New Year's Resolution to Lose Fat: 7 Interesting Ways to Exercise Mental Discipline

Eat more, eat more: Many people want to make weight loss as part of their New Year's resolution but plenty of them are unsuccessful

What is your New Year's resolution?

Top New Year's resolution are to lose weight and giving up smoking. However, according to statistic 88% of all resolutions end in failure.

Why?

Willpower and self-control are more likely the answer to the failure. Though willpower can cause a diet failure, it is still possible to use motivation to lose weight by exercise mental discipline.

I found out 7 interesting ways suggest by Brain Course about how to practice mental discipline. Bookmark Brain Course now to seek another creative alternatives of how you can use 100% of your brain in an easy step.

7 Ways to Exercise Mental Discipline

1) Get used to your body in new ways
Switch your handedness and comb your hair, brush your teeth, stir your coffee or do other simple tasks with your non-dominant hand. Close your eyes and "sense" your way slowly around a room. Get truly conscious of the sounds and smells in the space around you. Also, use your feet to pick up things, flush the toilet or close a door. Read a page in a book held vertically and then upside down!

2) Find something to compliment others
Where normally you would criticize someone, find something to compliment them on instead! Suspend your judgment about that person as well, and view him (her) as simply another human being with different viewpoints than your own.

3) Look in your refrigerator briefly, but thoroughly
Then close the door and enumerate the items contained therein. Do the same with a room of your house, a store front window or a detailed picture on the wall.

4) Stepping directly into one life and viewing a situation as if you were that person
For 5 minutes every day, put yourself in another person's shoes and view things from another person's perspective for a change and see how it feels. Suspend your judgment about that person as well. Pretend you're an actor and taking on the part of that person in exact demeanor and manner. Feel how it feels!!

5) Think of what you want most
Whenever you catch yourself worrying, doubting or looking down on yourself, think instead of what you most want out of life in complete detail, and affirm to yourself the achievement of same. Replay this positive inner movie whenever negative thoughts intrude during your day.

6) Review what happened to you in the past 60 minutes
At the end of every daily hour, review what happened to you during the previous 60 minutes. This is good practice for getting more mindful throughout your day, and should only take seconds to do. At day's end, mentally review all the events that happened to you throughout the day up to your present point. Memory gaps about your day's events reveal unconscious moments.

7) Do something different every day
To develop flexibility and adaptability in your life, do something different every day. Shop at a different store. Take a different route home. Bake a pie or a loaf of bread. Involve yourself in a new game or sport, like roller skating, bowling, karate or sky diving. Introduce yourself to a new neighbor. Sameness every day is a death knell to your brain. For more complete usage of your brain, diverse stimulation is the key. It also gets you unstuck from habits and ruts that are bringing you unfavorable results.


Will you achieve your New Year's resolution? Stay focused. As for me, whom keep weight loss resolution for years, it's time to makes a bit adjustment. Instead of losing weight, I want to resolved a healthy weight loss by committed in exercising at least 3 times a week.

What is your New Year's resolution? Any thoughts welcome!

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Motivation to Lose Weight: 2 Reasons Why Willpower Cause Diet Failure

So, I discontinue self-challenge of 10-days juice diet. It was on the day I cheated on my diet.

There's no specific reason for that. I just become less motivated to continue after slipping up. A bit.

Though staying motivated is a key success to any diet plan, it could be other factor for diet failure as well. You asked, "But how?" Gnolls has a long elaboration about it.

1. Motivation to lose weight requires energy
The brain area, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for willpower. Willpower is weak and requires real energy. It is a struggle for a tired and preoccupied brain to resist what it wants, though what it wants isn't what we need. A sudden change of habit probably asking the brain for too much. However, it is possible to strengthen the willpower by exercising it, as an experiment done by Prof. Baumeister in 1999.

The prefrontal cortex. Image from gnolls.org

2. Motivation to lose weight causes stress
Restrained eating using your willpower will only makes you feel stressed. And when you stress out, you tend to eat more.

