Friday, May 9, 2008

Help With Weight Loss

Losing weight can be a constant battle. And for many of us it's a never ending battle. First you have to decide how you are going to achieve the weight loss you want. Am I going to achieve the results by dieting alone, or a combination of dieting/exercise?

There are many fad diets floating around and you can waste a lot of time and money chasing the next easy weight loss fix. Weight loss really comes down to just 2 important factors, a sensible diet and regular exercise. You can purchase and follow the latest fad diet, and you will probably lose a few pounds but the moment you stop following it you can bet you will pile the pounds back on and probably with interest.

To achieve the weight loss you desire you don't have to spend countless hours working out at the gym leaving you without any spare time to pursue your other leisure time activities.

You do not have to avoid the foods you love and you definitely do not have to starve yourself. Two things you have to do straight away to lose weight is eat sensibly and exercise. Before you tuck into that piece of cake ask yourself do I need it? when did I last eat?, how much have I already consumed today?. With food you are better off having 4 to 5 small meals per day with a balanced nutritional mix. Don't have 5 meals of fried chicken if you do I do not believe you will see any benefit from you new eating plan.

Exercise, I for one like the gym but always seem to over do it and within a couple of weeks my training regime at the gym comes to an end. What does work for me is breaking my exercise into two parts AM and PM.

20 minutes of light exercise twice a day should be enough to start peeling off that excess weight.

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The Effects Of Habits On Weight Loss

Habits make or break your weight loss. I am going to walk you through 10 steps of successfully creating habits. Starting with the why question and leading through implementing new and healthy habits.

1. Why create a habit

Whether we like it our not habits control our lives. They can be little things such as brushing your teeth to big habits like eating habits. Anywhere you look in your life you will see that there are habits that are formed and determine how you do things.

Don't let this scare you though. The good thing is new and good habits can be formed any time. This means that habits control your life but you are in control of the habits.. The challenge comes for you to form those everyday habits into positive and productive habits. Habits that will take your weight loss where you want it to go.

2. Process to creating a habit

The question now is how do you create a habit. There was a study done by NASA involving sunglasses. There was a type of sunglasses that the NASA wanted to test with the astronauts. The only issue is that they messed with the astronauts vision. NASA decided to try an experiment with them. They had the astronauts wear the sunglasses for 30 days straight, no taking them off. After that period of time they found that the astronauts eyes and mind had adjusted to using these sunglasses without creating any problems.

Here is the interesting part of the study. If an astronaut would take off the sunglasses for one day before the 30 days were complete, their body would return to normal. That astronaut would have to restart the 30 day count and any days completed with the sunglasses were lost time.

Here is what this has to do with habits. To create a habit in your life, you need to do that habit for 30 days straight. This means you cannot stop you diet or exercise routine even one day during that 30 days. Just like with the NASA study, you will have to restart creating that habit in your life if you take a break..

3. What a habit will do in your life

As I mentioned before habits control your life from the little things to the big things. Lets take eating as an example. If you create a habit to eat good then you will have the desire to eat good food rather then eat the bad food. It's important to know that the greatest thing that a habit will do in your life is create an intense desire to do what the habit wants.

4. Using Habits

The good news about how habits work is that you can make them work for you. The bad part is that habits can work against you. There needs to be careful thought and consideration into what habits exist in your life. Ask yourself the question if the habits that control you now are the ones that you want and need to reach your goals.

5. Types of Habits: Removing

After you decide and go through the list of habits that you have in your life you will probably see habits you don't like. The first part of removing a habit from your life to recognize that the habit exists and that you want to remove it.

6. Types of Habits: Creating

The next step is choosing the habits you want in your life. Think about what you want to accomplish in your life. What habits do you need to do that? Make a list of the top 5 people you admire. Write down the five habits they have in there life that you could create in yours to lead you to the same success. I find that if I want to know this information that the best option is to talk to the person and ask them what they think is important. You might be surprised in what you learn by doing this.

7. Replace Habits

To remove one habit you will have to replace it with another. They are like roots in your life. If you try and pull one out of your life then you will need to replace it with another. For example, let us say that you have a habit of drinking soda pop and you have decided to quit. What you will need to do is replace it with something else like drinking water.

