Posts Tagged ‘Weight’
Achieving Permanent Weight Loss
Weight loss is the goal of many millions of people at this very moment. With more and more american’s and people all over the world weighing in at higher and higher numbers each year, weight loss is not only a pass time but an obsession with people who feel they need to slim those bodies in order to be more healthy, live longer and look more attractive. But, the quick fix diets and schemes flooding the internet are not the ones that will give you the permanent weight loss results you want. Weight loss that yo-yo’s is harder on the body than staying overweight and in order to stop the yo-yo effect, you need to focus on weight loss that is slow, very slow and not a shock to the body.
For people who have a lot of weight to lose, losing 1 to 2 pounds per week may seem like torture. But, this slow rate of weight loss means you are making changes in the body that are going to last. IN order to lose weight and keep the weight off, follow these simple steps.
1. Take small steps. Cutting calories is the path to weight loss that many people choose. But, cutting calories too low can have a negative effect on metabolism. The key is to cut 500 calories per week from your current diet. That could be one can of soda (sugared) a day, or as simple as cutting out pastas and rice from your evening meal. This simple change will add up to 1 pound of permanent weight loss per week.
2. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The number one reason for a fluctuating scale and for fluid retention is a lack of water. Simply put, if the body feels like it is not going to get any additional water, it will hold on to the water it has. While this is a natural reaction, it is not one we want to carry around with us every day. Just drink more and lose more.
3. Change the way you look at vegetables. Vegetables are not all created equal and potatoes and corn are not vegetables. The best vegetables to choose in a weigh loss plan are the darkest of greens and trees. That is right, spinach, dark lettuces and broccoli are great for weight loss. These are very low in calories and very high in vitamins that are just plain good for the body.
Weight loss is something that needs to be taken with care. The changes in our diet need not be drastic, just small and things that are not noticed as a diet at all. If we never notice that one less soda, or we do not miss that rice at dinner, we are more apt to lose weight without really thinking about it and that is the weight that stays off. Long term weight loss means living a new life, but that does not mean the life has to be one you are not comfortable living.
Fast and Healthy Weight Loss
Fast and Healthy Weight Loss
Is Fast and Healthy Weight Loss Possible?
Unfortunately healthy weight loss is usually put on the back burner when people search for weight loss techniques. This is because often times people will finally crack down and decide that they want to try a diet and it is really easy to become discouraged if results are not seen right away. If you are suffering through a diet, shouldn’t you get the benefits at least somewhat quickly?The truth of the matter is that you probably did not put on 14 pounds in two weeks, so should you really put yourself through the physical strain to try and take that much weight off so fast? Also there is the fact that there is almost no way short of surgery that so much body fat will come off so quickly. It is very likely that part of that extremely fast weight loss is water weight, which is weight that you need and weight that will come back and not stay off permanently.
How Fast is Too Fast?
The answer to the original questions is that yes, it is possible to lose weight quickly under the right conditions. However, there are differing opinions as to how much weight is quick weight loss. The healthy way to achieve quick weight loss is 2 pounds per week. It sounds like a low number but it really is not. Two pounds per week means that in two short months you could weigh a whole sixteen pounds lighter and you would not have to go through any grueling program. Also with a healthy weight loss technique you will lose pounds of fat, and as long as you maintain healthy eating habits the weight will not come right back as it would with some of the more unhealthy diets out there.
Unhealthy diets include those that involve diet pills, severe calorie restriction, and diets that involve avoiding any of the major food groups (including fat!).
Find a healthy weight loss diet today and lose weight quickly – visit Strip That Fat Diet Review.
Maintaining Weight After Weight Loss
I presume because you are reading this article, that you have managed after hard work and commitment to lose some weight, and you want to keep it that way and you don’t want to slip back and gain it back again.
Congratulations! We both know how much willpower, work and commitment it takes to make it to this point, now the most important thing is to maintain that weight by using a combination of right diet and exercise and good mental attitude.
