Dont just think about losing weight, do it!

We've all been there, does this sound familiar? You begin a new diet, lose a couple of pounds in the first few weeks,  except instead of being energised and ready to take on the world you feel exhausted. Many people report feeling run down or fatigued when they start a new weight loss plan, thinking it goes with the territory. But, there is no reason to accept being tired as a normal dieting side effect.

Weight loss is about regaining your health, and fixing a damaged metabolism. If you are feeling more tired and anxious while dieting, then you are not making the best health changes. When you start dropping pounds, you should feel energetic, have a more positive outlook, and sleep better than you have in years. Sleepwalking through your day is a sign a few adjustments are needed. In fact, a new feeling of vitality should kick in before you see a physical change.

While people think they are doing all the right things, eating less and burning more, they are actually working against themselves. Dieters end up feeling miserable, face first in a gallon of double fudge ice-cream. That's because, dramatically limiting calories, fasting, and over exercising wreaks havoc on the body. These added internal pressures trigger the stress hormone cortisol. Not only does cortisol cause the body to store fat, it is a natural anti-sleep agent. With high levels of cortisol in your system, it is impossible have restful sleep.

People become anxious when they try to lose weight. To relieve grogginess, you must regulate the cortisol and other stress hormones released by the adrenal glands.

You can avoid fatigue by allowing yourself to be free in ways not involving a tight reign on self control. Let loose in ways you enjoy separate from food. Treat yourself to a day at the spa, or go shopping. Choose something you enjoy and allow yourself to feel free, live life basically.

If you are unable to control obsessive thinking, you can reduce anxiety with other techniques. Refocusing with meditation works well, I have tried this myself and it does wonders for the mind and gives you back control. Even though you want to lose weight, try focusing on something less exhausting when you feel worn down. Meditation is a proven way to reduce anxiety and fatigue. Learning to meditate can help relieve tension when battling your weight.

Of course, we can't ignore the role food plays. Health professionals advise going natural to increase energy. "One cause of fatigue is eating processed diet foods. These packaged foods have no enzymes, and are often full of chemicals for enhancing flavor, such as MSG and aspartame," explains raw food expert Susan Schenck,"such exitoxins cause fatigue."

I fell into this trap once and would fill up on packaged 'nutrition' bars and then wonder why I would have to take forty winks! I found that eating a diet of whole foods alleviated a lethargic mood. A diet high in raw foods is rich in enzymes, giving the pancreas a rest from cranking out digestive chemicals needed to compensate for enzymes lost when cooking.

- Drink plenty of water. Drink half your body weight in ounces. Spring or filtered water is best, not sparkling.

- Combine high quality proteins and carbohydrate sources, such as nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, eggs and low-fat cheeses. Generally small amounts of protein spread evenly throughout the day keep blood sugar stable.

- Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables. They help prevent cancer, balance hormones and are high in potassium and phytonutrients.

- Eliminate grains and starches. Your body will burn those sources of sugar before stored fat.

- Eliminate caffeine and get on a regular sleep schedule. Cutting stimulants out will be hard at first, but will eliminate the roller coaster effect on adrenal hormones and insulin. This results in more energy at the right time.

- See a nutritionalist to help you balance hormones and properly supplement your nutritional needs.

So don't just look in the mirror wondering what you would look like, start today, the result is a stronger, leaner body. So, take control of your weight loss and experience the vitality and happiness you deserve from a healthy lifestyle.

Have a great weekend

Back in training

Having just recovered from flu I am now back into training so thought would give a quick update.

In the gym yesterday did a great session, 5k run and then some core strengthening. Today had a go on the spin bike, haven't done that in ages and it really is good for keeping the legs ticking over.

I was reading this week of the $25 million dollar weight loss scam: http://goo.gl/KKYtD
Unfortunately not everyone is sincere in helping others.  The system I used to lose weight though does work and yes it is easy.  In saying that it's like anything, you have to want to do it in the first place. Check this out for more and to see how am able to compete in Triathlons today: http://goo.gl/MLFHI

Eat yourself healthy with Scallops and Chilli

Eat yourself beautiful and healthy. This is good for the skin, hair and nails. Scallops are rich in minerals that mop up toxins from your body. They also slow down the oxidation of fatty acid, preserving the elasticity of the skin.

Seared Scallops with Minted Pea Puree

Serves:4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Marinating time: 1hour

Who would think that whilst scuba diving I would have the opportunity to catch our dinner, which would turn out to be one of the healthiest foods you could eat.  We were on a dive trip off the coast of Cornwall last August on the “Wave Chieftan 3”, a film crew boat that also serves as a dive boat on occasion. Our Captain Nigel had loads of great stories to tell and after informing us that the week before Brad Pitt was on board filming his new movie, (I’ll be looking out for the release of that) we had some options for our next dive.  Scuba diving offers lots of variety and I didn’t know quite was in store for this trip.  After our first dive whilst fishing for supper (Mackerel and White Bait) we were given the opportunity to dive for Scallops.  Hmm, ok I thought, this sound interesting, a first for me and after a discussion with the rest of the dive crew we all agreed.  We took two catch bags and collected the most amazing haul of Scallops. It was truly amazing not only to catch the Scallops in the first place but also to be in a position to eat them at their absolute freshest.  At our friends house he showed us how to cook them with the recipe below, which was scrumptious but also very healthy. Hope you enjoy

    Juice of half an orange

    2 tbsp soy sauce

    1tbsp good quality honey (Manuka if possible)

    1tbsp olive oil

    1tbsp rice vinegar

    Sea salt and ground black pepper

    12 large scallops without the coral, prepared, rinsed and dried

    1 long red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

    2tbsp chopped fresh coriander

    4 thin lime wedges for decoration

For the puree

    225g Petit Pois

    vegetable stock

    1tbsp extra-virgin olive

    3tbsp chopped fresh mint

Mix together the orange juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar and olive oil in a large shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper then add the scallops and turn to coat them in the marinade

Cover and allow to marinade in the fridge for up to 1hr (no longer or the scallops will start to cook in the juice.

