Mini Health Blog

To lose weight, you need to make some changes to your lifestyle. You can start from here:

- Don’t do everything at once. Whilst at first it might seem like a good idea to jump right in and turn your whole life around in one fell swoop, big changes are more difficult to stick to. It’s much easier to make small and gradual adjustments to your diet and activity levels.

- Replace high calorie snacks. Rather than cut out snacking altogether, it’s a more feasible concept to replace snack foods such as chocolate, crisps and biscuits with low calorie alternatives such as fruit and oatcakes. This way you can stave off hunger without busting your belt.

- Home cook. Many pre-packaged meals and processed foods contain excessive amounts of salt, sugar and other additives. If you prepare your own meals from scratch you can manage exactly what goes into them, and avoid hidden calories. Be sure to have a source of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables with each meal, and consider the cooking method – frying foods in lots of fat will undo your hard work.

- Stay fuller for longer. When choosing you foods, aim for those that will keep you fuller for longer. Low fat protein sources such as chicken, turkey and fish, as well as complex carbs such as brown rice, oats and wholemeal pasta with help delay hunger pangs.

- Portion control. Often, we underestimate the amount we eat and overestimate our portion sizes. Weigh your food out, use a smaller plate, and don’t eat until you are stuffed, just until you’re satisfied.

- Treat yourself. There’s no point completely denying yourself your favourite unhealthy foods, it never works and can often lead to bingeing. Be sensible about when you have your treats; once a week is fine so long as you don’t overindulge.

- Get motivated. Write down your goals and why you want to achieve them, find a weight loss buddy, stick a photo of your ideal body to the fridge, promise yourself a holiday when you reach your targets… it’s important to stay motivated as you make changes to your lifestyle, as breaking long kept habits can be demoralising.

- Be more active. Weight loss is a simple equation: burn more calories than you consume. Increase your activity to increase the amount you burn. Could you walk or cycle rather that drive? Take the steps rather than the lift? Regular gym sessions should include a dedicated resistance programme as well as cardiovascular activity – more muscle mass will increase your resting metabolism, meaning you burn more calories at rest.

If you have lived the majority of your life overweight, you’ve most likely tried countless weight loss programs, weight loss diets and a healthy dose of drugs and pills to boot. Anyone who has gone through these experiences know that the ultimate “diet killer” is your own lack of self-control and focus. When it comes to weight loss you may secretly be your own worst enemy. Before we get started on that, let’s look at the fact that accomplishing any goal, large or small, requires a mind that is clearly focused on the desired end.

What does that mean? It means turning self-talk into a positive advantage and using your rational mind to help fuel and motivate your efforts. After all, the choice is yours: let your mind sabotage your efforts or let it help inspire better eating habits and encourage healthy weight-loss outcomes.

If you’ve tried losing weight or a weight loss program before, and have found it to be an uphill battle in which you lose a few pounds only to gain back several more, then it’s time to break the psychological cycle that may be holding you back from your goal.

Achieving your weight loss goals will not only require a change in your diet, increased physical activity, but also a change in the behaviors and beliefs that may have blocked you from reaching your goals in the past. Your mindset and motivation are just as important as food and exercise in achieving your weight loss goals.

What are the first thoughts and feelings that come to your mind when you think of yourself going on a diet or going to the gym? The first thing you need to do is throw out your old dieting mentality and think of your journey as a lifestyle change. Do not think of it as something that starts and then stops. That type of thinking does not serve you. (more…)

Making small changes in the way you eat can help you shed unwanted pounds and lead to long term success in managing your weight. Try to incorporate the following healthy eating tips into your day and you will be amazed at what a difference these small changes can make in helping you achieve your weight loss goals.
1. Portion control is a highly effective way for you to control the calories you consume while still being able to enjoy the foods you love. Enjoying the foods you love in healthy portions and in moderation prevents feelings of deprivations. When you do not feel deprived, you can stick to your healthy eating plans for the long term. (more…)

Making healthy choices and becoming more active are important when starting a weight loss program and trying to improve your health and fitness. However, your beliefs are just as important because this is what actually determines what actions you are going to take. If you are trying to lose weight, it will be helpful for you to examine the beliefs that may have made it difficult for you lose weight. The following four factors are commonly held beliefs that many people have. Take a moment to think about what you feel has contributed to your current weight and fitness challenges. (more…)

Why do people automatically think of starvation when talking about dieting? Not all diets require painful physical effort on your part. Actually, the diets that work are the ones you don’t even think about. They become part of your everyday lifestyle. The only thing you need to worry about is eating fewer calories than you normally do to go along with exercising enough to burn off those calories. (more…)

There are a lot of weight loss products that offer that fast weight loss results, however, are these really guaranteed? Could these products live up to their assurance of a fit body?

In US, there is an estimated 50 million people who try to lose weigh, unfortunately, only 5 per cent are successful. One thing’s for sure, beware of fraudulent claims and extreme high cost because there is no magic to losing weight. (more…)

Many people are surprised to learn that they can lose weight simply by eating certain types of foods. How is this possible, you ask? Everyone knows that if you burn more calories then you take in you will burn excess body fat. The problem is most people go about this the wrong way by cutting to many calories only to find out that their metabolism begins to slow down because of the lack of caloric energy. (more…)