The following article is a small excerpt from one of my books. I hope you’ll want to learn more and let me help you to get into the best shape of your life.

COUNTING CALORIES

Counting calories isn’t rocket science. It’s more like basic physics, or at least the first law of thermodynamics, that energy can be changed from one form to another, but can not be created or destroyed. Burn the 3,500 calories that make up a pound of body fat, and you’re that much lighter.

But if it was only that simple, you could stop here, and anyone with a pen, paper, and a calculator could slim down without a struggle. Truth is, if you’re trying to lose weight, the source of your calories matters, as does the type of exercise you combine with a low-cal diet.

If you are consuming too many calories from fatty, sugary, low-nutrient foods, clearly you won’t be getting all the valuable nutrients you need for your body to function optimally. To sustain weight loss, it’s key to keep activity level up and mix up exercises so you’re using different muscle groups or stimulating your muscles in different ways.

You’re not alone if you’re feeling a little clueless about calories. While 77 percent of people say they are trying to lose or maintain weight, only 19 percent track calories. Only 12 percent can accurately target the number of calories they should consume in a day, while 43 percent have trouble estimating how many calories they burn during everyday activities. In my books Get fit stay Fit, and the Best You Can Be, I teach you how to calculate the number of calories you need to maintain, gain or lose weight.

Knowing the facts about energy intake and expenditure can help you pinpoint why the needle on the scale gets stuck. There are also calculators on this website that will help you figure out how many calories you burn on a certain activity with more detailed calculations in my books.

Not All Calories are Equal

It’s like the old saying, “What weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound or rocks?” If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight.

But this isn’t a free pass. Calories from protein and fats are more filling than calories from carbohydrate sources. If you are trying to reduce your calorie intake and are eating calories mainly from carbohydrates, you may find yourself hungry, making it hard to stay within your calorie range.

The healthiest calories come from whole grains, high-fiber carbohydrates, lean proteins, andunsaturated fats. These whole foods require more energy (or simply burn more calories) to eat, digest, and absorb compared with refined or processed foods.

“Negative Calories” Don’t Exist

Some believe that negative calorie foods, like celery, lettuce, apples and grapefruit, are the magic bullet for weight loss.

There really is no scientific evidence proving that certain foods will cause your body to burn more calories to digest them than the calories already in the food. However, foods that have been listed as negative calorie foods are mostly low-calorie, high-fiber vegetables. Increasing the amount of these foods in your meal plan will help promote weight loss since you will find yourself feeling full from the fiber and eating fewer calories from other foods.

This negative calorie theory is because of the thermic effect of food.  Consuming foods such as chili peppers and other foods that have capsaicin can help your body burn a small amount of calories because they raise body temperature and boost metabolism. But don’t eat these foods expecting that doing so will help you consume fewer total calories and lose weight.

The number of calories offset by eating, digesting, and absorbing negative energy foods is negligible. Don’t expect real results from snacking on asparagus and blueberries all day without making significant changes to your diet and exercise habits.

The Best Diet is a Low-Cal Diet

When combined with exercise, any diet that restricts calories should result in weight loss, regardless of which macronutrients are emphasized or downplayed.

In a recent survey researchers assigned 811 overweight adults to one of four diets emphasizing various levels of fat, protein, and carbs. Each dieter was instructed to slash 750 calories a day, exercise for 90 minutes daily, keep a food diary, and meet with a diet counselor. After 6 months, study participants across all groups lost an average of 13 pounds.

While macronutrients are important, a focus on calorie counting should trump restricting fat or carbohydrates, and  a diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, low- or non-fat dairy, beans, nuts, and seeds is recommended. Limit foods with too much sugar or too much solid fat, and limit alcohol, which contribute lots of calories but few nutrients to your diet.

Tracking calories is the key to successful weight loss, write down everything you eat for a few days in order to calculate your usual calorie intake. Subtract 500 from this amount without going below 1,200 calories. If you stick to this calorie range each day, you will lose 1 pound per week.

