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.

Tags: 365 Days In A Year, Amount Of Time, Battle Of The Bulge, Beer Belly, Benefit, Calories, Counting Calories, Days In A Year, Fruit Juice, Grape Juice, Juices, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Math, Ounce, Oz, Soda, Soft Drinks, Swimsuit, Water Content, Weight Control, Weight Loss —

The Hidden Price of Being Healthy
Dr. Jamie Fettig

What I am also going to point out is the not-so-obvious cost of not being healthy. But, as you know, nothing in life is free. If there is a benefit, there is a cost. What most people do not see is the cost, the price you have to pay for the benefits you are getting.

There are also tons and tons of hidden costs that most people never see. I will list some of the biggest ones. This is the price you have to pay for not being healthy:

1.Vitality
2.An abundance of energy to do everything you want to do
3.Happiness
4.Love and closeness with others
5.Satisfaction and fulfillment in life
6.Healing symptoms and disease
7.Symptoms and disease going away
8.Relief from the suffering that goes with the symptoms and disease
9.Inner peace and harmony
10.Being symptom- and disease-free
11.Mental focus, memory, and clarity (no brain fog)
12.Being awake and fully alive every day (not just dragging through stuff and surviving)
13.Being present and having the ability to be with people
14.No worry or fear
15.Being confident in yourself
16.Being complete and happy
17.The ability to deal with issues that arise simply and with ease
18.Having better health now, with security for yourself and your family later
19.More time to do what you want to do
20.Simpler choices
21.Looking great, feeling good, reducing fat, and having tons of energy
22. Being satisfied and Not being hungry all the time

The list goes on and on, but these are some of the big ones.

These are all things you do NOT get if you avoid being healthy. It is the price you have to pay to not be healthy.

If you are being healthy, these same things are your rewards. These are the things you get when you are well. These things show up in your life as you are being healthy and well. So much so, that I want you to think of your own reasons why, things vital to your happiness, freedom and life that you know you would get you out of bed in the morning wanting to be healthy.

There are the hidden benefits that many people get for not being healthy. Benefits that, if you are honest with yourself, you like getting as well.

You probably are very familiar with the benefits you get from NOT being healthy. You get to eat food that tastes good, you get to be lazy and sit on the couch and veg out and watch TV. You get to not do all the hard work of exercise. There are many other benefits that people get from not being healthy, and many others that I probably did not list. I am not going to list them all, because you know most of them. I will list the benefits you do get that most people do not want to admit, often, even to themselves.

There are four main benefits that you probably get from not being healthy, that you dont want to admit:

1.Avoiding being responsible
2.Getting to be right and making others wrong
3.Dominating others and avoiding domination
4.Justifying yourself and invalidating others.

These things are the hidden benefits. I will talk about each of them in more detail, and explain what I mean. You have to dig down and be honest, though. These four things are usually true for everyone, and the point of my sharing them is to make you aware of them, and for you to be honest with yourself about them. Most people do not think of these things as benefits. But if you look at them and are really honest with yourself, you will see the benefit people get from them.

People get to avoid being responsible by putting the responsibility on the medical symptoms and disease care system. You live under the illusion that they will create a magic pill or invent some technique or system to make you think and healthy without you having to do a thing. They are responsible for your health, not you. It is an illusion many of us believe. Because then we get to avoid being responsible for our own health and eat anything we want. We get to do what we want, and then blame all of our symptoms on someone else.

You get to be right and do exactly what you want. You dont have to listen to all those doctors, all those people, especially that annoying health freak in your family. Every family usually has one. You get to be right about being able to do what you want. You get to make them wrong. And dont we all enjoy making someone we dont like so very wrong? We all want to be right and I can prove it. Have you every seen someone try and prove themselves wrong? Argue that they are not right? People love to be right and that includes being right with being able to eat whatever they want for whatever reasons they want.

You get to dominate others, and avoid others dominating you. You do not have to do what they say. You can do what you want. You can probably even control people and make them angry by doing things your way, by doing what you want.

You get to justify yourself and invalidate others. You get proof for yourself that what you are doing is right. You get evidence that the way you are doing it is right. You get to make sure that other peoples way of thinking is wrong, and make sure they know you know they are wrong.

Realizing the real, often hidden truth about the costs and benefits of being healthy will often help you create a stronger desire to be healthy.

