Weight Loss Per Week

Posts Tagged ‘Fat Loss’

Nowadays, it has become a necessity to keep oneself in shape, not only for aesthetic purposes, but for medically related purposes as well. The best way to lose weight and keep it off would be through a well balanced diet and a regular exercise routine. Despite this common knowledge, a lot of people are still opting to go for fast weight loss strategies.
There are a lot of products in the market today that guarantee fast weight loss in a limited amount of time. Now, some of these products may hold true, however, the results that you get do not always last long. Before going into more of these fast weight loss products, it would be better to know some facts such as the most number of pounds a person can safely lose in a single week. An average individual can lose between one to two pounds a week through a healthy diet and exercise. This number of pounds is safe, smart, and healthy. Losing more than this amount in a single week may mean you are losing muscle instead of fat which is not very healthy in the long run.
Fast weight loss products promise results fast; however not all of these products are guaranteed to work. And most, if not all of them, have some serious side effects. The use of some of these diet pills may disrupt your metabolism. Diet pills and supplements have also been found to cause digestive problems, heart palpitations and other serious problems such as heart attacks.
The safest and healthiest way to lose weight is to do it properly – through exercise and a proper diet. If you want to facilitate faster weight loss, do it the natural way instead of spending your hard earned cash on fast weight loss products. Here are a few tips to help hasten weight loss:
- Drink a lot of water. Drinking up to eight glasses in a single day is recommended.
- Eat organic foods for breakfast. Good examples would be apples, bananas, yogurt, carrots, tomatoes, and so forth.
- Go for a walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Take your dog for a walk around the neighborhood. Try to increase the amount of physical activity you do on a day to day basis.
- Have your last meal of the day at least 4 to 5 hours before going to bed.
- Engage in regular exercise and have a nutritious diet plan – stick to it!
- Stay away from soda and other carbonated drinks. These contain empty calories and will in no way help in your weight loss endeavors.
- Pay attention to what you eat and the amount of food you eat. Control your portions.
- Eat slowly. Eating at a slower pace can have you feeling full and may ultimately reduce the amount of food you eat in every meal.
These are only tips to help facilitate fast weight loss and are not guaranteed to make you lose weight in short periods of time. Remember, proper and effective weight loss takes time – there is no fast and easy solution.

 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!

Which foods are good and what should be avoided in weight loss? This is a popular question especially for women who like to prepare their own foods.  What to use, what not to use, what kind of foods to prepare, how much to eat and when.  I have some very good suggestions following, be prepared to take notes;

First some rules: use less fat and sugar and when preparing food always use vegetable oil.  Minimize all products which contain fat cheese.  For bread, eat only rye bread.  Make all your portions smaller.  Avoid juices and soft drinks; drink only water and fatless milk.  Eat in intervals of three to four hours between meals and eat small portions. Eat lots of vegetables, fruits and berries.  Don’t eat pasta or rise and allow yourself only one feast-meal per week.  Exercise up to five times in a week, an hour or an hour and a half at the time.

This means that it’s very important to avoid all industrial vegetable fats and carbonates.  Instead use butter and other good oils like olive oil.  If you eat cheese, I recommend non -fat cottage cheese.  Potato which is starch should be left out of your diet altogether.

Also leave out all white breads, donuts and cakes. Switch macaronis and pasta to rye and oat pasta, because they contain more fiber. I recommend counting calories in the beginning, because some weight loss programs have too low calorie-content recommendations, and this is dangerous in the long run. Count your normal calorie consumption and try to eat 500 calories less per day.

Here’s a great tip for any weight loser; drink 2 liters water per day and you will be amazed how the feeling of hunger will go away by only drinking water.  You will find that after one week your weight is going down and you don’t have a feeling of hunger.  It is always healthy to drink lots of water, so there’s nothing risky in this method, water will also purify your whole system.

Recognize all calorie bombs even before you eat them!  Losing weight is not about eating less, it is about eating wisely and be knowledgeable about what you put in your mouth. To be able to lose weight intelligently you need to eat enough, otherwise you might lose it from wrong places.

Following the above recommendations will make you lose weight – guaranteed. 

But you need to be strict and persistent with your diet.  If you try to lose weight too fast, it can be dangerous to your health, you don’t want to lose your muscle material when you diet.  I recommend using a good program that is proven to be healthy and consult only people who have experience in this field.  Remember that your diet should consist of enough vegetables, fibers, water and proteins.  When following a proven program, your weight will go down because your adipose tissues are going to be reduced. There are some effective programs on the market that promise fast results but losing muscle and all water from your body is not permanent weight loss, it is yo-yo weight loss, because you will gain it back in few weeks. Go the healthy way and you will be able to lose weight and maintain the results.

There are some main reasons why people fail in their attempt to lose weight. I will list here the most common reasons and how to avoid those pitfalls.

