Vegetable Soup Diet - Lose 10 Lbs a Week

A vegetable soup diet has the dual advantage of being very nutritious as well as low in calories and contributing to weight loss. As a result, it forms the core of many different diets and it is possible to even design your own soup diet and select ingredients according to personal preferences.

There are some important matters to consider no matter which approach you take to a vegetable soup diet - whether to adopt one that is known to be popular or concoct a recipe of your own.

1. Canned foods tend to have a high salt content, so try to avoid these in your soup if possible.

2. Potatoes have a high glycemic index - they are absorbed more readily into your bloodstream, so use these in the mix sparingly, if at all.

3. Many cookbook recipes for vegetable soup also specify a lot of salt, so be alert to this and keep the content as low as possible. The presence of sodium salt encourages water retention in the body, so adds weight.




4. Use as many fresh vegetables as possible.

Here is a nutritious, delicious and easy to prepare recipe and daily plan for a 3 day diet which will shed about 5 lbs weight:

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of beans or lentils
1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
Several sticks of celery
1 large onion
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
16 oz pumpkin, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Seasoning as preferred
Beef or chicken stock, as preferred

Cover with water and boil for 10 minutes, then simmer until the vegetables are tender.

No alcohol or bread to be consumed.

Day 1: Eat only fruit and soup today. As much as you like of both, spaced throughout the day with about six meals to minimize hunger. Do not include bananas in your diet.

Day 2: Eat veggies today, along with the soup. Again, as much as you like in about six meals spaced throughout the day. The veggies may be cooked or raw. Give preference to green leafy veggies if possible. At dinnertime, a treat is allowed in the form of a baked potato with butter.

Day 3: Have all the soup, veggies and fruit that you want but no potato.

After 3 days of this diet, you should be about 5 lbs lighter and can return to moderate helpings of your normal diet. If you have problems with bowel movements, a cup of bran will help.

As outlined, this diet is intended for a period of only 3 days, with a break of 4 days normal eating before following the diet again.

A variation of this diet which covers a 7 day period is based on the Sacred Heart Diet. It aims for a weight loss of 10 lbs:

Day 4: Because your body now requires additional potassium, carbohydrates and calcium, eat at least three bananas throughout the day and drink as much skimmed milk as you want. Also have at least one serving of soup.

Day 5: 10 - 20 oz of meat is allowed - beef, skinless chicken or broiled fish. Not fried. Have up to six tomatoes, along with at least one serving of soup.

Day 6: 10 - 20 oz of meat is allowed - beef or skinless chicken, not fried. Also as many veggies as you want, especially green leafy ones. One or more servings of soup.

Day 7: As much soup as you like. As well, cooked veggies, brown rice and unsweetened fruit juice is permitted.

By the end of day seven, it's likely that you will be at least 10 lbs lighter.

This vegetable soup diet plan has plenty of nutrients as well as protein and carbohydrates. It is not intended to be adopted as a lifestyle and some may find it too stringent to follow. However, a weight loss target of 10 lbs requires that some persistence must be shown to achieve this. The practices outlined offer a useful guideline for changes in eating habits that may allow further weight loss if this plan is only loosely followed (or adapted to your needs) beyond the seven days.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ivan_Kelly/24129

Get Ripped Without Weights - Tacfit Commando Workout

The general consensus is that it's simply not possible to get ripped without weights. Most people believe that bodyweight-only workouts will not be intense enough to cause significant muscle tissue microtrauma.

For this reason, it would theoretically make sense that this assumption holds true. However, the fact of the matter is that any workout can cause muscle tissue damage and therefore, spark new gains in lean muscle mass-so long as the stimulus is great enough.

Granted, it may take some out-of-the-box thinking to achieve this using strictly bodyweight exercises, but there are certainly some thinkers (translation: maniacs) in the world of health and fitness.




