You know what isn’t fair? The fact that it’s so much more fun to gain weight than it is to diet and exercise. That has to be one of the real reasons why people don’t like to lose weight, right? I mean it only makes sense. If doing what it took to be at your ideal weight was more enjoyable than what it takes to gain weight, we hadn’t have a problem with obesity.

It doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Imagine if it wasn’t such a drag to get healthy, to lose weight, to eat right or to exercise. I’m sure you can see what a positive impact that could have on how much you weigh. Here are some ideas you can put to use to make it fun.

The very first thing you have to do is change your mindset. Don’t worry about what other people think about your jogging, or what your fat friends will say when you order grilled chicken for lunch. You know why you shouldn’t worry? Because it’s your body! Let them laugh. You can laugh with them or laugh back at them. Either way, you’ll get the last laugh and that’s the best kind.

Alright, let’s face it, you probably already like to eat, otherwise you wouldn’t have to be looking for ways to lose weight. This is just a guess, but what you probably don’t enjoy is eating more of the right foods and less of the not-so-good ones. You can give the good foods funny names, and vice-versa. You’re not eating broccoli, you’re eating “goody goody mini-greens”. And it’s no longer a doughnut, now that you call it a “sweetened lard bombs”. Go ahead, be creative.

Also, don’t deprive yourself. You can still eat all of the foods you enjoy, just not as much. If you try to cut them out all together, that wouldn’t be any fun at all. Instead you would be focusing on the deprivation and bury your head into a half-gallon of ice cream as soon as your willpower wavered. But when you eat a little of the things you like, there’s no need for willpower at all.

When it comes to exercising to lose weight the main key is to do something you enjoy doing. Just get moving. You don’t have to go for a three-mile jog or lift weights in the gym (unless you want to). Get out in the garden, go for a walk, toss the frisbee around, go swimming…any extra activity that appeals to you will burn off extra calories.

Finally, as you do these things more, it will get to be even more fun as you do them. And seeing the results is makes it even more worthwhile. So, don’t let others tell you that losing weight is hard. You know better, you now know just how fun it can be.

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The presence of fat in your body helps your body store fat, adds insulation for heat, and adds a layer of shock absorption. Your percentage of body fat, which you should have to stand for healthy, should consist of 25 % – 39 % for a male and for a woman it should substitute 18 % – 23 %. If you are a male and have a body index factor above 30 or a woman with a ingredient 25 then you are considered obese.

Your obesity can be measured with the help of the Basal Metabolic Index, or BMI for short. This is calculated by dividing the weight of your body by your total height. If the BMI averages to be over 30 you are considered to be suffering from obesity.

You need to be aware though before you begin that you are not the only lone suffering from this sometimes fatal disease. This dreaded disease has reached an epidemic level in our nation today. That means that at least 1 out of 3 people are obese in our society. Here are some tips that have been proposed by the Department of Human Services since well as the Department of Agriculture which falls into the workaday dietary guidelines for uncut Americans.

1. Fruits – This can be fruits of organ kind including fresh or canned. Although fresh is better due to the natural sugars that it contains

2. Vegetables – These include dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and kale among others. Further you should consider adding orange vegetables as well. This includes such things as sweet potato, carrots, and pumpkin among others.

3. Calcium – Drink lots of low fat and fat free milk, but these should be taken in balanced proportion.

4. Cereals and Pasta – You need to go for the whole grain pasta and cereals as these are better for your health as well as weight loss

5. Protein – These encompass such things as lean meat, poultry, and fish among others.

6. Unsaturated fat – Fish, nuts, and vegetables are all good for this combine among others.

7. Salt – You need to limit your total daily intake of vigour. Do not consume more than 2300 grams of salt in a given day. This equals to one teaspoon.

Besides having a balanced diet you need to also be sure to diary plenty of exercise as well. Such things owing to a short brisk walk or running are usually darling useful in helping you lose weight. You can also try some free hand exercises that can be prescribed by your personal trainer if you happen to have one. Also if you drink plenty of water it will help you detoxify your body from any toxins that may combine the body.

Being obese can be a problem for you but if you follow the useful dietary guidelines you will be able to become an ideal weight again.

24 Hour Fitness
http://www.www.24-hr-fitness.com

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The importance of fiber to a healthy diet
Tony Robinson

When it comes to eating healthy and enjoying a healthier
lifestyle, it is hard to overstate the importance of fiber in
the diet. Even though fiber is most associated with grains, rice
and breads, it is important to remember that fruits and
vegetables also contain significant amounts of dietary fiber. In
fact, the need for fiber is just one more reason to eat your
fruits and vegetables every day.

In order to understand why dietary fiber is so important, it is
a good idea to know what fiber is and what role it plays in
digestion. Simply put, dietary fiber is the portion of food that
the human body cannot digest. Fiber is found in foods of plant
origin only; there is no fiber in meat and dairy products. Fiber
plays an important role in the digestion of food, and in the
elimination of waste products as they travel through the body.

