator is better than another. The key is to find something that moves you and makes you feel passionate about. Channel that energy into becoming your motivation for weight loss. That way, whenever your old, bad habits come calling, you can remind yourself why you wanted to lose weight in the first place.

Learn to love food: It might come as a surprise but a large number of overweight women actually **** food. They **** how they are slaves to it and **** what it does to their bodies. They see food as the enemy. Some even view food as an unattainable lover that they alternatively love and ****. Remove yourself from this mentality. Try feeding yourself the best of everything. This might mean eating meals made out of completely fresh ingredients and healthy oils. Savor the flavors of the food before you. Try different vegetables, cheese, herbs and seasonings. You will start to feel better almost immediately. It might be surprising for some that a lot of overweight women are actually undernourished. Their bodies lack key vitamins and minerals to keep them from feeling healthy and alert. When you eat meals made out of fresh ingredients, you go a long way towards helping correct these imbalances. Your body will actually start craving these fresh meals. In fact, try this little experiment. For the next four or five days, only eat meals that have been prepared with fresh ingredients. On the five or sixth day, try eating one of your old favorite foods. I guarantee that it won’t taste as good. You might notice that it is too salty, greasy or too sweet. This can be a powerful experience when you realize that your old “addictors” are losing their hold on you.

Exercise moderately: This is a huge stumbling block for the average, sedentary woman who begins an exercise program. She tries too hard, too quickly and then gives up. Despite all the exercise videos advertized on television that you might be tempted to purchase, hold off on buying any new videos and try walking instead. Walk for as long as you are enjoy it. Just try to walk five days a week. That’s all you need to do to get started. Don’t worry about time or pace. Just get started. This will take away all the pressure of having to “perform” an exercise program and will get you in the habit of moving about. As your body changes, you will want more challenges and you can add more activities at that point. The point is to always listen to your body. This will ensure stress free, long term weight loss.

Don’t aim too high: This is a major cause of diet failure among women. They read about the latest celebrity dramatic weight loss (usually something ridiculous like 60 lbs in 2 months) and they want the same results. Don’t do this to yourself. These celebrities have powerful motivators (point one in this article) as well as trained chefs and fitness experts at their beck and call. The average women works a 40 hour week or longer, takes care of her family and helps out in her community. Acknowledge that difference in lifestyle and start making small changes everyday instead. For example, start eating more fruit and use mustard or ketchup instead of mayonnaise on your sandwich. These small changes everyday, coupled with the points above is all you need to do to shift your weight and start losing fat.

Measure yourself but not during this time: You know the time I am referring to. On average, a woman gains several temporary pounds just before her menstrual period. Unfortunately, this is also the time of the month when you are plagued by self defeating thoughts. Weighing yourself during this time will make you feel like a failure and will make you give up and revert back to your old habits. Even the most powerful motivators cannot work if you are feeling bloated and self-defeatist. Acknowledge this and promise not to weigh or measure yourself during this time. This way, you can get through your period and continue your good work on your fat loss goals instead of giving up.



Summer Diet Plan

Women Story asked:


We find out how our dedicated dieters art doing on their plans from Tesco Diets - and smooth out their weight-loss niggles.

The GYM HATER

It can be difficult to squeeze in workouts - but Tesco Diets helps make it easier to find the time to keep fit NAME: GENEVIEVE WESTOBY, AGE: 26, ORIGINAL DRESS SIZE: 14

“With the GI plan, I get to eat more than I normally would, which seems too good to be true! My main difficulty is fitting 30 minutes of cardio in every day, especially as I don’t get home until 9pm.”

EXPERT HELP Genevieve finds the Gi plan fulfilling because it contains foods to help maintain stable blood sugar levels between meals, thus reducing hunger. Any exercise will help in boosting her metabolism. As long as she aims to do 30 minutes of exercise throughout the day, a few minutes here or there will be just as effective as long exercise sessions and much easier to fit into her hectic schedule.

THE PARTY BINGER

Is it possible to party and still lose weight?

