5 Features of Healthy Weight Loss Programs

Healthy weight loss programs can seem to be the exception when you look at some of the diet books on the market. Far too many of them expect you to exist on starvation rations, to cut out one or more of the major essential food groups, or to stuff yourself with potentially dangerous diet pills or vile tasting meal replacements. But you don't have to abuse your body to lose weight. Instead, look for a sensible, healthy weight loss plan that meets the following criteria:
It's Based on Natural Unprocessed Food
First of all, a healthy diet program involves eating real wholesome food, not synthetic meal replacements. This means fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, dairy (preferably organic) and other nutritionally-rich, unprocessed foods. You can lose weight on any kind of reduced-calorie eating plan, but if you want to stay healthy too, it's vital to include plenty of high quality fresh foods. So avoid any diet plan that would have you living on junky processed food or meal replacement drinks - they just don't cut in over the long term.
No Diet Pills
Diet pills can sometimes help people to lose weight more quickly, but their long term effects on the body are unknown. Putting your health at risk for short term weight loss is not a good idea, especially if you don't make any changes in your eating and lifestyle habits. With a healthy diet and moderate exercise, there's simply no need to pop pills to lose weight, and a healthy weight loss program won't require their use.
Exercise
It's possible to lose weight without exercising, but for long term health, taking some exercise is a must. Exercise can help to prevent chronic health problems, and also provides an immediate boost to your mood and energy levels. In addition, exercise helps with weight loss by burning calories during your workout, by increasing your metabolic rate for some time afterwards, and by building lean muscle tissue, which is more metabolically active than fat - meaning that you burn more calories even when you're at rest. So for optimal health, make sure your weight loss program includes at least twenty minutes of exercise three or four days a week.
Eat Enough, Often Enough
It's vital to give your body enough food when you're attempting to lose weight. It can be tempting to crash diet or skip meals, but this puts your body under stress, decreases your energy levels, and makes you more likely to overeat. If under-eating becomes a habit, you're also at risk of malnutrition. As well as having negative health effects, skipping meals won't really help with weight loss, since your body will slow its metabolic rate, making fat loss more difficult, and making it likely that you'll regain even more weight than you lost when you start eating normally again. So to lose weight healthily, eat at least three meals a day (many people find that four or five smaller meals works better), and never be tempted to skip a meal.
Make Permanent Changes
Any diet plan that relies on short term, faddy methods such as cutting out whole food groups, taking diet pills or drastically reducing calories is not going to promote either permanent weight loss, or long term health. Most people find that such plans are impossible to stick with for long for long, as the body eventually rebels, forcing you to eat more to provide what it needs. Any healthy weight loss plan will emphasise how important it is to make permanent changes in your eating habits, and to eat adequate but not excessive quantities of healthy, unprocessed, nutritionally-dense foods. If you're used to chronically overeating, or living on junk foods, this can be a challenging change to make, but it's doable, with time and patience. And it's worth the effort, because once you've established healthy new habits, you'll keep the weight off, and be free from the yoyo cycle of weight gain and loss for ever - and you'll feel great too.
So if you want to lose weight, keep it off, and be vibrantly healthy, look for a health-based weight loss plan that avoids short term gimmicks and instead focuses on doing what's best for your body.

How Diet and Exercise Affect Your Healthy Weight Loss

When a dieter desperately wants to lose weight, sometimes healthy eating tips are thrown out the door in favor of the latest diet fad. For permanent weight loss, though, you'll want to follow healthy eating tips and get your heart rate up with exercises that help you lose weight. A good pair of walking shoes and a healthy diet should be your first line of defense against the battle of the bulge.

If you need to lower your cholesterol, reduce high blood pressure, or minimize your risk of cancer, then a healthy weight loss is you need. A healthy nutrition plan for permanent weight loss will uses natural remedies to detox your body. You need a healthy recipe book with healthy eating tips to lose weight.

A healthy recipe book is a good start in the fight to lower your cholesterol, lower high blood pressure, and reduce your risk of getting cancer. A healthy nutrition plan for permanent weight loss, coupled with exercises that help you lose weight, is one of the safest ways to detox your body.

The way to detox your body using natural remedies is simple: arm yourself with a healthy diet and get your heart rate up. A healthy nutrition plan for permanent weight loss starts with a healthy diet and a home stocked with nutritious foods. Exercises that help you lose weight also work to detox your body by releasing toxins through your skin's pores.

