Stop Eating Junk Food - 5 Steps to Eliminate Junk Food From Your Diet

The wellness industry is big business in the United States. Every year, weight loss products and programs generate over $500 billion in profits. Fitness centers are popping up on every corner. We see more people making an effort to get fit and live healthy than ever before. Eating healthy is all the rage now. People are becoming aware of what they are eating. There is a huge demand for organic food. Clean eating is the goal.

What is clean eating? Clean eating is only eating foods that come directly from an animal or the farm. No lunch meat. No candy. No cheese puffs. Clean eating allows us to consume foods that our bodies can digest easily. We cannot process most of the ingredients that are in processed foods, leading to excess fat storage, malnutrition, and associated illnesses.

Processed foods are convenient, inexpensive, taste good and have a long storage life. Grocers stock their shelves with them. We learn at an early age that cookies, candy, and chicken nuggets are treats, so eating them gives us a sense of satisfaction. Here are five tips to help break the habit of desiring junk food.

Five Tips To Help You Give Up Junk Food

1. Avoid the aisles in the grocery store.

All of the food that is good for you is found on the walls of the grocery store. Produce, meat, seafood, and dairy are mostly stored in the refrigerator or freezer. The aisles of the grocery store are where everything else is kept. If you buy junk food, it is in your house, you will eat it. Just avoid buying it.

2. Find healthy options for junk food.

Enjoy a ripe mango instead of gummy bears. Eat dried bananas or plantain instead of potato chips. Buy fresh meat, cook it and slice it yourself instead of lunch meat. Try something new. There are plenty of healthy, tasty options.

3. Prepare for emergencies.

Prepare your meals in advance and pack healthy snacking options. Keep an apple, mixed nuts or granola handy for times when you need a snack. Preparing meals in advanced cuts down on the odds that you will stop at a fast food restaurant for a mystery meat sandwich.

4. Stay hydrated.

Sometimes dehydration is mistaken for hunger and if in the wrong place, you may grab a bag of chips. Try drinking water when you feel hungry and want to head to the vending machine for a Little Debbie snack cake.

5. Make up your mind and stick to it.

Everything we decide to do in life starts as a thought. Once you decide that you don't want to eat junk food anymore, stand by that decision. It's a simple concept that is sometimes difficult to put into action.

Lifestyle adjustments are a personal choice. Healthy eating is a very beneficial decision for yourself and your family. Breaking old habits are difficult but all difficult journeys begin with one step at a time.

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Important Tips to Rent a Wedding Dress

It is the dream of the majority of young ladies today to get married in a luxurious and a stylish wedding ceremony. The wedding dress is among the wedding aspects that can make the whole difference, with regards to the experience of the wedding. Many brides preserve their wedding dresses well after their wedding to serve as a memory for the fantastic day. Currently, it is considerably expensive to buy wedding dresses from designers. If you are working on a tight budget, one of the cheapest ways of getting a wedding gown is renting one out. If you are considering this option, you will find the following tips helpful.

Select the perfect store

There are many stores today that specialize in renting out wedding gowns. Before deciding on the store to rent from, it is advisable to carry out a background check. You should only rent from the reputable and well renowned stores that have a list of satisfied clients.

Additionally, you also need to note the terms of the store before renting from them. There are many prominent bridal renting stores and salons to choose from today. Therefore, this should not be a big problem. The majority of these stores also has websites, from where you can contact them. After finding the right one, you only have to walk into their store and try out your preferred gown and finalize the deal.

Shop in advance

If renting is your preferred option, you should allow yourself enough time to find the right dress for you before the wedding day. Additionally, some rentals do not allow brides to have the dress re-sized to fit them. As such, it is advisable to leave enough time to find a dress of suitable size and style.

Considering rental packages

In addition to the wedding gown, some rentals will also rent the accessories. Some will even rent the dress along with the matching accessories as a package. If you would also like to have the accessories, you should negotiate with the rental and get to know the contents of their packages. Some of the accessories that may be included in the package include wedding jewelry, shoes, veil, tiara and a petticoat.

Signing the rental agreement

To rent a wedding dress, you will have to sign a rental agreement. The contract will contain such information as the date of delivery and return you should ensure that the information on this form is per your agreement with the rental before signing it.

Renting a wedding gown is among the cheapest ways of acquiring this important dress. If you have decided to rent rather than buy, these tips will guide you through the process.

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Are You Ready to Give Up Dieting?

We are now one month into the New Year, which means 30 days have passed since you have committed to yet another resolution to lose the weight once and for all. But have you ever taken the time to reflect upon the methods you have chosen over and over again to achieve your weight loss goals? How many diets have you actually gone on and off in your lifetime? Did they work? If so, for how long?

The unfortunate truth that I am about to share with you is that diets do not work. At first, dieting can be fun and even exhilarating. You think that "this time it's going to work, this time I'm going to stay committed". And you do. The weight comes off and it's a very euphoric feeling. But for many chronic dieters, the weight always ends up coming back once the diet is over. This is why dieting is not the solution for achieving long-term weight loss. In fact, statistics show that 46% of people who make a weight loss resolution never make it past 6 months. The reason is that dieting is hard. Restricting calories alters your mood and depriving yourself of your favorite foods can be tormenting. Eventually, you give in to your cravings which lead to overeating and feelings of failure.

If this sounds like you and you experience a yo-yo cycle of successes and failures, you can likely relate to the negative feelings dieting has imposed on your life. It is quite exhausting to have to constantly obsess over food. Contrary to what dieting has taught you, food is not the enemy and everyone deserves to eat regardless of their size or shape.

