Planning out a successful weight loss plan

If you're like most people, you've been on a million weight loss diets, from Weight Watchers and Atkins to South Beach and celeb diets. You voraciously read magazines for their weight loss tips and gravitate toward the headlines that promise you can lose weight fast. The chances are good that you have, indeed, lost weight on many of these diets, but the chances are even better that you've gained it all back - plus some. Your skinny jeans become your tight jeans, and then they get tucked in the back of your closet, along with your fantasies of becoming a size 0.

Weight Loss Diet Failure

You've probably bought into the propaganda that says you've failed at dieting; a different - and more accurate - way of looking at it is that the weight loss diet has failed you. That's because most diets focus on short-term changes that result in temporary weight loss, but never tackle the underlying factors that make you put on the pounds to begin with. In other words, they focus only on the "outside" problem - your body - and neglect everything below the surface - your emotions, your intellect, and your relationships.

A diet for summer might work for swimsuit season, but if you don't strengthen your foundations before you lose weight, those Diesel skinny jeans won't fit when fall rolls around.

Turning Failure into Success

In order to lose weight and keep it off, you need a guide who will lead you on an exploratory journey to discover the power and control that you possess. Then, you need to be taught how to harness those powers to achieve all that you want in life - including fitting into your skinny jeans.

You may have been told - either verbally or through insidious advertisements - that if you don't have power over your eating, you have no power at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every woman is magnificent, and every woman has mental powers, emotional powers, social powers and physical powers just waiting to be tapped. When you heal your past wounds, and recognize and reinforce the power within you, you have laid the foundation for permanent weight loss.

Practical and Fun

If a weight loss diet is a drag, you'll never succeed in reaching your goals. On the other hand, if you have an empowering program to follow that is also practical and fun, you hold the keys to success. In fact, you can even drop a whole size in two weeks.

The "secret" - if you want to call it that - is to adopt a well-tested exercise program that can instantly fit into your lifestyle. Remember, the success lies in simplicity, clarity, and practicality. Then, you need to adopt an eating plan that works synergistically with your exercise plan to build on the foundation of the inner work you have done in order to embrace your personal power.

Remember that, with the right guide, you can do more than go on yet another weight loss diet; you can truly win in all areas of your life and achieve an outer beauty than matches your inner beauty.

Healthy doesn't have to be expensive

One of the biggest debates in the nutrition and fitness industry today is that of the cost of healthy foods versus unhealthy foods. Many individuals argue that eating healthy food costs too much, therefore it is not a feasible option for their family. However, several recent studies have shown that the true cost of eating cheap, processed foods is actually much higher than eating healthy ones.

A group of researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have determined that even the healthiest diets only cost about $1.50 more per day than an unhealthy one. The main price difference seems to come from meat products, such as lean beef and fish. Make one day out of the week a meat-free day, and you can lower your food cost even more, A tasty, healthful vegetable quiche makes a wonderful protein packed inexpensive meal.

Another study that was published in the British Medical Journal showed that per serving, healthier options in the meat group only cost about $0.29 more per serving than unhealthy processed meats. When it comes to carbohydrate choices (such as rice or pasta dishes), healthier options only cost $0.03 more per serving.

Individuals on a budget may think that these small increases in price is an excuse to buy cheaper foods. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School states: If you compare the very small increase in price of healthy foods to the actual costs of food related chronic diseases, individuals would realize that the cost of eating an unhealthy diet is so much higher than a healthy one.

Also, there are many hidden costs of consuming unhealthy foods such as food related illnesses (heart disease, cancer and diabetes) and the global obesity epidemic. Health insurance companies are raising their premiums higher and higher every year in order to offset the cost of treating these illnesses. All of these can be greatly lessened or even avoided simply by following a healthy diet.

Tips for helping you to eat healthy on a budget

Eating healthy does not have to be expensive. There are many ways to obtain healthy, nutritious foods without spending a lot of money. The following tips can help you feed your family healthy food, even when on a budget.

