7 SUPER EASY WAYS TO CUT 500 CALORIES

Checking out these ways to cut 500 calories can help you lose a pound per week. To shed one pound, you must create a calorie deficit of 3,500 per week or 500 per day. It’s easier than you think too! You’re going to be shocked at how simple it is to eliminate those calories so you can successfully torch some fat and get healthy at the same time. Which of these ways to cut 500 calories is your first step?

1. SWITCH PLATE SIZES

Going from a dinner sized plate to a salad one is one of the easiest ways to cut 500 calories. You might not even notice less food because you can still fill your plate, but the smaller size means you won’t put as much food on it. Easy, right? Do the same for your jumbo cereal bowl too!

2. STOP DRINKING SODA

The average can of soda contains over 100 calories, but if you grab more than one or you fill your cup at the gas station soda fountain, you’re easily topping 500 calories or more. By eliminating soda from your routine, you can quickly reduce your calorie intake by hundreds. Choose unsweetened tea or water instead for a great way to quench thirst while also losing weight.

3. GO EASY ON THE NUTS

Yes, nuts are super healthy and have tons of vitamins and minerals. But they are also higher in calories than other snack foods. That means that if you mindlessly munch several handfuls every day, you might be able to cut an extra 500 calories every day by stopping that habit. Measure out one portion and be sure to balance it with the rest of your meals and snacks to keep from overdoing it.

4. LEAVE A FEW BITES

This is especially beneficial if you’re having pasta dishes. As you near the end of your meal, stop eating when there are a two or three bites of food on your plate. By doing this at every meal, you can easily keep several hundred calories from entering your body each day. Combine this with smaller plates and you’ll be well on your way to weight loss.

5. MEASURE YOUR PORTIONS

It’s so easy to underestimate the size of your portions. You go along thinking you’re eating the right sized portion, only to find out you’re way overdoing it. It happens to the best of us. Counteract that by using measuring cups and spoons to carefully portion out the foods you eat. You’ll be surprised to find that you’ve been taking in more calories than you thought because you haven’t been sticking to one portion. With time, it gets easier to eyeball a portion so you don’t have to carry your measuring utensils everywhere you go.

6. NEVER EAT IN FRONT OF THE TV

If you’ve sat down with a bag of chips or container of ice cream only to discover the entire thing gone when your favorite sitcom is over, you know exactly what I’m talking about here. You get distracted with the drama on the screen and forget to pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth. Eat meals at the table away from the latest episodes. If you must snack while you watch, measure out one portion and leave the rest in the kitchen so you’re not tempted to have just a little more…and a little more.

7. MAKE OVER YOUR SALAD

Salad is a staple for a weight loss diet. Vegetables are packed with fiber, which controls your appetite and they’re full of nutrients too. However, a salad can quickly become a diet bomb if it’s not prepared correctly. Stay away from gobs of salad dressing, bacon, loads of cheese, olives, piles of nuts, dried fruit and croutons, which can easily jack the calorie content sky high.

Did you know it was so simple to cut 500 calories? How do you make sure you don’t get too many calories every day?(www.pleaseweightloss.com)

7 REASONS IT'S MORE THAN CALORIES IN VERSUS CALORIES OUT

Regardless of how you eat, your weight might have very little to do with the old saying, "calories in versus calories out" for a few reasons. Although you might hear that it’s all about “calories in versus calories out,” there are a few particular situations that the number on the scale has nothing to with how healthy or unhealthy you eat. Generally speaking, I like to tell my clients that when it comes to your weight, your diet is the main factor, followed by your activity and lastly your genetics. Sometimes maintenance of a healthy weight is much more complicated than simply what you eat and what you expend. Here are 7 instances where your weight might be more complex than calories in versus calories out.

1. HORMONAL IMBALANCE

A hormonal imbalance is one of the first reasons that your weight might be more than just calories in versus calories out. As long as your hormones are out of balance, you can eat as healthy as you want and still gain weight. Hormones are regulatory substances that stimulate your cells to carry out a particular function. When one hormone is produced in excess or not enough, the particular function that the hormone is responsible for isn’t carried out efficiently. For instance, if ghrelin, the hormone responsible for stimulating your appetite, is produced in excess due to varying reasons, this can lead to increased food intake and thus increased body weight.

