You are hungry, but you don’t have much time. You are in a hurry, so you grab something already prepared. Whether you reached for fast food or something prepared from the store, these choices are almost always filled with sodium, sugar, saturated fat, and preservatives. Exactly what your body needs to store more fat.

It’s a decision we have all faced, but, even when it seems like there are no healthy options, there are ways to eat right while on the go. You just need to know how to make better choices when faced with these decisions, and what all this can mean to your health and well-being.

Most people know that almost all fast food is unhealthy. Many fast food restaurants serve food that is loaded with saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. Even when you think you may be choosing the healthy option, you may be consuming more calories and sugar than you should.

Sugar, and its related derivatives corn syrup, molasses, maltose, and dextrose, is found in many of the foods consumed in our modern life. This sweet substance is common, but can it really be considered addictive? Let’s look at how we become addicted to sugar, what sugar does to our bodies and health, where it can be found, and ways to end your love affair with sugar.

Most estimates put the average consumption of sugar between 20 and 30 teaspoons a day. While at first this may not seem that bad, it is worth noting that women should be consuming a maximum of six teaspoons a day and men should be consuming no more than nine teaspoons a day.

Sugar, much like alcohol, heroin, morphine, and cocaine, releases hormones in our brain that activates our “feel good” receptors. This means that sugar meets the same criteria as other addictive substances, resulting in a compulsion to consume, a gradual tolerance to its effects caused from continued use, difficulty functioning without it, and withdrawal symptoms when consumption ends.

You want to lose weight but aren’t sure where to begin. It can seem overwhelming when you are first getting started. There are many factors involved in successful weight loss and they each play an important part in a good weight loss program. In order to make the best choices you need to get the best information.

It is essential that you understand how your behavior affects your weight loss results, or you won’t be able to make lasting changes. One thing you will want to consider, according to researchers, is the role that your quality and quantity of sleep plays in losing weight.

Lack of Sleep and Weight Gain

Sleep is a challenging subject, especially in the U.S. where productivity defines many individual lives. It seems the more you get done, the better respected you are. Unfortunately playing around with the amount of sleep you get each night can become a dangerous habit when it comes to your waistline.

There have been numerous studies that examined the link between lack of sleep and weight gain. The following are examples of the many studies that have found a direct link between the two.

Stress has become one of the biggest issues being discussed by experts in the health community. As people try to do more in less time each day, their stress levels increase as well. One area that is greatly impacted by stress is weight loss. The body’s ability to burn fat and function properly is directly affected by stress-related pressure. You can become even more stressed by the results when you’re trying to lose weight.

Does Stress Cause Weight Gain?

Stress affects the way your hormones are regulated, interrupting the way your body processes fat.  It is also often accompanied by anxiety- which causes many people to over-eat and gain weight-or stop eating completely, and lose extreme amounts of weight. Unhealthy eating habits also affect the body’s metabolism, leading to weight gain.

Even people who don’t necessarily eat more food when anxious can gain weight when stress leads them to eat foods high in carbs and sugar. Lack of time often becomes another problem during stressful times. It becomes easier to choose processed foods high in fat when there isn’t enough time to cook a healthy meal.

You have probably heard the adage that people should drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. There is no question that water is essential to good health. After all, the human body is made up of mostly water - some experts say as much as 65 percent. Water also has a substantial effect on weight loss. There are five important reasons why water plays such a significant role in weight loss.
 

1. Reducing Hunger
   
   People who diet will tell you that drinking water can help you to feel full, which can keep you from eating too much. Sometimes you are just thirsty but confuse the signals. Dieticians often suggest drinking a glass of water when you feel hungry to make sure you really need to eat.

    

Recently, there have been plenty of rumors about the link between green coffee bean extract and weight loss. Truth or fiction? You’ll be happy to learn it’s true! In fact, a recent study showed that individuals who were overweight and took green coffee bean extract daily, lost a considerable percentage of body weight in a short period of time. Now it’s time YOU knew the secret behind green coffee bean extract!

The Active Compound in Green Coffee Beans

What is the active compound in green coffee beans that’s such an excellent fat burner? Scientists say it’s not the caffeine. What they have found is that the benefits of green coffee beans are linked to the chlorogenic acid in the beans. Roasted coffee beans don’t contain chlorogenic acid, because it is destroyed in the roasting process. Researchers from the study also point out that no negative side effects were seen by participants who received green coffee bean extract.

Green Coffee Bean Extract from Dr. Oz

The quest for weight loss has been an elusive chase for many people, so really it’s only fitting that this magical fruit would hail from an equally exotic locale. Native to the tropic forests of Indonesia, the Garcinia Cambogia plant is rapidly receiving attention for its medicinal qualities.  It has recently been praised by Dr. Oz as a miracle breakthrough for weight-loss. Who knew such a hard-to-pronounce plant would soak up so much limelight?

What You May Not Know About Garcinia Cambogia

The Garcinia Cambogia is an Evergreen plant which bears a round citrus fruit (commonly known as Malabar tamarind fruit) that vaguely resembles a small pumpkin. The fruit can come in a variety of colors, from bright yellow to orange to even purple in some cases. When cut open, Garcinia Cambogia clearly resembles the more common fruits of the citrus family.

Widely known in India and other areas of southern Asia, extracts of the fruit are traditionally used as a spice and for cooking curry; the rinds are also used as a preservative for fish due to the high acidic content it contains.

The unsettling truth is that two thirds of American adults are overweight. This leads many Americans in search of the best diet(s) out there. Since 2008, there has been a lot of hype about the hCG diet. In fact, this weight loss idea was first studied in the 1950’s by British endocrinologist, Dr. Simeons.

Dr. Simeons’ research originally sought a treatment for young males with low testosterone levels. He found that hCG acts as a forerunner to increase these low levels. However, through observance and documentation he found that the boys began to slim down and lose belly fat.

Through the 1960’s, Simeons experimented with various amounts of hCG combined with specific foods. His research showed that when the correct amount of hCG was paired with a specific diet plan, men and women had the ability to lose astonishing amounts of fat in relatively short periods of time. This proved to be more weight loss than with just standard diet and exercise.

What if someone said there was a way to lose weight that did not involve nasty frozen foods or ingesting harmful synthetic pills? Now there is. Raspberry Ketone supplements are 100% natural, derived from red raspberries. The ketones are the compound in the berries that give them their delicious smell. All this weight loss miracle consists of is taking the supplement 30 minutes before each meal and then letting the ketones do all the work.

Studies have shown that when participants took the recommended dosage of Raspberry Ketone before at least 2 meals per day, they lost an average of 1-2 pounds per week. The weight loss was based on an average calorie diet and no change in exercise. Studies further showed that when the ketones are coupled with a healthier eating plan and daily exercise, the weight loss results are doubled! Those are some incredible results.