NAME: SARAH ASHFORD, AGE: 29, ORIGINAL DRESS SIZE: 12

“My diet really fits in with my lifestyle - I can eat what I like, within reason, as long as I stay within my plan’s limit. It’s only my busy social life that gets in the way - it’s not always easy turning down nibbles!

EXPERT HELP Sarah’s found the perfect plan to fit in with her social life. She can still enjoy meals out and the occasional after-work drink without damaging her diet. But if she chooses too many higher-total foods, she’ll find that her allowance is quickly used up. Instead of indulging in sugary or fatty nibbles, Sarah should aim to eat nutritious lower-total snacks such as dried fruit, crackers and low fat yoghurts.

The COMFORT EATER

It sounds impossible - but you can treat yourself and lose weight!

NAME: RUTH PEATCEY, AGE: 33, ORIGINAL DRESS: 16

“I’m happy to say I’ve already lost a few pounds. I’m actually finding the diet quite easy, and I don’t have to put having fun on hold to lose weight. The website is fantastic - I email in my weekly weigh-ins and write comments on how I’m doing. It really got into it. You even get emails back, giving tailored advice. My biggest hurdle so units a week and, although I’m not a big drinker, it’s actually been quite hard to stay inside that limit.”

EXPERT HELP Ruth has really settled into her plan and this is reflected in the great progress she’s made. She’s discovered healthy eating does not need to be a chore. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the occasional tipple as long as she’s careful about what she chooses. White wine spritzers or spirits mixed with diet drinks are lower in calories than beer or cider. I would also recommend having a glass of water between every alcoholic drink.

The NON STICKER

Think no diet can work for you? Tesco Diets really can make it happed

NAME: DONNA GOH, AGE:26, ORIGINAL DRESS SIZE: 12

“So for, I’ve found the website really easy to use, with a fantastic support element. The light choices plan is simple, with great recipes that don’t take too long to prepare. I know exactly what I’m allowed to eat, and the experts have given me an exercise plan too, which is a great motivator. I especially like the fact that there’s a phone number you can call for instant support. I think my biggest sticking point will be chocolate and the odd takeaway - and the fact that now, I have to eat three meals a day. I’m used to doing things like skipping breakfast and dinner and just having a big lunch, so this really is a complete lifestyle change for me.”

EXPERT HELP The plan has offered Donna the guidance she needed to revamp her eating habits. Now she knows what she needs to eat to meet her nutritional requirements, she can see just how easy and satisfying it can be to eat healthily. The varied, balanced diet she’s following will reduce the temptation to eat chocolate and other junk foods. If Donna is finding her cravings are getting the better of her, it would be a good idea to eat small meals regularly throughout the day - it’s the best way to reduce hunger and the likelihood of cheating.



Summer Diet Plan

John Lim asked:


Body building is getting more and more popular these days and for good reason. However, there are people getting into the sport and failing simply because they aren’t doing it correctly. The following are some great fitness tips to help you get fitter, stronger and healthier.

1. Get a program that will best suit you. Every body building program or workout is different. So always consult a qualified trainer to make sure that the fitness program will not hurt you. Going for a fitness program that sounds good but is out of your league can only cause frustrations and even injuries. So pick wisely.

2. Be realistic in your goals. Make sure that your target is achievable and realistic. The program also needs to be practical and not give you false hope. In fitness and body building, it is important to be aware of the blocks you will encounter.

3. Focus and work the muscles. When you develop muscles, you burn more calories and reduce fats in your body. Multi-joint exercises and weight lifting are recommended to help you achieve a more muscular physique. They aren’t just effective but time saving as well.

4. Be systematic. Your muscles should be working harder over time. Repeating the same sets of exercises and same weight without getting your muscles to work harder will not give satisfactory results. You can record your daily results and make the progression based on your previous data. A daily log will also motivate you since you are able to track how far you have gone. It builds confidence since there is a written proof something that was successfully accomplished.

5. Perform a set of exercises in 10 repetitions. Every number that was accomplished is called a repetition. Try to make every repetition with less momentum as much as possible. The lesser the momentum, the harder your muscles work. And the harder they work, the bigger they become.

