WEIGHT LOSS: WATER INCREASES METABOLISM

Weight loss is directly related to your metabolism. To kick start yourmetabolism and trigger weight loss, you just need a glass of waterevery morning, how simple it is! Isn’t it? It’s often believed that drinking warm water with lemon juice early morning helps lose weight. Some people even add honey to it. Lots of people believe in it and practice this regularly. But have you ever wondered that whether it really works or not, is there any logic behind it, which really helps inweight loss, though water has lots of benefits and lemon and honey also do have their health benefits, because they give vitamins, minerals etc., but there is no documented research that they help in weight loss.

Drinking water increases metabolism.

Recent research has shown that drinking 400 ml., that is about two medium glasses, of water early morning, just when you wake up, raises your metabolism significantly. This research shows water increases metabolism.

Most of our body processes use water as a medium, and without a constant supply of water our body machinery slows down during the night and when we drink water in the morning it again revives all body processes back to normal. This increases themetabolismof the body and it helps to burn more calories. Therefore even if we continue taking the same diet, exercise and have same level of activity each day, we can be assured of losing more number of calories, just by drinking water the moment we wake up in the morning.

Some people believe in taking luke warm or hot water, is it so? No, because to boost yourmetabolism you just need to drink water. With this you can expect burning more number of calories, though you continue to consume the same number of calories, because of increasedmetabolism by drinking water and you will lose some weight in short period of time.

Once your body gets used to this lifestyle, your weight loss will stagnate, now to maintain yourweight loss you have to adjust your exercise and activity levels. Get an advice from a weight loss expert and chart out an effective diet and workout plan for healthy weight loss.

Feel Good, Look Great In Time For Summer

If you've developed some unhealthy eating habits over the last few cold wintry months, here are four tips that will ease you back into a more healthy routine and have you in shape so you'll look good and feel great in time for that beach holiday or wedding you're planning in Summertime...

1. Audit your kitchen cupboards and the fridge! Don't allow temptation to get in the way. Instead stock up on nuts, seeds and fruits and veggies even some 70% or 85% chocolate so you're not denying yourself and when you fancy munching on something you'll have something healthy to hand. That way it's easier to achieve success because those biscuits at the back of the cupboard or the milk chocolate in the fridge won't be there to sabotage your plans.

2. Fill up on wholegrains and vegetables. Aim for 50% of your plate to be covered with green vegetables, eg, kale, broccoli, spring greens...whichever you like best! Then add 25% good quality protein and 25% wholegrains, eg, brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa etc...experiment and eat the ones you love. This combination will nourish your body and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Tiredness and stress often lead to snacking, usually on foods that give us a quick fix like coffee and sugar so keep blood sugar levels stable with wholegrains, vegetables, good fats in oily fish and a variety of the best quality protein you can get your hands on including organic meat, quinoa, eggs, tofu and legumes such as chickpeas and kidney beans.

Green vegetables are great for crowding out cravings, cleansing the blood...and they're great for digestion so feel free to include a plentiful selection in every meal!

3. Get active! Make the most of it being lighter in the evenings by getting out and about. Maybe experiment with new forms of exercise that you haven't tried before. Book a new class at the gym, try some yoga or go for a walk, you'll feel more energized than ever!

4. Are you getting enough sleep? Often we get up in the morning feeling like we can't wait to get through the day so we can have bedtime all over again! Even one hours sleep a night can impact our performance during the day so try to get an extra hour in before midnight...you'll feel much better than if you try to sleep in.

It's often the tiniest tweaks that lead to the biggest results, and those are the ones you want...diets have been proven time and time again not to last and many people yo-yo through there lives.

Believe it or not when you put healthy foods into your body, your body will crave healthy foods...and you'll get to a point where you eat something you used to think was a treat, but suddenly it doesn't taste so good any more...that because our tastes buds change, and it doesn't even take so long, so it's well worth persevering.

Don't forget to anticipate the next milestone events too. Often holidays revolve around eating and drinking so plan them in advance so that your resolve stays strong. Don't forget the 90/10 principle on these occasions too...it means you can be good for 90% of the time, which leaves the other 10% for naughtiness!

See, no guilt required! Just little gentle tweaks that integrate easily into your lifestyle that will help you optimise your health all-round.

Look Good, Feel Great | Recipe idea
Butternut Squash Soup...

This lovely soup will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied, plus the sweet flavour will naturally help crowd out sugar cravings.

Prep Time: Less than 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 tsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
2 pints stock of your choice
Ground black pepper, to taste
Mixed sunflower, flax and pumpkin seeds to garnish

Here's what you do...

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion, celery and carrot and saute until they are just beginning to soften and the onion has turned translucent
• Add the squash and the tarragon
• Stir to combine with vegetables and then add the stock and seasoning to taste.
• Gently bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, c20 minutes.
• Pour into a blender and liquidise until smoothe*
• Pour into bowls and sprinkle with the mixed seeds

Tip: This recipe freezes well, so it's worth making a bigger pot than you'll eat in a single meal and then you'll have a second batch ready and waiting when you're running around and there's no time to cook something healthy!

*Do take care when pouring hot liquids as if you're splashed, they can burn quickly.

See, no need to stress about your diet...just get a new Attitude to Food!

Sarah Lantry received her training at Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, leads workshops on nutrition, and offers individual health and nutrition coaching to busy professionals and families. sarah@attitudetofood.com http://www.attitudetofood.com skype: sarahlantry facebook.com/attitudetofood

Fasting For Weight Loss - Why is it So Effective?

Fasting for weight loss is most definitely a hot topic. With everybody getting fed up with FAD diets something new and more effective is desperately needed. Diets almost never work for many reasons. One of the main reasons is simply because no one can stock with it for long enough to actually make it work. Diets also deprive your body of essential nutrients in a hope of enforcing weight loss.

This is why fasting for weight loss is so effective. Firstly, there's no dieting involved. You get to eat whatever you want and there are no restrictions like with ordinary diet plans. For most of us the mere thought of not being able to eat certain foods can instill a sense of depression at the mere thought of going on yet another diet.

The problem of willpower and stocking to a rigorous eating plan has many pitfalls - pitfalls that I'm sure you are well aware of. Sticking to any eating plan for a day or two is easy. Anyone can do it. The problem is with sticking to it over a longer period of time and this is exactly why fasting for weight loss is so effective. You only need to be able to stick to it for a day or two at a time.

Whilst dieting is designed to deprive your body, fasting is designed to cleanse your body. One of the reasons why so many people can't lose weight is because their systems are so clogged up that the natural process of eliminating fat is no longer possible. With poor digestion losing weight becomes an uphill battle.

When you are fasting for weight loss you do more than just lose weight. You cleanse your body and give your digestive system a well deserved break. If you look at the rate and quantity that most people eat, its no wonder we are an obese nation. Its estimated that the average person has 10 pounds of pure fat because of toxins. These toxins can be anything from preservatives and colorants to nicotine and alcohol that the body neutralizes by enveloping it in fat. This is the worse kind of fat and can be every difficult to lose.

Fasting for weight loss is not some miracle new diet or instant weight loss fix. It can be tough when you are first starting out, but as you get used to it you will soon see just how easy it really is to lose weight with this healthy and proven method.

Learn more about fasting to lose weight. Visit my site and learn the simple secrets of losing weight the easy way - http://fastingtoloseweightblog.com/fasting-for-weight-loss.