Exercise Makes Your Heart Stronger

Exercise makes your heart stronger and a healthy heart helps you exercise for longer.

Working Out Doesn’t Just Make You Stronger, It Makes You Smarter

Studies show that exercising doesn't just boost your health, it can also boost your intelligence and mental acuity. Read more...

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Focus On Losing Just 1lb

It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward. -Old Chinese Proverb quotes

30 Minutes A Day To Shed The Pounds

Adults who exercise for shorter bursts of time can lose as much weight as those who work out for up to twice as long, a study has suggested. The University of Copenhagen study concluded that sweating for half the time was “enough to turn the tide” for obesity. The research, published in the American Journal of Physiology, found those who ran, rowed, or cycled for 30 minutes a day lost an average 8lb over a three month period. Read more...

Don't Let Worn Out Beliefs Stop You

"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself." -John Bingham, running speaker and writer

My favorite part of the above quote is 'Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.' These words meant a lot to me today because I was able to do a yoga pose that I had previously thought was almost impossible for me. I had convinced myself through a worn out belief of something that was just not true. I broke free of this mind cage by first visualizing myself doing the very thing I thought I could not do (visualization is very powerful). I successfully completed the pose and in that moment I realized first-hand the power that old worn out belief patterns have to stop us from doing things we really want to do. What old, worn out beliefs about what you think you cannot do are stopping you from achieving your long-held dreams or goals?

Eating High Water Content Foods Could Be the Answer You've Been Looking For

• Water helps curb your appetite and has zero calories
• Water increases your metabolism
• Vegetables and fruit are around 80% water
• Vegetables and fruit are low in calories but high in nutrients
• Vegetables and fruit are high in fiber which helps you feel fuller for longer

Although I've spoken about the need to drink more water and eat more veggies and fruit in the past, the 'eat more vegetables and fruit' message and the 'drink more water' message cannot ever be overdone on this blog because these are two of the most important tips for losing weight and maintaining weight loss that I've ever come across. Recently I increased my own vegetable and fruit intake massively and it was only then that I realized how little of those foods I was really eating. 

In fact I think I have recently become a serious raw vegan food enthusiast and one of the most important reasons for this is the results I'm getting from this lifestyle. The weight is dropping off easily without much effort; my skin is glowing and looks better than it has done for ages; I'm eating as much of these foods as I like and my favorite result is...I'm never hungry and I never crave the processed 'food' I used to eat in the past. I will talk more about this way of eating in some future posts, but in the meantime I'd urge you to look up 'low fat raw vegan lifestyle' on Google for yourself and start your own research....you might be pleasantly surprised.

Be Careful What You Think and Say

Your thoughts and the words you say about yourself, your weight and your ability to lose weight have a tremendous impact on your motivation....make sure you use positive ones that help you along and not negatives ones that hold you back.

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Imagine The Fat Shrinking

See it, believe it, act on it, achieve it.

Try A Little Bit Harder

A little extra effort than you’d ordinarily take, plus a little more action than you've been satisfied with, will equal a whole lot more success than you’d usually get....so try harder!

Ask Better Questions And You'll Get Better Answers

Here are 10 questions that will empower you on your weight loss and fitness journey:

1. How will my life improve if I exercise 5 days a week?
2. What actions can I take this week to cultivate a healthier lifestyle?
3. What do I find exciting about physical exercise?
4. What should I eat to ensure I reach my 2 lbs weight loss goal this week?
5. How am I going to make today totally awesome?
6. What am I really looking forward to about losing weight this month?
7. What do I love about the way my body is changing?
8. What positive thing can I learn from that mistake today?
9. What are some of my best achievements so far?
10. What is the most important action I can take next to achieve my goal weight?

What empowering questions can you add to this list?

Act As If You're Already The Person You Want To Become

Pretend you are already the person you want to become. If you were already the fitter you with a toned, healthy body and at your goal weight, what would be different about your day? What would your meals look like? How would you feel about exercise and what type of exercise would you do? 

Take these actions NOW.

Weight Loss Is More Than Just a Lower Number On The Scales.

 It dawned on me yesterday that the slimmer, fitter person I will become is really a transformed me in more ways than the scales can measure. I will not only have a new, slimmer body and wear smaller sized clothes that I really want to wear. I will also be transformed mentally. I will feel more confident about my appearance and will interact differently with people as a result of my new found physical confidence. I will feel proud of myself for following through on my fitness goals. I will develop a new mindset around food and eating. I will also develop a new mindset in relation to regular exercise. So weight loss is really much more than just getting the scales to show a smaller number.  Successful weight loss is really a positive and gradual transformation of your body, your mind and your life.

You Can Do It

Make 2013 the year you finally lose all the extra weight, YOU CAN DO IT.

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Visualize Yourself Succeeding At Weight Loss

A recent study at McGill University reports that the best way to improve your eating habits is to not only create an action plan but to visualize yourself following through. Participants were asked to consume more fruit for one week. One group simply set the goal to eat more fruit. The other group set the same goal, wrote it down and also visualized carrying out the specific steps needed to eat more fruit. For example, they visualized themselves purchasing fruit and eating it at particular times. While both groups ate more fruit, the group that used visualization ate twice as much. This study supports the positive effects of visualization known for years by sport psychologists and peak performers. -Caloriecount.about.com

Spoil Your Appetite For Junk Food By Eating Healthy Food Instead

Remember when you were little you were told, "Don't eat that before dinner it will spoil your appetite". Why not try to spoil your appetite for junk food by filling up on nutritious food instead?  Think about it...there is only so much space in your stomach. If you fill up on healthy food there'll be less space in your stomach for the unhealthy stuff you're usually tempted to eat.

The Scales Are Not The Only Way To Measure Progress

The scales cannot show ALL your progress. Sometimes while we are doing the wrong thing we are also in other areas doing the right thing. For example, If you drank more water today but still have a daily chocolate habit, the scales won't show that you're drinking more water. If you used to be really pessimistic about your ability to lose weight and today you've got a sudden burst of positive self-belief, the scales won't show this change in mindset. So notice, and take note of (perhaps in a journal) the many areas where you're making  positive changes towards a healthier, fitter you.

Extracts From The Book Skinny Bitch

From time to time I like to share great stuff I've found on the net and this book is my latest find: 

Skinny Bitch - Not your typical boring diet book, this is a tart-tongued, no-holds-barred wakeup call to all women who want to be thin. With such blunt advice as, “Soda is liquid Satan” and “You are a total moron if you think the Atkins Diet will make you thin,” it’s a rallying cry for all savvy women to start eating healthy and looking radiant. Unlike standard diet books, it actually makes the reader laugh out loud with its truthful, smart-mouthed revelations. Behind all the attitude, however, there’s solid guidance. Skinny Bitch espouses a healthful lifestyle that promotes whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and encourages women to get excited about feeling “clean and pure and energized.”

You can buy it HERE on Amazon

Start 2013 With An Empty Jar...

Start 2013 off with an empty jar and fill it with notes of good things that happen. On new years eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year.
This idea can be adapted for weight loss and fitness motivation...each day that you do something positive towards your weight loss and fitness write what you did on a note and put it into the jar. During the course of the year whenever you feel your motivation is low, read some of the notes and you should feel your motivation increasing again.

Challenge Yourself Always

Each time you challenge yourself you get a little closer to your goal.

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Try This Fitness Formula

Try this formula:

1. Be positive...Speak to yourself positively about your ability to lose weight.
2. Eat more veg...Vegetables are very low in calories and are highly nutritious.
3. Exercise regularly...Do exercise you love, if you love it you'll do it regularly.