Lose Weight

Most people simply don’t pay attention to what they eat. They choose food solely on the basis of taste (or worse, packaging). While everyone agrees that food should certainly taste good, there is also a need for our food to be nutritionally sound. If you are not accustomed to evaluating your food choices, grab a package of you favorite food with a nutrition label on it and let’s get started!

When evaluating a nutrition label, pay attention first to the serving size. A particular food, for instance ice cream, may only have 150 calories per serving, but if the serving size is

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Health and nutrition experts continually advise us that the more we exercise the healthier we will be. In magazines, the doctor’s office or on television we are never far from information showing us how to exercise, what to eat and how to lose weight. One constant rule, in the expert’s opinion, is that regular physical activity is an essential element to successful weight loss and fitness maintenance.

There are a few tried and true strategies that will help you to stay fit and trim. Most of all, as you plan your personal fitness goals, be reasonable and keep them within reach. Setting unrealistic ideals will only lead to failure.

Keep these tips handy and from time to time check the list to confirm that you are staying on track.

1. Get active and stay active. This will be the most important step to achieve. It is so easy to find reasons not to exercise. Just remember a little light to moderate activity each day will bring great results. Once maintained, even a daily walk will become second nature and you may find yourself actually looking forward to your exercise time.

2. One size does not fit all - understand your own unique body type and find out what works best for you. Set realistic goals for yourself and stay on track. Each day will bring it’s own reward as you feel fitter and energized.

3. Plan a week ahead - Keep a log of your exercise or activity and put it a prominent place like the fridge or notice board. Chart your progress and thoughts in a notepad and make note of encouraging comments you receive from friends and family.

4. Eat small portions of food and eat often. Do not put your body into starvation and deprivation mode - it will only lead to bingeing. Try to keep an accurate daily food diary. You will be surprised how much good food you can eat and still stay trim and fit.

5. Add a few more extra cardiovascular activities to your day. Whenever possible walk instead of using the car or walk around the block at lunchtime. You will be surprised how many calories you can burn over the course of a week just by adding 10 - 15 extra minutes of daily activity.

As you start to feel more energetic and vital you will begin to see how setting realistic goals will help you to successfully maintain your fitness level long term. Keeping the weight off and staying in shape can actually get easier with time. From all the information available we all know how important it is to stay active and keep fit - so stick with it!

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The Spas in Canada website provides a place where premier spas and industry professionals provide useful information to all spa lovers everywhere.

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Is it possible to eat more food and actually lose weight? Absolutely, if you eat more of healthy foods than empty calorie foods (junk food).

Not everyone realizes that you do not have to deprive yourself in order to lose weight. What you have to do is eat more of healthy foods, leaving less room for “bad” foods. If you eat healthy foods - meaning foods high in vitamins and nutrients and are flavorful - you will find that you want less of high calorie or empty calorie foods. Having a variety of foods that you like and want to eat makes it easier to maintain any changes you make to your diet.

When making any changes to the way you eat, do so slowly and don’t criticize yourself if your changes take time to become a habit. Study after study has shown that making small changes is what counts. One change at a time will be easier to accomplish and stick with than making a lot of changes all at once. Every little change you make will bring benefits to your health and your waistline.

Here are some changes you can make one at a time that can give you quick weight loss results:

Eat breakfast
A lot of people skip breakfast. This is a big mistake if you are trying to lose weight. Studies show that those who do not eat breakfast will overeat later in the day. Also, eating breakfast gets your metabolism going, and so whatever is eaten in the morning is metabolized better. If you are not a breakfast eater, try a fruit smoothie or other nutritional shakes.

Drink water
Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Ice water is best because it will speed up your metabolism. Water is, of course, calorie free and flushes out fat. And lastly, drinking water about a half hour before eating will curb your hunger and will make it less likely that you will overeat.

Add vegetables
Adding vegetables to some of your favorite dishes is a good way to get in some extra servings of veggies every day. Some examples are: sauces, soups, omelets, sandwiches, and salads. Of course, vegetables make a great snack by themselves or dipped in low-calorie dressings.

Try to eat more salads
If you’re anything like I used to be, as soon as I heard the word “salad,” I would immediately think “boring!” That is until I figured out how creative one can be when making a salad. Try adding new vegetables that you haven’t tried before or adding boiled eggs, strips of grilled chicken, cheese, and/or nuts. Keep fresh lettuce and spinach leafs on hand, and remember to go easy on the dressing or make your own healthy salad dressing. A healthy and great tasting dressing is mixed olive oil and lemon juice.

Jennifer Murray is a Certified Lifestyle & Weight Management Specialist, the Healthy Foods Editor for BellaOnline, http://healthyfoods.bellaonline.com, and the owner of http://www.weightlossinfocenter.com.

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