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The images of women we see in the media today do not exist in the physical world. Even Kate Moss doesn’t look like a magazine cover in real life – regardless of how slim she is naturally, her photos are all airbrushed and fake. If a supermodel doesn’t look like a media image, then how can a real person look that way?

Stop trying to look like someone on the billboard, or wishing you had a supermodel’s waist – often the supermodel doesn’t have that waist either!

If you are unhappy with the way you look – stop! Stop with the negative self-talk, stop telling yourself you hate how you look, stop saying you wish you looked different.

I know how it feels. A few years back, I had an ex-boyfriend who was emotionally abusive, and constantly told me I was fat. Soon, I couldn’t see beyond my fat cheeks and flabby belly.

Stop comparing yourself to someone who looks better. Stop hating the way you look. We become what we believe. Often, someone has told us too often that we are ugly or fat, and we start to believe it. We put on more weight, and then become more desperate to lose that weight.

As ironic as it may sound, the first step to losing weight is to not be desperate to lose weight.

Forget that you want to lose x pounds in a month or you want to fit into your skinny jeans again. Forget that you don’t like the way you look, or you think (or someone else thinks) that you’re fat.

Instead, focus on who you are. You are so much more than what you look like. Focus on the individual you are.

Positive reinforcement can help you increase your self esteem. Think about something you absolutely love about your life or yourself, and create a personal mantra. A mantra is a sentence or phrase that’s capable of removing negative thoughts. When said repeatedly, a mantra will purify your consciousness. It can be something as simple as “The harder I work, the luckier I am” or “I glow within”. Start the day by repeating this mantra a few times, and repeat it whenever you feel down or find negative emotions creeping up on you.

Create a thankfulness journal. Write a few lines in it every day before you go to bed, outlining the things you are thankful for that day. It could be as simple as “I’m thankful the weather was nice for my picnic today”. Over time this will increase your happiness and you will see your life in a more positive light. If you don’t want to write down your thoughts, you can perform this exercise mentally.

You can perform this exercise to increase your self-esteem quickly. Make a quick list of all the things you hate about yourself. Then for every negative trait, right three positive things about yourself. Some people have difficulty with this exercise because we as women tend to underestimate ourselves and overlook many positive personality traits, so get a close friend to help you if you need to.

Feeling good about yourself is a choice that you make. Make that choice now! Don’t put it off till you lose weight, have flat abs, or anything else. Decide to feel better about yourself immediately.

A key to having positive body image is to dress well. Don’t buy clothes that are too small and you hope to fit into after you lose weight. Instead, buy clothes that are stylish and fit you as you are. Focus on being healthy, not on losing weight – the weight loss will come naturally, after you have a positive body image.

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One of the most important steps to losing weight is to eat right. However, like anything else in life, this step actually needs a fair bit of preparation.

Eating right can mean different things for different people. You need to identify what your exact eating goal is. In general, you may wish to reduce sugars and processed food, cut down on “junk food” like burgers and pizzas, eat more fruits and vegetables and the right kind of proteins as well as eat foods that are high on the Glycemic Index scale.

Many people fail in their weight loss journey because they think of “dieting”. Eating right is not the same as dieting. When you go on a diet, you deprive yourself of your favourite foods, and eat only a few foods that are acceptable for that diet.

However, losing weight and keeping it off is a life-long journey, so you need to have the right mentality. In addition, never deprive yourself of the foods you love. It’s true that some foods you love may be harmful for your weight loss goals, but instead of cutting them out completely, have them occasionally as treats, or find good substitutes. For instance, I love sugary foods, but I try to have dry fruits and fresh smoothies instead of cakes and ice-cream – they satisfy my sweet cravings, but I don’t consume excessive calories.

Once you’ve identified the foods that you’d like to eat in order to lose weight, you should make a meal plan. Pick foods that you’d like to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks that you’d like to have. Assign meals to each day of the week, making sure that you have some variety, and the meals are something that you would look forward to eating.

Cook most of your meals ahead of time. It can be especially convenient to cook meals in bulk, and then freeze some portions for the days or weeks ahead. Make sure you’re always well-stocked with healthy food options, so that you don’t resort to something that’s convenient but unhealthy. Keep lots of fresh fruit on hand, and try to incorporate foods that you love into your meals – so if you prefer pumpkin over spinach, eat more pumpkin.

