When it comes to Weight Loss, we've been there, done that, now serving 109 tips in 17 categories ranging from Author Intro to Weight Loss Tips for Traveling.
One of the largest culprits in causing weight gain is sugar. Modern day diets are filled with sugar all the way from breakfast cereals and donuts to the coffee beverages you drink to beat the mid-day slump to the desserts after dinner. Even fruits and vegetables contain sugar, and though the sugar is occurs naturally and is not refined, it's still sugar. Your body is only able to process a certain amount of sugar at a time, and any excess sugar that is consumed will be turned into fat. When you stop adding fuel to the fire (your fat), your body will start burning the stored fat for its energy needs.
A quick way to jump start your weight loss is to cut out all added sugar in your diet and cut back on fruit, as well. Try eating no more than 15 grams of sugar a day for best results. Many people will notice that they lose a 2-3 pounds, or more, in the first week. Do note that this isn't easy! A banana has nearly 20 grams of sugar and a candy bar has upwards of 40 or more. Keep hydrated and snack on raw, low-calorie veggies like cucumbers and bell peppers to keep from giving into your cravings.
When searching for an online weight loss diet program, try to find one that has a journaling component. The use of an online weight loss journal is helpful for several reasons. Keeping an online diary allows you to create a written scrapbook of your path to weight loss. To spice up your journal you may want to include digital pictures showing improvements over time. These pictures can provide additional weight loss motivation for yourself and to others. Another key benefit of keeping a diary is stress reduction. Expressing your feelings honestly, overcoming obstacles, and dealing with setbacks in a journal can help you release the stress you may normally bottle up inside. An online journal can also be used to record goals. Writing down your goals in a journal makes your online weight loss diet aspirations seem more concrete and can increase your level of commitment. Some individuals like to use daily entries while others prefer writing on a less frequent basis. The more open you are the better you will understand issues that keep you from achieving your weight loss goals.
As you are probably aware, motivation is one of the most difficult issues to contend with during weight loss. Most people are highly motivated in the beginning but have trouble maintaining motivation over the long term. The best way to stay motivated is to recognize all that you have accomplished so far. Think about the positive lifestyle changes you've made and give yourself credit for them. Try not to lose the momentum you have gained since you began your lifestyle makeover. It is also helpful to look at other benefits you've received besides weight loss. Do you feel better about yourself, have more energy, or maybe a decrease in blood pressure?
Another way of keep yourself motivated is to create visible signs of your progress. For instance, if you enjoy numbers you could post a weight graph or body measurements in areas around the house. Usually the bathroom mirror or the refrigerator door is the most popular locations for posting data. You can also record activity milestones by logging your exercise mileage towards a particular vacation spot. You might even consider taking an actual vacation to this location when you reach this exercise goal. By providing a visible record of your accomplishment not only helps you stay motivated but allows others to congratulate you for the progress you've made.
The final way to maintain motivation is to change up your eating and exercise routine.
Do you exercise on a regular basis? If not, you are not alone. Approximately 60 percent of the population does not get enough physical activity. Interestingly enough this is about the same number of people that are overweight or obese. In our fast paced society, technology has made us more inactive. Exercise is an important player in any effective weight loss program. Exercise should become part of your daily routine something to look forward to and miss when you don't get it . A daily exercise regimen has many benefits. Most overweight individuals understand that exercise burns calories, which along with diet creates the caloric deficiency necessary for weight loss. Other important benefits of exercise include:
There are many strategies you can employ to take control of your eating behaviors. Below you'll find a list of tips that may be beneficial to you. If one strategy doesn't work that is fine just move on the next one. The more techniques you have at your disposal the greater your chances of success.
One important weight loss diet plan tip for men is to limit alcohol consumption. Men drink alcohol for a variety of reasons with work-related stress being at the top of the list. Alcohol is not all bad. In fact, research suggests that drinking in moderation may actually decrease the risk of coronary heart disease. For men, drinking in moderation is defined as one or two drinks per day. The problem for weight conscious males is that alcoholic beverages have calories but provide little nutrition. A can of light beer has about 100 calories while a regular beer contains 150 calories; this is similar to the calories found in a can of regular soda. Wines tend to be lower in calories but mixed drinks can have a surprisingly high calorie count based on its ingredients. Alcohol affects weight because when men drink there is a tendency to have a few beers not just one or two. This combined with the fact that alcohol influences our food choices and is usually consumed at times when we are very inactive. Some men could probably lose significant amounts of weight by eliminating or drastically cutting back on alcohol. Limiting alcohol intake should be part of any man's healthy weight loss diet plan.
One way to avoid food triggers is by controlling your environment. This means making an effort to minimize your contact with food at home, work, and in the car. The more time you are exposed to food the greater your chances are of binging or snacking when you may not be hungry in the first place. Limiting the number of high risk situations will make it easier for you to lose weight. Here are several ideas to help decrease your exposure to food.
Home
One common, but very unsafe practice, used for weight loss is extreme dieting. Extreme diets, such as a seven day crash diet, promotes rapid weight loss which is not only unhealthy but in some instances dangerous. The use of fasting or extremely low calorie diets still doesn't work for long term weight loss. For permanent weight loss you must change your lifestyle. Extreme diets promise you almost magical results within just a few days. As the old saying goes, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Extreme diets have been around for centuries but their results are still the same. You primarily lose muscle tissue and water weight instead of fat. Crash dieters lose pounds because their diet program is essentially self-imposed starvation. It is simple math: if more calories are burned than eaten weight loss occurs. Extreme dieting results in low energy levels due to inadequate calories. This influences your ability to perform normal daily activities, you just don't have the energy you need. There is no energy for exercise and your job performance may suffer as well.
Crash dieting depletes vitamins and minerals that are important for normal body functions. As these important nutrients become depleted, imbalances may occur increasing your risk of serious medical complications. So, avoid these risks and the yo-yo effect of crash dieting by losing weight safely. Eat a healthy diet and getting plenty of regular exercise and you will be on your way to successful weight loss.
You probably start losing weight with some predetermined goal weight in mind. Whether you intend to lose 20, 40, or even 50 pounds you must determine if your goal is even realistic. Goals are important because they give us direction and a way to measure progress. Most people, however, set their goals way too high so when they do make progress it seems almost insignificant. Realize that your goals must be attainable. Don't set yourself up for failure by establishing unrealistic goals.
As part of the goal setting process you should develop long and short term objectives. Long term objectives can be achieved by reaching your short term goals. For example, let's say you have been very inactive and set a goal of exercising five times per week. Going from being totally inactive to five days of exercise is unrealistic. To successfully accomplish your objective, first set an initial, more realistic, short term goal of walking two days per week. Once you feel comfortable with this level of exercise progress to three or four days per week. It may take several weeks or months to get to your target exercise level so be patient. Using this goal setting technique increases your odds of achieving success.
Record keeping is an essential ingredient for weight loss success. You can learn a lot of things from your records. The more detailed your records are the better. Keep track of what you eat, how much activity you get each day, and weekly weight. It may seem tedious and time consuming but record keeping does facilitate weight loss. Most successful weight losers cite self-monitoring as one major reason for their success. Self-monitoring will help you in several ways.
Increased awareness of current habits
Guru Spotlight |
Jerry Mayo |