Maintaining weight is very important because experience shows that most dieters regain a third of what they lost within the first year and two-thirds of it in the second year. It’s important to understand what is needed here; it is really a matter of energy balance! But know also that the hardest part is now over, because maintaining weight is actually easier, not harder, than losing it.
At this point it’s important that your lifestyle is balanced and you want to avoid all unnecessary stress that could cause old habits to surface again. Success in gaining, losing, or maintaining weight is dependent upon a combination of factors; I always used to say that losing, gaining or maintaining weight is a result of the “freedom from the obsession and compulsion to eat,” not the other way around, but there is more to it. You also need to establish some important new routines in your life, because the main thing is to keep exercising and burn calories each day. This is your magic formula from now on:”best approach is to ensure that one’s physical activity level is high enough to balance the number of calories consumed”.
You know those weight charts? I bet you do, where your weight ranges are shown in the chart and people of the same height may have equal amounts of body fat but different amounts of muscle and bone… Don’t look at them too much now, go after your own gut feeling and your good friend; the mirror! There are also many weight loss groups and organizations if you feel you need support, remember that this is an intimate personal and difficult struggle, but it’s not one that anyone needs to go through alone. In this modern world weight loss has become an essential objective for several people, but only a few are succeeding in their task. You have gone through that already, but know that for many, weight gain or regain is embarrassing, and seeking help is delayed. If you join a group and your situation is monitored weekly, the purpose of this assessment is to provide an evaluation and recommendations for maintaining a healthy weight based on your individual needs.
We are all different, groups can be helpful but they are not for everyone.
One of my students recently said; “I’ve struggled with weight issues for most of my life, and aside from the occasional slice of molten chocolate cake, I finally have it under control. Now I basically follow a group point system and strive to keep my dry carb intake to a minimum”.
For her it’s ok to do it alone, but she is using a weight chart every week.
Health
I think everybody agrees nowadays that the key to losing weight is to burn more calories than are consumed, either by increasing physical activity or consuming fewer calories – or preferably both. Health professionals judge a low-calorie sweetener to be of benefit for weight control.
What are the dangers at this point when you are in a situation where the main battle is won, but you look for safe and healthy ways to maintain your situation?
Usually they are psychological issues. How balanced we are emotionally and how we can see ourselves in a new positive light. It’s very important to be aware of the potential purposes of anger, how anger impacts health, and learn assertive methods of dealing with anger. Health and fitness experts all know this and the most recent research related to emotional and physical health has found that there are pitfalls and the old feelings might come back from time to time. Feelings of unworthiness fear of rejection, bad self image etc.
These feelings can be triggers – for bad habits again – so it’s very important to stay alert, that is why I always recommend some kind of group or/and family and friend support.
Now that you have come this far, make it even better! You probably see now that anything is possible, you only need a positive attitude and you are ready to recreate yourself.
Visit also my blog where I give every week new tips and strategies for all kinds of weight loss situations.
Good luck and stay fit!
Weight Loss Tips: 25 Weight Loss Tips for Healthy Weight Loss
People who lose weight and keep it off succeed by adapting a healthy lifestyle, not by dieting. You must enforce healthy eating habits that will continue to be part of your life forever. Weight loss isn’t something you can do for a few weeks or month. It’s a life-long commitment.
Here are twenty-five tips that will help you adapt a slow and steady weight loss plan that you keep help you lose weight and stay healthy.
1. Start with achievable goals
2. Don’t expect to drop excess weight quickly. Research shows that people who lose weight slowly are more successful than others who experience quick weight loss.
3. A realistic weight loss goal is two pounds a week.
4. Don’t look for miraculous weight loss. If you lose weight quickly your will probably gain it back.
5. Slowly change your eating habits and lifestyle.
6. Weigh yourself once a week maximum. Hoping on the scales everyday will drive you to distraction and will become obsessive. It actually takes as much as two weeks for any weight loss to occur.
