Following a healthy diet and exercise plan is the best way for slimmers to get into shape. Filling up on one food group in particular could see the best results, Harry Smith, PT at Snap Fitness and nutritionalist, revealed. Pairing natural whole foods with those high in protein can help slimmers shape up quickly. How much should you eat?

When picking a meal plan for weight loss, Harry explained the importance of eating foods high in protein.

He told Express.co.uk: Id advise you consume mostly high protein foods from dairy, fish and meat sources.

Also whole non-processed foods like fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.

How much should protein should you have?

The general rules I have with most of my weight loss clients are to make sure they have at least two plants and one fist-sized protein serving with each meal. This does the trick nicely," he added.

By upping the protein content in the diet, slimmers can start to notice their waistline shrink.

When choosing a plan high in protein, dieters can stock up on foods including meat, fish, eggs, nuts and dairy.

Some have claimed this plan can be combined with a low carb diet in order to see quick results.

Although food choices are important, Harry explained why no foods need to be cut out completely when shaping up.

He said: All foods can be consumed when trying to slim down. There are no fattening foods.

This is in some moderation, but you can still eat and drink your favourite foods and lose weight so long as you are consistently in a caloric deficit.

In fact, the most important thing could be ensuring you eat less than you burn off and stay in a calorie deficit.

Harry said: No foods absolutely need to be avoided and they definitely can be enjoyed when trying to lose weight.

"You must take caution though as some foods can pack a large amount of calories in just a mouthful.

Cakes, biscuits and sweet treats like mini-pies can contain over 500 calories and these sorts of single mouthful bites can easily push you into calorie surplus rather than deficit.

When slimming down, choosing healthy breakfast foods such as eggs, avocados and yogurt can set dieters up for the day.

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Weight loss: Eating more of this food can help you slim fast - how much should you eat? - Express

MondayOct14,2019at5:34PM

Q: I need to lose weight, but I dont have time to get to the gym. Is it possible to get weight off without the gym or a crazy diet? I need something to fit into our family schedule and lifestyle.

A: Losing weight is more than going to the gym or eating foods that your kids wont like. Healthy eating is more than eliminating fast foods and soft drinks from your diet. If you want to lose weight, be healthier and decrease the cravings then there are four things that help immensely.

Drink water. You dont have to drink only water, but you do need to eliminate soft drinks and southern sweetened tea, which typically contains two to three cups of sugar per gallon. If eliminating those seems impossible, have 64 to 100 ounces of water and small servings of tea or soda at meals. Drinking mostly water through the day keeps your body hydrated and helps your kidneys filter waste from your body more efficiently.

Minimize the amount of processed foods youre eating. This isnt just fast food but foods that come from highly processed sources including frozen meals, boxed pasta products and breads, cookies and crackers.

Eat more vegetables in place of the processed foods. Select fresh or frozen vegetables and have a couple of different ones at each meal. It requires setting aside time to plan, prepare and cook. Some days it wont happen because our time is so rushed, but try to make it happen four or five days a week. Once youre in the habit, which takes two to three weeks and youll have a system in place, which makes it less time-consuming.

Use a Crock Pot to get meats prepared ahead of time. Then you only need to get veggies ready, which takes only a few minutes with a microwave. Cook meats ahead of time on Sunday and store for the next couple of days.

The benefits are weight loss, better health from better nutrition, and cooking can be a family or couples time. Connect with your family and enjoy meals together. God bless and keep training.

Daryl Laws is a certified personal trainer and owner of Body Unlimited Inc., 325 Holly Hill Lane, Burlington, NC 27215. Contact him at 336-538-0012 or daryllaws@aol.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BodyUnlimited.

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Nutrition plays a big role in weight loss - Burlington Times News

New diet plans seem to be released all the time so knowing which one will work best can be a challenge. Taking advice from those who have already lost weight can be a good way to get diet tips. The Reddit user, "Kree", used social media to share her weight loss transformation of 6st 9lb. She explained a keto diet plan helped her shape up - what did she eat?

