Five great ways to make fitness and weight loss easier

Most people think that the key to taking off the weight (fat) and keeping off the fat (or staying in shape) is just willpower and self-discipline. In fact, attempting to rely on your willpower to keep the weight (fat) off for the rest of your life is a ticking time bomb — it’s only a matter of time before something else in your life will distract and derail you. Don’t get depressed; the real key is to focus on installing strategies in your life that will help you keep your new body (or keep making progress towards the body you want) despite the inevitable chaos that visits everyone’s life from time to time

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Apple Cider Vinegar Weight Loss

 The apple cider vinegar diet has been widely known since the 1970s. The mixture of apple cider, kelp, vitamin B-6, and lecithin support the body's metabolism to burn fat faster than it would usually do. What dieters need to do to lose weight is to take one, two, or three teaspoons prior to each meal, beginning with 
one teaspoon and then working up to two or three. Aside from helping you metabolize fat, it is supposed to trim down the dieter's starvation and cravings.

   Apple cider vinegar for weight loss has been used for centuries. It is a natural way tolose weight, and it also has several health benefits. The nutrients, enzymes and organic acids in apple cider vinegar act as an appetite suppressant by increasing your metabolic rate.Apple cider vinegar is also known to reduce water retention, reduce cholesterol and improve the circulatory system.

   Apple cider vinegar weight loss is also known to be very effective against various bacterial infections as well as fungal infections as it contains malic acid. This malic acid tends to dissolve the deposits of uric acid which usually accumulate around the joints of the individual thereby providing relief from joint pains. In due course of time the dissolved uric acid gets expelled from the body of the individual. Apple cider benefits for one’s health would also include helping one against ailments such as arthritis, headaches, indigestion, and constipation.

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Lose Weight Using the Banana Diet

 Losing weight through banana diet has been around the diet world for years now. This method which originated from japan was proven over and over again to be effective and easy. Although this method is said to be the basic strategies on how to lose, still we must know it and master it's techniques.


   Bananas are full of good carbohydrates, which are the body's energy source. Good carbs have low glycemic indexes, so they release into the body slowly. A slow release means the carbohydrates will not turn to glucose too quickly. This prevents a rapid change in the body's blood sugar level. When the insulin level in your body fluctuates, it can leave you feeling tired, weak and hungry. Bananas can keep your blood sugar level consistent.

   The morning banana diet is actually good as being suggested by medical sciences. Thediet plan includes eating two to three pieces of banana for breakfast. After that, instead of old drink, you may want to have a warm drink. When you go for lunch, you can eat anything. You can eat dinner before 8pm. It is a big no-no when you eat banana from breakfast to dinner. Too much intake of banana can be dangerous to your body.


   We go now with the dangers of losing weight with this diet.

Below are the five things to avoid in this diet:
   1. Breakfast skipping.
   2. Forgetfulness to drink water at room temperature only.
   3. Not eating or avoidance of lunch and dinner meals.
   4. Eating bananas only, it is not only bananas which are effective.
   5. Weighing oneself daily


   If you want to lose weight fast and achieve better health, try to take in a combination of fresh fruits rather than emphasizing on bananas alone. Different color fruits offer different health benefits, while all of them are effective ingredients of a weight loss diet.

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The 20 Best Fat Loss Rules

Do What You’ve Always Done, Get What You’ve Always Got…

Want to burn some serious fat this spring? Check out the 20 best fat loss rules and started with 

1. More protein. Why does it work? Increased protein intake increases levels of peptide YY, a hormone produced by the gut cells that tells the brain to decrease hunger and increase satiety.
2. Don’t fear carbs. Carbohydrates aren’t the reason why you have a gut. You have a gut because you consumed way too many calories for way too long. You can lose weight with carbohydrates, you just need to choose the right one.
3. Choose slower digesting carbohydrates. Whole wheat breads and pasta, oatmeal, rice. These carbohydrates should be the staple of a "Strip That Fat Program". They’ll stabilize blood sugar while providing sufficient energy for you train hard enough. 
4. Load up on almonds. Loma Linda University found that subjects that consumed the majority of their fat from almonds lost more fat around their stomach then did subjects who did consume almonds.
5. Choose grass fed. Grass fed meat contains higher levels of CLA and omega-3′s, fats that help our body to burn stomach fat and increase lean muscle.
6. Avocados rock. Filled with monounsaturated fats, avocados contain mannoheptulose, a sugar that actually reduces insulin.
7. Green tea is still a bad ass. Containing high amounts of EGCG keeps the hormone Norepinephrine elevated as well as helping your body waste excessive calories. A recent Journal of Nutrition study showed that subjects who drank green tea lost more stomach fat than those who did not.
8. Don’t sleep on black tea. Black tea is actually less processed than green tea so it has all the benefits of green tea and more. The University of London released a research study showing that those of consumed black tea had lower cortisol levels than those who did not drink black tea. That’s good news since cortisol brings nasty lower stomach fat.
9. Walk this why: Whey protein  has the exclusive ability (over casein and soy sources) to blunt various hunger hormones. When you’re dieting, you want to blunt hunger, so drink your whey.
10. Drink soy? Sadly yes. The University of Alabama at Birmingham showed that subjects who consumed 20 grams of soy protein per day lost significantly more stomach fat over three months. Now don’t worry, those of us who consume whey protein shakes do get a small amount of soy, as it is a caking agent. That’s enough for us.
11. Use less water in your protein shakes. A Purdue University study showed that subjects who used less water in their shakes had decreased hunger and increased satisfaction feelings from their meals.
12. Back off the artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners may have a way of messing with your head and they may actually increase your desire for calories.
13. Use a fat burner. While I’m not the biggest fan of them, a fat burner containing caffeine and other stimulants can raise  your caloric burn by 30%.
14. Push more fat out. L-carnitine is critical for helping the body carry fat from where it’s stored to where it can be burned. Aim for 1-2 grams per day.
15. Lift heavy. Research has shown that lifting heavier weight and lower reps can significantly increase your post exercise oxygen consumption and increase your caloric burn when at rest.
16. Rest for 30 seconds between sets. The College of New Jersey  discovered that subjects who rested 30 seconds between sets of the bench press burned 50% more calories.
17. Lift faster. Research from Ball State University shows that lifting faster burns more calories. This is due to fast twitch muscle fibers being activated to a greater extent with fast reps.
18. Pump it up. Listening to music can help you get more reps every workout. Research presented at the National Strength and Conditioning annual meeting showed that subjects who listened to their preferred music were able to lift more weight for more reps.
19. Take a picture. Taking a before picture can help to motivate you. It’s even better when you share it with friends and family. This puts you on the line to get it done.
20. Go to sleep. Trying to get to sleep earlier then normal is a great way to normalize your hormone levels and encourage your body to recover from the days stress.

