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Losing Those Last Five Pounds

Losing Weight Secret

My mother told me a little story the other night. When she first started working in sales, she said, her goal was to ‘write a string of pearls’ – in her parlance, five weeks in a row of 100 sales or more. Her first two weeks would be great – but that third week was always a killer. Four times in a row she got those two weeks, only to fail on the third week. Every morning she woke up and told herself, “I can write a hundred sales this week.” And in the back of her mind, she’d add, “I can never get that third week.”

On Thursday of that third week, she was struggling and determined, even though she’d only made 22 sales so far that week. She woke up and told herself, “I can write a hundred this week” – and for the first time, she actually heard what she was saying to herself in the back of her mind. “But I Can Never Get That Third Week”. Realizing how she’d been undermining her own attempts at positive mental attitude, she resolved to overcome it. She went out that day and made over 50 sales – and the rest of the week fell into place. Not only that, she went on to write a string of pearls that set a record in her company that has yet to be broken.

It is not only knowing healthy weight loss, but we also need to know a secret to be able to do so. What was her secret? And what does it have to do with losing weight? Simply put, your biggest enemy in your quest to lose weight is your own self-doubt and negative thinking. Positive affirmations are a powerful psychological tool that can help you lose weight – but it’s just as important to catch your negative thinking and turn it around.

How many times have you caught yourself thinking, “I can never lose those last five pounds.”? No matter how positive you believe you’re being, no matter how often you congratulate yourself for the great job you’re doing, those lingering doubts are sabotaging you.

Overcoming them isn’t a magic bullet that will make it all happen — but at least you won’t be fighting your own inner voices when you face those last five pounds – or that piece of cheesecake.

How did my mother do it? She used a sneaky little trick that might be just what you need to get you past those last five pounds. She decided that since she could never get that third week, she’d stop thinking of this as ‘that third week’. Instead, she’d just focus on selling what she could today. Setting a new goal for herself relieved her of the pressure and negativity that had been holding her back.

Setting yourself a new goal can freshen your perspective and wipe away all the ‘failures’ that seem to be holding you back. Forget the ‘last five pounds’. From this morning on, think of it as ‘only five pounds’. When you only have to lose five pounds, how can you miss?

Lose Weight Fast For A Special Occasion

Lose Weight Fast

If you have just a little weight to lose, and want to take it off fast (say, so you can fit into those great pants for your cousin’s wedding), there are a number of healthy weight loss that you can use. Most of these wouldn’t be recommended for long-term weight loss, as they substantially restrict your intake of some essential nutrients, so using them habitually may not be healthy. But if you’re normal diet is healthy, and you just want a quick boost to drop 8-10 pounds quickly, or to kick off a new diet with a bang, the Cabbage Soup Diet actually works.

The cabbage soup diet has been around for nearly 30 years. It’s based on the notion that your body actually uses more calories to digest cabbage than the amount that it derives from cabbage. It’s a so-called ‘negative calorie diet’, and includes many foods that, like cabbage, are high in fiber and very low in calories.

The base of the cabbage soup diet is – what else? Cabbage soup. There are several recipes for cabbage soup available. Essentially, the soup is made with onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, celery and spices to taste. You’ll be eating the soup every day – as much of it as you want.

In addition, there is a seven day routine of foods to supplement the cabbage soup.

Day One: All the fruit you want (except bananas) along with all the soup that you want. No caffeinated beverages or sodas. Drink only water, tea and cranberry juice.

Day Two: Eat all the vegetables that you want, but avoid dried beans, peas and corn. Eat veggies raw, fresh or cooked. No fats, no sauces, no butter. At dinner, you may have one baked potato with butter – and of course, all the cabbage soup that you want!

Day Three: Eat all the fruits and veggies that you want from day two and day three – but NO baked potato.

Day Four: Bananas and skim milk – yes, all the skim milk you want, plus up to eight bananas, along with — you guessed it, all the cabbage soup you want.

Day Five: Eat ten to twenty ounces of beef (or skinless chicken, or broiled fish). Drink at least 10 glasses of water, and eat up to six fresh tomatoes. (if you substitute for the beef today, you may not tomorrow)

Day Six: Eat all the beef, vegetables and cabbage soup that you want. No baked potato. Lots of leafy green vegetables.

Day Seven: You can have all the unsweetened fruit juices, brown rice, and vegetables that you want – and at least one bowl of soup.

That’s it. Remember – this diet is NOT recommended for long term weight loss, or long term use. It doesn’t contain enough complex carbohydrates to be healthy for longer than a few days. But if you just need a jump-start or a quick fix, it’s a good way to pick up the pace for a week.

How To Avoid Those Holiday Founds

Diet Food

If you believe the old stories about much weight people put on during the holidays, you’re right—partially.  In a recent study conducted by The National Institute of Health, the researchers discovered that, in reality, most people tend to only put on just slightly under one pound.  But a person who is already overweight will average a whopping five pounds extra after the last horns have been blown.

But it’s not all good news for even those who put on the minimum because the study also shows that we all tend to keep the pounds put on.  In other words, over ten years, those not-so-much pounds, could lead someone to being overweight.

So, what can we do in order to keep those extra pounds off?  After all, our homes are usually filled with holiday pies, cakes and other goodies, and they can be pretty tempting—even for the most faithful of dieters!

Here’s a few tips to get you through the holidays during your dieting.

Just A Nibble!

Have you ever noticed that when you start eating a rich dessert it tastes so good, but by the last bite, you’ve had enough?  One way to keep the pounds down is just to enjoy a few bites that delicious cheesecake or chocolate fudge brownie.  No one says that you have to completely deprive yourself of holiday treats—just limit how much you eat!

Enjoy the Company, Not The Brownies!

Many people think of holiday parties in terms of the foods that they’ll get to eat (or have to avoid) instead of the real reason for the celebration—the company and conversation.  If you keep yourself busy chatting with friends, you’ll be less likely to invade the snack table.

Go Full

You’ve likely heard the grocery store trick; don’t go shopping when you’re hungry because you’ll only end up buying more.  Well, the same can work for holiday parties!  Eat a lot of raw vegetables, and other healthy foods that will stick with you during the party and you’ll be less tempted to binge on the bad stuff.

Drink Water

If you were to add up the calories that you’ve probably consumed in sodas, fruit punches and alcoholic beverages at parties, you would likely be amazed.  You can gulp down hundreds of calories without even realizing it if you’re not careful!  Instead of one of these high-calorie drinks, make it a habit to drink water—which in itself will help flush out extra water weight.

Create An Eating Schedule

It wouldn’t be fun—or realistic—to try and get through an entire party without at least sampling some of the treats.  But instead of heading instantly to the food table and loading your plate—and then suffering the rest of the party because you want more—try spacing out your snacks for the entire time of the party.  Plan on taking a nibble of something about every thirty minutes.  Not only will it help you eat less, it will be a fun game that you can play with yourself!

Most importantly, remember that the holidays are meant for enjoyment.  Don’t be too hard on yourself, and if you make a mistake, talk an extra long walk to work off those extra calories instead of beating yourself up over it!