7. Eat smaller portions and replace three meals a day with five smaller ones. This helps to control blood sugar and it’s easier to burn calories from small, light meals.
8. Mix carbohydrates, protein and fruit for a healthy meal.
9. When enjoying your favorite snack, read the nutrition chart and measure the recommended amount into a bowl. Never eat snacks such as chips, out of a bag. This leads to over-eating.
10. Prepare measured snacks ahead of time. That way you can just go to the cupboard and get a small bag. Never go back for seconds.
11. Drink flavored no-calorie water instead of soda, or add lemon juice or avocado juice to water for a refreshing, thirst quenching drink.
12. Don’t use food for comfort or de-stressing.
13. Leave the table immediately after you’ve finished eating. Avoid desserts or have a cup of low fat yogurt.
14. When you are home and craving an extra rich treat, tie on your walking shoes and go for a walk. By the time you get home the craving most probably will have passed.
15. Walk for at least 30 minutes a day. This can be broken into two, five minute increments, if desired.
16. Park your car at the outside edge of the parking lot, where it’s much easier to get a parking space, and then walk to the store. This will help you get in your minimum daily requirement of walking.
17. Wear a pedometer and walk between 5,000 and 10,000 steps per day. This will help you lose weight more quickly while doing so in a healthy manner.
18. Eat a bowl of broth based soup, such as minestrone or vegetable, before eating your meal. This will take the edge off your hunger and you will eat less. Do not eat cream soups, as they are much higher in calories.
19. Reward yourself once a week with a small treat. This helps you to avoid binging and brings weight loss success.
20. Learn to love yourself as you are. Beauty is in the heart and soul. Remind yourself that you are beautiful.
21. Never eat anything after 8 pm.
22. Write down everything you eat. This helps you keep tabs on your food intake. You’ll be surprised at how quickly it adds up.
23. Keep food off the table. Place single servings on plates and put them at the place settings. You’re more apt to take seconds if the food is within easy reach.
24. Eat vegetables first. Vegetables have lots of fiber, which helps make you feel full before you get to the carbohydrates and fat.
25. Put your fork down between mouthfuls of food. Chew thoroughly and swallow before picking up your fork for the next bite. This allows you to savor your food and it helps you to eat slower, which improves digestion.
Weight Loss Tips – 25 Weight Loss Tips For Healthy Weight Loss
People who lose weight and keep it off succeed by adapting a healthy lifestyle, not by dieting. You must enforce healthy eating habits that will continue to be part of your life forever. Weight loss isn’t something you can do for a few weeks or month. It’s a life-long commitment.
Here are twenty-five tips that will help you adapt a slow and steady weight loss plan that you keep help you lose weight and stay healthy.
1. Start with achievable goals
2. Don’t expect to drop excess weight quickly. Research shows that people who lose weight slowly are more successful than others who experience quick weight loss.
3. A realistic weight loss goal is two pounds a week.
4. Don’t look for miraculous weight loss. If you lose weight quickly your will probably gain it back.
5. Slowly change your eating habits and lifestyle.
6. Weigh yourself once a week maximum. Hoping on the scales everyday will drive you to distraction and will become obsessive. It actually takes as much as two weeks for any weight loss to occur.
7. Eat smaller portions and replace three meals a day with five smaller ones. This helps to control blood sugar and it’s easier to burn calories from small, light meals.
8. Mix carbohydrates, protein and fruit for a healthy meal.
9. When enjoying your favorite snack, read the nutrition chart and measure the recommended amount into a bowl. Never eat snacks such as chips, out of a bag. This leads to over-eating.
10. Prepare measured snacks ahead of time. That way you can just go to the cupboard and get a small bag. Never go back for seconds.
11. Drink flavored no-calorie water instead of soda, or add lemon juice or avocado juice to water for a refreshing, thirst quenching drink.