READ MORE: This food can help you slim down fast - what can you eat?

Posting pictures of her before and after losing weight, the dieter revealed she is 5ft 7lb and 30-years-old.

Kree managed to slim down from a staggering 20st 2lb to a much healthier 13st 7lb.

What diet plan did she follow?

Opening up in the post, she explained her weight loss was down to following a version of the keto diet.

The diet plan involves eating foods high in fat, low in carbs and with a moderate protein content.

Keto-Friendly foods include meats, fish, nuts, avocados and eggs.

The Reddit user explained exactly what she ate to help her slim down in just 11 months.

She said: For everyone asking - I count carbs in my head and stay under 20g net carbs a day.

"Don't eat things that grow under the ground. Try to stick with products with less than 5g carbs per 100g of product.

Kree also revealed her lifestyle change was mostly a result of diet although she did try to move more.

More here:
Weight loss: Woman loses an astounding seven stone in 11 months with this diet plan - Express

Tia Mowry-Hardrict gave birth to her daughter Cairo in May 2018, and has completely owned her journey to heal and recover. Dressed in a royal blue bodysuit, the actress recently showed off her incredible figure while revealing that she is close to her goal weight at 17 months postpartum.

More importantly, she also shared how the snapback culture, which pressures new moms to shed their post-baby weight as fast as possible, has negatively affected her. I was calledfatduring mypregnancyand I was calledfatafter mypregnancy, she writes. Why do we do this to each other? Instead ofloveone another other?I will never understand that.

Ultimately, Mowry-Hardrict wants to encourage new moms to trust the process and love their bodies no matter what changes pregnancy has brought about. I intentionally documented my journey and became vulnerable to show#women that its okay to go at your own pace, it is okay to love yourself no matter where you are in your journey, she continues. Do not fold to societal pressures. After hard work with just diet and exercise, today Im closer to my goal. Do I have loose skin and stretch marks? YES. Guess what?? I LOVE all me and I want you to love all of you too.

If you follow Mowry-Hardrict, youll know she often uses her platform to spread body positivity and self-acceptance. This also isnt the first time giving the mother of two gave fans a glimpse into her recovery process. In a November 2018 post, Mowry-Hardrict revealed she had suffered from diastasis recti condition in which the abs separate during pregnancy. About two-thirds of pregnant women suffer from it, but few talk about it.

Were thankful for women like Mowry for keeping it real!

See the article here:
Tia Mowry-Hardrict Gives A Word To Moms On Loving Your Post-Pregnancy Body - Essence

I was in a small, unfussy coffee shop close to my cottage in rural Nova Scotia when I saw the poster advertising a womens empowerment retreat at a rustic lodge on the shores of the warm Northumberland Strait.

Ive become increasingly curious about the growing interest in new-age spiritualism, and in particular, how women are seemingly using it as a way to address chronic dissatisfaction. Without knowing exactly what I would get out of it I contacted the retreat organizers to ask if I could attend the weekends events. Two weeks later I was sitting in a chair with my eyes closed in the middle of a log-walled room. Around me, dozens of women circled, taking turns whispering affirmations into my ear: You are brave. You are loved. You are special. Even as I rolled my eyes, I felt myself start to cry.

Oh god, I thought. Its working.

I felt simultaneously defeated and relieved.

The retreat, called I Am Worth It, was hosted by three wellness practitioners: a healing touch specialist, a reflexology therapist, and a naturopathic doctor. In addition to healthy meals, beach walks, and yoga, there were guided sessions that addressed letting go of past hurt, setting intentions, prioritizing self-care, and harnessing energy centers. It costs around $333 per person to attend. The duration of the retreat is two days. Rooms were shared.

