Walking For Exercise, How Do I Start?

I wrote a post on walking some time ago and I got lots of emails from readers who said they couldn’t do a brisk walk and they gave up.

On WebMD, I found an article for beginners and I want to share it with you.

For the next 14 days, it’s time to ratchet up your fitness level. Wherever you are on the fitness spectrum — an off-the-couch beginner, beginner/intermediate, or intermediate — it’s time to lace up those shoes and take some laps. This fitness plan is meant to be a shot in the arm or a quick jump-start.

The plan is simple: For the next 14 days, you need to double down on your steps. This two-week challenge is progressive, simple, and short.

If you have a smartphone you can get a free app, if not you can buy a step counter in a sporting goods store or go online and order one. 

Numbers are the name of the game for this challenge. You have one simple task: Walk more! Your daily goal will be to walk more than you did the day before. If you can find someone to do this with you, that would be an added boost. It’s always easier to have a friend or family member to hold you accountable and cheer you on. I walk with my dog, they need exercise too.

If time, weather, or your job are obstacles that have stood in your way in the past, you might have to use some creativity. Here are some ideas to squeeze into your steps:

Walk laps inside your office building on your lunch break
Use a treadmill
Go to the mall and walk around before the stores open or after 8:30 p.m. when the malls are pretty quiet.
Wear a path in your carpet around your house
Where there is a will, there is always a way. Good luck! If you have a choice, walking outside in the fresh air is always the best.

Off-the-Couch Beginner

So, you have decided you’re going to make some lifestyle changes to improve your health. Great choice. Creating new habits takes time, patience, and a strong will. But guess what? This plan is perfect for you because it’s only two weeks long and simple to follow. I should mention that you need a pedometer. They’re cheap and easy to use and start to use yours before you start the program. Set it and wear it first thing in the morning until bedtime. You want to see how many actual steps you are taking in a normal day. You should do this for a few days to get an average.

This plan assumes you are capable of averaging 1,000–3,000 steps a day before you begin the routine. You’re going to add 500 steps a day — except for the last day — with the goal to hit 10,000 steps (roughly 5 miles) on Day 14. . If you don’t reach 10,000 steps at the end of the 14 days, it’s OK. Just keep moving. The goal is to simply hit 10,000 steps, and then move up to the beginner/intermediate group.

If you’re not yet able to take 3,000 steps, have no fear. Just start from where you’re able, and try your best to walk a little more every day. Once you reach 3,000 steps you can begin the program.

You don’t walk all the steps at one time, even after you reach 10,000 steps, it’s an all-day process. I even have to walk some after dinner to finish my 10,000. And that’s actually good for you. Walking before bed will help you sleep better.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

What's wrong With High-Fructose Corn Syrup

First, I want to mention that most developed countries don’t allow this chemical in food and it is a chemical even if it’s made from corn. In Mexico, for instance, like most other countries the quality of food is regulated by the government, and the only sweetener allowed is “pure cane sugar”. Pure cane sugar is so important to the flavor of Coca-Cola that they import Coca-Cola from Mexico in the original 6-ounce bottles, I’ve seen them in my local grocery store. Yes, coke from Mexico is more expensive but they don't use artificial sweeteners.

Did you know that there are 3 letters on food labels that you MUST avoid, especially if they’re at the beginning of the list of ingredients?

Those letters are OSE. Let me explain.

You see, spotting sugar on food labels isn’t quite as easy as it once was. Yep, now that food manufacturers are aware that consumers of the current day are much more discerning than those of yesteryear, they’re doing everything they can to disguise sugar on their lists of ingredients.

These days, it’s not likely that you’ll see “sugar” at the forefront of an ingredients list, but instead, you’ll see these code names:

fructose
maltose
glucose
sucrose

And the worst of the worst is “high fructose corn syrup”.

If you see any of the above -[ose] words in the first 3 or 4 ingredients on a food label, rest assured that the product is LOADED with artificial sweetener and you should be avoiding it.

Beyond that, I’ll go as far as to say that if a product contains high fructose corn syrup (the worst of the worst man-made sugars) in ANY amount, you should avoid it like the plague. Simply put, the invention of high fructose corn syrup is one of the leading causes of obesity.

