Weight Loss Per Week

Archive for December, 2009

Have you hit a plateau in your weight loss which is when your scale seems to be stuck at the same weight for days or sometimes weeks? If you are there right now, don’t panic! It’s only a temporary condition and you will be losing again if you just keep your cool, your courage and your will to reach your healthy weight! Now is not the time to give up!
Congratulations on your weight loss so far! What you’re experiencing is common, as many successful dieters find their weight remains static for several days or some stay put for a week or two. Why this happens isn’t clear but it seems to be the body’s way of ‘catching up’ with its sudden change in size.
Although it’s disappointing when you don’t lose weight steadily, this is a crucial time for you. It’s at this point that many people give up, fail to reach their goal and pile the weight back on. In contrast, most people who get through this difficult patch go on to reach their goal, and then stay slim forever.
There’s never been a more important time for you to stay motivated so look back on your success to date, whether that’s checking out your journal or comparing pictures of yourself before you started losing weight, with pictures now.
You might also find it motivating to measure your vital statistics, even though the scales don’t show a loss, you might still find you’re losing inches. I always suggest that you weight only once a week, first thing the same day of the week and also try on the same pair of jeans to see how they are fitting. If you haven’t already done so, you should make sure you update your goals Chart with your current weight.
So, what do you do? Well. Please don’t stop your program!
1. Make sure you are staring your day with a Medifast meal! With in the first hour of waking, fuel your body with highly nutririous shake, oatmeal, or capacino.
2. Make sure you are getting all 5 medifast meals in daily. The easiest way to guarantee this is to eat every 3 hours.
3. Be honest, are you measuring your lean and green meal to assure the proper calories and carbs? Remember that the meal should be around 33 calories and 10 carbs.
4. Begin an exercise program that will help to boost your metabolism. Simply walking at a good pace (can still walk and talk) is a great way to start. Add weight training and more vigorus aerobics as you feel fit to do so. Building muscle is important to your maintenance program because as you increase your muscle mass you’ll increase the amount of calories you burn on a day to day basis.
5. Change your workout if you have been doing the same thing for awhile. For example, Change out the elipticle for the treadmill or bicycle. Begin swimming or choosing different weight machines or exercise tape.
6. Ask for Help. Chances are your Health Advisor has been through a plateau and can give you some great tips and motivation!
7. There may be some stress in your life that is causing your weight loss to slow. Make sure you are getting enough sleep.
8. Make sure that you are drinking enough water. You can take your current weight divide it in half and that will give you an approximate amt of water needed/day.
9. Strengthen your will power. This is the time to reflect on how well you’ve done so far, how you like your new found body and self, the control over food and choices that comes with this program.
10. Do not be hard on yourself! It happens to almost everyone, no matter what weight loss program they choose. The difference will be whether you stick it out or quit. And remember, the feeling and empowerment you will feel when you reach your goal not to forget the lifestyle you will have (able to do a lot more activity) once you’ve gotten those unwanted pounds off is so worth the wait and continued effort!

A couple of weeks ago I’ve heard again the same old argument, “If weight loss programs would really work, then we would all look great. But we don’t look all that great, so it means weight loss cures are a total waste of time and money!”

You’ve probably heard or thought about something similar too at some point in your life if you’ve ever tried any kind of weight loss program.

I believe that quick weight loss cures don’t work because people fall too often pray to less-than-honest advertising campaigns, spend money on “miracle products” and get no results whatsoever.

So what would really work?

Is there any such a thing as a miracle quick weight loss cure or miracle pill? The short and long answer is, of course, “No!”

Weight loss cures and programs would be benefited if the accent would be shifted not so much on losing weight as on improving the general health of the individual. Furthermore, many specialists report that change in general lifestyle cannot be accomplished effectively unless it involves the whole family of the individual in facing weight issues.

What can one do to improve his or her health, well being and self image?

Procrastination is the number one challenge you will have to face if you want to make durable changes in your life. I mean what can happen if you don’t take your 30-minute walk today? Nothing, really.

There’ll be time that you will skip your walk more and more often and then your gym classes because it will be harder for you to do a full body workout when you’ve done no exercise at all during the week. By the way, 2 hours once a week is not that effective anyway.

And then there are all the small treats you just can’t say no to. And does it really make such a great difference if you’ll eat a little chocolate today, or a double cheeseburger?

When I needed to find a weight loss cure that really works I’ve tried a lot of things. I’m not saying they are all waste of time, but I didn’t like neither one of them. There are friends of mine who swear by Atkins or Hoodia or who knows what else, but I’ve never had any success with any of the well known weight loss programs.