If you go to work, you will have to eat most of your meals at work. Buy a lunch box or a bag to carry your food to work. Don’t worry about what your co-workers will think – losing weight is your priority. However, if you’d like to look a bit cooler while you eat healthy, you might consider purchasing a stylish cooler bag to carry your food in.

Try not to eat out too often, and if you must, be prepared to order salads and appetizers, and to avoid alcohol, desserts and other unhealthy foods.

With the right preparation, losing weight will be a smooth journey.

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Snacks –

Banana-Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/4 cup frozen blueberries or frozen mixed berries

1/2 pear, cored
1/2 banana, frozen
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 heaping tbsp. high-quality protein powder (optional)
1 tsp. flax oil (optional)

1 tbsp. skim milk powder
1 1/4 cup water

Instructions:

Process all the ingredients together in a blend, till smoothly mixed. Serve in a tall glass.

Ants on a Log

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raisins
4 stalks celery
1/3 cup peanut butter

Instructions:

Wash celery sticks and cut to the desired length.

Coat the inner sides with peanut butter and sprinkle raisins on top.

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Metabolism is one of the most misunderstood concepts. It is the key to losing weight easily, and can actually be increased or decreased depending on the food you eat and the activities you engage in (or avoid).

You metabolic rate is the speed with which your body burns calories, just to maintain its daily functions. Our body needs to constantly burn calories just to function, that is even to sleep, breathe, etc.

Once the basic bodily needs are met, any unused calories are stored, generally in the form of fat cells. This is why you gain weight when you eat too much. People with a higher metabolic rate find it difficult to gain weight, since their body burns so many calories so quickly, just to function. Increasing your metabolic rate can help to burn fat throughout the day and lose more weight.

People with more muscle percentage in their body have a higher metabolic rate. Muscle consumes more calories just to maintain itself. This is why people who are fit and active tend to find it harder to put on weight. Some other things that affect your natural metabolic rate include your age, physical condition, sex and amount of muscle. In general, women tend to have a lower natural metabolic rate than men.

Some things that lower your metabolic rate include:

• Fasting
• Consistently eating a low calorie diet
• A sedentary lifestyle
• Under-active thyroid
• Snacking on sugary foods throughout the day

A few tips to increase your metabolic rate and lose fat quicker are:

• Never skip meals. Skipping even a single meal will slow down your metabolism. Instead eat four to five smaller meals during the day.
• Don’t lead a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise every day in order to keep your body moving. Remember that you will expend more energy if you have to move some weight about when you are exercising.
• Avoid foods that are high in processed sugars such as candy, cake and ice cream
• Avoid alcohol, it has been proven to reduce your metabolic rate.
• Build your muscles. One pound of fat burns only 2 calories per day, but one pound of muscle burns 50 calories per day! The higher your body percentage of muscle, the higher will be the rate at which you burn calories. Remember, these are calories that you burn when you are at rest (e.g. sleeping or reading), and not just when you are exercising. When you have a lower muscle mass, you will have a lower metabolic rate.
• Drink lots of water each day, 8 or 10 glasses is ideal.
• Make sure you eat the right foods. Remember to avoid fast food, and eat lots of healthy foods that have a low GI and high nutritional value.
• A natural remedy for increasing metabolism is to drink a mixture of apple cider vinegar, honey and garlic.
• Try to eat chilli, mustard, and green tea throughout the day. These are all foods that are natural metabolism boosters.

By paying attention to your diet and exercise, you should be able to increase your natural metabolic rate gradually. Over time, you’ll find it easier to lose weight, since your body will be burning more calories even when you’re not exercising.

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Because we live in a society obsessed with looks, women sometimes want to lose weight in order to look better. What we often forget is that there are more important reasons to want to lose weight – there can be serious health implications of being overweight.

In fact, obesity is regarded as a major medical condition. If you are overweight or obese, you may be at risk for the following diseases: Type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, certain types of cancer, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis, metabolic syndrome, gallbladder disease, fatty liver disease and other pregnancy complications. A detailed explanation of some of the major diseases is presented below.

