Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Tips for easy weight loss programs

Source: daytoncitypaper.com
There are some obvious keys to success with easy weight loss programs: eat less and try to burn more calories than you take in. As easy as that sounds, weight loss ultimately requires the transformation of your entire lifestyle. The good news is that battling bulge can be made easy with a few tricks that we like to share at our weight loss clinics.

Hydrate with water and no-cal beverages. Often times, we may feel like we’re hungry when we’re actually just thirsty. Make sure to drink between six and eight glasses of water per day, and fill up on green tea and beverages with little to no calories. If water is too boring for you, add a splash of juice, lemon or lime. There are also many weight loss products available that can be added to your drink for a little flavor without the calories.

Only eat when you’re actually hungry. Our bodies signal our brain when we’re hungry, letting it know it’s time to fuel up. If you want to succeed with easy weight loss programs, make sure you’re experiencing physical signs of hunger and not cravings.  A way to keep this in check is through portion control—our stomachs are small organs that are easily filled up. Look at the examples of portions at our weight loss clinics to get an idea of what is considered reasonable. When you’re finished, wait 20 minutes or so for your stomach to have time to signal your brain that it’s full. Before you know it, you won’t even be thinking about food.

Have protein in every meal. Protein is more filling and satiates our hunger longer than fats or carbohydrates. We recommend that patients of our weight loss clinics, even those who use FDA approved weight loss pills for appetite control, eat a higher percentage or protein and moderate their carb intake, limiting it to what are considered “healthy” or complex carbs. 

Many weight loss products are primarily protein—think about the popularity of protein shakes and bars. They’re used to stave off hunger and provide nutrients when you are experiencing hunger in between meals. Other forms of protein like Greek yogurt, certain nuts, vegetables with hummus and almond butter are also healthy snacks that don’t add too many calories to your diet. 

In addition, protein is also essential for preserving muscle mass, revving up the metabolism and burning fat. The more lean muscle you have, the higher your fat burn. Getting enough protein in your diet can almost be as effective as FDA approved weight loss pills when it comes to appetite control.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Willpower—the key to success with easy weight loss programs


Achieving success with easy weight loss programs requires many lifestyle changes and the development of healthy habits, but one of the most fundamental elements is willpower. It’s what helps you make the right choices about the food you eat, the amount of time you work out and how to avoid overeating and bingeing. While medical weight loss pills can help you control your appetite, you still need willpower to affect all the changes you need to make in order to be healthier overall and reach your goal weight.

There are many physiological and psychological factors that affect your willpower. Knowing what they are can help you boost it in general and know how to overcome those days when it’s weak. Reaching your goal with weight loss programs is dependent upon keeping willpower in check, so use the info we’re providing to help you manage and optimize it.

Source: womenonthefence.com
GET YOUR ZZZs. One of the important principles we emphasize at our quick weight loss centers is that adequate sleep is imperative—and not just for your metabolism to work efficiently. Willpower actually decreases when you get less than seven hours of sleep. When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, its levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger, and leptin, a hormone that regulates your metabolism, are both thrown off balance. This is very detrimental to easy weight loss programs, as your appetite increases and you crave foods that are bad for you. This can be very difficult to control, even if you’re using medical weight loss pills to help control your hunger.

EAT WELL. Obviously, you need to eat good foods to be healthy and achieve success with weight loss programs. But did you know that eating healthy food also increases your willpower? It’s much easier for your body to digest natural foods that are nutrient-dense, vitamin-rich and packed with fiber and protein. When your digestive process is working more efficiently, then your body has more energy for exercise and getting through your day-to-day activities. When you increase your energy, you’re less likely to experience cravings for unhealthy food and less prone to snacking when you’re not hungry. In addition, eating the type of healthy foods that we recommend at our accelerated weight loss centers improves your mindset. Just the knowledge that you’re doing what’s healthy for your body increases your likeliness to stay on track.

Likewise, if you eat unhealthy foods, such as those that are filled with sugar, fat-laden or packed with simple carbohydrates, you’ll feel weighed down and low on energy. This creates a vicious cycle, as you’ll crave even more unhealthy foods and your mind will think you’re gaining positive feelings from eating them. You may then become addicted to these feelings and gain weight.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Tips from our weight loss clinics

Source: savannahchik.com
Often times, patients come into our weight loss clinics looking for quick fixes and shortcuts to losing weight. While there truly are no “quick fixes,” there are many techniques you can employ to help you adjust to our weight loss programs and make the process easier overall. 

An easy way to start is by using single-serving containers. Controlling portion size is essential to achieving success with any of the many types of weight loss programs. It can be tempting to prepare a large recipe and then store all of the leftovers in the same pot or pan that it was cooked in. The problem with this is that you may end up overeating at mealtime—it’s easy to load up your plate when you’re helping yourself from a large pot or pan, even when you’re using medical diet pills to control your appetite.

Instead, put the food into single-serving containers—ensuring that the portions are controlled. You can always check examples of what reasonable portions look like at your next visit to one of our weight loss clinics. Then you have several on-the-go meals set up and you won’t be tempted to overeat.

Another good technique that will make working with easy weight loss programs even easier is to cook in bulk, preferably at the beginning of your work week. While it may be tempting to grab a single size frozen meal at the grocery store, it’s actually healthier to eat your own healthy prepared meals—they are more likely to be lower in both calories and sodium.

Why not prepare a week's worth of healthy meals all at once? It will probably take the same amount of time that it does to prepare one meal.  Use your single-serving containers to properly store your meals, and think about each meal as a whole. Add fruit or veggies to the pre-packed container, and anything else that will balance each meal. This convenient approach will help you stay within your portion guidelines, making it easier for you to control your appetite and not overeat.

Whether you need simple cooking techniques, nutrition guidelines or assistance in the form of medical diet pills, the staff at our weight loss clinics has tons of information and resources to help make achieving your weight loss goals within reach.     

Monday, May 7, 2012

Chia Seeds—A magic component of weight loss programs

Source: Chiaseedshealth.org
Chia seeds have been in the news a lot lately, and many people find them to be very beneficial to their weight loss programs. What is the secret of these unassuming little seeds?

For starters, Chia seeds are packed with fiber and have the ability to stave off hunger for long periods of time. Fiber is extremely important for weight loss, so Chia seeds are perfect for those who struggle with controlling their appetites while trying to have success with weight loss programs. At our weight loss clinics, we recommended that men eat 38 grams of fiber and that women aim for 25 grams per day—incorporating chia seeds into your diet is an ideal way to meet that recommendation. These little seeds can fill you up for hours!

In addition to their high fiber content, Chia seeds are loaded with many essential nutrients including omega 3 fatty acids, protein, calcium, fiber and more. They’re included in many popular weight loss products as they can help stabilize blood sugar and maintain hydration while giving you a critical boost of energy. They have some of the highest antioxidant activity of whole foods, so they also significantly contribute to antiaging.

Chia seeds can be added to a wide range of meals. They taste great with yogurt, sprinkled over cereal, mixed into smoothies and added to salads. They’ve got a nutty taste and crunchy texture that adds a unique flavor to everything. They can also be ground up and used in a way that their taste is masked if you don’t like their natural flavor. They’re featured prominently in many weight loss products, including meal replacement bars, nut butters and more.

Chia seeds are one of the most nutrient dense, antioxidant packed whole foods available—in fact, some studies have deemed them an “almost perfect food.” They help rejuvenate muscles, improve heart health, increase strength, boost stamina and promote weight loss. They get five stars at our weight loss clinics, from our patients and our staff!