6. Be flexible and perform a variety of exercises. Every exercise program should have variety. You can change your exercises, goals and sets every month to keep you motivated and on-the-go. Doing this will prevent boredom and losing energy physically and mentally.

7. Stay motivated! This may be the most important fitness tip of all. Many people drop out of fitness programs and workouts over time. Do not fall victim to this! Keeping an eye of your goals is a way of staying with your program. Remember that motivation gets you started and habit keeps you going.



Summer Diet Plan

Jess Harley asked:


Copyright (c) 2007 Jess Harley

So the rabbit died as they said in the old days. You got two pink lines on your home pregnancy test and your doctor confirmed it. You are going to be a mommy! Congratulations, you have an incredible journey ahead of you. You are going to need plenty of energy to grow a life inside of you and a good workout routine will help you.

A lot of women are under the misconception that exercise during pregnancy is bad. Unless you have complications such as a threatened miscarriage or you are a high risk pregnancy, most doctors will recommend you exercise throughout your pregnancy. Exercising during pregnancy can help you balance your hormones, help loosen your bowel movements, relieve stress, and help avoid or control gestational diabetes. It also can help you with your weight gain and make labor and delivery a little easier on you. There are some modifications though you will have to make to your exercise routine and some guidelines to follow especially if you have not really exercised before you were pregnant.

First get your doctors ok to exercise through out your pregnancy. As I said earlier, unless you have a complication your doctor will more than likely give you the ok. Once you have the ok, think about what exercises you did in the past. If you have not done much, start off slowly. Walk for about five minutes a day and add an additional five each week until you are up to thirty minutes. Even if you have worked out before you got pregnant, you do need to tone it down a little because you are going to be carrying extra weight.

You want to make sure you do low impact activities that will get your blood pumping but not get you out of breath. If you have exercised before you should keep your target heart rate at 140-150. It is going to be less if you never really exercised before. This does not mean you have to run out and get a heart rate monitor; you can do the talk test. If you are doing your exercise and you find that you can not talk without feeling winded, you are working out too hard. You want to find it a little challenging to talk but not be huffing and puffing.

So what kind of exercises should you do? Almost every doctor will tell you to walk. Walking just thirty minutes a day, three times a week will have a positive impact on your pregnancy. Yoga and Pilates is becoming the hip thing to do and help with your mental health while pregnant. Make sure you do a pregnancy geared class or video since they are designed specifically for your new body. Aerobics are good also, along with walking you have swimming, or even light jogging will work.

So what should you avoid, most doctors will recommend that you cut out any sit-ups and some weight lifting after your first trimester. This is because once you hit four months, your uterus will probably be slitting on at least one of your major veins and can slow your blood returning to your heart. So take it easy on those crunches. NO matter how many you do while your pregnant you are still going to get a baby belly!

How long should you exercise? Well, that is really up to you. Some women report being able to exercise all the way up to their delivery date while others have to stop by the time they hit their third trimester. When you are pregnant you really need to listen to your body and if you find you can not walk as much as you could a month ago, then you need to stop. Do not push yourself. It is not the time for the “no pain no gain” motto. Rest when your body tells you too.

Gone are the days when being pregnant meant you should do nothing. You can still exercise. Keep in mind though you are exercising to maintain a healthy pregnancy, not to lose weight during your pregnancy.



Summer Diet Plan

Mary Desaulniers asked:


The whole question of dieting or not dieting is inseparable from us, women, because of our ambivalent relationship with our body—we love it and we **** it. In essence, mind has been exiled from body. I have known heavy women who face their unhealthy weight problem by eating more; I have seen women who are by all standards slender and beautiful agonize over the slightest thickening of midriff and thighs. For most women, our waists are never small enough, our bellies never flat enough and dieting seems to be the golden route to a kind of cultural icon of perfection.