And I am not the type that goes to the gym either. I simply hate to sweat at the gym. I am doing all the chores that needs to be done around the house, I love gardening and I spend a lot of time playing with my dogs, but I just cannot make myself get up and going to the gym.

Plus I love to cook and I love to eat.

Sounds hopeless, isn’t it?

Well, it would be hopeless if I would be into quick weight loss, but I am not.

I’ve set myself a simple goal: I have to lose 1 (one) pound per month. It would have taken me 3 years to reach a healthy weight. It sounds like an eternity and it may well be so for people who expect miracles.

But look at it my way – I didn’t have to make major adjustments in my lifestyle right from day one. All I did was to eat a little less fries than usual and some more veggies. And then I’ve started to drink less sweet carbonated drinks.

It took me more than a year to give up fries and cola, but I’ve done it and I was so proud of myself. I still don’t go to the gym, but I do walk for 30 minutes four times a week and I do try not to use the elevator at work.

And so, with minor adjustments over a long period of time I’ve come to achieve my goal and I haven’t gained any weight back!

Weight loss and goal setting are two inseparable things. I m sure you have heard of the adage that says “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. This is as true as it gets when it comes to losing weight.
It is not that people do not know that they need to lose weight, rather is the accuracy of how much they need to lose and why they need to lose it that is not clear. The same way you are likely to run off the road if you are driving in the dark without lights, is the same way you would fail if your weight loss endeavor if your planning is not accurate.
You likely have heard that you need to lose between one pound and two pounds a week. And as much as this is very safe and commendable advice, it is not necessarily a hard fast rule.
The better way to set a goal is to first determine what weight you want to live with for the rest of your life. You can use a jeans size to determine this or you can go more scientific by using the BMI scales.
Ideally your “for life” weight should be something you are emotionally attached to. You want to desire that size enough to be able to overcome huddles that are imminent in your dieting journey. Emotional attached or deep down desire is a source of passion. Passion is your fuel that keeps you going when you really feel like you don’t want to. If your goals are just numbers in a sheet of paper you can as well stop trying to lose weight.
To start your plan, you need to be able to state your purpose in one sentence. For example “I want to be size 12 in one year”. This statement will be the basis for the goal setting. You can then devise steps month by month, week by week to help you reach this goal. Your ultimate desire to be a size 12 is your goal. Steps to achieving this goal are your objectives. Objectives build up to lead to a goal. For example you would have weekly objectives that lead to achieving monthly objectives which then lead to achieving the ultimate goal.
The beauty of planning on paper first before attempting weight loss is that it allows you to see if your plans are achievable. If after deciding on your ultimate goal, you break it down and you find you need to loss 3 pounds of weight in a day then you know your plan is unrealistic.
But it can be a different story if you need to loose 3 to 4 pounds a week. And a much of this is on the higher side, it is feasible with stringent techniques.
So the question then is can you keep up with this stringent techniques to be able to lose weight. If you feel you will not, you would be better off adjusting your ultimate goal. Usually you do this by increasing the time you need to reach your goal.
In our case above, you could double the time required to reach your goal. This immediately drops your weekly target from 3 to 4 pounds to 1.5 to 2 pounds. This is more easily achievable with a simple weight loss plan.
As it is said, if you are not going anywhere, anywhere you get to is fine. Goals help determine where you want to go and help you map your way there.

Considering the US Center for Disease Control’s advice is a very good idea. Fat, although systematically proven useful to the human body, is not only a waste of food. When you’re fat, if very fat, you’re obese, and you do indeed have a disease. It can sneak right up on you like a homicidal lunatic.

In spite of how you feel about yourself emotionally, you should really do your utmost to keep your weight from assuming immense proportions – or you’ll only be dooming yourself.

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE AN OBESE AMERICAN?

The USCDC estimates that six out of ten Americans are overweight to the extent that they can be considered to be nearly obese, and the obesity rate has doubled from 15% in the year 1980 to 30% in 2000. And one in 50 people being severely obese is only a conservative estimate. Now you know.

“Fat” may be in as far as emotionality goes, but it’s still a very effective method of accidental suicide. If the point is that you’re still a good person when you’re fat, why are you leaving your loved ones behind? Excess fat has been scientifically proven to lose you both your job and your life. Therefore, if you want to proceed for many more years to come, and if you love your own people enough, you should try to accommodate them to the extent that you and they want to go on living.