Beyond that, another non-sugar [-ose] word not listed above has become extremely popular in the last few years. While it doesn’t carry the sugar content that the above ingredients do, it’s been clinically shown to destroy essential, healthy bacteria in your gut. If you regularly consume products with this “other”[-ose] ingredient, you can really do a number on your immune system and digestive health.

Even worse, this non-sugar [-ose] ingredient is being added to “health foods” left and right, but it’s actually slowly destroying your health every time you consume it.

Two years ago, I made a choice to completely eliminate this ingredient from ever entering my body again. I recommend you do the same. Actually, by reading up on this I found out it's not one ingredient, it’s more of a class of ingredients that aren’t found in any other group.
Reading ingredient labels will definitely be a challenge at first. If you currently have a no-boundaries type of diet, then you have quite a shock waiting for you. There will be ingredients that you can barely pronounce, let alone know what they are. So, what are they? What is it that you are so willingly, yet unknowingly, putting into your body? Is it good? Is it bad? Are there side effects? Or do you even care at all?

I suggest that you start looking up these ingredients and reading up on them. Learn what they are and the effects they have on your health. This may be what finally facilitates you making that move – you know, the one you’ve wanted to do for so long, but keep putting off. The movement towards better health!

As you educate yourself on ingredients and reading labels, never get too comfortable that you believe what you read. What? Now that doesn’t make sense, does it? I’m telling you to read labels, but not to believe what you read. Well, the truth is, labels can be short of the truth. The FDA allows it. They have their guidelines, and if ingredients are in small enough amounts, then the FDA does not require that the ingredient be listed.

Recently I was doing a double take on the ingredients thinking that perhaps I missed something when I noticed “cultured dextrose.” I had no idea what it is. But hell, the packaging says VEGAN, and I know it’s not gluten, so I had never given it a second thought. I decided to look it up and found there’s much controversy as to whether or not it’s vegan, and whether or not it’s a preservative or chemical. Can you believe this? I mean, it’s literally a mystery…how weird is that? 

Do your own research and see if you can get a straight answer and if so, let me know! One article I read responded to the question “What is cultured dextrose” as follows:
This is a tough one, I can say that the name “cultured dextrose” doesn’t really specify what is within. Alcohol could be cultured dextrose, as could penicillin. This is one of those industry vernacular phrases, virtually designed to mask the actual nature of the ingredients.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

The Best Diet Is No Diet

Did you ever wonder how people in some European countries manage to stay thin? When I was in Europe I didn’t see low-calorie food. Restaurants had no diet food or low-calorie meals. But no one was what we call obese. I’ve personally been to more than 15 European countries and normal people are in better shape than Americans.

I read a non-diet book last year “The secret of eating” where the author explains that diets don’t work. Most of us think of a diet as something that's temporary.  This is a weight loss book about how this woman had gained 20 pounds while going to school in the States and then lost the weight when returning to France, her home country. She goes on to say that in France women don’t get fat. In the States when she was going to school the portions of food were too large and foods were too sweet.

When returning to Europe she returned home and returned to eating the way she grew up. In Europe, women eat sensibly. Good food of very high quality and eaten in small portions. Good food does not mean good tasting, it means food of good quality. You can eat anything you like but eat the food of good quality, high in nutritional value. Small portions eaten slowly are better for you, and are satisfying. 

In the States, people eat too fast, and we’re always in a hurry to get somewhere. Eat on the run, I see people eat while driving every day. Women feed their children in the car while driving them somewhere. Drive-thru windows are so crowded they should have a gas pump halfway to the window. Sometimes I spend 20 minutes in line for coffee, and I stopped that. No more drive-thru’s, if I can’t stop and eat or drink at a table or counter then I don’t need to.

You know it wasn’t always this way. Families use to eat together. At school, all the kids eat together in the cafeteria. But at home, we eat individually when we’re hungry. Maybe that’s why families eat out more. It might be the only way to get everyone together.

This plan is for anyone who had trouble sticking to a diet plan. “Don’t Get Fat” is a 3-month plan meant to reset your body for a lifetime of healthy weight through slow, gradual weight loss. She goes on to say that many people will love the plan because there are no fitness classes but instead plenty of daily activity and lots of walking. Lots of walking is what people do in other countries and Americans don’t do.

