Be Happy to Lose Weight

An interesting article over at associatedcontent.com written by Michelle McKeown (link) makes the suggestion that you can make yourself slim by simply being happy. This may sound a little whacky but if you think about it, it makes sense. Over weight people are not happy (generally), they constantly think about what they cannot have and allow themselves to feel better when they get the chocolate, or soda, or sweets etc.

We've all had really busy fun days at theme park, at school, college, work or where ever. How much did tempation play on your mind that day? How much junk food did you eat that day? Think about times Ive had real busy fun days I can honestly say I probably ate no junk and when I did sit to eat, all I wanted was actual food (not junk).

So what can we do? Luckily for us Dr Professor Wiseman has provided us with a top 10 list of things we can do to make us instantly happier. Do these things on a regular basis and you'll become happier. I personally do some of these things a few times a week....but first take this happiness test:



There are two ways of reading the graphic……

‘Happiness is now here’

or

‘Happiness is nowhere’

Apparently, if you are in a good mood you are more likely to have read ‘Happiness is now here’, whereas if you are in a not-so-good mood, you are more likely to have read ‘Happiness is nowhere’.

Here are the top 10 things to do to make yourself happier:

1) Meet up with a friend that you haven’t seen for a while.
2) Watch a funny television programme or film.
3) Exercise for about thirty minutes three times a week.
4) Cut your television viewing by half.
5) Buy experiences not goods – go to a concert, movie, unusual place or strange restaurant.
6) Create novel challenges by starting a new hobby, joining an organisation, or learning a new skill.
7) Go for a 20 minute walk in the sun.
8) Spend ten minutes listening to relaxing or uplifting music
9) Stroke a dog
10) Stop watching and reading the news.

Try being happy for 10 days straight and see if it helps curb cravings or even lose weight....and dont forget to let me know how it goes!

For recipe ideas on how to create cheap healthy meals visit www.cheap-healthy-meals.com

Cinnamon a superfood?

Cinnamon not only tastes great on food but it can also help enhance your health. In Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine cinnamon has been used to treat all manners of health issues from digestion, anxiety and the common cold for 4000 years. According to Victoria Reteiny cinnamon can help with stabilising blood sugar, improving circulation and gout. Whether you need an immune system boost or are trying to lose weight, cinnamon just might be the spice you need in your life.

Nutrition
A 0.1 oz serving of cinnamon provides about 6 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.8 g carbohydrate, 1 mg sodium and 1.2 g fiber.

Vitamins
Cinnamon contains 7.1IU’s of vitamin A, 0.1 mg vitamin C, 0.1 mg vitamin E, 0.1 mg betaine and 0.3 mg choline. It also contains trace amounts of vitamin K, B6, pantothenic acid and folate.

Minerals
One teaspoon (0.07 oz) of cinnamon contains 1.5 mg magnesium, 1.6 mg phosphorus, 25.1 mg calcium, and 10.8 mg potassium. Additionally it contains 0.2 mg iron and trace amounts of zinc, copper and selenium.

Health Benefits
Both varieties of cinnamon, Ceylon and cassia, have antioxidant and microbial effects helping to keep the body disease free. Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar and has been proven to be effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance (pre-diabetes). For this reason this spice may be useful during weight loss resulting in less fat deposition of sugars. According to research by Christopher Cabello cinnamaldehyde, the essential oil in cinnamon bark has the ability to impair cancerous cell growth, although more research is required in this area.

Safety
Reports from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment state some cinnamon contains ‘coumarin’ which has blood thinning properties (see references 5 & 6 in notes). If you are diabetic consult your health care provider prior to using therapeutic doses of cinnamon.