Obesity leads to death from diabetes, heart disease, strokes, cancer, osteoarthritis and physical injuries from the very fact that a fat person has more trouble getting around than a skinny or normally thin person does. Try bending over to pick up a pencil from the floor, and you will see what we mean by this. If you can’t even pick up that pencil from the floor, you’re in serious trouble. And if it’s very difficult to do it, what does that mean?

It means obesity has indeed reached epidemic proportions. We know this sounds like a pun and so funny, but it isn’t. Americans are growing larger according to a simple index which measures actual weight versus percentage of body fat. Scientists use a Body Mass Index, or BMI, to take lean body as well as fat body mass into account. A BMI of 25 or more is considered overweight and one of 30 or more reflects obesity. Having a BMI of 40 or greater is equivalent to having approximately 100 extra pounds of fat. Are you that overweight, or headed there? If so, it’s time to make that serious commitment to either stop “growing” — to actually lose some of that body fat. Not overnight, but slowly.

DON’T KEEL OVER—TAKE YOU DOWN EASY

Why slowly? It has been shown time and time again that going on a “fad” diet, or looking for “overnight success” is like weekend warrior syndrome. There is a tendency for trying too hard too fast to either put excess weight on you, causing you to lose lean body fat and other needed body tissues, and/or leading you right back to the major health problems you are trying to avoid. So you don’t want to use any “quickie” methods at all. Not unless what you’re really planning on doing is giving up.

There is no such thing as a “quick fix” when it comes to obesity. You’re only handing out money to people to pretend to fix your problem, when there are real solutions that can be found through proper diet and exercise, namely maintenance programs that involve a gradual loss of weight combined with a gentle and building exercise program that will cause you to become thinner and more healthy through slow, scientifically researched and progressively easier exercise. You don’t need to show off; you need to win!

Further about what not to do: some researchers point to high fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive, way too commonly used sweetener, as a major culprit in the obesity epidemic. A terrific first step, if you’re a soda pop addict, is to see if you can cut back to about half the sodas you ordinarily drink. If you’re used to, say, downing an entire liter of soda per day, consider cutting that to half that amount and replacing the rest with good, pure water, bought from the store or gleaned from your own purifying system. You want to drink clean water, not the stuff that’s probably loaded with minerals that aren’t good for you from your tap water. Either buy water or find a purification method, and start replacing your soda pop with water.

Research shows that the more water you drink, the less hungry you feel. The US Department of Agriculture has performed studies that show you can almost get rid of that feeling of hunger when you are eating less food by drinking water. And further research has shown that the water, clean and pure as it is, will flush toxins and waste out of your body while you are losing weight. Isn’t feeling good while you’re losing weight the best possible way to go? Don’t you want to live on, for your family’s and friends’ sakes, and to feel completely better about yourself? Replace some of that soda pop and some of your food with water. It is a proven dietary tool.

A PROBLEM CALLED NOWADAYS

We have become an increasingly sedentary society, we Americans. More people work sit-down jobs and are car-dependant, which means less walking, and there’s a tendency when coming home from a hard day at a stress-ridden job to plop down mindlessly in front of the TV. It’s like giving up—it’s so seductive, and so easy to do. And now we have personal computers, which are so addictive it’s tempting to just sit there and “grow.”

It has been shown that habits like those outlined above, especially computer addiction, lead to patterns of behavior established early on in life. You need to get your kids away from the computer if they’re spending four or more hours per day on it, studies have shown. And it they’re slowly getting plumper and plumper while surfing, you need to get them to play outside. Have them join up for soccer practice before they become the “fat kid” and get picked on by the other kids, and not allowed to play with them.

YOUR OWN DIET AND WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM

Most diets work for as long as the individual sticks to the diet. That’s why “diet” refers both to your food intake and to “going on one.” It’s what you need to eat for the rest of your life. And to lose weight, you must reduce the total calorie intake to a level below the number of calories that you burn, each and every day. There is considerably more to designing a good diet than simply reducing calories, however.

A total program, therefore, is one that would incorporate diet and exercise with supplements that will help improve metabolic control. When choosing a weight loss plan, it’s important to seek out diets that preserve muscle mass. Crash dieting that induces “quick” weight loss generally promotes muscle and water loss and less fat loss. That’s why you should be unafraid to drink water; its loss is unimportant unless you grow seriously dehydrated, and you don’t really want too much water loss.