If you take a step back and consider the pros and cons that dieting has brought you in the past, your list might look something like this:

Pro: Lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time

Con: Felt hungry, was moody, couldn't concentrate, missed eating my favorite foods, was not enjoyable, always had to think about what I was eating, gained back all the weight, felt guilt, felt like a failure

Dieting instills a life-long obsession with food and body image that is debilitating mentally, emotionally and physically. What you may not realize is that these issues are actually caused by dieting (something that the diet industry would rather keep hush, hush). If you have gone through the dieting cycle for years without long-term success, you might have reached a very critical point known as "diet bottom". Hitting diet bottom means that you do not have the energy or inner strength to go on another diet. You are completely exhausted from dieting, from thinking about how every bite is going to affect your weight, from counting calories and from depriving yourself of foods that you love. You simply cannot do it anymore.

Hitting diet bottom, believe it or not, is a positive place to be as it is the first step out of the yo-yo dieting cycle. It is important to know if you have truly hit diet bottom because there are solutions to achieving permanent weight loss that do not include a single diet plan. Figuring out for yourself if you are at this point takes self-reflection into your personal diet patterns and to be honest with yourself as to how dieting has affected you throughout your life. Then, and only then, can you move to the next step of discovering the biggest mistakes you've made at dieting and from there, to proper nourishment of your mind, body and soul.

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High Calories Foods That Are Good for You

When we say foods are high in calories, we think they must be unhealthy. The foods that we have mentioned are very dense in calories but they are still a healthy diet in moderation. We need at least some dietary fat for our hormones to function properly and to absorb minerals and vitamins. Doctors recommend not less than 15% fat from your diet. Check out the following healthiest fat and high cal foods.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is the best alternative to stick on margarine and butter, it is very important to keep serving size in mind. Just one tablespoon of olive oil has 120 cal. Yes olive oil is high in fat, it is high in mono-unsaturated fat and it has several health benefits including maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer, and Alzheimer's. You can use olive oil with salads, roasted veggies and as a replacement for margarine.

Homemade Granola

It is one of the foods that have always been classified as healthy. It is important to check the nutrition facts on granola package. Mostly it is made with natural ingredients such as oats, nuts and seeds; granola is full of nutrients. These are high in calories about 300 cal per half cup. Homemade granola is best way to enjoy it from guilt free. Keep your serving size to ¼ to ½ cup and you can enjoy with plain yogurt or milk.

Avocado

Creamy, smooth and nutritious avocado have it all. They are full of vitamin C and K, potassium, fiber and many other nutrients. A half avocado gives you 15 gm of the good monounsaturated fat, and despite technically being a fruit, they have almost no sugar (0.2 gm per one half). Keep in mind a whole avocado ranges between 300 and 500 cal.

Almond Butter

Like granola, almond butter is yet another rich in nutrients food you can enjoy, but it can be loaded with added sugar and fat. Nuts generally are high in cal, around 190 to 200 calories per handful. One serving size of almond butter (2 tablespoons) has about 4 gm of protein, 2 gm of fiber, and 18 gm of fat. It also has iron, vitamin E and magnesium. A little bit of almond butter goes a long way- one serving size has up to 200 calories. Avoid reduced fat versions of almond butter, because they actually have higher sugar content. Plus, try to buy almond butter with the fewest added ingredients, and the low in sugar and sodium contents. Natural brands usually have fewer additives compared to their commercial counterparts.

Dark Chocolate

Most of us have heard it: dark chocolate is good for you. It is full of nutrients and antioxidants plus it may help lower your blood pressure and can control blood sugar level, and additionally boost your mood. One bar of chocolate can have around 530 cal. Munch on one bar throughout the week or pick up individually wrapped dark chocolate for 50 cal a piece. While these foods are high in calories, they certainly can be part of a diet that promotes health and of well-being.

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Tips for Buying Evening Dresses

Choosing an evening dress can be a fun and relaxing task. An evening dress is usually very expensive, so you may want to take some precautions while choosing one for yourself. Some things to keep in mind are-

• An evening dress must spell elegance. Elegance is the most important thing to look for in an evening dress.

• The first thing to decide while picking out a dress for evening wear is the length - do you want it short or long? Full length dresses are always a safe option, and is a better choice if the occasion is formal or if the dress code indicated is formal.

• Choosing the fabric is also important. It must flatter your figure and you must feel comfortable in it the whole evening.

• Choose the colour of the dress based on how it looks on you - it should go with your skin tone and hair colour. If you are not sure and don't want to mess up, the 'little black dress' is a fall back option. It is everybody's favourite and you cannot go wrong with it. Black is cool, elegant and mysterious, at the same time simple and sexy. If you feel it is a bit plain, you can accessorise it with jewellery or scarves.

• If you feel a little diffident about your figure, go in for a dress that is rich in colour and is made from luxurious fabric. For a well-toned body, a white dress can look great.

• Embellishments on the dress and design lines can also show you figure to advantage or draw attention to your worst features. So be sure how such a dress looks on you.

• You may want to dress with the trend. Check up the latest magazines and online stores to see what is trending, if you like it and if it will suit you.

• The dress style must flatter your figure. A dress slit on one side or on both sides sill show off long legs to advantage. A backless dress will suit a slim back and can highlight your hairstyle.

• If you intend to wear the dress many times, go in for a dress that has a timeless appeal. Satin, lace and crepe in fine cuts can never fail you, no matter what your age is.

Don't hesitate to be extravagant while spending on an evening dress. It is a good investment and you will have many occasions to wear it - wedding receptions, cocktail parties and formal dinners. And no wardrobe will be complete without it.

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