To jump-start your diet you begin with two days of leek soup. It cleanses the system so you can start out empty. Followed by meat or fish, vegetables, and a piece of fruit. Drink water with meals, and be careful of bottled drinks or any drinks with sugar or sweeteners, those are empty calories. Not good.

In the beginning, keep a food journal. While losing weight you need to evaluate your diet and identify excess calories. You will be able to eat anything after you reach your goal. A big part of reaching that goal is to learn to eat smaller portions. You may want to start by eating 4 or 5 meals a day about 3 hours apart. At night I snack on yogurt, low-fat greek yogurt is filling. You can eat yogurt 2 or 3 times a day, a great snack full of calcium and protein. Almonds are a good snack in the afternoon. Change what you eat and how you eat and you’ll lose weight. If you change what you eat, start to eat healthily, avoid processed foods (those are pre-made foods that are ready-to-eat), and no dairy but you can eat non-fat greek yogurt, no wheat, and no sugar or any artificial sweeteners.

I know what you thinking and yes this is a weight loss diet, but it’s a lifestyle change. You learn a new way to eat, a way that you will stay with from now on.

If you're going to succeed in losing weight and return to a healthy life, you have to forget everything you're doing now. You have to forget about the foods you eat now, and start over. Whatever you’ve been doing to lose weight hasn’t worked and whatever diets you’ve tried only gave you temporary weight loss, so if you really want to change your life and become a thinner version of yourself and a healthier person who will live a longer happier life, you need to start over.

Anything you’ve been eating will only put weight on you. You need to find a new diet with the food you want to eat and that is healthy. You don’t have to starve yourself but anything you eat needs to be beneficial to your body. Your food has to give your body energy, but not the energy spike you get from carbs or sugar but real energy that will stay with you. Processed foods will give you an energy high, but then you’ll crash about an hour or two later and you get more food cravings. This is what leads to over-eating. Eating foods with nutritional value that give you a temporary boost in energy, like a soft drink, and then in a short time, you need more. These foods or drinks actually cause an addiction. Sugar is an example of a food that can cause addiction and now science believes that enriched wheat is another man-made product that causes addiction. It may be as bad for you as sugar.

Things like sugar and wheat have not always caused eating disorders or addictions. We are not eating the same things today that your grandparents did. A few decades ago, manufacturers of raw material foods like wheat, sugar, and white flour to name a few decided to change the way these raw materials were processed. So now when you read a food label wheat, for instance, is now enriched wheat, and the flour you buy says enriched flour. In the process of enriching the grain, they added chemicals to make the grains grow faster, so grains are more resistant to bugs and so they can increase productivity and increase profits. You wonder why a lot of your food comes from other countries. Yes, labor is cheaper in other countries, but using chemicals to enrich foods is not against the law. They can use chemicals in other countries that we have banned in the U.S. For instance, some of our best pesticides in this country were banned because they’re harmful to humans, but most other countries still use those pesticides in food production, and then they sell that food to U.S. Retailers and it’s sold in grocery stores.

But that’s not the whole story, food suppliers to restaurants will buy that food to save money. Those french fries you buy in restaurants aren’t grown in Idaho. Yes, in the grocery stores they have to label the food so you know what country it comes from, but restaurants don’t have to tell you and in most cases, they don’t know.

So if you genuinely want to be a fit, thinner and healthier version of yourself, you’ll have to start over. Do the research and find foods that are good for you and eats you’ll stick with. Your next diet is your diet for life. I picked the Mediterranean diet, it’s not a weight loss diet but you will lose weight and become a healthier person and you can stay with it for life. You can find it on the web. Remember there are no shortcuts, you have to commit and stay with the plan. After 3 months if the plan doesn’t work for you, don’t give up, try another plan.

Weight Watchers is not for everyone but it will work if you follow the plan. They teach you how to eat and give you the support you need.

Whatever plan you decide on and there are dozens, you want one that you can follow for life, remember there are no shortcuts.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

Being Overweight Can Be Dangerous To Your Health

I write a lot about losing weight but most overweight people don’t realize how dangerous it is to be overweight. When we become adults it doesn’t seem very important how much we weigh. Most of us feel healthy enough, after all, it’s a relevant thing. If you have always been heavy then you learn to accept your size and you believe that’s your normal size. You know other kids at school are thinner but you have your normal and they have their normal. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Actually, you can be thinner, but if your family members are heavy then you naturally think that’s the way you are going to be. But that’s not true, you can be thin if you want.

