Fitness Healthy Food Ideas

10 kitchen tips to keep you slim

10 quick ways to make your kitchen diet-friendly With its fridge and cupboards full of tempting treats, sometimes the kitchen can seem like a dangerous place to be when you’re trying to lose weight. However, with a few subtle kitchen changes you can equip yourself for better diet success. Here are our top 10 kitchen tips to help you stay slim. Keep healthy foods visible... A study by researchers at Cornell University found that we are three times more likely to eat the first item we see in the kitchen than the fifth, meaning that keeping healthy food visible could aid your dieting goals. Try to make healthy food options more accessible by ensuring they are as appealing and convenient as possible, as well as making them visible and easy to find. Leave out a colourful fruit bowl, prepare a salad in advance, and put some chopped veggies at the front of your fridge, for example. Keep healthy foods at the front of your fridge to maximise your chances of dieting success ... And move ‘bad’ foods out of sight Just as putting healthy foods in a prominent position can help your diet, it follows that the opposite is also true. While it may be best to avoid buying junk food completely, if you must stock up on the odd treat make sure they are hidden away at the back of cupboards to help prevent cravings. By making these foods a little more difficult to get to (store them behind piles of tins, in high cupboards or in locked drawers – whatever helps), you will also prevent mindless snacking and give yourself some thinking time to decide whether you really want to give in to temptation. Get some fridge-spiration To help stay motivated in the face of your cravings, try transforming your fridge from a source of temptation into an inspirational reminder of your progress so far. Consider sticking your favourite photograph of yourself on your fridge for a positive reminder of why you should resist those cravings next time you’re tempted to hit the fridge. Alternatively, stick on a motivational quote or a handwritten note to yourself listing five good reasons not to binge. Opt for small, blue serving dishes While many of us think we are eating standard portion sizes, this is in fact not always the case. To help reduce your temptation to overeat, try swapping your plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery for smaller ones, which will help control your serving sizes as well as how quickly you eat. Also, while you are making the switch, think about opting for a blue color scheme for your crockery, as blue is thought to act as an appetite suppressant. Set aside an eating area Whether you eat your meals in the kitchen or a separate dining room, it is important to set aside an area with a table where you can sit down and eat. Furthermore, it is important to ensure you actually sit there. Make it a rule never to eat out of packets or standing up and you will find that this drastically reduces your tendency to overeat. The process of putting food on a plate and sitting down to eat it not only reduces the tendency to mindlessly pick at food, it also increases your awareness of what – and how much – you are eating, and may make you think twice about doing it. Spice up your kitchen Your cupboards and fridge may be packed with healthy items, but how’s your spice rack looking? You might not class it as a kitchen essential, but if you’re looking to cut calories in your meals it can help to keep a well-stocked herb and spice rack. Not only does adding herbs and seasonings to your meals add flavoring to your food without extra calories, but spices such as cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper and ginger can actually help to promote weight loss. Keep your herb and spice rack well stocked to add flavouring to your meals without extra calories Keep your kitchen tidy If you’re lacking motivation to cook, it may be that your kitchen’s to blame. Cluttered worktops and messy cupboards hardly act as an incentive to start whipping up a gourmet delight so, if you have to clear a path to the oven or forge through piles of half-opened packets of food to get to what you want, it may be time to give your kitchen a makeover. Treat your kitchen as a place for food preparation – rather than a rubbish dump, mailroom or storage space – and you may be more inspired to reach for the wooden spoon rather than a takeaway menu the next time hunger strikes. Impose a TV ban If you’re one of the large number of people who prefers to eat their meals in front of a TV or computer screen, then you could be sabotaging your diet without even realizing it. According to research findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition, eating when distracted can cause you to ignore signals from your body that you’ve had enough, leading you to eat more than you normally would. To help cut your calorie intake, make sure you keep distracting items such as the television out of your eating area, and try to keep the two activities separate. Set kitchen “closing hours” To help cut the amount of food you are consuming, it is helpful to make the kitchen out-of-bounds once you have finished your evening meal. Move anything you may need during those hours out of the kitchen (and no, this doesn’t include chocolate!), then turn off the light and close the door as a reminder to yourself that the kitchen is now closed. While you will still need to rely on your own willpower to stick to these rules, this should help reduce mindless snacking and trips to the kitchen next time you’re feeling bored. Kill your cravings with vanilla If you struggle to resist sugar cravings following your evening meal, it may be worth investing in a vanilla-scented air freshener or candle for your kitchen. A study at St George’s hospital, south London, found that using vanilla-scented patches on the back of participants’ hands significantly reduced their appetite for sweet foods and drinks. It is thought that this is due to the smell of vanilla, which is believed to help suppress sweet cravings.

