It isn't just about looking good or eating disorders since body image relates to our identity. It shows how we think about and accept ourselves, which directly or indirectly affects how we access the awareness and emotional energy we need for creating good body image & weight loss..

We've all heard the old saying 'you are what you eat', so let's take a good long look at what we're putting in our bodies.

Most of us WANT to eat healthier, but sometimes it seems that forces are working against us! Fast food is just so tempting. Sally at the office brought donuts to share again. Our schedule is so busy we don't have time to cook healthy food. Finally, it's true that junk food is often less expensive than healthy food. How fair is that?

Many scientific tests conducted on humans and animals have found that the brain benefits from physical exercise as we maintain our good body image & weight loss goals..

So in these nutrition articles we're going to try to address the BIG PICTURE. We'll look at what to eat, when to eat, how to cook healthy food, and how to do it all on a budget.

Today's topic is FAT. Yes, that's right…..FAT. Not all fat is bad! As a matter of fact, some fats are downright good for you! The key is understanding the difference between the two.

Tip! The idea that you are living in an aging body should be purged from your life. See yourself with a body image as you lose weight.

GOOD FAT
Over the years, Americans have been fed different stories about choosing the right foods for optimum health. When researchers warned that too much fat in your diet leads to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other health problems, Americans jumped on the low fat, no fat bandwagon with little success.

New studies reveal that we must have some fat in our diet for good health and reduction of disease. The omega-3 fatty acids are said to be "essential" because they can not be produced by the body and must be obtained through our food sources.

Body image issues can be particularly visible in entertainment, which provides most of our icons and role models for body image & weight loss.

Omega-3 essential fatty acids can come from either plant or marine sources. They can be found in fish and fish oil, unrefined vegetable oils, raw nuts, seeds and beans. Linolenic acid, the marine source, can be found in certain fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon. These fish and fish oil supplements contain bioavailable docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acid, the two kinds of omega-3 essential fatty acids crucial to good health.

The plant based omega-3 essential fatty acid is alpha linolenic acid (alpha meaning plant) and can be found in omega-3 rich oils such as flaxseed, canola, soybean and walnut oils. These plant sourced omega-3 EFAs don't metabolize in the body like fish oil . They need to be broken down by the body's enzymatic system into DHA and EPA before the body can reap its powerful benefits. Flaxseed oil, the plant source highest in omega-3s, is a great alternative for vegetarians and those who can't tolerate fish or fish oil capsules.

Tip! Poor body image can lead to crash dieting and excessive exercise, which can, in turn, lead to poor nutrition, injuries, and depression.

BAD FAT
The worst kinds of fat are trans fats and saturated fats.

"Trans-fatty acids are bad for hearts and arteries. They drive up production of cholesterol like saturated-fatty acids [i.e. like butter, animal fat, etc.], and promote atherosclerosis… I am certain that TFA's will eventually be found to be detrimental to health in many other ways as a result of their effect on membrane and hormone function. I believe they promote the development of cancer and degenerative disease, increase inflammation, accelerate aging, and obstruct immunity and healing. Therefore, I make a scrupulous attempt to keep them out of my diet, and I urge you to do the same. In practice that means avoiding margarine, vegetable shortening, and all products made with them or with partially hydrogenated oils of any kind." [Dr. Andrew Weil from his book: Eating Well for Optimum Health" pp. 90-93:]

How do you spot transfatty acids? Look for "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" in the list of ingredients. They're all over the place.

+ THE COST
It is possible to eat more healthy fats without breaking the bank. Yes, fish is fairly expensive when compared to other meats, but a healthier diet doesn't have to break the bank.

Some $$ saving ideas on this topic:

1) Buy fish on sale!

2) Many grocers sell flash-frozen fillets which taste almost as good as fresh, but cost a whole lot less!

3) Ask the butcher when fish is "cheapest". Prices can vary widely throughout the year. Stock up when the price is right!

4) Shop the ads! Buy fish only when it's on sale, even if you have to visit a store other than your favorite!

5) Buy the 'whole fish', which is always less expensive than buying fillets or fish steaks!

