About White Sugar and White Flour

I wrote a post about quiting sugar and I received emails and comments that totally agreed with me. So today I want to add a few more words about refined sugar and refined flour.
Actually both white sugar and white flour have been processed to the point where most all the nutrients have been stripped away. When this had become common knowledge the manufacturers changed their product to an enriched white flour by adding chemicals to substitute for the nutrition the product was missing.

The changes were made several years ago before we now know that chemicals in food not only don't totally get absorbed into the body but can actually be harmful to the body. Not everyone has the same ability to fight off the affects of chemicals in the body.

White sugar in the body isn't real sugar from sugar cane. Sugar cane or sugar from sugar cane isn't white it's more brown in color. In the process of making granulated white sugar the crystals have to be bleached white so whatever nutrients were in the plant have been stripped out so it's still sweet to the taste but now science thinks that the chemicals used to bleach rawl sugar might be causing a chemical addiction to white sugar. The reason for manufacturing white sugar started because bakers couldn't use the granulated brown crystals for commerical baking. The same reason for flour. The original flour used for centuries, was too coarse for commerical bakeries, it took too much time for bakers to grind the coarse flour into a fine powder, so something easier to use was created and because it was cheap to make it could be sold on the retail market besides.

Science has proof that when you quit using white sugar which means you have to stop eating any food that contain sugar or sugar substitues that most people will see an improvement in their health.
White flour may or may not be a hazard to your health but is probably the major cause for obesity. All manufacturered products from pasta to bread, cake, cookies, pretzels, you name it, it contains some white flour. You might thing that because you buy rye bread or some other brown bread that it has no white flour but in this country commerical bakeries use some white flour in everything they make. When you read the labels you might see a few different flours in the package of pancake mix or loaf of bread but somewhere on the label it will say wheat flour or bleached wheat flour. Wheat flour is even in your breakfast cereal.

Many diets today want you to avoid all processed foods because of the white sugar, food additives, wheat flour, and other chemicals that can be in processed foods. The weight problem the all humans have today, I believe, can be contributed to manufactured or processed foods. A lot of restaurant food your eating is processed food created in factories because it cheaper to create the food in large amounts and then ship to stores and restaurants the amount they need. This also helps to keep prices lower to increase the volume.

I'm not saying that you can't find healthy food because you can. In some parts of the country and the world you can still find the butcher who will cut your meat in front of you, meat that has never been frozen an was delivered to his shop just a few hours before. A good butcher shop will receive fresh meat every day. A busy produce market will get fresh produce every day. Produce that was never refrigerated or frozen. It come straight from the farm.

To sum up this post, I just want to say that cancer is something we put in our body when we eat something the body can't deal with. The problem with chemicals in the body is that the body stores the chemical because it can't process it and we eat more every day and the body keeps storing it and the storage area keeps growing because chemicals in the body will never dissolve or dissipate. Remember this last sentence if nothing else.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books.

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

Why Am I Overweight?

I have written similar posts before about the same subject but now I want to take a different approach. My last post was on another website, that covers the same topic, "losing weight".

It's true that Americans like to "overindulge". We have those people who don't see a problem with their weight, even though they are 20 pounds overweight. Then there are people who have a more serious problem and try and cut calories by skipping meals.

Those people with little to lose (20 pounds or so) are basically living in denial. "Yes, I could take off a few pounds but it's not a big deal, I'll get around to it." These are the ones that are pretty active and generally able to maintain their weight about 20 pounds over and because they don't see themselves getting bigger, they are happy to do nothing. These are the people with "creeping obesity". That 2 pounds a year that you add to your weight and don't even notice it. But after 10 years your 20 pounds heavier and don't know why.

Maybe because you never tried to change your diet. When you had the change and you first saw that your belly was getting bigger you shrugged it off and did nothing. You never tried to change your diet because you didn't see anything wrong.

Other people with a more serious problem are usually heavy from childhood. They grew up heavy for their size and age and because of their diet continued the same lifestyle. These people grew up eating the wrong way from little on.