We worry excessively about every ounce we gain or we give in uncontrollably to eating binges. This hunger or denial of hunger is the reason for the dramatic increase in obesity in North America and also the reason for yet another weight loss book on the market. As Jennifer Workman states so emphatically in “Stop Your Cravings”, “Why are we the most diet-crazed country in the world and yet also the most overweight, and apparently the most frustrated by our failure (xiv)?”

It is obvious that diets recommending food deprivation do not work. Weight issues involve more than food issues. Weight issue is a body acceptance issue and our obsession with weight is a symptom of our inability to honor the body, to give the body its due as a living, individual being. The authors of three books on the market explore this issue of body acceptance and provide suggestions on how women can re-think their relationships with their bodies.

In their book, “It’s Not About Food,” authors Carol Emery Normandi and Laurelee Roark, founders of Beyond Hunger Inc, state that women in our culture ” have an enormous pressure on them to be perfect”(6) and it is this pressure that is creating eating disorders, addictive behavior, depression and even death in women. Our hunger is not for food, but for internal guidance—”having the right to choose what we feel is right for ourselves and learning to hear the voice within that knows what we need”(16). Listening to this internal guidance means being comfortable with who are, even if it means accepting a body that is ten pounds more than what we think it should be.

This re-focusing on the internal and spiritual basis of hunger and food addiction certainly sheds new light on the meaning of “dieting.” A diet traditionally carries the meaning of food deprivation for the purpose of shedding excess weight. Unfortunately as well, the word also carries the connotation of starvation and hunger. In this sense, a diet is only a temporary, band-aid solution to the problem of obesity. To arrive at long term success, we have to look at the diet not as a temporary measure, but as a lifelong revision in attitude and lifestyle, which is only possible when we can get to the root of our ambivalence about our bodies.

Such is the case in “Love Hunger” authored by a group of expert physicians. In one case delineated in the book, a patient recognizes that her relationship with food comes from an unresolved conflict with her parents. When patient Barbara comes to realize that her issue with food is about her relationship with her parents—an authoritarian father and an overly-dependent mother, she begins the journey towards change and resolution. As a child, Barbara functioned like a “scapegoat spouse” (29) to both her parents. Her problem, rooted in family dysfunction which created a vacuum in her heart, is typical of many overeaters :”people with heart hunger will stuff their stomachs”(30).

The same suggestion that we look beyond the prescriptive diet to the person’s total body consciousness can be seen in “Addiction to Perfection,” in which Marion Woodman examines how the eating problems of the modern woman are rooted in an addiction that deprives her of being able to love herself for what she is. The problem that confronts a woman addicted to perfection is that she cannot accept herself for being human. The body in this instance is often sacrificed to the idealism of the mind. Only through bodywork and soulwork can she redeem her center—when her body is not pitted against her mind but can coexist as one unit: “I am body and mind. I may be tossed about like a sailboat in a cyclone, but through thick and thin I am able to hold my standpoint here at the center because I now have eyes to see and ears to hear” and “life can happen; life can pour through me.”(75)

The solution suggested by these authors comes from re-defining the parameters of perfection. What is a perfect woman? A perfect body? Perfect—by whose standards and definition? We need to understand perfection not in terms of standards dictated by cultural media, but by our own internal guidance. This means that a woman is perfect when she is empowered enough to choose the avenue by which she defines herself. That’s when dieting or not dieting becomes an irrelevant issue because she has worked out the dynamics of healthy body and purposeful living for herself.



Summer Diet Plan

Dorianne Schwaiger asked:


In a woman’s world, strength training with weights has more misconceptions and myths than any other area of women’s fitness.

Basic Rules of Strength Training

Whoever is lifting the weight, be it male or female, the old rule will apply. So let’s get the facts straight right now and move on:

- Heavier weights performed with less repetitions will build muscle mass

- Lighter weights performed with more repetitions will build endurance, tone the muscle group worked without building mass

The average woman will experience a 20 - 40 percent increase in strength when lifting weights after several consecutive months of resistance training.Often women will complain of a small weight gain as well as experience a tight change of fit to their clothes, this will of course happen when they start to replace lean muscle mass with fat loss. A pond of muscle weighs more than a pond of fat. As far as the ill fitting wardrobe, this is because your body measurements change as you start to build your arms shoulders, and leg muscles. investing in some new clothes is a small price to pay for a long lean strong body. As far as the scale goes, I would avoid looking at the numbers. They mean nothing at all. It is better to keep track of your shrinking waistline and fat loss.

