Five Habits That Cause Weight Gain

If you are overweight and cannot seem to lose weight no matter how hard you try, it might be time to examine your habits. A great quote from Emerson Ralph Waldo puts it into perspective " Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny." If we are sowing the wrong habits we set ourselves up for ultimate failure. Below are five habits that may be sabotaging your weight loss goals.

1. Too much TV: Are you aware of how much time you spend in front of the TV? It is easy to come home from work and park ourselves in front of the TV for hours at a time. One of the reasons this works against our weight loss goals is the advertisers of junk food and fast food are good, the reason advertisers pay millions of dollars for ads is because it works. Even the healthiest individuals can succumb to temptations. You are also burning very few calories while viewing TV. Plus most of us eat unhealthy snacks while watching TV and we don't monitor portion control.

2. We Skip Breakfast: Skipping breakfast is linked to obesity. By not having breakfast you are more likely to eat more at other meals. Eating a small healthy breakfast will give you more energy for morning activities, so you will burn more fat.

3. Eating Three Large Meals: Studies have shown that it is better for weight loss to eat six small meals daily than to eat two or three large ones. Eating six small meals spread out over the entire day, helps regulate blood sugar and control cravings. Just be sure that the meals are small and total up to your needed calories intake.

4. Not getting enough Sleep: If you are in the habit of staying up late and not getting enough sleep then you may be causing your body to store weight. Many studies show a correlation between your weight gain and sleep deprivation. If you are tired in the morning and feeling sluggish you may want to try and get an extra hour or two of sleep. It's hard to exercise and be productive if you are tired.

5. Eating Fast Food: This one is a no brainer. If you are going through a drive through for your lunch or dinner, than you are definitely going in the wrong direction in the pursuit of your weight loss goals. Prepare healthy meals ahead of time and take them with you.

Once you identify the habits that cause weight gain, you can then go about the process of fixing the issues. You do not have to fix all your bad habits at once. Trying to do too much can overwhelm you. Instead take one habit and decide to change it. To break the bad habit you have to replace it with a more productive habit. As an example if you watch too much TV, start scheduling your viewing; make it no more than 2 hours a day. Replace the remaining time with more healthy alternatives, like going for walks, runs or to the gym. Stick with the new plan for at least 21 days, once you have made it this far you have created a new and healthy habit. After 21 days you can start working on the next habit you would like to change.

Mark L Crews invites you to learn more about weight loss and receive the free report "Six Pack Abs Revealed" by visiting http://www.workoutover40.com/

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Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight

These foods that cause you to lose weight that I am going to share with you are based on research I've done in the past and my own personal experience with each one. Some foods that I will be talking about include grapefruits, pineapples, nutrient dense foods. I will also be giving small tips that can help you lose weight.

1. Green Tea
I know green tea is not a food, but it is a very good drink that can cause you to lose weight. The reason is because it contains antioxidants called catechins that inhibit fat absorption. Catechins plus the small amount of caffeine that green tea has also causes your metabolism to increase, meaning that you burn calories quicker. Whenever I drink green tea, I end up feeling hungry way quicker than normal. This means that my body metabolized the food quicker because of the green tea. This is a good thing, except you might end up wanting to eat more because of it. One topic that is up for debate is whether to drink it cold or hot. Drinking it cold has its benefits because your body burns more calories automatically by taking that cold water and making it back to regular temperature inside your body. Then it also could be best hot because the heat might make your body naturally warmer and burn more calories. Regardless of drinking it hot or cold, you will still be able to lose weight with either option.

2. Grapefruits
Grapefruits are acidic, and that acid is able to burn fat. I recommend this because I've done this before and it works really well. The only thing that you need to be careful of is not eating too many. I once ate about 2 grapefruits a day, and after a week my stomach started to hurt really bad. The reason is because the acids from the grapefruits eat up your mucus lining that surrounds the stomach. Also be careful because the acids can also mess up your teeth. So I recommend eating 1 grapefruit a day at the most, but half a grapefruit a day would be safer.

3. Pineapples
Pineapples contain an enzyme in them called Bromelain, that is used to aid in digestion. You can also feel the difference when you eat pineapples, but it is not as good as green tea.

4. Nutrient dense foods
Nutrient dense foods are foods that cause you to burn more calories digesting them than they actually contain. These are pretty much fruits and vegetables. It's not all fruits and vegetables, but the ones that are lower in calories. Some examples of nutrient dense foods are lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucumbers, apples, watermelon, etc... If you are not sure which ones are nutrient dense foods, you can do a Google search for nutrient dense foods and find a list of them. Eating more nutrient dense foods in your diet will cause you to start losing weight even quicker.

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Can Stress Cause Weight Gain?

Stress causes weight gain.

That's a bold statement to make when there are so many people saying that it's entirely to do with nutrition and exercise. But, we have found that we get massive results from simply removing stress from our clients lives.

Example.
Lianne lost 74cm from around her waist in only 6 months by reducing the stress that she chose to indulge in. She did it without significant increases in exercise and by eating a balanced meal. Here the thing - her balanced meal was balanced when it arrived on her doorstep, but Lianne didn't like the vegetables, so she fed them to the dog!!! How balanced is that?