2. POOR SLEEPING HABITS

Poor sleeping habits do much more than leave dark circles under your eyes; in fact, poor sleeping habits are actually suggested to lead to future disease. Think of sleep as a reset button for your body. Sleep allows your body to repair, recharge and recalibrate. While your body is sleeping, this is also the time that your hormone levels are balanced out. Research suggests that people who sleep less than 7-9 hours per night have decreased levels of leptin, a satiating hormone, and increased levels of ghrelin, a hunger stimulating hormone.

3. STRESS

Regardless of where the stress comes from, too much stress can negatively affect your waistline no matter how healthy you are eating. Chronic stress stimulates your body to produce cortisol, a steroid hormone that increases sugars in the bloodstream for your brain to feed on in the presence of a perceived threat. Because of this, research suggests that excess cortisol can cause abdominal obesity due to an increase in appetite as well.

4. ILLNESS

Often, illness alone can lead to weight gain regardless of how many greens you might be eating. Whether it be due to a medication side effect, digestive issues, inactivity due to pain or depression or even something as simple as a vitamin deficiency, all of these factors can lead to weight gain. If you have a condition that is causing you to gain weight, talk to your doctor about ways to control this negative side effect.

5. INACTIVITY

Even if you eat a perfectly clean diet but sit around all day long, over time your metabolism will slow down and eventually lead to weight gain. Muscle burns more calories than fat, therefore in order to increase the efficiency of your metabolism, physical activity, such as weight bearing exercises, will increase your metabolism and allow you to burn more calories throughout the day. If you work a desk job that requires you to sit all day long, on average you will only burn around 400 calories in the eight hour day. One burger can easily be 400 calories, so as you can see, in order to prevent weight gain, being physically active is important.

6. TOXINS

Another condition that might cause you to gain weight no matter how healthy you eat is if your body is introduced to toxins, chemicals or poisons. For example, some research suggests that MSG (monosodium glutamate), a seasoning used commonly in Chinese and Japanese food, can damage the metabolic sensors that regulate food intake and lead to obesity. Try to avoid all harmful toxins like BPA (bisphenol A) found in most plastics, parabens found in personal care products, cigarette smoke and air pollution.

7. AGE

Another unfortunate weight gain promoter is your age. As you age, your metabolism slows down, causing you to burn fewer calories per day. Because of this you have to be proactive in order to prevent weight gain. The best way to fight age related weight gain is to start lifting weights. As I mentioned earlier, muscle mass burns more calories than fat mass, and therefore the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. For women, menopause can also be a factor in mid-life weight gain. During menopause your hormones change, which can cause an increased appetite, poor sleep, depression or a mixture of all three. Exercise becomes even more important during these trying years!

Although your weight is often a direct reflection of your diet, you and I both know there are always instances where this simply isn’t true. Your size two friend that eats more than an entire football team or your overweight aunt that eats three small, healthy meals a day - I’m sure you’ve seen both of those conditions. Sometimes your weight is more than just calories in versus calories out regardless of how many times you are told that statement! Have you ever dealt with any of these instances before? What did you do to take control?

7 Ways to Have a No Diet Approach And Still Lose Weight

As a successful personal trainer for over a decade, I have changed countless lives all with a no diet approach because I believe diets do not work. If you are on a diet, this is often a temporarily solution as opposed to a lifelong, healthier lifestyle change. And most people go on extremely restrictive diets that are not realistic to stick with, so they find themselves deprived and disgusted and then they fall off their program. So how do you lose weight and get great results without being on a diet? Here is my no diet approach to help you lose weight and transform your life:

1. COMBAT YOUR GENETICS

Based on our genetics we all have a fast, slow or middle acting metabolism, so does that mean we are stuck at our current weight for life? Absolutely not. Combat your slow metabolism by exercising more and eating more mini healthy meals. You can combat your genetics by making healthy changes and still have a no diet approach to life.