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Weight Loss Motivation

For most of us weight loss can be a constant up and down struggle especially in consideration of all the different advice that magazines and tv shows push down our throats all the time. Luckily with these articles on weight loss motivation you now have a great resource to refer to anytime you need to break out of a rut and back into being the best version of yourself ever…

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5 Ways Sex Helps You Lose Weight -- and Keep It Off

Could heart-pounding fun between the sheets help you get slimmer faster? Definitely! But the reasons an active sex life promotes weight loss go beyond its potential to torch calories. They touch the core of this ultimate mind-body-soul experience. What the heck are we talking about? Consider these five ways sex helps get and keep you slim. Some will surprise you, and all will please you.

1. Sex blasts calories. Instead of burning a measly 70 calories per hour lying in bed together watching Letterman, Leno, or HBO reruns, invest in some highly enjoyable exercise. A mere 25 minutes of sex -- we're figuring 10 minutes of foreplay, 15 minutes for the main event -- burns 88 calories if you're a 150-pound woman, 106 calories for a 180-pound guy. That's the same energy you'd expend doing a light workout on a rowing machine or stationary bike. Trying out a fun new position that feels like an adults-only game of Twister will boost the burn rate a little. And going for a second round will, too. Arriving at the Big O gets your heart pounding as much as bounding up a tall flight of stairs.

2. Sex curbs carb and fat cravings. Regular sex can help keep levels of cortisol, the high-anxiety hormone, in check. That's good news, because too much cortisol boosts your appetite for high-fat, high-carb goodies and tells your body to store the extra calories around your midsection. A romp in the hay short-circuits cortisol's ill effects. Turns out sex dampens your body's "fight or flight" response to tension-provoking events. Intercourse, specifically, also calms your blood pressure, even when everything around you is going haywire. You remain serene instead of being possessed by an unstoppable craving for Twinkies. This stress buffer can translate into a slimmer midsection. Wondering exactly how researchers measured the effect of sex on stress?

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Get Sexual for Ultimate Weight Loss

Many newly engaged women drop weight without even trying from the stress and anxiety of planning a wedding and in some ways, New York City-based model and actress Kerry McCloskey was no exception. She lost 23 pounds in the six months after she got engaged, but it wasn't from stress. It was from sex -- lots of it!

"It was during a particular time of romance and passion after I got engaged and I saw the effects that increased sex had on my body," she tells WebMD. This epiphany led to more research and her new book called the Ultimate Sex Diet. "I felt better immediately," McCloskey says, "because sex is a mood enhancer; the more you have it, the more endorphins that are released." Endorphins are the brain's feel-good chemicals.

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The Desperate Housewives Diet?

According to McCloskey and a growing body of research, we can all learn something from the wanton women of Wisteria Lane on ABC's hit comedy Desperate Housewives who bed-hop in and out of their marriages and all have rather exceptional figures.

"It begins with thinking sexy thoughts and making sex a priority," she says of her sex diet. "I recommend having sex three to five times per week, which can be accomplished by doubling up on the weekends," McCloskey says. On average, sex burns 150 to 250 calories per half hour. "Since it's free and so much fun, I've found making love is the ultimate exercise machine."

More than just sex, McCloskey also suggests toning exercises including the "Elvis Pelvis" to help readers and their partners think sexy. To do this move, stand naked facing your partner and press your pelvises together for balance. Raise your arms to the ceiling and lean back while maintaining pelvic contact. Hold for three seconds, repeat five times.

No doubt about it, "sex is good exercise," says Laura Berman, PhD, LCSW, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University in Chicago, and director of the Berman Center. "It gets your heart rate up even if you are not having extremely acrobatic sex," she tells WebMD.

Mix It Up

"Sex is a form of exercise especially if you incorporate different positions," she says. "If you move around a little bit and flex your muscles, it can be a very good exercise," she says.

Recent research shows that exercise in short bursts over the course of the day can be as effective as 30 to 40 minutes in a row. "You could use sex as 15 to 20 minutes of your exercise routine and then do something else at a different point of the day."

Another perk: "Sex is the kind of exercise that most people don't find boring," Berman says.

"Getting to the point where you are highly aroused and reaching orgasm can be good cardiovascular activity," she says. "That's why we tell people in poor cardiovascular health to avoid sex," she says.

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