I was one of those children that grew up heavy. My family owned a farm when I was growing up. My brother and I lived a farm life until I was in 4th grade and then we moved to the suburbs. I bring this up because I might have been heavy but my brother was thin and we ate the same food, same dinner table, ate the same time of the day and ate a very good diet. My diet was dairy, organic fruit, and vegetables, berries, and grapes that were in season. All seasonal home-grown produce and poultry and eggs from our farm. Almost everything we ate was from our farm. It was a very good life, but for some reason I was heavy and my brother was thin. And I stayed heavy until I was in my 20's when I got a construction job as a laborer.

In my 20's I did thin out but in my 30's when I left construction I started to gain weight again. The reason I brought up my story is because there was no obvious reason for the differences between my brother and I except for genes. I conquered my weight problem after a lifetime of bouncing up and down between 170 and 220 pounds. Now I'm 160, I have more strength than I've had in years and I have more energy than I can ever remember. I don't have body fat anymore, not that you can see anyway and I'm happy and healthy.

So maybe genes are a factor, or my it's the food you eat when your small and growing up. There could be many reasons for a weight problem but that doesn't mean that you can't do something about it. It's easy to pick up bad eating habits. Some come from childhood and others just because we don't want to take the time. We get in the habit of doing what's easy. Then we explain it away by blaming our actions on a "lack of time". I didn't take the time to do it the right way and I took a short cut. Maybe that's what bad habits are about. Maybe being overweight is because we are taking the short cuts in life to make more time for the pleasures.

The problem with that is we will pay the price for taking that short cut. We pay the price in different ways. And with our body, taking short cut means that we don't take care of our body. We don't eat the right foods we aren't active enough to keep our body in good working condition. And the price you pay is that your body will start to fail. Body functions will slow down to the point that they quit functioning and you die and early death.

You are responsible for yourself, not your doctor. All a doctor can do is make you more comfortable. They treat the symptoms, very seldom can they stop the problem from reoccurring. I never take painkillers because painkillers will cover up the problem and I want the problem fixed.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

There Is No Magic Pill

Everyone looks for the easy way to do everything. We look for the App to change the stations on the TV, you look for the App to open the garage door, the App to do your Taxes, but for losing weight, there’s no easy way. Did You ever do a search: "lose weight” and see all the different websites that have the answer for quick or fast weight loss; just buy this or eat this and the weight will melt away. It won’t happen and if you lose weight it usually comes right back.

I lost weight by changing my diet and I never went back. And if I’m on vacation or go to a family gathering and I do slip up and eat something that will add fat, if you go right back to your meal plan the next day, any extra fat you added will disappear fast. When I changed my diet and started to eat fresh, mostly vegetables and fruit for dessert or for a snack, eating more nuts and not eating that food I use to eat. Not eating that food that put the weight on in the first place. I’m not a vegetarian, I do eat meat, but I stick to white meat chicken or tuna or wild salmon.

 My trick to losing weight is to eat as little animal fat as possible. White meat chicken has some yellow fat on the outside of the meat and It’s easy to remove, so you are eating meat that’s 95% fat-free. Fat on a fish is almost the same, the fat lays outside the meat under the skin. The advantage to eating fish is you get the nutrients from the Omega-3 fatty oil in the fish and salmon and tuna are rich in Omega-3. Other seafood has fish oil and minerals but for my money, I’ll buy wild salmon and tuna. I think you get more nutrients for your money. Red meat and even pork contain animal fat marbled through the meat. Some red meat is leaner than others but all animal meat contains animal fat. It’s a good source of protein but you can’t avoid the animal fat and that’s the part your system doesn’t process very well and will turn most of it into Body fat and store it.

Yes, humans have always eaten animal meat, but throughout history, man has never had a very long lifespan. On average, we probably live longer today than humans have ever lived throughout history. Having said that, science has no idea how long humans could live if we could eliminate disease and illness. 

Now we all know the science can’t remove all disease and illness in the next century, but we can change our diet and become healthier and whether science knows that or not eating healthy is the answer to longevity. That and exercise for your body and your mind will definitely keep you fit and active for many years to come. 