Let’s concentrate first on eating; there is a reason why we eat – the main reason should be only hunger, but there can be also emotional reasons for eating. It is very important to face any emotional eating issues. This may be as simple as identifying alternative activities or as intensive as seeking professional help. Feeling depressed, negative self image, negative response from other people can trigger eating-protection-system which leads to weight gain. You just got to get over this habit, because it will render all your other efforts useless.

If you try to follow a super strict diet and have an “all or nothing” attitude, it will turn to “nothing” in 99% of time. I have always taught my students to be patient and love themselves. Being too hard on oneself is going result in an explosion sooner or later and all that was lost is gained very fast. If you try a diet that rely on one type of food or cut out entire food groups, it’s simply going to be too hard to stick to and also very unhealthy in the long run. Ask anyone who tried the green tea diet or similar programs.

 There is an old proverb: “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. This is so true, and therefore whatever you do, don’t skip your breakfast! A balanced good breakfast will get your metabolism going and help you from getting too hungry and overeating through the day.

Don’t try to cut down too many calories in the beginning; your body needs to adjust slowly to new changes. Reduce your calorie intake is the key to weight loss, but if you try to cut too many, you won’t lose weight at all thanks to the metabolism’s “starvation” mode. As I have said on my blog and my recommended programs and articles; count your normal daily calorie intake (before diet) and try to reduce it by 500 calories per day.

If you are very strong mentally, you can probably do whatever you like without support, but most of us need some sort of shoulder to lean on from time to time. This is especially true in weight loss. We need a friend to talk to about problems and we need them to support us in our efforts in life. We need to talk to someone about the dilemmas that losing weight brings us. If you think about it, one of your motives is how others look upon you. If you are alone on a deserted island, you would not care about weight loss so much would you? Of course there are other important reasons also, but don’t be alone, talk to people and find someone who listens to you and preferably has gone through the same struggle before.

Keep a food diary and write down what and how much you used to eat and how much you eat now. Make a habit of writing down everything what you have eaten during the day; you will be surprised how much this will affect your overall mission.

People tend to set unrealistic goals for themselves and then they feel bad when they fail meet them. If your body is used to certain amount of sugar a day, don’t cut it all off immediately. Cut it to half first and in one week or two weeks cut it to half again. This way you let your body time to adjust to changes and everything feels more natural and easy. You have to have a goal; you want to lose a certain amount of weight, but don’t try to be too hard on yourself.

Exercise is recommended for every dieter, but if you are not used to exercise, you have to start slow here also. Start simple and increase slowly for best results.

Have one feast meal per week! Eating is also important; it gives us feeling of well being and happiness. So even if you are on a diet, enjoy one feast meal per week for your overall balance. 

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Smith

Losing weight is simple and easy to do. Virtually every diet and weight-loss program can help people shed the excess kilos in a short period of time. The problem is, losing weight and keeping it off long term is actually quite difficult.

The main reason why most diets or weight-loss programs don’t work is simply because they’re not sustainable. Starvation diets, low-carb diets, replacing food with shakes for main meals, the list goes on. None of these strategies offer long term, realistic and sustainable approaches to weight-loss.

Furthermore, the weight that is lost by using these approaches tends to be mainly water, stored carbohydrate and protein (lean body tissue) with some body fat. Our goal should be to maximise the amount of fat that is lost. In order to lose body fat instead of simply body weight, 3 criteria must be met:

1. A mild calorie (energy) deficit must be created.

2. The body must be encouraged to use stored fat as its primary fuel source.

3. Sufficient time must be allowed to pass in order to achieve substantial results.

Let’s look at each of these areas in detail:

1. A mild calorie (energy) deficit must be created. This means the body expends (burns up) more energy each day than is consumed, i.e. ‘energy out’ is greater than ‘energy in’. By creating a calorie (energy) deficit the body must then rely on existing fat stores in order to provide the additional calories it requires.

A mild calorie deficit can be achieved in two ways: eating less or boosting metabolism.

Eating less is the approach most diets use. Even though it is successful in the short term, the body soon adapts to it by slowing the metabolism and increasing appetite.

Boosting metabolism is a far more effective approach to losing weight and burning fat and it can be done through a variety of mechanisms. Increasing meal frequency (eating 5 meals a day instead of 3), eating foods that boost metabolism like chilli and curries, exercising and using supplements that boost metabolism like ‘thermogenics’ all assist fat burning in the body.

2. The body must be encouraged to use stored fat as its primary fuel source. This may be achieved by ensuring the level of insulin in the body is kept as low as possible. Insulin is a storage hormone, which means it increases the uptake of nutrients into cells. Whilst this may be beneficial from an anabolic (muscle building) perspective, insulin also promotes the storage of excess glucose as body fat. Worse still, it stops the mobilisation and utilisation of fat for fuel (fat burning).

