Basic Weight Loss Mistakes

A lot of us are out there watching what we eat and exercising, but still not making a dent in our bellies and body weight. There are a few things we are probably not doing, or doing too much of, that would mean major improvements in our health.

Get more sleep. After a very short period of time (about 6 nights), studies show that your glucose levels can rise if you get only 4 to 7 hours of sleep each night. New parents are excluded, but everyone else should try to hit the 8 hour mark as often as you can and get to bed BEFORE midnight. Every hour of rest before 12 a.m. is twice as valuable as the hours after midnight: Our cortisol levels are lowest before midnight therefore our recovery is the highest.

Eating fewer refined and processed foods. Avoid fast and fried food and try to consume as many real foods as you can. It's also imperative to get enough fiber (helps with elimination); fruits and veggies are a great way to fill up.

Avoid sugary drinks and reach for more water. Water is great for so many things like digestion, eliminating toxins in the body, and transporting important nutrients to our cells which need energy to burn calories. Americans drink 20% of their calories, so be careful of that silent pitfall.

Get to know your kitchen. I realize it takes more work, but the simple truth is we eat out or order in too often. There is a greater opportunity to control what is in your food if you cook it yourself.

Slow down. When you do sit down to a meal, don't wolf it down. Our culture encourages eating while driving or sitting at our desks. The only time we seem to sit down and enjoy our food is at Thanksgiving. The monks chew each bite of food 100 times (which is excessive), but they also eat only until they are full. They recognize that chewing their food more makes it easier for the body to digest.

Breathe. There are so many days that I don't breathe deeply. In the morning, mid-afternoon, and at the end of the day take a 10 conscious, belly-deep breaths. Close your eyes, pull that air deep into your stomach via your nose and let all the junk out through your mouth. Whether its a stressful day, or you just want to start and end your day on the right foot, breathing is important.

Don't starve yourself. Oddly enough some of you may not be eating enough, and the lack of calories is putting your body into save mode. Our bodies are so brilliant, and if they aren't getting enough food, your metabolism will tell your body to store each and every calorie it receives or to make energy from whatever muscle tissue you have. Not good. Oh and by the way, don't skip breakfast. People who skip breakfast are over 4 times more likely to be overweight.

Do more than exercise. Even if you are working out, you can't eat and drink whatever you want. It really is a three sided puzzle: balancing exercise, food, and (oh yes) the spirit (which stress and happiness play into).

Essential Weight Loss Foods

There are many fad diets that promise to help you lose weight in almost no time at all. After two or three weeks on the diet you find yourself losing enough to be able to brag to your family and friends about it, and you're so optimistic that this new lifestyle will be your ticket to a smaller waistline that you start to browse the stores for new clothes.

You continue to lose weight for another couple of weeks, and then something happens: you start to feel sluggish, you begin craving something that your diet absolutely forbids you to have, or the general sense of optimism begins to transform itself into a feeling of constriction, frustration, and even dietary imprisonment.

You decide to have just one snack, or spend just one day eating whatever you want with the intention of going back to the diet the following day. What happens then, is that you feel such satisfaction from that treat that the entire effort falls apart and you put the weight back on in practically no time at all.

Does this scenario sound at all familiar?

Diets are very hard, as is the feeling of being overweight. Many of these fad diets may promise instant and significant weight loss results, but most of them rely on depriving your body of certain nutrients and disrupting the natural function of your body's metabolism. Chinese medicine considers obesity to be partly the result of declining function of the metabolic fire of the kidney network and a diet that provides a well-balanced array of nutrients is the key to losing weight in a healthy way. What follows are five foods that will help you restore your body's ability to use energy and help you become your healthy weight.

1. Millet: A well-balanced diet should consist of whole grains instead of refined grains like white rice and pasta, and millet is a beneficial and delicious staple of this category of food. This non-glutinous grain is over 10-percent protein, has high amounts of fiber and B-complex vitamins, and because it isn't an acid forming food, is easy to digest.

2. Asparagus: When losing weight, it's important to favor chlorophyll-rich foods, including asparagus. Asparagus is a nutrient-rich vegetable packed with folate, vitamins A, C, and K, and fiber. Asparagus also contains a carbohydrate known as inulin (not to be confused with insulin) that promotes healthy bacteria in the large intestine - which in turn promotes a healthier digestive function.

3. Pomegranates: Eating a balanced diet to lose weight should include eating fresh fruits, and pomegranates are a wonderful example of a healthy, nutritious fruit that has antioxidant properties and will help prevent cancer. While the benefits of drinking pomegranate juice have gained a lot of attention recently, you will be more likely to lose weight by eating the fruit fresh to increase your fiber intake and keep the calories down.

4. Pine Nuts: Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pine trees and are considered an essential ingredient in the tasty Italian mixture pesto. Chinese medicine uses pine nuts to improve gastrointestinal tract and digestive functions, and pine nut oil is even used for appetite suppression. Pine nuts and other nuts are a tasty part of a well-balanced diet intended for weight loss.

5. Green Tea: It has been found that consuming large amounts of coffee and caffeine can lead to food cravings, increase one's appetite, and induce stress-related eating. Green tea is a wonderful alternative to coffee in that it does provide a little caffeine but also contains beneficial antioxidants. So drink up!

A healthy diet also includes lean proteins like chicken breast, legumes such as lentils, and other whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. While fad diets may promise a large amount of weight loss in a short period of time, there's almost a guarantee that you will put that weight back on-and then some!

Eat five smaller meals a day, avoid processed foods, chew more slowly, and incorporate more healthy foods into your diet-starting with these five. Also, click here to learn more about the Tao of Wellness B-Slim dietary supplement, which will help you lose weight naturally.

