Blogging Your Way To A New You

With 2012 already underway, sticking to those all-important New Year’s resolutions can be pretty tough but blogging about your progress could help you to stay on track.

Blogging has become a worldwide obsession over the past few years, with over a quarter of the internet users in the UK blogging about their lives and interests.

Like apps, blogging has quickly become part of our everyday life and nowadays many people keep a regular account of their lives in what is effectively an online diary.

These blogs are the ideal way to help you stick to diet plans, giving you a medium through which you can record your progress and vent any frustrations you may have. This written proof of your achievements helps you to stay focused, preventing you from losing interest in your goal.

Blogging weight loss

If you’re hoping to shed a few pounds this year, then creating your own blog and documenting your weight loss and diet plan could motivate both yourself and your audience to a healthier place.

Readers often have the opportunity to contact the blogger and ask for advice with their diet plans. This means that your experience could benefit others and vice versa. The blogging network is therefore a social platform through which you can interact with like-minded individuals, helping you get the support you need from the comfort of your own home.

Getting that extra bit of help with diet plans and exercise routines can always be beneficial so it is important that anyone looking to start a new regime starts to follow dieting blogs.

Of course, blogs are not the only option available for those in need of support and various social media channels can also be utilised for this purpose.

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are now filled with individuals and businesses who are all eager to share their knowledge and experience.

This means internet users have a wider network of support than ever before, with access to nutritional recipes and dieting tips readily available.

The fact that both businesses and individuals use these services means that you gain access to even more choice when logging on to the internet and this means your diet plans can be improved through various channels.

Whilst businesses may alert you to products of theirs which can aid your new regime, personal blogs could give you the encouragement you need whilst reminding you that there are many people in the same position as you when it comes to dieting.

Kathryn Golder is a dedicated blogger from London. Having developed numerous diet plans over the years, Kathryn is well researched in the field of nutrition.

The Low Down On Juice Fasts And Weight Loss

If you’re someone who’s looking to experience a fast rate of weight loss, one thing that you might be considering is going on a juice fast.  Juice fasts are becoming incredibly popular among a wide variety of individuals because not only do they promise to help you lose weight quickly, but they also claim to have many other benefits related to detoxification and rejuvenation.

But, what’s the real truth about juice fasts? Are they really that beneficial as far as fat loss is concerned? Or, are they something that you should be avoiding?

By understanding a few key points, you can make a much more informed decision with regards to juice fasts and whether they’re a wise move for you.

Juice Fasts And Protein Intake

The very first thing that you should note with regards to juice fasts is the fact that they will essentially be 100% completely devoid of protein content.  While you may get a very small amount of protein if you’re including vegetables in the juice fast, the fact of the matter is that this will not be complete protein, so it won’t really be all that beneficial.

Since protein is the primary macronutrient that will be responsible for helping ensure that you maintain your lean muscle mass while on the fat loss diet, if you’re not taking enough, you’re going to be in for some problems.

If you lose lean muscle mass while on the juice fast, when you move back to a regular diet plan again, your metabolism will be running slower, thus it’ll be harder to make further weight loss progress.

All in all, for this reason, juice fasts aren’t the best of ideas.

Juice Fasts And Calorie Intake

The second big issue with juice fasts is the calorie intake they provide. They are going to be extremely low in calories in most cases and while this is good for rapid fat loss, again, it’s going to be extremely detrimental to your overall metabolic rate.

The slower your metabolism is, the harder it will be to see ongoing fat loss progress, so by using a juice fast you’re essentially thwarting your long-term success.

If you want a speedy metabolism, you need to eat a diet that contains enough calories. Yes, it will have to be lower in calories than maintenance, but not so low that your body goes into starvation mode.

Juice Fasts And Satiety

Moving on, the third issue with juice fasts is the fact that they will provide very little satiety as well. How full can you really get after a glass of juice?

Most people will really struggle to stick with juice fasts for more than a day, so they aren’t exactly what you’d call pleasurable to be on.

If you fall off the juice fast or using one causes you to then go and binge on other high calorie foods, then you’re just going to be moving yourself away from progress rather than closer to it.

The Verdict

So the overall verdict is that if you are looking for successful, long-term weight loss, you should rethink that juice fast.  You can still reap the same benefits that a juice fast has to offer by switching over your diet so that it’s only focused on fresh vegetables, fruits, lean protein sources, and healthy fats such as nuts and oils so consider that instead.

That will be far superior from a fat loss point of view and still put you in a state of maximum health.

This article has been contributed by Aishwarya Vohra of Offshore Ally. She is part of the company’s talented workforce of virtual assistant and link builders. Connect with her via Twitter.

Four Reasons To Switch To A Raw Food Diet

Raw food consists of ‘live’ food, which means it is uncooked and unprocessed. More and more people are choosing this way. Why? It’s because raw food provides all the enzymes necessary for a proper digestion, whereas cooking, destroys the enzymes (by heat) so when we eat boiled or fried food, our body is struggling to produce energy for digestion.

What are the differences?

The biochemical differences are amazing and you will feel them, especially mentally and emotionally. You will feel the mental changes if you try to return to your old eating habits and cooking style. In just a few hours you will feel that your mind is somewhat foggy and you have a hard time focusing on your thoughts.

What will you actually eat?

Don’t worry; there are plenty of fresh, sweet fruits that will provide the vitamins, minerals and fructose needed for your body. You can add raw veggies, seeds and nuts, avocado and coconut to your diet.  You may also want to focus on green vegetables, romaine lettuce and celery.

Raw food benefits include:

–          amazing, natural, mixed flavors

–          the characteristics of food will remain the same

–          a lot of vitamins, minerals & proteins

–          no cholesterol

–          the  pleasure to prepare it

–          weight loss if need it

–          detoxification

–          healthy intestinal flora

–          clear skin

–          anti-aging treatment

The four reasons to go RAW:

1. You will eat water-rich foods – the most natural diet.

Your body is 80% water! So, you can clearly see the huge role water plays in our lives and this is why it’s so important to nourish our body with fresh water. Your muscles and the brain also contain a lot of water, even your blood is mostly water. The body needs water to adjust its temperature and transport the fuel to our cells. Fruits and vegetables contain the water we need for optimal health.

2. Eat much more than ever before – without feeling guilty.

You don’t have to worry about how much you eat anymore. This is possible because unprocessed food is so much healthier. When you prepare the food you also get so little from it.

3. Eating raw slows down the aging process.

A lot of benefits come with this: brighter eyes and a soft beautiful voice! Lot of energy will move your body, your breath and body will smell much better! On the spiritual level you will see a lot of differences: a lot more synchronicity, better mood, better meditation, clarity and a deep level of consciousness.

4. Save time.

Without spending time with cooking you will have more time for you; reading books, walking in nature, chatting with friends and dancing will be more available to you!

You will feel so good on every level, that I think this will be the most powerful benefit; spiritual, mental, emotional and physical! Are you ready for this amazing experience that will change your life into a life with a high level of energy?

Aishwarya Vohra works for Offshore Ally. She is a part of the compay’s team of dedicated virtual assistant and SEO link builders. She likes to blog, read books and cook. Connect with her on Twitter.