Don't forget to reward yourself!

Don't you also get paid for your work? And if you wouldn't, wouldn't that very depressing?

You should keep it with your goal of diet and weight reduction the same way. Here it also requires a lot of hard word to get successful. 

Therefore you should divide your big goal in many small goals and always reward yourself when reaching such intermediate goal (e.g every 2 pounds less I get one more piece of clothing). Such a separation of your big goal doesn't only fill your wardrobe, but also promotes keeping up to reach your goals, because the steps don't appear too big.

You should probably make a contract with yourself, in which you exactly define how you want to reward yourself when achieving your goals.

By the way, soothing massages in a beautiful spa or a visit to the cinema with your best friend are great rewards, because their achievement is determined by a specific date!

It will be worth the effort! Just think of all the rewards ;-)

Please send us your favorite rewards and share them with our readers.

Zumba - What the heck is that?

Zumba is a new trend sport which almost let you make forget the workout through its high fun factor. Zumba comes from the U.S. and contains a lot of Latino rhythm. Zumba is offered in more and more gyms as a secret weapon against the pounds.

In Zumba dance, laughting and burning fat are top priority.

Due to the hot rhythms and high fun factor a class often resembles more of a Latino party then an aerobics workout. It is important to know that there are no fixed step sequences in Zumba and hence it is always open for new class members.

Incidentally, there are tons of DVDs available that invite you and your friends to exercise inside your own four walls.

If you love Latin music and dance, then Zumba is the right thing for you to have your pounds melting away.

To check out if Zumba is also offered in your area, check out: www.zumba.com

Small energy boosts for any time of the day (and night)!

Probably every one of us needs refreshing energy from time to time, especially in stressful jobs, whether at home with the kids or the office. Everyone of us has already gone through hard energy times.

There the chocolate or candy bar from the secret drawer, or the juicy piece of cake from the bakery around the corner is just right. But wait - STOP! - You actually wanted to lose pounds and you don't want put the back on your hips because of the the desire for sweets, right?

If your body screams for sweets for your second breakfast, after the (probably too heavy) lunch, for coffee or after dinner in front of the TV, then give your body something sweet, but nothing that is sweet and fat at the same time!

The solution: Fresh or dried fruits

For such moments I highly recommend ripe fruits and dried fruits without added sugar. They contain a lot of fruit sugar and hence are sweet, have energy and bring down your desire, contain no fat and far fewer calories.

The advantage of dried fruit over fresh fruit is that this was made ​​more durable by drying and thus can endure until moment X in the secret "sweets" drawer. Dried fruit also as a higher concentration of grape and fruit sugar, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals. The drawback of dried fruits is that it doesn't have the amount and variety of vitamins anymore as fresh fruit.

Our tip: Have 1-2 servings of ripe fruit available daily and if your appetite for something sweet gets stronger then grab your dried fruit instead of chocolate and other things.

Children and diet?

How much fruit did you give your children to eat today?

The subject of a diet is a very sensitive issue for children, because more and more of our children are overweight. Nevertheless, a child should NEVER go on a diet without medical advice and assistance.

Every pediatrician has information on this topic and can easily find out whether your child is over- or underweight or in the normal range.
In any case, YOU are in demand as a parent to teach your child a proper eating and physical activity behavior! You are their idol! Your child trusts you and it learns from YOU!
It is important that you dedicate plenty of time with your child doing sports, living a balanced diet (rich on fruits and vegetables). Don't tranquilize your child with television, video games, candy and snacks.

Tip: If you plan to do something for yourself to reduce your weight, then make the change in a way that it automatically benefits your child as well. For example you could go with your child to gymnastics or have your children accompany you on a bike while you are jogging and then jointly prepare a fresh green salad afterwards.

Together with YOU your children can learn a proper diet and activity behavior and do not need a diet to lose weight! It lies mainly in your hands! Make your children be proud of you!

How do I tie in my family into my diet?

It is very important to disallow discussions! It's amazing how quickly all the family members wil get used to the change in diet.

Just give it a try! Your loved ones will also love the taste of fruits and vegetables.

Depending on how stubborn the rest of the family behaves you can always pimp up the food with some little things like a juice spritzer or a little bit of cheese.

You can even integrate your children (and of course the "hard" working partners) in sports activities. While you go out for a walk or jogging, they could - for example - accompany you on a bike or inline skates - fresh air is good for everyone! Also the playground offers endless possibilities for a workout - let your creativity run wild. Each unit offers at least two challenges!

Joint planning, shopping, activities and eating does not only support your wish for an "lighter life" but also supports the family life and the health of your whole family.

Jogging for beginners

Jogging is an easy and effective way to burn calories.

But even for this activity the right preparation and technique are everything. Therefore, you should first get checked up by your doctor and get the right footwear for optimal cushioning.

It is also very important to warm up and to cool down. For example you could start with walking 5 minutes and then slowly start running until you reach your comfortable speed. After the training you should cool down for about 5 minutes to bring down your pulse back to normal.

For beginners it might be a good alternative to alternate between walking and running like 3 minutes walking and 2 minutes running. While improving your condition you could slowly increase the intervall from workout to workout. Always make sure, though, that every movement is comfortable. You don't do yourself any favor with a burnout, but it will just result in excessive muscle soreness that might interfere with your next training session.

In addition, you should always keep an eye on your pulse and keep it around 65% of your maximum heart rate.

For a joint-gentle training you should run on a soft surface (preferrable unpaved) and use the right technique. You should keep and eye on your feet to make sure the whole foot is actively rolled, the body is held upright and the arms move in motion. Additionally, you could move/shake your hands from time to time, to check the relaxation of your arms and shoulders.