Fad dieting results in the “yo-yo” syndrome. When patients have gained their weight back, doctors have seen that they gained it as fat–not muscle. The best plan to follow is one that targets the change in body composition and preferentially enhances the lost of body fat rather than muscle mass. To some, this means low-carbohydrate diets, but unfortunately there is a tendency to start to treat “carbs” as something evil and think that you must avoid them at all cost. This is similar to the idea that fat in foods is evil and must be avoided at all costs. Neither case is true at all.

You need carbohydrates, proteins and fats in your diet in a correct proportion, with no one or any amount of the three of them out of balance. That’s right; you need to eat a balanced diet. Although you do need slightly less fat than the other two types of basic foods, depending on the nature of your lifestyle and exercise program, you don’t have to overemphasize one food group over another. This has been proven in case after case throughout all of human history. Generally, a rule of thumb is to cut back on all simple carbohydrates, such as table sugars and sweets, and eat more complex carbs such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Eat your ice cream, but only about two cups worth at a time. You need minimal fat whether you’re trying to lose weight or not, but just cut the fat off your meat and eat lean meats. You don’t have to “go overboard” and remove all fats from your diet. Fat is absolutely necessary for the brain growth of children, and you may need it in your diet for very similar brain metabolism purposes. Also, a tip: avoid drinking soda pop in aluminum cans. Regarding your brain, this can be very bad for it, as the pop contains a lot of aluminum, and this has been shown in studies to be a potential cause of Alzheimer’s disease, way too early in life for it to be a mere coincidence.

And relax. You don’t need to “beat yourself up” for what you eat and don’t eat, or if you accidentally didn’t exercise for one single day.

SUPPLEMENTS ACCELERATE WEIGHT LOSS

What’s important to remember while going on your weight loss plan, using both dieting and exercising, is that muscle dictates your metabolism and high body fat slows metabolism. Preserving or even building a little more muscle can have dramatic effects on metabolism. There are many dietary supplements which can help enhance weight loss when a low-calorie diet and a decent, slowly accelerated exercise plan are both followed. Also, these supplements can help improve blood sugar control, metabolism and body composition. They may also help prevent long periods of no weight loss, or the “plateau effect,” that can be quite frustrating to you and can cause you to “fall off the wagon.”

Believe it or not, we’re almost religiously talking “temptation” here. You need to watch what you’re eating as often as humanly possible. Take little breaks, eat your “bad foods,” but only about once per week. Do it to reward yourself for a long week of sticking to your diet and exercise program, and if you do fall of the bandwagon, don’t give yourself such “fun food” rewards at all. They’re harmless if you just consume them in very low quantities or even moderately, and can be a great reward if you’re sticking with your exercise plan and taking it well.

READY FOR SOME FANCY FOOTWORK?

According to current ongoing medical research in both the US and China, supplements may also help prevent weight gain with occasional “cheats”– and that means occasional! The thermogenic effect of green tea (Camellia sinensis) was originally attributed to its caffeine content. However, green tea stimulates brown fat thermogenesis far greater than a comparable amount of pure caffeine. It appears that the catechin-polyphenols, in particular epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and caffeine that naturally occur in green tea work synergistically to stimulate thermogenesis and augment and prolong sympathetic stimulation of thermogenesis. It has been shown to increase 24-hour energy expenditure and fat oxidation (caffeine only increases metabolism during the time you take it).

Drinking one or two cups of green tea each day also has well documented anti-cancer effects, particularly with respect to the prostate, breast, uterus and ovary. Green tea is generally taken as a standardized extract in capsule or tablet form to provide 50 mg of caffeine and 90 mg of epigallocatechin gallate to be taken three times daily before meals. Although green tea contains a small amount of caffeine, it is generally not enough to create any adverse side effects. Drinking several glasses of green tea each day may yield a similar thermogenic effect to the supplement, although this has not been studied thus far. Coleus Forskohlii Coleus has a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine. One of its active compounds is forskolin, which has been studied as a weight loss aid. Animal studies have shown that forskolin has anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. Human studies have shown that forskolin may be effective for glaucoma (as eye drops) and may have other therapeutic effects. And finally, green tea is a great way to flush out your system, similar to simply drinking water. It’s a clean and effective tonic, and you can even drink it at night in a small amount before you go to bed. It will take away your “cravings” and promote a healthful night’s sleep.

LASTLY, A CRASH COURSE IN THE ETIOLOGY OF FAT

From Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of The Total Health Program:

• Obesity is a chronic condition that develops as a result of an interaction between a person’s genetic makeup and their environment. How and why obesity occurs is not well understood; however, social, behavioral, cultural, psychological, metabolic, and genetic factors are involved. And yet, most of why a person is fat is up to that person.