If you're wondering how to detox your body using natural remedies, here are four detox foods to get you started with a healthy weight loss: leafy greens, cabbage, lemons, and broccoli sprouts. Leafy greens detox the body by strengthening the liver and reducing the body of environmental toxins. Cabbage also helps to detox the liver. Lemons flush out toxins in the body. Research has shown broccoli to ward against certain cancers; broccoli sprouts are especially good at this. So take note of these foods and other detox foods when choosing meals.

In addition to healthy nutrition, regular exercise is important for a healthy weight loss. Exercises that help you lose weight are those that get your heart rate up. The most important thing to do when choosing an exercise program is to find one that fits your lifestyle. Regular exercise should fit your life if you want it to become a habit.

Here is a review of what you should do for permanent weight loss: get your heart rate up with exercises that help you lose weight, follow a healthy nutrition plan for weight loss, and detox your body with natural remedies found in a healthy recipe book.

The Top 5 Breakfast Foods For Healthy Weight Loss!

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of eating breakfast. People who take time for a morning meal consume fewer calories over the course of the day, have a stronger desire to exercise, and are less likely to be overweight or obese.

People who skip breakfast are more likely to snack on junk food throughout the day, and over-indulge on fatty meals for lunch and dinner. If you are thinking about devising a healthy weight loss plan of action, think breakfast!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You have probably heard this many times, and it's true. Even the name says it all. It is meant to break the fast you give your body from not eating since you put your head down on the pillow the night before. How you eat when you wake up in the morning dictates how your day will go. If you are trying to implement a healthy weight loss program, eating a healthy breakfast makes the difference between success and failure.

Just because breakfast is the most important meal of the day does not grant you permission to go into a feeding frenzy. That is exactly what Americas most popular breakfast restaurants are setting you up for, so make a conscious effort not to buy into it. They peddle fatty scrambled eggs, sugary muffins and donuts, and pancakes covered with enough syrup and whip cream to launch your blood sugar level up into outer space.

Foods loaded with unhealthy fats, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates are not how you want to start your day, especially when you are trying to have a healthy weight loss. They zap your energy levels so you will feel lethargic, and tell your body to store fat instead of burning it. To help you avoid these morning mishaps, fill your cupboards with the following foods to ensure a successful and healthy weight loss.

Healthy Weight Loss Breakfast Food #1: Soy-Protein Shake

This is how I lost 70 pounds 15 years ago and have kept it off ever since. Imagine getting 2,000 calories worth of nutrition for about 180 calories without the fat and sugar. It's the closest thing you can get to diet magic, and it's the best way to begin every day. What happens when your body gets the right nutrition? It begins to heal itself in ways you never thought possible. Nothing on any restaurant breakfast menu is going to offer good health like that.

Healthy Weight Loss Breakfast Food #2: Green Tea

Making sure you are well hydrated is an important part of breakfast, so why not give your body the best liquid possible? Unplug your coffee maker and find a different route to work that does not pass by a Starbucks. One cup of green tea every morning will give you enough energy to last an entire day, and you will not get the jitters like you might from coffee. Want to know the best part about green tea? It helps your body actually speed up your metabolism! Try finding that weight loss benefit in a fatty, over-priced latte.

Healthy Weight Loss Breakfast Food #3: Oatmeal

Remember when you were a kid and your mother made you eat oatmeal instead of your favorite cereal? That's because it was healthy...and it still is, no matter how you prepare it. OK, so you can't dump tons of sugar on it and make it taste like Apple Jacks, that's a given. But you can sweeten it with fresh fruit or cranberries and raisins to enhance the taste. Just because you are older now and can make your own decisions does not mean your mother wasn't right.

Healthy Weight Loss Breakfast Food #4: Scrambled Eggs With Vegetables & Steak

So you say you want to splurge sometimes and eat a real American breakfast like the kind you get at a truck stop? I hear you loud and clear. There is nothing wrong with wanting that...if you want to gain weight. How do you do it while sticking to your healthy weight loss plan? Be creative. Make yourself an egg beater omelet with fresh vegetables and lean meat. Just because a truck stop wants to serve you certain food in a greasy way doesn't mean you can't eat the same thing in a healthy way.

