My Daily Passion

Powerful Weight Loss Resolutions For The New Year

2012-01-19T02:04:48Z

New Year Resolutions are a popular form of goal-setting that many people use each year, and resolutions related to weight loss, health, and fitness are some of the most popular goals.

Sadly, the success rate for New Year Resolutions isn’t good, and that goes double for weight-related resolutions.

Have you ever set exciting New Year Resolutions to lose weight or get in better shape, and lasted only a few days or weeks before giving up? If so, you are definitely not alone! Failure is much more common than success, and for some really good reasons.

Here are some common mistakes with weight-related New Year Resolutions:

- Trying to accomplish too much, too soon.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can easily become overwhelmed by looking only at the big picture. You don’t have to lose a large amount of weight at once – just 1 or 2 pounds at a time. If you keep thinking, “I have so much weight to lose,” you are sure to feel overwhelmed fast. The task will seem too large and progress will seem to be too slow, which makes it much more likely that you’ll give up long before you reach your goal.

- Focusing on the outcome alone, rather than the path to the goal.

Every goal requires you to take manageable, repetitive steps to reach it, but many people fail to properly think through the actions they’ll need to take to achieve the goal. If this has been a challenge for you too, understand that you can’t “get there” in one big leap.

- Failing to consider possible challenges and obstacles.

No matter what kind of goal you set, you are bound to run into a few obstacles and challenges along the way. If achieving goals was easy, everyone would be doing it! Rather than naively expecting it to be easy, it’s important to prepare yourself to face challenges.

- Failing to prepare tools for overcoming challenges.

For every problem, there is a solution. For every challenge, there is a workaround. The only question is whether you are going to prepare the workarounds and solutions ahead of time, or wait until a big, gnarly challenge is blocking your path. Not surprisingly, people who plan ahead often move through challenges much faster and easier than people who don’t.

- Tackling too many goals at once.

It’s tempting to set goals to improve many areas of your life, but trying to tackle them all at once is just asking for trouble. Especially with a goal like weight loss, there are many aspects of lifestyle changes you may need to address; and trying to also overhaul your financial situation and meet your soul mate and quit smoking all at once will be difficult, if not impossible.

- Failing to prepare for dwindling motivation.

When you first set a goal to lose weight, you will feel motivated and inspired about it . . . for awhile. But within a matter of days, weeks, maybe even a month or so – you’re going to wake up one day and say, “Ugh. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m tired of counting calories. I’m tired of working out. I’m tired of making slow progress.” It happens to everyone at some point. Knowing this and planning for it ahead of time will help you overcome it quickly and easily.

- Failing to define a set of clear action steps.

Imagine if you set a goal to walk to a specific destination. Now imagine that you didn’t bother to map out a route; you just laced up your walking shoes and started moving in that direction. What are the odds that you would make it to your destination? Not very good! You need to know exactly where you want to end up, and exactly how to get there from your starting point.

- Holding counter-intentions that conflict with your goals.

This is a major cause of New Year Resolution failure, and especially related to weight loss goals. What is a counter-intention? It’s an underlying (sometimes subconscious) intention that directly conflicts with your goal.

A good example is if you set a goal to lose 25 pounds, but deep down inside part of you feels scared about losing weight, so you keep sabotaging your efforts even if you aren’t consciously aware that you are doing it.
Components of Successful Weight Loss New Year Resolutions

To set really powerful, effective New Year Resolutions for losing weight, it’s important to take a different approach that helps you avoid these common pitfalls.

Below is an effective 7-step plan for setting and pursuing weight loss New Year Resolutions:

Step #1 – What is your ultimate goal?

Every goal has an underlying desire associated with it, and these desires are always related to feelings. In other words, you don’t just want to lose weight – you want to feel a certain way about your body. You want other people to react to you in different ways which will make you feel a certain way about yourself.

It’s not just about the outer goal; the key is tuning into the way you will feel when you achieve the goal. When you first set a goal, it’s beneficial to get clear about what you’re really trying to accomplish so you don’t aim for something that won’t satisfy you.

Why exactly is it important to you to lose weight? Grab a sheet of paper and jot down the main reasons why you are setting this goal. Which benefits will you gain from achieving your weight loss goal?

