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You are currently browsing the Weight Loss Per Week blog archives for January, 2010.

Archive for January, 2010

PostHeaderIcon Choosing a Weight Loss Program

When you want to lose weight, you need to scrutinize each weight loss program available to find one that is right for you.
Although every weight loss program has the goal of helping you lose the extra pounds and helping you keep them off, not all weight loss programs are the same. What works for one person may not work for another because of individual differences in taste in food and in the lifestyle a person leads.
A person who travels a lot, for example, and eats a lot of meals in restaurants will find it harder to stick to a program that involves eating specific foods and in specific portions. This is what is involved in the Nutrisystem, LA Weight Loss, San Diego medical weight loss (http://www.vfhcinc.com/events.html), and Jenny Craig weight loss programs. A person who does eat breakfast and dinner at home and takes a lunch to work will be able to do well on one of these systems.
Weight Watchers is a weight loss program that allows you to eat whatever foods you wish, but you do have to be cognizant of the amounts of food you eat. Depending on your beginning weight, you have a specific number of points that you can use each day. You can lot out the food that you eat each day and there are lists of fast foods and restaurant meals included in the literature for you to consult when you do eat out.
No matter what medical weight loss program you decide to use, you do have to cut out eating junk food. These foods are very high in calories and will not only decrease your chances of losing weight, but you will be hungry a lot sooner after you eat. Another thing that all the programs for losing weight have in common is that you have to exercise to tone up your muscles, help lose the fat from your muscles and help you lose inches.
Adding fruits and vegetables to your diet will also help you lose weight. This is because most of these foods are negative calorie foods, which means your body has to burn calories in order to digest these foods. Thus you burn more calories than you consume and you feel full for longer periods of time.
When deciding which weight loss program is best for you, you have to look at the number of calories you should consume each day. Women need to have at least 1200 calories a day and men need at least 1500 calories a day. A healthy weight loss is 2 pounds a week and your daily diet should contain foods from the four food groups.
In order to lose weight sensibly and keep it off, you do have to make a change in your eating habits and your lifestyle. This means eating smaller portions and making sure that you exercise at least 20 minutes three times a week. When you watch what you eat and include healthy snacks in your diet, you will notice weight loss.
There will be times when you hit a plateau and not lose any weight for a few days or a week, but you shouldn’t let this discourage you. Along with weighing yourself, you should also take your measurements because as you tone up your muscles, you may actually gain pounds but lose inches.

PostHeaderIcon 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.

PostHeaderIcon Dieting and Quick Weight Loss

Developing tummy fat has a way of motivating people — oftentimes our waistlines “develop” as we get older, much like our bodies grow and develop during puberty.  However, unlike adolescent and teenage growth spurts, gaining unhealthy weight and even becoming obese are not requirements of getting older, though these trends certainly fit the current norms.  When you’re ready to take on the challenge of getting into better shape, and burning off excess fat, using quick weight loss diets may come to mind. In these times, two questions oftentimes come to mind, “Do they work”, and “are they safe?” — these are the questions we seek to answer today.Quick weight loss diets – do they work?The short and long of this question is yes and no.  Fast weight loss diets can work, but when you are dealing with quick weight loss, the “instant” results that you see are not conducive to long-term gains, or rather losses in this case, in the grand scheme of things.  When you lose weight quickly, it is most often due to the loss of excess water in your system, not due to the burning of fat.  So, if your weight loss diet helps you to lose weight very fast, there’s a good chance that the results will be temporary, at least unless your diet program of choice has a way of combating the real problem — the accumulation of body fat.Quick weight loss diets – are the safe?The answer to this question depends on how you’re reaching your weight loss goals. If you’re trying to lose five to seven pounds for an event coming up in a week or so, the dangers of irreparable harm to an otherwise healthy individual are not all that likely. To lose this kind of weight in a week, chances are you are going to be removing some of the water buildup in your system, not burning off fat.  To lose five pounds this quickly through fat loss, as opposed to water weight loss, you would absolutely need to incorporate an extreme exercise routine into your daily regimen, unless you’re a 6′3″, 25 year old man weighing in at 400 pounds and want to take part in a starvation diet for six-to-seven days.  And at this size and weight — five pounds won’t make a lot of difference, anyway.To lose five pounds of fat in a week, while possible, a 200 pound man would have to play 20 hours of full-contact football, and a 135 pound woman would have to endure around 30 hours of vigorous bike riding or 10″-12″ step aerobics while keeping your caloric intake pretty close to your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).   To sum things up, though, quick weight loss diets, if they help you to take off excess water, may be safe for generally healthy individuals, but in terms of fast fat burning — not only is it not safe, this option is not really feasible for individuals who currently maintain a less-than-active lifestyle.While your excess tummy fat may have, in fact, given you the motivation you need to get started with a weight loss diet or program, just know that not all quick weight loss diets produce long-term results, and unless there is a clear and concise plan laid out on how you can continue to lose weight — look into something else.

PostHeaderIcon 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!