Over the course of the two days, from early morning until well into the evening, women shared stories, exhaled a lot, dabbed their eyes with tissues, and formed a drumming circle under the full moon. Throughout we received advice from the practitioners, intended to help budge participants out of a rut once they returned home: make sure to get out into nature, light some scented candles while soaking in a deep tub, observe your chakras, and tell your mirrored reflection youre beautiful over and over until you start to believe it. We whispered affirmations in each others ears. At some point the naturopath explained that she tells clients, Were not going to talk about weight loss, but about how your parents treated you when you were little.

It was a rollercoaster of practical and obscure, out-there woo woo nonsense and disarmingly astute observation.

Wellness retreats are nothing new. Since the 2nd century B.C. and its Roman baths, people have fled to spas and health-minded resorts in an attempt to feel better. These early incarnations eventually evolved into the spa model of Golden Door in San Marcos, California, and Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, both of which offered opulent surroundings coupled with rigorous training geared toward weight loss and physical transformation. By the mid 2000s yoga retreats filled up Instagram feeds with photos of virtuous-looking activities, sun salutations on the beach, and fit people inhaling huge amounts of avocado.

And todays retreat culture has moved past the lose weight, feel great mentality, beyond a week of yoga and vegan meals in Puerto Vallarta, and squarely into the realm of self-empowerment.

These new retreat goers arent focused on losing weight, rehabbing, or escaping their problems. Theyre packing their emotional baggage and heading to places like Renew Breakup Bootcamp in upstate New York, a broken-heart retreat that helps women address subconscious patterns that keep them from the love they really deserve. At a Purpose in Paris retreat, participants cast negative self-talk into the Seine and make self-worth vows at the iconic lovelock bridge. In Miami, there are vision-boarding and manifesting retreats to help pinpoint limiting beliefs and evict the resident shit-talker living in your head. And one Costa Rica retreat combines self-defense, mindfulness, and self-care with the promise that your inner warrior princess is waiting to be unleashed into the world.

I believe people are understanding their need to turn focus inward and shine a light on the dark parts of themselves that maybe they weren't willing to face before, says Jennifer Sembler, whose Yemanya Travel company offers retreats for women with a 360-degree approach to mind, body, and spirit, including hiking, meditation, and life coaching sessions. This search for inner peace and truth is one of the driving forces behind this retreat movement, she says.

Beth McGroarty, director of the nonprofit, research-oriented Global Wellness Institute, says that self-empowerment retreats for women have exploded in the last few years. And, overall, businesses that cater to all-female getaways have dramatically increased in popularity. McGroarty, who keeps tabs on these things, says that AdventureWomen, which has been in business for over 35 years, reported 42 percent growth in the last year, and that Wild Women Expeditions has grown by 1,000 percent since 2010 and doubled profits since early 2018.

These new retreats are part of a broader cultural interest in self-care, a concept that has displaced the more rigid-sounding self-improvement in recent years. They cater to women primarily, and those with enough privilege to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars (and vacation days) on personal growth, mental health, or healing. Sara Elise, co-founder of Blind Seed, a company that hosts inclusive urban wellness workshops and retreats, says that these retreats tend to appeal to white women with small, able bodies and deep pockets, and that she and co-founder Tara Aura were inspired to launch their business because she had never been to a wellness retreat with more than one person of color in a leadership position.

But McGroarty also points to broad demographic changes to explain this phenomenon: Women aremarrying later and less often, having fewer if any children, and have far greater purchasing power than ever before. Then there's the rise of fourth-wave feminism (which is commonly associated with online activism, the #MeToo movement, body positivity, and the intersections of race, gender, sex and class), the failures of conventional healthcare to address womens needs and concerns, an increasingly on-demand work culture, the gender pay gap, toxic social media, and generalized anxiety about economic stability and impending environmental catastrophe. All these factors are likely driving women to prioritizepsychological wellness. Theresa kind of zeitgeist right now of female empowerment, bonding, and transformation, says McGroarty.

