Everywhere you look there is someone GUARANTEEING their product will promote weight loss? Do you think that in taking Hoodia you will experience weight loss? Hard to know isn’t it, but it is important that if you are taking Hoodia that you allow yourself enough time to truly test this amazing product for results.

The history of Hoodia as an appetite suppressant dates back to the nomadic Sans tribe in South Africa in 1966.  The CSIR in South Africa was conducting a study of indigenous foods that their Bushmen ate and stumbled upon Hoodia.  These tribesmen, when hunting could be gone for several days and knew that taking Hoodia would help relieve their hunger and thirst. These tribesmen never had cause to question the safety of Hoodia as they had been using it medicinally for some time.

In 1997 the CSIR patented the product.  The Hoodia supplement, in the last few years has become an incredibly popular appetite suppressant.  But does it actually work?

Well there has been much controversy firstly over various Hoodia products and the most important thing to note is that genuine 100% Hoodia Gordonii doesn’t come in an extract from.  It is important to note that there are lots of fakes out there when it comes to sourcing Hoodia Gordonii capsules so the simple real is look at the packaging and you should only see the core of the Hoodia Gordonii plant and the ingredients used to make up its capsules:  gelatib.  Anything else and it isn’t the genuine article!

There are quite a few reviews done on the various Hoodia products at this site, so you may want to take a look for yourself.  http://www.fatgherkin.com/index.php/Weight-Loss/weight-loss-supplements/unique-hoodia-diet-pills.html

So does taking Hoodia work?  Well as it is an appetite suppressant it reduces your calorie intake up to 2,000 calories so that’s a great start.  As it works on suppressing your appetite you will find that snacking between meals is no longer necessary as you aren’t actually hungry.  You know in the afternoon when you hit that low point and chocolate becomes so tempting?  When your tummy starts rumbling and no matter what you do to take your mind off sweat treats you have to make your way to the vending machine. Well not anymore!

By MaryAnn Roche

Tags: appetite suppressant, hoodia, lose weight, Lose Weight and Keep it Off, Losing weight, Natural Weight Loss, reduce weight, Weight Loss

Do You Have What It Takes To Lose Weight?

Well do you?  Can you set your mind to losing weight and stick to it?  Are you ready to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve the body of your dreams?

Your biggest barrier to losing weight is quite simply your own self-discipline. Somewhere along life’s journey you have succumbed to a cycle of eating a poor diet full of carbs, fats and undoubtedly processed foods.  These foods actually make you feel tired and sleepy all the time, resulting in lethargy which results in you feeling not at all inclined to exercise!  So you end up with no willpower and you feel hopeless with your inability to change and be motivated.

You can lose the weight if you truly want to!  It comes down firstly to a simple decision. From there once you have decided you will then need to address your willpower. Don’t let life happen to you in the form of a heart attack or trauma, find the strength to make the change now!

Lets start at Step 1 – Watch your portion size! (start by giving yourself a smaller portion size) Use smaller plates if you have to trick your mind into believing its the same size!

Step 2 – allow yourself ONE cheat day per week.  As you transition to healty eating habits allowing yourself one day off will actually help you and motivate you to stick to your changes.  So go ahead and enjoy that piece of chocolate cake, really savor the flavor knowing tomorrow it is back to healty eating habits! I am sure after you have eaten the cake your willpower will begin to kick in and say no more!

Remember to take photographs of yourself.  You would be amazed how motivating this really is.  We generally dont really realize how we truly look until we see ourselves in a photo, so keep a picture of yourself always and when you feel like giving up, bring it out and remind yourself of how far you have come.  Take new photos to compare to your original so you can see your progress!

Make a food list, and write down the healthy foods you actually enjoy eating. Ensure you buy these foods to eat throughout the day. If you need help there is a great ebook/receipt book titled “EASY Veggie Meal Plans” which you can download here.  I dont know about you, but often I dont eat certain vegetables as I simply dont know how to prepare them.  So this recipe book may help.

Approach exercise initially in moderation.  Adding exercise to your routine can very often be offputting so start slow. If you attempt too much in day one, you will have a difficult time finding the motivation to return!  Start with a short walk, and increase the distance daily. Or if you cannot even manage a walk to begin with there are some great exercises to be found here – do them while you sit!

Every week set yourself a goal. Decide what you would like to achieve, and take small steps to get there. Small manageable goals such as one pound per week which is attainable.  Setting the bar too high will result in failure and a complete lack of motivation.

Always reward yourself on your achievements, and no NOT with a piece of pie! You have worked hard at losing weight and are continuing to do so, so tell yourself to be proud of your achievements and that you have mustered the willpower to succeed at weightloss so undoubtedly anything else in your life you choose to put your mind to can also be achieved.

By MaryAnn Roche.

Tags: How to Stay Focused on Losing Weight, Lose Weight and Keep it Off, Losing weight, reduce weight, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Strategies

Secrets to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

Most people can lose weight if they really try, but how do you keep it off? Well, I’m in the losing weight category now and time will tell as to whether I keep it off or not…lol

Here is what I have found in researching this topic from other’s who have lost their weight and managed to stay slim!

Why do some dieters suffer the endless frustration of losing and then gaining weight again and again, while others lose weight and keep it off forever?

And wouldn’t you like to belong to the latter group instead of the former?

Here’s a Great Place to Learn about Health and Fitness – Click Me!

Here are some surprisingly easy things that successful dieters do – and you can easily adapt these good habits while you are trying to lose weight and keep it off!

1.) Write down everything that you eat.
The mere act of writing down everything that you eat is a motivator that helps keep you on track and makes you less likely to binge, so fitness experts say.

2.) Plan ahead.
If you are going out to dinner with friends or to a holiday office party or even to the movies, what are you going to do when hunger pangs hit? Make sure that you’ve eaten a filling, non fattening snack or meal beforehand and decide what, if anything, you will eat at the party, movies, or whatever, before you go

3.)Ditch that old conventional wisdom!
“The scale doesn’t matter when you’re dieting”? For a long time experts scorned the idea of frequent weigh ins, pointing out that the scale can be inaccurate because of fluctuations caused by water weight.

However, it turns out that weighing yourself every day is actually an excellent motivator for dieters. A study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that dieters who weighed themselves every day lost the most weight, and kept it off more successfully, compared to a group of dieters who did not weigh themselves regularly.

4.) Schedule the occasional indulgence.
If you know that you get to eat a small ice cream sundae once a week, or one brownie, or half a cup of pasta, or whatever you are craving, you are much less likely to binge. You can also make sure that’s a day when you add in some extra exercise and you will still lose weight!

5.) Find an exercise that you like.
Even if it’s just taking your dog for a mile long walk, or bicycling, or tennis or whatever – just as long as it’s something- and do it at least a few times a week. It will speed up your weight loss, make you healthier, and dieters who also exercise are the most successful at keeping the weight off.

Here’s a great little book that might help you!

As you can see, these are not hard things to do and will definately help you lose weight!

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, give my suggestions a try!

Tags: lose weight, Lose Weight and Keep it Off