Reward yourself

Looking better and feeling great may be their own rewards when you lose weight, but it never hurts to reward yourself for reaching goals and sticking to your eating plan. Building in incentives is a time-honored way of helping keep yourself on track. Did you pass up that piece of cheesecake at lunch? Reward yourself with a pot of fresh herbs! Did you get out and exercise for your daily half-hour? Take a luxurious bath with scented oils. Went the whole week without falling off your new routine? That calls for a big reward! Treat yourself to an evening out, or buy that book you've been dying to read.

Need some excuses for rewarding yourself? Try setting one of these goals to give yourself something to shoot for:

1. Weight loss goals.

Pretty traditional here - treat yourself to something special whenever you can mark off ten pounds toward your goal weight. Get a manicure to make you feel extra special.

2. Look, Ma, I dropped a whole size!

Well, that certainly calls for buying yourself something in that new size, even if it's just a pair of new exercise sneakers!

3. Whew! I made it ALL the way through the half-hour workout without stopping ONCE!

Now that's impressive! Call your best friend or your mom and brag - or just chat. Even if it's long distance.

4. I didn't do it! That chocolate chip cookie dough sundae was calling my name, but I turned my back and walked away.

In that case, don't you think you deserve fresh flowers for your

desk?

5. I finally fit into THAT dress!

I'd say that calls for wearing it out somewhere special, wouldn't you? Take yourself out dancing to show it off!

6. I lost weight for the third week in a row. I'm so proud of myself!

Here's an ongoing reward - for every pound you lose, drop a dollar or two into a jar, and watch the money build up. Entertain yourself with plans on how you'll spend it when you reach your goal weight.

7. I got stuck for three weeks, but I finally budged from that plateau!

I'll tell you what - sticking to a diet when you're not seeing results is one of the hardest things that you'll ever do. Get yourself something that will make it easier to reward yourself. For example, buy a blender for whipping up frozen fruit smoothies.

8. I'm halfway there!

You deserve a Halfway Party, don't you think? Pull out all your old fat clothes and try them on so you can feel great about how far you've

come.

9. I've been slugging away forever, and I'm starting to get

discouraged...

Okay, so it's not a 'reward' situation -- but it is. You deserve a reward for sticking to it this long. Want a quick pick-me-up? Pick up the phone and get together with someone you haven't seen in months. This will guarantee that you’ll receive compliments at how great you look!

10. I did it! I made it! I reached my goal weight!!

Well, sweetheart, that calls for pulling out the stops! Remember that money you've been paying yourself for losing weight? Time to cash it in for something fabulous!

Eating healthy and losing weight are gifts that you give yourself, though they may not feel like it at first. By rewarding yourself along the way, you’ll not only increase the chances of your success, but you’ll enjoy the process a whole lot more!

Why is hoodia such a sought after weight loss supplement

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Hoodia Gordonii is an unambitious little South African desert cactus type plant that has a big future ahead of it. A gift from the native San people who live in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, this tiny plant the natives' call "Xhoba" has already began impacting the world of weight loss with its extraordinary hunger stopping traits. What the Aboriginal San Bushmen have known for a long time and the rest of us are merely beginning to realize is that Hoodia has appetite suppressant qualities distinguished by plant scientists and named P57. This P57 active element has been examined, tested and identified to have the power to reduce calorie intake by up to 1,000 calories a day.

So will any South African cactus do when it comes to helping you to stay away from snacks? Indeed not, don't go to the local florist and buy yourself a desert cactus to eat. Of the succulent and asclepiad genus there are 2,000 species of ascleoiadaceae, divided into 300 genera, half from the succulent category. Hoodia Pseudolithos and Trichocaulon are members of the Trichocaulon sub-section from the Kalahari Desert region of S. Africa that touches Angola, Botswana and Namibia. Hoodia Gordonii is the name of the cactus you will want to get but don't plan on taking a outing to the South Africa and getting some Hoodia cacti for yourself; the Hoodia desert cactus are under strict control by the S. African government. It is considered an endangered plant and only Hoodia cactus farmers with certification may produce and sell the Hoodia.

Can Hoodia affect the world's obesity problem and help the planet be a slimmer place? Business organizations including, Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Phytopharm, Pfizer and most recently Slim Fast all believe so. All of these companies have banked on Hoodia's success and together have invested millions of dollars, wanting to corner the marketplace on weight loss. Looking at Hoodia's journey from Xhoba, plant of The San Bushmen to being today's miracle plant for weight loss we need to first look at where Hoodia's been over the past thirty plus years. The greatest amount of time, CSIR analyzed Hoodia to isolate the molecule p57, once they eventually obtained it; they then sold the rights of p57 to Phytopharm. In 1998 The Phytopharm Company leased marketing rights to Pfizer, who invested thirty-two million only to subsequently drop out of the scene because p57 was too expensive to synthesize as a pill. Pfizer's situation has now been taken over by The Unilever Corporation, the parent company of Slim Fast. Slim Fast at present plans on delivering a Hoodia weight loss supplement to nutritional stores in a couple years.