Here are some examples:

- I want to have more energy.
- I want to feel sexy and attractive.
- I want to feel proud of my body.
- I want to live a longer, happier life.
- I want to enjoy vibrant health.
- I want to wear clothes that make me feel attractive.
- I want to feel light and energetic.

There are no wrong answers – just write down the essence of what you are trying to accomplish by losing weight.

Then, pick out the biggest, strongest reasons from your list and expand on those thoughts a little bit. Go into more detail about why they are so important to you.

Here are a couple of examples from our list above:

- I want to have more energy.

“I want to wake up in the morning feeling energized and ready to start the day. I want to live an active, exciting life. I want lots of energy so I can take care of my obligations, pursue my dreams, and still have plenty of energy for having fun. I want to feel strong and vibrant, rather than depleted and tired all the time. If I were in better shape, I could easily accomplish the things I need to do each day, and still have energy to do the things I WANT to do. It would mean a lot to me to be able to get through each day, no matter how busy, with plenty of energy to spare.”

- I want to feel proud of my body.

“I want to be excited about getting dressed in the morning. I want to put on clothing that makes me feel slim and attractive. I want to walk down the street feeling good about myself. I want to receive compliments from people I know, asking me what I’m doing that’s making me look so good lately. I want to feel proud of my body when I’m out in public, rather than feeling embarrassed because I’ve got this extra weight. I want to feel attractive and confident, no matter where I go and no matter what I do.”
Step #2 – What Would Help Me Achieve This Goal?

Now that you’ve identified exactly what you want to accomplish, take some time to think about the circumstances that would help you feel the way you want to feel.

Certainly, the end result of losing weight would help you feel confident, attractive, and energetic.

But even before you achieve that goal, there are action steps that can awaken those feelings of satisfaction and confidence within you.

Here are a few examples:

- Daily exercise.
- Eating better quality food.
- Drinking plenty of water.
- Taking vitamins.
- Reducing my caloric intake.
- Getting plenty of rest each night.
- Taking better care of myself.
- Finding things to appreciate about my body right now.
- Wearing clothes that make me feel good, even before I lose weight.
As you start to explore the circumstances that would contribute to your positive feelings, you will realize that there are many things you can start doing right NOW that will help you experience those feelings even long before you have achieved the ultimate goal of weight loss.

Taking better care of yourself, getting plenty of exercise and rest, drinking plenty of water, appreciating your body now – these things will help you move toward the completion of your goal faster and easier than simply focusing on weight loss alone.

Don’t worry that focusing on these things will weaken your desire to actually lose the weight!

The purpose of focusing on these related issues is to help you start moving toward the feelings you are seeking by wanting to lose weight in the first place. Even though you still want to lose weight, you will start to feel better about yourself even before you have lost a single pound.

That will help you to feel better AS you lose weight, rather than waiting until you’ve reached your goal weight before you can feel better.

Do you see the importance of this step? If you have ever tried to force yourself to follow a very strict, unpleasant diet and fitness regime to lose weight, you probably know that it takes every bit of willpower you have to stick with it until you can enjoy the feeling of success at the end. But taking a gentler approach like we’ve described above helps you avoid all that struggle and unpleasantness. Instead, you start feeling better now, even as you are still losing weight.

Step #3 – Daily Action Steps for Weight Loss

Now we can delve into the physical part of your goal; the nitty-gritty action steps you will be taking to lose the weight. If you are following a specific diet plan, most of this planning will be taken care of already. If you are creating your own plan, then you will need to think about the specific action steps you will take each day to move you steadily and surely toward the completion of your goal.

For most people, a weight loss goal will include steps like these:

- Improving eating habits.
- Reducing calories.
- Drinking more water.
- Daily exercise.
- Improving mind-set.

For each of these categories, you will want to get very clear on exactly what your approach will be. Examples:

Improving Eating Habits & Reducing Calories

Are you going to omit “junk food” from your diet? Or limit yourself to a treat just once a month? How many calories will you eat each day? Which foods will comprise the bulk of your diet? Create some sample menu plans to make it easier to stick to your new eating habits.

Drinking More Water

How much water will you drink each day, and when? Will you drink 8 ounces of water before each meal? Will you carry a bottle of water with you throughout the day? Get a clear idea of how you plan to implement this part of your goal.