Stress makes a person fat primarily because of an excessive secretion of the key stress hormone, cortisol, along with a reduced secretion of key anabolic hormones, such as DHEA, testosterone, and growth hormone. This combination of highly catabolic cortisol and reduced anabolic hormones causes the body to store fat, lose muscle, slow metabolic rate, and increase appetite—all of which have the ultimate effect of making a person fatter. Overall, stress makes you burn fewer calories and consume more food (especially carbohydrates), which increases your stress levels even more! - The Cortisol Connection

Final Thought
Weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolution. But it's a best approach to minimize the role of willpower to lose weight, as pushing the brain too hard will only makes it get tired and later result in diet failure. Practicing mental discipline in one area, such as self-control, can make it easier to met New Year's resolution to lose weight.

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Day 3 on Juice Diet: 4 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Constipation On a Juice Diet

Today is Day 3 of my Juice Diet 10 Days Challenge. So far so good. Juice diet making me feel alert but my only problem with juice diet is constipation. Though it's been warned that diarrhea is common during juice diet, I have a different experience. I will usually become constipated while on juice diet. But I am glad because my slow-moving bowel is back to normal today.

I believe that it's not just me who's experience constipation on a juice diet. eHow has 4 simple ways to simplify your juice diet to avoid constipation.


1. Drink more water
You can either mix the juice and water in equal portion or drink a glass of water prior to drinking the juice. Water can help alleviate constipation by making the stool soft and easy to pass.

2. Avoid caffeine
During juice diet, it is recommended to avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, and cola drinks. These are diuretics, which eliminate water from our body and contribute to dehydration.

3. Drink at least four 8-oz. portions of fresh juice each day
If you find yourself feeling hungry, simply drink more juice. Since you are basically consuming raw nutrients and vitamins, there is no hindrance on how much you should have to feel satisfied. Just remember to pair each juice serving with an equal amount of water.

4. Prepare various vegetable juice concoctions in the juicer
Vegetable juice should be the main component of the diet. Carrots are popular for their vitamin content and taste, but greens are essential as well. Just remember that, since you are dealing with fresh juice, it should be consumed immediately after preparation.

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Day 3 on Juice Diet: 4 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Constipation On a Juice Diet

Today is Day 3 of my Juice Diet 10 Days Challenge. So far so good. Juice diet making me feel alert but my only problem with juice diet is constipation. Though it's been warned that diarrhea is common during juice diet, I have a different experience. I will usually become constipated while on juice diet. But I am glad because my slow-moving bowel is back to normal today.

I believe that it's not just me who's experience constipation on a juice diet. eHow has 4 simple ways to simplify your juice diet to avoid constipation.


1. Drink more water
You can either mix the juice and water in equal portion or drink a glass of water prior to drinking the juice. Water can help alleviate constipation by making the stool soft and easy to pass.

2. Avoid caffeine
During juice diet, it is recommended to avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, and cola drinks. These are diuretics, which eliminate water from our body and contribute to dehydration.

3. Drink at least four 8-oz. portions of fresh juice each day
If you find yourself feeling hungry, simply drink more juice. Since you are basically consuming raw nutrients and vitamins, there is no hindrance on how much you should have to feel satisfied. Just remember to pair each juice serving with an equal amount of water.

4. Prepare various vegetable juice concoctions in the juicer
Vegetable juice should be the main component of the diet. Carrots are popular for their vitamin content and taste, but greens are essential as well. Just remember that, since you are dealing with fresh juice, it should be consumed immediately after preparation.

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Day 2 on Juice Diet: 6 Things To Expect When on Fruit Juice Diet

Carrot + Cucumber + Tomato juice

The plan: Eat nothing but fruit juice and water for the whole 10 days.

