You know, it may not be fair that society and advertises perpetuate an unreasonable ideal for what people should look like. Nobody’s perfect. On the other hand, there is also a point when it’s a good idea to lose weight. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy, or to look your best. Losing weight isn’t always easy, but what follows will make it much, much easier. Nothing complicated, just stuff that actually works.

Building muscle burns calories even when you’re at rest. Wait! While that may be true, the calorie-burning effect of extra muscle tends to be exaggerated. The one thing that is not in dispute is that muscle does burn more calories, pound for pound, than fat does. The only question is how much, but in the battle of the bulging waistline we’ll use every trick in the book.

Write a plan to lose weight. Even if you’re writing down somebody else’s plan. The sheer act of writing it down increases the odds of your success. What foods will you be adding or reducing? What new habits will you encourage? What about exercise? There are no right or wrong answers, you know yourself better than anybody, so only you can make the best plan for you. The more specific your plan, the better.

Be ready for the inevitable roadblocks and setbacks. Yeah, I’m human, too. There will be times when you veer from your plan. It may be a moment of weakness, or it could be due to an unforeseen circumstance. The trick is to not let it get to you. All too often we make one slip and use that as an excuse for letting our plan slide for the day. Don’t let that happen. Forgive and forget and get back to your plan.

Make the better choice. This ranks right up there as an easy way to lose weight. For example, let’s say you are buying a bag of potato chips (yes, you can eat chips), compare it to another bag and see which has the fewest calories. Or, even better, compare the chips to another snack food, or something from the produce department. You always have a choice. How much weight loss you experience will correspond directly to how good your exercise and food choices are.

Perhaps you noticed that we actually said you can eat potato chips earlier. Yes! Chips. It’s silly to think you will really be able to swear off the foods you truly love for the rest of your life (barring serious health reasons for doing so). So, instead of fighting it, you’re going to control it. How? By eating smaller portions of the foods that do the most damage to your waistline.

None of the things we just covered are complicated. Start incorporating them into your daily routine now. The best part is that you can keep eating all of the foods you love if you’re willing to build a little extra muscle, have a plan, be prepared, make better choices and keep portions in check.

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Whether you are trying to get rid of an unsightly beer belly or want to look good in a swimsuit, the battle of the bulge can be a tricky one to win. The good news is that it’s entirely possible to drop the pounds in a relatively short amount of time. How to lose weight comes down to one thing: burning more calories than you take in. Therefore, you either have to burn them, or decrease your intake. Here is one way to help you do the latter: Cut out soft drinks. First we’ll cover soda, then we’ll look at some other options.

You may think that drinking just one soda per day doesn’t make that much of a difference. If you’re active, and have your weight under control, then having the occasional soda is fine. But let’s take a look at how that one soda can add up and what the impact on your weight will be when you go with a calorie-free alternative.

Let’s use some simple math to see what a positive difference this one small change can make when trying to lose weight. The first thing to know is that every 3,500 calories you get rid equals one pound. Next, a typical 12 ounce can of soda contains 150 calories. Okay, here’s how it works out…

365 days in a year X 150 calories per 12 oz. = 54,750 total calories.

54,750 calories divided by 3,500 calories = 15.6 pounds!

Talk about a small change that can make add up to significant weight loss. And if you happen to drink soda in larger bottles, it could make a difference of 30 pounds or more. But be careful that you don’t replace those calories with other calories. In other words you have to cut those calories out completely to get the full benefit.

So, what are the options? Most people think juice is a good replacement for soda. Not if you’re counting calories it isn’t. For example, while soda may have 150 calories per 12 ounces, grape juice has closer to 250. Some juices have a higher water content, so you’ll have to check the label to be sure. However, if it’s a choice between soda and fruit juice, go with the juice. At least the juice contains some vital nutrients while soda is nothing but empty calories.

Another thing you may not be aware of is that the sugar in soft drinks can make you thirsty. Putting you into an endless loop of drinking calorie-laden beverages to slake the thirst that the same beverages are causing.

The best way to quench your thirst when trying to lose weight is water. Keep a large bottle within arm’s reach throughout the day, making it easy to take a sip when needed.

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Looking and feeling good is what everyone wants. Exercising and eating right are the only ways to achieve this. People need food in order to have energy to do certain things. One way to lose weight and still maintain a healthy lifestyle is by only eating foods that are low in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated ones that is being done by the Mediterranean diet.

This is called the Mediterranean diet because the eating plan comes from those who live along the Mediterranean Sea. This was first discovered after the end of the Second World War by an American doctor but never became popular until the 1990s.

The reason why many people in these countries are healthy and are able to live for more than a hundred years is because of the large amounts of olive oil consumed in each meal. Another contributing factor is also in the red wine, which also has antioxidants properties.

The difference of the Mediterranean Diet compared to others out there is that the person does not have to give up anything but simply make some wise food choices. This means avoiding eating processed foods or those form tinned cans and getting those that are fresh.

The Mediterranean Diet involves eating food in large, moderate and small quantities. The person should eat a lot of food such as beans, bread, cereals, fruits, grains and nuts since these contain minerals, nutrients and vitamins that are good for the body.

On a moderate level, the individual can have cheese, milk and yogurt since this will prevent the consumption of other things that are high in saturated fats.

The type of products that should be consumed lightly is animal meat such as fish, pork, chicken and eggs, which can be done a few times in a month.

The Mediterranean diet teaches the individual to eat right. In order to live healthy like these people who live by the sea, it is best to engage in some form of physical activity to be able to burn those extra calories.

A few simple examples could be brisk walking, jogging and running. Those who want to exercise in a group could try a team sport such as basketball or by joining a class at the local gym.

Who wants to live forever? Perhaps that will be a question to ask those who have reached a hundred. This may not have been the plan but it has happened especially to those who are living along the Mediterranean Sea.

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The body needs cholesterol in order to build cell walls, digest dietary fats, produce hormones, and other important processes. Unfortunately, too much can give anyone high blood pressure and heart disease.

This means the individual has to be careful about the kind of food being taken in that has this chemical. One way will be to reduce eating items that are high in saturated fat such as those found in dairy products, poultry, egg yolks and red meat.

Another will be avoiding the kind of food being offered in fast food joints. The ingredients and oil used in the cooking have also been known to contain high levels of cholesterol that are not safe for the body.

The ideal way to maintain a low cholesterol diet is to eat products that are fat free like those made in dairy products. The person should also consume lean meat, fish, skinless poultry and whole grain foods.

The individual should also not forget to get some vitamins and nutrients from fresh fruits and green vegetables. These are better when combined with large quantities of monostaturates and olive oil.

The way to cook these products is also important. Instead of frying, the best way to reduce the cholesterol is to grill or roast the meat, boil or steam those vegetables or fish. The cooking time will surely be much slower than before so another way will be to use the microwave.

If ever the person needs to use cooking oil, it is best to use low fat oils that are available at the supermarket.

Another thing the individual should avoid is consuming products such as beer, wine and soda. It is okay to have a drink on occasion but living a healthier lifestyle will be achieved by only taking water and fresh juice from fruits.

A low cholesterol diet should also be combined with some form of exercise. This can be as simple as going for a morning stroll, jogging or running. The person can also hit the water if there is a pool nearby but if not, there is surely a gym so one can sweat it out.

The one in control of the persons well being is no other than that individual. This means it is matter of choice what food or drinks to buy in the grocery which is also the same when ordering a meal in the restaurant.

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