8. Start Small Habits

One issue that many people run into with trying to create habits is that they start to big. Let's take exercise for example. You want to create the habit of regular exercise in your life. You go down to the local gym and sign up for a membership. You decide then to pump weights three times a week. The problem that lies in this solution is the reason that most people don't continue to workout. It's because they are focused on the solution the wrong way. Instead of creating a habit of exercise, they just start to workout and then quit within a short period of time.

The correct way to go about choosing this exercise goal would be to begin doing a little workout for 15 minutes a day. This could include walking or riding a bike. The goal with this though is to do it 30 days straight without stopping, because we know that this will create a habit. The habit will become part of you and you will have the desire to exercise everyday. This is the power of a habit.

9. Build Habits

Build your habits one at a time. Imagine that each month of the year you created one new habit and replace one old habit. I know that it probably isn't as fast as you want things to change, but at the end of the year you would have 12 new habits in your life. That is enough to completely change your whole life. Imagine what would happen over 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years.

10. Always Move forward with your Habits

It is always good to keep moving forward, same with your good habits. In physics you learn that either something is gaining momentum or losing it. There is never a time when things just stay where they are. The habits you choose to do and move forward with will always need to be evaluated and changed. Make sure to always evaluate and choose whether there is a better habit to have for your weight loss or to improve a habit that you already have. By doing this you will always be in charge of your habits which means you will have control of your life.

Alexa Cooper and 10Steps To Weight Loss are dedicated to the MENTAL aspect of weight loss. Once the mind is set in place for Weight Loss the body will follow. 10 Steps To Weight Loss has set it's mission to give people tools and enable them to change their thinking to take weight loss to an amazing new level.

http://www.10stepstoweightloss.com/blog

Weight Loss: The Key to Discipline

Recently, two co-workers of mine were discussing their weight loss efforts and part of that conversation stuck with me. One of them said, "It sure is a lot harder to lose weight than it is to gain it." The other one answered, "Yeah, thats because gaining weight is fun." I laughed with them, because there is some truth to that statement.

Yes, it can be fun to eat with abandonment and not think about whether what you are eating is healthy or not; it is only the consequences that are painful. Examples of shorter term consequences are pain in your stomach, indigestion, and sluggishness. The longer term consequences are high blood pressure, heart disease, and shortness of breath. Seeing your appearance change for the worse is painful too. Focusing on these consequences is key to developing self-discipline.

Discipline is necessary to achieve your weight loss goals and any goal that you want to achieve in life. After all, you dont have to employ discipline to do those things that you enjoy. For example, I wouldnt have to discipline myself to eat chocolate bars because I enjoy them, however I do have to discipline myself to limit them in my life. How do I do it? Discipline requires two skills: Desire and diversion.

Desire means that you have to want the goal that your discipline will help you achieve more than anything. For example, I wanted to lose weight and get healthy more than I wanted the chocolate bars. Each time I desired the chocolate bar, I had to remind myself of the alternate goal and make it real and vivid. I had to see myself with that goal already achieved and experience the pleasure of it. I had to make that pleasure more intense than the pleasure I imagined I would receive from eating the chocolate bar.

The second skill is diversion, which is simply engaging in an activity that diverted my attention away from the undesirable activity. In the chocolate bar example, I had to either give myself something that I would enjoy eating that was healthier for me or perform an alternate activity that would help me better meet my needs. For example, if I was angry, eating a chocolate bar would not help me, but taking a long walk to cool off likely would.

My co-worker was right: For many of us, losing weight is harder than gaining it. But we need to remind ourselves that, although it is harder to lose weight, it is not impossible. It is also worth the effort. Then we use our key of discipline to help us achieve what we want. It is the only way to get the body that we deserve.

A Registered Nurse for many years, Kimberly Floyd battled obesity for much of her adult life. She achieved her ideal weight and has written a new book entitled 'Moneywise Weight Loss' which teaches others how to lose weight and save money--at the same time.

Kim has written articles for the Georgia Nurses Association publication and Nursing Spectrum Online. Now a technical writer, she has written training programs for corporate clients, including IBM, U.S. Bank, and Cingular.