It would be nice to avoid all those health problems our grandparents had. And by eating healthy, I know I’m going to live a better, longer life. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

How Healthy Are You?

Surprisingly Simple Longevity Tests

Most of us think that we're in good enough shape. We tend to judge ourselves by other about the same age. Actually, that's probably not good. We tend to judge ourselves by others who aren't in good condition. I don't know anyone who compares himself with the 80 year olds that Golf three times a week. If you don't know anyone like that it might be you don't live in Arizona or Florida.

Your physical condition is a good indicator of "how long you'll live". Most people think they're in better shape than they really are. As a result, they're usually shocked to find out the results. Try it for yourself.

No one can predict exactly how long you'll live, but researchers have devised some surprisingly simple tests that are strongly correlated with a risk of early death - or a longer life - in the years to come.  Here's a look at some basic ways scientists are attempting to assess your physical capability and the associated chances of living longer.

1.   Sitting-Rising Test:  Developed in the late 1990s by Brazilian scientist Claudio Gil Soares de Araujo at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro, this test simply involves going from a standing position in a small (2 meters by 2 meters) area to a sitting position on the floor, and then rising again.

Subjects are scored according to how many supports they require to perform the cycle: a point lost for using a hand, forearm, or knee, for example, to either sit or stand.  Another half-point is deducted for generally unstable execution.  A total of 10 points can be achieved for each full cycle.

In a 2014 paper published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Araujo and others discovered that older adults had a 5 times greater risk of mortality during the 6.3-year follow-up period, if they scored only 0-3 points on the test, relative to the top-performers scoring between 8-10 points.  A total of 2002 adults between the ages of 51 and 80 years participated in the study.

Araujo's team writes that the Sitting-Rising Test (SRT) is a simple gauge of musculoskeletal fitness, with the capacity to predict mortality among community-dwelling adults in this age range.

Another version is the Chair Rise Speed Test, which calculates how many times you can rise from a chair and sit back down again, within a minute.

 A 2014 paper published in the British Medical Journal compared the fastest sitters with the slowest among 2766 53-year old adults. At baseline, women performed anywhere from 21 stands/minute on the low end to almost 37 stands/minute.  The range among men was just under 22 stands/minute for the low performers, to 39 stands/minute at the high end.

After 13 years, those of either gender who performed poorest at the outset had more than twice the risk of death from any cause when compared with those with a higher chair rise speed at the start of the study.

2.    Grip Strength:   The strength of your hand grip is typically measured using an electronic dynamometer.  In numerous studies, a stronger grip has been linked with lower all-cause mortality, especially among older adults. In the 2014 UK study of adults aged 53, women's grip strength ranged from 21kg (46lb) to almost 34kg (75lb), while the men squeezed from 36kg (79lb) to 54.5kg (120lb).  Averaged across both sexes, and taking other risk factors like body mass index, smoking status and physical activity levels into account, the 53-year olds with the poorest grip strength had anywhere from a 29% to 98% greater risk of death from any cause during the 13 years of follow-up.

3.    Standing Balance Time:  The same 2014 BMJ paper examined how long its subjects could stand on one foot with their eyes closed.

 The resulting times were short, with a maximum average of just 19 seconds for men, and 10 seconds for women.  The good news: achieving simply those brief standing balance times was linked with lower mortality.  Poor performers of the standing balance test -  clocking in at just 3 seconds for both women and men - had a 2.5 greater chance of dying from any cause, during the 13-year study.

4.    Sitting Height:  If you think your overall height is the only tallness measure researchers are interested in, you're wrong.  Sitting height, an anthropometric measurement which compares the relative proportions of the torso and legs, has been linked in Western populations to the incidence of heart disease. Greater leg length (and less relative sitting height) has been viewed as an indicator of better childhood health, which may protect against age-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes in adulthood.  

Data on other ethnic populations are less clear, however; a 2007 Chinese study found that greater sitting height was linked to more diabetes and abnormal lipid levels (dyslipidemia), whereas a 2011 paper published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found no relationship between height (including sitting height) with mortality among 136,202 adults in the Shanghai Women's and Men's Health Studies.