6) Be very careful to shop price when looking for flax seed. Bulk flax seed at the local supermarket typically sells for 89 cents per pound. The EXACT SAME flax seed at a national health food store sells for $9.99 per pound. Sure, the health food store sells it in a pretty gold bag – but $9.99 per pound?!? Who are they kidding?

7) If you can't stand the taste of fish, consider fish oil or flax seed oil supplements. Affordable and easy to swallow, these are a great alternative!

Walnuts are an excellent source of good fats. Buy in bulk to save $$. Even better, stock up during the holidays when they're on sale!

9) Don't be afraid to use coupons. With the holiday baking season coming up, we'll start seeing coupons in the newspaper for 'branded' walnuts (Diamond walnuts and other brands).

10) Finally, look for a 'sell by' sale. Fish (and other perishable items) are required by law to state a 'sell by' date. This is the day by which the retailer MUST sell that product. Often times, a grocer will dramatically reduce the price of fish (or other items) on the 'sell by date'…..they either sell it below cost or lose ALL their money the next day (it is a health code violation to sell perishable items past their sell by date).

We've barely scratched the surface of this topic: good fat vs. bad fat. It would be a good idea for each of us to do some more research on fats and how they can impact our health.

* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

Diet and exercise are the two main essentials in making and keeping the figure beautiful. No woman can reduce weight, improve a clumsy and ungainly figure, through exercise alone. Diet comes first. Comparatively few women need fattening. What most need is reduction.

FIRST AID FOR THE THIN

Yet for those whose figure needs building up and filling out, the following facts should be borned in mind. First, relax mentally. Worry and nervous tension use up calories – the calorie is the unit by which we measure heat and food – very rapidly, and tend to reduce weight below normal. Secondly, sleep enough and breathe fresh air in plenty. Third, exercise, to stimulate the appetite and aid all the organs of the body to do their work. Fourth, eat more of the foods that are high in food value. Butter, sugar, cream and cream sauce on vegetables, cod-liver oil and olive oil, are all fattening.

FIRST AID FOR THE FAT

Do not cultivate fallacies, if you are fat and wish to reduce your figure in accord with the normal and ideal body measurements, . Shun antifat patent medicines and quack "cures." Often they are based on mercury, arsenic or thyroid extract. Shun Epsom salts baths and too many Turkish baths. They do harm and no good. The reduction of calories is the real secret of
successful fat reduction, and a key to that unit of measurement will enable you to bring your figure within the proper limits, to keep your figure beautiful. The whole point is to know how many calories of food you need per day. Now, normally, a woman who does not "work" in any actual sense of the word, can do with 1,600 to 1,800 calories per day. If she follows some sedentary occupation, 2,000 to 2,200 calories will suffice her. If her business requires walking, standing or any lighter manual labor, she can run her calorie allowance up to 2,500. If she performs hard physical labor, she is entitled to 2,500 to 3,000 calories. All this is normally speaking.
But if you are too fat, if you wish to bring back your figure to its rightful lines, you must know what your ideal net weight should be in order to cut off the number of calories of food you do not need.

Among the kinds of food, note that Proteins, which build tissue and yield energy, may store fat. Proteins are contained in meat, fish, fowl, nuts, milk, cheese, vegetables. Fats (animal fats, oils, chocolate, nuts) are stored by the body as fat. So are Carbohydrates (sugars, starches, including bread, cereals, potatoes, corn, etc.). Vitamins, food substances needed for growth, occur in animal fats, but not in vegetable ones, as also in eggs, milk, butter and meat, vegetable outer skins, grain germs and fruits.

BALANCE IN DIET

These kinds of food must be balanced. If you balance them properly, you can reduce your figure to normal without injuring health or keeping to a monotonous food diet. Proteins you must eat, but neither to excess nor the reverse. And you must eat Vitamins, which abound in nonfattening vegetables and fruits. Do not be afraid of drinking plenty of water. But do not exceed your calorie allowance. Without further theory we advise the woman who wishes to eat and grow thin to avoid the following liquids and foods.

