R is for REDUCE

Healthy living and healthy weight loss is often about making wise choices – particularly in regards to our diet and lifestyle. The good news is that it change doesn’t have to be about abstinence, but rather about reducing some of those not so beneficial habits including overeating, under sleeping, stressful situations, and inactivity.

The definition of reduce is “to diminish in size, amount, extent, or number”. So let’s take a look at some of the things we can do to reduce the factors that negatively influence weight and health.

1) Overeating - Increase your daily fibre intake. Fibre adds bulk which reduces appetite and excess food intake. Carbohydrate cravings can often lead to excess calorie intake. Ensure you consume a small amount of protein at each meal to help stabilize blood sugars and reduce cravings and appetite. Nutrients including chromium, banaba leaf and 5-HTP can help reduce overeating. SHAPE UP SMOOTHIE was formulated to reduce overeating.

2) Under sleeping – Sleep is essential for good health, but did you know that lack of sleep can negatively impact weight? Studies indicate that cortisol levels and inflammation increase with sleep disorders resulting in weight gain. Aim for a regular sleep pattern with at least 7-8 hours of sleep each evening.

3) Stressful situations – Excess stress albeit physical, mental or emotional is important to reduce. Stress can lead to poor health and for many people results in overeating – particularly those comfort foods high in fat, sugar and calories. Find relaxation in nature and music. Deep breathing is a simple, cost-free way to help reduce the effects of stress on the body.

4) Inactivity – Yes, you hear it over and over, but the importance of activity can never be overstated. If exercise was a prescription drug, it would be the most prescribed drug ever. Reduce the habit of inactivity and the urge to be a couch potato. Go for a walk, garden, play with the kids or grandkids. Just move

And of course, let’s not forget about SHAPE UP REDUCE. A synergistic combination of nutrients created to tackle those metabolic issues that may be limiting your weight loss. SHAPE UP REDUCE has been formulated to help kick start your weight loss and management program through its abilities to reduce appetite and cravings, reduce fat mass while increasing lean muscle mass, reduce belly fat and increasing your metabolism.

Baby steps are important. Reducing those not so beneficial habits can make a positive change in your weight and ultimately your health. You will feel and look better for it!

Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit

Do you often give up on your goals too readily? Are you the “all or nothing” type of goal setter? If you can’t have exactly what you desire, is there no sense in trying? Are your goals reasonable, achievable and smart, or are they near impossible to reach? Are you setting yourself up for failure?

Successful people use incremental goals. Small goals help maintain motivation and progress positively towards one’s mission and vision. Don’t set goals that force you to quit.

Achievement needs a plan. Write down your realistic goals. Create to-do lists – daily, weekly and monthly. Review them regularly and assess your progress.

• Be persistent and patient.
• Stay the course.
• Enjoy the process and not just the outcome.
• Be proud of your accomplishments - they help build your self confidence and motivate you even more.
• Understand that setbacks are part of success. Learn from them and build on it.
• Remove “can’t” from your vocabulary. Keep it positive.
• Find the social support that you need to keep you on track. Encouragement matters.
• Take personal responsibility for yourself and succeed in your goals.

There is no time like the present. If not now, when?

“P” is for Protein in the Perfect Snack Bar from SHAPE UP!

Running late and no time for a real meal? Trying to tame hunger pains and relentless cravings? Need a fast and healthy pick-me-up? Be proactive and grab a positively delicious and nutritious snack bar from SHAPE UP.

SHAPE UP Bars, in chocolate and vanilla flavours, are well-balanced, nutritional snack bars with ideal amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat ratios. PLUS, they are made from natural ingredients— real food— that offer real health benefits:

• nutritionally complete proteins with all the
  essential and non-essential amino acids
• dietary fibres
• healthy fats (CLA, almond butter, sunflower seed
  butter, flax oil)
• important co-factors
  including green tea, magnolia, citrus aurantium, chromium and banaba leaf to help
  deliver powerful antioxidants and
  other key nutrients
• low in carbohydrate/sugar content due to agave
  nectar sweetening which has a low glycemic index

If you are looking for a delicious, nutritious treat, try SHAPE UP’s Perfect Snack Bar — an outstanding choice to support good health and weight management.

"O" for Omega 3 Fish Oils - An Opportunity to Optimize Weight Loss

Does taking “fats” optimize weight loss? Absolutely - but only if they are the correct type of fats. Why? Because all fats are not created equal. Consuming the incorrect type of fat is counterproductive to the weight-loss process as it catalyzes a faulty metabolism. However, science now suggests that omega-3 fish oils can actually help us lose weight and reduce body fat.