2. GET MORE ACTIVITY

Stop sitting down and writing what you should be doing and get active to start doing it. If you get more physical activity by aiming to exercise for 45 minutes to one hour four to six days a week, you will begin to see the weight melt off. So get moving and you will have great results with a no diet approach to life!

3. EXERCISE WITH MORE INTENSITY

Continual research supports that exercising with greater intensity produces greater weight loss results, so what are you waiting for? Start pushing yourself in your workouts and if you do have the endurance to do this for longer, go for intervals. This will also provide you will ample recovery to rest and then begin again. And you will see results without stressing while being on a diet!

4. EAT HEALTHIER

Not having to diet does not mean you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want; be mindful of your food choices. Make sure to eat mini meals of veggies, whole grains and fruits and never eat past 8pm. Listen to your hunger cues rather than eating out of emotions or boredom. And eat healthier to a leaner and lovelier you!

5. MAKE LITTLE CHANGES

Little changes make a big difference, so why are you not doing them? Make over your refrigerator by stocking it with fruits and veggies and remove all temptation. Dedicate a room in your home for your fitness workouts. Lacking the room for fitness equipment? No worries, you can use a small area to do fitness DVDs, abs, weights, and cardio in place. This is a great way to meet your weight loss goals!

6. DRINK MORE WATER

If you drink more you will find yourself less hungry, you will have more energy and this will aid in your weight loss goals. So how much water should you be drinking? Based on your activity level you should drink between 8-12 glasses of water (more on hot days and when you are exercising). This will also help to eliminate bloating and help your muscles to recover more efficiently from your workouts.

7. SURROUND YOURSELF BY SUPPORT

Let me just tell you, fit friends rock! I have a lot of friends all of varying activity levels but my fit friends really get me because they support me in my workout goal and never judge. Some may call it obsessed but they (along with myself) call it dedicated. And we all support one another with our goals and achievements!

Hope my tips will help you to lose weight without the stress of being on a diet, and live the life you deserve. So tell me, what are your weight loss goals and what motivates you?(www.pleaseweightloss.com)

7 KITCHEN WEIGHT LOSS TIPS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE ...

The kitchen is the warm and inviting place where you, your family and guests unite so you may want some kitchen weight loss tips. It is the forefront of your home where good things all come together. But the kitchen can also make or break your healthy eating plan. If your kitchen is stocked with unhealthy food choices, your kitchen could sabotage your waistline. If you have a goal to lose weight read my kitchen weight loss tips that can transform your life:

1. CREATE HEALTHY GRAB AND GO SNACKS

One of the major reasons people make unhealthy choices is out of pure convenience. It is much easier to grab a bag of pretzels on the go than cut up veggies to make a snack pack. If you cut up fresh fruit and veggies and have this in baggies in your refrigerator, it will make healthy eating easy. Creating healthy grab and go snacks is one of the best kitchen weight loss tips because it make healthy choices easy to make!

2. REVAMP YOUR FOOD PANTRY

Remove all temptation from your life by simply revamping your food pantry. Do not make the mistake of emptying your cupboards because then you will feel deprived. Stock the bulk of your snacks in the refrigerator (fruits and veggie slices). And stock the pantry with quinoa bites, whole grain crackers and any other healthy snack you enjoy. If you have a healthier kitchen you will be leaner, healthier and happier.

3. PREPLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK

Set out the schedule of your weekly eating in advance so you have all the ingredients on hand and will skip the take out and cook up your own healthy dishes. Eating out generally means meals higher in fat and calories and you cannot control what is put into a dish unless you are the one cooking it. Set out a healthy plan for the week so that you can stay on target to your weight loss goals and better health!(www.pleaseweightloss.com)

4. PUT AWAY REMAINING FOOD IMMEDIATELY

After you serve dinner to everyone, put away the remaining food in a tupperware immediately. This will eliminate the possibility of you or your family going back for seconds and will help you stay on track with eating in portion control. Often we go back for seconds out of pure boredom rather than true hunger.

5. EAT ON SMALLER PLATES

Put away the large dinner plates and eat on the salad plates. An appropriate portion should be eaten on salad plates. This will help take out the guesswork and keep you on track to a leaner and healthier life!