The same can be said for women that indulge in aerobic workout activities such as step classes, elliptical machines and stationary bicycle or outdoor cycling. With aerobic exercise, increasing the height of the step or overload due to resistance will also encourage muscle mass to occur rather than tone the legs, resulting in a toned, lean look. True aerobic training in the form of running, race walking and cardio classes at the gym will build your heart muscle which is something we should all be concerned with at any age.

So How Do women Build Muscle?

The true answer lies in our DNA. Our genetics have a large determining factor as to how we distribute our body fat and what ratio of estrogen to testosterone is in our body make-up. So, in a way we are already predisposed as to how our body responds to weight training and aerobic exercise in a certain way.

What Body Type Are You?

There are three classifications of body type for women:

Mesomorphs: Tend to be more muscular, this body type responds quickly to weight training and is more apt to gain muscle mass.

Ectomorphs: This body type tends to stay lean. Even with strength training, they are less likely to build any muscle mass, but will become stronger through lifting weights. Weight loss occurs more easily and they tend to NOT store body fat.

Endomorphs: This body type is more soft and round, often referred to as voluptuous. There must be a loss of body fat before this body type can see a difference in muscle tone due to strength training.

Research continues to prove that weight training is great for women. It builds body strength and helps to slow bone loss and osteporisis in some cases. However, most women continue to avoid resistance training out of fear of developing large muscles and losing their femenity.

No two bodies are alike it is important to remember that every woman will respond differently to the exact training routine. Never compare yourself to others you see at the gym. Focus on your individual results based on your age and body type. It’s not what you look like, but rather how exercise makes you feel and the quality of life it brings to you.



Summer Diet Plan

Munya Chinongoza asked:


Millions of people all around the world attempt to do daily exercises to get them those toned abs that they have been dreaming of however a lot of times although they are doing the exercises their technique is hindering their fitness toning and abs workout results.

Many people have the misconception that during the day they can eat whatever they want and then at night time they can simply do their crunches to work off all those fat foods they put into their bodies however this is simply incorrect. The truth is if you put too much junk food into your body, it does not matter how many crunches you do your results will be minimal if any.

Not only that however you may get reverse results which means your stomach might actually get bigger. You may wonder how this is possible but it is. The reason being muscle is being built on top of the already existing fat. We all have fat on our stomach however we must work it off by toning our abs and stomach. Your number one goal should be to lose your fat and you do that by having a good diet and actually following it lower amount of fats and calories and higher amount of protein will help you get the best results.

Protein is something that you very much need for your fitness toning and abs workout. Many people don’t know or believe the fact that quality is better than quantity but it is. So 50 good quality crunches are a lot better than 250 half done crunches that were just rushed. The final thing that people need to realize is that you cannot just concentrate on one area. If you only concentrate on one area your body will not build up enough metabolism to burn off excess fat. If you listen to this advice you will be soon finding yourself with a much more desirable body.



Summer Diet Plan

Taylor Ryan asked:


A great way to challenge your workout and really get your muscles to bulk a bit is to spend more time on your actual movements. Instead of doing fast reps with small to medium weight to exhaustions try this technique: make your movements take 3-5 counts in both directions. For example, when doing a chest press work slowly to extend the arms. Once in extended position take the same amount of time to come down.

Talk about a quick burn and exhaustion! You are not only lifting the weight but you are taking gravity into more consideration. Just think how hard you have to concentrate on the movements to get a nice slow stable form. This really challenges the muscles and joints and makes those tiny tears necessary to build great definition!

Once too tired to lift any more reps take a quick break (no longer than 60 seconds and repeat). The shorter the break the better workout your muscles are going to get AND your heart rate will stay up to increase calorie burn. It takes about 3 minutes for muscle recovery therefore your rest should never be this long, the goal is to tire your muscles out after all. I recommend 30 second rest breaks.