Daily Exercise

How much exercise will you do each day? What kinds of exercise, and for how long? Do you prefer to work out in the morning, afternoon, or evening? Will you do cardio exercise for certain days, and resistance training on other days? Will you join a gym, or work out at home? Create a specific plan that you will follow each day, so you know ahead of time that you are committing to a specific workout routine.

Improving Mind-Set

Weight loss is not just about taking specific physical actions, simply because so many of your actions stem from your mental focus. Which attitude changes will help you follow your new action steps each day? Do you need to work on building up your confidence? Strengthening your self-esteem? Seeing your new habits as positive, life-affirming decisions rather than daily “chores” that must be done? Do you need to reinforce your commitment and determination each day so you’ll stick with your new healthy lifestyle? Think about the general mind-set you usually have, and come up with ways you can improve it to support you in achieving your goal.

Once you’ve gotten clear on the exact steps you will be taking each day to achieve your goal, write or type them onto a sheet of paper that can be displayed prominently in your home. Create a one page “snapshot” of your daily action steps so you can see at a glance EXACTLY what you should be doing each day. Here’s an example so you can see how it should look:
DAILY ACTION PLAN

Morning:

- Cardio workout first thing in the morning Monday, Wednesday, Friday – 30 minutes (walking outside, treadmill inside, elliptical machine, or calisthenics). Resistance training Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – 30 minutes (weights, toning, push-ups, crunches).
- Drink 20 ounces of water before/during/after workout.
- Meditation, affirmations for building confidence.
- Shower, get ready for work, eat healthy breakfast (fruit, grain, protein – 300 calories).
- Mid-morning snack (protein, vegetable, grain – 200 calories).

Afternoon:

- Brisk 15 minute walk outside.
- Drink 20 ounces of water.
- Lunch (protein, vegetable, grain – 300 calories).
- Mid-afternoon snack (vegetable, fruit, grain – 200 calories) plus 8 ounces water.

Evening:

- Dinner (lots of vegetables, protein, grain – 300 calories).
- Drink 20 ounces of water.
- Dessert (fruit – 200 calories).
- Brisk walk after dinner, 15 minutes.
- Positive reinforcement (focusing on goals, my reasons for wanting them, etc.)

This is just an example, but you can see how the entire day is laid out in a clear fashion so you know exactly what you need to do, and when.
Step #4 – Possible Obstacles & Challenges

The plan on the previous page looks fairly easy to follow, doesn’t it? But we all know that things rarely go according to plan! Just because you put a plan onto paper doesn’t mean you will be able to follow it easily each day. Life has a way of throwing curveballs now and then, and they can totally catch you off-guard if you’re not prepared.

What kind of obstacles can you expect as you work toward your goal? Will you struggle to find time to prepare healthy meals? Will you procrastinate about working out? Will you have a hard time avoiding pizza and beer with friends on Friday nights? Will the vending machines at work keep calling to you throughout the day? Will you have a hard time avoiding the gourmet coffee and pastry shop that’s just around the corner from your office?

Everyone will have different challenges, and just by reading the examples above you are probably getting a clearer idea of your unique challenges.

Take a few minutes to jot down some obvious challenges you know you will have to deal with as you adopt your healthy new lifestyle habits.

You don’t have to spend a lot of time on this step, because it will be impossible to predict every possible challenge. However, you can focus on the ones you KNOW will be an issue for you.

Step #5 – Prepare Solutions

Now, how can you prepare solutions to handle these challenges when they come up? Some of the challenges will be easy to overcome.

For example, you can avoid the siren call of the vending machines at work by making sure you eat frequent, healthy snacks and meals throughout the day, and drink plenty of water. The vending machines will still be there but you won’t be so tempted to visit them if you avoid getting too hungry.

You could keep a container of sliced vegetables and low fat dip, low calorie protein snacks, a few pieces of fresh fruit, and a large bottle of water nearby to keep your stomach happy and avoid intense cravings.

The larger challenges, like pizza and beer night with friends every Friday night, may require a bit more creative problem-solving.

You could stick to salad and water. You could adjust your caloric intake to be lower throughout the week so you can splurge on a slice of pizza and one glass of beer on Friday nights. You could put in an extra 15 minutes of exercise each day to help create a bigger calorie deficit to absorb the extra calories you eat on Friday nights.