To meet nutrient needs and ward off hunger, don’t forget to balance out where your calories come from. Depending on your activity level, 50 to 65 percent of your calories should come from carbs, 10 to 20 percent from protein, and 20 to 25 percent from healthy, unsaturated fats.

Keep portions small for foods or beverages that are sugary, fatty, and otherwise nutrient-poor, that way you won’t feel deprived.

Real Results Require Exercise

You’ve cut calories and made a meaningful effort to consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods. You’re almost there, but there’s one more piece of the weight loss puzzle: the gym.

Diet alone is not enough to promote significant weight loss. Researchers fed monkeys a high-fat diet for several years, then cut caloric intake by 30 percent for sedentary monkeys and made no changes to the diets of those that were trained to exercise on a treadmill for 60 minutes each day. After a month, the exercise group weighed less, while sedentary monkeys experienced declines in energy and lost no weight.

In the beginning, you can start slow then ramp up your exercise efforts. The heavier you are, the more calories you burn per minute. For instance, if a 120-pound woman ran for 20 minutes at 6 miles per hour and a 150-pound woman ran at the same speed for the same amount of time, the 150-pound woman would have burned a bit more calories.

60 minutes of physical activity on most days is recommended in order to keep pounds off.

To make the most of your gym sessions, try short bursts of high intensity exercise, which burn more calories than consistent-rate cardio, like jogging on the treadmill at a set speed. Three, 15-minute, high-intensity interval workouts per week leads to greater reductions in total body mass, fat loss, and leg and trunk mass, compared with steady-state exercise at the same frequency.
Weight Loss Slows Metabolism
If you have a very large amount of weight to lose, you may find that you hit a weight loss plateau over time. As your body gets smaller, it does not have to work as hard to move around and circulate nutrients, which can slightly reduce your overall metabolic rate.

When you lose weight, your metabolism slows due to a loss of lean body mass. And as you get older, your bodies naturally want to gain fat and lose muscle.

The more pounds you take off, the fewer calories you need to stay at your new weight. It doesn’t sound fair, but there is one bonus: If you increase total muscle mass at your new weight, then you may be able to eat more and not gain weight.

To hang on to muscle and keep your metabolism up as the number on the scale goes down, eating protein-rich foods in small amounts and most importantly, performing weight training on all muscle groups two to three times per week. Losing weight in a slow and steady rate, no more than two pounds per week, can also help minimize muscle loss.

If you hit a plateau, increase physical activity and decrease calories by another 100 to 200 calories per day without dropping below 1,200, which could further slow your metabolism. And don’t forget to use the calorie counters in my book to figure out your new daily calorie amounts as your weight decreases.

I know you want to get in shape and look great.  Whatever your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. If you have enjoyed this article and the many other free features on my site, and would like some more comprehensive information such as fitness books and CD’s to aid you in achieving your health and fitness goals, please visit my ONLINE STORE where you will find innovative natural health and beauty products to help you become the BEST YOU CAN BE !

I hope you’ll want to learn more and let me help you to get into the best shape of your life and listen to my CD’S ‘Your body, Your life’ as this topic is discussed and explained in greater detail.

Toxic Hunger. . . is at the foundation of food addiction and the major cause of obesity

Most people will never experience the feeling of hunger. In fact, most desire to avoid it. Feeling hungry is actually a guide to ingesting the amount of calories you require for health and maintaining your ideal weight. When you eat out of true hunger, food tastes much better and you are physiologically primed for proper digestion. Hunger, in the true sense of the word, indicates to you that it is time to eat again.

Real hunger is not often experienced in our modern, overfed population. Most people no longer even remember or are aware what hunger even feels like. Most are surprised to find that true hunger is felt in the throat and not in the head or stomach.

Instead of true hunger, people are experiencing detoxification or withdrawal symptoms that they mistake for hunger. They feel shaky, head achy, weak, get abdominal cramps or spasms, which they believe to be hunger because they are relieved by eating. This is” toxic hunger.” Toxic hunger is symptoms a person experiences that are due to toxic wastes being mobilized for elimination. It occurs after a meal is digested and the digestive track is empty, and it could make you  feel very uncomfortable.