Healthy Weight Loss Breakfast Food #5: Fresh Fruit With Granola

Remember that recent high-protein low-carbohydrate diet fad that came and went faster than you could say Atkins? No one is on it anymore, and no one is thinner or healthier because of it. Don't ever let anyone convince you that something like a fresh apple is bad for you. Your body needs carbohydrates and there are few healthier sources than fruit and granola. It makes a great substitute for high sugar cereals. If you can sprinkle some protein powder on top of it, it's an even better way to start your day.

So there you have it...5 of the best breakfasts you can eat for losing weight in a healthy, natural way. It's not easy to change your taste palette, but try these suggestions little by little as replacement for the high fat, high sugar choices that made you gain weight. Living a healthy lifestyle is essential for healthy weight loss, and choosing to eat smart for breakfast is the first step in the right direction.

Revealed - The Top 4 Drinks That Accelerate Healthy Weight Loss

Anyone struggling to lose weight may be focusing all of their energy on the wrong thing...food! It is equally important to make sure you are drinking liquids that accelerate healthy weight loss. Staying hydrated is essential for your body. What you drink can effect your mood and focus not to mention your health. If you pick the right drinks, you will benefit from the nutrients, antioxidants and proteins that will help with a healthy weight loss.

Americans in general are problem drinkers. We crave high-sugar, high-calorie drinks like sodas and smoothies. Over 20 percent of American's calorie intake comes from drinks such as soda pop, fruit punches, and the oh-so trendy Starbuck lattes. We are becoming obese because of all these extra calories we do not need. The next time you feel thirsty and have trouble determining whether or not a drink is healthy, refer to the list below.

Healthy Weight Loss Drink #1: Water

Water is a crucial part of healthy weight loss success. Forget flavored energy drinks and expensive bottled water. Remember the free stuff that comes out of your kitchen sink? We all grew up on this stuff and no one became unhealthy because of it, yet for some reason we flock to the store to buy it in a bottle just because a television commercial tells us to.

If you think your tap water is full of impurities, buy a Brita water purifying pitcher or some type of water filter. The main point here is that pure water is healthier than any kind of diet soda or energy drink you can pay for. Drink up to 8 glasses a day and you will notice an acceleration in your weight loss.

Healthy Weight Loss Drink #2: Pomegranate Juice

Drinking concentrated pomegranate juice may reduce cholesterol and blood pressure while slowing down LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) oxidation. Because they contain beneficial antioxidants, they rid your body of harmful free radicals that can slow down any weight loss program. The healthier your body is, the better it can perform.

Pomegranate juice is safe to drink, but just like anything else you should not over-indulge. Most studies have shown that a daily helping of 1.5 oz. of pomegranate juice is the most beneficial. Anti-oxidants are found in bright colored fruits like red grapes. Unlike pomegranate juice, be careful when drinking grape juice. Manufacturers tend to add a lot of sugar into fruit juices so they seem healthy, but they really are not.

Healthy Weight Loss Drink #3: Green Tea

Green tea is one of the drinks I use on a daily basis that contributes to helping me keep an ideal weight after losing 70 pounds 15 years ago. Just like pomegranate juice, it is full of powerful antioxidants that give your body the very best fuel a drink can possibly give. Depending on the manufacturer, green tea comes in all kinds of flavors.

One cup of green tea every morning gives me enough energy to last all day long. It is a natural energy, unlike the sugar rush you get from fitness drinks and coffee, so you never feel let down as the day goes on. Energy is obviously important for weight loss because the more you move around, the more calories you will burn.

Healthy Weight Loss Drink #4: Soy-Based Protein Shakes

Along with green tea, soy-based protein shakes are responsible for my weight loss and weight maintenance. Imagine getting 2,000 calories worth of nutrition in a 200 calorie smoothie. Your body gets what it needs without the excess baggage that comes with eating tons of food. It is the closest thing to a magic weight loss potion that you will find.

Depending on how much weight you need to lose, this drink acts as a meal replacement. Obese people who need to lose over 100 pounds should obviously replace each meal with a shake, and those maintaining weight should replace at least one. I would never let a day go by without one of these powerful drinks. Why would I? I have been at my ideal weight and medication free ever since I introduced them into my diet.

