Your weight-loss success depends in large part on your readiness to take on the challenge. If you jump in before youre ready, your weight-loss plan may buckle under the first challenge. Use these questions to assess your weight-loss readiness.

1. Are you motivated to make long-term lifestyle changes?

Successful weight loss depends on permanent lifestyle changes, such as eating healthy foods and exercising more. That could represent a significant departure from your current lifestyle. Be honest. Knowing that you need to make changes in your life and actually doing it are two different things. You may have to overhaul your diet so that youre eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, for example. Youll also need to find time to exercise for at least 30 minutes nearly every day of the week. Exercise is especially important to prevent regaining your lost weight.

Your motivation for undertaking these changes may be better health, improved appearance or just feeling better about yourself in general. As long as your motivation is a healthy one, it doesnt really matter what it is. Find your motivation and focus on it.

2. Have you addressed the big distractions in your life?

If youre dealing with major life events, such as marital problems, job stress, illness or financial worries, you may not want to add the challenge of overhauling your eating and exercise habits. Instead, consider giving your life a chance to calm down before you launch your weight-loss program.

3. Do you have a realistic picture of how much weight youll lose and how quickly?

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong process. Over the long term, its best to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week. To lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day. You can do that through a low-calorie diet and regular physical activity or exercise.

Initially you might lose weight more quickly than that if you make significant changes — just be sure the changes are health supporting. Dont get discouraged if your rate of weight loss slows a bit after bigger initial losses.

4. Have you resolved any emotional issues connected to your weight?

Emotions and food are often intertwined. Anger, stress, grief and boredom can trigger emotional eating. And if you have a history of an eating disorder, weight loss can be even trickier. Start by identifying your emotional issues related to food so that youre prepared for the challenges. Talk to your doctor about what weight-loss options are best for you.

5. Do you have support and accountability?

Any weight-loss program can be difficult. You may face moments of temptation or become disheartened. Having someone in your corner to offer encouragement can help. If you dont have friends or family you can rely on for positive help, consider joining a weight-loss support group.

If you want to keep your weight-loss efforts private, be prepared to be accountable to yourself with regular weigh-ins and a log of your diet and activity. You might also want to consider joining an online program or using a certified health coach.

6. Have you embraced the weight-loss challenge?

If you dont have a positive attitude about losing weight, you may not be ready. If you dread what lies ahead, you may be more likely to find excuses to veer off course. Try to embrace the vision of your new lifestyle and remain positive. Focus on how good youll feel when youre more active or when you weigh less. Picture yourself celebrating every little success along the way, whether its opting for a low-fat cottage cheese snack instead of chips or going for a walk.

Youre ready for weight loss: Now what?

If you answered yes to all or most of these questions, youre probably ready to make the lifestyle changes necessary to work toward permanent weight loss. You may be able to forge ahead on your own, creating your own lifestyle program for healthy eating and exercising. Or you may feel you need help.

Educating yourself about the process of successful weight loss and maintenance is a start. For example, learn more about the dietary changes necessary for losing weight. See a dietitian or enroll in a behavior-based weight program that can help you change the habits that can interfere with weight loss, such as eating when youre stressed or bored. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, you may benefit from medically supervised weight loss with a team of health professionals that may include a dietitian, a therapist or an obesity specialist.

What if youre not ready?

If you answered no to more than one of these questions, you may not be ready to embark on a weight-loss program right now. And thats OK. Explore whats holding you back and face those obstacles. In some cases it may simply be a matter of timing. For instance, you may need to resolve other stressors in your life first. In other cases, you may need to work on related issues, such as your feelings toward weight loss or your willingness to commit to permanent lifestyle changes.

By Mayo Clinic staff

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There are several factors held responsible for weight gain. One such predominant factor is constipation.

Constipation can occur due to various reasons such as lack of physical exercises, improper diet, dehydration and so on. Not only does it make an individual feel uneasy, but it can invite more troubles into one’s life. If you are able to fight constipation, you will be able to control your weight gain caused due to constipation. Let’s take a detailed look at the factors that lead to constipation so that they can be fixed to avoid this problem, thereby stay immune from constipation weight gain.

Fiber Rich Diet

Diet has a significant role to play in constipation. In fact, it won’t be an understatement to claim that improper diet is the prime culprit for the cause of constipation. Since constipation can pave way into your life due to lack of fiber, it’s imperative for you to include fruits and vegetables in your diet as they are a rich source of fiber.