12. Don’t use food for comfort or de-stressing.
13. Leave the table immediately after you’ve finished eating. Avoid desserts or have a cup of low fat yogurt.
14. When you are home and craving an extra rich treat, tie on your walking shoes and go for a walk. By the time you get home the craving most probably will have passed.
15. Walk for at least 30 minutes a day. This can be broken into two, five minute increments, if desired.
16. Park your car at the outside edge of the parking lot, where it’s much easier to get a parking space, and then walk to the store. This will help you get in your minimum daily requirement of walking.
17. Wear a pedometer and walk between 5,000 and 10,000 steps per day. This will help you lose weight more quickly while doing so in a healthy manner.
18. Eat a bowl of broth based soup, such as minestrone or vegetable, before eating your meal. This will take the edge off your hunger and you will eat less. Do not eat cream soups, as they are much higher in calories.
19. Reward yourself once a week with a small treat. This helps you to avoid binging and brings weight loss success.
20. Learn to love yourself as you are. Beauty is in the heart and soul. Remind yourself that you are beautiful.
21. Never eat anything after 8 pm.
22. Write down everything you eat. This helps you keep tabs on your food intake. You’ll be surprised at how quickly it adds up.
23. Keep food off the table. Place single servings on plates and put them at the place settings. You’re more apt to take seconds if the food is within easy reach.
24. Eat vegetables first. Vegetables have lots of fiber, which helps make you feel full before you get to the carbohydrates and fat.
25. Put your fork down between mouthfuls of food. Chew thoroughly and swallow before picking up your fork for the next bite. This allows you to savor your food and it helps you to eat slower, which improves digestion.
How Can Permanent Weight Loss be Achieved?
The greatest problem when it comes to diet and weight loss programs is for many people weight loss is not permanent. It could be a matter of days, weeks or months; the simply fact is that most people during this time put back most or all of their lost weight. This can cause anxiety, anger and frustration at the time and effort put towards following a weight loss program that has not delivered the desired results.
So whose responsibility is this far this lack of permanent weight loss; is it the person doing the diet or the diet plan that is being followed itself?
To answer this question fully; involves firstly looking at the psychology of many dieters, as well as the choice of diets available out there.
Most people think weight loss programs have to be complicated to fit in with age, sex and body type. As I am about to reveal many weight loss programs on the face of it look complicated, however this unnecessary complication is mainly to differentiate it from the competition. It can be very confusing to know which diet plan to follow with so much choice out in the marketplace.
Many weight loss programs out there make themselves different from the competition, by using different daily calorie ratios for the 3 main nutrients found in food. The three main nutrients are proteins, fats and carbohydrates. So for example, what you can have is high, medium, low and zero daily calories of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. There is so many different combinations you can with these 3 main nutrients use to make a weight loss plan. There is little wonder that there is so much competition out there with a vast number of different weight loss plans.
So why do so many diets fail people and why isn’t there one diet out there that has proven to consistently achieve permanent weight loss.
The real answer is to turn the first question around; instead it should read why do so many people fail in their dieting. This leads to answering the second question; there isn’t a diet that guarantees permanent weight loss, because it depends very much on the individual who is carrying out the diet.
So instead of recommending which diet you should follow, you need to understand why people fail diets in the long term, this can lead to stopping the cycle of putting weight back on when lost, thus achieving permanent weight loss.
Generally almost all diets work by using the different combinations of fats, proteins and carbohydrates for your daily calorie intake. In the short term by burning up more calories than you intake you will lose weight.
Recent studies back this up; when the popular commercial diets were compared against other over a 6-12 month period, they mostly showed similar weight loss results. One major study concluded that the person adhering to the diet, rather than the diet itself was the main indicator of whether the weight loss program would work or not.
So what this shows clearly that, the most likely way to succeed in achieving permanent weight loss depends on how well you adhere to a weight loss plan in the long term. So how can this be achieved?
