10 Painless Ways to Lose 10 Pounds!

Here is a sampling of 10 proven tips:

1. Read the fine print! When you’re dining out, you can lose 10 pounds per year by choosing a “light” entree, such as grilled chicken and salad. Those healthy choices can have at least 250 calories less than traditional meat dishes.

2. The sundae solution! Pour a tablespoon of chocolate over fresh fruit and your total calorie intake for this snack is 110 to 160 calories compared to the 250 calories found in a candy bar or the 500 calories found in an ice cream cone.

3. Set your alarm! Even a modest amount of exercise — walking 15 minutes, 5 times a week – — burns calories.

4. Pedal while you prattle! Next time you’re chatting on the phone, get on your bike. Pedaling on a stationary bike at 10 miles an hour for 25 minutes burns 100 calories. A faster pace of 17 miles per hour for 15 minutes also burns 100 calories. Get spinning.

5. Beware the burger blast! A half-pound of grilled hamburger meat has about 800 calories. The same amount of lean roast beef has half this amount.

6. Cooking with spray! Each tablespoon of butter or margarine has 100 calories. Substitute a vegetable oil spray for one tablespoon.

7. Join the snack committee! Healthful snacks make an incredible difference. Swapping a serving of fruit for the usual supercookie each week will save you at last 500 calories. And you’ll probably save 1,000 calories since few of us stop at one cookie!

8. The Happy Hour trap! Suppose you avoid three happy hours a month. You could possibly lose up to 31 pounds in a year (if you are usually somewhat of a party animal).

9. The secret is plastics! When you use plastic containers to store meals — especially batch meals you prepare ahead of time — you’ll forgo all those calories that come from lunches at greasy spoon dinners.

10. Slash corporate calories! Office-prepared dinners, a frozen dinner or frozen leftovers, will easily have 400 fewer calories than restaurant meals. If you work late an average of three times a week, this change alone will help you lose about 18 pounds a year.

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LOSE 7KG WITH THIS POWERFOOD MENU

7AM: BREAKFAST
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 small plain yoghurt
250ml orange juice
A study in the Journal of
Nutrition found that some
protein in your morning
meal helps keep your
appetite under control
for the rest of the day.

10AM: SNACK
1 piece of fruit
1 oat cereal bar
250ml water
Oats and fruit are low GI
foods rich in fi bre, making
you feel fuller for longer.

12PM: LUNCH
2 slices w/wheat bread
120g turkey or chicken
2 pieces lettuce
2 slices tomato
1 oat cereal bar
1 piece of fruit
250ml water
Turkey is one of the
leanest protein sources.
Combined with the fi bre in
the rest of the sandwich, it
helps to build muscle and
lose weight.

4PM: SNACK
1 piece of fruit
250ml water
Small meals like this in the
day keep your body
working constantly and
your metabolism high.

8PM: DINNER
250g grilled chicken, or fish
125g steamed
sweetcorn and broccoli
100g brown rice
250ml iced tea
A meal high in protein
and with the antioxidants
your body needs to
recover from exercise.

11PM: SNACK
1 apple
250ml water
Nutritious and sweet; will
quash sugar cravings.
Water’s optional here

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Lose Weight for Better Sex

There’s a lesser-known fringe benefit of shedding excess pounds: Being trimmer bolsters your self-esteem, and when you feel good about yourself, you are more likely to desire and enjoy sex. Not surprisingly, research on how weight affects sexual function is scarce. The only ways to study it are to ask very personal questions in surveys and interviews or to observe people having sex.

If you’ve seen the movie Kinsey, you understand the difficulties inherent in this kind of research. However, the limited research that does exist shows that sexual activity and sexual satisfaction decrease with weight gain while they increase with weight loss.

