5 Eating Triggers You Need to Know Before You Diet

Many people find weight loss a daunting challenge and struggle to shed pounds and return to a healthy lifestyle. From yo-yo dieting to unrealistic goals and deprivation, people who struggle to lose weight often face an uphill battle. By identifying the triggers that lead to overeating and overcoming them, you will be well on your way to successful weight loss.

1.) Stress

People have to deal with stressful situations every day. From hectic work schedules to strained family life and the pressures of the daily grind, stress can wear out even the strongest person. Some who struggle with weight loss use food as a way to ease the stresses in their life. This leads to weight gain, which leads to more stress, creating a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.

2.) Culture

One of the main obstacles to people trying to lose weight is pressure from family. It can be very difficult to eat healthy meals when the family members are snacking on high fat and diet busting high calorie foods. In some cultures, it is a badge of honor to be overweight. Family gatherings such as holidays and celebrations may also lead to the pressure to overeat.

3.) Time of Day

Does the clock dictate what goes on your plate? Many people eat not because they're hungry, but because they are accustomed to eating at a certain time every day. Others fail to listen to their body's cues and allow social pressures to dictate what they eat. Joining the co-workers for lunch is often an automatic behavior that has nothing to do with hunger.

4.) Place

Studies have shown that where you eat has a huge bearing on how much we eat. When you sit down at a table to eat a meal you tend to eat less than if you're sitting on the couch. Eating while doing other tasks such as working at a desk can lead to overeating and weight gain. When eating a meal or a snack, focus on eating only. Attempting to multi-task while eating can cause you to lose track of the amount you're eating and take in too many excess calories.

5.) Social Factors

It can be hard to turn down the invitation to go out to dinner with friends every weekend. Eating is a social activity, and for some, cutting out eating meals in restaurants can be a difficult step. There are ways to enjoy social meals without wrecking your diet. Invite friends to "eat in" at your home and provide healthy choices as a substitute.

According to the National Institutes of Health, meditation is an effective way to lose weight. Meditation can help to release the stressors that lead to overeating. Another effective way to fight the battle with fat is through the practice of yoga. Yoga teaches how to focus the body's energy inward to solve problems and refocus the mind.

Engaging in regular yoga and meditation can help you tune into your body's cues and recognize the signals that cause you to overeat.

PBS TV host of Functional Fitness, and President of Healthwise Exercise,

Suzanne Andrews lost 65 pounds

 using her powerful motivating techniques revealed in her guided meditation CD for stress release and weight loss included free in Beginners Dynamic Yoga DVD. 

How To Stop Osteoporosis in a Snap

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Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone due to deficiency of bone matrix occurring frequently in post menopausal women and men. This condition is preventable and treatable with a bone builder plan of action. Osteoporosis results from a natural loss of bone substance which occurs naturally with aging. In some older adults, this bone loss reaches signifigant proportions, so that bones become thin and porous. When the amount of bone mass decreases as a result of osteoporosis, bones are weakened and may fracture. In the spine, the vertebrae can collapse and the back can take a 'bent' appearance. Osteoporosis can lead to fractures of the hips, wrists and ribs. These fractures occur with only slight trauma such as opening a window, and sometimes occur with no trauma at all.

Osteoporsis Prevention and Treatment

Calcium is stored in your bones and is essential for keeping your bones strong, nerve conduction and your heart beating. When your body is given a choice between your heart beating or your bones thinning, your body is going to choose your bones in order to keep you alive. So it's imperative that you get enough calcium.

The usual recommended dosage of calcium for pre-menopausal women is 1,000 mgs a day and for post menopausal women, 1500 mgs a day. Men under 65 should have 1000 mgs a day and men over 65 need 1500 mgs a day.
Calcium should be taken 2 to 3x a day, as your body can only absorb 500 mgs at a time. There are many calcium supplements; however Calcium carbonate had the highest amount of Calcium per capsule. It's also the least expensive and has the fewest side effects.

Bone Robbers

Some habits can steal calcium from your bones. These including eating large amounts of red meat, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, excessive caffeine and stress.