A solution to achieving permanent weight loss lies in looking at making lifestyle changes; developing new positive habits that involve following weight loss programs in the long term. The simply fact changes like this simply do not happen overnight and take weeks, sometimes months to become an integrated part of a persons life.
The sad fact is most people there are looking for a magic wand to end their weight loss problems. Many turn to drugs and surgery for an immediate result. Unfortunately drug use and surgery can have side effects or unknown long term consequences.
So the safer and more effective way to permanent weight loss is to reduce your calories and do your diet program for the long term. By developing these habits over weeks, months and years you ensure that weight loss will become permanent for you.
Online Tools for Monitoring Weight Loss Programs
One of the best ways of staying on track with your weight loss program is to keep a diary of your progress, by recording your weight each day or week and comparing it with your target. You can do this with a hand-written diary, or a spreadsheet or various programs that you buy or download. This will help you see how you are progressing towards your weight loss goal. There are various software programs available that you can use for this and many of the diet and weight loss programs include such tools. Recently a number of online tools have been developed which allow you to keep a weight loss diary simply by accessing a website. This is much more convenient as you can enter data anywhere and at any time and there is no need to download and store the software at home and at work. This is especially convenient when the tool also allows you to record details of your food eaten and exercise you have undertaken. You can enter your lunch details or lunchtime jog, walk or swim exercise, straight away immediately after you have eaten or finished the exercise. But there is much more on offer – Food, Exercise, and Calorie Deficit!
What are the features to look for when choosing an Online Weight Loss Tool?
Weight and Target Weight
The tool should allow you to enter your weight each day or week and compare it with your weight loss target for that day that week. For example, let’s say you want to lose 2 pounds or 1 kilogram per week towards your final goal. The program should allow you to enter your weight (say 100lb) in a diary and compare it with your daily and weekly target (say 99lb), and show both on a graph for your program. There are various tickers and other tools for doing this, but most do not allow you to compare your daily weight with your daily target for that day. This is essential to keep you on track.
Calories Eaten
The tool should allow you to record the number of calories (or kilojoules) eaten each day. There are lots of calorie counters available, but most are too complex and a pain to use. Most people have very similar meals especially for breakfast and lunch, and a small number of dinner meals that are regularly eaten. The best tools are those that allow you to work out the calories for each meal once, and then record the meal details and calories for the meal in a table. Then you can easily work out your calories eaten in a day by having the tool add up the calories for each meal you have eaten that day. You want to be able to add meals and make simple changes, for example halving your portion sizes or eating 2 apples rather than one. The tool should allow you to record meals, portion size and calories and add up your calories for the meals eaten each day.
Calories Burnt through Exercise
The tool should allow you to record the total calories burnt through exercise each day. It should help you work this out once and record it, without the need to go through the tables each time. Most people have a small number of exercises that they undertake for their program. For example, – walk at a fast pace for 5 km, jog slowly for 10 km, swim at moderate pace for 10 laps of the pool, half hour workout at the gym. The energy expended depends on you weight, vigor, and time and distance for the task. There are lots of tools for calculating the calories burnt for each of your tasks. But the best allow you to record your own exercise tasks and their calories burnt values, once in a list. You can then easily work out your total calories burnt each day by adding up the calories for each of the tasks done each day. The tool should do this for you, and allow you to record total calories burnt through exercise.
Basal Metabolic Rate and the Calorie Deficit
Your Basal Metabolic Rate is the energy you consume in maintaining your basic metabolism doing your routine activities – that is during ‘rest’ or your normal daily life.
It is the energy needed for your body to maintain itself and the energy needed for all the routine things you do each day. Your exercise program consumes extra calories on top of this. Your Basal Metabolic Rate depends and your age, weight and how active you are doing the routine things each day. There are lost of ways of working this out and your tool should allow you to record this. The Calorie Deficit is basically the difference between the number of calories eaten in your food, and the number of calories burnt each day. If you are dieting you will aim to eat fewer calories than you consume, so that your body will burnt fat to make up the difference. Your calorie deficit is the calories consumed in your basal metabolic rate, plus that consumed in exercise, minus the calories eaten in food. It’s that simple! If you have a calorie deficit each day, and you stick to it, you will lose weight! The higher the deficit – the faster you will lose weight. Your online tool should calculate this calorie deficit each day so you can see how you are going with your diet and exercise, and how much it affects your weight loss.