THE "KEEP OFF" SIGN FOR THE STOUT

Shun water during meals – it makes you eat more. Drink all you want between meals. Rich sodas must be avoided. But coffee in moderation and skim milk are not harmful. But every woman should know that all alcoholic drinks make her fatter if she is fat and thinner if she is thin, thus serving no good purpose. Each bit of food you eat beyond what your system and your normal weight, figure and calorie requirements demand, is fattening. Candy, pie, cakes, ice cream, whipped cream, candied sweet potatoes, cheese, rice, butter, fresh and white bread, rich meats, thick gravies and nuts are fattening.

"Keep off" fried foods, bacon, ham, pork, and all things made of flour, macaroni, dried beans, puddings, pastries and custards. But there are excellent beefsteak or lean meat, fruit and milk diets, the fruit diet especially being excellent for reduction. An occasional fast day, or certain days of low caloric eating a week are also good. A rapid method to reduce the overplus of calories is a diet of baked potatoes and a glass of skim milk, three times daily, for a week at a time. Or, instead of fasting altogether for a day, drink a glass of buttermilk every three hours. Again, small helpings of favorite fattening foods, or the dropping of one thing for another, will help attain the end ? which is the reduction of your calorie overplus. This is the whole secret of reducing fat and bringing the figure to its normal physical best, its legitimate beauty of outline, where diet is concerned.

WHAT THE OBESE CAN EAT

A number of excellent books which deal in great detail with the different ways of controlling the
calories, of reducing weight and fat, are easily available. We have gone into some details ourselves, although diet and fat reduction is here only considered in its relation to physical beauty. In the books already mentioned, numerous "sample menus," etc., will be found.

Foods you can eat, and still feel you are not betraying your figure, include: (1) Any meat or game, save pig. (2) All seafood, including lobster. (3) Fruit, with the exception of grapes and bananas. (4) Salads and meat jellies. (5) Tomatoes, peppers, olives, celery, cucumber, chili sauce and Worcestershire. (6) All fruit desserts.

Beauty and health go hand in hand. Your skin, your hair, your figure, if not healthy, rob your loveliest features of their charm. Make health the cornerstone of an intelligent study and cultivation of every iota of beauty which you have. Physical beauty, in the best sense, means well-rounded physical development on a health basis. Make the most of your figure and every charm you, individually, may possess. Such is the gospel of this article. If its teachings be followed, power – beauty's choicest secret – will be your reward.

Michael Fortomas is a teacher of Biology and a freelance journalist – writing about health, the environment and development – issues he cares deeply about. His Free Guide "151 Beauty Tips" is a look at specific tips, old and new, to help women meet the current perception of our societal definition of beauty. Visit http://1source-body-health.com/beautysecrets.html

Mission Impossible!

The desire to possess a perfect body and being appreciated and envied for it is the fundamental weakness in a woman. Businessmen, who understand the tricks of the trade, are emptying the vanity bags and wallets of the wives and the husbands by offering them diet pills like Phentermine, weight loss programs etc., banking upon the unleashed desire to be slim & sexy. You jump in with a vibrating enthusiasm, tightening your belt for the bucks you paid, and promise yourself to get the most out of it. But as a month pass by the intensity level drips down, so as your motivation to follow the diet chart. You start skipping your morning exercise and let yourself loose in your selection for low fat food. This way your weight loss regime starts to falter following your lack of motivation. It is really difficult to keep yourself motivated throughout the program.

How to keep yourself motivated?

Motivation is an undeniable factor of your weight loss program. How perfect your weight loss program can be, if your motivation falls down, now way you can improve your figure to a better one. The driving force to get up early and exercise, follow low fat diet chart, preparing choosing the right diet food and overall success of your slim-down mission is only your every motivation to accomplish the day's routine activities.

Here are a few useful tips to keep the motivation & enthusiasm level up for getting desired body that you would love!