• Among possible hormones involved, leptin, discovered in 1994, has received the most attention. Leptin appears to regulate adipose proliferation and modulate eating behavior. A 1999 study showed that subcutaneous therapy with recombinant leptin produced weight loss in both obese and lean subjects. Isn’t that exciting? Perhaps science will someday find an actual cure for the disease that is obesity!

• Heritability studies indicate that genetic factors may be responsible for up to 70% of the variation in people’s weight. However, this is not technically proven as yet to be a genetic trait. Families which overeat tend to produce children who then overeat, and it may be socially caused. So consider your friends. You might want to join a club.

• Weight gain, in short, is almost entirely dependent on a person’s energy intake being greater than his or her energy expenditure. One pound (0.45 kg) is equal to 3,500 calories. Therefore, a person consuming 500 calories more than he or she expends daily over a brief period of time will gain one pound per week. And the same is true the other way around. You can lose weight simply by reversing the process, but do take it easy as you keep going. You might want to consider cutting only 200 calories per day from your diet.

• A person’s body weight tends to range within 10% of a set value. Weight alterations in either direction cause changes in energy expenditure that favor a return to the set point. You may have heard of this before; it’s what your body “wants” to weigh, and it may not be quite what you want to weigh. This mechanism helps explain the terrible problem of recidivism following attempted weight loss. Recidivism means, once again, falling off the wagon.

Now that you see why you need to lose weight and that it is a tricky but doable uphill battle, are you ready to have a go at it for your own sweet sake, and that of your social network, your friends and family, your pets, and American happiness in general? Remember, fat can be “contagious.” People who look at fat people who are doing fine tend to think that they will be fine as fat people too, and such is not the case. For all we know, we eventually can’t do without any of us.

What if your life is like Jimmy Stewart’s in “It’s a Wonderful Life”? What if you died suddenly, and many people around you suddenly found you to be a significant loss? Not just your income, but because they truly and honestly love you? Obesity can lead to this exact problem. And the worst part is that it can come in the form of a long, slow, obnoxious, and nasty death, ruining your relationships even as you’re trying to make them, and eating away at the more guilt-ridden parts of you.

Join the good fight. Start that easy lifelong diet and nice, slowly building exercise program, and start it today – not tomorrow, but today!

There are literally tons of information and articles about losing weight. Believe it or not, people still make the same dieting mistakes over and over again. I am not referring to little slip ups. What I am talking about are big mistakes that become real problems in your weight loss attempts. If we can define these mistakes it may make it possible for healthy, permanent weight loss.
The first mistake is the all or nothing attitude. People who approach their dieting in this manner will often select a diet that practically impossible for them to maintain. When they first begin, they remove anything from the kitchen that does not fit in with their new diet. What they are thinking is that they wish to be perfect. They probably will be. Maybe for a day or two, or perhaps ever a couple of weeks. But something always happens. For some reason they are not able to continue with their diet. When this happens the entire process is ruined and the diet is over. So what they do is go to the store and replace all the things that they threw out in the first place.
If this is your approach to dieting then it is necessary to ask yourself some difficult questions. What exactly is the purpose of your diet? Do you want to lose this weight permanently? Perhaps you just wish to lose a few pounds. The secret here is to make lifestyle changes in your diet. This way you create a slow and regular means of losing weight.
The second mistake is the attitude of sacrifice. Many people see their diet as some sort of sacrifice. It is easy to see why. You are not allowing yourself to eat the foods that you enjoy the most while attempting to achieve your target weight. This is what happens. You have done your research. You have come up with well thought out diet that you can do. You can successfully lose that weight and achieve your target weight. Okay! Now what? You have reached your goal. Have you really changed your eating habits? Did you learn to eat those so called bad foods in moderation? Are you likely to end up out of control? Can you broaden your diet in moderation and maintain your target weight?
The third mistake is goal failure. Defining your goals is essential with your weight loss program. Your goals should be crystal clear. They must be realistic. You should write them down. You probably have an ideal weight in mind when you begin. If you are more than a few pounds overweight, this goal is probably too far away to be helpful. A more practical goal is to lose 2 pounds per week for the first several weeks. After that, 1 pound per week. Of course, this will vary from week to week. However, when you track your progress you will observe that you are consistently moving toward your goal.
Do not worry if you have been making any of these mistakes. Just like everything else in life, it important to learn your lesson and to move on. The truth is that we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. Do not let your mistakes to be an excuse for giving up. Success comes from making a commitment and by being persistent.

