80/20 approach to dieting

The 80/20 Approach to a Healthy Diet

Have you put on weight recently? You’re not alone. Stress and holidays can sap our mental strength and willpower and cause us to seek comfort in food. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, when you follow the simple plan outlined below, you can easily get your body back on track, take control of your cravings, and—as an added bonus—feel less stressed!

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5 Ways to Nurture Motivation

5 Ways to Nurture Your Motivation

Motivation is key to succeeding in life – personally, professionally, physically, and emotionally. But motivation is a tricky thing. Not only is it extremely powerful, it can also be hard to maintain—especially when it feels like everything is piling up.  Here are five tips to help you nurture and maintain your own motivation.

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how to stay sane working from home

Tips to Stay Sane Juggling the “New Normal”

How to Improve Your Work from Home Experience

This “New Normal” we’re all living in is something to behold:  the spouse singing bad karaoke in the background of your Zoom meetings, the baby dribbling food down the front of your good “work” pajamas, going to sleep late (waking up even later), and trying to decide whether or not to cut your own hair.

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how to stick to your diet

The 3 Most Important Secrets to Sticking to Your Diet

Dieting isn’t easy. In fact, the very concept of “dieting” is inherently flawed, implying it’s something short-term. Classifying a diet as temporary actually makes it harder to maintain healthy actions long enough to see results.

Instead, dieting should be a constant flow towards healthier eating habits. That mental shift turns something you’re forcing yourself to do into something that you do automatically. The change is subtle but the psychological impact is stunning.

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5 exercises to maintain muscle mass

5 Exercises to Maintain Muscle Mass

After age 30 we begin to lose muscle mass, as much as 3% to 5% per decade, according to Harvard Health Publishing. But there are simple exercises to help you maintain muscle mass and lose weight that don’t require a gym membership. Increasing your movement is the best (and easiest) way to reach those goals. Movement—no matter how small—counts as exercise and we can often squeeze it in more often than a trip to the gym.

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Trust your gut

Trust Your Gut

How Gut Health Impacts Our Mood and Everyday Life

There has been a tremendous amount of new research concerning how our gut communicates with our minds and vice-versa. The science from that research suggests that our gut health has a much more far-reaching impact on our lives than we thought.

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how to add movement to your day

Are You Moving Enough?

Is our lifestyle making us unhealthy?

The truth is that we, as a nation, have changed the way we live over the last 40 years. We’ve decreased the amount of physical activity in which we engage while simultaneously increasing the amount of sedentary hours we put in both at work and at home. This combination has led to harmful weight gain and preventable chronic diseases.

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Dieting and Sustainability

Dieting and Sustainability

Our blog usually addresses dieting (i.e. reducing your “waist”).  In honor of earth month and mother earth let’s talk about reducing your waste (“sustainability”).  As you read, you may realize that many of the same concepts apply to both dieting and sustainability.

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benefits of plant based diet

Eat to Live: The Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet

For generations we have been trained to associate “meat” with “protein.” How many of us grew up with steak, chicken or fish as staples on our dinner tables? Advertising agencies have worked hard to reinforce that artificial bond and make beef “what’s for dinner.” But as we begin to search for healthier, alternative diets, diets that will help us lose weight, feed our bodies with good nutrition, and even diets that have less of an environmental impact, many of us have turned to plant-based proteins. Why?

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How to Have Fun While Burning Calories

Burn Calories While Having Fun!

Does the thought of hitting the gym bore you to tears? How many times can you listen to the same playlist and flip through the same old magazines while you pound the treadmill for miles? If you’re like 90% of the people who have resolved to live a better life and exercise more, you’ve failed in the past. Why is that? If your active routine isn’t fun and/or exciting, chances are you won’t stick with it.

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Walking Burns Fat

Add a Few More Steps to Your Day and Burn That Unwanted Fat Away

How often have you heard that dieting alone isn’t enough for weight loss? The best way to lose weight is by combining a calorie-restrictive diet with moderate amounts of exercise. It makes sense—if you eat less and burn more calories, you will lose weight.

