Smoothies can help you in losing weight. Though smoothies alone are not very effective tool in losing weight. You have to combine intake of smoothies with your daily exercise. Smoothies flush out toxins from your body and keep it hydrated. Fibers present in smoothies help cleaning your system thoroughly. Smoothies are said to reduce stress levels and improve physical and mental performance.

If you are dieting for weight loss and following a strict regimen, your body might feel deprived of many nutrients. You might lose weight by dieting but you will not not be able to sustain such diet for long. If you include smoothies in your diet which are rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber and anti-oxidants you will feel energetic and it will also lower your calorie intake.

Pay Attention to Your Smoothie’s Ingredients: If you are taking smoothie for weight loss, pay full attention to what goes into your smoothie. Instead of full cream milk , use skimmed milk. Instead of ice cream, use ice cubes. Don’t put chocolates and full fat yogurt in your smoothie. If your smoothie is full of chocolates, fat milk or yogurt, sugar and ice cream, it will contain more calories than a full fledged meal.

Prepare Your Own Smoothie: Instead of buying smoothie from corner shop, make your own. You will have full control over ingredients of your smoothie and your likes and dislikes. It will be a great investment in your health. Preparing smoothie will not take much time and you can drink it while going to office or whatever is your morning destination. A smoothie with healthy ingredients will make you lose weight and also incorporates a good habit into your daily routine.

Watch and Learn What is Good For You: When you are incorporating smoothies in your diet, pay close attention to your body. Feel the changes your body is going through over the time. Mix and match the fruits and greens in your smoothie accordingly. If a particular type of smoothie is not doing any good to you, add or deduct the ingredients accordingly.

Be Realistic: While trying to lose weight be realistic and practical. Smoothies can only help you to a certain extent in reducing weight and remaining healthy. You have to pay attention to your overall diet and exercise routine. Mere smoothies won’t take you anywhere in your goal of losing weight. Smoothies are just a small but significant part of your weight reduction plan.

Variety is The Spice of Life: Don’t stick to the same smoothie over a period of time. Your will become bored and so will your body. So for green smoothies for few days then switch over to berry smoothie. After a while you can try banana orange smoothie or spinach, banana and ginger smoothie.

People having belly fat know the discomfort attached with it. If you want a flat belly, you can go for exercises and nutritious food. But bear in mind that belly fat reduction is not a few weeks exercise. You should incorporate exercises and healthy food into daily routine. You can incorporate following food into your daily diet to keep abdominal fat away.

• Protein : Proteins are the building blocks of our body. But if you want to fight belly fat include lean meat in your diet. Talk to your dietician and know the right amount of proteins required by your body. Because too much protein eating can create problems for your kidneys and too low amount of protein can increase your belly fat! Ideally 25% of calories should come from your daily diet. Eating lean protein also takes care of your insulin levels and increases metabolism. You can find lean proteins in dairy products (try to get it fat free) chicken breasts, fish and nuts.
• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are the important source of energy in our diet. But avoid white flour and refined sugar as carbohydrates. They add to abdominal fat. White flour, refined sugar and salt are the important ingredients of the fast food, packaged and tinned food. Eat wholegrain and complex carbohydrates. They burn slowly and we feel less hungry. Nature has endowed this earth with fruits and vegetables. Feel blessed and consume it happily. They contain less fat and complex carbohydrates. Just go for it. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also approves of the consumption of whole grains.

• Water : Water helps in flushing out toxins from our body. Water don’t cause bloated belly but it helps in getting rid of excess sodium that reaches our body through fast and packaged food. Too much sodium intake results in bloated stomach. Water helps in flushing sodium out of our bodies. So drink plenty of water for a flat belly.

• Monounsaturated fats: Yes! Don’t feel surprised at the mention of the name fat. All the fats are not bad for our body. Monounsaturated fats are easier to burn and they don’t sit heavy in your stomach. Monounsaturated fats take care of the rate of metabolism too. Higher rate of metabolism helps in burning fat easily. You can find monounsaturated fats in seeds and nuts.

• Fruits and Green Vegetables: Fruits and Green vegetables are high on nutrients and low on fat. Fruits and vegetables have necessary minerals, vitamins and fibers that takes care of the our needs. The fibers stabilize body’s blood sugar level and slows glycemic response.  When this happens you won’t found belly fat around your stomach.

• Olive Oil: When you are cooking food, switch to olive oil. Olive oil is monounsaturated fat. Human body is capable of digesting monounsaturated A good choice for cooking foods is olive oil. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat that the human body burn at a faster rate. We all know that faster metabolic rate results in weight loss. There is an interesting study conducted by the British Journal of Nutrition in 2003. This study reveals that monounsaturated fats also breaks down the fat within the body. Broken down fat is easier to digest. 