5.    Gait Speed:  Can how fast you naturally walk say anything about your longevity?  Yes - according to epidemiologists from the University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere, in their 2011 paper published in JAMA. The researchers examined 9 separate studies involving a total of 34,485 participants and found that among both sexes, gait speed was linked with survival at all ages. A natural gait speed of 0.8 metres/second (about 1.8 miles/hour) corresponded with average life expectancy for each age; walking faster than that as a natural pace was linked with better than average longevity.

Since walking requires energy, balance, and engages multiple organ systems to work together, the researchers suggest slower speed may indicate hidden illness or poor overall conditioning.

6.    Waist to Height Ratio:  Some researchers believe that waist to height ratio - calculated by dividing the waist circumference in centimetres by a person's height (also measured in centimetres) is a better predictor of disease than weight or body mass index.  The advice is simple: keep your abdominal fat down, and make sure your waist measurement is not greater than half your height.

Bottom line:  These tests are simple tools to measure the statistical probability of an early death, as indicators of overall health and conditioning.  You can improve your own odds of living a long, healthy life by staying physically active, eating an anti-aging diet, staying active within your social circle, keeping stress at bay, not smoking, and drinking only in moderation.

Medical science knows little about how long human should live. They can only go by past records. But they do predict that humans will live longer in the future because we are learning more about the body and what we need to do to take care of ourselves. The benefits of living a healthy lifestyle will be to age slower and to stay young longer and if that leads to a longer life, okay, but for me, I want to enjoy my days as long as a can. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Are The Expensive Gym Programs Worth The Money?

This is a question that we all struggle with. We think about all the times we tried to lose weight and didn't. It seems we always quit after a few months so why spend a lot of money. And I understand. I lost my body fat without spending any money, so why should you. My opinion is that when you make up your mind that you're going to do this, you will finally do the research and find a program that will work for you.  It doesn't take money. Throwing money at any problem has never been the solution.

This article first appeared on MyFitnessPal.com and gives you the pros and cons of these gym programs.

When resolution season rolls around, we’re all faced with the tough question: Is spending money on pricey, high-end wellness trends really worth it? Sometimes it feels like you have to choose between your personal fitness and the fitness of your bank account. The not-so-simple answer to this question is it’s complicated. To see which trends really are worth the extra cash, check out our list of worth it picks — plus three to skip.

LUXURY GYMS: WORTH IT

Luxury gyms can seem like a waste of money — especially when you can get access to a treadmill or a set of dumbbells just as easily at your local budget gym. But according to economists, there’s merit to shelling out for a luxury gym. The theory is that paying more for your membership will actually make you more likely to use it. Since wasting a $10 per month membership feels much less painful than spending $300 each month for a membership you don’t use, going luxury may just be the motivation you need to stick to a gym schedule.  This is the upside of Luxury Programs, but you want to remember that most of these programs are pretty tough. They are not for the timid. They work you very hard because they want you to see results quickly. But you have to be in pretty good shape just to take the punishment.

LUXURY BOOTCAMPS: NOT WORTH IT

At nearly $40 per class, these classes talk a big game that they don’t necessarily live up to. Yes, their HIIT-style workouts can be effective, but they use moves and equipment you can re-create yourself at a less-expensive gym. If you really want to get the full “boot camp” experience while still saving money, have your gym buddy yell at you drill sergeant-style throughout your sweat session.

MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES: WORTH IT

According to many estimates, meal delivery services tend to shake out to be about the same price as groceries. This means that not only will you guarantee yourself a healthy meal, you’ll be saving time (and time is money) by not having to make your weekly trip to the market. You might even pick up enough cooking skills to cross cooking classes off your list of resolutions.