The reason for search of weight loss exercises by many dieters is for health and self-esteem. Exercises help in burning calories, muscle building and weight management. Too hard exercises and doing too much of exercises can result in serious injuries, burnt out and also may lead to frustration. When doing weight loss exercises start slowly and increase intensity gradually.Exercises which are easily welcomed by every aspiring weight loss person :

Walking – the easier exercise where there is no time commitment or specific requirement is needed. Walk for a minimum of 40 minutes for four days in a week and you will see the difference it makes, by yourself. Health benefits of walking are it reduces the risk of life-threatening maladies like diabetes, heart diseases and high blood pressure.

Swimming – Start slowly and focus on a few strokes. Practice for 25 minutes for three days in a week and it takes away a few pounds lightly.

Water aerobics – If you don’t know swimming, then you can easily practice water aerobics. It is the best method of weight loss exercise as it has less impact with aerobics in it and creates resistance on all moves.

Running helps in burning more calories in lesser time comparatively than any other weight loss exercise.

Running and walking both produce endorphins and brain chemicals, which gives you happiness and confidence. The energy burnt during these depends totally on your speed, weight of your body and experience.

For people in need of weight loss exercises they actually want to fit in a program on their busy schedules. The challenge for you is to balance your family demands, career, relationships, commitments and organizational responsibilities. The following important keys will help you to balance your lifestyle and your weight loss exercise program together.

Be Committed for a regular schedule of exercises at least three days in a week and you have to take time for it on your “to do” lists. If you want to succeed then you have to plan ahead.

Utilize your weekends to work out producing effective results. The benefit, which you will get out of this, is the flexibility and control of the weight loss exercise program.

You should give high priority for your weight loss exercise program and rescheduling has to be done only for important emergencies.

Encourage others to participate in your weight loss exercise programs and this will motivate you to work out with commitment. Make your dear ones aware of your weight loss commitment and ask for their support.

If things are not working the way as you have expected because of external influence, don’t be tough on you and get de-motivated.

For women, excess weight may be due to genetic factors and environmental factors and women have to understand that quick weight loss will not bring them result for long-term. A woman has to compulsorily drink at least one glass of juice before exercise during morning exercises. Spot exercises will not bring women desired result of burning fat on the desired area. Aerobic weight loss exercises and activities are suitable for women, which include jogging, cycling, skating, brisk walking and doing exercises with aerobic equipments.

Whatever goals you have, either weight loss or fitness, if you are continuously practicing your weight loss exercise program, then your success towards the goal is not far-off.

More and more folks are searching for ways towards rapid healthy weight loss. The reasons are numerous. But they stem mainly from getting impatient and/or getting lazy. This is just a part of human nature. Yet, we also want to do so without killing ourselves with something unhealthy.

Except for the desire to be healthy, these may appear to be as unwanted traits. After all, we have been drilled into thinking that patience is the key and that if we want to lose weight, well then we have to get off our butts and start exercising.

But then why are several folks out there that can lose lots of weight EVEN after those same folks try other methods that didn’t help?

To understand this we need to acknowledge some rules of thought:

1) It is NOT impossible to lose 8-15 pounds in two weeks, and KEEP losing weight after that, and in the process become MORE healthy. This is contrary to some weight loss plans that are effective at losing weight, but lead to unwanted side effects (e.g. high cholesterol, etc.).

2) You do NOT have to resort to some sort of fad, medicine OR surgical procedure. Stay from those. Also you don’t have to resort to “secret recipes”.

3) You do NOT have to resort to exercise AT ALL to lose weight. Sure you should exercise for health purposes (walking is a great start if haven’t been already). But you shouldn’t exercise like that for the sole purpose of losing weight (if you do you’ll be sorry! But didn’t you know that – especially after trying already?)

4) It is not necessary to cut down your calories to lose weight. Some low calorie foods that are unhealthy can actually make you gain weight whereas there are some foods have more calories that can help you lose weight. The necessity on the other hand lies in WHAT foods you eat.

5) Candida or colon cleanses are helpful but are not required to lose weight safely and quickly. However, they are healthy if done properly. Personally, although I have done colon cleanses, I have never done a Candida one. The process looked too rigorous involving too much discipline. Thank goodness you don’t need to do that to safely lose weight!

Conversely, instead of relying on the above, what you need to do is follow some simple procedures that you can apply at home with food that can be easily bought at your nearest store.

With a rapid healthy weight loss program such as the one you can get access to HERE, it is now getting to be reasonably possible to lose anywhere between 8 and 15 pounds in the first two weeks.