6. MAKE SALAD THE MAIN MEAL

One of the best choices you can make is making the salad the main meal. This will help you meet your nutritional needs as well as satisfy your hunger. When you finish your meal if you want seconds you can go for it, if you make salad your choice.

7. MAKE THE BULK OF YOUR REFRIGERATOR GREEN

If you fill your refrigerator with spinach, Swiss chard broccoli and other leafy greens you will be ready to go, when making a green shake. You will also boost your immune system and aid your digestive tract due to the ample fiber.
Hope you have enjoyed my kitchen weight loss tips to help transform your life. Are you ready to transform your kitchen and your life?(www.pleaseweightloss.com)

7 Simple Ways to Fight Winter Weight Gain ...

It can be incredibly tough to fight off winter weight gain. Comforting, heavier foods in winter seem so nourishing and satisfying at the time, but most typical comfort foods are high in calories, unhealthy fats, and starchy carbs. This high fat, high carbohydrate combination can lead to weight gain quickly. Then, factor in less activity from being indoors more, and winter weight gain becomes hard to avoid. So, to get you started off on the right foot again, and back in your normal sized jeans, just follow some of these tips below. They’re not extremely hard, but are effective rather quickly. Remember, taking baby steps to fight winter weight gain makes a huge difference over a couple of months. Then, when spring arrives, you’ll be confident and back to your optimal size while everyone else is trying to get ready for bikini season!

1. GET WALKING

Exercise is one obvious way to fight off winter weight gain, but don’t forget how effective simple, everyday walking can be. Sure, gym time will help reduce your waist size quickly, but walking has actually been proven to be the easiest, most effective way to lose weight fast of all. Walking, in comparison to running, is friendlier to your joints, does not raise cortisol in the body, and it helps strengthen your joints and muscles. Over time, this stress-lowering and muscle building effect gives you a slim tummy, better blood sugar levels, and more lean muscle than you could imagine. Get walking at least 45 minutes a day, and you’ll drop that winter weight quickly in combination with a healthy diet.

2. FOCUS ON VEGGIES

When designing your meals, focus on healthy forms of vegetables at all your meals - not fried, sauteed, creamed, or in a casserole. Avoid adding sugar, too much salt and unhealthy fats to your veggies too. You want to include your veggies in the form of raw, baked, and steamed for the best results. Roasted veggies are also fantastic, but be sure you avoid using unhealthy vegetable oils and use coconut oil or olive oil instead. Also, instead of pastas and rice at your meals, eat root vegetables like sweet potatoes instead. Turnips, beets, carrots, squash, and onions are also excellent sources of low glycemic carbohydrates that can help you lose weight, and they squash your starchy cravings. Season these with black pepper, some herbs and a dash of Himalayan sea salt if you need it. Also, be sure to include plenty of leafy greens and green vegetables, which are the cornerstone of a lean and a healthy body.

3. GET REGULAR

You need to get regular in the winter, with your sleep that is! I know it can be easy to stay up late at night during winter, because most likely, you woke up later that morning due to less sunlight. Or, perhaps the lack of sun simply drains you and leaves you fatigued during the day, but wide awake at night. Whatever the case, irregular sleep patterns not only cause weight gain, but also depression. This also enhances your appetite for unhealthy foods. Our hormones reach optimal levels when we get regular sleep, and our hormones affect everything about our weight. Getting on a regular sleep schedule will ensure they work their best for you and your weight. Take a melatonin supplement or magnesium before bed if you can’t fall asleep or stay asleep.

4. AVOID COFFEE OVERLOAD

Coffee is often promoted as a health food, but we need to get something straight. The delicious java beverage is also the most acidic thing you can put in your body and it raises stress levels. Despite its antioxidant content, and its brain benefits, coffee is still a highly addictive beverage, and it leads to a drop in glycemic index a couple of hours later. Guess what that means? Low energy, carb cravings, or turning to caffeine for your next boost of energy. One cup a day is okay, but if you can, switch to herbal or green tea instead. These choices actually do the opposite of coffee, and will help tame your sweet tooth, bad mood, and hypoglycemia. All these issues are important for getting rid of weight gain, in winter and year round.