ORGANIC FOODS: NOT WORTH IT… IN MOST CASES

As you probably know by now, buying organic isn’t cheap. Because organic farms are often smaller and don’t use chemicals in the growing and harvesting process, it takes them more time to produce the same amount of food as compared with larger, non-organic farms. Since time is money, you can expect a markup. Conventional wisdom has held that shelling out for organic alternatives is naturally healthier for you, but research has thrown that belief into question. According to the 2012 study, in most cases, there’s not enough scientific evidence to back up the better-for-you claims.

TRAVELING FITNESS MEMBERSHIPS: WORTH IT

Depending on your city, memberships that let you attend a variety of boutique classes can get quite pricey, prompting many potential users to hesitate before committing. Will you really make it to three classes a week? Luckily, many of these memberships help remove some of that workout doubt by adding an extra incentive. If you don’t make it to a class you signed up for, you’ll still be charged, effectively silencing all those last-minute thoughts of hitting the snooze.

LUXURY YOGA STUDIOS: NOT WORTH IT

Whether or not to pony up for a high-end yoga class is a fairly divisive topic. On one hand, many yogis find the practice to be about total wellness, including pampering yourself with the amenities that many luxe spots offer. However, others argue that the practice should be a bare-boned, egalitarian focus on the body. Since high-quality free yoga classes, outdoor yoga meetups and YouTube yoga tutorials are incredibly easy to find, skip the expensive memberships and treat yourself to the occasional spa day to round out your wellness routine.

LUXURY CYCLING STUDIOS: IT DEPENDS

The rise of pricey cycling options made the exercise bike cool again. But as most devotees will tell you, these classes are more about the spirit than the Spinning. Classes feature a distinctly clubby feel and DJ-curated playlists to provide the soundtrack to motivational mantras, distracting you to the point where you almost forget you’re working out. If going to the gym is a struggle for you, the added dose of fun and energy is totally worth the per-class price. But if you enjoy your gym time and don’t need fist-pumping music to get motivated, save your pennies to upgrade your gym membership and use the spin bikes there.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

 

Can't Lose Weight, You Have To Keep A Food Log

A cookie here. A bowl of pasta there. A handful of veggies drenched in ranch dressing. We think we know what we're taking in nutritionally, but reality is often pretty far off base. If you have trouble keep weight off, there's usually a simple reason why. 

Most of us that watch the scale often know pretty quick that we're gaining weight. Gaining weight, if your not a body builder like those people on Venice Beach in California, probably means your increasing body fat. And if you're like most of us when we want to lose weight, we cut back on food. That's wrong. Most of us don't overeat, we just eat the wrong things. 

In particular, calorie intake when dining out -- which, let's face it, most of us do more often than we should -- is usually grossly underestimated. Even so-called "healthy" meals can get derailed in a hurry, thanks to poor nutritional choices. Salad dressing is the number-one source of fat in [many] women's diets, which attests to how many women turn a good salad into a cardiac disaster. Most restaurant salads with dressing are about 800 calories, some can be even more, like a Chef Salad, Taco Salad, or a Cobb Salad.

When it comes to diet, we do a lot of things right, but most of us manage to make some serious blunders. Keeping a food log can help us get back on track, and it's not as difficult as you might think. See if any of these excuses sound familiar:

But... I don't understand what the point of a food log is. You know those contests where people fill a huge jar with jellybeans and you guess how many the jar holds, but you're wayyyyyyyyy under? That's pretty much what happens when it comes to "eyeballing" your calorie, fat and sodium intake. We think we know what we're consuming, but we're usually light years away from reality. A food log will help you keep track. For instance, Small bowl of Rasin Bran, with Almond  Milk, banana and black coffee was 432 calories. I just touch breakfast and it gives you a list and you pick what you ate and the amount and it logs in the calories. You do the same for everything you eat and shows you the total for the day.

But... I don't have time to keep a food log. Back before the World Wide Web, my dad had a book full of foods and their calorie content. He painstakingly researched and recorded each and every meal and added up the calories himself. Let's all raise our voices in thanks for apps that now do the work for us.

But... I already eat healthy. Keeping a food log isn't only about the obvious culprits, like calories and fat. Most people unknowingly put away far more sodium than they realize in a given day, and we often overestimate our fruit and veggie consumption. A food log can be a wake-up call to improve habits we didn't even know needed fixing.

