The arrival of Spring marks the return of an annual ritual… shedding those extra pounds put on over the Winter! And ritual might be the perfect term for the ‘search and deploy' tactics to find this year's newest diet craze… ‘The Lettuce Soup Diet', or the lose-pounds-while-sleep-wishful-thinking pills. The real secret is no secret at all. The process is simple and long-lasting… balanced food choices, appropriate exercise and healthy weight management supplements to support your process.
Balanced Food Choices
A few adjustments to your diet will maximize weight-loss results as well as improving energy and immune function. A simple way to look at nutrition that will guarantee that you'll cover all the bases is to balance your ‘macronutrients'. These are the foundation foods for health and regeneration. They're better known as proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
1. Make sure that you get enough high integrity protein each day. This is important for stabilizing blood sugar levels, raising metabolism and boosting immune function. A 130 lb woman, with an everyday active lifestyle, would need about 60 grams of protein per day. Free-range meats and eggs, lactose-reduced whey and soy proteins are very healthy choices.
2. Include healthy fat in your diet, especially Omega 3's (organic flax or fish oil) and other natural, cold-processed oils such as olive, sunflower, pumpkin seed, and coconut butter. Avoid hydrogenated oils which are hidden in processed foods such as baked goods, crackers, margarine.
3. Eat "colourful" carbs such as vegetables and fruits. Reduce "beige" carbs such as breads, pasta and white rice. These are empty foods that will have you looking for more food in no time. They are also high-glycemic which will convert to body fat faster than any other table foods if not used immediately for energy. Eliminate refined sugars which function in the same way, replacing them with stevia or honey.
Appropriate Exercise
The ‘e' word usually brings looks of imagined pain and disinterest. Visions of running for hours on a treadmill like a giant hamster come to mind. Well, let your mind imagine something else, like moving your body with a smile on your face. That's right -- activities like dancing, gardening and riding a bright red bike are forms of exercise. Many studies have shown that you will see more positive results from activities that you enjoy doing. So find that something special and do it for 20 minutes, three times a week.
Resistance training (also know as weight training) can be thought of as a form of moving meditation. Slow steady movements, with focussed breathing, yield more healthful results than grunting Neanderthal with poor technique. The health benefits of resistance training are more than worth a try. It helps to signal to our bodies the need to regenerate itself at the most basic cellular level. This is extremely important to maintain healthy metabolism levels, toned skeletal muscle tissue to keep our posture upright, weight-bearing to improve bone density. Yes, you can weight train in a gym but you can also do it in the garden on your picnic table. Say no more.
Healthy Weight Management Supplements
Here is a quick guide to some of the safe, natural and effective ingredients that you should look for in a sensible weight management product.
One of the newest natural compounds to appear in the past couple of years has been Citrus Aurantium. Unlike Ma Huang or ephedrine, Citrus Aurantium stimulates metabolism and fat-burning via Beta 3 receptors only so there is no over-stimulation of the nervous system, heart or blood pressure. In fact, a 1997 clinical study at McGill University showed that Citrus Aurantium is more thermogenic than ephedrine.
Garcinia Cambogia, and its derivative hydroxy citric acid, is another very effective ingredient. Studies have shown that it decreases the rate at which carbohydrates are stored as body fat by reducing the liver's output of enzymes that would normally encourage blood sugar to be stored as body fat.
A healthy alternative to caffeine, for further fat-burning effects, is Green Tea. A safe, gentle thermogenic, green tea also provides important antioxidant properties to support the balance of our systems as we release fat-bound toxins.
Alpha Lipoic Acid can provide additional weight management support as it naturally stabilizes blood sugar levels and functions as a universal antioxidant.
As we begin to stabilize our lean-to-body fat ratio, we may release fat-stored toxins into our system. As a result, you might feel a little under the weather or headachy. It's not the healthier eating and exercise that are causing the problem. It's just the toxins that you've been storing in those excess pounds. Another important reason why you want to reduce your body fat levels!
White Willow Bark can be a useful ingredient in this instance. It is the natural source for aspirin-based products. In this case, it is an un-isolated form that is well tolerated by the body to help reduce the symptoms associated with toxin release.
Reaching Your Goals
By following these three simple steps to long term weight management – balanced nutrition, exercise and well-chosen supplements , you will also be creating a balanced lifestyle that will bring you improved health and energy. Soon, others will be asking for your secrets to the good life!
By: Elaine Munro
Shed Winter Weight