One such person is none other than Scott Sonnon, co-creator of the Tacfit Commando bodyweight workout program. Scott is actually an accomplished fighter who trains true-life bad boys (and girls) like Navy SEALs, secret service agents, MMA fighters and elite bodyguards-all who demand nothing short of superior athleticism, conditioning and mental fortitude.

Heck, their lives depend upon it.

So it's no surprise that with his cutting-edge Tacfit workout system, Sonnon was able to create a severe-enough training modality that would allow users to shed body fat, build lean muscle and get a ripped body-all without using weights or other expensive gym equipment.

Now, I've always been a huge fan of bodyweight training. I think knowing how to take your body through an effective strength training or fat loss workout, using only bodyweight as a resistance, is an invaluable skill to possess.

Those who rely primarily on weights and other fitness equipment are really going to struggle when access to these resources becomes limited. For example, traveling for business, vacationing, visiting family and friends-all of these things used to completely throw my fitness routine off track.

Then, I discovered bodyweight workouts. I was a bit of a "hater" at first as well, and didn't think it was possible to achieve fat loss or muscle building while using only bodyweight as a tool.

But I started getting more creative and my thinking was forced to change. In fact, I starting kicking my own butt so severely that I was actually getting nervous for the whacky workouts I'd created and scheduled for a given day.

After a few weeks of using my own hardcore bodyweight workout program, I saw a much improved, leaner and more ripped version of myself starring back at me in the mirror.

Plus, I was saving time and money by working out from home and doing away with my gym membership. As an added bonus, traveling was no longer an excuse to get lazy and go backwards.

Now, I'm a believer in bodyweight training.

I look completely shredded, but the really cool thing is that I'm performing so much better. I've always been a huge fan of MMA and now I've got the added athleticism, explosiveness, recovery ability and stamina to "hold my own" should things get dangerous.

What does all of this have to do with Tacfit Commando, you ask? Everything...

As a fitness professional, I'm always trying out new workout programs to see what I like, what I dislike and what new things I can learn from other top notch trainers and coaches. After downloading Tacfit and trying out the first week's worth of workouts, I was quickly humbled.

This training system even made my bodyweight workouts look weak. I'm now several weeks into team Tacfit's master plan and loving (and hating) every minute of it. The workouts continue to kick my butt and take my mind and body to new levels.

Confidence is soaring and ripped muscles are becoming even harder and defined. I wanted to provide this review of Tacfit Commando to let others know it truly IS possible to get ripped without weights, gadgets or other expensive and inconvenient gym equipment.

Give it a shot and enjoy the results, but only if you're willing to work hard. If not, there are plenty of other low intensity, cookie-cutter fitness programs to choose from.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Bradley_Campbell/154250

The Best Bodyweight Exercises for Strength

In case you haven't noticed, there's a new exercise trend that's spreading like wildfire. And unlike most of the hot fads, this one has been around for a long time and isn't going away anytime soon - not like that ab gizmo you bought one time and is now collecting dust. I'm talking, of course, about bodyweight exercises.

The Best Bodyweight Exercises for Strength

Before gyms became mainstream, how do you think people stayed in shape? Most of the old-school strongmen relied on a lot of bodyweight exercises for their impressive physiques. Also, if you've ever seen a gymnastic event on TV, you'll know how unbelievably ripped those people are. Guess what? Gymnasts train almost exclusively using only their own bodyweight as resistance!

Whether you are looking to amp up your exercise program, or just trying to save a few bucks by not having a gym membership, learning these exercises will help you build a strong and attractive body.




The Push Up

If you don't know this one, you probably never showed up to gym class. Nevertheless, the push up is an important upper body exercise that cannot be neglected.

The Pull Up

Another "phy ed classic," the pull up will work all the muscles in your upper body that push ups do not. This is another must!

The Plank

The plank is the only abs exercise you'll ever need. People are used to doing crunches and may not be too familiar with this one. It resembles the "up" position of the push up, but you lower down to your forearms and hold yourself completely straight as long as you can.