Buy whole foods: Always buy foods as close to their natural state as possible. These unprocessed foods are much more nutritious and less costly than processed ones. Using whole foods also gives you complete control over the ingredients in your recipes. The main components of a healthy diet are proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats. The following list will show you the least expensive foods to purchase in each of these three groups.

• Proteins: Ground beef, frozen chicken breast, cottage cheese, canned tuna, eggs, beef liver and plain yogurt.

• Carbohydrates: Beans, raisins, apples, cabbage, oats, rice, potatoes, bananas and broccoli.

• Good fats: Real butter, olive oil and mixed nuts.

Buy frozen produce: Many individuals think that frozen fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than fresh ones. This simply is not true. Most of the time frozen produce cost only half as much as fresh. Frozen produce can also save preparation time in the kitchen, since they have already been washed and cut into pieces.

Buy generic foods: Avoiding name brands is a big money saver. Store brand cottage cheese, eggs, frozen produce and such taste exactly the same as their name brand counterparts.

Buy in bulk: When purchasing foods such as rice, pasta and frozen produce, purchase the largest package you can afford. In the long run, this will actually save you money, and foods of this type can be kept indefinitely in the freezer.

By in season produce: Foods purchased during their growing season will always be cheaper than if purchased out of season. For example, strawberries will be more expensive in December than in July.

Buy from local farmers: Local farmers that sell their wares at farmers markets usually have much lower prices than supermarkets. Even if their initial prices aren't that much lower, they usually offer discounts if you buy in bulk. This is a prime opportunity to stock up on fresh produce and then store it in the freezer.

Plan your menus around what is on sale: Keep a close eye on sales ads for good deals on meat. Because meat is usually the most costly food item, it pays to shop around. Usually meat that is going to expire the next day will be drastically reduced. Buy all that you can afford and store it in the freezer.

5 reasons why alcohol will destroy your muscle gains

People ask all the time “does drinking really affect the muscle growth process?” Yes, too much alcohol will almost definitely have a significant negative impact on your muscle-building results. Alcohol is far more harmful than most people think, and it’s very important that you understand how this drug (yes, alcohol is a drug) is affecting your progress. This is not an anti-drug speech, but if you’re serious about achieving a truly impressive physique, you should definitely be aware of the 5 main ways that alcohol is slowing down your gains…

1) It negatively affects protein synthesis.

Protein synthesis is the process where amino acids are joined together to form complete proteins. Excessive alcohol consumption slows this process down by up to 20%, and since your muscles are made up of protein, you can see how this is a problem.

2) It lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen.

Testosterone is the most important muscle-building hormone in your body. One of the limiting factors that determines how much muscle a person can gain is their level of free-flowing testosterone.

3) It causes dehydration.

The kidneys must filter very large amounts of water in order to break down the alcohol, and this can result in severe dehydration within the body. Water plays an absolutely crucial role in the muscle-building process, and being even slightly dehydrated is a recipe for disaster. The muscles alone are comprised of 70% water.

4) It depletes the body of vitamins and minerals.

Alcohol consumption causes vitamins A, C, the B's, calcium, zinc and phosphorus to all be drained at rapid rates. Vitamins and minerals keep every little process in your body functioning properly, and many of these processes involve muscle growth and maintenance.

5) It increases fat storage.

With 7 empty calories per gram, alcohol can actually be quite fattening. Alcohol also disrupts the Kreb’s Cycle, which plays an important role in fat burning.

It’s important to have fun in life, but too much fun can lead to problems. If you’re serious about achieving significant muscle-building results, you definitely need to monitor your intake of alcohol and make sure that you are consuming it in moderation. A few drinks here and there shouldn’t be a problem, but if you find yourself drinking every weekend you can almost certainly kiss your muscle gains goodbye.

If you do decide to go out and party, make sure to drink plenty of water and to properly nourish yourself with vitamins/minerals and a protein rich meal.

I don’t recommend revolving your entire life around your muscle-building program, so don’t be afraid to go out and have a good time once in a while. Just make sure to keep your drinking nights infrequent (no more than once a month) and properly nourish yourself to lessen its effects.