Back at I Am Worth It, healing touch practitioner Jeanette Gormley blamed the zeitgeist on a toxic environment for womanhoodthe constant swirl of negativity, the high expectations and demand for conformity, the disproportionate burden we often take on in our domestic lives. Elaine Falconer, who lives in River John, Nova Scotia and recently retired from her job as an occupational health and safety specialist, told me she was hoping the weekend would help her gain greater clarity. Women put high expectations on themselves and dont take enough time for self-reflection, she said, facing the big stone fireplace at the front of our log-walled room. Its a bit of a process to prioritize what I need and not what others need from me.

Getting in touch with a suppressed or silenced interior life is a common goal among participants. Ali Wunderman, 29, a Montana-based travel journalist, attended a retreat in 2017 offered by The Storyteller Within, in Guatemala, where the emphasis was on writing. Over the course of ten days, at $1,595 USD for a shared cabana, attendees practiced meditation and yoga, ate plant-based communal meals, participated in Mayan fire ceremonies and cacao-induced ecstatic dance. And says, Wunderman, daily group therapy sessions. The various components contributed to a transformative experience. Doing all that yoga put me back in touch with my body and its needs, she says. That healthy food cleared my mind so I could think more deeply. Being with a trusted group of formerly-unknown-to-me women created the space I needed to trust my vulnerability.

Wunderman sees the growth of self-empowerment retreats as part of a mass awakening. Women are recognizing their individual power and their communal power and taking it back for the sake of liberation, she says. I don't think it's just because we want to, or just because it feels good: I believe a global shift is taking place in which we recognize we need to.

Many women say that theyre paying for the chance to step away from the competing needs of work, families, relationships, and daily life maintenance and simply hear themselves think again. Nathalie Schofield, a 39-year-old communications advisor who lives in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, attended the I Am Worth It retreat after going through a divorce. When I spoke to her several weeks after the retreat, she told me that a spirit guide emerged to her during the evening drumming session.

I was very angry and bitter and I knew I had to let go of something or change something, she says. The drumming ceremony was just before a releasing ceremony, and as Schofield held her hands out she felt a spirit grasp them, followed by the sensation of hands on her shoulders. I suddenly realized that I had to let go of trying to control everything, she says. She thanked her spirit guides, took a piece of paper and wrote the word control, threw it into the fire pit and then bawled like a baby.

As the gray and angry Atlantic Ocean lapped the shore of Nova Scotia, I began to glean why the women who can afford it are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to take this particular kind of break. It was a temporary release from a socially endorsed obsession with external presentation in favor of interior experienceand at a time when so many women are so overwhelmingly worn out. The positive talkbeing worth it; advocating for laughter as medicineis the counterbalance to a constant swirl of negativity. The emphasis on natural and holistic, on beeswax candles and tucking dried lavender under your pillow, is a panacea for our increasingly toxic plastic world. But even more, they grant women permission to prioritize their needspromising that a greater sense of personal fulfillment will follow.

But what happens after these retreats? Do the spirit guides and the renewed commitments to self-care remain? Can an exercise in female empowerment in the presence of accepting female strangers translate to a more nurtured, calm, healthy, whole woman walking back into her office?

For many of the women (including me) who attend these retreats, it seems unlikely that substantial life changes can be prompted in just one very expensive, self-soothing weekend. Most go back to the same lives that made us feel stuck in the first place. And while they purport to be feminist in their approach to self-empowerment, these retreats tend to emphasize practices like journaling, manifestation, and individual desires rather than building a more equitable society that doesnt drain women so much in the first place. What would a retreat have to do to begin to accomplish that?

Sara Elise makes the case that some retreats can help prepare women for the hard work of broader social change. If we can use the support systems in a retreat setting to make room for expansion, we often come home with a greater capacity for the emotional labor and work required of us in the world, she says. Retreats that prioritize marginalized people can give all kinds of activists and oppressed people a chance to recalibrate with new questions, new perspectives and time away from the usual challenges of everyday life.

