The Benefits of HCG Shots for Weight Loss

Losing weight can be a difficult undertaking. Your genetics, metabolism, lifestyle, diet, stress levels and sleep habits can all play a part in your ability to lose weight. Perhaps you've tried to defy genetics, increase your metabolism, change your lifestyle, alter your diet, lower your stress levels, and improve your sleep habits. But then, you realized that nothing is working. In your quest to lose weight, it's important to not give up and allow your setbacks to discourage you. That's because you have options. Getting hcg shots for weight loss could be just what you need to shed those pounds.

What Is HCG?

Before you learn how HCG shots can help you lose weight, you should probably learn what HCG is first. You've probably heard of HCG as pertaining to pregnant women, but you may be wondering why you'd use it for weight loss if you're not pregnant.

HCG, which stands for human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone expectant mothers produce in high levels during early pregnancy. In fact, this hormone is what determines a pregnant or not pregnant result in home pregnancy tests. Many experts claim that HCG can help boost your metabolism and help you lose large amounts of fat. You can do all of this without feeling hungry. Accompanied by a strict, ultra-low 500 calories diet, HCG injections can help with weight loss.

What Is the HCG Diet?

The HCG diet is a low-fat, low-calorie diet to help you burn calories faster. The faster you can burn calories, the faster you can lose weight. The HCG diet is generally divided into three phases:

• Loading phase: This is what kicks off the HCG diet and gets it started. You start the diet by eating lots of high-fat, high-calorie foods. This continues for two days.
• Weight loss phase: Get HCG injections daily to get the best results. Then, eat only 500 calories per day for 3-6 weeks or until you get your desired results.
• Maintenance phase: Stop getting the HCG injections. You can gradually increase your food intake, but be sure to avoid sugar and starches for 3 weeks. These practices can help you maintain your weight and help prevent weight gain.

How HCG Injections Work

The same role the HCG hormone plays in expectant mothers can be the same role it plays in weight loss for men and women. For example, if a pregnant woman isn't eating enough to support the growth and development of her baby, the HCG hormone will utilize excessive fats that her body has stored. This is to ensure proper nutrition during pregnancy. This same process can help you burn fat with HCG injections. Your body will start to utilize excess fats, which means that it will help burn these fats faster and more frequently.

Low-calorie consumption can be effective all on its own, but when paired with regular HCG injections, it can increase the effectiveness of burning excess fat. Also, just doing the HCG diet alone can leave you feeling weak, while HCG injections can ensure your body gets the energy it needs.

How to Lose Your Belly Fat In A Healthy Way

For people with a pear-shaped body, losing weight can be a bit of a challenge. While it is easy to lose weight around the upper part of the body, fat stored in the lower part of the body’s midsection is more difficult to deal with.

That’s not to say that it is impossible to lose weight when you have a pear-shaped body. More importantly, it is not impossible to lose weight in a healthy manner. These next few tips and tricks we are about to discuss will help you lose lower-belly fat healthily.

Drink More Water

Drinking more water has two benefits that help you lose weight and stay healthy. First of all, consuming more water allows your body to stay full. In fact, drinking a glass of water before a meal can help reduce the portion of your meal considerably.

Drinking water also helps the body metabolize more optimally. This simple step helps reduce the amount of fat stored in the lower part of your midsection, which in turn reduces the weight that gets added to the section after your meals.

Besides, drinking more water is about as easy as it gets. It is an effective way to lose weight while improving your body metabolism and overall health. There are even specific benefits on your skin and heart health to be gained from drinking more water.

Have a Full Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it is more important when you are trying to lose weight. A suitable breakfast added to your diet has the ability to change your eating habits for the rest of the day. A full breakfast is highly recommended.

You want a lot of fiber in your breakfast. Wheat and other food items contain enough fiber, and they are perfect for breakfast. You also want to add plenty of proteins, especially if you want to feel full through the morning.

Additionally, you may want to add fruit to your breakfast menu. A glass of fresh orange juice, slices of apple or watermelon, or a small bowl of fruit salad could turn a simple breakfast into one that can power you beyond lunchtime.

Avoid Certain Drinks

Some drinks are best avoided if you are trying to lose weight. Sugary beverages are your worst enemy when you have a pear-shaped body and you want to lose weight. The extra calories you consume with every sip will cancel all of the healthy nutrients you consume throughout the day.

Of course, soda isn’t the only type of drink you need to avoid. That extra-large frappuccino you usually pick up on your way to work also contains plenty of calories. Switch to home-brewed coffee made from healthy ingredients if you need the caffeine.