The Squat

"The king of exercises" needs no additional weight to be effective. In fact, you will save your back long-term by ditching the barbell. Just make sure you squat ALL the way down to get the most of this exercise. This is one exercise that will work every muscle group in your lower body.

Putting Together a Workout Routine

Now that you know the "big four" best bodyweight exercises for strength, it's time to throw them together in a workout routine. With just these exercises, you can work every muscle in your body to ensure an even development.

1. Push ups: 3 sets of reps to fatigue.
2. Pull ups: 3 sets of reps to fatigue.
3. Planks: 3 sets of holds to fatigue.
4. Squats: 3 sets of reps to fatigue.

Notice how I don't say "reps to FAILURE." It is important you stop before failure while your form is still perfect to avoid injury. If you do this routine 2-3 times per week, you will get closer to building the body of your dreams every day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Darrin_Carlson/637303

Cheapest Ways To Lose Weight Fast For Women

Let's face it! We've spent bundles of cash on weight loss supplements, but not one could help burn the lard, let alone retain the results. The money-back guarantees on diet pills also fell flat when the time came to claim a refund. Now, tired, you've finally decided not to burn any more cash on useless, run-off-the-mill products. And, we must say you've done just the right thing!

Why should you break the bank when you can trim your waistline without having to spend a single penny? Surprised! Right here in this article we've rounded up 4 cheapest ways to lose weight fast for women. Are you ready to take down?

1. Fat in moderation - 

Fat has quite a bad reputation when it comes to weight loss, but you cannot cut it out completely because it can be your friend in this journey. The primary reason is because fat helps sustain muscle.
If you eat too much fat, you will add pounds and if you eat too little, the body will start using up muscle mass. The key is to take the middle path. You can eat food sources of fat in moderation. The easiest way to do this is going meatless on a few days and branding cheesy burgers and fries as occasional treats in your food journal. Also, be sure you consume healthy saturated fats.




2. Fill up on Salads- 

Many women complain that they fail to drop weight despite eating only vegetable and fruit salads. Why? Because you're probably eating a salad made at a salad bar where you should have been eating a salad made at home. What's the difference? The high calorie toppings and dressing makes the difference. Toppings and dressings enhance the flavor of otherwise bland vegetables, but they contain fats, salts and sugar in large quantities and thus turn a nutritious low-calorie meal into an unhealthy, calorie loaded snack.

A better option is to dish out your own salads a home. Vegetables and fruits are readily available; seasonal ones can be bought at the frozen foods counter at a grocery store. Preparing a salad hardly takes a few minutes and it is also cheaper than the one you buy at a salad bar.

3. Double your intake of Fluids - 

Fluid is an umbrella term for water, beverages, fruit juices, herbal teas, smoothies and colas. Should you have all of them? No. A weight loss diet only permits water, fruits juices, smoothies and herbal teas.

Water is very essential because it flushes of waste from the body. If you opt for fruit juices, choose freshly-juiced fruit juices over packaged juices. The later contains added sugars, flavors and preservatives that will eventually add bulges to your frame. Smoothies are a new trend when it comes to weight loss. They are mostly made of green leafy vegetables and are mixed with fruits to make it delicious and healthier. Beverages and colas are not recommended because they contain a lot of empty calories and they dehydrate the body.

4. Exercise wherever and whenever you can - 

When we say exercise, our mind immediately pictures a gym with a few persons lifting weights and other exercise equipment waiting to be used. Exercise needs a disciplined approach but it need not be done only at a gym. In fact, in addition to your 30 minutes cardio or weight training session, you can turn all your household chores into an exercise activity. Thus, you can take the stairs instead of the elevator. If your office is within a few miles from home, you can walk or cycle. Gardening can also help in losing weight fast.

How would your life be if you could lose all the extra fat from your body? If you take action now, in 2 months you'll be incredibly sexy!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Heather_J_James/1750522