But the term “exercise” scares a lot of people away, and that fear eats at their willpower. Thankfully, a current study shows that you don’t have to hit the gym five days a week for extra health benefits. In fact, something as simple as walking a little more every day (say three hours per week, which is less than 30 minutes per day) can have a dramatic effect on your health!

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insomnia and obesity

5 Holistic Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep

We’ve all had a sleepless night now and again. Maybe the new promotion, the big move, or your daughter’s impending graduation kept your mind racing. Maybe that burrito you had for dinner wants to fight. Maybe the neighbors are just too loud. But if your sleeplessness is something more than the occasional restless night, it could be doing irrevocable harm to your mind and body. Chronic insomnia has been linked to all sorts of negative impacts on a person’s health from their mental well being to their waistlines.

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5 Lifestyle Tips That Will Change Your Waistline Forever

Losing unwanted weight can be hard. Breaking bad habits, prioritizing your health, and changing the way you’ve always done things requires commitment, effort, and an inner drive that can be hard to maintain when you don’t see results fast. But when you know the secrets behind how your body and mind work together to influence your waistline, shedding pounds, and burning fat, taking control of your life can be easier. Follow these 5 fitness tips from Pilates expert & fitness professional, Kit Rich, to see results fast!

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slow exercise versus high intensity

The Slow Exercise Movement

Why Slowing Down Could Be the Key to Lasting Health and Weight Loss

You may have noticed that fitness trends seem to be pushing us toward more intense and extreme exercises. The popularity of CrossFit and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) have made working out fast-paced, difficult, and perhaps even detrimental to our health. While physical movement is important, you could benefit from a slower, gentler approach.

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hormones and weight loss

The Real Reason You’re Not Losing Weight

Have you noticed a fairly rapid weight gain after a certain age or struggled with weight loss for years without seeing any real results? If so, your personal body chemistry might be the culprit. While many people who struggle with excess weight have a history of making bad food choices and limiting their physical activity, a certain percentage of the population may actually suffer from hormonal imbalances that make gaining weight far too easy and losing it next to impossible.

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Link between losing weight and longer life

Lose Weight Now for Long Term Health

Scientists Find Long-Term Cardiovascular Benefits of Even Moderate Weight Loss 

Make positive lifestyle changes today and literally change your life forever. That’s not just motivational speak. Science shows that key cardiovascular health indicators are dramatically improved after losing weight.

What can that mean for you?

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1 year equals long term weight loss success

The 1 Year Mark = Long-Term Success

The 1-Year Mark: Science Shows Hitting that Milestone can Predict Long-Term Weight Loss Success

If you have ever dieted or participated in a weight loss program you know that persistence pays off. It’s not just about the short-term gains but the long-term goals. After all, you’re not just dieting, you’re changing your life for the better. But it can be difficult to muster the mental fortitude needed to combat temptation and prevent backsliding. Thankfully a recent study provides some much needed motivation for us to get over those inevitable bumps in the road.

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how women can maintain long term weight loss

“Reclaim” Yourself & Keep the Weight OFF!

Why do most weight loss plans end in failure? Because people fail to shift mental gears and make meaningful changes in the way they see themselves. Adhering to a diet or exercise routine isn’t enough. Sure, this may result in temporary weight loss, but without that fundamental mental shift most people backslide into old habits and poor choices.

When it comes to successful, long-term weight loss you must practice “mind over matter.”

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What is a healthy lifestyle?

3 Steps to a Healthy Lifestyle

Less Than 3% of Americans Live a Healthy Lifestyle

If you ask most Americans if they live a healthy lifestyle, they’ll answer “yes.” But the data says different.

Nearly 36% of Americans are obese.
Nearly double that are overweight.
Even 1/3 of our children are obese.

So can most of us truthfully say we’re healthy?

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7 ways to be more active

Embrace an Active Life and Watch the Weight Melt Away!