Physical Exercise

Along with proper diet, physical exercise is a must to keep your weight under check. Exercise will boost up your dropping metabolic rate, thus lowering your chances of weight gain. Boost in your metabolic rate will help your body burn calories in a faster rate, thereby preventing excess flesh deposit in your body. Exercise also helps in blood circulation and flushes away disturbing toxins from our body. This reduces our chances of getting affected by constipation. Make sure that you take professional assistance before starting off, especially if you do not have any prior experience.

Colon Cleansing

Colon cleansing is one of the methods that have gained widespread attention from people across the world. This method will ease your constipation problem, thus allowing you to control weight again. Millions of television viewers saw this method being explained by Dr Oz in the Oprah Winfrey’s television show. It works by disposing the toxin substances present in our body. This method can be practiced effectively within the four walls of a house.

The above mentioned methods will help you deal with the problem of constipation and the subsequent weight loss symptom. As such, constipation is not a disease in itself. However, it can create health issues if neglected for too long. Try out the above mentioned time-tested methods and enjoy a healthy life.

Source: Health Guidance

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Lime juice is a very rich source of vitamin C which helps in boosting the immunity and is a “Liver Detoxifier” while “Honey” is a better form of sugar, which provides many Vitamins & Minerals and is an energy booster; which keeps us active throughout by enhancing our work performance there by resulting in calorie burn. But still moving and exercising is must along with this for weight loss.

Calories in honey negate your weight loss efforts?

You are right - honey contains sugar. But unlike refined sugar, honey contains vitamins and minerals too. Normally, to digest sugar, the vitamins and minerals stored in body are utilized, rendering the body devoid of these nutrients. These nutrients are essential to dissolve fats and cholesterol. Thus when you eat too much sugar you tend to increase weight not just because of the calories but due to lack of vitamins and minerals. On the contrary, honey being a good source of nutrients helps you in reducing weight.

Honey and warm water: Normally fat remains as an un-used resource in your body adding bulk and weight. It is believed that honey mobilizes this stored fat. When this fat is burnt to provide energy for your daily activities, you see a gradual decrease in your weight and obesity levels. It is suggested that you drink this honey (about one tablespoon daily), with equal amount of warm water.

Honey and lemon juice: Honey can also help in weight loss when consumed with warm water and lemon juice. Many people drink this formula first thing in the morning to reduce their weight.

Honey also improves your digestion and thus helps in weight loss. Hence honey is also consumed after dinner especially after overeating.

The latest theory based on the hibernation diet also builds a link between fructose-rich honey and weight loss. It suggests taking a generous spoonful or two of honey at night, either as a warm drink or straight from the jar, and promises to help us sleep and lose weight at the same time by fuelling the liver, speeding up fat-burning metabolism and easing stress hormones.

The good news is that honey, a natural sweetener, contains 22 amino acids and a variety of minerals essential for its metabolism and hence is helpful in preventing obesity. It is believed that drinking lemon juice with a little honey the first thing in the morning is an effective anti-cellulite treatment as it helps to increase body metabolism. If you are determined to shed weight and speed up your sluggish metabolism, try this honey and lemon diet tip.

From: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/ And  http://www.organicfacts.net/

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What does "dieting" mean?
For just about all people, the term "dieting" means not eating the foods they love, eating smaller portions, and worst of all skipping meals. I hope we all know by now that dieting is hard and does not work for the long-term fat loss we all want.
Lets take a closer look at the 3 methods of dieting, the side effects, and the proper way to deal with your diet.

Not Eating The Foods You Love To Lose Fat
You probably love the same foods as me and most Americans, over- processed, high in fat and sugar, and oversized portions. We need those over sized portions because the food we are eating is not the nutrition our bodies need. They are just empty calories that our body stores as fat.

If you are trying to change your whole diet at once, that can be just as hard as quitting smoking. I tried and the side effects of cutting all sugar were quite painful. I lasted 3 weeks. The key here is to add a couple healthy things to your diet and cut back on the unhealthy stuff. An example would be to add fruit as a snack during the day instead of doughnuts but only every other day. Then add one more day of fruit a week with an occasional doughnut.