When we go on a diet, we often do the mistake of taking these things as short term. But shedding weight and getting your desired figure is not some short term project. You have to introduce changes in your lifestyle. Otherwise you will gain everything back in a short span of time. To make weight loss permanent, take few things into account:

• Increase Time span of your cardio exercises: Increase the time by  at least fifteen minutes and try to make it a five days a week routine. It will burn your calories and keep your heart healthy. Once you get it into your routine, you won’t find it difficult to stick to the routine.
• Eat Five Times A Day: If you take meals five times a day and into smaller quantities, it will keep your metabolic rate high and you will burn fat faster. Smaller meals over a day will keep the hunger away from you. In the meanwhile plan your five smaller meals intelligently. Try to avoid fried and fatty food. Drink good old plain water instead of soda drinks.  
• Pay Attention to Your Fiber Intake: You have to eat green leafy vegetables, broccoli,cabbage and other wholegrain to make your diet sufficiently filled with fiber. If you diet has sufficient quantity of fiber, you will feel satisfied and filled and tend to eat less.
• Build Muscles: Muscles are metabolically more active compared to fat. So pay attention to build some muscles in your body. Try to have a healthy ratio of fat and muscles according to your body weight. Add some weight training to your exercise. You don’t have to lift weight like a champion. Take load according to your age and stamina.
• Reduce Your Intake of Processed Food: Reduce refined food from your diet. They contained lots of fat, salt and sugar. No don’t carry much nutritive value. Reducing processed food, refined sugar and flour from your diet help you in reducing calorie intake.

We live in a fitness conscious world. Today we want to enjoy life with good health. We can follow some simple tips to cut calories from our diet. By paying a bit of attention to our diet, we can turn away the menace called weight gain. It is always better not to modify your diet completely and continue with what you are eating earlier. This way your body don’t feel deprived of certain food. You just have to reduce the quantity and frequency of your favorite food.

• Instead of Juice opt for Fresh Fruits: Increase the intake of fresh fruits in your diet. When you are having sweet cravings, eat fruits. Packaged fruits juices contain lots of calories. So chuck them away from your dining table and fridge. Fruits contains less calories and more fibers. 

• Use smaller Plates: Chose smaller sized plates. They reduce your calories intake without you being aware of it. So less agonizing and sacrificial feeling for you to grapple with. You can’t fill your plates with large amount of food and hence consume less. 
• Drink Water: Try to drink lots of water instead of cold drinks or soda. Water keep your system clean and hydrated. It also flush out toxins from your body. It goes without saying that water has no calories like soda or cold drinks.If you  can get coconut water drink that too as it is an excellent thirst quencher.
• Take Care of Your Protein Intake: Take care of your protein intake. Your body needs it for repairs. Protein also helps in keeping body fat low. But don’t take too much of protein because it will not help in fighting fat after a certain level.
• Reduce the Amount of cooking oil and fat: Cook your food using less oil. Try out some tasty recipes that need roasting or stir fry as cooking method.Try using olive oil or flaxseed  oil. At the same time use less butter and cheese on your toast and sandwiches. Consume less red meat and increase the intake of fish and chicken in your diet. But go for roasted or grilled chicken and fish.
• Reduce Portions:  You don’t have to give up your favorite food. If you like munching on chips and cookies. Go ahead and have them. But take a smaller packet and reduce the frequency.This way you won’t feel deprived of your favorite food and you will save yourself from the undesirable side effects.
• Increase Your Fiber Intake: When you are choosing your diet carefully try incorporating fibers in your food. Fibers will help in digesting your food. They also give you a sense of fullness. You feel satiated after having lunch or dinner. This way you tend to eat less too.
• Eat Home Cooked Food: Don’t fall for the convenience of canned food or restaurant food. They want repeat customers. And you too throw caution to the wind while eating out. But its a different story if you are cooking at home. Then a bit of thought process goes on about the type and amount of food. No one likes to cook more than needed. 
• Pay Attention While Eating Out: When you are out to enjoy food in a restaurant just be a bit cautious. Go for intelligent combinations. Balance one high calorie dish with a salad or soup too. While enjoying pizza or burger, order a side dish of fruits and salad too. Go for healthy toppings on your pizza.
• Go For Whole Grain: If you enjoy eating pasts and noodles choose whole grain pasta or bread. This will give you more nutrition and less calories. They are also rich in fibers.
• Get Rid of Starchy Food: You can’t avoid starchy food from your diet. Because most of our food consists of starch be it pasta, bread, potato, cereals and rice. But eat the quantity that is required not more than that. It should not be more than one third of our diet. Don’t add fatty options with starch foods.
• Reduce Dessert Size: Most of us possess a sweet tooth. We like having desserts. Why should one be deprive of so called good things in life. But at the same time pay attention to portion size and frequency. This way you won’t suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes avoid cream or chocolate toppings from your dessert. Sometimes be imaginative and come out with your own special healthy toppings.