The retreat I attended sometimes made me feel even more cynical and impatient. I quickly grew weary of being told to hug myself in front of the mirror or being asked to join a circle. Like so many other women, I am often very tired and I didnt really want to talk about how essential oils or spending more time in the tub might help solve my problems. What exactly were we accomplishing?

But when an exercise involving Tibetan Rites pivoted to a discussion of mothers and boundaries, I was instantly struck by the universality of experiences being expressed, and the difficulty of trying to feel your way around a relationship with someone you love who sometimes hurts you. A number of women nodded along when one attendee said she recently told her mother to go fuck herself.

Not unlike group therapy, it was the kind of environment where a participant simply benefits from feeling heard and recognizing their own experience in anothers story. The kind of meaningful exchange were sometimes short on while going through the busy motions of day-to-day life.

I wasnt the only one who cried during the affirmation exercise in Nova Scotia. The tissue boxes were there for a reason. Maybe you dont always know what you need to hear until a stranger whispers it in your ear. And maybe, for some women, thats the first step to figuring out whats missing.

Originally Appeared on Bon Apptit

Continued here:
From Weight Loss to Self-Empowerment: Women's Retreats Are Changing Their Message - Yahoo Lifestyle

Published: 10/14/2019 3:48:33 PM

I want to start my column today by saying thank you to a couple of ladies who have not only changed their own lives, but have helped many others change theirs, too. Thank you, Amanda Ambrose and Laura Burt, for starting a positive group on Facebook called Lets Start a Revolution. The page helps inspire and support people looking to improve their health and wellness.

As two women who are battling weight and health issues, these ladies took the bull by the horns and have changed their lives by dropping a couple of hundred pounds between them and have inspired so many others, including myself, to lose weight and make healthy lifestyle changes. This, in turn, gives people a new attitude and outlook on their own lives.

I started my weight loss journey 4 years ago, when I was over 600 pounds, and I have dropped over 250 pounds since then.

I was going to die if I didnt change my ways, fast. Laura Burt was in the same boat and living the same life as I was, but she is 20 years younger. I was very worried about her because she was heading down the same path as I was, which, honestly, was a path toward disaster. Lauras best friend, Amanda Ambrose, was obese as well and needed to make changes, too. Instead of getting bypass surgery, they decided to lose weight by making healthy choices and changing their lifestyles the path that I also took.

By losing weight, having a positive attitude and making huge changes in their lives, they have helped thousands of people across the country, not just here in Franklin County, change their lives as well. Its called Lets Start a Revolution for a reason.

If we all start to promote healthier lifestyles, we can inspire each other and support each other through stories, by sharing recipes and exercise tips, and forming groups to hike or meet at the gym together.

If you want to learn more about the revolution, log onto Facebook and search for Lets Start a Revolution.

Locally, theres another community health group on Facebook, Greenfield Womens Couch to 10k Walk/Run Group, which has also inspired people toward a healthier way of living.

On a not so happy note, I want to note that some of our community members are getting pretty nasty when it comes to local politics. Its gotten so bad that some friendships are being lost.

We are really losing touch with what is most important and what is best for the community community is what is most important. I feel like we need to regroup and stop being so negative about everything, politically speaking. I will admit that I, also, have been vocal myself and it hasnt all been positive, either. Instead of fighting and being nasty to each other, we should be focusing on working together toward whats best for our town in cooperation, respect and a perspective that takes into account whats best for all people, not just ourselves.

Finally, this week I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has stepped up so far to support my community Thanksgiving dinner fundraiser for needy families here in Franklin County. We are off to a wonderful start. People can donate money and support a family for $50. Each family will receive a 20-pound turkey, stuffing mix, potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, cranberry sauce, rolls and an apple pie.

To sponsor a needy family, you can email me at bobbyleslie25@gmail.com or Personal message me on Facebook by searching, Bobby C. Campbell. My goal this year is to feed over 1,000 people and, through the support of local business owners, community members, local organizations like the Millers Falls Rod & Gun Club and the Oak Ridge Detachment Marine Corps League, hopefully, we will reach our goal this year.

