That Diet Drink Could Be Making You FAT!

Every diet soft drink consumed each day could increase your risk of being overweight by 65 percent, according to a study presented at the American Dietetic Association. Other research suggests that artificial sweeteners may actually stimulate appetite, causing you to overeat. Instead, sip plain or sparkling water with lemon added for flavor.

Sleep More Eat Less

One way to increase your metabolism is to sleep more – You need at a minimum 8 hours of sleep per night. Studies have been done that show people who sleep less then 8 hours per night have a slower metabolism then those who get in a good nights rest. Also those who do not get enough sleep tend to eat more during the day trying to keep their energy levels up, which is not good when your metabolism has slowed down.

Do you know how important water is to weight loss?

Weight loss depends, literally, on hydration. Without an adequate water supply, your body won’t be able to metabolize stored fat, and you won’t shed a single pound! Water also keeps your stomach full and your mouth and hands busy, which can help quell the urge to overindulge at the dinner table, and curbs the desire to snack between meals.

The Scoop on Calories

Calories are the energy in food. Your body has a constant demand for energy and uses the calories from food to keep you functioning. Energy from calories fuels your every action, much as gasoline powers your car.

Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are the types of nutrients that contain calories and thus are the main energy sources for your body. The amount of energy in each varies:

• Proteins and carbohydrates have about 4 calories a gram
• Fats have about 9 calories a gram
• Alcohol also is a source of calories, providing about 7 calories a gram

Regardless of where they come from, calories you eat are either converted to physical energy or stored within your body as fat. Unless you use these stored calories – either by reducing calorie intake so that your body must draw on reserves for energy, or by increasing physical activity so that you burn more calories – these calories will remain within your body as fat.

Tipping the scale: Cutting calories

Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight.

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you’d lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

Cutting calories doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it might be as simple as forgoing one extra item a day, swapping foods or trimming serving sizes. The number of calories you save is likely to translate into pounds lost.

Strength Training is Critical as People Age

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, strength training is especially important in older adults because of the tendency to lose muscle mass and bone density with aging. A recent study backs up this claim by comparing a group of elderly exercisers with a group of elderly non-exercisers who were on a diet to lose weight. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the journal of the American Physiological Society.

Researchers evaluated a group of 64 participants who were 60-75 years of age and were either overweight or obese; all were sedentary at the beginning of the study. The researchers divided the participants into three groups: exercise only, diet only, or exercise plus diet. Researchers measured weight loss and task performance after a year. Although the participants who were dieting did lose weight, body composition tests proved that they lost mainly muscle mass, whereas the exercise group gained muscle mass. Further, the diet-only group lost efficiency in performing the exercise tasks, whereas the exercise group increased task performance.

Source: IHRSA

Lose Weight Eating Chocolate

How would you define happiness?

Lying on a bed of cash?

Having a picnic with your kids on a beautiful day?

Lying out in the sun on the beach with the ocean waves crashing behind you?

Or eating as much chocolate as you want and never gaining weight…

We will teach you how to have all of these things in one place!

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Lose Weight Eating Chocolate!

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.

Chocolate can definitely be a part of your weight loss plan.

CHOCOLATE FACTS: Made up of about 300 chemicals-some of which in theory have mood-altering effects – chocolate contains negligible amounts of the stimulant caffeine, as well as theobromine (which stimulates the heart and the nervous system) and phenyethylamine (an amphetamine-like substance said to simulate the feeling of falling in love). A University of Michigan study says chocolate causes the brain to release b-endorphin, a naturally occurring chemical similar to opium, which dulls pain and increases your sense of well-being.

Chocolate contains a wide assortment of vitamins and minerals that the body needs, including potassium, sodium, iron, fluorine and vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E. In fact, researchers at Harvard University believe chocolate may help people live longer! A study tracking older men found that those who ate chocolate lived almost a year longer than those who didn’t.

Researchers believe this has something to do with the fact that chocolate contains flavonoids (compounds that may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer while slowing the aging process) and stearic acid, a heart-friendly fatty acid that doesn’t promote cholesterol increases.

But a University of Pennsylvania study testing so-called chocoholics found that the cravings may not lie in chemistry at all, but the melt-in-your-mouth texture of chocolate. Subjects in the study were found to prefer chocolate bars, even white chocolate bars which didn’t actually contain any chocolate at all, over capsules of cocoa powder full of chocolate’s active ingredients.

The bottom line: Chocolate may be getting a bad rap as a sinful food. On the other hand-as always-moderation may be the key. If you simply must indulge, here are some tips for controlling your chocolate cravings and consumption:

• Choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate. Studies based on dark chocolate tend to show benefits that milk chocolate does not.
• Partner your chocolate with nutrient-rich foods, like chocolate covered strawberries, apple slices or bananas. Add a few chocolate chips in your berry-nut trail mix. Try a refreshing glass of chocolate-flavored milk or soymilk.
• Buy smaller sizes of chocolate bars or hot fudge sundaes, since research shows you tend to eat the entire amount you’re served.
• Order fruit for dessert, with a small chocolate truffle on the side.
• Savor, don’t chew, your chocolate. Sit down, take your time, and focus on the taste in your mouth. Enjoy it thoroughly. If you pop it in your mouth while you are driving, watching TV, or talking on the phone, you’re likely to keep reaching for more.
• Give in to your chocolate cravings! Ever try to stifle a craving by eating something else? You usually just end up eating more and more foods, eventually giving in to your original desire anyway. Save yourself the calories and the torment! A small portion may be all you need for satisfaction.

To learn more about how eating chocolate for 30 days can help you lose up to 15 pounds you don’t want to miss our Life Success Event. We have an entire session devoted to CHOCOLATE! For more info please visit www.lifesuccessevent.com