Post workup refuel with a protein shake, a good cool down and lots of water!

Make your whole body workout follow this plan- legs, arms, backs, shoulders, abs, etc. Keep the movements smooth and controlled. With this slow plan you are also going to improve stability and help to strengthen the joints and connective tissue.

When doing squats using your **** muscles for control move slowly in position, a great addition is to stay in the squat for 5-10 seconds, or you can do bouncing squats for this time before slowly coming up. Back extensions, dead lifts, push ups everything gets slowed down.

You will notice that your reps will decrease significantly than if you were doing the medium to fast pace before. That is great, it means you are pushing yourself. If you are lifting an amount where you can still do 10 or more reps then you need to increase your weight. It is ok for women to increase their weights. Really push yourself because it is the only way results are going to pile on.

A FEW TIPS

You can decrease your normal lifting weight by 10-20% just make sure to keep the pace slow!

DO NOT stop till you are unable to go farther!

Remember your body needs a rest so keep the workouts to every other day. Overloading the muscles can lead to injury and obviously if you are injured you are not going to be able to build the great toned and strong body you are going after. Plus the rest will really help to increase your metabolism and allow the results to come much faster.

Eat plenty of protein to assist in the muscle development. You can only build muscle if you have enough resources!

Try this workout for 30-40 days after which switch it up to avoid plateauing.



Summer Diet Plan

peterhutch asked:


Pregnant women need milk and milk products for protein and calcium. You need extra calcium for your baby’s growing bones and teeth, as well as your own. Dieting during pregnancy is not recommended as it may result in a smaller and unhealthy baby, and it could also affect your health. Vigorous exercise is also not recommended.

Folate (known as folic acid when added to foods) is a B-group vitamin found in a variety of foods. Some breakfast cereals, breads and juices are fortified with folic acid. This will be listed on the nutrition label of these products.

As well as a healthy diet, it is also recommended that a folic acid supplement be taken prior to conception and for the first three months of pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Folate taken over this period can prevent up to seven out of 10 cases of neural tube defects.

Eat four to six smaller meals a day instead of three bigger ones to help relieve the heartburn and discomfort you feel as your baby grows bigger.

Whether or not you’re pregnant, a healthy diet includes proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and plenty of water. The U.S. government publishes dietary guidelines that can help you determine how many servings of each kind of food to eat every day. Eating a variety of foods in the proportions indicated is a good step toward staying healthy.

This is not the time to cut calories or go on a diet. In fact, it’s just the opposite - you need about 300 extra calories a day, especially later in your pregnancy when your baby grows quickly. If you’re very thin or carrying twins, you’ll need even more. But if you’re overweight, your health care provider may advise that you consume fewer extra calories. Healthy eating is always important, but especially when you’re pregnant. So, it’s important to make sure your calories come from nutritious foods so they can contribute to your baby’s growth and development.

Foods rich in protein such as lean meat and chicken, fish (aim for at least two servings of fish a week, including one of oily fish), eggs and pulses (such as beans and lentils). These foods are also good sources of iron.

Butter, ghee, milk, shrikhand, honey, fennel seeds, sweets made from jaggery rather than white sugar can also be taken in small quantity. Rice, pulao, Khichri, Murmure, Chapati, Bhakari, Paratha, Gujarati thepla are the items made from wheat and rice and are beneficial. Items such as bakery bread, bun, sandwich, pizza, handva, dhokla, khaman, idli, dosa, tomato, tamarind, curd, kadhi they increase the swellings and acidity. If such problems do not exist, you can take in small quantity. If you are allergic, do not take even if they are tasty.

During pregnancy, a woman’s body needs more iron than usual to produce all the blood needed to supply nutrition to the placenta. Good sources of iron are green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, strawberries, muesli and whole meal bread.

Iron is more easily absorbed if it is taken in conjunction with vitamin C - either as a supplement or in citrus fruit or juice. Tea and coffee can interfere with the body’s absorption of iron.



Summer Diet Plan