Dukan Diet

The Dukan method has grown out of Doctor Pierre Dukan's 40 years of experience working with patients. He has devised a weight-loss method structured around 4 phases, two for losing weight, two for stabilising the weight you get down to, using a list of 100 permitted foods from which you can eat as much as you want. This method, based on natural proteins, is nowadays acknowledged as one of the most effective tools available for tackling obesity worldwide. The original method: a diet structured around 4 phases les quatre phases DukanThe Dukan diet was the first to offer a structured, rigorous approach with real results in 4 phases: 2 phases for losing weight and 2 phases for maintaining and stabilising your True Weight. The attack phase: rapid and highly motivating weight loss 72 foods, high in natural proteins, to kick-start your dieting. The cruise phase: gradually get down to your True Weight You alternate NP days (Natural Proteins) with PV days (Proteins and Vegetables) as you reintroduce the 28 recommended vegetables. The consolidation phase: re-educate your body to avoid putting weight back on. You gradually reintroduce higher calorie foods and celebration meals. Each week your NP Thursday, your day of Natural Proteins, helps you readjust your True Weight if necessary, so that you avoid any rebound effect. Consolidation is made up of the 100 unlimited permitted foods (proteins and vegetables), and you now add to them 1 portion of leg of lamb and pork fillet per week. You are no longer restricted to extra-lean ham without any fat or rind, you are now allowed to eat traditional cooked ham. With this as your base, the following are added in ascending order: Extras in the 1st half of consolidation Extras in the 2nd half of consolidation 1 portion of fruit per day* 2 portions of fruit per day* 2 slices of wholemeal bread per day 2 slices of wholemeal bread per day 40 g (1 1/2 oz) hard cheese 40 g (1 1/2 oz) hard cheese 1 x 220 g (7 3/4 oz) portion of starchy foods per week 2 x 220 g (7 3/4 oz) portions of starchy foods per week 1 celebration meal per week** 2 celebration meals per week** *Except bananas, grapes, figs and cherries **Celebration meal = a "free" meal comprising an aperitif (wine, etc,), a starter, a main course and a portion of cheese OR a dessert. During the meal the only thing you must do is serve yourself just once for each course. The stabilisation phase: you are free to eat how you wish, with 3 simple rules you must follow for the rest of your life • NP Thursdays: one day of natural proteins every week • 20 minutes of walking every day and never use lifts or escalators • 3 tablespoons of oat bran every day 100 permitted foods - the cornerstone of the system 100aliments autorisés Get used to eating freely in a controlled way. As long as you stick to the permitted foods, you don't need to check how much you're eating. The Dukan Diet is firmly based around 100 permitted foods that you can eat as much as you want: 72 Pure Proteins, fish, meat, seafood, vegetable proteins, fat-free dairy products and 28 vegetables. And let's not forget the foodstuff that is such a vital part of the Dukan method: oat bran. Dieting while there is such food abundance all around us is unnatural, terribly trying and often a distressing experience. The Dukan method allows you to lose weight naturally by going back to those foods that mankind was built on, the very foods that the first men, the hunter-gatherers, ate. Exercise: vital to the method l'activité physique Physical exercise is included in every phase of the method and has to be adapted to suit each individual. The minimum requirement is to walk every day. You are recommended to take other exercise that you enjoy such as aerobics, cycling, swimming, dance and fitness classes and so on. The important thing is to be active. By taking exercise you use up calories, burn up your fat reserves and tone and firm up your skin.

Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Days! Lose it!

