13 Lies Dieters Tell Themselves

The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves. Before the holiday season eating extravaganza is upon us here are a few common diet lies -- and how your better angel would react if he were awake.

Olive oil is good for you

(it is; it also has 120 calories per tablespoon)

This pack’s only 100 calories

(that’s when you eat just 1, not 4)

It’s only 140 calories

(per serving! There were 3 serving in the pack – all gone!)

I’ll sweat this dessert off

(speed-walk for an hour, and it won’t make a dent)

It’s fat-free

(yeah, but did you look at the sugar?)

It’s sugar-free

(did you look at the fat?)

It says no added sugar

(just evaporated cane juice and fruit juice concentrate. Who are you kidding?)

I found this miracle diet

(there are no miracle diets, silly)

Chocolate is good for your brain and can help you win a Nobel Prize

(brain candy is still candy. BTW, who pays for these studies?)

Wine is good for your heart

(it’s also bad for your liver, and has 120 calories a glass)

It was a small portion

(smaller than a mountain, for sure)

After this, I’ll eat nothing ‘till tomorrow

(it’s 2pm!) 

But I skipped breakfast!

(skipping breakfast awards no prizes)

Final thought:

The scale and your old clothes won’t lie, and on the other hand, some feasts are well worth their caloric price.

By Dr. Ayala Laufer 

10 minute Pretty Postive Pregnancy Cardio Workout with Tiffany Rothe!

The Perfect 30-minute Weekend Workout

Working out at the weekend can feel like a real chore.

In fact, many of us give up on our exercise regime come the weekend – excusing ourselves from hitting the gym or heading out for a run because we have too many other things to do.

Keep to your fitness goals by not making excuses this weekend. With the cold and flu season upon us, it’s more important than ever to keep to our fitness and healthy eating goals if we want to keep our immune systems boosted.

So if you’re considering making an excuse to ditch your exercise goals this weekend, then think again.

Here Anita Albrecht, a nutrition advisor and personal trainer, reveals her 30-minute weekend workout that promises to fit in with your weekend plans and keep you on target for your fitness goals.

The perfect 30-minute weekend workout: A toning, aerobic fitness and strength exercise.

How it works: The combination of skipping, mixed in with the resistance excises keeps your heart rate up - which if done with little to no rest period - gives you a real calorie burn and metabolic boost. 

Equipment you'll need: A skipping rope and a resistance band, with handles.

Warm-up: 3-5 minutes skipping (work up to doing 5 minutes once you get used to it).

1. Resistance Band Rows: Great exercise for the back and arms. Loop your resistance band around a strong door handle or stair banister holding on to the handles at chest height. Pull the handles towards you squeezing your shoulder blades together and then release again. Make sure you have plenty of tension on the resistance band so you can really feel the tension as you pull the band towards your body on the contraction phase. 

Perform 12-15 repetitions.

2. Squat with Bicep Curl: Place the middle of the resistance band under your feet holding on to the handles. Do a squat with your feet shoulder width apart keeping your abs pulled in tight, chest up and neutral spine with eyeline ahead (your weight should be in your heels). The depth of the squat should be where the thighs are parallel with the floor or ground, if you can. Once you have done the squat keep your elbows close to your ribcage and do a bicep curl with plenty of tension on the band. 

Perform this combination for 12-15 repetitions.

3. Chest Press: Just like you looped the resistance band around a banister, but this time your back is facing the banister. Step forward so there is plenty of resistance on the band and start with bent elbows at shoulder height creating a 90-degree angle. Push your arms forward now squeezing your chest muscles and straightening the arms out in front of you completely then release back to the start position. 

Perform 12-15 reps.

4. Skip for three minutes.

Keep to your fitness goals by not making excuses this weekend. 5.Stationary Lunge with Floor Touch and Reach: A great one for legs and bums! Stand with one leg in front and the other behind. As you bend down into a lunge bending both knees (the back knee should be just off the floor) keep your hips facing forward, abs tight and weight in the heel of the front foot. Reach towards the floor either side of your front foot keeping a nice straight spine touch the floor then lift up the upper body keeping abs tight still then reach and stretch up with both arms up towards the ceiling keeping your legs in a lunge position. 