You can actually use shying away from these drinks as an opportunity to drink more water. This allows you to reduce your calorie intake substantially while enjoying the benefits we discussed earlier.

Use the Right Supplements

Not all dietary supplements are created equal. When you have a pear-shaped body or if you are targeting the fat around your lower waist, finding supplements that can help address the issue directly is the way to go.

When it comes to supplements for people with a pear-shaped body, Immunocorp is the brand to look into. Lipobiotol, one of Immunocorp’s supplements, is designed to address the issues that cause a pear-shaped body in the first place.

The supplement is based on studies that revealed different causes of fat buildup around the lower section of the body. Issues such as bacterial imbalance and exposure to certain food items are addressed, giving your body the balance that it needs and the ability to burn fat in that specific area.

The Right Exercises

Dieting alone is not enough; you also have to integrate regular exercises and positive habits to accelerate your weight loss program. When you have a pear-shaped body and you want to get rid of the lower-body fat, the exercise you do matters.

You want to avoid some exercises that target the belly muscles directly. Doing crunches, for instance, helps strengthen the muscles around your belly, but doesn’t burn fat stored in the same area. Besides, doing crunches excessively could lead to more issues, including severe back problems.

What you want to do instead is a set of exercises that build up strength and muscle mass. This means doing squats and deadlifts to work your muscles in a more optimum way. These exercises will not burn fat immediately but doing them regularly will help you lower your waist size over time.

The rest is easy from there. Now that you have the best tips and tricks to use, you can lose weight and get rid of your pear-shaped body in a more effective and healthier way. Stick to the plan, improve your diet, and you will start losing more weight without risking your health.

5 Amazing Benefits of Almonds for Beauty and Weight Loss

The benefits of almonds for skin and weight loss are not only many, but also proven by numerous studies. Enjoying these delicious tree nuts (although they are actually seeds) can help you lose weight, lower blood cholesterol, and give your skin a healthy glow.

Photo by Tetiana Bykovets on Unsplash

5 Benefits of Almonds Proven by Science

1. Reduced risk of heart disease and lower blood pressure

Heart disease is one of the most common causes of premature death in the world. While eating almonds won’t prevent this tragedy with a 100% guarantee, a study from the School of Life and Health Sciences at Aston University Birmingham has proven that snacking on a handful of almonds every day reduces this risk.

The reason for this is that these nuts enrich your body with antioxidants, which improve blood flow and lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke.

2. Better weight loss due to appetite suppression

You might be surprised to learn that almonds are one of the best appetite suppressants. When added to a program that contains supplements with the same effect, you will definitely achieve your weight loss goals much faster. While supplements will control one’s appetite by affecting levels of hormones that trigger the feeling of hunger, almonds help dull it by filling up your digestive system with carbs.

Nuts are high in nutrients and dietary fiber, which means they take a while to digest, so they make you feel full longer. That’s why they make great snacks on a diet as almonds can prevent hunger cravings.

3. Better skin due to vitamin E

Vitamin E is an essential nutrient and very potent antioxidant. Various health benefits of almonds mostly come from the fact that they are rich in this particular element. Vitamin E helps lower blood cholesterol, which is one of the main reasons why nuts are good for heart health.

This element is also the main contributor to the positive effect that almonds have on skin. Vitamin E does not only protect it from oxidative damage. It helps keep your skin hydrated and reduces the visible signs of aging.

Note that vitamin E is also essential for hair and nail health. Therefore, this food boosts your natural beauty on every level.

4. Reduced blood sugar spikes

Almonds are rich in a variety of nutrients, including magnesium. A study published in Diabetes Care indicates that magnesium improves insulin sensitivity thus helping manage metabolic disorders, like type 2 diabetes.

Not only does magnesium in almonds help keep your insulin sensitivity at bay. They also reduce the risk of blood sugar spikes due to the fact that they are slow to digest and have a low glycemic index.

5. Enhanced muscle building

Benefits of almonds extend to bodybuilders as well because one cup of these nuts gives you about 30g of proteins. This is the biggest number among all tree nuts and that protein is easy to digest. This makes almonds one of the best muscle-building foods, which is another reason why they are good for weight loss.

Eating foods high in proteins in the morning also helps with appetite control. And due to healthy fats these nuts contain, they are a great source of energy for a workout.

However, don’t forget that all nuts are high in calories, so be sure to limit your intake of them. Eating a handful (about 50g) daily will allow you to enjoy all the health and beauty benefits of almonds.