Type II Diabetes

Type II diabetes is a disease in which blood sugar levels remain abnormally high. These abnormal blood sugar levels can be a major cause of coronary heart disease, stroke, amputation, blindness and kidney disease. Diabetes is one of the top five major causes of death in the United States.

More than 85 percent of people with diabetes are overweight. Scientists are not sure why overweight people are more prone to developing diabetes, but they believe the cause lies in the changing cell structure of overweight people.

Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke

Coronary heart disease is a situation where the blood circulation and heart muscles do not function normally. Often, the heart arteries become hard and narrow. People suffering from coronary heart disease are prone to heart attacks, congestive heart failure, angina or other heart abnormalities. They may also suffer from strokes. During a stroke, blood and oxygen cannot flow to the brain, which leads to paralysis or death.

People who are overweight are more likely to develop high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. These are both factors that increase the chances of heart disease and stroke. Losing even a little weight can drastically reduce your chances of being afflicted with heart disease.

Metabolic Syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is a group of high-risk factors for coronary heart disease and diabetes. A woman has metabolic syndrome if she has three or more of these factors:

• A large waistline, measuring more than 35 inches
• A triglyceride level of over 150mg/dL
• Low level of HDL cholesterol, below 50 mg/dL
• High blood pressure
• High fasting blood glucose or sugar levels.

Metabolic syndrome is linked to obesity, especially abdominal obesity. Being physically active can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Weight loss can prevent the onset of metabolic syndrome.

Cancer

Cancer happens when cells in one part of the body, such as the kidney, grow abnormally or increase at an uncontrollable rate. These cancerous cells can spread to other parts of the body as well.

Being overweight can increase the chances of developing several types of cancers. Obesity is also linked with uterine and postmenopausal breast cancer among women.

Scientists are unsure as to how weight gain increases the chances of cancer. However, they hypothesise that fat cells contain hormones which lead to an increase in cancerous activities or abnormal cell growth. Reducing your weight can reduce the risk of several types of cancers including cancers of the uterine, breast, colon, kidney and oesophagus.

As you can see, being overweight or obese can have serious health implications. However, the good news is that these health risks can be reduced simply by being more active and losing weight.

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Fresh fruits have been a staple food in man’s diet since prehistoric times. They are very important for our bodies, for many reasons. Fruits are a great source of essential vitamins and minerals. Due to the special enzymes they contain, they are easily digestible. Fruits are a wonderful food, and are even useful for preventing various diseases, ranging from the common cold to cancer.

Eating raw fruits or fruit juice is a very easy way to maintain the body’s essential moisture levels. Fruits have a very low sodium level, which means that there is no risk for people who are on a low-salt diet. In addition, their low sodium level helps prevent bloating, which in turn makes you look slimmer and more shapely.

Dry fruits such as dried apricots, dates and raisins are essential sources of calcium and iron. Eating these fruits will help you have stronger bones and more energy during the day. Another excellent source of calcium is the custard apple.

Because fruits have a lot of fibre, eating one or two fresh fruits each day helps to clean the digestive tracts and makes bowel action easier. Due to their high fibre content, fruits also help in maintaining a clean colon.

Many fruits, especially citrus fruits, are excellent sources of vitamin C. Oranges, lemons, guavas and custard apples are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means that you need to replenish your body’s levels of this vitamin every day – citrus fruits are an easy way to do that.

Various fruits help in maintaining a healthy heart. Especially helpful in this regard are apples, oranges, lemons and pomegranates.

Apples, dates and mangoes contain nutrients which help to sharpen the memory, prevent exhaustion, insomnia, mental tension and hysteria.

All types of berries, including goji berries, blue berries, and acai berries are rich in phosphorous, sodium and iron. Berries’ high levels of minerals help in strengthening nerves and blood functions. In addition, berries contain large amounts of antioxidants, which help prevent signs of aging, and reduce the chances of developing cancers. Berries are considered to be super foods because of all these properties.

Beneficial properties of other fruits include:

• Lemons – good for indigestion and liver problems
• Watermelons – natural kidney cleansers
• Grapefruit juice – helps prevent and reduce symptoms of the common cold
• Pineapple and pomegranates – helps in soothing nose and throat inflammations, as well as reducing hay fever reactions

Fruits should ideally be consumed raw, in order to retain most of their vitamins and nutrients. Cooking can lead to loss of some of the nutrients. In addition, juicing fruits will lead to a loss in the fruit fibre content.