There are no right or wrong answers – just create solutions that help you stay on track while also allowing a treat here and there so you don’t feel deprived.

Step #6 – Steady, Gradual Progress

Have you ever noticed that weight loss goals in particular seem to trigger a strong sense of impatience in many people? Perhaps they do for you too. You feel confident and motivated during the first week or two, but as time goes on you start to get restless and think that you aren’t making nearly enough progress.

It’s like children on long car rides; “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”

Avoiding this sense of impatience is as easy as adopting the right attitude about your new healthy lifestyle habits. This will include three basic tasks:

#1 – See your daily actions as permanent changes.

Impatience usually arises when you view your daily action steps as temporary measures to get you where you want to be. In the back of your mind, you may be thinking that you’ll only have to do these things until you’ve reached your weight loss goal, and then you can finally relax and enjoy life again.

This entire premise is flawed because going back to a more “relaxed” lifestyle will most likely mean gaining back the weight you’ve worked so hard to lose! Instead, see your daily action steps as a lifetime commitment. You can still enjoy the foods you really love, just do so in moderation, and only occasionally instead of every day.

#2 – Focus on the progress you have made so far.

Rather than groaning about the fact that you’ve still got a long way to go, look back over the past few weeks or months and notice how far you’ve come! This is a surefire way to ease feelings of impatience.

Think about where you were just a short time ago. Feeling frustrated, sluggish, unhealthy – and now you’ve made some fantastic changes to your lifestyle that are really starting to pay off. You’re probably feeling more energetic and losing weight, and you should feel really good about that. Every time you feel tempted to look far into the future with dread, stop yourself and instead look back to see all you have accomplished so far. Immediately, you will feel eager to continue.

#3 – Feel confident about the journey ahead.

You can certainly look ahead to the future, but do so with a sense of confidence and happiness that you are creating a healthier, more vibrant future for yourself. Rather than feeling frustrated that you’ve still got more work to do, look forward to the benefits you will enjoy because of the hard work you are doing right now.

With every healthy meal you eat and every workout you do, you are investing into a healthier, happier future. Feel good about that!

Step #7 – Encouragement, Motivation, and Positive Reinforcement

Earlier we touched upon the concept of positive reinforcement and creating the right kind of attitude to help you stick to your goals. This is such a crucial part of weight loss because poor lifestyle habits are almost always the result of destructive thoughts and beliefs.

The physical changes we’ve been covering are very important in creating a healthier lifestyle and losing weight – but those physical changes will be a LOT easier to perform if your head is in the right place too. Below are three key areas to pay attention to as you set your weight loss resolutions and begin working toward them:

#1 – Encouragement

If you are like most people, your mental self-talk is geared more toward the negative. Do you often berate yourself for mistakes? Do you talk down to yourself? Do you express doubt and disbelief that you can achieve your goals? If so, you will want to turn that habit around pronto! Negative self-talk is powerful enough to derail your goals. Turn that self-talk into positive daily encouragement and you will see and feel a huge difference in your ability to stick with your healthy plan. Each day, make a point of speaking kindly to yourself. Say things like this: “I’m really proud of myself for making these positive changes. I know I have what it takes to achieve this goal. I’m going to love the feeling of satisfaction I get from succeeding! I can do this; I know I can do this.” Over time, you will come to truly believe it.

This is where you can work on counter-intentions too. If you notice that you feel tempted to sabotage yourself, overcome the temptation by encouraging yourself: “I really DO want to lose this weight, and I’m not going to be seduced by self-sabotage. I can overcome this temptation and stick to my plan easily.”

#2 – Motivation

Keep reminding yourself of the powerful reasons WHY you want to lose weight. Remember that list of reasons and expanded explanations you wrote down earlier? Keep that list close by and read it frequently – especially during moments of weakness. But don’t just read it – really focus on those reasons and what they would mean for you. How would your life change if you did feel vibrant, energetic, attractive, and healthy? Remind yourself of these benefits every single day – multiple times a day if necessary.