Get Weight Watchers approved items from Publix #myblogspark (Giveaway)

**CLOSED** Winner is Angel L. Congrats! 

The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Right now Publix is offering some great deals on Weight Watchers approved items. They include:

• Progresso Light Soups: BOGO 
• Green Giant Frozen: BOGO
• Yoplait: 20/$10

You can check out the Publix everyday savings site for printable coupons to save even more. This is a great time to stock up on these foods. I have purchased a lot of Yoplait yogurt for the kids. They have been grabbing them for breakfast most mornings. I also stocked up on Green Giant frozen veggies for future meals. I like to incorporate green beans, broccoli or carrots in my son's mac and cheese for lunch. 

One Mom Files reader can win a prize pack that includes a cool collapsible salad container, water bottle, snack container and a $25 Publix gift card. Both the salad and snack containers can be put in the freezer before food is added to keep food fresh and chilled when on the go. All items are BPA-free. Enter below in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on January 21, 2014. One winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email to claim prize. Mom Files is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes or for fulfillment of prizes. Good luck!

Getting fit with Smooth Fitness | Update #SmoothBlogger

I have been getting Tweets, email and Facebook messages asking me how I am doing with my Smooth Fitness treadmill. I will say this first...  I hate missing my workout days. I have gotten so used to my Monday-Friday routine that I don't feel well if I miss a day. We recently got some new furniture for both daughters' bedrooms and we had to temporarily fold the treadmill for two whole days. It was killing me! The good thing is it was out of the way for the delivery men to get in with the bulky furniture without any harm to my gorgeous machine ;-)

I might have mentioned before that I suffer from leg cramps several times a week. It is like a deep nipping pain in my left calf muscle that really aggravates me. I often have to stop and massage it for relief and unfortunately take Ibuprofen if it gets that bad. Since I started consistently jogging and running on my treadmill, the cramps have stopped! Even my husband mentioned that he hasn't heard me complain about the leg pain. Doing incline jogging is tough but well worth being pain-free! Another big thing for me is that I can't get enough of having my own gym in the privacy of my own home. I can ugly sweat all I want and nobody will see me. Yes, I'm shy.

I  gained some weight during the month of February (darn you Valentine's goodies!). I had been doing a lot of stress-related eating. I have so much going on with my homemaker duties, family, blogging, kids' activities and school, as well as my husband's busy schedule. My mind has been in overdrive and when the anxiety kicks in, I hop on the treadmill. Even if I do just a 1/2 mile, it helps immediately. I have pushed myself so hard the last 2 weeks and I actually lost all the sweet goodies weight! I feel so much better and my clothes fit like normal again. It was getting scary that I thought I would have to go buy all new stuff! The one thing I will need is new workout attire. My exercise pants fall off while I run. This is because my waist is slimming down *happy dance*.

I am really getting a little freaked out about turning 40 this year and I have vowed to take better care of myself. Besides exercise, I have been drinking a lot more water, cut out soda and fruit drinks (except wine) and cut back on sweets. I also take more time for myself whether it is lunch out with a friend or just some browsing in the shops alone. My energy level in the daytime is insanely high and I sleep so well at night. I also started to do some weights in between and look forward to toning up for the summer swimsuit season. Overall, I am so happy and feeling great! I will update you all in a couple weeks on some details of how the treadmill works, as well as my husband's progress. I will say this much, I am SO proud of him! 

Be sure to check out Smooth Fitness on the web, Facebook and Twitter.

I am participating in a campaign as a Smooth Fitness Ambassador and will be reviewing a treadmill from Smooth Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts/opinions expressed are always my own.

See how Smooth Fitness is saving my family money! #SmoothBlogger

My family is on a very strict budget. If we don't have the extra cash for things, we just don't buy them. We have been members at our local health club for a few years on were on a special that was offered for a limited time. Of course, that limited time ended and the new price would have skyrocketed to $90 a month! With super high gas and food prices, we need an extra $90 each month. Also, with the kids' and husband's busy schedules, the gym membership was not being used like it should. We were throwing our money away because nobody had the time to go. 

Our Smooth Fitness treadmill came in right on time! We received it last week and  we were all eager to test it out.  My first impression when I saw it being hauled in by the delivery guys was, "WOW!" It was a lot bigger than what I was expecting.

My husband and I have been looking at treadmills for a while and most of what we have seen in the local stores were on the cheap side. They looked like even I could break it because of how lightweight they were. Our Smooth 5.65 Treadmill looks and feels like what you would see in a gym. We love that it can handle up to 300 pounds. It was important for us to have a high-quality machine since there will be 4 of us using it on a daily basis. Each family member has their own set of goals they want to achieve. Right now we are all in the process of starting off slowly to get our bodies conditioned for the goals we have planned for ourselves.