This money will also help to feed hundreds of people at the Greenfield Salvation Armys community Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. and a second meal at the Living Waters Assembly of God Church on Davis Street, which will be held on Thanksgiving Day at noon in the basement of the church.

Thanks again for reading Bobbys World, and I hope that you enjoy the beautiful fall foliage that decorates our region.

As a local personality for radio stations WHAI 98.3, Bear Country 95.3, WHMP 99.3 and Bobby Cs DJ Service for the past 36 years, Bobby C. Campbell has been connected to the community for a very long time. If you have an event that needs promotion or an idea for a future column, e-mail him at bobbyleslie25@gmail.com.

Originally posted here:
Let's start a health revolution - The Recorder

World Boxing News 15/10/2019

@AndyRuizJr

Andy Ruiz Jr. had lost a considerable amount of timber in the five weeks ahead of a scheduled rematch with Anthony Joshua.

Despite there being SEVEN WEEKS to go, Ruiz looks to have shed at least a couple of stone despite looking heavier than when he defeated Joshua in June at a recent press conference run.

Ruiz had been enjoying his new champion lifestyle between June and September before the Mexican and Joshua embarked on a media tour.

At least a few pounds over the 268 mark he hit for the shock Joshua victory in New York, Ruiz then went away on September 7 to begin training.

By October 7 (in the video below), Ruiz looked lightning fast in a clip posted on his social media.

Fast forward another week, and Ruiz posted a jaw-droppingly slimline photo of himself having dropped even more weight.

Fans are flabbergasted at the transformation, although there are some who fear the alteration is too much.

Having dealt with Joshua with relative ease following an expected knockdown at Madison Square Garden, could a huge change be detrimental?

At the end of the day, Ruiz won the fight as his usual self. Hes not the most blessed in the physique department.

This played for him as AJ predictably took him too lightly and paid the price.

Maybe without the element of surprise, The Destroyer is aiming for something different, believing higher stamina and speed is key.

Already a picture of significant difference, its hard to gauge whether losing much more in the next two months will help further.

It remains to be seen and all questions will be answered on fight night.

During that press tour leg in Saudi Arabia, Ruiz outlined his plans to make sure hes in top shape.

On December 7 I know that Anthony Joshua is going to come hard. Hes going to come strong and will be preparing really well but so am I, he explained.

Im really hungry. A lot of people have been saying that Im not training or taking it seriously but come on I have all these belts and there are responsibilities to this.

I am going to try my best. Im going to keep these belts and take them back to Mexico.

On December 7 I am going to make history again. Ill win here (Saudi) in the same fashion and the same way that I won on June 1. Im going to prove everybody wrong.

The hunger still remains and I dont want 15 minutes of fame. I want this to last for a generation.

So, I want to be a champion for many years. I have a good fighter next to me who is going to try and take these belts.

But God is with me. Were going to be training really hard for December 7, added Ruiz.

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Andy Ruiz Jr. boasts five-week SLIMLINE physique, but is it too much? - WBN - World Boxing News

Gaining weight seems inevitable after your forties, but a few simple tips and lifestyle changes can keep the spread at bay, says Peta Bee

The Times,October 15 2019, 12:01am

You know youve reached middle age when weight loss becomes an uphill struggle. There are a multitude of factors stacked against us, not least a slowing metabolism and the shifts in hormones that typically contribute to wider hips in women and a paunch in men. Our activity levels typically begin a slow decline, and we naturally lose muscle mass so that the average middle-aged body is increasingly composed of fat.

Midlife weight gain occurs even if our lifestyle remains unchanged. A study from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Nature Medicine last month, found that our lipid turnover the rate at which we store and remove fat from our fat cells slows with age.

For its trial, the Swedish team

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How to prevent middle-age weight gain: the science of staying slim - The Times