Whatever you do, do not call it cheating. You can only cheat while dieting, and that is not what you are doing. You are changing your diet to have better health, a lighter, thinner body, more energy, higher self-esteem, and the knowledge you are doing what is best for you and your family.

Eating Smaller Portions To Lose Fat
Leaving the table hungry is not the way to go. This is one of the things that make dieting very difficult. It will put you in a bad mood because you feel like you are punishing yourself for doing what you love, eating. After a few days of being hungry and weak, you rebel against yourself and eat a whole pizza by yourself. This leads to guilt and resentment and low self-esteem.

When changing your diet to nutritious foods, it is better to eat more often with smaller portions. There is a whole list of foods you can find that are healthy, low calorie and full of the nutrients your body needs. The more your body gets used to getting those nutrients, the less hungry you will feel. Personally, my favorite snack that keeps me away from the vending machine is cocktail peanuts.

I eat a handful about every hour and this event helps to eat a smaller lunch. That may be more than is recommended but I do have a labor intensive job that burns a lot of calories. I do still eat fast food on occasion, but it will just be one small sandwich off the value menu, such as a chicken sandwich.

Never get the fries!
So eating smaller portions of great tasting healthy foods will keep your metabolism going and the fat burning.

Skipping Meals To Lose Fat
Skipping meals is the worst dieting method you can do to lose fat. Eating food actually boosts the metabolism and keeps your body burning calories. This also gives you energy to do more with your day and burn more fat. When you skip meals bad things happen to your body. Your metabolism, the fat burning mechanism, slows down to conserve energy to keep your organs working. If you only eat once a day, your body will store just about the whole meal to keep your body going during the times of no new fuel. It stores this as fat.

For breakfast, I either drink a whey protein drink, about 170 calories, or eat a spinach salad, about 230 calories, but both give me a lot of energy, healthy unsaturated fats, vitamins and micro-nutrients for healthy body function.

Give yourself this one boost in the morning and you will see a difference.
If you find that you only like eating pastries or doughnuts for breakfast, try switching them out a couple days a week to start.

It will take time for your taste buds to adjust to your new diet. That is what the protein drink is for. My sweet chocolate fix for the day! Just remember that to lose fat, you want less carbs and more protein.

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Feeling down from time to time is a normal part of life. But when emptiness and despair take hold and wont go away, it may be depression. We all go through ups and downs in our mood. Sadness is a normal reaction to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. Many people use the word “depression” to explain these kinds of feelings, but depression is much more than just sadness.

Common signs and symptoms of depression

·         Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

·         Loss of interest in daily activities. 

·         Appetite or weight changes. Sleep changes.

·         Irritability or restlessness Loss of energy.

·         Self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt

·         Concentration problems. Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.

·         Unexplained aches and pains. An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.

Causes for depression

·         Loneliness

·         Lack of social support

·         Recent stressful life experiences

·         Family history of depression

·         Marital or relationship problems

·         Financial strain

·         Early childhood trauma or abuse

·         Alcohol or drug abuse

·         Unemployment or underemployment

·         Health problems or chronic pain

There are lots of possibilities including the fact that people who are depressed may try to relieve their mental pain by eating more. Researchers in this study theorize that the tendency to gain fat around the waistline in depressed people may come from higher cortisol levels produced in response to stress.

Cortisol is commonly known as the “stress hormone” since it’s produced in greater quantities during stressful periods. High levels of cortisol have been correlated with abdominal obesity and accumulation of fat around the waist – as well as a decrease in muscle mass and bone density. Cortisol also raises blood sugar levels, increases blood pressure, and lowers immunity. Too much cortisol isn’t a good thing when it comes to body composition – or overall health.
Elevated cortisol levels also increase appetite to help the body refuel after stressful times, so depressed people with high cortisol levels may eat more food – particularly high carbohydrate foods.

Reducing the Cortisol Response:If depression and weight gain are connected to cortisol, it makes sense to try to reduce cortisol levels naturally. One way to do this is through daily physical exercise. High intensity exercise is best for weight loss, but vigorous exercise and long periods of sustained exercise increases cortisol levels further. The best way to lower cortisol levels naturally is to take a twenty minute walk – preferably outdoors in nature. This not only helps to reduce levels of the “stress hormone” and lift the spirits, it burns extra calories.

