The Neuro-Science Of Losing The Weight You Hate |
by: John Assaraf |
| Are you one of the 90 million Americans who are currently on a diet? Do you lose weight only to gain every ounce of it back? Well you're not alone. The national center for health statistics suggests that over 64 % of Americans are overweight and that figure is growing every year. There are currently over 300 books on dieting and over 16,000 variations of diets from which to choose. People spend over $40 billion a year on every magic potion or pill that they think will help them lose the weight they hate. Unfortunately, 95% gain back all the weight only to once again look for the next hot new diet. John Assaraf, one of the world's leading optimum performance experts, suggests we look at the cause of this epidemic instead of relying on diets and temporary weight loss tricks. "People don't understand how their brain functions and therefore gain all the weight they lose 99% of the time," said John Assaraf. "To diet using will power and exercise is absolutely the worst way to take off the weight you hate, if you want to keep it off for good." Will power is a very short-term solution for weight loss since it is controlled by the conscious mind. The latest scientific research shows that the non-conscious, conditioned side of your personality controls five sixths of your behavior and therefore your long-term results. This means that 83% of the time you are acting automatically at a non conscious level and explains why you regain all your weight back. For permanent weight loss, you must re- train the 5/6th your brain if you really want to keep it off. AMYGDALA A recent discovery has to do with your amygdala. This part of your brain doesn't like change and will release neuro-transmitters anytime you try to change something in your life like your weight. It picks up any deviation from your normal weight and basically causes you to revert back to your old patterns of thoughts and behaviors. It works exactly like the thermostat in your home that automatically picks up any change in room temperature and then automatically corrects it. This explains why people on diets often go on eating binges even while they are on their diet. Through the years we become conditioned to a certain internal "weight set point" Once this is done we don't have to think about the day-to-day food intake and activities we need to do to maintain our internal image. This is exactly how we form our habits. Once any habit is ingrained in our brain we function automatically without thought to maintain that internal image. If you don't like your current weight, you must break your old patterns and old conditioning at the non-conscious level or face the pain of the yoyo syndrome. Your internal mental system operates exactly like the mechanism that keeps airplanes, missiles or boats on course once they have set their coordinates into the system. The outer body is only an expression of the internal image. If you want to see permanent changes on the outside, you must re-train the mental image on the inside first. The most recent research suggests that it takes about 30 days of everyday mental training to "re-train" the brain if you want long lasting and permanent weight loss. By doing a few simple visualization exercises seeing yourself at your perfect weight, you start to recondition your internal image and you begin to erase the old image. The more you do this the faster you'll see results. The good news is that you can't get a brain hernia if you overdo it. POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS Another simple technique you can use is a written positive affirmation. For example, declare: I now weigh xxxx. My body fat is xxxxx. I feel and look great I am at my ideal and perfect weight now If you repeat reading this and really seeing it on the screen of your mind for at least 30 days, you'll have a far superior chance of keeping to your ideal weight. You can also cut out photos of the body type you like and paste your picture to it and review it as frequently as possible. The reason for using present tense affirmations is simple. The non-conscious side of your brain does not know the difference between an actual event and a lie or an imagined one and, it also does not understand the future. Once it is conditioned through repetition and real life or imagined experiences, it will immediately make the outside match up with the internal image. -- You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to: John@TheStreetKid.com About the Author John Assaraf |
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The humble soybean boasts some extraordinary benefits. This nutritional powerhouse has stayed under wraps for too long. Apart from being the only vegetable protein with all 20 amino acids essential for our health and well being, the humble soybean has many other virtues...including an excellent foundation for fast, safe weight loss program.
According to Dr David Heber in "The LA Shape Diet" women who are on a weight loss program, need about 100 grams of protein per day to fight against hunger and to build their best personal lean muscle shape whilst still losing weight. Without the appropriate level of proteins in a low calorie diet, people and women in particular, risk losing 1 pound of muscle for every 4 pounds of weight lost!
Dr Heber recommends soy-protein shakes or soy-protein fruit smoothies as a safe and healthy way to achieve fast and permanent weight loss. Apart from the wonderful health advantages of soy, this a safe protein source without the unwanted cholesterol and saturated fats that accompany animal protein sources and sabotage low calorie weight loss programs.
Read on to discover some other wonderful benefits of this incredible this food source.
1. Soy contains health enhancing isoflavones. Isoflavones are compounds found only in plants which have strong antioxidant properties. These compounds repair, and help prevent damage to cells caused by pollution, sunlight, and normal body processes. Free radicals can easily cause harm to the immune system, whose cells divide often. They may also be responsible for some of the changes of aging.
2. Reduce risk of heart disease. Soy's protein and isoflavones lower LDL cholesterol and decrease blood clotting, which reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. In one study, people who drank a "milk shake" containing 25g of soy protein for nine weeks experienced, on average, a 5% reduction in LDL cholesterol. And people with the highest LDL levels experienced a 11% drop. (For each 10% to 15% drop in the LDL level, the risk of a heart attack decreases 20% to 25%).