5. DITCH ANIMAL FATS

Butter, sour cream, full fat milk, and cream are some of the most commonly used ingredients in winter dishes, especially where I’m from in the South. Talk about a weight and heart health nightmare! Ditch all animal fats if you want to lose that winter weight. Veggie fats are your friend, and guess what? They actually help you lose weight instead of gain it! Avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut, olives, and most all raw plant fats are incredibly awesome for helping you lose weight. Do not fear them, and in fact, eat more of them. Replace all animal fats with plant fats, and in no time, you’ll lose weight.

6. FOCUS ON PROTEIN

Along with veggies, you also need to focus on protein. During the winter, it can be easy to just stock up on cheap sources of filling carbs like beans, rice, white potatoes, and “healthy” processed carbs like granola or cereal bars. These foods might be less evil than fried food, but they aren’t a way to fight winter weight gain. In fact, they’ll likely put weight on you, rather than take it off. Instead, focus on lean sources of clean protein, along with those veggies. Doing so will help keep your blood sugar stable, prevent overeating, and help to build lean muscle in your body. My favorites are hemp protein, spirulina, almonds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and on occasion, wild fish. If you choose animal sources, be sure you keep your choices to the best forms possible like grass-fed, organic, and pastured meats, eggs, and wild fish.

7. BE ACTIVE

Aside from walking, a fantastic way to increase your chances of losing winter weight, is to be active however you can. Work standing up if you work from home, either at a table or standing desk. Do chores like laundry, dishes, and cooking all those healthy foods you’re going to be eating. Even getting out to do errands counts. Whatever you do, just don’t sit on the couch all day, or at a desk without getting up to move every hour. Being active will do more for your winter weight than you can imagine, and the little things add up quickly.
I like to stay just as active in winter as I do the rest of the year, and by doing so, I don’t let myself get out of the healthy habit. I’m also happier for it and I am more inspired to take care of my diet when I’m active as well. Make your diet, sleep, and activity levels top priority when trying to avoid winter weight gain. It is hands down the best way to drop winter weight fast. Do you have any tips for losing winter weight? (www.pleaseweightloss.com)

7 Superb Carbs for Weight Loss

To lose weight and stay healthy, carbs are vital, so what are the carbs for weight loss? There is so much misinformation about having to eliminate carbohydrates for weight loss. But to fuel your workouts and your day, carbohydrates are essential. And aside from providing energy, did you know carbohydrates are vital for proper brain functioning? But you have to choose health carbs for weight loss, so read the best choices:

1. FRUITS

One of the best carbohydrates for weight loss is fruit, especially fruit like pears and apples since they are low glycemic. And pears and apples have metabolic boosting pectin in them. Fruits combine vitamins and minerals and essential carbs for weight loss.

Sweet Potatoes are a great way to provide your body with plenty of fiber and cancer fighting antioxidants. They also pack beta carotene along with many other vitamins. This will help keep you full longer and give the extra power needed to fuel your workouts. When was the last time you ate a sweet potato?

Oats are healthy carbohydrates that lower your cholesterol and help you have a healthier heart. These healthy carbs will also energize you for a power packed day along with aiding your weight loss goals. Due to the high carb content it is important to eat this for breakfast so your body has plenty of time to burn it off.

Quinoa is an amazing grain rich in fiber, protein and healthy carbohydrates. This has been a hidden health secret for many years and now it is present in nearly every grocer and for good reason. It tastes great and is packed with health benefits. The nutty flavor of this grain adds to your delectable lunch or dinner and you can even try this in a salad. Hope you enjoy this great weight loss carb!

To provide your body plenty of protein, fiber and healthy energizing carbohydrates; wild rice is a great choice. Wild rice tastes great with its nutty and wholesome flavor. And it will provide you plenty of energy to have a great workout. Again, it is important to have this carb earlier in the day before six at night, (around dinner time) so your body has ample time to work these carbs off.