Health is something that is extremely important for people of any age and while we get old we have all the more need to stay fit and healthy. In fact there are many herbs and eatables that slow down the effects of aging on human mind and body.

We are all aware that it takes a lot of efforts to stay healthy and fit and it does not happen just by chance. Fitness is practiced as a state of mind by many healthy people. It would be great for us to be aware of our present and learn to exercise some control on our thoughts. Here are some of the reasons that are associated with getting older and also information on some foods that can prove helpful in slowing down the process to some extent.

The two most important factors that are associated with aging are continuously damaging cells and a deteriorating immune system in living beings. Cell or tissue damage is caused by the free radicals that can not be neutralized by our bodies because of the lack of antioxidants. On the other hand, day-to-day stress and environmental factors that surround us cause our immune system to go weaker as we grow old.

The factors stated above point to the importance of choosing food items that would facilitate neutralization of free radicals and the ones that would make our immune system stronger. The herbs like grape seed, shiitake mushrooms, ginkgo bilboa and pine bark are known to do a great deal in both these aspects. These are potent sources of rich nutrients that are greatly helpful in dealing with the effects of aging.

It would be great to leave out the fat content from our diet as we progress towards older age. The reason for this is that fat is known to reduce the ability of our body to deal with free radical. On the other hand chlorophyll laden eatables such as green foods, alfalfa, and green leafy vegetables are extremely good for restoration of damaged cell and tissues. These are also the sources of minerals that are good for body’s health. Healthy eating habits are key to prevent many of the age related problems. The earlier in life somebody adopts good eating habits the healthier old age he or she would be able to enjoy.

Why we are facing the problem of weight control and it seems a herculean task to keep our weight in check? We are living in a time where we are facing the problem of plenty. The era of World War I and World War II is over long ago. We only know about “those” times through movies or history books. No rationing on food and essential items. The Great depression of 1929 also belonged to a different time period. Today we have plenty to eat and plenty of household gadgets to take care of our daily chores. Today we also have good means of transportation if we want to go anywhere. In short we have plenty to eat and less of physical work to do. So lifestyle related diseases welcome us with open arms. How an intelligent person will cope with such a situation and keep weight in control? Will he/she behave like a monk and deprive himself/herself of all the so called good food? Or we will go with the flow the way we are going currently and let obesity acquire an alarming proportion in our lives? Should we treat food as enemy and fear it?

As usual the solution somewhat lies in between. To lose weight one doesn’t have to fear food and put oneself on strict regimen. We plan our diet carefully. Stick to the diet plan for a while get tired of it and start indulging ourselves a bit. How this bit of indulgence goes out of hand and turns into binging without any alarm? Then we go on a guilt trip. We again plan a diet to lose weight, promise ourselves to stick to it, lose focus somewhere and… We don’t have to enter into a vicious circle again and again.

So what is the solution for weight loss without treating food as an enemy? The solution lies in control over what you are eating. You have to listen to the small voice inside you. There is nothing wrong in having a sweet tooth and eating a piece of cake once in a while. But in order to lose weight successfuly you have to know when to stop. You should not deprive yourself of good food. But don’t go overboard.Make eating an enjoyable experience not for your tongue only but for your whole being too. While catering to your sweet tooth keep the overall picture in mind. Yesterday, I was gifted two boxes of sweets. One box contains the type I can “enjoy” all day on and often. I enjoyed a few and offered the rest to the security guard of our building complex. He was happy to share it with gardener, plumber and electrician of the building. Sharing has its immense benefits if you want to lose weight!

We have got only one life to live. So we must enjoy the pleasures of good food. But at the same time we have to remember that who is the “controlling factor” you or the food? So if you enjoy your favorite food occasionally its perfectly alright. Last week my sister won a free hospitality at a luxury holiday resort. Food was out of this world. But she enjoyed every bit of it. But ask the staff way to the swimming pool. She made a good use of it too and came back glowing with health and weight in control.

Nature had endowed us with the feeling of texture and flavor. Our tongue and nose often betray us while we are dieting. Our brain sends us the signal of well being and satiation when we had just finished a good tasty meal.