Putting it All Together – Plotting your Progress
Ideally you want an online diary to record your weight each day or week and see how it compares with your target. Also, you want to record your calories eaten and burnt through exercise, and estimate your calorie deficit. You also want to see your data plotted on graphs so you can monitor your progress, and see the relationship between weight loss diet and exercise. This is ‘Telling it like it is, Man’! Is your weight at or below your target? How many calories have you eaten? How many calories have you burnt? How large is your Calorie Deficit? You need tables to show this information and graphs to display and compare these values. You need to know if your program is working and how to fix it!
Conclusion
So keep these ideas in mind when you are looking for an Online Weight Loss Tool for monitoring your weight loss program. One new tool that does this is Desizeme.com, but there are others that provide similar functions. Choose the one that best suits your needs. Online tools offer the convenience of allowing you to record information any time, any where, which will help you keep focused and on track to achieve your weight loss goal.
Weight Loss for Teens: Modern Teens Face More Than Hormonal Changes
For teenager, weight loss is a perpetual issue. During the times of raging hormones and attempting to adapt to their changing bodies and social roles, you’ll find teens complaining of their looks especially their weights. First off, you need to consult a doctor or dietitian to determine if your kid is indeed overweight or if he/she needs to loose weight fast. If a teen is really overweight, then moral and emotional support is one of the basic things needed to overcome their weight problems. Always remember that weight management is a long-term process and involves not just the person who will try to loose weight. It involves the people who prepare his/her food, among others. It has been found out that teens that have the support of their families show better results in weight reduction programs that those teens that go about the program on their own. When trying to loose weight, be sure that you do that in the safest way possible. Recent medical studies recommend losing not more than two pounds per week. Weight loss can be accomplished through a combination of programs which include exercise and decreased calorie intake. Make sure to get into a program that helps you loose weight the right way. The medical community warns of loosing more than 2% of one’s body weight in a period of 24-48 hours. The results would be a decrease in aerobic performance and endurance. Meanwhile, losing more than 5% of one’s body weight in three to four days will have detrimental results on one’s power, muscle endurance and strength, aerobic performances and even mental concentration. With such extreme weight loss programs, the body looses the ability to cool itself which can cause more harm than good.Aside from the right exercise, you need to compliment this increased activity with the right diet. Avoid drinks that are high in calories like sodas, juices, and other drinks. If you cannot avoid sodas, switch to the diet or low calorie ones. Make sure that you drink lots of water or other sugar-free drinks. This will help you stay away from those sodas. Sometimes, it is best to take one step at time. More often than not, one tends to go back to their normal ways quickly if changes are introduced drastically. That’s why it is better to move forward gradually rather than leaping two to three steps forward and finding yourself five steps back after a few weeks. One great tip in reducing your food intake is to stop eating when you’re already full. Avoid eating when you’re emotionally unstable. This happens a lot, especially in teens with constant body changes. When people eat because they are bored, lonely, or stressed, they tend to continue eating despite that fact that they are already full. Eat slowly since it will take about 20 minutes before your brain recognize the amount of food in your stomach. Be sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. As much as possible, replace your junk food intake with fruits or vegetables. Not only will you loose weight but it will keep your heart and body healthy. Also, don’t replace food groups or avoid eating them in your attempt to loose weight. As a teenager, you should avoid such forms of diets since your body still needs the nutrients for growth and development. Diet pills are also a no-no. These pills can be very dangerous to one’s health even if taken with a doctor’s prescription. It is better to go about loosing weight the more natural way. It will create discipline and is more sustainable in the long run.