Whole wheat flour will provide your body with plenty of fiber and nutrients. Your whole grain bread should be made with whole wheat flour. The best thing you can do is make food yourself with whole wheat flour as opposed to bleached white flour. This will aid in your weight loss and health goals!(www.pleaseweightloss.com)

7 Weight Loss Success Stories That Will Inspire You ...

As a personal trainer for over a decade, I have countless weight loss success stories that will inspire you. Since I abide by full confidentiality I will withhold any specific details for my client’s best interest. But I will provide you all the inspirational details in how you can lose weight and have success. And all extra details will be included so that you can stay motivated and on track to achieve fitness and health success. Here are weight loss success stories that I hope motivate you:

1. COLLEGE WEIGHT LOSS GRADUATE

One of my first clients, I trained a decade ago, was a college student that had put on twenty three pounds from just one year at school. With the life changes, food changes and time management, fitness fell to the back burner and as a result her skinny jeans no longer fit. Rather than swap her skinny jeans for all elastic pants she called me to help her transform over the summer. With my fitness plan she lost twenty eight pounds and transformed her life in just three months and I gained a great friend for life (we still talk all the time). This is one of my great weight loss success stories that should inspire you to achieve!

2. POST-PARTUM WEIGHT LOSS

One of my clients who has just had her first child found herself thirty five pounds over her pre-pregnancy weight and feeling a lack of energy. Once a college athlete but since new motherhood and life changes, she found herself overweight and feeling insecure of who she was. I helped her regain herself and learn to balance life as a new mom to include fitness. In five months, she learned to balance life, restructure her eating, and gain self-confidence. As a result, she lost thirty two pounds, gained lean muscle tone and even ran a half marathon. And even though she did not reach her goal weight since she gained muscle, she was in a smaller size clothes than she had been in since high school. Through the process of my training she found a new love (aside from her family), a love for running and she found balance as a new mom!

3. FORTY BY FORTY

A prospective client contacted me interested in my training to help her lose forty pounds for her fortieth birthday in just seven months. With my guidance, training plan and a growing friendship I helped her to achieve this. In the process she found so much more about herself and what had caused her to emotionally eat. She confronted her fears and conquered new challenges (like a half marathon) and we became friends for life. At her fortieth birthday she shined more than in her twenties. With hard work and determination anything is possible!

4. FASTER 5K AND WEIGHT LOSS RESULTS

A male client contacted me interested in running a quicker 5k and losing ten pounds so I accepted the challenge. In two years he not only lost twenty pounds (more than he had ever imagined) but he became one of the fastest runners in the state, smashing race times and all the while getting leaner to reveal a tremendous transformation.

5. SENSATIONAL SIXTY

With sixty approaching, a woman contacted me hoping to lose weight so she could keep up with her five grandchildren but she never saw an athlete within her (or what would come). In one years’ time she managed to lose thirty three pounds, become a runner, break her own fitness records and rock a size she had not worn in twenty some odd years. She proves that age is just a number, it is all how you feel!

6. ONE FIT COUPLE

Just three years ago, a woman contacted me interested in joining my Bootcamp, after joining for one month she inspired her husband to join as well. Exercising as a couple they managed to lose quite a bit of weight and smash their own fitness records repeatedly. She lost twenty four pounds and her husband lost over fifty and that is pure inspiration. What is more inspirational is that with their six packs and strong body they also revealed their athleticism by coming in the top percentage of countless running races. They not only look fit and amazing but their personalities shine as a result. This is one fit and fierce couple that you should be inspired by; they have proved together anything is possible!

7. FABULOUS FIFTY

After combating a serious of health issues, a client contacted me hoping to lose twenty five pounds and have more energy. In just ten months’ time she accomplished this and much more. Through my guidance and support, she lost forty one pounds (she did not even know she could lose this much), she achieved the lean stomach she dreamed of, found more energy, and found the freedom and joy of running solo. She went on to run several marathons and proved that she can be a fabulous fun fifty!

I hope this glimpse into my amazing client success stories will inspire you and show that with hard work, determination and a lot of sweat you can achieve any goal. Are you ready to become the next fitness success weight loss story? Then get working!(www.pleaseweightloss.com)