To make the pea puree, place the peas in a pan and cover with vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender. Drain the peas, reserving 6tbsp of the stock for later.

Return the peas and the reserved stock to the pan and warm through. Mash the peas with a potato masher to make a coarse puree. Stir in the olive oil and mint, then season with pepper.

Heat a large griddle pan over a high heat. Griddle the scallops for one minute each side until seared. Divide the puree between 4 plates and top with the scallops. Scatter overt the chilli and coriander and service with lime wedges for squeezing over.

On yer bike

Lets face it after Christmas everyone wants to get fit and what easier way than hitting the road with a cycling workout, this is one of the quickest ways to lose weight and feel better about yourself – and it’s fun too. Whether you’re looking to lose those extra Christmas pounds, just improve your fitness or just looking to get a little bit of exercise back into your life, a cycling workout can be just the ticket for you.

My training regularly sees me burning 3000 calories from 25+ miles however, if you have a few miles to travel to work or school in the mornings this is an easy way to kill two birds with one stone and gradually lose that weight.

Remember though that whilst you might feel fine, underneath it is always possible that there could be a number of problems that have gone undetected until now that could be subsequently triggered by picking up the pace with your exercise program, so always consult a doctor before conducting a new physical activity.

Firstly, your fitness with cycling program should begin with a few stretches or even a light jog, to make sure your muscles are warmed up for physical activity. After that, climb on board your bike and get cycling. Always take it slow at first, whilst we all think we are budding Lance Armstrong’s remember he trained more hours that most people work.

A good idea is to take it slowly to start with – On your first day, cycle a block or cycle to work at a medium pace. Don’t try to race there – you will tire yourself out and you’ll be in no state to hit the office. Likewise it’s important to ease yourself into an exercise program, particularly if you haven’t been overly active for a few years or you’re looking to shift excess weight. After a couple of weeks boost your intensity and your distance on your cycling regime to build up your fitness levels and to get you moving and burning calories and fat. Ultimately keep going up in intensity as your body learns to handle more in order to leave you with the perfect introduction to a fitness for cycling program.

Cycling for fitness reasons can be both fun and practical, and it can also help shift excess weight in no time at all. Try it today, after visiting your GP for a health check, and see what wonders can lie in store for you after beginning a more active, healthier lifestyle with a view to losing weight and feeling great. Let me know how you get on.

Effective Herbal weight loss methods

Obesity is one of the major problems now a days the reasons being many. Maintaining healthy life by using herbal products is called as Herbal life. Herbal life products contain herbal components and help in losing weight. The genuine herbalweight loss combined with exercise can definitely help in getting rid of excessive weight.

Herbal products are prepared from the leaves, stems, roots, bark, buds and flowers of plants. They are taken in their natural form or refined into tablets. When compared with other weight loss products, herbal products are more effective and less in calories. Herbal products are rich in taste. Herbal products help in losing weight in a very short span of time without any risk and there are no restrictions in diet. 

Some of herbal medicines manufactured for weight loss are:

Ephedra: This is a stimulant, which suppresses the appetite. Small amounts can be taken but it is not recommended for diabetic or heart patients. 

PPA (PHENYL PROPANOL AMINE HYDROCHLORIDE): Researchers say that it improves weight loss when taken with a low calorie diet. FDA has approved it with a warning on their labels. 

Herbal teas: The ingredients, which promote weight loss, are locus plant, ginseng, buchu leaves and papaya. Herbal teas are growing in popularity. 

Amino acids (CARNITINE): This enhances the burning of fat. Since it has calories, it increases the calorie intake also. 

Fucus vesiculosis: This is a sea vegetable having iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium. Since it contains iodine, it helps in thyroid hormone production to maintain metabolism in our body. 

Gallium Aperine: This is a diuretic and lymphatic cleanser. It is used to clear the body of toxins.

Garcinia Cambogia is a natural appetite suppressant and boosts metabolism.

Taraxacum Officinalis has a rich source of vitamins like A, D, C and B and minerals, iron, magnesium, Zinc and manganese. 

Glycolrrhiza Glabra is a tonic stimulant for the digestive system.

Erythrea Centauriumis is an excellent purifier of blood and a general tonic

Pauline Cupani boosts energy levels 

Curcuma Longa was used three thousand years ago as a treatment for obesity

Zingiber Officinalis stimulates energy production and improves digestion

Herbals are most popular dietary supplements. Weight loss can be achieved through correct diet plan, regular exercise and brisk walk. Herbal products not only help in weight loss but are also good in taste. Herbal life products are les expensive compared to other weight loss pills. Herbal weight loss program is easy to follow and can fit into any schedule. Exercise is not a must to lose weight with the herbal weight loss program.