About the Author

Getting your target of health is essential. This and this article are Part of a Free e-Course on Dieting and Eating Healthy. Go to http://www.bazuji.com/ecourse to sign up for the free e-course. He is also giving you dozens of valuable free gifts to “ethically bribe” you into helping him make his new book, “The Ultimate Non-Diet” a #1 best seller. For details go to: http://www.TheUltimateNonDiet.com/free

Tags: Abundance, Author, Benefit, Better Health, Brain Fog, Choices, Clarity, Closeness, disease, Dr Jamie, e-course, energy;, Fear, Fettig, food;, Freedom, Fulfillment, Happiness, Inner Peace, Mental Focus, Peace And Harmony, Rewards, Satisfaction, Suffering, Vitality —

I just had a conversation with my son a little while ago. We were talking about how drinking plenty of water can help with weight loss. Since he wants to lose a few pounds and I know he has been drinking more water lately, I asked him if the water help for weight loss has actually worked or not.

Apparently, the jury is still out. He said he hasn’t noticed but he did want to know what drinking water had to do with weight loss. He actually thought that water help for weight loss was impossible, he thought that drinking as much water as he was drinking would actually make him gain weight since he felt so full all the time.

That, I told him, is just one of the benefits of drinking plenty of water everyday. You will actually feel full longer and that may make you eat less which, of course, can lead to weight loss.

I told him it can be helpful to have a big glass of water right before you sit down to eat a meal. That water will fill you up so you won’t want to eat as much.

Another benefit of drinking enough water is that you can flush toxins out of your system which will help with your overall health.

There are chemicals in pretty much everything we eat and drink (and a lot of the things we put on our skin or in our hair are also loaded with chemicals too).

Over time these chemicals can add up and have a negative impact on your body and your overall health. Getting these toxins out of your body is a good thing and drinking plenty of water is one of the best and easiest ways to do it.

Another great benefit to drinking plenty of water is that you keep your body functioning properly. Most people don’t realize it but they may already be dehydrated.

It is sad that much of the world doesn’t have a large supply of clean drinking water, we in the U.S. do but many of us are still dehydrated, that just makes no sense.

How do you know if you are dehydrated? There are two very easy ways to figure it out: if you feel thirsty you are dehydrated and if your urine is a deep yellow color you are dehydrated.

If you are getting enough water daily your urine will the a light yellow color, think lemonade. If not you need to drink more water throughout your day.

It is recommended that you drink half of your body weight in ounces of water every day. Failing that, you should drink at least eight 8 oz. glasses of water daily. You may need more if you are doing strenuous activities.

There are so many ways that water help for weight loss. Not only can drinking enough water help you lose weight, it will also help your body continue to function in a healthy way. And ultimately, that is what you need to have weight loss and a healthy life in general.

Tags: Benefit, chemicals;, Clean Drinking Water, Clean Water, Colo, Gain Weight, Glass Of Water, Hasn, Health, Lead Weight, Losing Weight, Negative Impact, Water Weight, Weight Loss, World Doesn —

In spite of what it sounds like, a calorie counter watch is not something that watches the calories you eat. While it doesn’t have anything to do with the calories you eat, it does have to do with the number of calories you burn. What it does, basically, is keeps track of your heart rate and then converts that into an estimate of how many calories you are burning at any given moment.

As you can see, a calorie counter watch is a very useful gadget for anybody trying to get into shape or trying to lose some weight. It doesn’t matter what your goals are, such a watch can greatly increase your chances of success.

It all comes down to two things: how many calories you’re taking in and how many you’re burning. While it’s pretty easy to read food labels to see how many calories are in the food you’re eating, exercise doesn’t come with any labels. Also, guessing is not a good way to get healthy, so having a way of measuring calories burned is a smart idea.

Some people think that a calorie counter watch is only meant for people who want to lose weight, but that simply is not the case. A calorie counter watch is also useful for athletes and anyone who wants to improve their overall state of health. When you have the watch on you will have a good idea of how much activity you’re engaging in throughout the day and can increase it if you’re lagging behind.

Having accurate knowledge of your calories (consumed or burned) is essential to getting fit or losing weight. Several studies have been done that show people are not very good at estimating calories. Keep in mind that 3,500 calories is equivalent to one pound of body weight. Now, if you are only 100 calories off on a single food item or a single exercise session; you could actually, in theory, be gaining weight when you think you’re losing it.

It just makes a lot of sense to use any tools you can to help you get into shape. A calorie counter watch is one of those tools that can really help. Another benefit some people have found when using these watches is that they are motivated by them. They can see how many calories they are burning, and automatically start trying to get the number to go up.

So, not only can a calorie counter watch help you keep track of how many calories you are burn when engaged in physical activity, but it can also help you to feel motivated to burn even more calories. There is no question that having such a watch is a good way to get you to achieve any fitness or weight loss goals you may have.

Tags: Accurate Knowledge, Benefit, Calorie Counter, Calories, Eating Habits, Exercise Session, Food Labels, Gadget, Gaining Weight, Getting Fit, Health, Heart Rate, How Many Calories, Losing Weight, Shape, Smart Idea, Sounds, Spite —