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5 Easy Smart and Simple Strategies to Lose Weight

Easy Tweaks In The Morning So You Lose Weight And Feel Better Than Ever

1. Get Moving Early. Kansas State University researchers found that exercising on an empty stomach burns 12 percent more fat than exercising after lunch. And Dr. Smith assures it doesn't have to be strenuous to be effective.

Simply going for a stroll, climbing the stairs in your house or trying a beginner's-level workout DVD will do.

2. Snack every 3 hours. People are so programmed to think that dieting means eating less and going hungry, says Dr. Smith.

The advantage to eating every three hours: According to UCLA researchers, doing so shuts down your brain's starvation protection mechanism (SPM), a biochemical system designed to shield you from famine by slowing metabolism and triggering a 27 percent increase in appetite.

In fact, studies at Queen's Medical Center in the United Kingdom suggest that people who deactivate their SPM with frequent mini meals are slimmer, stronger and more muscular and energetic than people who eat three square meals daily- plus, they have the highest metabolic rate and the lowest percentage of body fat of all study subjects, even if they're eating the same number of calories.

3. Keep meals light. Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health and elsewhere suggest that simply opting for smaller meals can cut blood sugar and insulin by up to 66 percent. This reduces food cravings by as much as 81 percent and doubles energy levels and fat burn in as little as 48 hours.

4. Eat 90 minutes before bed. This advice turned out to be so much more successful when applied to real life than I thought it would be, reveals Dr. Smith. And that's because the tip isn't as stringent as it sounds: While your dinner should be a mini meal 90 minutes before sleep, you are allowed to have one or even two small healthy snacks up to 15 minutes before going to bed.

Keep it light so that your body will be able to properly spend sleeping time building and repairing calorie-hungry lean muscle tissue, cautions Dr. Smith.

5. Sip herbal tea. While herbal teas don't contain any appetite-stimulating caffeine, the real reason that drinking them helps keep food cravings at bay is that the heat of the brew forces you to take slow sips, explains Dr. Smith, which provides satisfaction for quite a while.

Reduce Caloric Intake with Pear Smoothies: Enough to Lose 5 Pounds Monthly

Lose 5 lbs monthly with Pears

Studies at the Smell n Taste Treatment Research Foundation in Chicago reveal that inhaling sweet scents like the aroma of prickly Pear activates the brain's satiety center, reducing caloric intake enough to lose 5 pounds monthly.

One more reason: Savoring the refreshing flavor of prickly Pear is a delicious way to put a smile on your face. Researchers at the University of Vienna Austria discovered that the Pectin in this plant slows carbohydrate absorption so glucose enters the bloodstream more slowly. The result: Blood sugar levels remain steady, preventing the mood swings that come with spikes n dips. - First Magazine

Here are 2 great Pear Smoothies:

PEAR AVOCADO SMOOTHIE

1 large pear, chopped
1/2 cups green grapes
1/4 avocado
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Blend and top with chopped pecans

PEAR RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

2/3 cups soy milk
1/4 cups dole country raspberry concentrate
3 ripe pears, cored
12 ice cubes

Place soy milk (or your choice of any other milk or non-dairy substitute) and all remaining ingredients in blender in order given.

Blend until smooth and creamy.

Monday morning...back to the salt mine

Note:  I'm working today not really because I have to, it actually is a holiday at my company. Technically I do have the day off. However, today is my code complete date for a project I've been working on...you know, the one I've been complaining about so much lately. Alpha testing starts tomorrow with all our testers. I'm just doing some final  unit testing, hoping to get it as bug free as possible. I should have come in Saturday or Sunday instead, but I was too lazy. :)

It's 7am, and I'm in the office today. Alone. It's so quiet, peaceful. I almost wish it was like this every day. I work in a cubicle, with about sixty other people on my floor. We're the epitome of the movie Office Space.

Want to see...

That's my "I don't care what I look like" hair. I'm also wearing workout clothes so I can go the gym later. I'm going to the Bally's in Kent. I've never been there before, but it's about an 11-minute drive. It'll be a nice break to get out of the office for a while during what I think is going to be a grueling day.

Here's what the floor looks like when no one is here:

Here's the view outside the window. There's a tree already turning to it's fall colors. Fall is definitely in the air this morning. Cold. Cloudy. Rainy. Typical Seattle winter weather.