Make healthy lifestyle changes:Lifestyle changes are not always easy to make, but they can have a big impact on depression. Lifestyle changes that can be very effective include:

·         Cultivating supportive relationships

·         Getting regular exercise and sleep

·         Eating healthfully to naturally boost mood

·         Managing stress

·         Practicing relaxation techniques

·         Challenging negative thought patterns

By: www.helpguide.org and By Dr.Kristie Leong M.D

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If losing weight scares you the most, then dont worry, you are not alone! Many people embark on the journey to weight loss and cant ever seem to get any success.
4 mistakes below are what causing you to have a nightmarish experience with getting in shape:

1.) Skipping Breakfast - Skipping breakfast will not only decrease your energy levels for the day and make you feel miserable; it will also decrease your metabolism and cause you to binge later on in the day!
So, what I suggest you to do is to have a hearty breakfast every morning loaded with protein, antioxidants, healthy carbs (fiber), and vitamins/minerals.

2.) Eating More Bad Carbs than Good Carbs - Another surefire way to make it a nightmare for you to get in shape is to eat more bad carbs (foods high in sugar and processed foods) than you do good carbs (fiber, Greens, Vegetables, fruits, salad, Raw Almonds). Bad carbs will be stored in your body as fat and cause a mountain of diseases. Good carbs burn fat and will fight off diseases. It doesnt get any simpler than that!

3.) Not Getting Enough Good Fats in Your Diet - One of the first things people think about when approaching their diet is to go straight to low-fat options. This is a big mistake. The reason why is because there are healthy fats (monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, omega fatty acids) that you MUST get in your diet in order to effectively drop pounds, burn fat, and improve your overall health. Not getting healthy fats can make it very difficult and will also make you susceptible to STORING body fat.
Great food options loaded with healthy fat are fish, nuts, and olive oil to name a few.

4.) Not moving enough – “Move it to lose it”. If you move - not exercise, but just move around a lot during the day - you can lose a lot of weight. Study showed that the heavy people didnt sit around because they were too overweight to be active. Instead, it seems that the tendency to be a couch potato is inborn. You gain weight because you dont move much, not the other way around. The researchers found that the difference in movement between their heavy study participants and the lean ones amounted to 350 calories per day. If the heavy people could move enough to burn that number of calories, they could lose 30 to 40 pounds in a year.
 If you can find ways to build more movement into your life - standing instead of sitting, walking instead of driving - you may find it easier to lose weight. You can also begin learning how to dance, do yoga or just playing games/sports can do the trick too.

Note: Keep food 100% natural and you dont have to worry about starving, cravings, or putting back on weight that youve just lost! Natural food works better than processed food because it naturally raises your metabolism as you are eating REAL FOOD and that’s what your body (especially liver) understands.

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1. Call up a friend or sister or mother to talk about it (or to get your mind off it).

2. Watch a good movie, preferably one that youve already seen and liked.

3. Eat a good meal. Something different and delicious, something out of the ordinary. A good meal can always brighten up a bad mood.

4. Go for a walk (After an argument I do this to cool down). Doing this will make your body release endorphins and adrenaline through your body which will make you feel better physically and emotionally.

5. Be spontaneous. Sometimes a consistent and boring routine can make you feel bad. Do something out of the blue, but dont make any rash decisions ;) Like Give surprise visit to close friend.

6. Take a nice long shower. You will feel happier and refreshed.

7. Get out of the house! The fresh air will make you feel better. Go somewhere with a friend, a family member, or even by yourself like beauty parlor, shopping, temple or just window shopping. Staying inside is like trapping yourself inside your depression.

8. Listen to music. Dont listen to sad music–try listening to energetic tunes or a song that inspires you or reminds you of good times.

9. Have a good cry. Sometimes the sadness stays inside your head if you try to force yourself to be happy. Try to let the tears out at the most appropriate time, mainly the best time when you are alone. Do this, and you might feel more relieved of your sad feelings, as if it "got off your chest".

10. Put your feelings into perspective. Is what youre upset about really as important as you think? Did it seem too heavily affect more on yourself than those around you? If you sulk about little problems, like not receiving a perfect behavior from senior or something from past, then youre going to feel sad a lot more easily. Not all of your problems require you to use your head. If you use reason to cheer yourself up, chances are youll feel a lot less stressed.

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