There are many way to keep insulin low in the body. Eating small meals, controlling carbohydrate intake and using supplements like, glucose disposal agents (GDAs) all keep insulin low.

Eating large meals promotes greater insulin secretion by the pancreas. Therefore, small meals will keep this down.

Being aware of carbohydrate sources is also important because it is the macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein and fat) that has the greatest impact on insulin secretion. It is not necessary to follow a low carb diet in order to keep insulin low but by simply eating more low density carbs (broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peas, etc) and less high density carbs (bread, pasta, rice, cereals, etc) insulin will stay low.

GDAs assist the body in disposing glucose more effectively by increasing its uptake into the lean tissues of the body (muscles, organs, etc.).

3. Sufficient time must be allowed to pass in order to achieve substantial results. Since it takes time for the body to burn off body fat it is essential to allow sufficient time to pass rather than expecting dramatic results overnight!

If we estimate that a 300-calorie deficit won’t have a major negative impact on our metabolism and if we assume that all of those calories that the body needs are derived from fat stores (which doesn’t occur but for the sake of the argument we will assume that it does), then the body can only lose about 33 grams of fat a day! [1 gram of fat has 9 calories] That works out to be 231 grams of fat a week! This is a far cry from the several kilos of weight that may be lost in a week!

As a result of this, people must be realistic in their expectations. A good example of this is competitive bodybuilders who generally allow themselves 12-14 weeks to get ready for a show. These athletes are usually already lean by population standards but the 12-14-week period allows them to achieve extremely low levels of body fat without sacrificing their precious muscle tissue.

If you are serious about losing body fat, not just body weight, then allow yourself at least 12-14 weeks to achieve your physical goals.

Overall, these strategies are used by all successful weight-loss systems. They provide people with proven techniques and products that can help them lose weight and keep it off without having an impact on their lifestyle. Let’s face it, there’s nothing better than losing weight (which is mainly fat), getting in great shape and still being able to enjoy life!

If you are like me, you have probably been through all this before, the family wedding is coming up next month and you can’t seem to fit into that suit or dress because you have put on too much weight. So you must lose at least ten or more pounds quickly.

Losing weight quickly is not advisable as most of the loss will be muscle tissue and water; you put on the weight slowly (usually over years) so normally you should take it off slowly and then you will know that the majority of the loss will be body fat.

But you have a problem here and the clock is ticking so you will have to diet pretty hard to meet your target weight loss. Let’s look at that first, you all know that diets don’t work; they send the body into starvation mode, a survival mechanism from long age when humans faced periods of famine.

Going too low in calories causes the body to lower its metabolic rate, which reduces its ability to burn fat. At the same time, hunger signals increase and you quickly start to crave high-energy foods loaded with fats and sugar, the same foods you are trying to do without.

Research shows repeated dieting actually makes it harder to lose weight and easier to put it on because when you dump the diet and return to normal eating habits the drop in metabolic rate caused by the diet means that your old habits actually represent an excess in calories.

Not only do you regain the fat stores just lost, but also you may even gain an extra bit.

Knowing this, you really don’t want to put yourselves through this rigorous process, but for this special occasion you will. First though, you will have to boost the metabolism that has been lowered by the dieting.

To do this you will have to perform a “Strength Training” workout to generate that initial spike in your metabolism. By increasing the lean muscle on your body by using Strength Training, your metabolism will increase, burning fat along the way.

The strength training technique I use requires just twenty to thirty mins per week. Gone are the days of the five-day a week program with 6 to 12 sets per body part that, method has never worked.

One short intense strength-training workout a week will elevate your metabolism more than you ever thought possible.

While the calories expended doing exercise are important, the increase in metabolism especially after strength training continues long after the exercise is finished, burning calories at the same time.

The two main components of this technique are the intensity of the exercise and the recovery after the exercise.

Infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is what is needed to increase functional lean muscle and lose body fat.

Small frequent meals should be consumed during the day each containing a little protein to maintain muscle mass and energy levels. A high quality broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement should also be taken on a daily basis.

As before get the calories from high quality food but if you can’t, utilize a blender to make concoctions from skim milk with whatever additives you want to use, just as long as you keep count of the calories for your daily total.

Now use these blender mixtures and solid food for your daily feedings. Spread it out over many small meals a day instead of the traditional three meals a day. The way to keep track of weight loss is to buy a calorie counter and record your daily calorie intake for a week.

Now average out how many calories you consume a day with the use of a seven-day eating plan and calorie counter, once you have this figure subtract 1000 calories and this will be the target number of calories you will be aiming for.

Remembering that one-pound of fat contains 3500cals, losing 1000 calories a day will total 7000 for the week, which equals two pounds lost by dietary means alone. Another technique for low calorie eating is to watch your fat intake as this has the most calories.