Well, it's to work I go. I hope the rest of the world is enjoying the holiday. Funny, Labor Day, and I'll be laboring away!

Inspirational Weight Loss Video

Here's a very inspirational story of a woman who recently lost over 100 pounds in less than ten months. She initially weighed 266 pounds. In the before photo here, she weighed 255 pounds last August. In the 'after' photo she weighs 145 pounds by May.

Check out her very beautiful and inspirational video where she shows her weight loss progress over one year.

5/10ths of a pound a week

5/10ths of a pound

.5 pounds

8 ounces

1/2 pound

two cubes of butter

...per week

...for 124 weeks

...equals 62.4 pounds.

Starting weight 2/9/2010: 239.2

Current weight 9/4/2010:  175.6

If you had told me two years and seven months ago that I was going to lose .5 pounds per week, I would have run screaming from the room. I would have said NO WAY! That's too slow! I can't wait THAT long to get to goal. Why, at that rate it'll take me...doing the math quickly in my head--I want to lose 100 pounds at .5 pounds per week is 200 weeks or almost four freaking years!

Um, no thank you. I'll figure out a faster way to get to goal. Surgery? Jenny Craig...again? Nutri-System...again? Cut calories to 800 a day...again? MediFast? There has to be a FASTER way!!!

I use to read people's blogs where they would lament about being a slow loser, posting week after week a loss of 1/2 a pound or a pound. I'd feel sorry for them and be thankful it wasn't me. I could easily drop 2-3 pounds a week.

Yet here I sit, two years and seven months later still forty pounds from goal

My goal is still 135 pounds. It's always been my goal, and most likely, will always be my goal. I may modify it as I get closer. I have that whole age thing working against me, wrinkles and stuff. People told me I looked haggard when I was 152 about a year ago. Yes, my friends are brutally honest. I like to think it was just lack of sleep, not the fact that I'm 55 years old.

Will it take me 78 weeks to get to goal? God, I hope not! If it does, that's okay. This isn't a race, I'm in it for the long haul.

I could look at it a different way too. Considering I gained 13 pounds in 13 weeks when I was actually trying to lose weight, I'm sure I could gain 78 pounds in 78 weeks. Don't laugh, sadly I've done it before, but I certainly don't intend to do it again.

As we say at work, it is what it is. I intend to make it work this time. To really buckle down, cut back on the eating, gain control again. I have one day under my belt. It feels good, although I am a little hungry, but in the weight loss world, hunger is a good thing.

New blogger on the block - Tanya

I love new bloggers. The ones that are just starting out, trying to find their way. Everything is new and fresh to them. They're excited about losing weight. You can feel their enthusiasm.

I love reading about their successes, as well as their struggles. I love cheering them on when they face the inevitable obstacles or when they have questions or self-doubt. I love being their cheerleader.

What always surprises me is how much I can learn from them. They're discovering things I forgot about. I've been doing this "thing" for a long time, and I've come to think that I know it all. Then I'll read a little tidbit that a newbie writes and go "whoa! I forgot about that!". Or "oh yeah, they're right!".

I'd like to introduce a new blogger friend I found over the weekend. She posted a sweet, encouraging comment on my Saturday post. I checked out her blog, and I'm her first follower. She needs a few more people to support her on her journey.

I introduce to you:
                                            Tanya's Weight Loss Journey

Funny name for a blog. :) Drop in and visit her, leave a comment, and welcome her to our world.

Can you really Lose Weight Just from Soup?

Can you really slim just from soup? You've probably heard that if you have soup before a meal, you end up eating less.

The soup rumor is true: Women in one study who started their meals with soup consumed 20 percent fewer calories overall - enough to lose five pounds every week.

But it's key to opt for a variety with 150 calories or fewer per serving. This usually means sticking to soups with a chicken or veggie broth and avoiding high-cal ingredients like noodles. Also, many ready-to-eat soups are too processed to deliver any slimming perks.

One brand: Kitchen Basics, Stock Chicken or vegetable stock, is free of additives that can sabotage weight loss. And since it contains just 20 calories per cup, even a big bowl with a cup chopped veggies is in the healthy range.