Stepping into a more active lifestyle is your golden ticket to shedding those extra pounds. While tweaking your diet is essential, the simple science of exercise—burning more calories than you consume—promises real results. The usual culprits that keep us from lacing up our sneakers are the ever-present time crunch and a lack of drive. Yet, imagine transforming these hurdles into stepping stones by weaving fun, engaging activities into the fabric of your everyday life. The best part? You can do this without ever setting foot in a gym!

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Water: Your Secret Weight Loss Tool

You hear it time and time again: drink more water.

Staying sufficiently hydrated is a wonderful way to feel your best and helps your body work at the peak of personal performance. It alleviates headaches and muscle cramps, facilitates proper digestion, and can help essential organs, like your kidneys, function smoothly. But did you know drinking water can help you lose weight? In fact, water may just be your secret weight loss tool.

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Lose Weight on the Run

How to Lose Weight on the Run

Everybody is looking for an easy way to lose weight on the run. We have to. Our lives have become much more active than ever before. Work, kids, hobbies, and the dreaded commute take up most of our day, adding stress and limiting the amount of time we can spend on ourselves—both of which are bad for our waistlines.

Here are 4 tips that can help you lose weight on the run no matter how busy your life is.

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Look & Feel 30 Years Younger – with a healthy lifestyle

How to Look 30 Years Younger

We all age. It’s inevitable. But did you know living a healthy lifestyle can help you look and feel younger? Dr. Ray Innis, a wellness expert and consultant for the Montgomery Courier, says that living a healthy lifestyle—eating right, exercising, abstaining from tobacco—can stall the visible signs of aging at the biological level. This, he says, can make you look up to 30 years younger!

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Can Exercise Promote Healthier Eating?

Healthier eating is the best way to lose weight, live a better life, and be happier with the way you look and feel. But anyone who has tried dieting in the past knows that cravings can kill progress and cause backsliding even after months of successful weight loss. Finding a way to turn those cravings away from the dark side and have them work for you would be amazing. But can you really trick your body into craving healthy food?

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Exercising Outside is 1.5 x better than a day at the gym

Why Exercising Outside is Better

Exercising Outside is 1.5 Times Better than a Day at the Gym

Believe it or not exercise is still the best way to lose weight, build a healthier body, and live longer. Exercise can build muscle, decrease stress, and helps prevent high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. It may also prolong the onset of Alzheimer’s.

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Debunking Diet Myths

Debunking the Myth

MYTH: The Faster, The Better

Granted, we live in a world that caters to the human need for instant gratification. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with wanting or needing things, experiences, results, in a timely manner. But what happens when our weight loss expectations aren’t met fast enough?

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How can I stay on my diet when traveling?

You Can Lose Weight When Traveling

Your weight loss program is on a roll, but that business trip or long-awaited vacation has you scheduled for hours on the road (or in the air) and days surrounded by the dangers of eating out. What will you do if you get trapped in an airport terminal with nothing but unhealthy snack options? Can you resist the temptation of those conveniently-placed fast food joints? Will you be able to handle the stress of navigating a crowded highway or theme park without seeking comfort in sugary snacks? And what will you do for a week lounging on those floating buffets travel agents like to call cruise ships?

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Portable Weight Loss Plan

Stay Fit on Vacation

Vacations—too few and far between, right? You’ve been planning your getaway for a long time, but you’re worried about what a week’s worth of restaurant food and relaxing by the pool will do to your waistline, your willpower, and your weight loss progress. 

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Sleep Off the Weight

We tend to brag about how little sleep we get, as if being tired all the time is a sign of a better life. Going to bed early or sleeping for 8 hours seems self-indulgent. But sleep is one of the best ways to keep yourself healthy and to lose weight. On average, you should get 7.5 hours per night.

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6 summer slim down tips

Get Set for Summer

Ah summer: warm weather, long days, and outdoor fun. But if shorts and tank tops have you feeling nervous about the approaching months because of your weight, now is the time to do something about that. Start this summer with renewed confidence and these six smart strategies to shed pounds.

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feel better with diet and exercise

Feel Better!