Good sources of dietary fiber include grains, cereals, legumes,
lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. As we said before,
meats and dairy products do not contain any dietary fiber, so it
is important to eat some plant based foods ever day to get the
fiber you need.

Soluble vs. insoluble Not all fiber is the same, and fiber comes
in two forms – soluble and insoluble. All plant materials
contain both types of fiber, but some sources contain more of
one than the other. Eating a variety of foods rich in fiber
every day will ensure you get adequate levels of both soluble
and insoluble fiber.

Insoluble fiber is important in keeping people regular, and it
has shown promise as well in the prevention of some types of
colon and rectal cancers. Insoluble fiber is mainly found in
wheat brain, some types of vegetables and in whole grain
products. Some vegetables rich in insoluble fiber include
carrots, peas and broccoli. The skins of fruits are also rich in
insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber, on the other hand, has shown promise in reducing
levels of cholesterol in the blood, and at reducing the rate at
which glucose enters the bloodstream. Soluble fiber is abundant
in dried peas, lentils, beans, barley, oat bran, and in many
fruits and vegetables.

How much fiber is enough Many people are unsure just how much
dietary fiber they need every day, but most dietitians recommend
that women consume between 21 and 25 grams of dietary fiber per
day. For men, the recommendation is 30 to 38 grams of fiber each
day.

Of course, that is easier said that done, and it is important to
know which foods are high in fiber in order to boost your daily
fiber consumption. In the case of packaged foods like breads and
crackers, the fiber content will be listed as part of the
nutritional label. In the case of fruits and vegetables, there
are charts which show the fiber content of an average size
piece. Some grocery stores post this information, and it is also
widely available on the internet.

When increasing dietary fiber, it is best to make the increase
gradual. A sudden jump in dietary fiber can lead to bloating,
gas and abdominal discomfort. In addition, it is important to
drink plenty of fluids, especially water, in order for fiber to
have the best effect. When choosing breads and cereals, it is
best to go with healthier whole grains. In general, the less
processing, the healthier the foods.

Eating the skins of fruits and vegetables is a great way to
increase dietary fiber. Many people like to make fruit shakes
and smoothies that use the skins of their favorite fruits. This
makes a delicious and nutritious way to increase fiber
consumption. In addition, keeping a variety of fiber rich foods,
such as apples, nuts, seeds and bran muffins, around for snacks
is a great idea.

And finally, eating a wide variety of foods will ensure that you
get plenty of fiber, as well as the vitamins, minerals, and
trace elements that make a balanced diet so important.

About the author:

Tony Robinson is a Company CEO, webmaster husband and dad. In
his busy lifestyle he has placed importance on health and
fitness. Visit http://www.eat-healthily.com for good eating tips
and techniques to assist you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Eating Healthy Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
Rachel Williamson

So many people dread the idea of “health food,” but the truth is that many foods labelled “healthy” are actually quite delicious. The key is the way you eat them, what you combine them with, and how much you eat.

When you think of healthy foods, do you think of boring Brussels sprouts and bland broccoli? Think again! You can have all the flavor you want and still keep the number on the scale down and keep your heart healthy.

Take your favorite recipes and look at the ingredients. Decide which ingredients are the least healthy and replace them. It’s as simple as that. For recipes that call for butter, try to replace it with olive oil. For recipes that call for whole milk, replace it with skim milk (or soy milk). For recipes that call for chicken broth, replace it with vegetable broth.

One big thing you can do to lower your intake of saturated fats is to lower your consumption of red meat. Whenever you can, replace red meat with fish. If you’re adventurous, you can replace red meat with soy substitutes. There are many soy products on the market that taste delicious. Soy crumbles are particularly good in homemade tacos and casseroles.

If eating healthy is difficult for you, don’t be too hard on yourself. Focus on changing gradually. If you can’t give up your usual dinner, have a healthy lunch. Every little bit helps. While it may not be true that “you are what you eat,” it is true that your health is directly affected by what you eat. You owe it to yourself and your body to feed it the proper fuel.

Besides replacing your old stand-bys with healthier alternatives, try to add 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. You’d be surprised how easy this is. For example, you might add some sliced banana to your morning breakfast, have an orange with lunch, have an apple for an afternoon snack, eat some beans with dinner, and have some blueberries on top of ice cream for dessert. Find your own way of adding fruits and vegetables into your diet so it works for you.

Small changes in your diet can make a huge difference. Don’t beat yourself up if your diet isn’t perfect. The important thing is to make it better than it was before. Even if you only add one or two pieces of fruit per day, you’re on the right track! You’ll begin to feel the difference and that will encourage you to do even better.

About the Author

Rachel Williamson shares healthy recipes and food news in Eat This!, a food blog.

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