#3 – Positive Reinforcement

We touched on this briefly in Step #6, but it’s such a helpful tool that we should stress it again. One of the most powerful ways to stay motivated is by acknowledging how far you’ve come and allowing yourself to feel really good about it. Every day, spend a few minutes feeling proud of what you have accomplished so far. Give yourself a pat on the back for every challenge you overcome; for every healthy move you make; for sticking to your workout routine, and more. Build yourself up and you’ll be more likely to keep going.

One Step at a Time Will Get You to Your Goal!

Hopefully this guide has shown you that planning ahead and taking steady, deliberate steps each day will absolutely lead you to the achievement of your weight loss goal. There’s no way you’ll fail if you simply keep moving forward.

As you go along, you’ll want to gauge your progress by weighing yourself once a week, or perhaps taking bodily measurements so you can see how many inches you are losing. However, there is a reason we haven’t included this suggestion until now, and that is because putting too much emphasis on visible signs of progress can actually work against you. If you get too attached to seeing obvious results early in the game, you may end up getting discouraged. Instead, if you focus more of your attention upon simply taking the right ACTIONS each day, the results will happen whether you are watching for them or not.

Before long, the results will be very obvious – your clothing getting looser, having more energy and stamina, enjoying better concentration, and diminishing cravings for unhealthy foods.

Once those results become obvious, it will be easier and easier to keep going. You’ll start to get used to the healthier lifestyle habits you are adopting, and they will override your prior negative habits. You’ll feel excited about the signs of improvement you are enjoying, and you’ll become more and more motivated to keep going.

New Year Resolutions may have a high rate of failure, but ONLY if you approach them in a haphazard way. If you plan ahead as we’ve described in this guide, you will find it easy to move step by step to the completion of your goal.

Recap – The 7 Steps to Successful Weight Loss New Year Resolutions:

Step #1 – Get Clear About What You REALLY Want (Feelings You Want to Experience)

Step #2 – Identify Steps You Can Take to Feel That Way Now

Step #3 – Create Daily Action Steps to Begin Moving in the Right Direction

Step #4 – Identify Possible Obstacles & Challenges

Step #5 – Prepare Solutions for those Obstacles & Challenges

Step #6 – Stop Feelings of Impatience in Their Tracks

Step #7 – Encourage, Motivate, and Empower Yourself

While you may face moments of temptation and frustration along the way, these 7 steps will make your journey much smoother and easier than it would otherwise be. Focus on taking one step at a time and you simply cannot fail.

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Better Nutrition Tips For A Healthy Life

2012-01-17T15:09:37Z

Have you always wanted to improve your nutrition, but didn’t know how? There is no need to look any further. This article explains tips about eating well, that you might have never been aware of. If you use these tips, you can improve your lifestyle a great deal.

A good nutrition tip is to replace white flour with wheat flour. There are more nutrients in whole wheat flour.

Nuts can be a very healthy snack, when you choose the right ones. Half a cup of almonds will give you plenty of protein and fiber.

Make sure your diet consists of plenty of lean meats and fish, low fat milk, whole grains and nuts if you care to be healthy. Throw in some nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables and you’ll be well on your way to a healthy, nutritious diet.

A good piece of advice is to not focus on dessert. Do not eat more than a few desserts a week.

Become a food label reader, and pass on any foods that have more than 5% of their content comprised of saturated fat, sodium, total fat, or cholesterol. If you consume these in excess, you will increase the likelihood of experiencing diseases related to high blood pressure, hypertension, and cardiac problems.

If you are a diabetic you should make sure to find out from your doctor if you are allowed to have alcohol. You have to be careful about drinking alcohol when you have diabetes because it can lower your blood sugar levels.

Foods that are low fat will often contain added sugars or substitutes to give them flavor. If the calories are extremely low on a product, see what ingredient take their place.

In this article we have discussed several tips which can help you to make lifestyle improvements. Even if you were not educated on nutrition before, you are now. Think over this article’s advice and try out those suggestions that seem particularly applicable to you.

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Should You Ditch The Vitamin Supplements In The New Year

2011-12-13T02:17:26Z

Image by bradley j via Flickr

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions that thousands of people make each year is to improve their diet and start eating healthier foods. They decide to cut out the unhealthy snacks, start cooking their own meals and stock up on vitamin pills to boost their health. However, this last part is where so many people unwittingly get it wrong.