We don’t have to tell you weight loss isn’t easy. But there is a way to supercharge your results and put yourself on a faster track. By combining a healthy diet with the right types of exercise you can see results sooner and feel so much better than you do now.

The better you feel (and look), the more likely you are to stick with your new lifestyle change and put the worry of yo-yo dieting behind you.

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Make Your Resolutions a Reality

We make a lot of promises to ourselves this time of year, but how can you make sure that your list of New Year’s resolutions doesn’t end up in the trash by February? Here are some simple tips to help you make the leap from intention to action.

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Hollywood Diet Thanksgiving Dieting Tips

A Healthy, Happy Thanksgiving

A lot of dieters dread Thanksgiving, thinking they only have two choices:

1) join in the festivities and pay the price with an expanding waistline or
2) stick to a diet and be miserable while everyone else chows down

Since Thanksgiving is centered around a lavish dinner, where traditionally we give thanks by eating as much as we can, it can be a dieter’s nightmare. Below are five tips to keep you both slim and sane.

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mental tips to lose weight

Building a Better Body: Mind Over Matter

Losing weight is a mental game. Sure, your body has to do the work but it’s your brain that does the real heavy lifting. Committing to any lifestyle change is the first and most important step toward making that change. Losing weight is no different. It’s about mentally preparing yourself for the challenges ahead and putting your personal process first, above almost everything else. When you’ve truly “locked in” the rest will fall into place. Read on for three powerful mental tips that will help you lose weight and achieve your goals.

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planning tips to help you lose weight

Your 5 Step Weight Loss Plan

Diets fail because we often start with good intentions but no concrete plan. This year, make a plan, not a promise. Establish a few goals to get started, be flexible, and watch yourself progress. In this article, we’ll help you formulate a realistic plan and give you tips to stay on track every step of your weight loss journey.

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Pros of Probiotics

First of all, what are probiotics? While they are generally described as “good bacteria,” the World Health Organization officially classifies probiotics as “any living microorganism that has a health benefit when ingested.” Many types of bacteria (such as the more commonly known L. Acidophilus and Bifidobacteria) are probiotics and even some types of yeast (such as Saccharmyces) can act as probiotics. And what health benefits do these microorganisms provide?

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Change Your Lifestyle

Truly changing your lifestyle is more than just eating healthy foods and working out. To make a change that sticks, you have to change the way you think. It turns out, your brain may be the most important body part when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off for good.

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Eat Breakfast to Lose Weight

Eating breakfast can help you eat less the whole day. Leptin is a hormone that suppresses appetite. Meg Jordan, PhD., R.N, says that eating breakfast “ensures our body’s leptin production.” Studies correlate that those who eat breakfast, eat fewer calories throughout the day. What’s the best breakfast to eat? You should aim to consume complex carbohydrates, fiber and protein. Here are some of our favorite healthy breakfasts and some suggestions on how to grab a good breakfast even on your busiest mornings.

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Banish Bloating + Portion Size

Banish the Bloat

Fill Up On Fiber

Bloating can be caused by digestive issues. Fiber is a great way to support digestive function and it keeps you feeling satiated. Fiber may cause bloating initially, so add it slowly at first to let your body adjust.

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Is When You Eat Just as Important as What You Eat?

Fasting Diet Plans That Work!

Recent laboratory and real-world studies have shown that when we eat may have a significant effect on our metabolism, our overall weight, and our ability to lose those unwanted pounds. Not only that, it can play a significant role in predicting future disease and disability. But you still have to keep that calorie count in mind if you want to lose weight. Look for fasting diet plans that incorporate both methods.

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best way to lose weight fast

What Is The Best Way To Lose Weight Fast?

What do weight loss winners know that you don’t? We’ll give you the exact formula for losing weight fast. Use these tips and watch the weight come off in as little as 48 hours.

Create Calorie Control

When it comes to being able to shed excess body weight quickly, you must be able to control your calorie intake. Your calorie balance, that is how many calories you take in versus how many calories you burn off over the course of the day, is the primary determinant of whether or not you lose weight.

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