Love Can make you Lose Weight

Love can make you lose weight?

Most people make promises to lose weight but never seem to attain their goals. Perhaps it is because of lack of motivation. Well, one thing can help with increasing the enthusiasm for self-improvement through weight loss. That thing is love.

One of the many reasons why several people gain weight in the first place from excessive eating and lack of exercise may be due to an intense loneliness and the need to compensate for this. No one wants me anyway, they say or think to themselves in self-pity so it shouldn't matter what I look like, so let me enjoy something at least!

This emotion is quite understandable; however, it is not the right approach to handling the situation. Instead of resorting to unhealthy binges as a resort to compensate for being alone, why not make the efforts to find that special someone who would motivate you to being a better person.

It is a known fact that the first thing people judge others on is quite simply their appearance. If you don't look as appealing or at least come off as being concerned about your appearance to some degree, this could be an instant turn-off to most people.

So instead of giving up on yourself, it will be a much better and healthier idea to make yourself presentable and appealing just in case that special someone comes around.

In addition, when you make the efforts to be healthier and fitter, you automatically create the foundation for increased self-confidence, happiness and a positive outlook on life.

Now, admittedly, it may seem hard at times to find that person to share our feelings with, however, there are still plenty of options to finding someone and it's safe to say the energy spent on binging and consequently gaining excess weight could be expended in such endeavours.

The choices are really limitless: places of worship, online options (the myspace site seems very popular for meeting people), work, the gym etc. Friends, with all these choices at hand, you really dont have to be alone and use this as an excuse for not caring about yourself.

Even in the worst case scenario:

How about being in love with you?

Thats a start. Christs wisdom and subtlety comes to mind here when he says: Love your neighbour as you love yourself When you love yourself (not being vain or overly superficial now), you will make the efforts to always look and be your best naturally. As a result that motivation could and should serve as the spur to action to lose excess weight if needed.

Now, if you are in a relationship already, this should serve as a motivation to want to look and be your best. To simply let things, get out of hand with your health and appearance can make you appear less attractive to your partner, in spite of whatever people say about its not what's on the outside that matters

Moreover, need I mention that excess weight and poor fitness levels can obstruct what may have been a healthy and happy sex life for two people in love? (Oh and on that subject, sex is a great exercise so thats another way love, at least making it, could come in handy to lose weight)

Now Al Green once said Love can make you do wrong, can make you do right

I say it can make you lose weight!

Heres to a healthy and happier you.

Sail the Slender Seas in a Partnership

Im not suggesting by this title you take a cruise. But if you and your mate have found yourselves drowning in a sea of soft comfortable habits, like over eating and under activity, a sea cruise for two does seem like an appropriate reward for slimming down and firming up together.

Have you heard the old saying, the quickest way to get where you want to go is to help somebody else get there?

Well the proof is in the low-fat pudding.

A recent study conducted at Indiana University in Bloomington found 94 percent of spouses who exercised together stayed with it longer and were able to achieve goals compared with only 57 percent who tried it alone according to Better Homes & Gardens.

You see, dieting with your spouse and enjoying the right combinations of foods, for the good of your common goal, is equally rewarding and can be great fun. Couples who dive into dieting and healthy living together enjoy consistently more success and lead happier, longer lives!

When couples plan their weekly meals together, they’re able to choose the right combinations of foods in advance and they’re able to implement proper strategies when faced with awkward dining out or home entertaining situations. It’s win, win.

And it’s no secret that couples who play together stay together. It's because supportive partnered activities produce healthier bodies, healthier relationships and healthier sex lives.

When you give thought, it makes natural sense for couples to set common goals to improve themselves. And if you've wrestled weight loss and fitness on your own you might agree a tag-team is the way to go.

Dig in. Attack those love handles. Fight fatigue. You can do it if you plan and eat the right foods and keep active. And whatever you do, don't procrastinate. Procrastination only makes a good plan bad. When you wait to do something it usually doesnt happen.

Better Homes and Gardens give us this from Martica Heaner, author of Cross-Training for Dummies, “The later you wait the more reasons you’ll have for not doing it.”

So high five your partner and get started!

And remember good people, everybody loses weight differently. Peaks and valleys are to be expected. One of you may lose weight faster than the other -actually men do tend to lose weight quicker than women – so stay aware of these differences and support each other. Dont criticize. Dont lecture. Celebrate every milestone together and feel good about yourselves.

Even if you arrive at your goals at different times, you're still sailing in the same direction… together.

Losing the weight, you want is as easy as reminding each other to do the right things while avoiding the wrong. Stay dedicated. Stay focused. Choose the right combinations of foods and get active together. And when you are slender, energized and feeling sexier, it will be time to book that sunny Caribbean cruise why not? Youve earned it.

And don't fret if you're not in a relationship. Ask a friend or family member to call and remind you to put down that biscuit and get moving.

Hey, figure out what works for you and just do it! The point is to look and feel your best. And I hear singles cruises can be a lot of fun, too!

Menopause and Weight Loss

During menopause, many women report that the challenge of weight loss becomes even more difficult. The need to lose weight haunts women most of the time, and now more men are reporting the same struggle. When women hit menopause, weight gathers around the waist and hips; despite our best efforts to diet and exercise.

What we know is that this additional body fat is linked to your hormones. Most women follow a conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet with lots of processed foods. Eventually this diet creates a condition known as insulin resistance; see Dr. Schwarzbein’s book on the book list. When you are insulin resistant, your body converts calories into fat even when you are dieting. Menopause feels like a losing battle, but it doesn’t have to be.

When you are stressed, as the body typically is during menopause, stress hormones block weight loss. Despite adequate food, the body acts as if it’s in a famine and stores all spare calories as fat.

This leads to a metabolic disorder called adrenal fatigue.

Many women combine a high-stress life with a low-fat, high-carb diet which creates a powerful hormonal imbalance which causes us to gain weight. Yo-yo dieting exacerbates the problem.

Also, when a woman is on a high-carb diet she is often barraged with a craving for sweets. The body can’t maintain optimal blood sugar and serotonin levels, so you snack and drink caffeine to feel better. That makes your insulin resistance worse and the vicious cycle of gaining weight is accelerated.

During perimenopause, women lose estrogen which is an added factor to this problem. As estrogen decreases, the body needs extra fat resources. Other factors that play into this problem, are unresolved emotional issues, food sensitivities, digestive issues such as yeast, and even heavy metal toxicity.

So what do we do?

The most important step is to GET HEALTHY!

Follow an eating plan like the one in the Schwarzbein Principle or the Zone Diet

You need protein at every meal, low carbs, very little to no processed food, and lots of fruit and vegetables

Drink plenty of water

Take nutritional supplements

Try Supplements Designed for Menopause

Stop weighing yourself, use your clothes as a gauge (focus on your health not your weight)

Start exercising – walk 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes (it boosts metabolism)

Get help for emotional eating – you have to face your fears to get through them

Reduce the stress in your life, make time for fun and relaxation – strive for BALANCE

Learn to love yourself during menopause and accept who you are and at what stage in life you find yourself

Menopause can make weight loss even more challenging for both women and men. But with the right knowledge and some hard work, it can be done.