Let's go and have fun!

Can I eat chocolate?

Of course, chocolate is allowed or you could completely live without it for the next few weeks or months?

Chocolate is one of the well known producers of happiness and helps us to smooth our nerves. Also the cocoa in the chocolate contains phytochemicals that may help as antioxidants (the body's own health police) to protect our body cells. Researchers even believe that antioxidants protect us against cardiovascular disease and may help prevent cancer. Obviously, chocolate is not one of the main sources of these ingredients, but it's good to know that there is a little bit of good inside it.

It is always important to pay attention to the cocoa content - the higher the percentage the more phytochemicals it has.

In addition to the healthy and positive aspects of the chocolate, however, there is a downside: Chocolate has many calories (average 540 kcal/100g) and a high fat content (about 30g/100g). Therefore, it is even more important to pay attention to the amount of your treat and to choose small portions. Since chocolate is available in many different serving sizes make sure to pick something in small sizes like small bars.

Chocolate in moderate amounts is perfectly fine. Just watch for the correct type (e.g dark) and the right size.

Enjoy your treats!

Enjoy vacation without gaining weight!

Its' summer and the best time for having a great vacation. The beautiful hotel with relaxation factor and great food is waiting for you. But keep in mind WHY you are going on vacation and again during your vacation. Is it to finally spend time with your loved ones or friends, because of the beautiful landscape, or just to relax, or indeed just for the food?


Hopefully it is not the latter since then your successful diet could possibly be in danger. Of course, you should not give up the pleasure of the great food on the menu or from the buffet. But do not make the food a high priority on your vacation todo list.

Here are some tips for a carefree vacation experience:

• Always use the small plate in the buffet restaurants. Then you won't be tempted to take too much from the buffet and you go a second time without remorse.
• Always fill your plate with at least 2/3 salad, vegetables and / or fruits
• If the menu/buffet offers soup (no cream soups!) then take/order a big portion of it. Soup gives you a good basis, but has few calories.
• Eat slowly and chew everything at least 20 to 30 times with each bite since the feeling of satiety sets in after about 20 minutes.
• Drink lots of water / tea with your meal to fill the stomach.
• Even if the all-inclusive services offer interesting alcoholic beverages, either mix them with water or drink water with them (preferably in a ratio of 2 waters to 1 alcoholic drink).
• Take advantage of the great environment around you and exercise. You can't imagine how many endorphins arise when you get up an hour earlier than planned and run a round on the beach or in the park.
• Spend most of your time with activities with your loved ones or friends, because that distracts from the food.

Have fun on vacation!

Low calorie Barbeque - Light and delicious

For a real foodie there is always barbeque season, whether the sun is burning at 90 degrees or in the middle of the winter at 0 degrees.
Unfortunately, grilling can end as a "fat pitfall" and results in an "endless calorie nightmare" and all resolutions for a new, more self-conscious life are over. But it doesn't have to get so far.

Here are some tips for you how you can take care of your body and still enjoy your barbecue:

• Prepare a big, fresh salad instead of cheese or sausage platters or other greasy side dishes.
• Don't drown your thirst with beer but with water or juice (spritzers).
• Use lean steak, chicken breast or lamp tenderloin instead of meat with a lot of fat.
• Season the meat yourself with pepper, salt and other herbs but don't use a greasy rub. You can also try an onion-mustard-beer marinade.
• Try to replace some of the meat by fresh fish. Fish is high in iodine and usually really low in calories and fat (exceptions are salmon, mackerel and herring - but those are rich on omega-3 fatty acid).
• Two-thirds of your meal should consist of vegetables and/or fruits. That fills your stomach in a calorie-conscious manner.
• If you can't live without brats then buy the lean variants.
• Most grill sauces are also available in light (low calorie) variants. 
• Another alternative is to make your own delicious barbeque dip with joghurt, mustard, greek joghurt, cucumbers and other ingredients.

Enjoy your barbeque - the right way!

Please leave your tips for a low-fat and low-calorie barbeque as comments. I am looking forward to your ideas.

Smaller plates make full more quickly - pure mind thing!

How often did you hear about the great invention of "eat half as much" in the last years? And how often did you ask yourself how you are supposed to get full from that?

To always eat half as much is not really a permanent solution for most of us. But there is a small trick to eat less and to be still not hungry.


Simply always use small breakfast plates at home or buffets and combine it with the largest cup/glas you can find.

Since your stomach mostly reacts on visual influences and usually only stops bothering you when the plate is filled completely. And since you now use a breakfast plate instead of a big dinner plate you can fill your plate as normal (obviously not so full that food is falling of the side).
Your brain will send a signal to your stomach: "Plate full!" and your stomach will be happy. If you now combine this trick with a big glass of water or tea (low calories and no sugar) then it will fill your stomach to a level that it won't get upset.
Of course, every meal should be balanced and should contain some kind of vegetable or fruit.

With this small trick you can adapt your body to smaller portions without a hungry feeling and you save a lot of calories.

By the way: Usually it is always possible to get smaller portions in restaurants! Just ask your server!

Please feel free to leave a comment if this trick works for you or not!

Welcome to my blog

Dear visitor.

My name is Christina and I would like to share my knowledge about losing weight and eating more healthy without the risk of getting a yo-yo effect. Even if you don't want to lose weight this blog will give you helpful tips about eating and drinking the right things and how to distinguish the "good" from the "bad".
I will also give you some ideas for outdoor and indoor activities that don't require a lot of time or money.

Now browse my blog, discover new things, live a little bit healthier and lose weight without frustration.

Enjoy,
Christina