It’s essential to include servings of fruit in your daily diet to stay healthy and energetic. If possible, try to eat a variety of fruits so that you get the different health benefits of different fruits.

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Metabolism is one of the most misunderstood concepts. It is the key to losing weight easily, and can actually be increased or decreased depending on the food you eat and the activities you engage in (or avoid).

You metabolic rate is the speed with which your body burns calories, just to maintain its daily functions. Our body needs to constantly burn calories just to function, that is even to sleep, breathe, etc.

Once the basic bodily needs are met, any unused calories are stored, generally in the form of fat cells. This is why you gain weight when you eat too much. People with a higher metabolic rate find it difficult to gain weight, since their body burns so many calories so quickly, just to function. Increasing your metabolic rate can help to burn fat throughout the day and lose more weight.

People with more muscle percentage in their body have a higher metabolic rate. Muscle consumes more calories just to maintain itself. This is why people who are fit and active tend to find it harder to put on weight. Some other things that affect your natural metabolic rate include your age, physical condition, sex and amount of muscle. In general, women tend to have a lower natural metabolic rate than men.

Some things that lower your metabolic rate include:

• Fasting
• Consistently eating a low calorie diet
• A sedentary lifestyle
• Under-active thyroid
• Snacking on sugary foods throughout the day

A few tips to increase your metabolic rate and lose fat quicker are:

• Never skip meals. Skipping even a single meal will slow down your metabolism. Instead eat four to five smaller meals during the day.
• Don’t lead a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise every day in order to keep your body moving. Remember that you will expend more energy if you have to move some weight about when you are exercising.
• Avoid foods that are high in processed sugars such as candy, cake and ice cream
• Avoid alcohol, it has been proven to reduce your metabolic rate.
• Build your muscles. One pound of fat burns only 2 calories per day, but one pound of muscle burns 50 calories per day! The higher your body percentage of muscle, the higher will be the rate at which you burn calories. Remember, these are calories that you burn when you are at rest (e.g. sleeping or reading), and not just when you are exercising. When you have a lower muscle mass, you will have a lower metabolic rate.
• Drink lots of water each day, 8 or 10 glasses is ideal.
• Make sure you eat the right foods. Remember to avoid fast food, and eat lots of healthy foods that have a low GI and high nutritional value.
• A natural remedy for increasing metabolism is to drink a mixture of apple cider vinegar, honey and garlic.
• Try to eat chilli, mustard, and green tea throughout the day. These are all foods that are natural metabolism boosters.

By paying attention to your diet and exercise, you should be able to increase your natural metabolic rate gradually. Over time, you’ll find it easier to lose weight, since your body will be burning more calories even when you’re not exercising.

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The images of women we see in the media today do not exist in the physical world. Even Kate Moss doesn’t look like a magazine cover in real life – regardless of how slim she is naturally, her photos are all airbrushed and fake. If a supermodel doesn’t look like a media image, then how can a real person look that way?

Stop trying to look like someone on the billboard, or wishing you had a supermodel’s waist – often the supermodel doesn’t have that waist either!

If you are unhappy with the way you look – stop! Stop with the negative self-talk, stop telling yourself you hate how you look, stop saying you wish you looked different.

I know how it feels. A few years back, I had an ex-boyfriend who was emotionally abusive, and constantly told me I was fat. Soon, I couldn’t see beyond my fat cheeks and flabby belly.

Stop comparing yourself to someone who looks better. Stop hating the way you look. We become what we believe. Often, someone has told us too often that we are ugly or fat, and we start to believe it. We put on more weight, and then become more desperate to lose that weight.

As ironic as it may sound, the first step to losing weight is to not be desperate to lose weight.

Forget that you want to lose x pounds in a month or you want to fit into your skinny jeans again. Forget that you don’t like the way you look, or you think (or someone else thinks) that you’re fat.

Instead, focus on who you are. You are so much more than what you look like. Focus on the individual you are.

Positive reinforcement can help you increase your self esteem. Think about something you absolutely love about your life or yourself, and create a personal mantra. A mantra is a sentence or phrase that’s capable of removing negative thoughts. When said repeatedly, a mantra will purify your consciousness. It can be something as simple as “The harder I work, the luckier I am” or “I glow within”. Start the day by repeating this mantra a few times, and repeat it whenever you feel down or find negative emotions creeping up on you.