Kim also teaches an online course called 'Goodbye to Shy'. This course is distributed to over 1100 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Australia through Thomson Learning. An accomplished speaker and trainer, she delivers presentations on health-related topics to enthusiastic audiences.

Healthy Weight Loss Product

Many weight loss products offer quick fix solutions. Manufacturers and distributors of these products provide promising claims that can tempt anyone to try. Who would not be interested products that can melt away your fat while you doze off? Or how about those made of 100 percent natural ingredients that guarantee long-lasting results?

Healthy options

Many people who want to lose weight try hard to find an effective weight loss product (or at least a healthy one). Finding one is very tricky, however. When planning to use a supposedly healthy product, examine it carefully. Consult a health care professional about it. Do not be swayed by advertising claims. Be aware of claims that have words like magical, guaranteed, effortless, easy, or mysterious. These weight loss products are simply unrealistic.

Multi-billion industry

Weight loss products is a multi-billion industry. In the United States alone, Americans spend $30 billion dollars on them. These products vary, coming in the form of diet foods, drinks, pills, potions, and even devices.

Some of the ineffective products are diet patches, bulk fillers, muscle stimulators, and certain appetite suppressants. Prescription medications for weight loss can have side effects. Take note of phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, an appetite suppressant that can increase blood pressure. Ephedra, one of the widely popular weight loss pills, has been banned because it can cause heart problems, chest pain, seizures, and stroke.

The only weight loss solution that guarantees healthy and permanent long-term results is a combination of low calorie diet and regular physical exercise. The calories you consumed should be burned so that these would not be stored as fat in your body. A healthy weight loss product can only serve as a supplement. A healthy weight loss product can never equal the effect of a low calorie diet and regular physical exercise.

Phillip England is a weight loss expert and Author of the popular report "The Ultimate Weight Loss Secret". To receive your free information on the secret that doctors, and health companies either don't know, or don't want you to know, please see http://www.theultimateweightlosssecret.com/secret

How To Lose Weight In Stomach Area - Myths And Facts

It is certainly no secret that thousands of people struggle trying to get rid of stomach fat. Many of these people have fit places on their bodies, however they still have that little or maybe not-so-little pooch that just won't go away. The encouraging news is that losing fat anywhere on our bodies requires the exact same tried and tested strategy - decrease calorie intake and increase physical activity. People who have excess fat in the stomach area often feel embarrassed by their condition and have low self esteem. Abdominal fat can often be quite difficult to get rid of because it is the primary storage area for adipose (fat) and is one of the last places that the body will give up its fat stores.

There are many fat loss myths out there - some quite funny and others just plain silly. Below are two common myths that prevent people from realizing their weight-loss goals.

Myth #1: Abdominal and oblique exercises burn fat from the stomach and love handles.
Since so many people believe this myth, most all of the abdominal product's infomercials claim to help you burn fat. While some fitness equipment and abdominal exercises will help firm and tone our abdominal areas, they will not get rid of the underlying fat. Performing aerobic exercises such as running or swimming, five times per week, thirty minutes per session will produce tremendous benefits if a healthy, low-calorie diet is followed.

Myth #2: Skipping meals will result in fat loss.
Skipping meals usually means a reduction in caloric intake and may result in weight loss, however skipping meals will not result in fat loss. Why? Because skipping meals hinders the bodys fat-burning mechanism - the metabolism from working efficiently. You see our metabolisms work best when we are eating small, balanced meals often. This is why bodybuilders usually eat five to six small meals per day.

Anyone who is serious about losing stomach fat must know what works and what doesn't. Below are a couple of tried and true fat loss facts.

Fact #1:
Exercising in the morning on an empty stomach is the best time to exercise in order to burn fat. For example, if you jog before breakfast, your body will be burning stored fat (the carbohydrates) you left there during the night. A study conducted in Europe a few years ago concluded that exercise in the morning before eating burns nearly three and a half times more fat than exercising in the evening! Obviously, exercising at any time during the day is better than not exercising at all.