Generally, you eat to get rid of these withdrawal symptoms and it works. In fact, this is one of the most important contributors to our population’s overweight condition. You eat the wrong foods, and just a few hours later you feel ill, stressed out, shaky, weak, mentally dull, and you are driven to eat again to relieve the discomfort. Did you ever hear someone say they need to eat because they felt so shaky? The question is, are these symptoms true hunger, hypoglycemia, or something else? These symptoms occur simultaneous to your blood sugar decreasing but they are not caused by” hypoglycemia.” They result from tissue sensitivity to mobilization of waste products which occurs when most active digestion is finished.

You do not want to go hungry and deny yourself food to achieve an ideal weight. There is a better answer. When you eat a nutrient‐dense diet, rich with lots of colorful vegetables, you will meet your nutrient needs, and this will reduce and eliminate uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. High nutrient eating enables you  to deal with all types of stress, but in this case, eating more high‐nutrient foods will enable you to avoid stress hunger and eliminate cravings and the drive to overeat.

When your diet is low in nutrients, you build up intra-cellular waste products. So when digestion stops, your body goes through a period of cleaning, meaning that your tissues release toxic substances into circulation for removal. Your cells can harbor toxic products that build up in your body when your diet is relatively nutrient poor. Phytonutrients are required for your body to properly detoxify metabolic waste products. When you don’t eat sufficient phytochemical rich vegetation and consume excess animal proteins (creating excess nitrogenous wastes), you exacerbate the build up of metabolic waste products in your bodies. You get confused because when you eat the same heavy foods that are causing the problem to begin with, you feel better. This makes becoming overweight inevitable.

If you stop digesting food, even for a short time, your body will begin to experience symptoms of detoxification or withdrawal from your unhealthful diet. To counter this you eat heavy meals, eat too often and keep your digestive track overfed to lessen the discomfort from your stressful diet . When your body has acclimated to noxious agents it is called addiction. Try to stop taking the heroin and you will feel ill. In fact, you must have it, or you will become terribly sick this is called withdrawal. When you stop doing something harmful to yourselves you feel ill as your body mobilizes cellular wastes and attempts to repair the damage caused by the exposure.

If you habitually drink three cups of coffee or caffeinated soda a day, you will get a withdrawal headache when your caffeine level dips too low. Taking in more caffeine or food could make you feel better by retarding the detoxification or withdrawal symptoms.

Likewise, a few hours after eating the standard low nutrient diet, most people begin to feel hungry. They feel weak, headachy, tired, mentally dull, and have stomach spasms. This is stress or toxic hunger because these symptoms only occur in those who have been eating a toxic diet. True hunger would not have occurred so early after a meal. True hunger signals occur when your body needs  calories to maintain your lean body mass. No one would become overweight if they ate food demanded by true hunger and true hunger only. But in your present toxic food environment, you have lost the ability to connect with your  body signals that tell you how much food you actually need. You have become slaves to withdrawal symptoms and eat all day long, even when there is no biological need for calories.  This cycle of eating, and then avoiding the symptoms of detoxification by eating again, does not have to continue. There is a way out. When you restore the nutritional integrity and relative cleanliness to your tissues, you simply will not have the desire to eat to get rid of the toxin induced symptoms.

In an environment of healthy food choices, you would not feel any symptoms after a meal until hormonal and neurological messengers indicated glycogen reserves in your liver were running low. Your body possess a beautifully orchestrated ability to give you precise signals which tell you exactly how much to eat to maintain an ideal weight for your long term health. These signals are called true hunger to differentiate them from the toxic hunger everyone else calls hunger. Feeding yourselves to satisfy true hunger does not cause weight gain, and if people were better connected with these normal signals it would be almost impossible for anyone to become overweight. True hunger is felt in the throat, neck and mouth, not in your stomach or head. It is a drawing sensation. It is not very uncomfortable to feel real hunger, it makes food taste much better when you eat, and it makes eating an intense pleasure. True hunger requires no special food to satisfy it. It is relieved by eating almost anything. You can’t crave some particular food and call it hunger. A craving by definition is an addictive drive, not something felt by a person who is not an addict.

