Prevent Weight Gain Or Increase Weight Loss By Doing This . . .

Received an informative newsletter from Chet Day this morning (I have been getting his newsletters for years and they always have something to say), here's a taster of an article on how eating slower benefits weight loss, and then a link to the rest of the article below.

Slow Eating May Prevent Weight Gain
by Craig Weatherby
Courtesy of Vital Choice Seafood

Last May, we profiled the Slow Food movement, which started in Italy in reaction to the arrival of McDonald’s in central Rome, and has been gaining American adherents. (See 'Slow Food’ Movement Gains Momentum'.)

The five-point mission statement of Slow Food USA encapsulates the purpose of this grass-roots movement:

* Stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production;
* Revival of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community;
* Invigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions;
* Creation of a collaborative, ecologically-oriented, and virtuous globalization;
* Living a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life.

Implicit in the last goal – and the Slow Food movement’s very name -- is a desire to pay greater attention to the act of eating: an approach that the research we’re reporting today suggests could help halt this country’s fast-growing obesity/diabetes epidemic.

Following up on our story about the weight control benefits of using smaller dishes and bowls to achieve portion control – see 'Portion Control for Weight Control' – we’ve found substantial evidence that it makes sense to savor food more slowly than Americans typically do.

Advice posted on the National Institutes of Health Web site, under the heading “Get The (Fullness) Message” puts the point succinctly: 'Changing the way you go about eating can make it easier to eat less without feeling deprived.' (NHLBI 2007)

This line refers to the fact that it takes about 15 minutes for your brain to receive hormone-borne “I’m full” signals from your gut. So it’s logical to presume that eating fast lets you eat too much before you’re fully aware of it.

For instance, all of the few studies on the subject suggest that people eat more when they are doing other things at the same time, such as talking, reading, or watching TV (Liebman M et al 2003; Salmon J et al 2000).

But only recently has anyone looked for links between the rate at which people eat and the risk of becoming overweight.

Slow Eating . . . continued

Permanent Weight Loss Strategy Goes Beyond The Physical Aspect

The Three Bodies of Permanent Weight Loss

The following words may seem taboo: weight loss is easy!

We have just been going about it the wrong way. Almost all of the products and diets on the market today miss key components to achieving permanent weight loss. Almost all of them only focus on the physical body - what we eat, how much we eat, when we eat and how much we exercise.

If that is all that is necessary, then why have you not achieved your ideal weight? Why do diets and pills have a success rate of less than 9%? The reason is simple: there is a missing link to permanent weight loss.

The physical aspect of weight loss is only one third of the equation.

There are three separate aspects that must addressed for permanent weight loss, and I like to refer to them as the three bodies. The physical body is the first. The other bodies for weight loss are the missing links; the mental body and the emotional body.

The mental body includes your eating habits, orientation and perception of food. The emotional body includes the emotional reasons you eat, your attitudes toward food, and the underlying reasons you are overweight.

When you work with all three bodies, it makes weight loss easy!

Imagine sitting on a stool with only one leg. How long could you balance yourself? That is what it is like attempting to lose weight while only focusing on the physical- it becomes a balancing act and a struggle to stay upright!

If you find a stool that is steady with three legs, there is no balancing act at all. It is easy to comfortably sit on a balanced stool! When you have a plan that focuses on the physical, mental and emotional bodies of weight loss, you feel comfortable and secure, and your success rate dramatically increases from that of diets alone.

It is important to understand why the mental and emotional bodies play such a large role in weight loss. If making a change was as easy as simply stating the desire, we would all be ultra-healthy, thin millionaires with the perfect partners.

How many times have you made a New Years resolution and had it fall through? Because we are creatures of habit, change can sometimes be difficult. When you want to make a change, sometimes it feels as though you are pushing against something inside of yourself. What you are pushing against is your unconscious (AKA subconscious) mind.

Let’s talk quickly about the unconscious mind. The unconscious works very differently than the conscious mind. For example, when you think about not being allowed to eat cheesecake, it makes the unconscious mind want to eat cheesecake even more because you are thinking about cheesecake!

The unconscious does not know that cheesecake is bad because it only understands pictures and emotions, so all it sees is cheesecake! The more you think about not wanting the cheesecake, the more and more appealing it becomes until finally… well you know what happens.

In order to easily avoid “bad” foods and cut down on or totally halt cravings, it is important to work with the “language” of the unconscious mind.

While I could go into much more detail, I also want to briefly discuss the emotional body of eating.

There are two types of hunger - biological and emotional, and it is easy to tell the difference. Biological hunger comes on gradually and patiently, while emotional hunger comes on suddenly and feels urgent.