Burn Fat In 4 Minutes - Tabata Workout #1 - Live Lean TV

A Must try workout. What do you think?

Top 10 motivational quotes for dieters

Amazing quotes to help your dieting journey

Want to diet more effectively? It’s a long tough road, but when you get to the end you’ll feel and look amazing. To help you out, we’ve put together these 10 motivational quotes that will turn you into a champion dieter in no time at all.

“The groundwork of all happiness is health” – Leigh Hunt

Did you know that people at a healthy weight are generally happier than those who are overweight? According to a study carried out at Leiden University, overweight people are more prone to depression. That means if you stick to your diet and lose weight not only will you look amazing, you’ll also feel much happier in your day-to-day life!

“It took more than a day to put it on. It will take more than a day to take it off.” - Anonymous

Dieting is not an instant process, and that’s why it’s hard. But that’s also why it’s worth doing. Don’t be dismayed when you haven’t dropped four dress sizes in a week, or wonder where your washboard abs are after a day of eating healthily. Results from dieting take time, but when they do come they’re definitely worth it.

“If you keep good food in your fridge, you will eat good food.” – Errick McAdams

This quote goes hand in hand with the classic “never go to the supermarket hungry”. Filling your home with healthy nutritious food is the first step to dieting success, and will get you into the habit of eating healthily quicker than you might think. You’re much less likely to have a sneaky bowl of ice cream if you have to go all the way to the store to buy it.

“It takes five minutes to consume 500 calories. It takes two hours to burn them off.” – Anonymous

One of the pitfalls of dieting is all of your hard work can be undone by one moment of weakness. Next time you’re thinking of reaching for the junk food, just remember every ounce of sweat and determination that has gone into your weight loss so far. Is that muffin really worth throwing all of that away for? The answer is no.

“One must eat to live, not live to eat.” - Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

At the start of your diet you might find yourself desperately counting down the hours until your next meal. However, this feeling will soon pass. When you get into the habit of eating healthily it will become second nature, and that’s when you’ll really start to lose weight.

“Exercising should be about rewarding the body with endorphins and strength. Not about punishing your body for what you’ve eaten.” - Anonymous

If you use exercise as an excuse to cheat on your diet, you’ll never get anywhere. Successful dieters understand that eating healthily and exercising work best when used together, rather than on their own. Just because you’ve been to the gym in the morning, doesn’t mean you can have fast food and chocolate for lunch. All you’ll be doing is eating away your hard work.

“Don’t dig your grave with your own knife and fork” – Old English Proverb

Ask yourself this; why do you want to diet? Is there a hot new guy at the office you want to impress? Were you tagged in a bad picture on Facebook? Those reasons are all well and good if they make you eat well, but when it comes down to it you need to remember that what you eat hugely affects your health. If you eat healthily you’ll feel better, have more energy, and ultimately live longer.

“Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality” – Ralph Marston

Dieting is a fantastic thing, because if you do it properly you know that you will reach your goals. The only thing standing in the way of you and a healthy weight is your own doubts, fears and will power. Once you learn to control them it’s simply a case of learning to follow your diet until you reach your target weight and stay there.

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” – Irv Kupcinet

Whilst there’s technically never a bad time to start a diet, there are definitely some days that will make it harder than others. Give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding by starting your diet on a quiet day when you know that you can control what you eat. Failing your diet instantly by starting it on Christmas day or before a birthday meal in a restaurant will just leave you feeling demotivated before you’ve even begun.

“You don’t drown by falling in water. You drown by staying there” – Anonymous

No matter what weight you’re at now, that’s not an excuse for avoiding dieting. The amount of work you have to put in might be daunting, but it’s never going to get any less until you actually start. Staying at an unhealthy weight is never a good idea, and if you accept your fate all you’re going to do is gain even more. So, are you going to start swimming, or are you going to let yourself drown?
http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/top-10-motivational-quotes-for-dieters/

Top 20 ways to feel great this winter

How to treat yourself this winter

It can be tough getting through the winter months. Lack of daylight can affect our moods, and the biting cold can affect our bones, skin and generally make us feel significantly worse than we would on a bright summer’s day.