In order to achieve an ideal weight and consume the exact amount of calories to maintain a lean body mass you do not have to carry around a calculator and a scale to figure out how much to eat. A healthy body will give you the correct signals. So in order to achieve superior health, maximize your longevity potential, and achieve your ideal weight, you have to eat well enough to get back in touch with true hunger and rid yourselves of this stress hunger.

Every cell is like a little factory.  It makes products, produces waste and then must compact, detoxify and remove waste. If you don’t get sufficient antioxidants and phytonutrients from your diet, your cells are unable to effectively remove the waste. If you let waste build up, your body will attempt to get rid of the waist when it can but it can only do that effectively if you are not  eating. Eating makes you feel better because it halts or delays this detoxification process.

My books and Cd’s I explain in more detail some of the most effective ways to reach your ideal weight and stay there permanently when you get there.

You must prioritize your food intake around nutrient dense, high fiber, high water content food, which means fruits, vegetables and beans. This is all about knowledge, not will power. With the right knowledge, you can get more pleasure from eating, avoid restrictive diets, and protect your health.

To get more insight and information check out my CD’s Your Body Your Health and The Secrets of Weight Loss and the Nutritional Sprays (all available on my website) which will bring you the best supplements available all in a spray, with up to 98% absorption. It increases the bio availability of nutrients with a simple and delicious spray into your mouth. Feel Healthy, energized and vibrant.  Help slow the aging process, support your immune system and suppress your appetite for a healthier body and mind in minutes a day.

I know you want to get in shape and look great.  Whatever your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. If you have enjoyed this article and the many other free features on my site, and would like some more comprehensive information such as fitness books and CD’s to aid you in achieving your health and fitness goals, please visit my ONLINE STORE where you will find innovative natural health and beauty products to help you become the BEST YOU CAN BE !

I hope you’ll want to learn more and let me help you to get into the best shape of your life.

Some foods you think that are healthy are actually junk food in disguise. Once you learn the difference you will begin to see the changes you are looking for.

Chips, gooey desserts, anything that starts with fried are high in calories and you should know how to avoid these foods. What’s tricky is that some foods with healthy reputations are actually worse for your weight than you may think.

Sushi rolls: The veggies and seaweed wrap are low calorie, but a lot of the most popular rolls are slathered with cream cheese or mayonnaise and the seafood inside may be tempura battered. Thanks to these ingredients, a standard roll may have 500 to 600calories. Also, soy sauce is loaded with sodium. It won’t make you gain weight, but it’ll cause you to retain water.

Dried fruit: Cup for cup, dried fruit has five to eight times more calories than the fresh kind because it has been dehydrated and is much denser. Fresh grapes, for example, have 60 calories per cup, while raisins have 460. And many brands add sugar, which increases the calorie count.

Granola: Because it’s loaded with good for you nuts and oats, it’s too bad that they add oil to make it crisp and tons of sugar for more taste. One bowl racks up around 500 calories. Some cereals with the same nutrients but less oil and sugar pack half the calorie count.

Bran muffins: Whether it’s plain bran or mixed with apples or bananas, the fiber fills you up, but considering all the sugar and butter it delivers, a bran muffin is basically just a round slice of cake. One weighs in at about 20 grams of fat, 420 calories, and 34 grams of sugar.

Half & half: You put so little into your coffee, it seems like a harmless way to get calcium, especially when compared to full fat cream. But a few spoonfuls per cup of coffee two or three times a day quickly turns into 200 or more calories which is about the same amount of fat as a big pat of butter!

Wraps: No matter what you put in it, the average wrap is a major offender. If you roll the tortilla out, it can be 1 foot across and pack up to 300 calories. Since the surface area is way bigger than two slices of bread, you coat it with a lot more mayo or dressing than you would a sub or sandwich.

Bottled teas: Most brands have sugar or honey added, which are calorie sweeteners. One bottle can contain two or more servings, bringing the calorie count to almost 200 which is similar to a bottle of soda.