It is no longer the consensus that you need to lose three pounds per week in order to obtain a “realistic” goal. Losing 8 to 15 pounds is entirely realistic and does not resort to “hocus pocus” methods of weight loss.

When someone originally told me this before I lost 20 pounds in one month, I would have said, “oh, easy for you to say, not everyone can experience that type of weight loss.” This is one case where I am happy to say that I was wrong.

Now I now that it is obviously possible. The good thing about losing weight is that you do not have to resort to medical pills, or, even worse, surgical procedures. These can kill you, or at the very least, lead to unwanted side effects.

The secret is not to cut down your carbs. Or fats. Or proteins. Or even boost you exercise. On the contrary, you can lose 8-15 pounds in two weeks without even exercising for one second provided that you make some modification to your diets. Not expensive really.

So, to summarize, it is possible to obtain rapid healthy weight loss without resorting to ill-fated short-cuts or fads that won’t work, or to follow an exercise routine. All you have to do is make simple changes to the carbs, proteins, and fats in your diet.

Well it is that time of the year when thoughts of bathing suits, sun tan lotion, and beach balls begin to strike fear in the 63% of Americans that are overweight. With that in mind I got together a group of my colleagues…a virtual think tank of fitness professionals…with over 50 years of experience helping even the self proclaimed hopeless people drop weight and keep it off.
We compiled a list of ten things you can change starting today to begin your weight loss process and keep those pounds off permanently. So grab a bowl of cottage cheese, sit back, and take a few minutes to read this list of simple weight loss tactics; but remember real weight loss does not happen overnight so get to work on your summer body early and be ready to stick it out for at least 8 – 12 weeks.
1. Drink Water
Universal agreement among dietitians, nutritional consultants, coaches, life coaches, personal trainers, and mystic gurus put this simple recommendation at the top of our list. Close your eyes and imprint these two words in your mind. Put down that 4th cup of coffee and go pour yourself a glass of water (don’t worry we’ll be here when you get back). Studies support 8 glasses of water per day to promote weight loss.
2. Load your body
Cardio is great, but remember it is only one piece of your fitness program. A complete weight loss program will incorporate strength and core training on a weekly basis. Be sure to load your body using dumbbells, medicine balls, resistance bands, barbells, or your own body weight.
3. Eat Frequently
It’s a fact. You can eat yourself thin. Yet many health and fitness professionals feel like a broken record saying this over and over again to skeptical clients that cannot understand how eating more frequently will help them lose weight. Breakfast is essential to weight loss, but it is just the beginning. Eating smaller meals more frequently will keep your metabolism purring throughout the day.
4. Vary your cardio program
To keep your cardio interesting try to mix it up. Jog, bike, walk hills, swim, play tennis, team sports… anything to keep your heart rate up for 45 to 60 minutes three times a week.
5. Do not Drink Sugar
I am not going to make this an endorsement for Diet Coke or Pepsi. The jury is still out on whether these can be considered weight loss drinks but one thing is certain; sugar is your enemy. It must be defeated on every front including your daily mocha latte and your late night red bull pick me up. You do not need the calories. Look for sugar free versions of the things you drink daily and watch the calories you save pile up.
6. Bake Do Not Fry
Baking is a great alternative to frying your food. It keeps the fat content down and your arteries will thank you for it later in life.
7. Lean Protein (Not any Protein)
Bacon is not a health food. Ok I will admit it, things taste better with bacon in it… but we are talking weight loss here and, like me, you should substitute lean meats for fatty meats. Skin your chicken, cut excess fat off all meat and increase your consumption of turkey, chicken and fish. Your body will thank you.
8. Join a fitness center
If you have a hard time scheduling time to run by yourself or train at home try joining a gym. Fitness classes are a great way to get fit while having fun and if you have a budget to support it, hiring a personal trainer is an excellent way to guide yourself through this effort.
Above all, remember these are life-changing tips not a fad diet endorsement. Do not expect to lose 10 pounds in one week. One to three pounds per week is an excellent pace for permanent weight loss. So kiss those fears of the beach goodbye, squeeze into your newest two-piece bikini and get ready for a great summer beach season.
(Overweight = A Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0 -The National Center for Health statistics)

If you are going on a weight loss program, it is very important to focus on an effective diet plan. All your workout sessions and cutting down on certain food items or abstaining from food for several days will go waste if you don’t eat the right diet.

Almost all diet plans (effective ones!) are based on limited amount of carbohydrates, high caloric products and fats. When going on a diet plan, you can relish good food options such as roughages, green leafy vegetables and good stuffs with less calories.