This article I will help explain why taking excessive vitamin supplements can be a mistake.

A Brief Introduction To Vitamins

Before I get into the rights and wrongs of vitamin supplements a bit of background information on the vitamins is required. The vitamins are a group of 13 health boosting nutrients. When you stick to the RDAs they can boost your vision, prevent numerous health disorders, promote healthy growth and much more.

However, when you exceed the RDAs these health benefits can be negated and vitamins can actually be very dangerous. Some of the negative symptoms of vitamin overdose include breathing difficulties, diarrhea, dry skin, headaches, muscle cramps, nausea, organ damage and much more.

What’s Wrong With Vitamin Supplements?

You are probably wondering what all the above has to do with vitamin supplements. Well next time you are planning to buy some take a look on the label at the % RDA section. You will probably be very surprised to see that some of these supplements contain a lot more than 100% of the RDA. In fact I have seen supplements that contain as much as 10,000% of the RDA for certain vitamins. Levels as high as this will almost definitely lead to the vitamin overdose symptoms discussed above and that’s before you even take into account the vitamins you are consuming naturally through your diet.

Additionally, the way vitamin supplements are produced means that toxic ingredients often get added and these can be very hazardous to yoru health. For example, this article reveals that one popular women’s multivitamin supplement contains dangerously high levels of lead.

What’s The Alternative?

The answer to this question is something that you probably eat every day – natural, wholesome food. Instead of looking for magic pills that can fix your diet you should be trying to make sure your diet is the best it can be. Natural vitamins are much safer than those found in multivitamins plus it is almost impossible to consume toxic levels of vitamins through natural foods alone.

How Can You Eat More Natural Vitamins?

As mentioned above, eating a diet that is full of natural, nutrient rich foods will give your body all the vitamins you need. However, I understand that going from a multivitamin every day to ditching them completely is a big transition so here are a few tips to help you out:

1) Eat Eggs At Least Twice A Week:- Eggs are an excellent source of vitamins B2, B5, B12 and D.

2) Eat Fish At Least Twice A Week:- Fish is a fantastic source of many different vitamins. For example, salmon contains high levels of B3, B6, B12 and D.

3) Eat Vegetables With Every Meal:- Different vegetables contain different vitamins. By making sure you are eating a mixture of vegetables with each meal you will supply your body with good amounts of each vitamin.

4) Snack On Fruits And Nuts Daily:- Like vegetables, different fruits and nuts give you different vitamins. By snacking on a range of fruits and nuts between meals you can make sure all your bases are covered.

Summary

I hope this article has proved a bit of an eye opener for you. Overdosing on vitamins is a very serious is; however, if you stick to just a single multivitamin per day and focus on eating healthier in the new year you should find yourself achieving more optimal health.

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Benefit From The Power Of Berries To Explode Into Your New Year

2011-12-13T02:07:51Z

Image by mccun934 via Flickr

Berries are one of the most well recognized health foods on the planet. The term “berry benefits” gets around 50,000 Google searches each month. However, unlike a lot of health foods berries most definitely live up to the hype and should definitely be part of your New Year diet plans.

The Secret Health Boosting Nutrient In Berries

There are many reasons that berries are so good for you. They contain extremely high levels of the nutrients dietary fiber, managanese, vitamin C and vitamin K. However, many experts believe the reasons for berries health boosting properties is anthocyanins.

Anthocyanins are a group of flavonoids that are found exclusively in berries and have a number of impressive health benefits. For starters, they are very powerful antioxidants.

Antioxidants are substances that keep you safe from the dangerous free radicals which get released during oxygen based reactions. Additionally, the anthocyanins can keep your blood healthy and protect against a number of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

How Can You Eat More Berries?

Berries are one of the tastiest fruits around so adding them to your diet is not that difficult. However, if you are having problems fitting them in here are a few serving suggestions:

1) Berries And Yogurt:- Berries are a great way to flavour natural yogurt. For optimal taste, add the berries to the yogurt the night before and then leave them in the fridge overnight. This allows all the juices to soak into the yogurt and really enriches the flavour.

2) Berry Blast Fruit Salad:- To make this one get a selection of your favourite berries and place them all in a bowl. Then get one or more of your favourite berry juices, add them to the bowl and leave all the ingredients to soak overnight. I find that a mixture of 75% berries, 25% juice works best but have a play around and see what works for you.