Rice cakes: These light snacks are fat free and low in calories, but they’re also completely lacking in fiber or protein, two ingredients that actually may help to curb hunger. Eating two or three won’t do anything but add more calories to your daily total and leave you craving something with substance. Limit the flavored kinds.  They tend to have more sugar or sodium.

Veggie burgers: Skipping beef for a meat free patty may save you a little fat and cholesterol, but depending on the brand and what you put on it, you could easily end up eating more than 1,000 calories. The cheese that often binds the veggies together and the huge size of the burgers are anything but diet friendly. Add a bun and some ketchup and you might as well have had a regular burger.

Juice: Reaching your recommended daily fruit serving goal by getting it in liquid form may not be a great idea.  A 16-ounce bottle of OJ or apple juice has 55 grams of carbohydrates, the equivalent of five slices of bread. And most of that is sugar, a whopping 12 spoonfuls of it.

Diet microwave meals: The lean ready to eat dishes tend to be high in sodium. Since the manufacturers can’t rely on calorie rich fat to make the stuff taste good, they resort to salt. As a result, eating them will make you retain water, especially in your arms and legs, leaving you puffy, instead of keeping you trim.

Salads: There’s nothing better for you or your waist than naked veggies, but the shredded cheese, candied nuts, croutons, and globs of dressing often make salads as high in calories as an oversize dish of pasta. Vinaigrettes, may not be as fattening as ranches, but can be almost as high calorie!  If you must use a salad dressing there are many ‘lite’ and ‘low-cal’ versions to choose from.

Tofu: Order this “health food” at a restaurant and what you’ll most likely get is a plateful of sodium, calories, saturated fat, and even sugar. Tofu itself isn’t the issue. The problem is that the white stuff is so bland, it’s often deep fried to give it flavor and texture and served in decadent sauces, making it a diet disaster.

Here are some Habits that have been hyped as healthy but actually add fat to your midsection.

1. You Skip Meals.  This tactic always backfires. You end up so hungry later on that you can’t help but overeat. And when you do, more fat will find its way to your midsection. Eating small to medium size meals every three to four hours, fills you up without resulting in a layer of flab.
2. You Go Vegetarian. Women will often avoid foods from the meat, fish, and dairy groups because they think they are packed with calories and fat. But remember, these foods are protein superstars that help boost your metabolism so you can fight off tummy fat. Opt for low-calorie, low-fat choices, like cottage cheese or tuna. One 6-ounce can fulfills three-quarters of your daily protein requirement.
3. You Think Bread Is Bad.  White bread, yes, but whole-grain breads and cereals, allow insulin levels to rise more gradually, reducing the chance that you’ll add fat to your belly. Wild rice, oatmeal, or whole-wheat tortillas once a day can make a difference.
4. You’re Crunch Crazed.  Sit-ups tone muscle, but they don’t have any effect on the layer of fat covering your ab muscles. Doing 50, 100, or even 500 crunches won’t make your jeans feel any looser. What does work? Cardio. Instead of wasting all your time on crunches, spend an extra 10 minutes on the treadmill.
5. You Booze a Lot, but Infrequently.  Alcohol has lots of calories yet doesn’t fill you up at all. So when you binge drink, you’re basically inviting flab to settle on your midsection.
6. You Eat “Lite” Products.  You may think you are doing your body a favor by opting for sugar free yogurt, diet soda, or any other snack labeled low-fat or low-cal. But these versions are often loaded with artificial sweeteners, which may trigger your metabolism to increase fat storage.
7. You Think Fatty Foods Are the Enemy.  Foods high in monounsaturated fats help burn off belly fat and help you to consume less.

Foods That Melt Flab Away

Cinnamon: Without going into the whole scientific explanation of why it works, adding 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of this spice to something you eat every day, hot cereal, marinades, yogurt, helps blood sugar get into your cells so they can be used for energy, so less is stored as fat.