The foods you eat make you gain weight. When you are young and live at home, you eat the same as your family eats; which might be causing your weight problem. When you live at home, while you are still in school, you can develop eating habits that cause weight problems. The rules for losing weight are always the same. Don’t eat fast food, and when I eat out I only eat salads and don’t use creamy salad dressings. Don’t drink anything with calories. Stick to simple drinks like water, coffee, or tea. Avoid store-bought drinks; read the labels. Don’t eat or drink anything with chemicals, like zero-calorie drinks. Don’t eat processed foods or foods with enriched flour.

Eat fresh, that’s the way to lose weight. Try the Mediterranean meal plan; you can find it on the internet. It’s not a fad diet, it’s a different way to eat and over time you will lose weight. The body fat will disappear. Follow the food pyramid and don’t cheat, do the extra walking and you will become a healthier person and have more energy, and feel younger. The more body fat you have the shorter your life. Studies show that the more calories you eat the shorter your life. You can be a little overweight and still be healthy if you eat healthy food and don’t over-eat. Meat and vegetables should be your meal, the largest part of the meal would be the vegetables. Fish or poultry would be the meat. And fruit after dinner. Bread would be okay as long as it's whole grain. Whole wheat is not whole grain. And most important, don’t miss meals, just eat better foods.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

Do "Fasting Diets" Work

A great article for those of us who want to lose weight fast. Take a little advice from the experts.

Some people “fast” as a way to lose weight. Others “fast” to try to detox their bodies, or for religious reasons.

If you’re “fasting” to lose weight, you may want to reconsider. The weight loss may not last after you finish fasting.

If your goal is to detox your body, you should know that there’s no proof that it works. Your body naturally detoxes itself.

Fasting diets aren’t all the same. Some allow only liquids like water, juice, or tea. Others cut calories drastically, but don’t completely ban food. And on some plans, you fast every other day.

Why Fasting for Weight Loss Can Backfire
When you eat less than you need and you lose weight, your body goes into starvation mode. To save energy, your metabolism slows down.

When you’re done fasting and you go back to your usual diet, you may regain the weight you lost, and then some. And the worse part of gaining back the weight is that you’ll have more body fat.

On a fast, your body adjusts by curbing your appetite, so you will feel less hungry at first. But once you have stopped fasting, your appetite revs back up. You may feel hungrier and be more likely to overeat.

Fasting every other day has similar results. It helps people lose weight, but not for long. I found it harder to lose weight this way because on those alternate days you want to eat extra amounts.

In one study, people who fasted every other day shed weight, even when they ate all they wanted on days when they weren’t fasting. But the weight loss didn’t last over time. Maybe that’s true but it never worked for me.

Is Fasting Safe?
Fasting for a few days probably won’t hurt most people who are healthy, provided they don’t get dehydrated. But fasting for long periods of time is bad for you.

Your body needs vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from food to stay healthy. If you don’t get enough, you can have symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, constipation, dehydration, and not being able to tolerate cold temperatures. Supplements are not a good replacement for nutrients from real food. Fasting too long can be life-threatening.

Don’t fast, even for a short time, if you have diabetes because it can lead to dangerous dips and spikes in blood sugar.

Other people who should not fast include women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, anyone with a chronic disease, the elderly, and children.

Before you go on a new diet, particularly one that involves fasting, ask your doctor if it’s a good choice for you. You can also ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian, who can show you how to design a healthy eating plan. Healthy, all-natural eating plans are the best way to lose weight permanently.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

Succeeding in Weight Loss

Many factors can impact the success or failure of a new diet or exercise program, so we often spend a lot of time researching and choosing the best weight loss program, finding the most effective workout routine, or eating the right foods. But there is also mental attitude that can affect whether or not you lose weight. One of these factors is self-efficacy, and it’s easy to change.

What is Self-Efficacy?