The bottom line here is that you must pay attention to what you drink as much as what you eat if you are trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight. Start by replacing what you are now drinking with any or all of the suggestions above. Living a healthy lifestyle is the key to reaching your healthy weight loss goals. That requires the mindset of person willing to make small changes on a daily basis.

You are what you eat...and drink!

5 Ways to Break a Healthy Weight Loss Plateau!

Even though everyone loses weight in a different way, it is common and perfectly normal for any dieter to reach a plateau. Instead of allowing it to frustrate you, use it as an opportunity to double up your efforts and reconnect with your strategy to carry you through to the finish line. Listed below are 5 of the best ways to re-ignite the healthy weight loss process when you feel challenged. Choose the tips that work best for you or simply go for them all!

Healthy Weight Loss Plateau Breaker #1: Start Exercising

Although you can lose weight without exercise, it will always accelerate your efforts. If you are not injured or do not suffer from severe asthma, be thankful that you can get outside and move your body. Take advantage of your ability to be active because many people do not have that luxury. The more you exercise, the better you will get at it, and the less it will feel like work.

If you are already exercising, add something different to the mix to make your body working harder. Add intensity, in the form of extra weight, run faster or for a longer distance, or more duration. Going until you fail is the easiest way to ensure you're pushing hard enough. Add extra sit-ups and push-ups before you go to sleep and when you wake up. Done in the AM on an empty stomach, this can kick-start your metabolism by teaching your body to more efficiently mobilize its fat stores for energy.

Healthy Weight Loss Plateau Breaker #2: Make Healthier Eating Choices

When you are trying to lose weight, there is nothing more important than proper nutrition. Your body can perform miracles with choices like soy protein shakes, fruits and vegetables. You'll not only bust past your plateau, but you'll do it in a healthy way. Eliminate refined sugar grains (most pre-packaged snack foods) so carbohydrates can not get their way unnoticed into your diet.

Cutting back on how often you eat can have a negative impact on your diet plateau as well. Small, frequent meals are more satisfying and produce better weight-loss results than the same number of calories consumed in three large meals. Take advantage of healthy snacks like protein bars, soy nuts and fresh vegetable and fruit slices. Eating more of the right kinds of food is a much smarter plan of action to break a healthy weight loss plateau than starving yourself.

Healthy Weight Loss Plateau Breaker #3: Drink Green Tea

Whenever I want to lose 5 or 10 pounds of stubborn belly fat, I drink more green tea. Packed with more vitamins and antioxidants than any other drink, green tea is an all-natural way to give yourself energy to compliment your enthusiasm for losing weight. The best part, however, is that green tea has the amazing ability to actually speed up your metabolism! You will notice results right away with just one cup, but the more you drink it, the more you will want it!

Healthy Weight Loss Plateau Breaker #4: Keep Your Incentive Strong

The body achieves what the mind believes. If you don't believe you can make it past the hurdle of a weight loss plateau, you probably won't. You'll give up before you have a chance to even try. Focus on re-capturing the determination you felt when you first began your weight-loss program. The excitement of watching the pounds drop one by one should be the focus of your motivation. If it was something that has come and gone, like a high school reunion or a wedding, choose a new goal.

Start keeping a diet journal of everything you eat and drink. You may quickly discover that hidden carbohydrates and sugars are keeping your healthy weight-loss progress stuck at the plateau. Eliminate trigger foods or anything that you think may be contributing to your inability to lose more weight. If you are eating pretzels every day at 2pm, don't starve yourself by not eating if you are hungry at that time...just replace the pretzels with something healthier like fruit or chicken.

Healthy Weight Loss Plateau Breaker #5: Drink More Water

It is extremely important to replenish your fluids by drinking plenty of water on any weight loss program, especially if you are incorporating exercise on a daily basis. An inadequate supply of water can slow down your weight-loss, so carry a water bottle with you wherever you go throughout the day. Keeping well hydrated not only helps you burn fat efficiently, it also helps control hunger.

Follow these 5 steps and you will have a better chance of breaking your healthy weight loss plateau than if youcontinue stressing over the obstacle. Each time you sit down to eat or have a snack, take a moment to become mindful that the food you are about to eat is either taking you one step closer to your goal, or one step away. As you make this mental connection, and dedicate each serving of food or drink to your weight loss, you will naturally be inclined to enjoy the foods and drinks that pushed you past your plateau.