I found that a vegetable fruit drink made me feel awake and energetic. With vegetable fruit juice diet, my body and tortured organ is given a rest. This diet does not only gives our body a new start, but help to lose weight. A vegetable fruit juice diet consume only raw fruit and vegetable juice and water only. Solid food of any kind is not allowed. Juicing for Health warn about this 6 symptom you may experience during vegetable fruit juice diet.

Time for juice!

1. Aches and pains
Elimination of toxins can cause tightness in some parts of the body resulting in aches and pains. During a long fast, some people are temporarily freed from arthritis and other constant pains that they normally experience. Headaches or stomachaches may be withdrawal symptoms from salt, sugar or caffeine.

2. Hunger pangs
Hunger pangs are worst-felt during the first three days of a fast. An water enema can help to quickly reduce hunger pangs and get you into a fasting state, as it ends the digestion in the colon. Once you get through the first three days, you will be surprised that the hunger pangs just disappear and you can continue with a prolonged fast rather easily.

3. Weakness
Your stamina takes a dip when you are fasting. The lack of energy also means that your body is not burning fuel to keep your body warm. During this time, it is normal to feel cold most of the time. Keep warm by wearing some warm under-garments. Sleepiness is also commonplace, so take your time to sleep in and rest.

4. Bowel movement
Diarrhea is common during juice fasting as fruit juices have natural laxative effect. Elimination of mucus or dark stools is normal as these are elimination of toxins. Some people take enemas in the morning to help them ease the bowel. A properly administered colon hydrotherapy will also do much good when juice fasting for a prolonged period.

5. Giddiness or nausea
You may experience some light-headedness or nausea in some cases because of the hunger pangs. During this period, a lie-in might help if you feel faint. Taking about 3000mg to 5000mg vitamin C will help detoxify some of the toxins for relief (don't worry, you won't get overdose on vitamin C). You can also drink a glass of carrot and capsicum juice that will work wonders.

6. Bad breath and body odor
Bad breath is normal during fasting and body odor may also increase. But if the odor gets excessive, add alfalfa juice to your juice fast recipes. A white-coated tongue at the beginning of a fast contributes to bad breath, but is evidence of your body eliminating toxins from the body.

Read more

Day 2 on Juice Diet: 6 Things To Expect When on Fruit Juice Diet

Carrot + Cucumber + Tomato juice

The plan: Eat nothing but fruit juice and water for the whole 10 days.

I found that a vegetable fruit drink made me feel awake and energetic. With vegetable fruit juice diet, my body and tortured organ is given a rest. This diet does not only gives our body a new start, but help to lose weight. A vegetable fruit juice diet consume only raw fruit and vegetable juice and water only. Solid food of any kind is not allowed. Juicing for Health warn about this 6 symptom you may experience during vegetable fruit juice diet.

Time for juice!

1. Aches and pains
Elimination of toxins can cause tightness in some parts of the body resulting in aches and pains. During a long fast, some people are temporarily freed from arthritis and other constant pains that they normally experience. Headaches or stomachaches may be withdrawal symptoms from salt, sugar or caffeine.

2. Hunger pangs
Hunger pangs are worst-felt during the first three days of a fast. An water enema can help to quickly reduce hunger pangs and get you into a fasting state, as it ends the digestion in the colon. Once you get through the first three days, you will be surprised that the hunger pangs just disappear and you can continue with a prolonged fast rather easily.

3. Weakness
Your stamina takes a dip when you are fasting. The lack of energy also means that your body is not burning fuel to keep your body warm. During this time, it is normal to feel cold most of the time. Keep warm by wearing some warm under-garments. Sleepiness is also commonplace, so take your time to sleep in and rest.

4. Bowel movement
Diarrhea is common during juice fasting as fruit juices have natural laxative effect. Elimination of mucus or dark stools is normal as these are elimination of toxins. Some people take enemas in the morning to help them ease the bowel. A properly administered colon hydrotherapy will also do much good when juice fasting for a prolonged period.