References
1 - IDEA Fitness Journal. Spice Up Your Health. Retelny, V. (Dec, 2008)
5(10), pp. 65-73.
2 Canadian Journal of Physiology. From type 2 diabetes to antioxidant activity: a systematic review of the safety and efficacy of common and cassia cinnamon bark. Jean-Jacques, D. et al. (Nov, 2007) 85, pp. 837-847
3 – Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics. (2010) 23(4), pp. 437-528
3 –The Thyroid Diet. Shomon, M. (Feb, 2004) Harper Paperbacks.
Vasant, L. (1999) The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. Three Rivers Press.
4 - Free Radic Biological Medicine. The Cinnamon-derived Michael Acceptor Cinnamic Aldehyde Impairs Melanoma Cell Proliferation, Invasiveness and Tumor Growth. Christopher, M. Cabello. et al. (Jan, 2009). 46(2), pp.220-231

Best Foods For Weight Loss

Knowing the difference between what foods are good for weight loss and those that aren’t, can make the difference between achieving your goal weight and not. So what really are the best foods for weight loss?

I’ve scoured the internet to see what everyone else thinks. Some list grapes, others demonise carbohydrates, some promote grapefruit and other crazy stuff. What most of these websites miss though is that certain physiological things have to occur for weight loss, and its important we know this to decide what really are the best foods to help us achieve weight loss.

First you need to be using more energy than your body requires. This entails either exercising more or eating less, but you knew this already.

Second you need to maintain or build your muscles. Women note: no matter how hard you lift weights you will not get built like a man. If you simply lose weight for weights sake, as alot of dieters do, you lose muscle. This means your metabolism slows and you require less energy to stay alive and your body uses less energy at standstill or whilst exercising. This is simply because muscle is metabolically active whilst fat is not. So muscle is your friend and muscle is made of protein. So if your not eating enough protein currently I suggest you change this immediately. In fact a study in 2008 showed that women who ate 124g protein every day lost 7.8lbs more body fat than women who ate a low protein diet.

Best food choices: lean proteins such as chicken, tuna, white fish, salmon, beans, lentils, lean beef etc

The third thing is you need to be getting most of your energy from either carbohydrates or healthy fats, but not both! The reason for this is fat and carbs are simply energy. If you supply too much energy your body has no choice but to store it. If you are confused as to your preference I can tell you from experience that eating mainly healthy fats is practically harder as carbs are more available. Fats also contain fat soluble vitamins i.e. vitamin A, D, K, E whilst carbohydrates are just energy. You still need some healthy fats if you chose carbohydrates as your primary source of energy, but you will be fine if you never eat another carbohydrate in your life (which would be pretty hard to be honest).

Best food choices: For healthy fats you want the unsaturated types so foods like avocados, walnuts, almonds, salmon, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil etc. (carbs are covered below…)

The fourth thing is insulin. Many websites will tell you this is the fat storing hormone, but this is completely untrue. In physiology it is actually a storage hormone. This means that it can shuttle nutrients to parts of your body if it is required. So for example if you lift weights and train very hard and you eat some sugar after your workout, insulin is produced to shuttle the sugar into your muscles to replenish glycogen. Now if you dont lift weights or do any intense training then insulin shuttles the sugar into fat cells since there is no need for it. This exact process happens when you eat dohnuts, drink coke, or anything with a high amount of sugar in it.

To manage your insulin do not eat high amounts of sugar reguarly. Skip fizzy drinks (have the diet varieties instead) and also boiled sweets. Any white flour products such as breads, pastas, cookies, muffins etc are all made with white flour. To get around this we simply eat high fiber breads instead or even sprouted grain products such as Ezekial.

Best food choices: Oats, basmati or brown rice, high fiber breads, sprouted grain products, fiberous vegetables such as broccolli etc

So there you have a basic understanding of the physiological reasons why you need to eat certain things and avoid others.

With this basic yet effective information you should be able to make better choices that will make a dramatic difference. Go ahead, try it. Give yourself 4 weeks. For only 4 weeks make these better choices and see what happens. Whilst your at it I invite you to let me know how it went…

For info on how to create cheap healthy meals recipes please visit http://www.cheap-healthy-meals.com

References

Festedt, J. et al, (2008) A whey-protein supplement increases fat loss and spares lean muscle in obese subjects: a randomized human clinical study. Journal of Nutrition & Metabolism. 5, 8. pp. 1-7.