Create a thankfulness journal. Write a few lines in it every day before you go to bed, outlining the things you are thankful for that day. It could be as simple as “I’m thankful the weather was nice for my picnic today”. Over time this will increase your happiness and you will see your life in a more positive light. If you don’t want to write down your thoughts, you can perform this exercise mentally.

You can perform this exercise to increase your self-esteem quickly. Make a quick list of all the things you hate about yourself. Then for every negative trait, right three positive things about yourself. Some people have difficulty with this exercise because we as women tend to underestimate ourselves and overlook many positive personality traits, so get a close friend to help you if you need to.

Feeling good about yourself is a choice that you make. Make that choice now! Don’t put it off till you lose weight, have flat abs, or anything else. Decide to feel better about yourself immediately.

A key to having positive body image is to dress well. Don’t buy clothes that are too small and you hope to fit into after you lose weight. Instead, buy clothes that are stylish and fit you as you are. Focus on being healthy, not on losing weight – the weight loss will come naturally, after you have a positive body image.

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When trying to lose weight, it’s important to cook the right foods. Trying to eat healthy does not mean living on a Spartan diet! Here are some recipes to give you some ideas about the food you can cook:

Breakfast -

Homemade Granola

(Makes about 12 cups of fresh, healthy cereal for breakfast)

Ingredients:

1 cup flax seeds
2 cups wheat germ

4 cups peanuts
2 cups sunflower seeds
4 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions:

Use a food processor or blender to grind up seeds and nuts together. Mix everything on to an oven tray.

Bake for one hour at 350degrees. Mix every 20 minutes.

Variations:

Use other kinds of nuts that you prefer. You can use walnuts, hazel nuts, almonds or cashews. If you don’t have a food processor, you can leave the nuts whole.

Homemade Pancakes

(Makes 4 – 6 large pancakes)

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 cup chopped fresh fruit (peaches, blueberries, apples, strawberries, cranberries, etc.)

Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1 cup soy milk or water
1 Tbsp oil

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Mix the dry ingredients, and mix the soy milk or water separately.

Heat a lightly-oiled fry pan.

Combine both wet and dry ingredients and fold in the fruit.

Ladle carefully onto the fry pan. Fry on both sides.

Variations:

Try different fruits or other kinds of flour such as wholemeal or bulgur.

Lunch -

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

8-10 ripe tomatoes (3 lbs.), cored, halved and seeded
2 red onions, chopped
3 cups defatted reduced-sodium chicken stock

Instructions:

Heat a boiler, and spray an oven tray with cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the tray and broil for about 10 minutes, till the skins are blister. Let it cool, and then remove the skins.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium fry pan; add onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another 5 minutes, till onions are very soft. Stir in tomatoes and cook for another minute. Use a food processor or blender to mix till smooth, and then return ingredients to the saucepan.

Stir in the chicken stock and bring all ingredients to boil. Simmer for another 5 – 10 minutes on reduced heat. Remove the ingredients from heat and stir in basil. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate till chilled.

Scrambled Tofu and Vegetables

(Serves 2 – 3)

Ingredients:

2 blocks firm tofu (500 g/16 oz)
2 carrots, sliced
3 green onions, chopped fine
1/2 tsp turmeric

Salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions, sliced for garnish

2-3 Tbsp light oil (sesame, canola, etc)
1 celery stalk, sliced

Instructions:

Heat oil in a frying pan, and add the carrots and celery. Add green onions with turmeric and saute for 2 – 3 minutes. Crumble in tofu and mix with the sauted vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 3 – 6 minutes. Serve with sliced green onions.

Variations:

Add different vegetables, such as sliced mushrooms, fresh basil and green or red peppers.

Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 pound salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 4 portions

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted pepitas (see Tip)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

Instructions

Toast pepitas, and mix in a small bowl with olive oil, lime juice, lime zest and chilli powder.

Coat a frying pan with cooking spray and heat. Season salmon with salt and pepper and cook till browned. Fry each side for 2 – 4 minutes.

Transfer salmon to a plate. Add the oil and pepita mixture to the pan and heat. Serve over the salmon.

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