5. Giddiness or nausea
You may experience some light-headedness or nausea in some cases because of the hunger pangs. During this period, a lie-in might help if you feel faint. Taking about 3000mg to 5000mg vitamin C will help detoxify some of the toxins for relief (don't worry, you won't get overdose on vitamin C). You can also drink a glass of carrot and capsicum juice that will work wonders.

6. Bad breath and body odor
Bad breath is normal during fasting and body odor may also increase. But if the odor gets excessive, add alfalfa juice to your juice fast recipes. A white-coated tongue at the beginning of a fast contributes to bad breath, but is evidence of your body eliminating toxins from the body.

Read more

Day 1 on Juice Diet: 4 Ways to Kick-Start Weight Loss

As Christmas is around the corner, I decided to start a short period of diet - 10 Days Fruit Juice diet. I was thinking that this could be a great kickstart to my long term weight loss plan. I must say that sticking to a diet plan to lose weight is never easy.

How discouraging it can be when a friend manage to lose weight on a particular diet plan, whereas when you tried it, you gained weight. A wrong strategies might be the reason why you can't lose weight. Fitness Magazine shows 4 tactics how to fix your effort to lose weight.

1. Make Ambitious Exercise Goals
Plan to exercise every day, even if you know you won't make it. According to research from the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida in Gainesville, most of us accomplish only 60 percent of our weekly fitness goals. So if you plan to work out for an hour every day, you'll probably make it to three or four workouts a week.

2. Keep Your Diet Simple
Instead of eating out, prepare dinners at home. "Too much variety actually stimulates your appetite," explains Hollie A. Raynor, PhD, RD, assistant professor of research at Brown Medical School in Providence. "If you're faced with a ton of options, you'll likely eat more just out of curiosity."

3. Order First
Be the one to place an order when you're dining out. Choose healthier food like salad and grilled fish. Otherwise you'll tend to follow if everyone is ordering the burger and fries. "You can be influenced by other people's food decisions," says Gerard J. Musante, PhD, a clinical psychologist and founder of Structure House, a residential weight-loss center in Durham, North Carolina.

4. Take Eight (Hours)
Lack of sleep will lowers the level of the hormone leptin -- this can increase your desire to eat and decrease your ability to burn calories. To lose or maintain weight, there's an ideal sleep zone of about eight hours a night, say researchers.


I would love to hear if you have any great idea to add to this list. Please leave it in the comment section below. Because sharing is caring!

Read more

Day 1 on Juice Diet: 4 Ways to Kick-Start Weight Loss

As Christmas is around the corner, I decided to start a short period of diet - 10 Days Fruit Juice diet. I was thinking that this could be a great kickstart to my long term weight loss plan. I must say that sticking to a diet plan to lose weight is never easy.

How discouraging it can be when a friend manage to lose weight on a particular diet plan, whereas when you tried it, you gained weight. A wrong strategies might be the reason why you can't lose weight. Fitness Magazine shows 4 tactics how to fix your effort to lose weight.

1. Make Ambitious Exercise Goals
Plan to exercise every day, even if you know you won't make it. According to research from the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida in Gainesville, most of us accomplish only 60 percent of our weekly fitness goals. So if you plan to work out for an hour every day, you'll probably make it to three or four workouts a week.

2. Keep Your Diet Simple
Instead of eating out, prepare dinners at home. "Too much variety actually stimulates your appetite," explains Hollie A. Raynor, PhD, RD, assistant professor of research at Brown Medical School in Providence. "If you're faced with a ton of options, you'll likely eat more just out of curiosity."

3. Order First
Be the one to place an order when you're dining out. Choose healthier food like salad and grilled fish. Otherwise you'll tend to follow if everyone is ordering the burger and fries. "You can be influenced by other people's food decisions," says Gerard J. Musante, PhD, a clinical psychologist and founder of Structure House, a residential weight-loss center in Durham, North Carolina.