There are things you can do to beat the winter blues! Read on for our top 20 ways to feel amazing this winter…

 

• Boost your immunityWinter is a time when we are more prone to catching colds and flu, so ensure you eat a healthy balanced diet including plenty of fruit and veg.
• Take up a winter sportIf you ever fancied having a go at a particular winter sport, then winter is obviously the time to do it!
• Revamp your lookGive yourself a new look, whether it be getting a new hairstyle or buying a new wardrobe.
• Get pamperedTake yourself to a health spa to be pampered from head to toe.
• Treat yourselfBuy yourself one luxury item that you may have been promising yourself, but never got round to buying. Don’t relying on someone finally getting you it for Christmas!
• MoisturiseOutdoor exposure and dry centrally heated homes rob your skin of its moisture during the winter. That leaves lots of dead, dry skin cells, so exfoliate and moisturize.
• Get activeIf it's too cold outside for you, then attend a session of aerobics, yoga, circuit training or take up an indoor sport. Any form of exercise will make you feel better and more relaxed.
  It can be tough getting through the winter months. Lack of daylight can affect our moods, and the biting cold can affect our bones, skin and generally make us feel significantly worse than we would on a bright summer’s day.
• There are things you can do to beat the winter blues! Read on for our top 20 ways to feel amazing this winter…
  

   

  

  • Boost your immunityWinter is a time when we are more prone to catching colds and flu, so ensure you eat a healthy balanced diet including plenty of fruit and veg.
  • Take up a winter sportIf you ever fancied having a go at a particular winter sport, then winter is obviously the time to do it!
  • Revamp your lookGive yourself a new look, whether it be getting a new hairstyle or buying a new wardrobe.
  • Get pamperedTake yourself to a health spa to be pampered from head to toe.
  • Treat yourselfBuy yourself one luxury item that you may have been promising yourself, but never got round to buying. Don’t relying on someone finally getting you it for Christmas!
  • MoisturiseOutdoor exposure and dry centrally heated homes rob your skin of its moisture during the winter. That leaves lots of dead, dry skin cells, so exfoliate and moisturize.
  • Get activeIf it's too cold outside for you, then attend a session of aerobics, yoga, circuit training or take up an indoor sport. Any form of exercise will make you feel better and more relaxed.

  
  

  
  

  

  • Catch up on your sleepLonger hours of darkness make it easier to sleep, so take advantage. We all know how good we feel after a good night’s sleep, but don’t get too much as this often has the effect of making you feel even more sluggish.
  • Take a winter breakA break will inevitably make us feel better. Head for some winter sun or invigorate yourself with some exciting winter sports.
  • Get out in the daylightDaylight makes us feel better, and even though it is limited in winter, we should still try to maximize our exposure to it. Perhaps take a short walk at lunchtime if it is sunny.
  • Let the light inIf you’re not keen on going out in the winter sun, then raise the blinds and let the light shine in.
  • Bring plants into the housePlants will lift your spirits and give you a taste of eternal summer.
  • Bring some color into your homeThe color orange is meant to be cheering.
  • Relax and meditateUse the time indoors to relax, perhaps with some candles or essential oils and meditate.
  • Have a massageEase your aching limbs and creaking joints with either a self-massage or rope in a friend to do it for you.
  • Clear out the clutterIn winter we tend to spend more hours indoor, so use this time to clear out the clutter and do the jobs we may have been putting off.
  • Spend more time with friendsIf we are spending more time indoors, then why not visit friends or invite them round. It will ease your conscience, if you have been neglecting your pals during the summer.
  • Enjoy a drop of the hard stuffIndulge occasionally in a nice warming drink, such as mulled wine or even a wee dram.
  • Start setting targetsStart thinking positively about your aims for the New Year, including any changes to your lifestyle you intend following.
  • Join a gymExercise is a great way to energize yourself and feel amazing. If you don’t feel like playing sport outside you could exercise in the comfort of your local gym. Make the most of the sauna, Jacuzzi or steam room to relax at the end of your sessions.
  • http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/top-20-ways-to-feel-great-this-winter/#pagination-top