• Find out the positive aspects about your overall personality. Write all of them in a diary and read them out to your ears. Trust your own words and you will feel good about yourself. You know what? Self judgment is the most correct judgment.
• Set goals for yourself in the program. This goal will not be the same one given by your weight loss program instructor. You will set separate goals for yourself that will work as a contract with your own self.
Weight Loss It isn't just about looking good or eating disorders since body image relates to our identity. It shows how we think about and accept ourselves, which directly or indirectly affects how we access the awareness and emotional energy we need for creating.
• Make sure that you set easy and short term goals that you are sure of achieving. (I will lose 1 pound this week.)
• Add some interesting activities with your daily routine exercise. Work out with your hubby or boyfriend, end up taking shower together…common! You can spice up your love life this way!
• Gift yourself something you love or like, with each goal achieved.
• Visualize yourself with your desired shape of body; imagine what you would like to do with it. Plan things for the future with your beautiful body. This will definitely give you a great deal of motivation.
Poor body image can lead to crash dieting and excessive exercise, which can, in turn, lead to poor nutrition, injuries, and depression.
• Take out a photo of the most heavier version of yourself, keep it attached to your dressing table. Compare your daily improvement with that photo and you will know that how fast you are progressing.
• Once you attained your ideal shape, now you have to maintain that shape. So add some new goals. Now that you have ideal shape, set a goal for the perfect shape that you have never imagined you could attain.
Tip! Body image issues can be particularly visible in entertainment, which provides most of our icons and role models.
• Promise yourself, what you have attained after putting so many efforts; you will not let it go at any cost. Follow a daily routine to maintain what you have attained and thrive ahead for perfection. Or else you will be back to square 1.

It's a new life?

You just need to keep the momentum of the desire of looking great! This will bring a change in all spheres of your life and in yourself bringing new meaning to your life. You will explore untested interests that you never thought you could. The mantra is Motivation. You take it or you leave it!

The author Monalisa Hyden addresses issues related to health and psychology. If you want to help yourself, your friend who wants to lose weight, please log on to http://www.phentermine-effects.com

When we think about the life in the country, there is always something rosy about it. What is it that the people in the country have that we do not? When you ponder about it you find that those lucky souls eat good food, they work really hard, by work I mean real physical work and they have good night's sleep. Of course they do not have all the amenities and facilities that the city life has to offer.

But the city life comes with a lot of strings attached. People in the cities are generally less healthy than the people in the country. One of the reasons is pollution of course but the other reason is because people in the city do not get enough exercise.

Now, when I talk about healthy bodies please make no mistake about what I am referring to. I am not talking about the Mr. Universe kind of body, the bodies that we see on WWF.

I am talking about people who are fit. And fitness and exercise are just two sides of the same coin. They both go hand in hand.

In order to stay fit you need exercise and in order to exercise you need to be fit. But just because you are not fit now, it does not mean that you shouldn't exercise.

And just like that, just because you do not have any visible excess fat on your body right now, it does not mean that you need no exercise. Exercise is the best way to keep obesity, cardio vascular disorders, hypertension and all those lifestyle-related disorders under control.

First of all let us get one point straight, exercise does not necessarily mean pumping metal. If you do have the time to go to a gymnasium everyday, then that is well and good.

But I suppose most of us do not have the time for a regular work out in a gym. So the other alternative is to do it at home of course.

But whether it is at home or at a multi-gym, there is something that I want to tell you. Whatever you are doing, you must try and do it regularly.

Consistency is very important for an exercise routine to have the desired effect on our body. Getting started is the easy part, it is sticking to a regular exercise routine that is difficult and this is what makes most people give up in between.

Most people get on to a beautiful start. They buy track suits and gym-wear, running shoes and a whole lot of other gear. Their first day at the gym is almost a celebration.

Then as the days go on, they find it increasingly difficult to meet the domestic and professional demands and so their routine slows down and finally comes to a complete workout burn out. In other words, the stop working out completely

It is a universal fact that the most chosen time for work outs is the evenings. If you can stick to work out in the evenings then it is well and good. But most of us find ourselves exhausted in the evenings. We find ourselves physically and mentally drained. And at that time our bodies will be just too tired for a work out.

The result is that after the first few days of working out, the interest just dwindles away. The other reason is that in the evenings a thousand and one things may crop up and then there is hardly time for a warm up. So it is best to set aside some time for exercise in the morning itself.

There are two advantages of setting apart time in the morning. The first advantage is that in the morning our bodies are fresh and full of energy. Now over here I want to make one point clear.