4. Take Eight (Hours)
Lack of sleep will lowers the level of the hormone leptin -- this can increase your desire to eat and decrease your ability to burn calories. To lose or maintain weight, there's an ideal sleep zone of about eight hours a night, say researchers.


I would love to hear if you have any great idea to add to this list. Please leave it in the comment section below. Because sharing is caring!

Read more

Lose Weight Diet: The Grapefruit Diet 5 Day Plan

Stunning at 43: Kylie Minogue at the 2011 ARIA Awards. Image from zimbio.com

Pop star Kylie Minogue is a fan of the grapefruit diet. The grapefruit diet was first introduce in the 1930s to promote fast weight loss. There are many version of grapefruit diet today but the main idea of every grapefruit diet plan is to eat half a grapefruit or a glass of grapefruit juice before every meal.

Red grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit. Photography by Ben Dearnley. Image from taste.com.au

To eat grapefruit or drink a glass of grapefruit juice before meal can fill you up, hence reduce your appetite, so you'll eat fewer calories at meals. A study funded by the Florida Department of Citrus in 2006 found that the addition of a half grapefruit or 4 ounces of juice with meals resulted in an average weight loss of more than 3 pounds in 12 weeks, with some participants losing 10 pounds. Grapefruit has no fat, low in calories, glycemic index and sodium and rich in Vitamin C. Choose pink grapefruit for added nutrition, which is rich in beta-caratone.

Pomelo: one of the parent of grapefruit. Image from Season With Spice

Day 1
Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit ( or 8 ounce/a glass of grapefruit juice), 2 boiled eggs, 2 slices turkey breast, tea or coffee (without sugar)

Lunch
1/2 grapefruit, 170g grilled chicken breast, 60g romaine lettuce, 70g chopped carrots, 80g green bell pepper, 1 small dice tomato and 2 tbsp olive oil and vinegar

Dinner
1/2 grapefruit, 1 skillet-fried medium veal chop with 50g mushrooms and rosemary, 30g fresh spinach, 30g lettuce and 2 tbsp salad dressing


Day 2
Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit ( or 8 ounce/a glass of grapefruit juice), 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice bacon, tea or coffee without sugar

Lunch
1/2 grapefruit, salad made with approx. 170g canned tuna60g spinach, 1 slice tomato, 2 tbsp olive oil and vinegar

Dinner
1/2 grapefruit, 170g grilled chicken breast, 30g fresh spinach, 30g lettuce, 2tbsp. salad dressing


Day 3
Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit ( or 8 ounce/a glass of grapefruit juice),Two spoons of oat dish or muesli with tea ladle of raisins, nuts a ladle (except peanuts) with the add-on of skimmed divert or yoghurt (4 spoons).

Lunch
1/2 grapefruit, a crater of unfeeling soup with two crackers.

Dinner
1/2 grapefruit (eat before going to bed), 200 g duck (grilled or boiled), 2 roasted tomatoes. Tea.


Day 4
Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit ( or 8 ounce/a glass of grapefruit juice), 2 boiled eggs, lemon tea without sugar

Lunch
1/2 grapefruit, 140g chopped turkey mixed with 2 tbsp. chopped celery, 1 slice tomato, 2 chopped pickles, 2 tbsp. mayonnaise

Dinner
1/2 grapefruit, 200g steamed broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, 60g lettuce, salad dressing, 170g pan-fried chicken breast


Day 5
Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit ( or 8 ounce/a glass of grapefruit juice), 2 pieces of ham weighing 25 g (without a aura of white fat), coffee or tea without sugar.

Lunch
1/2 grapefruit, fully cooked large potatoes with salad of cabbage or any immature unfeeling (200 g)

Dinner
1/2 grapefruit, beef steak (200 g) or duck (250 g) or fish (250 g). Baked tomatoes or chopped tomatoes juice.