Green Tea: One ingredient, caffeine, is a stimulant that raises your heart rate and tells your system to burn calories faster. Green tea also has catechins, a substance believed help burn belly fat. Aim for three 8-ounce cups a day. (Without the milk, cream or sugar)

Yogurt:  Dairy has a bad rap for high calories, but yogurt, both the low-fat and regular kinds, contains probiotics, which are friendly bacteria that may actually help reduce the amount of fat your body absorbs.

Coffee:  Caffeine kicks your metabolism into high gear. Caffeine also jump-starts lipolysis, the breakdown of fat. One to two cups a day is ideal. (Black is best)

Chili Peppers:  Often found in high quantities in hot salsa as well as in many Thai, Indian and Chinese curry dishes. These wonder foods are packed with a metabolism boosting compound called capsaicin, which provides chili peppers’ fiery flavor. In addition, capsaicin increases your body temperature, giving your metabolism an extra calorie burning push.

Chicken and Fish:  It actually takes energy to digest food, and your body burns more calories digesting and metabolizing protein than it does while breaking down carbs and fats. Consuming a few servings of lean protein, each day may help keep your metabolism burning fat, long after you finish eating your meal.

Take the first step to achieving healthy blood sugar metabolism and sustained good health right now! And begin by reading ‘get fit stay fit’ ‘The best you can be’ and listening to my audio cd’s which are comprehensive, yet tailored to meet your individual needs. You have the power to shape your body for better health.

I know you want to get in shape and look great.  Whatever your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. If you have enjoyed this article and the many other free features on my site, and would like some more comprehensive information such as fitness books and CD’s to aid you in achieving your health and fitness goals, please visit my ONLINE STORE where you will find innovative natural health and beauty products to help you become the BEST YOU CAN BE !

The following article is a small excerpt from one of my books.  I hope you’ll want to learn more and let me help you to get into the best shape of your life.