Underlying feelings such as self-loathing, hopelessness, sadness, or worthlessness are often at the root of emotional hunger. Less intense emotions such as boredom can become a culprit as well. Whatever the underlying emotion is, eating is simply masking what is going on in your life.

When you notice that you are experiencing emotional hunger, instead of asking “What should I eat?”, a better question to ask is “What is eating me?”

Start keeping a list of those feelings and thoughts and find a way to resolve them!

There are so many modalities that can help you let go of negative emotions and beliefs, such as psychotherapy, hypnosis, Emotional Freedom Techniques, Time Empowerment (my personal favorite), and Body Alignment, just to name a few.

In my personal practice, I find that having multiple modalities in my toolbox greatly increases the amount of change I can help a client achieve. If you are looking for assistance, you may want to seek someone skilled in many modalities as well.

In summary, when you work with all three bodies of weight loss- the physical, the mental, and the emotional- you greatly increase your chances at achieving permanent weight loss and you feel much better!

Weight loss can be totally easy if you approach it in a way that works with you, instead of against you!

by Pete Pantaziz

For continued advice on learning about all three bodies of weight loss, I highly recommend visiting my website at www.YourEmpowermentSource.com. We have also included a free law of attraction meditation download on our site.

Pete Pantazis, PhD(c) has become a recognized leader in the practical application of self-empowerment techniques and hypnosis. He is the President of YES! Your Empowerment Source™ (formerly known as The Pantazis Group), one of the nation's fastest growing companies in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Hypnotherapy. This year, hundreds will benefit from Pete's goal-oriented sessions in weight loss; smoking cessation; career advancement and relationship troubles; emotional issues like depression, rage, and anxiety; and even some physical issues as well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pete_Pantazis

Water, The Elixir Of Life

7 Reasons Water Should Be Your Drink of Choice

We know water is good for us, but with soda, juice, coffee, tea, energy drinks, and other drinks so readily available, it’s hard to make the decision to choose water.

Drink more water because . . .

* It keeps skin looking great.
If your skin looks tired and unhealthy, so do you. Staying properly hydrated removes all the toxins that build up in you skin, and helps prevent it from drying out.

If you have the opposite problem; puffy bloated skin, lack of water is likely your problem too. When skin doesn’t get water, it retains what it already had, leaving your skin cells full, puffy, and not too attractive. If you want to look beautiful, you should keep yourself hydrated.

* It’s cheaper.
Sure, if you buy bottled water, it’s about as expensive as soda, juice, and coffee. However, some studies are showing that tap water is usually as clean and safe as bottled water, and costs a whole lot less.

If you have a problem with the taste of your tap water, buy a filter pitcher or one that attaches to the faucet. It still costs a lot less.

* For a healthy heart.
When you’re properly hydrated, your blood is thinner and easier to pump. This means your heart has to do less work and ultimately lasts longer. Studies have shown that people who drink plenty of water have fewer heart problems.

* Reduce toxic build-up.
Sure, it sound’s like something from a bathroom cleaner commercial, but you have toxins in your cells too. Some come from the environment and others you produce yourself. Either way, they’re in your body and you need to get rid of them.

Just like you use water to flush your toilet; your body uses water to flush out toxins. Getting rid of this waste helps you function more effectively and feel better.

* There's no sugar added.
While fruit juices may contain many nutrients, they also contain a whole lot of sugar. This is especially true for many bottled juices from the grocery store. This sudden burst of sugar triggers your insulin response and makes you tired and sluggish.

It also helps to convert that sugar to fats faster. Sugary sodas will produce the same reaction and they usually contain no nutrients at all.

* Caffeine is a diuretic.
So why water? Why not drink diet soda or coffee all day? These drinks contain caffeine, which actually causes you to lose water throughout the day. You retain some of the water content of the beverages, but not as much as when you drink pure water.

You can try decaffeinated beverages, but the best way to use the water you drink is to get it pure and clean, with no chemicals added.

* Energy Boost.
Think you can’t get through the day without your morning caffeine boost? Well water can give you energy as well. Your body is made up mostly of water. It loses it throughout the day, so you have to replace it for your body to work efficiently; particularly the heart and digestive tract.

As mentioned earlier, water helps your body work better by getting rid of excess waste. The more efficiently your whole body is works, the better you’ll feel and the more energy you’ll have. Maybe enough energy to skip that cup of coffee.

So go ahead, skip the vending machine, go to the faucet, and get yourself a nice, refreshing glass of water, and you will absolutely be doing yourself a Big Favor.