Points to remember:

1. Sauces are prohibited
2. Dinner should be at least two hours before bedtime
3. Do not skip meal, eat balance diet
4. Enhance your physical activity
5. Drink enough water
6. Dieters who want more than 12 days of monotony must wait two days before starting the diet again

Source:
1. WebMD
2. Detox Diet

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Lose Fat: The Pros and Cons of Weight Loss Tea

Weight loss tea which originated in the eastern such as China has become a popular weight loss aids for many years. Weight loss tea is different from regular tea. They contain herbs such as Senna which stimulate the bowels and create a powerful laxative effect.

The Pros of Weight Loss Tea

1. Effective and usually started to work 8 hours after drinking one.
2. It is a boost to lose weight while you are on diet and exercise plan.
3. Remove toxins out from the body.

The Cons of Weight Loss Tea

1. Weight loss tea contains senna which cause stomach discomfort, cramps, and diarrhea.
2. Long-term use can change the amount or balance of some chemicals in the blood (electrolytes) that can cause heart function disorders, muscle weakness, liver damage, and other harmful effects.
3. Using weight loss tea for more than 2 weeks can cause the bowels to stop functioning normally and might cause dependence on laxatives.

Source: WebMD

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Best Way to Lose Fat: The 4 Week Meal Plan of Sugar Blockage Diet

This Blockage Sugar diet plan is suggested by one of the forumer in Lowyat.

The Five ‘No’s’

1. No sugar
2. No sauces (chili, oyster, tomato)
3. No gravy
4. No carbohydrate (*rice for 1st 4 weeks, noodle, white bread, flour)
5. No carbonated soft drinks (including 100 Plus)


1st week :-

Mon-Wed :
- Breakfast, lunch & dinner: Strictly only x2 eggs (fried/scrambled/hard boiled/steamed) for each meal

Thu-Sun:
- Breakfast: x2 eggs (fried/scrambled/hard boiled/steamed)
- Lunch: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (all fish)/fowl (chicken/duck)
- Dinner: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (all fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck)


2nd week :-

Mon-Sun:
- Breakfast: x2 eggs (fried/scrambled/hard boiled/steamed)
- Lunch: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (all fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck) & any green leaf vegetables
- Dinner: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (all fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck) & any green leaf vegetables


3rd week :-

Mon-Sun:
- Breakfast: x2 eggs (fried/scrambled/hard boiled/steamed)
- Lunch: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (any fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck) & any green leaf vegetables & fruits
- Dinner: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (any fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck) & any green leaf vegetables & fruits


4th week :-

Mon-Sun:
- Breakfast: x2 eggs(fried/scrambled/hard boiled/steamed)
- Lunch: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (any fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck)
- Dinner: meat (lean beef/pork/lamb)/fish (any fish)/ fowl (chicken/duck)


5th week onwards:-

Mon-Sun:
- Breakfast is to be taken within half an hour from the moment of waking up to stabilize blood sugar level & reduce
sugar cravings.

Suggested meal: Plain yoghurt + kiwi + red apple + x2 whole meal bread with peanut butter/ x2 eggs + plain Milo

- Lunch

Suggested meal: ¼ bowl of rice + 1 bowl of vegetables + tofu/eggs + chicken/fish
* Vegetables, tofu, eggs, chicken & fish must either be steam/boiled/stir-fry/grill/bake

- Dinner is best taken in between 5:30pm – 6:30pm where digestion is still good. After 7pm no carbohydrate should be taken.

Suggested meal: ¼ bowl of rice + 1 bowl of vegetables + tofu/eggs + chicken/fish
* Vegetables, tofu, eggs, chicken & fish must either be steam/boiled/stir-fry/grill/bake

- Snacks can be taken 3 hours after main meal.

Suggested meal: 1 red apple/2 digestive biscuits/plain Milo/plain yoghurt

* After 8pm, no solid food should be taken; only liquid food such as plain Milo/full cream milk can be taken if hungry.
* No drinking water after 10pm; body will store the water resulting in bloating.


Source: Lowyat Forum

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