There is a popular misconception that exercise depletes the body of energy but the case is just the opposite. Exercise pumps up more blood through the different parts of the body and warms up the body, so in fact, after exercise we feel more charged and ready to face the challenges of the day.

The second advantage is that in the morning we can plan for the whole day without letting the exercise routine affect the rest of our activities.

What about those of us who have never worked out before? In such cases you might need to start off under the personal supervision of an instructor and that may require that you go to a gym. But what I would suggest is that there are two simple things that any one can do for which you do not need the help of any instructor.

You know what these are? They are walking and swimming. Any body can walk and those of you who know how to swim can swim. For these two activities you do not need much gear and experts say that these two exercises have no side effects and are excellent stress busters.

So in the morning wake up just half an hour earlier, put on your walking shoes and hit the roads. Most roads will be less crowded at this hour and less polluted too. It is a wonderful way to start a day. Below I have included some points on how to start and maintain a good exercise routine.

Mia LaCron is the founder of lose-10-pounds-quickly.info – http://www.lose-10-pounds-quickly.info – devoted to helping individuals with their weight loss goals.

Whenever I watch an athlete perform, I'm reminded of the incredible potential of the human body. Olympic medalist, Jackie Joyner-Kersee is said to be the best all-around female athlete in the world. Running the hurdles, she was a symbol of strength and grace, commanding her well-defined muscles to propel her body with the explosive power of a Ferrari on a race track. Of course, not every woman's body is destined to be a Ferrari, but the least we could do is aim for a well-oiled, dependable and long lasting Honda.

Before work-out videos became popular, I can remember exercising on the living room rug with my mother when I was just a child. Perhaps that kick-started my life-long passion and desire for regular exercise. I used to run up and down steps to keep fit in my teens (well before stair machines); I started weight lifting in high school, taught aerobics in college, and I'm sure I was one of the first women to buy in-line skates in the early 80s.

It's important to pick an exercise you love to do. I recently purchased a thirteen foot trampoline for exercise and play. (I've always wanted one my entire life, and since I was over forty, I figured I was finally old enough to have one!) As soon as start jumping, I start laughing and immediately forget that I'm actually doing a workout. And then there is dancing. I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't dancing?from a child taking tap and jazz classes to a pre-teen dancing to seventies rock and roll music to a disco Queen in the eighties.. I revisited jazz classes as an adult for a while, but eventually settled on tribal dancing as my "thing". Although I still do a regular routine of aerobic activity and weight training, it's music and the primal beat of the drum that feeds my soul, making my body move in the most unusual and yet instinctively natural ways, and transporting me to a time of ritualistic ceremony and spiritual connection to Mother Earth. I even bought my own drum and often use it in meditation to quiet my mind, connecting the beat of my heart with the heart of the earth.

Exercise of all kinds should be an integral part of your everyday life, like brushing your teeth in the morning. Sure, there are times when you won't be motivated to work-out or you're sick or overscheduled, and you'll fall off the wagon for a few days, but hopefully, you'll start missing that euphoric feeling enough to want to start it up again. If you think of exercise as just a little extra movement you incorporate into your everyday life, it becomes easy to fit in?a power walk with your dog, a yoga class or a game of tag with the kids. Just like the car that runs better and lasts longer with proper maintenance, a Goddess must take care of her body. So, find your own dance and start dancing!

5 Ways to Get Physical:

• If you're not disciplined to exercise on your own, do it with a girlfriend.

• Choose the kind of exercise you enjoy and make a habit of it.

• Don't sit more than twenty minutes without getting up and moving.

• Try out a new active sport or class (yoga, tennis, or even tap dancing).

• Pay attention to your daily activities and do more of those that move your body.

Excerpted from the book: The Goddess of Happiness, A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss

Debbie Gisonni, aka The Goddess of Happiness?, is an author (The Goddess of Happiness: A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss and Vita's Will: Real Life Lessons about Life Death & Moving On), speaker, happiness expert and columnist for iVillage.com. Contact: http://www.goddessofhappiness.com

Copyright, All Rights Reserved, Debbie Gisonni