Fruit and Vegetables should be 3/4 of every meal. When watching calories, never drink anything with calories. You might not realize it but half the calories we consume come from drinks. If your gaining weight it's all about the calories. You can't exercise away a bad diet. Keeping a food log with an App is the quick easy way to keep track of calories.

So why track calories? When you go week after week and the weight isn't coming off, your food log will show you mistakes that you made.

Right now the most popular weight loss app is "NOOM". If you think that you don't have time for that, then just use a part of the app. Use the food journal. It helps you to find the amount of calories in your food. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Breaking Through Weight Loss Plateaus

It's extremely common to hit a plateau at some point during your weight loss journey. And, obviously, it can be really discouraging when the number on the scale doesn't move. Good news — there are certain things you can do to help bust through that plateau and watch the scale number lower.

Reevaluate Caloric Needs

As you lose weight, your body burns fewer calories — sad, but true! This means that over time, you need to consume fewer calories to lose weight at the same rate.

You have two options: 

1. Consume less food every day
2. Move a little more to make up the difference. 

Back to Basics

Good habits sometimes fall by the wayside when you get too comfortable with a program, so make sure you're as on track as you think you are. For starters, write down EVERYTHING you eat. You may not realize how many little extras you're sneaking into your day. Also, make sure you measure out or weigh your foods. Measuring cups and a small kitchen scale are great tools you can use to ensure you're eating exactly the portions you're accounting for. 

Move

Exercise burns calories. It's that simple! If you haven't started a workout routine yet, start by walking 30 more minutes a day or by trying out a dance class at the local gym.

The Key To Heart Health

If you've been working out, either step up your intensity or add an extra workout each week.

If you're on a budget, there are a lot of free videos available online, from yoga and pilates to cardio and dance. The key here is just to move more than usual, at least until you break through that weight loss plateau.

Switch It Up

Being consistent can be great, but sometimes you need to change things up to get your body back on track. If you typically eat three large meals and no snacks, try skipping one meal every other day. If you've been snacking a lot, try skipping those snacks and replacing them with larger meals. Once you've broken through the plateau, you can always go back to the plan that best fits your daily life.

Choose Fresh Foods Over Packaged

If you've been eating too many meals out of a box or bag, you may want to try adding more fresh options to your diet. This is especially true if you're a fan of mom and pop brands. Those are sometimes less accurate than mass produced items when it comes to the nutritional information. If you're struggling with stalled weight loss, you may want to skip prepared foods for now. Limiting packaged foods in favor of fresh foods (lean protein, fresh veggies and fruit, etc.) is a great way to jump-start your weight loss.

Beware of Bites

We're all guilty of having an extra bite here and there.

But those extras have calories, and those calories can really add up! Try to cut out the extras or at least be totally honest and record every single one of them in your food journal. You might be surprised to see you're eating more calories than you think!

Get Support

Invite friends to come with you on a walk, join an online health community like calorie count, or sign up with a local fitness group. Sometimes the support and help of others is all you need to get back on track.

Drink Water

This might go without saying but drinking water is super important. It keeps you hydrated, helps you feel full, and flushes out toxins. Travel everywhere with a bottle of water in hand and try to drink at least eight cups daily. 

Plateaus can be very discouraging  but is normal. Your body doesn't like when you lose weight, it things Your starving and it starts to hoard fat instead of burning fat.  

You can actually gain weight.

If you want your body to keep burning fat, you have to trick your body. Your body doesn't know how much fat is too much. Humans never had a problem with too much fat before the late 1800's. Oh sure, there has always been overweight people going back thousands of years, but not in the numbers we have today. People have always been more active than modern man and we didn't have to workout to burn calories. Also, before the 1950's we never had processed food, the food we ate was all natural. We never imported food from other countries and for the most part, our foods were locally grown.

The consumer has bought into this recent trend of buying processed foods to save time. In the future, we will discover that this trend was the biggest mistake modern man has made. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.