But nature is not entirely unfair to us. It has devised a mechanism for us to know that now we are full and we have to stop eating. But are you one of those who ignore these signs and continue eating? Don’t worry you are not alone in this. Modern living is taking its toll on many of us. We want to make up for what we lose, with food. We have developed our own mechanism to ignore all the signs and fill ourselves up with food.
If you want to deal with any problem, try to find out the root cause. That way you know what you have to do. So try to ask yourself why are you eating while not hungry? What makes you eat without hunger? Be honest here and it will in return show you the right path to deal with your weight control problem.

• It is time to ask yourself some right kind of questions. Are you
eating for the sake of it? You simply like the smell and texture
and couldn’t stop yourself?
• Are you a couch potato? While you are sitting comfortably on
your favorable spot you can’t help binging? Are you feeling
good after shopping or beauty treatment and want to reward
yourself with food?

• You have nothing exciting to do? You are filling your boredom
with food?
• You have just finished a stressful and hectic week at office and want to relax in weekends by eating?
• You are feeling lonely and dejected?
It you spot in yourself some of the above symptoms, its time to gear up and do something. What you can do to stop yourself from eating when you are not hungry?

Don’t be too hard on Yourself: Don’t go on guilt trip. Do not try to take some drastic steps. Think for a while and try bringing some small positive changes in your lifestyle to control your weight. Don’t take any huge step upsetting your lifestyle. Introduce some small changes in your meals. So that your system too go easy and have time to adjust to change.
Research has proved that changing the size of your plate helps you eat 20-22% less and ultimately you will weigh less. So go and shop for new plates that are smaller in size compared to your current ones. Don’t take this simple and practical suggestion as a joke. Most of the solutions around us are simple but we want some complicated solutions for our dear problems. Professor Wansink in his research proved that a person will eat an average of 92% of any food they serve themselves. So, serving less is undoubtedly going to be beneficial. He came out with this suggestion that switch over from a 12-inch plate to a 10-inch plate.
Another thing you can do is cheat yourself into reducing your calories. Reduce your calories in a phased out manner and in smaller quantities. This will take time but you will lose weight over a period of time and you have enough time to get acquainted with the change without feeling the withdrawal symptoms.
You should put calorie food out of your reach. This way you can’t easily fish out some cookies and munch on it happily. When you have to find a stool to reach it you might lose the urge to eat it. Or your brain might get enough time to ask some questions about your actions. That might halt your mission and you end up losing weight.

What most of you will think about the above heading? Are they contradictory? In fact if you make some intelligent choices you can still enjoy a buffet lunch/dinner and keep your weight under control.

• When you are leaving home, don’t leave on empty stomach. Have some healthy snacks before leaving. This way you will not be ravenously hungry when you reach at the venue. Eating something beforehand will curb you from binging. But don’t eat too much at home. After all what will be the use of going to a buffet with full stomach?
• Make the impossible into i-m-possible. Don’t think that you can’t restrain yourself at a buffet table. We all know that how difficult it is to control ourselves when the whole table is laid out in front of you with delicious food. The key is force your brain to think and keep your weight under control. Instead of loading your plate with food, scan the buffet table. Walk around and take into account what healthier options are available to you. Examining the buffet table will give you some time to think and it is most likely that you are not prepared to throw your diet plans out of sync.
• After taking into account what is available on the buffet table, make smart choices. Balance your food plate with a mix of healthy food with some small portions of high calorie food too. The aim here should be to balance your diet with portions. Take large portions of healthy food such as salads and vegetables. Avoid food with heavy gravies. If you can’t resist dessert then cut out on other portions to balance the meal. Take lean meats such as chicken, fish, lean beef or turkey.
• Pay attention to your drink. To keep weight under control its very important to take care of your drinks. Try to avoid alcohol, soda or coke. They are filled with empty calories and throw your calorie counts down the drain. Try to avoid them. If you can’t avoid such drinks then go for the diluted version of calorie drinks. Because your choice of drinks can outweigh the smart choices made at buffet table.
• Since childhood we were taught to chew our food thoroughly and slowly. Time to remember your mother’s advice again. It will do good for your digestion and keep your weight under control. Chewing your food thoroughly satiates you and you avoid overeating.
• Don’t stay near the buffet table. Mingle with other people. Hold interesting conversation. Listen what others are discussing. That will keep you away from food and you might not be tempted to try more food.

Movie theater is a danger zone for weight watchers. All the crunchy munchy pop corns, potato chips, coke, chocolates and donuts spell doom for those trying to control their weight. So what to do? Can you stay away from theaters during summers? That’s too big a sacrifice to keep weight under control. Then can you ignore all the theatre food and munching sound all rounds you? Again it will be a very unpalatable choice. Then what to do? You are supposed to make smart choices of snacks while watching a movie. You have to find healthy alternatives for crunchy snacks that are tasty plus light on your stomach and weight. For details read here: Attack of the Movie Theater Snacks!