Stress causes your 'Fight or Flight' nervous system to go on high alert. When it does so (and you might recognize a few of these symptoms) your eyes pop out, your palms gets sweaty, your heart starts racing, your blood pressure increases and your muscles fill with blood so that you can fight or run away. Also your digestive system shuts down, because your body knows that fighting or running away during these stressed periods is a greater priority than breaking down food.

Q: So what happens to the food in your guts when you're stressed?

A: Nothing. It sits there stagnant in your guts while the parasites and bugs go to town on it.

So if you indulge in regular stress, you may wonder why you're frequently sick and/or overweight.

You've got more parasites in your system that cause sickness disease than your body knows what to do with.These same bugs prevent the good bugs from breaking down any food that you eat.Your digestive system is in standby mode anyway, so it couldn't absorb any digested food even if it was there.

IF YOU ARE STRESSED YOU ARE MALNOURISHED

If your body feels hungry, it will ask for "more food please" - you overeat, and your body goes into 'starvation mode' - it scavenges any nutrient it can and sends it straight to the fat cells (that way, there will be plenty in storage for later on).

Eating less doesn't help either, cos your body still ain't getting fed.

Solution: To lose weight, get more energy and get healthier - Lose the Stress

I realise that saying 'lose the stress' is easier said than done. It took me 32 years to figure that out.

Sometimes there is a little more to the stress than meets the eye:

Is it work or you that is stressing yourself out?Is your environment causing you stress? It may be as simple as changing your cleaning productsIs the 'food' you eat causing your body stress? Make sure to eat so that your body feels best.
The most effective way is to face it is head on - sometimes you might need some help to face those demons. For those of you who are willing to attempt it on your own, read on.

Is your brain still running on high alert?

Have you meditated before? How do you meditate?

Your brain is capable of running at various different frequencies depending on what you are doing.

Beta - alert/working (15-40 cycles/ second)Alpha - relaxed/reflecting (9-14 cycles/ second)Theta - drowsy/ daydreaming (5-8 cycles/ second)Delta - Sleep/ dreaming (1.5-4 cycles/ second)

Generally, the slower your brain waves, the more relaxed you are.

The goal of meditation is simply to slow your brain waves down so that an otherwise overactive mind can take time to recover

I've heard people say they have never meditated before. For many people it is simply that they haven't been aware that they have been. If you have ever gotten home after a long drive down the freeway and wondered how on earth you got there - then you have experienced a form of meditation. (It's probably not the safest place to meditate). Often simple repetitive tasks where you don't need to consciously think can lead to a meditative state. For example walking, gardening, swimming or even just breathing!

You may also choose to engage in more "traditional" methods of meditation. These are as varied as Elton John's sunglasses - it is entirely up to you to find the meditation to best suit you. I find that different meditations have different effects on the way my body functions. I also find that combining bits and bobs from different meditations can enhance an individual meditation.

I will briefly run through several meditations. I strongly encourage that you experiment with each and find the one(s) that work for you.

Exercise: Meditate

Over the next week, Allocate at least 10 minutes every day, (preferably 30 minutes). Remember that the more relaxed your brain is, the more focus and productivity you can gain.

Play with each of the following parts of meditations, some may work better/differently than others for you. Remember that the end goal is simply to take your mind off the stresses of daily life.

Most of these can be done lying down (not sleeping), sitting comfortably or standing.

Breathing - simply breathe into your belly. If your mind is over active, focus on counting your breath (backwards from 100 if you like).

Imagery - imagine a place where you are completely relaxed. It may be a beach, on a cloud, or in the bush somewhere - whatever it is for you. See the image, hear the sounds, and feel the feelings from where you are.

Relax - make sure the following areas are relaxed: your eyes, eyebrows, forehead, temples, ears, cheeks, jaw, lips, mouth, scalp, neck, shoulders, chest, fronts of arms, backs of arms, forearms, hands, fingers, upper back, lower back, abdominals, bum, fronts of legs, back of legs, calves, feet and toes.

Feel - there is a natural flow of chi (warmth, tingling, energy - however you feel it) through your body. Simply feel the flow of energy through your body.

If you really want to "feel it"...

Add this to your meditation - Standing Meditation

Stand with your feet roughly shoulder width apart and knees bent slightly. Hold your hands in front of you like you're holding a basketball. Some people find that 5 minutes of this is enough. Others prefer up to 2 hours (but work up to this long). I recommend about 30 minutes. Expect your legs to shake, and your body temperature to rise.

*** take care if you have any knee problems ***

Keri Norley is an international coach who has helped hundreds of people to reach their ideal body.

With her husband, Hugh, their business http://www.targetedfatloss.com.au/ can help you with individualized plans and coaching to help you get rid of fat in those hard to lose areas that don't budge with common weight loss practices.

If you want to get rid of flabby arms, thunder thighs, love handles, fat belly, man boobs or a double chin, contact them today at info@targetedfatloss.com.au.

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