Self Improvement Books

weight loss motivational tools

Creating Optimal Health and Wellness $14.89 This Guided Imagery CD helps you to begin releasing unhealthy coping mechanisms such as overeating, smoking and alcohol and replacing them with healthy behaviors and habits.Three tracks can be used in succession or separately to enhance relaxation, the ability to sleep soundly, and adopt healthy responses….

weight loss motivation tool; before/after weight loss pictu

Weight Loss Motivation – How To Get It And Keep It

These days it seems like everyone wants to lose weight. Whether it be for appearance issues or health reasons, it is becoming quite the trend. But we all know that it is not always easy to lose weight.

Weight loss motivation is one of the hardest types of motivation to acquire. Why is that? First of all we need to have food to survive. It is not something that we can just put away and never pick it up again. So healthy eating is one goal that we need to set for ourselves. This goal will give us a tool to weight loss motivation.

Another goal that we need to set is for exercise. You can’t just cut down the food intake, you also need to exercise and raise your metabolism rate. One mistake that people make when trying to lose weight is that they deprive themselves of all the foods that they love. Wrong! You can have anything in moderation.

If you try to deprive yourself of the foods that you love, it will back fire on you and you will end up eating more than normal. Also, it will de-motivate you if you have the mindset that you can never have that favorite piece of chocolate cake again!

So setting goals is probably the first step in weight loss motivation. Set realistic goals for yourself. If you think that you can realistically stand to lose 15 pounds then write it down. If you think that you can start that goal by running 1 mile per day, then write it down. Maybe you can only walk 1/2 mile per day.

Whatever you think you can do realistically, will be your new goals. Just do not set them too high. Make sure that they are goals that are possible to meet.

It is a good idea to write the goals down and keep them where you can look at them daily. This will remind you of what is important to you and why you are wanting to achieve weight loss motivation.

Reward yourself when you lose a pound or two. Pat yourself on the back, buy a new sweater, or do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better (no food rewards, though!) A reward must be something that you desire. If it isn’t, then it is not a reward and it will serve no purpose.

Out of all the reasons to get motivated, such as financial gains, Workplace Motivation, etc. Weight loss motivation seems to be the one most sought after and the most difficult to obtain. It can be done. It will eventually become a habit to do the morning workouts and replace the old habits in your life.

About the Author

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report that reveals how to crush procrastination and sustain lasting motivation. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at:
motivation techniques

how to become fit?

i have decided to start a group that will address fitness for beginners. topics include how to design and stick to a diet that will work for you, how to train to reach your goals, whether it be weight loss, muscle gain, toning, or general fitness. exercises you can do at home, and other topics including motivational tools, and other issues related to diet and training. each week i will post a blog on a certain topic that seem to asked over and over again on the yahoo answers column. hope to see you there. i am looking for some input. best feedback to this question will get the best answer. anyone who would like to contribute is free to do so. this is simply to help people get started on the right track with the new year underway.
the group is fitnessforbeginners

The Key to Great Abs

A great set of abs, also known as a 6-pack are a sign of being in great shape, but for most people they remain hidden beneath a layer of belly fat.

You can do all the sit-ups in the world, but if you’re holding a layer of fat around your belly, no one’s going to see them.

Awesome abs are not impossible, anyone can get them, it just takes commitment and know-how.

The good news is that you’re going to learn what to do so you too can have the most coveted prize of a great physique – a 6 pack!

How many times have you looked in the mirror and wished that you had washboard abs?

1- Reduce Calories
For your abs to be visible, you have to strip the fat off. This is done by creating a negative energy balance (burn more calories than you consume). Many fitness gurus suggest combining exercise with a calorie reduction of 500kcals below your current intake (try gradually reducing your calories by about 50kcals per day, until you’ve reached the 500kcal target). This should promote a gradual fat loss of around 1-2lbs per week.

TIP: Don’t reduce calories too quickly, or you’ll risk suppressing your metabolism, inhibiting fat loss and crave too much.

2- Eat More Protein
Many people fail to realise the importance of protein when trying to get lean. Insufficient protein leads to something called, negative nitrogen balance, which leads to loss of muscle mass and a slower metabolic rate. Promax is the easy way to quickly increase protein, and provides an instant hit of high quality whey. Protein can also aid fat loss because it requires more energy to process than fat and carbs.
TIP: Try replacing 60g of your daily carbs with 2 scoops of Promax and consume 2g of protein per Kg of body weight, daily.