Self-efficacy is your belief that you can successfully carry out a specific task. Simply said, You have to believe you can do it. If you start your weight loss journal with the words, “I can lose weight!”, your self-efficacy with regard to weight loss is probably high. You noticed I said weight loss journal, I know most of us don’t keep a journal, but today it’s easy. The traditional way would be to buy a book with blank pages and write every day about the goal you have. Today, you can start a journal on your computer or tablet by using any text writer that comes with your computer. 5 minutes a day and you can jot down the things you ate, and if you working out, even if it’s walking put down what exercise you did. O.K., you might ask yourself why go thru the bother? Well, first it shows that this time you are serious about losing weight and you're going to keep a record of your progress. Remember, if you haven’t done this before, start your journal with a statement of your goal. And if you ever get discouraged just read the journal from the beginning. It’s a reminder of why you decided to lose weight. Also, a journal can help you when you hit a stopping point and you can’t lose any more. Read the journal and you can see what you are doing differently and why you stopped losing.

Self-efficacy generally relates to a specific goal. For example, you may have strong beliefs that you are capable of skipping a high-calorie late-night snack. That means your self-efficacy regarding late-night snacking is high, but you might have doubts about whether you’re going to get up early the next morning to work out. Your self-efficacy regarding the morning workout is low.

Self-Efficacy vs. Self-Confidence.

It might seem as if self-efficacy is just another version of self-confidence, but that’s not true. Let’s use an example: say Carol is a graphic designer who has worked her way up the corporate ladder to become the head of her department. She’s proud of her accomplishments, comfortable in social settings, strong but respectful in dealing with her boss and positive about her personal relationships. Carol has a strong sense of self-confidence.

But let’s say that Carol is overweight. She’s tried dieting repeatedly, has worked with personal trainers to stick to an exercise program, and has even gone to weight-loss camps to shed her excess pounds. Nothing has worked. Carol now believes that she just can’t lose weight. So even though Carol is self-confident, her self-efficacy about her ability to lose weight is low.

Why Does Self-Efficacy Matter?

Researchers have found a strong link between one’s beliefs in her ability to successfully perform a task, and her completion of that task. Quite a bit of research has been done with regard to self-efficacy and weight loss — most confirming a relationship between strong beliefs (either negative or positive) and actual success.

To see why it matters, let’s go back to our example of Carol. Let’s say that Carol’s new diet coach has identified a weak link in Carol’s diet: she’s good for most of the day, but she tends to eat too many of the cookies and cakes that are left in the lunchroom at work. Let’s say that Carol has never been able to pass up those treats in the past, so her belief that she can do it now is minimal. When she’s faced with a tray of brownies, she’s not likely to muster the willpower to walk away, because she knows that she always fails anyway. Her attitude is, “why bother to make the effort?”, and she eats a brownie. Carol’s beliefs about her abilities have become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But let’s say that her diet coach was able to build her self-efficacy. The coach was able to remind Carol of the many other situations where she has successfully passed up treats in order to stick to her diet. He tells her that he believes she can do it. Now, when Carol is equipped with the belief that she can, in fact, walk away successfully, she’s more likely to do so when she’s faced with the tray of brownies.

How Do I Build Self-Efficacy?

So how do you turn a negative belief system into positive thoughts? Researchers have identified four things that impact self-efficacy: mastery of experiences, social modeling, social persuasion, and emotional responses.

4 Ways to Improve Self-Efficacy to Lose Weight

1. 1. Set and reach small goals. To improve your mastery of experiences, you want to successfully complete small goals that will act as stepping stones to larger accomplishments. Break each long-term goal into smaller achievable goals, and as you complete each one, acknowledge it in your journal and remind yourself of your success. The completion of each small task will build your level of self-efficacy for completing larger tasks in the future.

 

1. Surround yourself with positive messages. If the people that surround you are successfully completing the goal that you want to achieve, you’re more likely to believe that you can do it, too. Find friends that have some habits you admire. Skip the lunchroom snacks and spend your break with a crowd that eats a healthy meal. Instead of going to happy hour with your buddies, find a few friends that want to hit the gym and exercise. You can also surround yourself with positive messages electronically. Sign up for newsletters that provide healthy messages, fill your Facebook feed with posts from weight loss coaches and successful dieters, and follow health-oriented Twitter feeds.
2. Social Persuasion. Let friends and family know that their encouragement and positive messages make a difference. Then, make it a habit to acknowledge the compliments when you get them. Often friends and family have a similar problem, then maybe you can’t talk about it, this is another area where social media can help. Several recent studies have found that positive messages sent electronically can help people lose weight. Get connected with other dieters who have lost weight. Your friends and family will come around to your way of thinking after they see the progress you made. Then watch the compliments come in.
3. Learn to Relax. Emotions can trigger overeating. If or when you become stressed, that can trigger a food binge.