Experts believe that one should follow a diet designed to lose at least 1-2 pounds in a week. Weight loss is easier at this rate. It is also healthy and provides long lasting results. You must plan accordingly and allot proper number of weeks for dieting the 1-2 pounds losing rule each week.

Under such a plan, if you want to lose about 10 pounds, you would require at least five weeks of dieting in order to guarantee healthy weight loss.

Things to eat

You should focus on eating a balanced diet. Here is the exact amount of food groups you should focus on:

Food Groups, Amounts, Serving, Days:

- Lean protein, 35-45%, 1 serving daily

- Complex Carbohydrates, 25-35%, 1 serving daily

- Fat, 15-25%, 1 serving daily

- Vegetables & Fruits, 2-3 servings daily

- Saturated fats, few servings weekly

- Trans Fatty acids, few servings weekly

Experts feel that you should not reduce your diet all of a sudden. You can start by reducing your daily in take to 250 calories. You can slowly start working towards reducing your daily in take by as much as 450 calories. They will work towards accomplishing your goal.

Another trick is to go for the cabbage soup diet. This diet plan has been used by dieters for a long time now. There are several versions to this diet. However, the simplest one is the one that include eating a cabbage soup when you are hungry. The soup will fill you up and also help you to stay on a low calorie diet for a long time. When on a cabbage soup diet you are not supported to take oily and fatty food stuffs. Cabbage soup diet consists of very low calories. Hence, this diet is supposed to be one of the most effective diets for weight loss.

You can also go for slim fast diet. This diet will help in controlling hunger for more than about four hours. The diet is well balanced and very nutritional. It is also rich in calcium and proteins. Experts feel that this diet plan is planned especially for in a way that the dieter takes it for about six times in a day. You can add good amount of fruits, yogurt and cottage cheese. Slim fast diet also includes fresh vegetables, meals and nuts. The diet also provides you good taste and flavor. It is the best diet for losing weight, especially for teenagers.

All the diet plans mentioned above would help you lose weight. It would be wise to consult a health care practitioner prior to going on a diet for weight loss.

We are obsessed as a society with having everything on demand. If we decide we want a new car, we have to have it now, women freak out if they cannot get pregnant the very minute they’ve decided they want to have a child and if we think about weight loss, then it must surely be fast weight loss. We can’t settle for anything less! Fortunately it’s been already proved that fast weight loss pills don’t work. You may shed a few pounds at first, but in the end you will gain twice as much back. Fewer and fewer people are duped by false claims and pretenses of dishonest marketers. It’s been said that they prey on human insecurities. I don’t think so! They prey on our obsession with having everything right here, right now and without any effort on our part – if we are willing to pay the price.And because the wonder pills don’t work, people have turned to exercise. Marketers who advertise fast weight loss exercise programs or devices prey on the same here and now urgency. And they have given exercising a bad name too. These are reviews I have found on a web site specialized in exposing infomercial scams:”The [...] is actually a decent product, but it has major flaws. The way that the pulley system works is that the pulleys are attached to the frame with a free rotating bracket. This causes an excessive amount of wobbling when trying to use any of the exercises. Using the bench press is nearly impossible at higher weights due to the wobbling. Don’t waste your $400+ for the [...].”"I purchased the [...] through [...] Network. I was very unhappy with the whole motion of the machine; it was uncomfortable and unnatural not to mention very shoddy craftsmanship. I called [...] to return it. They said I was past the 1 month return.”"Unfortunately, I got sucked into the infomercial, thinking “this is it”. I ordered the worthless thing and did not see any results. It was a bunch of plastic. Have returned the item a week before Christmas 2006, and have yet to get a refund. They keep telling me that they have not received the item. Don’t waste your money!!!!”So the info should be clear by now for everyone to see: fast weight loss doesn’t work. Exercise is the best way to lose weight. Try to remember that “losing 15 pounds in two weeks” is nothing to celebrate. It is important to realize that the more quickly weight is lost, the more likely the loss is coming from water and muscle, not fat.Since muscle tissue is critical in keeping our metabolism elevated, losing it actually leads to a decrease in the amount of calories we can each day without gaining weight. Fat loss is best achieved when weight is lost slowly. Strive for a weight loss of no more than 1-2 pounds per week. One pound of weight is equivalent to 3500 calories. By making small changes like eliminating 250 calories a day from food and expending 250 calories a day from exercise, you can lose one pound (of mostly fat) per week.Exercise for weight loss and for your general health, but do it all with good measure. Rome wasn’t built in a day either.