Perform on each leg for 10-12 repetitions

6. Tricep Press Up: Do this from your knees to start with. Straighten out the body keeping abs tight, neck in line with your spine and bottom down without collapsing the lower back. Your hands should be together, thumbs touching. Perform a 'tricep' push up but unlike a conventional press up, your elbows will be travelling in towards your ribcage then push back up again. This puts the full focus on to your triceps toning those bingo wings.

Perform for 12 repetitions.

7. Bicycles and Plank: Lie on your back and extend one leg out leg straight about 4-5 inches off the floor, with the other bent up towards your chest. Your hands should be at the sides of your head elbows bent. Lift up your upper body touching the opposite elbow to opposite knee then swap, but as you swap the extended legs and elbows bend as they comes towards your chest. Meanwhile the other bent leg extends out straight as it swaps keeping your upper body up, relaxing the neck muscles putting the tension on the abdominals.

Once you have done 15-20 of these on either side, go straight into a front isometric plank holding it for as long as you can. A 'plank' is where you are facing the floor or ground, up on to the balls of your feet, neutral spine, pull your belly button into your lower spine leaning on forearms and keeping the body pulled in as tight as you can for as long as you can. Great core exercise and tummy combo putting these two together. A strong plank hold is around 2 minutes...see how long you can hold yours for.Finish with three minutes of skipping.http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/the-perfect-30-minute-weekend-workout-.html

Chiseled Chair Challenge - Lose Weight Fast with this Full Body Workout

Quote Of The Day

A healthy lifestyle can be described as one that incorporates a balanced diet and moderate exercise, limits stimulants such as alcohol and caffeine and omits cigarettes and drugs. A healthy lifestyle may also incorporate a healthy psyche – free from stress, worry and anxiety, which can all affect blood pressure and may lead to conditions such as depression. Everyone has a different perspective of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, but the main factors include exercise and balanced eating.

Excuse busters! Get the body you’ve always wanted!

Stop talking yourself into a bigger dress or jeans size and banish those excuses for good! There's absolutely no reason why you can't slim down and shape up if you really want to. 

1. I can never be thin, I love food too much

No problem! You don't need to make an enemy of food to lose weight, in fact quite the opposite - just don't overeat them, that's all! Use your love of food to try out new recipes, experiment with ingredients you haven't tried before and explore new, healthier ways of cooking such as steaming, stir-frying, grilling and baking.

Remember: Good food doesn't need to be covered in calorie rich creams, oils, fats and sauces to taste great.

2. My whole family are overweight so there's no point in me trying

Your genes will play a significant role in determining your natural weight range but just because your relatives are overweight don't assume that means you are destined to be too. You can go a long way towards overcoming any genetic pre-dispositions by eating healthy foods, smaller portions, increasing your day to day activity levels and exercising more. It's also worth bearing in mind that family tendencies to be overweight are often due more to 'nurture' than 'nature' so it may be more to do with the foods you have all grown accustomed to liking and eating over the years than the genetic tendencies that you share.

Remember: You can't alter your DNA but you can make sure you are the very best that you can be.

3. I really need to eat biscuits, cakes or chocolate to give me the energy to get through the day

When you are feeling tired a sweet, sugary snack will increase your blood sugar levels which is why it often gives us that quick fix that we crave. The problem is that you pay for that sugar high about 40 minutes after eating it when your sugar levels fall once more, usually to lower levels than before, and cravings to eat high fat, sugar or caffeine rich foods and drinks become even stronger. Far better to eat a high fibre, low fat breakfast such as porridge, stone ground wholemeal toast with a little peanut butter or a bowl of wholegrain cereal. This will help stabilise blood sugars throughout the day minimising cravings and maximising energy levels.

4. I hate dieting so I'll just exercise myself thin 

A nine stone woman would need to run for just under an hour to burn off 500 calories. To eat 500 calories would take less than a couple of minutes in the form of a Big Mac, bar of chocolate or a milk shake. So, although research shows that regular exercise will help you regulate your appetite and eat healthier foods, unless you watch what you eat as well, when it comes to weight loss you'll be fighting a losing battle. This doesn't mean you need to follow a strict diet. Just cut right back on foods high in fat and sugar, swap processed foods for fresh equivalents and switch to low fat dairy products. Add lots of fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet and cut back on sugary drinks and alcohol and watch the pounds drop off.

By Rachael Anne Hill

Scientific Weight Loss Tips