Incidental activity is also very important if you want to lose this amount of weight in this short period of time, by increasing incidental activity you can burn at least another pound a week The best exercise for the purpose of fat-loss is fast walking either indoors on the treadmill or outdoors.

Walk until you are mildly puffing and hold that rate until the allotted time. If your aerobic activities leave you panting or breathless, your going too hard, your energy is coming from your carbohydrate reserves and not from your fat stores. Try fast walking for one hour a day every day of the week.

Well there you have it, as an experienced trainer I wouldn’t recommend this type of program to my clients. The weight loss is just too quick and the program would be very hard to maintain owing to the very low caloric intake.

I advise my clients to decrease their calories by just 500 per day (and no more) below their maintenance levels and they will be losing 1 – 2 pounds of body fat every week, safely, without craving and without too much disruption to their lifestyle.

In conclusion remember, think long term here and that’s between 30 and 50 pounds of fat lost in six months. Any faster and all you will be losing is water and precious muscle tissue.

I am a huge believer in having goals. While some people spend too much time setting goals and not enough time achieving them, most people do not put much thought into goal-setting. When it comes to weight loss, it is especially important to set realistic goals.
By realistic, I do not mean “I want to lose 30 pounds in 30 days.” Oh, I’ve seen those claims many times. I’ve seen the claims of marketers that say their products can do that for you. I’ve also seen the claims of people that have said they can accomplish that feat. Can you lose 30 pounds in 30 days? Sure, but it is not healthy at all and will almost certainly return at some point in the near future. A good portion of this extreme weight loss will be in the form of muscle and that will kill your metabolic rate. For more on this, check my article on “Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss”.
So, what is a realistic amount of fat one can lose in 30 days? I would say, stick to the mantra of 1-2 pounds per week. That would mean about 4-8 pounds per month. Now, that may not sound like much, but let’s put it into a bit of perspective. Say you were to only lose one pound of fat each week. After one year, that would be 52 pounds! What if you had started losing one pound per week a year ago? Now imagine yourself this time next year at 52 pounds lighter. You may not even need to lose that much weight.
The key to weight loss goals is patience, realism, and a constant effort toward achieving them. At two pounds of body fat per week, after 13 weeks (3 months), you will have lost 26 pounds of body fat. That is very significant. It requires a lot of effort over the course of three months, but it is definitely attainable. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, this would be a good goal to start with. Close to 30 pounds in three months is much more realistic that 30 pounds in 30 days.
One note that I should make is concerning detoxification diets. I am actually a big proponent of the detoxification process as long as it is done properly. I will deal with this subject in a future article, but for now you should know that it involves eliminating certain foods from your diet (while sometimes adding certain natural supplements) in order to rid your body of toxins that have been stored over time. The detoxification process can lead to a large drop in excess water weight in a short period of time. This would mean that you may lose an additional 5-10 pounds of weight on top of the 1-2 pounds per week of body fat in the first 2-4 weeks. It is not an easy process, but it is definitely healthy and certainly worth the effort.
Other than that, I would recommend sticking to two pounds per week for a short-term aggressive approach and about 1.5 pounds per week for a longer-term goal. Remember that these pounds add up over time. Don’t check the scale every day as you will get discouraged quickly. Rather, stick to checking every two to four weeks. Also, take some measurement of your body and take note of how your clothes are fitting. Often, these are better indications of how your body is changing. Take pride in these accomplishments and don’t stress over the numbers.
Set goals. Make them aggressive but attainable. Set both short and long term goals and then go take action on them. Most importantly, be consistent because your efforts really will add up all the time. That will make you very happy in the end.

Are you planning to lose weight in 2 weeks and achieve the ideal weight you always wanted? Then, you should put some active planning into your weight loss program before you start so you will definitely have a better chance of reaching your weight goal. Here are four important tips: 1) Know how much weight you want to lose. This is very important because unless you have a solid goal in your mind then it makes it more difficult to achieve your 2 weeks weight loss plan. 2) Get professional advice before starting on any fat loss program for important safety and health concerns. If you are obese then you must absolutely do this! If you have any health problems, it is essential to discuss things with your doctor before starting any weight loss program as significant changes in nutrition and exercise can place additional loads on your body. 3) Request support of your friends and family to help you with your goal to lose weight. You should understand that it is very important to distance yourself from negative people and those who do not really offer you any support because there are always people around who do not want to see you improve in your life and reach your goal to lose weight. Let the world see that you can lose weight in just 2 weeks! 4) Take a photo of your body at the start of your weight loss program. Stand in front of a mirror and look at your body while visualizing how you want it to look. Usually, we often forget how much progress we make. But with a photo, you can look back and it offers you the encouragement you need when there are times you feel like the going might be a little more tough. You can start your two weeks weight loss program now by comparing the best weight loss products here: Natural Herbal Weight Loss Products