1. Start with a food diary. Record everything you eat. This will help you to understand just how much you eat
2. If you’re about to cheat…it’s O.K. Allow yourself the treat but eat only half
3. When hunger hits do not eat right away. Wait 10 minutes and see if the urge passes.
4. Instead of eating a piece of candy, brush your teeth. The taste of the toothpaste will often stop your craving Set attainable short term goals.
5. Be aware that watching T.V. encourages snacking. If you can’t stop watching T.V. then at least try to make your snacks healthy and low in fat. (the book ‘Get Fit Stay Fit’ has a great section on treats under 100 kcal.)
6. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily. It helps cut down on water retention by acting as a diuretic and will make you feel full it taken before a meal.
7. When a craving hits, try to do something else…anything. Phone a friend or walk around the block. Do anything that will take your mind off the cravings.
8. Keep an orange slice or a glass of water by your bedside to help stop you from getting up in the middle of the night and heading to the refrigerator.
9. If you use food as a reward, find another reward like buying new clothes or flowers for yourself.
10. If you feel yourself ready to really binge…suck on something sour like a pickle or a piece of lemon.
11. Do not shop when you are hungry, because you will buy fattening food.
12. Avoid finger foods. They are too easy to eat in large amounts Keep plenty of raw vegetables and air popped popcorn around. They’re high in fibre, satisfying and filling.
13. Eat at a table and not in front of the T.V.
14. Lose weight for yourself and not for anyone else.
15. Never skip meals. Schedule all your meals and snacks at regular intervals so you don’t get hungry in between
16. Try to avoid sugar. It tends to increase your cravings Plan your meals. A weekly planner is ideal Eat breakfast to start your day and body off right.
17. Skip the mayonnaise on your sandwich and save 50 to 100 kcal.
18. Park a few blocks from your work. The walk will do you good. Parking just 5 minutes away from work will add an hour of exercise per week and ultimately 10,000 kcal. or the equivalent of 3 pounds of fat. Take the stairs instead of the elevator…providing you don’t work of the 42nd floor. This will burn about 7 kcal. per minute.
19. Soup is like water. It’ll fill you up, so that you will eat less of the main course. Choose clear soups rather than creamed.
20. Skip the chips and dip at parties and go for the unbuttered popcorn.
21. Get rid of the snacks that are around, because if they’re not there, you can’t eat them.
22. If you’re really lucky, have sex before breakfast! It’ll burn about 200 kcal and hopefully get your mind off food.
23. Have some protein following a workout. It will satisfy you and help balance your blood sugar levels.
24. Eat more frequently but in smaller amounts.
25. Women need to make sure they get enough calcium and iron. They need about 700 –800 mgs. Of calcium and 13 mgs. of iron.
26. Exercise can temporarily raise your metabolic rate so that you continue to burn calories for several hours after your workout.
27. All bread is low in fat. It’s what you put on the bread that really counts.
28. Avoid adding salt. It retains 10 times its weight in water and leads to bloating and extra pounds.
29. Replace caffeinated beverages with water.
30. Out of sight out of mind. Get rid of all the high fat, high calorie snacks in your kitchen or in your desk at work.
31. Eat a grapefruit. It’s not only low in calories but also contains 15 grams of pectin, the special fibre that is linked to lowering cholesterol and fat.
32. The body burns 22 to 25 kcal. to digest 100 grams of complex carbohydrates but burns only 2 kcal to digest the same amount of fat. This means 98% of fat can turn right into body fat while only 75 to 78 percent would be available from complex carbohydrates.
33. Eat fewer dairy foods and make sure what you eat are non fat or skim.
34. Change from butter to margarine or better yet, nothing at all.
35. Eliminate fried foods. Instead broil, poach, roast, steam or barbecue.
36. When grocery shopping, make a list so you know exactly what you are going to buy and stick to it.
37. Be label conscious. Read about the ingredients, the nutrition information and percent of fat in the food.
38. But and eat well trimmed lean meats and consider eating smaller portions.
39. Cut back on oils, dressings, gravy and sauces or at least ask for them on the side.
40. Phrases that signal low fat preparation are, steamed in its own juice, garden fresh, broiled, roasted, poached, tomato juice/sauce.
41. High sodium food terms to watch for are, pickled, smoked, in cocktail sauce and broth.
42. High fat food terms may include, buttery, creamed, in its own gravy, hollandaise or bernese sauce, sautéed, fried, crispy, au gratin, marinated, in oil, basted and casserole.
43. Do not put serving dishes on the table. Let the remaining food stay in the kitchen.
44. Quick weight loss programs rarely produce the best long-term results, and can be very dangerous. Instead of crash dieting, try to increase your lean muscle mass. One pound of muscle burns 39.6 calories per kilogram per day while one pound of fat burns just 4.4 calories per kilogram per day.
45. Remember good things come in small packages. Try to eat 6 smaller meals per day instead of three larger meals. Also try to consume 15 to 30 grams of protein per each meal. Doing this will result in improved muscle growth and better endurance while also helping digestion.
46. In ancient Arabic the word coffee means, gives strength. While caffeine can give you a boost, too much can leave you feeling fidgety and fatigued.
47. To be the best…rest. If you are lifting heavy weights, be sure to rest between sets and give your body time to recover. Also do not work the same muscle group two days in a row. Your muscles grow when you’re resting not when you’re working out.
48. Breathe…Breathe…Breathe…Remember aerobic exercise is sustained physical activity that requires oxygen for fuel, lasts for a minimum of 20 minutes and causes an elevation in your heart rate.
49. Trying to keep up with the Jones’s can be hazardous to your health. You don’t have to lift more or stretch farther than others in the gym. Simply focus on improving the quality and quantity of your own movements.
50. Don’t be a copycat. Trying to mimic others more advanced then you can lead to frustration and injury.
51. Athletes are often judged by their accomplishments. What you should think about is if you’ve tried your best. It’s called ‘heart’.
52. Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible and before you know it you can do what you thought was once impossible.
53. Exercise makes your heart work more efficient. If you incorporate an aerobic program into your daily routine you can decrease your heart rate by more than three million beats per year.

I know you want to get in shape and look great. Whatever your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. If you have enjoyed this article and the many other free features on my site, and would like some more comprehensive information such as fitness books and CD’s to aid you in achieving your health and fitness goals, please visit my ONLINE STORE where you will find innovative natural health and beauty products to help you become the BEST YOU CAN BE !