Role of Vitamin D

Vitamin D acts to increase your body's use of calcium so be sure to include 1000 mgs a day of vitamin D in your diet.

Medications for Osteoporosis

Your doctor may also recommend medications such as;

Actenol
Boniva
Fosamax
Forteo

However just taking a pill is not going to be enough. You have to include exercise in your plan of action if you want to strengthen and thicken your bones.

Role of Exercise

Regular WEIGHT BEARING exercise is essential for development and maintenance of strong healthy bones.
Exercises that combine movement, pull and stress on your arms, legs and spine is best for bone mass.  Just 30 minutes a day can save you from painful fractures and expensive medical bills.

Special Thanks to the Orthopedic Clinic of Daytona Beach for the above information.

Build Strong Bones with doctor recommended Functional Fitness Bone Builder DVD. Free Preview now
Osteoporosis Bone Builder DVD

What Every Boomer Should Know - The Truth About Exercise

We all know by now that exercising strengthens the heart, lungs, bones and muscles. It helps to ward off illness, relieve stress and prevent depression. So let's take a look at the how and why all these benefits occur.

Let's start at the cellular level. No, not your cell phone, I mean the cells in your body. There are trillions of cells. How much is a trillion? That's 1000 x a billion= a trillion. That's a bunch of cells. And every single one of them uses oxygen, water, nutrients from blood and produces waste. It's almost as if they are tiny little bodies in their own right and they need care and support just like you do. And for all the care you give them they give back the energy and stamina you need to complete your activities of daily living.

When you drink the proper amounts of water every day you are keeping your cells immersed in the solution they need to carry nutrients (food) to them and carry away hormones that the other parts of your body need to operate. When you don't drink enough water or supplant it with soda-pop or alcohol, your cells become like tiny fish flopping around on a muddy riverbed. They can't do what they're designed to and you get that blah feeling and reach for the remote instead of reaching for a fulfilling life. This solution they live in also carries away the wastes they produce to the blood so it can flow to the kidneys and be expelled as urine. What would you prefer to swim around in, a clean pool or a dirty pool?

To produce energy, cells also need oxygen molecules to breathe. Again, the more oxygen in your blood the better they can operate. Exercising increases the body's capacity to regulate oxygen flow in and out of the lungs where it is transferred into the bloodstream. By exercising on a regular basis the oxygen rich blood flows to these cells where they perform their job of rebuilding and revitalizing the body. Try climbing a flight of steps while breathing through a straw and that's what you're asking your cells to do when you don't exercise.

Ever since you were a kid your parents told you "eat your fruits and vegetables". Well darn it, they were right. Our modern diet of fats and sugars are not what our cells need to be able to perform the miracles of life they do. Now, I will never advocate you move to a cabin in the woods and live on berries, nuts and twigs, but come on folks, let's take it easy on the "C" foods: Cake, cookies, candy and creamy desserts.

When you really discipline yourself to start eating a sensible diet it might be hard at first, but a few weeks down the road you will feel like a new person. Why? Your body (cells) are cleansed of the fats and sugars that have little or no nutritional value which prevents them from producing the biological products that increase the energy and stamina you wish you had more than enough of every day.

Aerobic activity is any physical activity that raises the heart rate to between 55-90 percent of its maximum capacity for at least 20 minutes. Examples are aerobic work outs, jogging, swimming or biking at a brisk pace. Doing these activities on a regular basis makes the heart stronger, more durable and larger which increases its ability to pump MORE blood through the body thereby feeding the cells the water, oxygen and nutrients they need.

Whoever said it's the little things that really matter was more right than they realized.

Suzanne Andrews, president of http://www.healthwiseexercise.com
and founder of Functional Fitness on PBS TV offers baby boomers and plus size people real life fitness solutions for real life challenges. As a licensed occupational therapy practitioner, she offers DVD's that are medically reviewed and approved for arthritis, weight loss, copd, osteoporosis, brain fitness, diabetes, back pain relief and more. To learn more and for FREE preview go to http://www.healthwiseexercise.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16173&category_id=103