SHAPE UP Omega-3 fish oils are rich in EPA and DHA — the highest potency you can find in the marketplace. Not only do omega-3 fish oils improve our overall health, benefiting the cardiovascular system, brain, vision, and mood, but they can positively influence weight-loss activity through the regulation of insulin production and fat storage. Excess weight is not just an inert mass of fat cells. Body fat emits inflammatory hormones including insulin and adipokines. This silent inflammation promotes further fat storage and causes chaos to your overall well-being. SHAPE UP Omega-3 can help reduce this inflammation caused by excess weight and obesity, reduce appetite and cravings, AND help decrease the risk factors associated with excess weight.

SHAPE UP Omega-3 fish oils are an easy and healthy adjunct to optimize weight loss, and support the well-being of the whole family. It only makes sense to supplement with these essential fatty acids.

Nibbling, Noshing, Noting the Numbers

Calories count. Make no mistake about it. A large component of successful weight loss is the need to understand that the calories that go into your body must be less than that which you use (through
normal metabolism and physical activity).

So, the 3 candies at the chiropractors you consumed while waiting for your appointment, that handful of peanuts to curb your appetite before dinner, those tasty bites of the pasta dish you were
creating for dinner, the double cream in your coffee this morning, or the small cookie you bought at the mall will all rapidly increase your daily calorie count. We often forget about these small portions of food.

Start noting those nibbles. 3,500 calories is the number of calories it takes to lose (or gain) one pound. It is easy to gain weight as those calories add up faster than our ability to take them off. Read the nutrition facts panels whenever possible on your food containers. According to one brand I checked, 13-15 potato chips is 210 calories. From an activity level, 30 minutes of interval training (walking with sprinting intervals) burns approximately 250 calories. Not surprising that many people who do not engage in regular physical activity tend to gain weight – especially as we age.

Miraculous or Misinformed – A Magic Bullet for Weight Loss?

“Fast. Easy. Instant. Miraculous.” Music to the ears of many who struggle with weight loss and desperately seek products that take the hard work, self-discipline, and critical lifestyle changes out of the equation to losing weight.

Then is it not predictable, that since the early 1990s, misperception has been the name of the weigh- loss game with unscrupulous marketers and advertisers touting near impossible results with their “magic” remedies?

Consequently, the weight-loss supplements segment as a whole has often taken a beating for the bogus claims and benefits of the exploitative component of the industry. However, the overweight public’s desire for effective, natural supplements to support healthy weight loss programs has not waned. On the contrary, as the population’s obesity grows, so does its craving for help.

To the natural supplements industry’s credit, and taking into account that the weight-loss segment is a relatively young category, emerging science is taking a stronger and more leading role in the research and development of new, safe, and effective products to combat the swelling issue of obesity. In the last few years, there have been a number of effective innovations, and diligent research is helping build credibility for a group of impressive ingredients and products. Also, many responsible manufacturers are attempting to increase customer awareness in regards to the benefits of weight loss supplements as an adjunct or aid to the dietary and lifestyle changes required for healthy weight reduction.

Much research reveals that decreasing appetite and food cravings is one of the preferred means of weight loss and management. Fibre, chromium, banaba leaf and coleus forskohlii can effectively address this issue. Another important factor to help reduce weight is by increasing the body’s natural metabolic rate along with diet and regular exercise. Green tea is often used to boost the body’s fat-burning ability.

To help improve body composition and reduce waist circumference, a USDA study found that whey protein can help. The amino acids in whey improves body mass index in individuals specifically involved in intense exercise programs, thus accounting for the popularity of whey protein powders and nutrition bars.

With this and other in-depth research in hand, the SHAPE UP system was developed to offer a healthy, natural adjunct for successful weight loss in combination with diet and exercise.

Not only does SHAPE UP, a new generation of science-based weight loss products tackle obesity in a conscientious, safe and effective manner, the health benefits extend far beyond just weight reduction. Many of the ingredients comprising the SHAPE UP products are cardio-protective, (reduce coronary heart disease, cholesterol and triglycerides). In addition, they support the body’s immunity system against the associated medical conditions of excess weight including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. And, if that’s not all, the SHAPE UP system provides healthy mood balance to make you feel great—without a magic bullet.