3) Berry Smoothies:- If you have a blender then berry smoothies are a great way to mix it up. Simply put your ingredients in a blender, pour them into a cup and then enjoy. If you are struggling to come up with a recipe try blending half a cup of blueberries, half a cup of raspberries, half a cup of strawberries, half a cup of ice cubes, half a cup of yogurt, 1 banana and 1 cup of milk for a very tasty, berry filled smoothie. You can also get plenty more berry based smoothies at this website.

Summary

Eating more berries should be one of your main priorities in the New Year. If you follow the advice above you should have no problem unlocking their power and having your healthiest New Year ever.

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Make A Healthy Approach To Carbs A New Year Resolution

2011-12-13T01:58:17Z

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If “getting fit” and “lose weight” are two of your resolutions for the new year, then you should also consider adopting a healthy approach to carbs to your list of resolutions.

Many people head into January really excited about these resolutions but after a few months they have reverted back to their old habits. I believe one of the main reasons that people fail with New Year’s resolutions such as these is that they don’t properly integrate the changes into their lifestyle. The good news is that today I am going to help you be successful with your New Year’s resolutions of “getting fit” or “losing weight” by adopting a healthy approach to carbs.

What Are Carbohydrates?

If you are up to speed on the latest diet plans you have probably heard all about carbohydrates. One minute we should be avoiding them at all costs and then the next minute we should be filling our faces with them. But what do they actually do?

Carbohydrates only role in the body is to provide your body with its preferred source of energy. If you don’t eat any carbs your body can get energy from dietary fats or protein. However, carbohydrates are much easier to break down into energy so if they are available your body uses them first.

In addition to this, certain carbs are also a very good source of health boosting vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. These are nutrients that your body requires in very small amounts. They have a long list of health benefits in the human body but overall they promote optimal health and ensure that everything inside your body is running as it should be.

Which Carbohydrates Are Healthy?

As I mentioned above, there are plenty of conflicting opinions when it comes to carbohydrates. So which carbs are healthy? The answer is – natural carbohydrates.

For example, a bar of chocolate contains carbohydrates but is not very healthy at all. A banana also contains carbs but is a much healthier choice. The key difference between the two is that chocolate bars are highly processed whilst bananas are all natural.

Natural carbohydrates sourced from fruits and vegetables are normally much lower in calories than processed carbs. Plus, they contain lots of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients which are often stripped out of processed carbs.

How Can You Eat More Natural Carbohydrates?

The simple answer is to eat less processed products and eat more fruits and vegetables. However, it’s one thing to say it and quite another to actually do it. Here are a couple of tips that should help you along the way:

1) Make Sure Every Meal Contains At Least 1 Piece Of Fruit Or Veg:- If it’s breakfast time make sure you are having some fruit with your meal. If it’s lunch time make sure you’ve got some salad or steamed vegetables included. If it’s dinner time make sure you are fully incorporating vegetables into the dish. Doing this will supply your body with a healthy stream of natural carbohydrates right through the day.

2) Substitute An Unnatural Carbohydrate For A Natural Carbohydrate Each Day:- If you eat a chocolate bar and a bag of crisps every day, ditch one and replace it with an apple or an orange. Doing this will cut some calories out of your day and also increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

3) Find Fruits And Vegetables That You Like:- A lot of people make the blanket statement that they do not like fruits and vegetables. In a lot of cases this is simply not true – they have just not tried enough different types. So if you think you don’t like fruits and vegetables make a real effort this year to find fruits and vegetables that you do like. There are thousands of different fruits and vegetables out there so the chances that you cannot find at least one which you like are pretty slim. Once you have found some fruits and vegetables that you like follow the two steps above so that you are giving your body a regular supply of natural carbohydrates.

Summary

By adopting the healthy approach to carbohydrates discussed in this article you will achieve your New Year’s resolutions of “getting fitter” or “losing weight”. Natural carbs boost your fitness by giving your body the energy, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients it needs to perform at 100%. They also help you lose weight as they are much lower in calories than processed carbohydrates.

Starting taking action and focus on the fruits and veggies, avoid the chocolate and soda and make this New Year the healthiest one ever.

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