I hope this article helps you find foods that can aid in your weight loss goals! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

-Dr. Mao

Do you invest in your health ?

Here are 4 simple tips--things we can do now to prepare our bodies for the long, healthy haul!!

1. If You Can't Spell It, Don't Eat It! Processed foods age us fast! By overworking our pancreas and digestive system, fake foods just don't work well with our bodies. Stick with the basics by using fresh ingredients first. Eat whole grains, fruits, veggies, and high quality proteins and fats such as beans, nuts, salmon. Shop the perimeter of the food store, and when you absolutely have to buy food in a box, look at the ingredients list. If you can't pronounce the ingredients or have no clue what they are, skip it
2. Switch it Out! All foods are not created equal. For example, yogurt can be a healthy option, but if you're yogurt is filled with sugar or chemicals, you may as well eat a candy bar, right? We're lucky, though, because we have SO many choices. Switch to plain all-natural yogurt and add fresh fruit. Or, if you only eat white pasta or bread, try whole grain varieties instead. If you switch out your "staple" foods for higher quality options, your body will thank you in years to come!
3. Slip it In! Ok, so you may not be ready to do a 180 when it comes to food. I totally understand. But filling your body with antioxidants will make you glow from the inside-out! Trick yourself by "slipping in" healthy ingredients to your everyday choices. For example, flax is a powerful antioxidant that's so easy to add to almost anything! Use it when you're making chicken fingers, add it to your cereal, sneak it in to your morning muffins.
4. Muscle Matters! Strong muscles and healthy bones can add years of high energy, high quality living! Make sure to build your muscle and protect your bones by doing stretching, strength training, or even water exercises. And, if you're complaining about your metabolism slowing down as you age, don't worry- strength training can rev that up, too!! You'll become a strong, healthy, fat burning machine in no time!

Healthy Meals for Weight Loss

• Eat 5 or more fresh fruits and vegetables each day.
• Eat 6 or more servings of grains (preferably whole grains) each day.
• Eat fat-free and low-fat dairy, legumes, seafood, and lean meats.
• Avoid foods with more than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.
• Balance your caloric intake with your energy expenditure.
• Limit junk food, which is high in simple carbohydrates and low in nutrition.
• Limit foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Eat less than 6 grams of salt each day.

General food preparation and meal planning tips: Try to eat servings of fruits and vegetables at every meal. Besides being delicious, they are full of nutrients and fiber. They may even help prevent certain cancers.

• Boil, steam, bake, roast, or broil foods rather than frying in fat.
• Use unsaturated fats, such as vegetable oils, rather than saturated fats such as butter, shortening, and lard.
• Use olive oil spray rather than cooking oils to prepare foods.
• Eat white meat chicken or turkey, lean meat, fish, or seafood. Trim the skin from poultry.
• Use low-fat or non-fat dairy products.
• To season foods, choose lemon or lime juice, vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce, plain tomato sauce, salsa and other sauces low in fat, or mustard. Use garlic, onions, ginger, and herbs and spices to flavor foods.
• Avoid high-fat and high-calorie condiments such as mayonnaise, oil, ketchup, salad dressing, or prepared sauces.
• Drink seltzer, water, caffeine-free soda, tea, or coffee with meals.

Wonders of WATER

Water prevents and helps to cure heartburn.
Heartburn is a signal of water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a major thirst signal of the human body.

Water prevents and helps to cure arthritis.
Rheumatoid joint pain - arthritis - is a signal of water shortage in the painful joint. The use of painkillers does not cure the problem, but exposes the person to further damage from pain medications. Intake of water and small amount of salt will cure this problem.

Water prevents and helps to cure back pain.
Low back pain and ankylosing arthritis of the spine are signs of water shortage in the spinal column and discs. The water cushion that support the weight of the body. This condition should be treated with increased water intake. Not a commercial treatment. Treating them with pain killers, acupuncture and surgery in time , produce osteoarthritis when the cartilage cells in the joints have eventually all died. It will produce deformity of the spine.

Water prevents and helps to cure colitis.
Colitis pain is a signal of water shortage in the large gut. It is associated with constipation because large intestine contricts to squeeze the last drop of water from the excrements - thus the lack of water lubrication. Later in life, it will cause diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and polyps and appreciably increases the possibility of developing cancer of the colon and rectum.

Water prevents and helps to cure high blood pressure.
Hypertension is a state of adaptation of the body to a generalized drought, when there is not enough water to fill all the blood vessels that diffuse water into vital cells. Treating it with diuretics that further dehydrate the body will, in time, cause blockage by cholesterol of the heart arteries and the arteries that go to the brain. It will cause heart attacks and small or massive strokes that paralyze.

Water lowers blood cholesterol.
High cholesterol levels are an indicator of early drought management by the body.

Health Tips

Apply this everyday to your life to stay healthy.

1. Oxygen. Taking at least 5 minutes inhale and exhale will give oxygen to your body. And oxygen can help your cells to be cancer free.

2. Keep Moving. Make a habit to move your body. Climb stairs, chase your kids, walk your dog, go to gym, take some walk. Keep moving.

3. Cut fat. Avoid fried food, burgers, french fries and other fatty meats. dairy Products should be eaten in low fat versions.

4. Quit smoking. Smoking is harmful to your health. It can also cause sterile.

5.Reduce Stress. Do something everyday that you like ( watching comedy, read good book, listen to music, massage, manicure or play with your dog.)

6.Protect yourself from Pollution. If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good.


7. Floss Your Teeth. Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't?

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking . While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook . There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life.

10. Choose Your Parents Well . The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny