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Hi Folks

Today i Monday and I must admit I am feeling rather vulnerable.  I have a spring cold or man flu as us men like to call it. So lying in bed typing it has been a time for refection and I must admit I am questioning whether my approach to weight loss is correct.

Yes, I am watching what I eat from Monday to Friday but at the weekends I have a drink and eat pretty much what I like. So what I need is a kick up my axxe. So I have been thinking what is the best way to keep motivated other than joining the large money grabbing  weight loss companies like weightwatchers and slimming world. I think the best way for me and you, if you are the same and dont want to leave the company of your own homes is to turn this site into an interactive weight loss club that is free to anyone who signs up for the free $57 worth of weight loss goodies.

What I need from you my friends is suggestions on how to make this place as entertaining, fun and above all else helpful to OUR weight loss goals. I am considering starting a live  weekly web cast weigh in where we can all discuss our weeks weight loss issues with each other. Please please please let me know what you think, even if it is just filling in your details in the boxes above.

Another thought I have had is that I will create a video section where those that feel comfortable with showing their bodies can video themselves at the start of their weight loss journey and throughout. I must admit this is something that frightens me silly however I am going to be the first to record a video log to show how committed I am to this site and you my weight loss friends.

So get your thoughts down by leaving comments to this post and I will see what you all want this site to be and implement it.

Keep Smiling!

Mark

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What I find amazing is when I see many people down at the gym talking and carrying out hundreds of stomach crunches, sit ups or other abdominal exercises.

The fact is that there are far more effective ways to lose abdominal fat than sit ups. Yes sit ups will help you tone the muscle around your stomach but if you are like me and the muscle is under several crunches of fat, the best and most effective way to lose stomach fat is to regularly undertake a full body workout program. This is because in order to lose fat from around the body, you need to live a calorific deficit lifestyle. You need to consume less calories than you burn for a prolonged period of time. My personal favorite piece of equipment for doing this is the cross trainer as 20 minutes of hard work can burn in excess of 400 calories.

But remember, in addition to your exercise program eating a balanced healthy diet is crucial to long term successful weight control. Plan what you keep in the cupboards and plan you meals as you would plan you exercise and overtime you will see your abdominal fat reduce.

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Hi Friends
It has Been a while since my last post and I must say my weight loss journey is gathering momentum, I hope yours is doing the same.I have lost nearly a stone and I hope to increase this a lot more over the coming months.

So what has been happening in your life? Mine has been quiet, I am still off work waiting for the hospital consultant to get back to me over my shoulder. I had a scan on it last week and |it looks like I have torn the cartilage from the bone and it is floating in the joint, preventing the joint from going back into place.

So while I walk round with a dislocated shoulder, how has you motivation been? Are you enjoying the journey? Please let me know as the more people get involved in losing weight and the dreaded belly; the easier it will become to keep our motivation high.

I have just been down to the local brick a brac store and purchased a couple of books. I am in the process of writing a brand new product which is due to go live in about four weeks.

For all you ebay folks out there, the latest in the smash 8 Keys series has now gone live and to celebrate I am giving away a free, yes free, 7 Day eBay Course on how to setup a successful eBay business.

You can read more by visiting 8 Keys To eBay Success

On a lighter note, Ulverston which happens to be the birthplace of one Stan Laurel has recently revealed a bronze statue of Laurel and Hardy which for anyone visiting the town is located outside the Coronation Hall in county sqaure (link to multimap).

It looks fantastic and Sharon and me walked up to see it recently with the twins Daniel and Luke (our very own Laurel and Hardy); here is a picture of the statue with Daniel and Luke.

Which one is Oliver Hardy?

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Now I know this is nothing to do with losing weight however I thought I would post it so those that love singing like me can have a look. If you have not seen it already, she is taking the world by storm. Watch for Simon Cowells face when she starts singing. Is she good or as you may think bad…have a look.

Susan

She has got the voice of an angel and this has brought tears to my eyes every time I have watched it.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Mark

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Well its Saturday again so you all know what that means…… your free delicious recipe. Here it is, enjoy making it any most definitely enjoy eating it. This recipe serves four and is delicious and healthy and vegetarian; it’s a mixed bean pan fry and takes less than 25 minutes to cook, who says fast food is unhealthy! It should go along way to helping you keep losing the belly fat.

The ingredients you need for this recipe are as follows:

· 350g mixed green beans;

· 2 tables spoons of vegetable oil;

· 2 crushed Garlic cloves;

· 1 red onion, halved and sliced;

· 225g firm marinated tofu, diced;

· 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice;

· ½ tea spoon ground Tumeric;

· 1 tables spoon of mixed spice;

· 150 ml of fresh vegetable stock;

· 1 table spoons of Sesame Seeds.