If the concept of self-efficacy is new to you, don’t worry. Simply your awareness of your positive and negative beliefs may help you change the things you need to adjust in order to lose weight. Remember to start small, make changes gradually, acknowledge your successes, and move forward from there. Permanent weight loss doesn't come quick. Permanent weight loss is about losing body fat. Quick weight won't reduce your amount of body fat and will not be permanent. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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

Bad Diets Cause Hundreds of Thousands Of Deaths

Reblogged from MedicineNet.com. I wrote about this same subject in my last post and then I found this article that confirms my findings.

Unhealthy diets may have contributed to as many as 400,000 premature deaths from heart disease and strokes every year.

And, it’s not just the things you should be avoiding — such as salt and trans fats — that are contributing to these deaths. The excess deaths may also be caused by what’s missing in your diet — namely, nuts and seeds, vegetables and whole grains, the researchers said. I’ll also add that carrying the extra body fat is wearing out your body parts and straining your organs.

“Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, killing more people in 2015 than any other cause,” said lead researcher Dr. Ashkan Afshin of the University of Washington in Seattle. He’s an acting assistant professor of global health at the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

The study results suggest that nearly half of heart disease and stroke (cardiovascular disease) deaths in the United States might be prevented with improved diets, he explained.

Debates on dietary policies in the United States tend to focus on cutting out unhealthy foods and nutrients, such as trans fats, salt, and sugar-sweetened beverages. But this study shows that a large number of heart-related deaths may be due to a lack of healthy foods, Afshin reported.

Looking at deaths in the United States from heart and blood vessel diseases for 2015, the investigators found unhealthy diet choices and lack of eating healthier foods had a part in the deaths of more than 222,000 men and over 193,000 women. The study could not, however, prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Low intake of nuts and seeds likely accounted for nearly 12 percent of deaths. Too few vegetables probably contributed to as many as 12 % of heart disease and stroke deaths. And, low intake of whole grains may have been responsible for more than 10 percent of those deaths. Too much salt likely accounted for 9 percent of deaths, Afshin said.

Samantha Heller, a registered dietitian, said, “If someone’s diet is low in nuts, seeds, fruit, fiber, whole grains and vegetables, then they are likely replacing those foods with less healthy options, such as deli meats, cheeseburgers, fried chicken, sodas, boxes of mac-and-cheese, sugar-sweetened beverages and other highly processed, junk, fast and prepared foods.” Heller is a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

“A crummy diet means the body has to work at Mach-10 speed to battle the onslaught of biochemical, physiological and inflammatory consequences. No wonder so many of us complain about being exhausted all the time and suffer from very serious and oftentimes preventable cardiovascular diseases,” she said.

A more plant-based, whole-food approach to eating reduces internal inflammation, which in turn helps protect and heal “gunked up” arteries and an overworked heart. It also enhances the immune system, improves gastrointestinal and brain health, and boosts energy, Heller explained.

Heller recommends simple swaps, such as sliced avocado, tomato, and hummus on whole grain bread instead of a ham and cheese sandwich; a veggie burger topped with salsa instead of a cheeseburger; brown rice, vegetable-edamame paella instead of mac and cheese; a salad pizza instead of a pepperoni pizza. Grocery stores today have an extensive selection of healthy foods and even healthy, fresh meals in the deli section. There’s really no need to cook anymore. In fact, there’s little need to shop for groceries when you can buy fresh food ready to eat in the deli section. Buy bottled water, red wine, nuts, or seeds for a snack and your set.

I buy the basics: oatmeal with fruit in the morning, salads every day, prepared fresh meals with seafood or chicken, no fried food and no red meat, fruit, plant-based Protein Powder in the two-pound containers and plain Greek yogurt to make protein shakes for between meals and nuts, seeds and red wine for snacks and that’s it.

“The good news is it is never too late or too early to ditch unhealthy foods, dig into a plate of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds and whole grains, and watch how our bodies respond by getting healthier and happier,” Heller said.

Losing your body fat is the key to good health.

MedicalNews

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