Fact #2:
Fat-loss programs should include aerobic and weight training activity. People who combine both weight training and aerobic exercise achieve better results. The reason is quite simple. Aerobic activity increases the heart rate, resulting in an expenditure of calories and weight training increases our metabolic rate, enabling our bodies can burn calories all the time.

If getting rid of belly fat is your primary goal, develop a reasonable plan on how you would like to get started. Be sure that your strategy includes a healthy meal plan, weight training and aerobic activity. You're not going to lose belly fat in just a few days, so stay positive and you'll discover that it will get easier over time. Many people have realized their fat loss goals and you can too!

Scott Brooks is a fitness enthusiast and served as a combat fitness trainer for the US Army in 1995.

Check out Life and Body Transformation, a website dedicated to providing a wealth of information about healthy eating and fitness.

Get free access here: Life and Body Transformation

Weight Loss - Mental Preparation

There are so many information on how to lose weight easily and quickly. You have to be very careful which source information you should trust, because 80% of people don't want to help you at all. In this article I will go through the weight loss mental preparation which is required for every successful weight loss program.

If you are a person, who wants to lose weight you should first of all start from a goal. Every person who wants to achieve something should start from a specific goal, where he will describe what results he wants to achieve and how long will it take. In your case its weight loss and you should make yourself a goal, which would sound like "By the 23rd of June I will weigh seventy kilograms". Once you will set yourself a goal, you will lose the wanted amount of weight more easily, because you will how many kilograms you have to lose in a certain amount of time.

I personally think that this is the foundation of everything and once you have set yourself a goal you can move on. The second tip is to burn way more calories than you consume. If everyone could do this properly, everyone would have a perfect body, but the reality is that we can't burn more than we consume so successful weight loss experts try find their "perfect contrast" between how many calories they consume and how many calories they burn. Remember that effective weight loss workout starts from a goal and a plan.

In my opinion, person who has good mindset for weight loss, will lose weight quicker than a person who only goes to gym and does nothing more about his weight.

This is what I think about weight loss mental preparation. Readers don't have to agree with me, but I personally think this is the beginning of every successful weight loss program.

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Fat Loss Resolution 2008

I have achieved my fat loss resolution that I have set in September 2007 and in 2008 I like to continue on with this fabulous weight loss system that has worked for me and many of my friends that I have recommended to.

If you are the one that keeps eating the same type of foods from the same food grouping and hope to lose weight, you will be far from achieving your goal. What you need is a plan that tells you what to eat for 11 days and you need not worry about the calories, the carbs, the proteins, the fats etc. We people need something that is simple, no brainer system that tells us to eat this and that's it, simple.

Menu Software: This fat loss program has a menu software program that asks you what foods you like to eat, so it is customized to what you want. And you don't have to count your calories, the menu software will take care for you.

Calorie Shifting System: It is based on a system that burns fat fast and creates a high metabolism rate by rotating your food groups. Seem confusing but in a nutshell, you must not be eating the same types of foods from the same food group.

Yes you have set your resolution to scout for a proven diet program. But how badly do you want to lose fats?

What has helped me and my friends to achieve our goals are:

1. Determination:

In order for any system that you embark on to work, you need determination that you need to lose those extra pounds badly. Maybe it's for your boyfriend? For your girlfriend? Your Wife? Your Husband? With such motivation-driven determination, it is likely you will reach your goal.

2. Set Realistic Goal:

Do not expect to lose weight in a week. Though this system tell you that you will lose 9 lbs in 11 days, tell yourself if I have lost even 3 lbs in 11 days, it's OK. Set your expectations a little lower will help you to move forward and try harder.

3. Discipline:

You can have the top-range world-class diet system and if you do not have the discipline to keep to it, nobody can help you. If the system generates a menu for you for 11 days and tell you that you should eat this for day 1, day 2, etc. and if you follow it, then it will work. So keep that discipline. You are responsible for yourself. No one else.

4. Reward and Celebrate:

Once you achieve your target to lose your pounds, reward yourself with new smaller clothes. Start to get rid those big ones so that you have cause to celebrate.

5. Tell the Whole World:

That you are on a special fat loss diet program. This is to remind yourself that you are dead serious about it and you will have this goal accomplished for 2008. Period.

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My Best Wishes To You
Dr Jo Johnson