WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

A Super Fit Body

Here's some visual motivation to help me stick to my fitness and weight loss goals over this Labor Day long weekend:-).

The photo is titled "Material Girl" and was taken by Ryagalesie.

Eva Herzigova reportedly weighs about 132 pounds. She is 5'10" (179 cm) tall and has been modeling since she was discovered at sixteen. This month, just shy of her 33rd birthday, she is featured on the cover of the Italian GC Magazine.

Herziogova's secret, as far as dieting goes, is that she doesn't like sweets. She doesn't even like chocolate! But she loves fish, cheese and meat. She says she'll eat anything, but only in small quantities if it is a rich food. Before she started modeling she was very athletic and spent her youth playing basketball, cross-country skiing and gymnastics. When she was interviewed about her exercise regiment a few years ago she said she didn't have time for the gym and that she didn't exercise. That's probably changed since then.

Eva has been married once. It was a short marriage lasting less than two years. At that time she said she wanted a couple of kids. She probably won't be single much longer though she's not in a relationship now.

The BBC has some good before and after pictures of people who lost weight in Britian recently.

Here's Lisa. She lost six and a half stone in six months. How many pounds are in a stone, you ask? The British have a strange way of stating their weight. There are 14 pounds to a stone. So Lisa lost 90 pounds in six months. Congrats to Lisa and the other eight successful people pictured there.

See about converting kilograms to pounds here.

This little old lady is 86 years old! She started weight-lifting when she was 72. At that time she was upset she couldn't carry her kitty litter shopping bags home. (We're talking about fifty pound bags of kitty litter.) So she joined the gym, started weight-lifting, and has been doing it regularly ever since.

Now she's as spry as a teenager, though she is a great-grandmother. She's gone on to win about forty trophies in weight-lifting competitions.

Reducing our salt intake and trying to keep it significantly below 2,300 mg per day (for adults) is one of the easiest plans for losing weight. The recommended maximum daily sodium intake is 2,300mg but most people consume more than twice as much.

When we consume too much sodium the kidneys retain a lot more water and this increases blood pressure.

It would surprise some people that most of the sodium we eat doesn't come from salt-shakers. There is a very large amount of sodium in most processed foods. All cured meats (such as bacon, ham and sausage) also have very high levels. Even foods you'd never expect as culprits, such as cottage cheese can contain 1,000mg per cup.

The best way to cut down on sodium is to eat fresh whole foods. Eat lots of vegetables, legumes and fruit. These foods are also high in fiber and low in calories.

OceanPark calls the above photo "the schizophrenia of america". She says, "I think this sums up the paradox of two main messages in contemporary American culture: be impossibly skinny; eat superfatty hamburgers."

I would completely agree.