Weight Loss for Women Tips
Read these 7 Weight Loss for Women Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Weight Loss tips and hundreds of other topics.
Strength Training Is Good For Women
Strength training provides women with many benefits. Increases in bone mass, muscular strength, metabolic rate and weight loss are common results of a well-designed training program. Many women avoid this form of activity because they believe it causes them to "bulk up." However, a vast majority of women can't build large muscles because they don't have the genetic inclination to do so. There is a small percentage of women, however, that can gain noticeable amounts of muscle size. Don't let this keep you from giving strength training a try. The benefits greatly outweigh the risks. Your strength training routine doesn't have to be complex or time consuming. It can easily fit into your lifestyle. Free weights, strength training machines, rubber tubing or your own bodyweight can be used to enhance muscular strength and endurance with as little as 30 minutes of training per day. You can achieve these benefits by using relatively light weights and performing 12 to 20 repetitions of five to 10 strength exercises.
Emotional Eating Affects Your Healthy Weight Loss Diet Plan
Most women would probably agree that emotional eating is their biggest challenge in dealing with weight. When emotions fire up, even a healthy weight loss diet is put to the test. Being able to distinguish the difference between emotional eating and physical hunger is very important. Here are several emotional eating triggers that can cause you to overeat and subsequently gain weight. Be aware of these triggers and be ready to make positive behavior choices when you find yourself in these situations.
- Anger—whether you are angry at a situation, yourself or someone else you use food to suppress your anger. It's better to deal with your anger instead of using food to make you feel better.
- Boredom—typically you are alone, you have nothing to do, nowhere to go so you eat to occupy your time. Instead, try to be productive by doing house work, starting a new project or anything else to prevent emotional eating.
- Despair—you may feel like nothing is going right, nothing matters, no one cares, so why care about your weight? Regain a positive attitude and get back on your healthy weight loss diet plan instead of packing on the pounds.
- Loneliness—you may have accomplished something very special but have no one to share it with. You are tempted to treat yourself by overeating to mask the pain of loneliness. Instead of treating yourself with food, reward yourself with things that do not affect your health (shopping, seeing a movie, etc.).
Putting Your Health First
As women you know a great deal about nurturing. You probably spend a large percentage of your day caring for others. Maybe it's your children, a husband or an ailing loved one that needs care and attention. If you are working outside the home, this adds an extra burden. In our culture, you're expected to be selfless.Your own needs usually take a backseat. Unfortunately, this may be partially to blame for weight gain among many women. It's time to put an end to this way of thinking by putting yourself first. Your health has suffered long enough. Who is going to take care of you? Be assertive and ask others to step up and do their part. Schedule exercise into your day and stick to it. Other life issues can wait until your workout is completed. There is also no reason you should have to prepare separate meals for each of your children. Cook healthy meals for the whole family and if your children don't like their meal, they can do without or make their own.
Dealing With Cravings on Your Weight Loss Program
Cravings are intense feelings that drive you to eat your favorite foods at times when you are not hungry. You can be making great progress on your weight loss diet program but at some point in your journey a craving will strike. These cravings are highly individualized, meaning that some women might crave chocolate while others can't do without ice cream. Keep in mind that cravings are based on emotions. Women who go on and off diets frequently seem to be more affected by cravings. To identify cravings in your weight loss program, pay close attention to the triggers that make you want to eat. Be sure to ask yourself if you are truly hungry or acting on a craving. Here are several ways you can deal with cravings.
- Distraction—Try to distract yourself and see if the craving passes. Often times it will.
- Food Substitution—Instead of the high calorie, high fat ice cream, try low-fat chocolate pudding or yogurt.
- Use portion control—To satisfy cravings, instead of eating an entire bowl of ice cream try to eat a smaller serving or only have a couple of bits. Eat those bits slowly savor each one.
- Give in to cravings—Every now and then go ahead and indulge in your favorite foods. Sometimes this can save you calories. If you eat around your cravings only to give in later you'll end up consuming a lot more calories.
Feeling Good About Your Body
Do you like the way your body looks? It is very common for women who are overweight to also have a poor body image. The emphasis placed on looks in our society is undeniable. In particular, there is pressure placed on women to look thin and often women are judged more for how they look than by who they are inside.
A big problem occurs when you start to let your appearance affect how you feel about yourself (self esteem). When your self esteem falls, this keeps you from enjoying other aspects of your life. For instance, you don't go out as much because you're too embarrassed by your appearance. It can become a serious issue. Another problem occurs when you set a goal of looking like a model or actress seen in magazines and on television. Competing with this is impossible.
So how can you improve your body image? Determine the effect that weight and appearance have on your self esteem. Forget about your weight and appearance for a moment. Think about all of your positive qualities. Are you a good mother, do have unique talents are you engaged in charitable work? It is these characteristics that should become the primary factors contributing to your self esteem, not weight or appearance.
Don't go through life saying, “When I lose weight I will…” Weight should not prevent you from living and enjoying your life. Feel good about who you are as a person and just go for it. Don't let life pass you by. Losing weight and improving your appearance doesn't mean you will necessarily be happier.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Jerry Mayo |