In one study, 32 women enrolled in a hospital-based weight-management program filled out questionnaires about their sexual functioning and body image before and after losing weight. The subjects reported significant increases in the frequency of their sexual activity. In another, 110 obese men with erectile dysfunction (ED) were enrolled in a two-year program designed to help them lose 10 percent of their body weight. At the study’s conclusion, a third of the men had regained sexual function and no longer met the criteria for erectile dysfunction

The researchers who carried out the ED study wrote that although it was possible that improvements in psychological health and self-image may have played a role in improving sexual function for these men, they believe that a series of healthy physiological changes at the cellular level are more likely responsible. We should emphasize the “more likely” part. Other studies have shown that overweight men are more at risk of developing ED and that physical activity greatly reduces that risk.

Similarly, you might conclude that the women whose sexual activity increased after losing weight were simply feeling happier with their bodies and that the results had nothing to do with chemical or physiological changes. But a closer look at the causes and effects associated with being overweight and having sexual dysfunction reveals a lot of intertwining and intersecting variables. The picture is complex, but the outcome is clear: Being heavy can interfere with sexual desire, performance and pleasure in dozens of direct and indirect ways.

First, let’s look at the consequences of being overweight that are relevant to sexual functioning. People who are overweight or obese are likelier to:

1. Have psychological disorders, such as depression, eating problems, distorted body image and low self-esteem.

2. Have medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, hypertension, body pain, poor female reproductive health and hormonal imbalances.

3. Take medications as a result of the above. Among the classes of drugs that can interfere with sexual function are oral contraceptives, antidepressants and sedatives.

Clearly, the deck is stacked against optimal sexual desire and performance if you’re overweight or obese. The psychological disorders and medical conditions above are all barriers to a healthy sex life. For instance, vascular disease causes impaired or blocked blood flow in your veins and arteries. That same blood, coursing through those same blood vessels, is entirely responsible for the physical manifestations of sexual arousal. Add to those conditions a medication or two from the preceding list, and you’re almost sure to be hindered between the sheets.

Whether you’re moderately overweight and these medical conditions seem far off, or you’re already living with one or more of them, having more fun in bed may be just a few pounds away!

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How to Lose Fat in 30 Days

It’s time to be honest with yourself: The weight has got to go bye-bye.

You want to know how to lose fat, and I’m going to make things simple for you. I’ve constructed simple “to do” and “not to do” lists. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll lose fat within 30 days and be on your way to an empowering YOU.

How to Lose Fat “To Do” List
–Set one 30-day goal to kick-start your progress. For example, “I will lose six pounds this month.” One goal, that’s all I want you to focus on.

–Perform cardiovascular exercise three days per week for 20-30 minutes. Nothing fancy, just something you enjoy or can at least tolerate every other day.

–Weight train two days per week for 20-25 minutes. This will help stimulate the metabolism, increase strength and make muscles tighter. You can do it the same day as your cardio if you wish.

–Focus on the type of physical activity that you find enjoyable. Most people stop exercising because they get bored. So decide if your exercise consistency will best happen with the use of video tapes, spinning classes, cardio classes that are instructor-led, dance classes, etc.

–Get outdoors. Power walk, jog, hike and take advantage of longer days, sunshine and warmer weather. This will alleviate the boredom factor for those who hate to exercise.

How to Lose Fat “NOT To Do” List
–Going home after work before going to the gym. Take your gym clothes with you and go straight to the gym after work.

–Making excuses such as “I’ll start tomorrow,” “I don’t feel like working out today” and “I just can’t get into it yet.” Stop the excuses already!

–Even though you know you’ll be working late and only have the morning to work out, deciding to stay in bed longer and miss the opportunity to get even a little exercise time in.

–Postponing physicals and other important doctor appointments. This is the time to get a check-up.

–Going to a fast-food restaurant at lunchtime when you can easily pack a healthy lunch, eat at your desk and then go for a brisk walk with co-workers.

This stuff isn’t brain surgery and there’s no magic workout or magic bullet that will improve your fitness level and reduce fat.

Until the magic pill is developed, the guidelines I’ve provided are the best we have. So, re-commit to your nutrition plan and follow my realistic guidelines. I’m not suggesting it’s easy, but this is the perfect time to start taking control of your life, your health and your self-esteem.

If you’re looking for a good place to start, take our two-minute free diet profile, and we’ll help you select your best-match diet plan.

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