To prepare simple chop the beans and place on a plate until required.

Using a medium frying pan heat the oil and add the onion and Garlic, cooking it over a low heat for two minutes stirring regularly.

Add the Tofu and cook, stirring softly regularly for another two or three minutes until it begins to turn golden brown.

Lower the heat and simmer for between five and seven minutes or until the beans are tender. Sprinkle over the Sesame Seeds and serve straight away.  Enjoy.

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If you are like me and have well, quite a bit of belly fat to lose; you need to put a plan into place to ensure you do indeed start to lose the belly fat and other excess weight. So what does your plan need to include?

The first thing you need to look at is how are you going to increase your exercise?  This may be to plan on taking the dog for a walk twice a day without fail; it may be to get a dog to walk! If you are serious about losing the belly fat, it may be that you want to join a gym. This will involve going to the gym of your choice for an induction whereby an instructor will show you how to use the equipment whilst determining your fitness level and planning your exercises for a six week period.

I find that every six weeks I change my exercise schedule just to stop boredom setting in. If you choose to join a gym, the instructor will show you how to warm up and down and this is extremely important. Warming up and stretching prior to your session and at the end will reduce the amount of Lactic Acid which builds up in your muscles. This is the cause of the day after stiffness that many people who do not warm up and stretch properly will suffer. Also you will want to at first take your exercise slowly and let your body become accustomed to the exercise. This will reduce the likelihood of injury which can set you back weeks or even months. I am still getting over a gym injury which has prevented me from training for 6 weeks. It has been painful and very frustrating to not be able to visit the gym; so go easy and talk to your gym instructor even doctor before increasing your exercise.

If you stick at it at the gym within 1 month, yes that’s all it will take; you will start to feel like you have much more energy. As part of your exercise routine you should include belly exercises which will assist you in losing your belly fat. Do not be alarmed if you do not see quick results, if you belly fat is pronounced as mine it is going to take a lot of patience and will power to lose. Persevere and you will see results and slowly your belly fat will lose the battle. In my next post I will cover what I believe to be as important a factor as exercise in losing weight, nutrition. I look forward to sharing it with you.

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Well just when we thought we had broken the back of winter here in the United Kingdom, Mother Nature springs a surprise and we are back to rainy cold days. My belly exercises are becoming a day to day routine and the weight I piled on last autumn is now starting to slowly disappear.  So how do you keep the pounds from disappearing whilst enjoying food still?

For me, one word answers that question and it is variety.

In order to keep the belly fat and other excess weight at bay you must make your diet as varied as possible in order to ensure that your motivation remains high and you do not become bored with your weight loss plan. So think diet, exercise, health and weight in that order. Keep your diet as varied and low in fat as possible, this is true for your exercise as the more varied your exercise plan the less likely you are to become tired of the same routine. Think health when you are struggling with the first two and weight last of all as if you get your diet and exercise plan correct, slowly you weight WILL fall. So have a comprehensive plan that you work towards on a day to day basis. If you have the odd poor day, don’t panic or worry just restart you plan as if the poor day did not happen. Exercise is good for you so the more you do the more you will feel the benefit inside. For me it is not the day of the exercise where I feel the benefit it is the day after when I usually feel on top of the world. The more exercise you participate in the more you belly will reduce in size and keep it up and you will be well on the way to changing your life forever. Although when I am at the gym a lot of the time it does not feel like it but exercise is good for you so enjoy it and keep it going. My wife and I have had many discussions where I have said that exercise has to be at the top of the priority list after the kids and before housework – needless to say she does not agree.

So in order for you to fully understand the relationship of calorie intake/expenditure to the amount of excess weight you are carrying I would spend a weekend researching on the internet. Find out how your body works but take breaks through the day to go for a few fifteen minute walks. When planning your diet try to make sure it consists of a food plant based diet that takes in as many raw fruit and vegetables as possible. Eating them raw ensures you are consuming all the vitamins and minerals that they contain. Boiling them reduces the amount of these vitamins and minerals as they are taken up by the water. This really is a simple method for beginners that will kick start your lifestyle change. Although living healthily is a little bit pricey but hey last thing we need is to eat poorly because this is our health we are trying to improve and personally I don’t think you can put a price on improving your health.