3- Eat Slow Digesting Carbs
To sustain fat loss, stick to small servings of low glycaemic carbs. This will avoid big blood sugar levels spikes and the increase in insulin which is so effective at storing excess carbs as fat. Stick to complex carbs such as oats, low GI fruits and brown rice. Avoid high glycaemic foods (potatoes, cakes, confectionary bars, sugary drinks, white rice, bread and pasta, etc.. at all times except post exercise)
TIP: Your body processes carbs better in the morning, so limit your carbs in the afternoon and evening -This should speed up fat loss.

4- Eat Essential Fats
Fat in itself does not make you over-weight, only excess calories, inactivity and excess bad oils make you fat! However, fat is calorie dense so any fat you eat, must be more of the healthy type. Increase your consumption of EFA’s (essential fatty acids), as these can actually increase your metabolic rate. If you concentrate on eating lean proteins (chicken breast, lean red meat, fish, free range eggs, Promax) and healthy carbs, you are dramatically reducing unhealthy fats. You should then aim to consume a small serving of healthy fats with your meals, including:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Oily fish
Avocadoes
Nuts (except cashews)
or an EFA supplements

5- Eat Every 2-3 Hours
Eating 5 or 6 small meals is vital to reducing body fat by reducing, cravings and the release of the catabolic stress hormone, cortisol (cortisol inhibits the fat burning process, so don’t skip meals!), by controlling cortisol you dramatically reduce muscle breakdown. Promax Diet, Bars and Promax Meal are also ideal in between you other meals.

TIP: To keep your body in a fat burning mode (positive nitrogen balance) always include a source of high quality protein (lean meat, fish, eggs, Promax) and consume a glass of water with each meal. Never skip breakfast!

6- Weight Training
Weight training is essential to maintain a high metabolic rate and develop an impressive 6-pack. When you reduce calories, your muscle tissue risks being burnt as fuel (a catabolic state). Weight training counteracts this problem by promoting protein synthesis and natural anabolic hormone levels, preserving your hard earned muscle tissue.
TIP: Stick to heavy compound lifts such as dead lifts, squats, bench presses and the shoulder press and get in and out of the gym within 60 minutes – follow your workout with a high quality recovery drink – Recovermax is ideal. Weight train 2-3 times per week.

7- Cardio
Cardio is the traditional ‘fat burning’ exercise, but it’s important to do it correctly to promote fat burning while preserving muscle. Perform one of these methods 2-4 times per week:

Low Intensity Cardio
This method of cardio (such as jogging) should be performed at about 70% of your maximum heart rate for 30-60 minutes. This taps directly into stored fat as fuel, and it’s most effective when performed first thing in the morning due to low blood sugar levels.

HIT
If you’re very fit, you may favour high intensity interval training (HIT), such as 10 x 100m sprints separated by 2 minutes of brisk walking. HIT produces a large excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (PEOC) (the amount of energy required to return your metabolic rate back to pre-exercise levels). If you create a big PEOC, your metabolism will be increased for hours while your body recovers!

TIP: To prevent muscle being burnt as fuel, consume fast digesting protein, such as Promax before cardio sessions. Keep sessions under 60 minutes and perform cardio and weights on different days.

8- Ab Exercises
Ab exercises build and tone your abdominal muscles, but ab exercises alone will never give you the mid-section you crave. Spot reduction (burning fat from a particular body part using targeted exercises) is a myth, so performing 100 sit-ups a day will not melt away abdominal fat, nor will those electrical stimulant machines! Use ab exercises to sculpt rock hard abdominals, then use a strict diet and exercise programme to reveal them.

TIP: Stick to basic crunches, hanging leg raises and oblique crunches. To build rugged 6-pack muscles, you’ll need to add weight (carefully so as to avoid injury) in the 6-12 reps range. For general toning, stick to lighter weights and higher reps (10-20 rep range). Train your abs 2-3 times per week.

9- Use a Fat Burning Supplement
Use products with proven fat burners, such as green tea, cayenne extract, caffeine, citrus aurantium and or CLA. Products that contain these ingredients can really help to increase your metabolic rate and the burning or transportation of stored fat. Some of these ingredients can reduce appetite while increasing energy, allowing intense training while on a calorie restricted diet. They can also help prevent the slow down of your metabolism that can occur after several weeks of calorie reduction.

10- Night Time Nutrition
A small protein meal prior to bed is a trick used to prevent muscle loss when sleeping, whilst also promoting fat burning. Promax provides a boost of easily digested amino acids, ideal for creating an anabolic (muscle maintenance) state before bed.

TIP: An example of a time released protein drink that will slowly release amino acids to your muscles throughout the night is Promax, mixed with milk, and some low fat cottage cheese and crackers and 2-3 capsules of essential fats (such as Maxi-EFA).

Follow my advice for the next six weeks and you’ll be amazed at the changes in your ab definition and tone. Remember that your abs won’t appear by magic, so you’ll only get out what you put in!

I hope it helped.