Almost a year ago, on November of 2004, the Hoodia plant contracted big media coverage when CBS's Sixty Minutes did a show on Hoodia's appetite suppressant qualities. With the 60 minute TV exposure, Hoodia was now wanted plant by dieters all-round the globe. People having a hard time staying on their diets desired Hoodia now, not in a couple of years, the secret was out and Hoodia was becoming an indispensable plant. I'm sure after that 60 minutes program was aired, numbers of dieters looked into moving to the Kalahari Desert and making themselves a tiny Hoodia garden of their very own. Luckily, as it is today there isn't a reason to go to that extent, where there is a consumer need; there are many businesses happy to fill that request. There were a few businesses that were informed of Hoodia before the news coverage broke and were in the right place at the right time. It didn't take long though for numerous other organizations to create associations with South African Hoodia Gordonii growers and get Hoodia supplements into stores.

Nowadays there are numerous brands marketing both Hoodia powder form and extracts; how long will the Hoodia plant supply last is the question on dieter's minds right now. The Hoodia Gordonii succulent is a very hard plant to grow; the plants need very much care and management with irrigating, temperature and sunshine. Where it stands today there are only a couple of Hoodia harvesting centers in the South Africa and the Hoodia plant takes two to three years before it's ready to be exported. Taking this into account, the multi-million dollar question is, for how many months can the Hoodia succulent plant export continue? Because of this situation buyers should be aware if the Hoodia they are getting has been independently tested and certified to be pure Hoodia Gordonii from South Africa. A few of the companies that have been certified authentic are Desert Burn, Hoodoba Hoodia and the Hoodia Max Brand. There are companies out there taking advantage of the great demand and interest in Hoodia and supplying a low quality product. For more information about Hoodia go to hoodiagordonii. totalink. com

Breaking the jinx of obesity through weight loss drug

‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fattest of them all’

Though my mirror would not magically utter my name, my eyes would move unconsciously to the ugly bulge that has formed near the middle part of my body. I know I am the one. For years, I have continued to hate the mirror. I even attempted a lot many times to do away with even traces of the thing. But, my wife wouldn’t allow (women and mirrors go hand in hand).

Finally, I understood that closing my eyes to the fat won’t make me less fat. Weight loss drug was one such step which I undertook to do away with the fat. A weight loss drug works by ddecreasing appetite, increasing satisfaction, decreasing fat absorption and increasing the rate of metabolism.

Weight loss drugs refer to over-the-counter medication or prescription drugs. The drugs are manufactured from a large number of chemical as well as herbal formulations such as amphetamines, appetite suppressants, benzene derivatives, herbal extracts, hormones and many more.

The use of weight loss drugs, to the confusion of users, does not offer exactly similar benefits to all. While some may benefit from it, others may not. This is a mystery that scientists till date are trying to decipher. Scientists have come to the conclusion that obesity or overweight is a complex illness. There is not only the physical determinant to it such as larger intake of food or more fat absorption. There are behavioural and psychological aspects to the illness as well. Therefore, it is imperative that obesity be treated by taking the entire picture in mind.

A few drugs have had enough research; certain others are still remaining to be studied in depth. The key to the use of weight loss drug is to examine properly if the drug is effective. Only properly researched drugs must be used to avoid side effects.

Weight loss drugs demand perseverance on the part of user in his dietary and workout habits. It is all the more important that user reduces intakes of fatty foods and consume more of low carb diets. Daily exercise is also important. Muscles are an important method of burning calories. Besides, it gives a good shape to ones body.

Weight loss drugs are not entirely free from drawbacks. Many weight loss drugs have been investigated to result into side effects such as cardiac arrest. Besides, it is often quite tricky to pinpoint if a particular weight loss drug was behind the weight one lost. Any weight loss program is often accompanied by diet and exercise; thus making it difficult to decide the contribution of the drug. Despite these criticisms, the desire of humans to find a magic pill for weight loss continues.

Permanent weight loss solutions

There are many people who attempting to lose weight, some will succeed and others will fail, however the biggest battle for people who are able to reduce their weight, is often to keep to their ideal weight. Many people will find that they have soon returned to the weight that they were before they went on their diet or even that they are actually fatter. This can of course be very depressive and can result in them losing a lot of their self-esteem. What is needed is for a permanent solution to their weight problems.

There are some obvious routes to take in the battle to lose weight. They would include increasing the amount in which we exercise and reducing the amount we eat. It is this eating issue that can be the hardest to control and to reduce as our temptations often get the better of us.

In my opinion what we need to do is to make our house a fat free zone. If we become hungry and start looking through the cupboards and notice for example a packet of crisps, it can often be very difficult not to eat them. Our desire for instant food can become too great and our inner demons try and convince us that one packet will not hurt. If that packet of crisps had not been in the cupboard we would have not been put into that position of temptation and would of course not have been able to eat them.

A number of years ago, when I went about losing my own excess weight, I decided to remove all of the foods from all of the cupboards which I was aware that I needed to stop eating. I also removed certain drinks such as alcoholic drinks which were also something which contributed to my weight problems. I put into the dustbin all of the takeaway menus that I had and basically attempted to make it as hard as possible for me to eat or drink anything that I shouldn't have been.

When out and about I had to be determined to keep to my diet and to not be tempted to buy any of these items from the shops etc. This was not easy to do as I am somebody who loves all of these fatty type foods.

In my weekly food shop I bought far more fruit and vegetables and was surprised at how quickly my taste buds started to change. I soon looked forward to eating an apple as an example and the weight slowly but surely started to reduce.

After a number of months I reached a weight that I was happy with. My wife stated that I was now able to start eating items such as dry roasted peanuts, this was a particular favourite of mine. This was possibly true but could easily result in a return to my old bad habits and of course weight problems. I decided to stick with the fruit and my cupboards are still free of those foods which I love to eat but which are not good for my weight.