I love the very simple, user-friendly display. My husband experimented with one of the pre-programmed routines on the treadmill and he had to surrender after 15 minutes! He realized he needs to work up to that stage. His biggest goal is both weight loss and cardio strengthening. I plan to purchase a new bathroom scale so we can track his weight each week. Having this treadmill in our home is going to help him so much since work, college classes, being a dad and a husband often gets in the way of getting proper exercise. I want to see my husband around for a very long time! I will say this, so far one of the great side-effects of working out for my husband has been better sleep. He struggles with falling asleep at night and after only 3 days, he has been crashing hard! Of course we all know that the sleep is so important to be able to function properly each day.

Please come back in a couple weeks when I discuss through video, more about how the Smooth Fitness treadmill works. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Stay connected with Smooth fitness on the web, Facebook and Twitter.

I am participating in a campaign as a Smooth Fitness Ambassador and will be reviewing a treadmill from Smooth Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts/opinions expressed are always my own.

I'm a Smooth Fitness Ambassador #SmoothBlogger

Hi everyone! I am thrilled to announce that I am an official Smooth Fitness Ambassador. I will be receiving a new treadmill very soon to keep and review. Me and my husband have been talking about getting one for months now so this is perfect timing for us! I am not a big fan of working out in front of other people so the gym membership we had was wasted. This treadmill will be a great asset to our family.  

I will be posting about my family's experiences using our new treadmill over the course of the next four months. Each of us have our own fitness goals. My daughters want to keep their bodies conditioned for the sports season, my husband needs to lose some weight and I need to build up my strength. I turn 40 this year and really need to step my fitness game up. Here is what our folding treadmill will look like... 

I can't wait to share the details of this gorgeous machine and look forward to answering your questions as well. Connect with Smooth fitness on the web, Facebook and Twitter. 

I am participating in a campaign as a Smooth Fitness Ambassador and will be reviewing a treadmill from Smooth Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts/opinions expressed are always my own.

Can you lose weight without trying?

Last year around this time, I was going through something I never imagined I would have to deal with... my weight. For most of my life I have been very underweight. As a child I was so underweight that I was teased and ridiculed about it. It was very hard and I spent many nights crying myself to sleep feeling a lot of shame and pain.  Nobody knows how much I longed to gain weight. Fast forward to after having William... I weighed what would be called a healthy weight. I was the average for my height and weight for the first time in my life (without being pregnant). Then it came to a point that I was at the top of that average weight. It started to freak me out because my wedding rings no longer fit and all of my clothes were too small. I figured that maybe it was my time. I finally gained the weight I desired my entire life.

I think I came to a point when I started to break down after trying on swimwear and finding that I was no longer in Junior's sizes. Last year at this time, I became very interested in reading about health and nutrition. Although I have heard it before, I read an article about drinking diet sodas and my favorite Crystal Light. I found out how they trick your body and make you crave bad foods. I have always been a sweets freak and junk food addict since childhood.  Could this be true? I used to drink about 2-3 packets of Crystal Light everyday especially during the Summer months and exclusively purchased diet soft drinks. I figured zero calories made sense. I couldn't have been more WRONG! I stopped all of the diet beverages and replaced them with water and indulged in the occasional soda. As a matter of fact, I switched from using margarine and butter spreads to real butter. I noticed almost right away that I slowed down tremendously on eating sweets and junk food. I wasn't having as many cravings to eat bad stuff.  It's as if I was changing my naughty ways. I started to find that my pants were fitting less snug. I had to start wearing a belt with my jeans and even had to tighten it on occasion. So one year later I am finally able to put on my wedding rings and I can wear things that were too small very easily. As a matter of fact, I can't wear most of the clothing I have since they are too big. I need to buy all new stuff. I stepped on the scale at the gym last week and could not believe it. I don't weigh much more than my teenagers!  My advice to you if you are trying to lose weight is to kick the diet drinks!

William's weight update

I took William to the pediatrician this week for his weight check-in. His physician was concerned that he had not gained any weight for his past few visits so she wanted to monitor him. He has gained 2 pounds since his last visit 4 moths ago so she is pleased with it. She asked me if I wanted to bring him prior to his 3 year well visit to check his weight and I declined. I was not the one worried about it in the first place. Like I told her...come to my house for an hour and you will see why my boy is so lean.