Kind Regards

Mark Inglis

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Hi Everyone

Things have been rather hectic here as my mum is in hospital so I have been backwards and forwards to visit her. I am pleased to report that she is on the mend and should be out of hospital later this week. What has this done for my attempt to lose belly fat, well it has helped get me out of the house which is the place where I watch TV so it has had a positive impact upon my weight loss. In addition to this I have been taking the hound out on my bike, boy has he got energy to burn!
Now for the next week my aim is to cook meals everyday starting with this beautiful prawn and sea lettuce tempura. Living in the UK it is easy to find sea lettuce all around the coast of the UK on rocks and in the many rock pools that frequent the sands of the estuaries dotted around the coast. I’m sure it is as easily obtainable around much of the world with a similar climate to the UK. It can be eaten raw however it is beautiful put together with prawns and Japanese tempura batter (shh, it is nice though).

Here’s the ingredients:

· 1 bag of freshly collected sea lettuce which has been trimmed and washed with fresh water;
· 3-4 dozen big fresh prawns;
· 1 small bunch of fresh spring onions which have been chopped into 3 cm lengths;
· Olive Oil for deep frying;
· Salt.

The Tempura Batter.
· 250 grams plain flour;
· 1 big or 2 small egg yolks
· 350ml water
· A pinch of salt.

Dipping sauce.
· 2 tables spoons of soy sauce;
· 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar;
· 2 spring onions, cut finely.

Boil and blanch the live/raw prawns in a pan of well salted water for 30 seconds then drain and leave them to cool prior to peeling. Take a piece of sea lettuce and wrap each prawn. Thread the prawn and sea lettuce bundle onto a cocktail stick with the spring onion mixed together on the stick. You should try to get 3 prawns on 1 stick.

To make the Tempura batter briskly mixes all the ingredients adding additional water if needed until the mix resembles think paint. You should not over mix the batter as this can reduce the light texture that is required, if there are some lumps don’t worry.

To make the sauce mix the soy sauce and the rice wine vinegar then add the chopped spring onions. Heat some olive oil in a large pan and dip each cocktail stick in the batter then drop straight into the hot oil, fry for about one minute until crisp. Drain the prawn tempura on kitchen roll dip and enjoy. I know batter is fattening but the key to losing weight is variety and not over indulging, it does not have to be boring!

Kind Regards

Mark Inglis

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Hi Everyone

Well I went to the hospital yesterday and was hoping to return to work today but unfortunately my shoulder has not gone back into its socket and there is still what they believe is fluid preventing the joint going back into place; anyway enough about me.

How is everyone doing? Is your weight loss still progressing as you had hoped? Mine is up and down at the moment. It is not helping having lots of time on my hands and I am hoping to get a lot more active once I am fit again. My weight loss program has been moving along nicely and I have lost another 2lbs this week which is fine as far as I am concerned. I have started eating lots more fresh fruit and vegetables and I have even started to snack on carrots which I love. So what are your favorite foods, click on the forum link to the right and let the community know how you go about fighting the cravings. Anyway I am now going to have a salad for my lunch now and take the hound out after for a long walk. Keep the motivation high and most definitely keep smiling!

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Hi Friends

I have a confession; my weight loss program is not going as planned. I have been struggling to motivate myself to do anything never mind go to the gym. Its official, I have been diagnosed with a depressive disorder, am I going mad?

For a time now I have been treading water fighting off the Alligators whilst plodding along. I have become so accustomed to feeling like I am losing my mind that I let things get the better of me the other day. After an early morning row with my wife during which I said I was leaving I then went to the shed to look for rope, luckily at this point I stopped and asked what the hell was going on. My confession is that I am a manic depressive and for much of my life it has been all or nothing. In relationships, work, and food. The unfortunate consequence of my illness is that I have now been signed off work with a depressive disorder and referred to a psychologist for treatment. So now everyone at work is going to now my problems I thought I would share them with you my loyal subscribers. As anyone with a mental illness can understand, the stigma that is attached to anyone who it becomes known has mental issues can hurt. I firmly believe there are many many of us whether bipolar, schizophrenic , or simply a womanizer who destroys their family for a reason they do not understand that suffer from mental health problems. Since first being diagnosed with this illness back in 1997 and knowing now that I have had it since birth, I have always been open about it and stuck two fingers up to those who mock my affliction. So what does this have to do with weight loss?

Well you see I whole heartily believe that my over eating and depression are closely linked. I eat to feel better, feel guilt for over eating then feel depressed and turn to food for comfort. This cycle is something that a lot of over eaters can relate to, whether the depression is a consequence of the obesity well, I know it does not help! So how do you break out of this cycle of over eating and consequential feelings of depression. Well the buck rests firmly at our doors my friends. We are the only ones who can change our lives and get out of the often perceived cycle of over eating, inactivity, weight gain and depression. How am I going to do this? Well I am going to get back to the gym, start swimming again and make sure I take the dog out every day. How are you going to break out of yours?

Kindness

Mark Inglis

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