3. Protection against cancer. Soy's soluble fiber protects the body from many digestive related cancers, such as colon and rectal cancer. While its isoflavones may protect the body from many hormone related cancers, like breast, endometrial (uterine) and prostate cancer. Isoflavones act against cancer cells in a way similar to many common cancer-treating drugs.
4. Counter the effects of endometriosis. The isoflavones in soy products may help to offset the action of the body's natural estrogen, which is often responsible for instigating the monthly pain, heavy bleeding and other symptoms of endometriosis.
5. Protect against prostate problems. Eating soy products may protect against enlargement of the male prostate gland. The size of the prostate gland tends to increase with age, causing various types of urinary difficulties, including frequent nighttime awakenings.
6. Guard against osteoporosis. Soy's protein enhances the body's ability to retain and better absorb calcium in the bones, while its isoflavones slow bone loss and inhibit bone breakdown, which helps prevent osteoporosis. There is evidence to suggest that isoflavones may also assist in creating new bone.
7. Control symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. Soy's isoflavones help the body regulate estrogen when this hormone is declining or fluctuating, which helps alleviate many menopausal and PMS symptoms. Research has shown that soy isoflavones can reduce menopausal hot flushes in women.
8. Help control diabetic conditions and kidney disease. Soy's protein and soluble fiber help regulate glucose levels and kidney filtration, which helps control diabetic conditions and kidney disease.
What an incredible little bean! With such profound health benefits how can you overlook this wonderful food source? If you haven't yet noticed, gone are the days when the only way soy products came were in strange tasting meat substitutes. You can now access a wide range of soy products and use soy in a variety of ways to suit any taste palate.
If you are looking for a way to lose fifteen pounds in two weeks, a high protein diet, a low carb diet, a fruit diet, a no fat diet, a blood type diet, a juice fast, a diet named after a place in Miami, a grapefruit diet, a cactus diet, a coffee and cigarette diet, a diet that includes sweets, a diet based on your body type, a diet based on an ancient religion or a diet based on your hair color, then this article is NOT for you.
Fad and crash diets, such as the ones described above are not only unhealthy but they also cause rebound weight gain. Also most diets, even though diet gurus write them, cause an initial weight loss but the ultimate result is that you gain all of the weight back the minute you go off the plan. If you don't gain it back within a couple of diets, you are likely to gain it all back plus a bit more within a year.
Crash diets dehydrate you, low calorie diets put your body into starvation mode so you plateau so you can't lose one more pound and high protein diets stress your kidneys and clog your arteries.
So how does one lose weight?
There is only one answer to this question.
You need to expend more calories than you are taking in. Restricting certain foods, eating so-called fat burning foods, or dehydrating yourself with special pills or teas does not do it. It is simple math. The only way is to eat a little less and exercise a little more. Here is the equation below:
Eating Less + Exercising More = Weight Loss.
This is not a magical formula, it is just logic. It is also not a fast way to lose weight. As I have mentioned before, this is not an article about how to lose ten pounds in three days or 30 pounds in a month. It is about safe, healthy weight loss.
In order to lose weight quickly and safely and without putting yourself at risk for such health hazards as dehydration, kidney failure, malnutrition, exhaustion, nervous dysfunction, tooth loss, dull hair, wrinkles, cellulite, sudden heart failure or stroke and lose the weight so that it stays off, you should lose no more than approximately two pounds a week!
Although that might not sound like a large amount of weight to lose it actually is! If you lose 2 pounds a week that means you can achieve a weight loss of ten pounds a month! If you only have twenty pounds to lose then your weight loss is not only quite rapid, but you have the extra guarantee that it will stay off because you have followed a sensible exercise plan that did not involve starving, exhausting or depriving yourself. If you are willing to drop your impatience and desire for immediate gratification and stick to an exercise plan and healthy eating habits, then a Mediterranean Diet is for you. Remember being slim is only good if you are able to enjoy it!
Do You Need to Lose Weight?
Fascination with Fat
If you want to lose weight, you first need to assess whether you need to actually lose weight or are simply a fashion victim. Unfortunately this society is fascinated with fat - who has it and who doesn't. As we are persuaded by so many images in the media that persuade us to believe that you can never be too thin, many of us are bad judges of our actual body weight.
If you are under the age of eighteen and reading this book, the first thing you need to do is consult with your parent about your plans to lose weight. Have her make an appointment with a physician so that he can indicate to you whether or not you are a candidate for weight loss.
If you are an adult, it is possible that you may not be overweight and are just trying to be, as Bridget Jones put it in Bridget Jones Diary "a stick insect with eyelashes." It is also very possible that you know you need to lose weight but have no idea where to start.
If you are obese and you know it, then you have to check with a physician first to see how your health is before you embark on any exercise program or plan. The same is also true if you have any kind of medical condition but especially a thyroid condition or heart condition. Some physicians may not recommend a weight loss program for those who are over 40 as due to genetics and hormonal changes some people naturally just round out or gain weight in a way that simply cannot be changed. If your doctor tells you your spreading hips are due to menopause or genetics, believe him! It is not clever to fool with Mother Nature.
Lose 30 pounds in 30 days! Lose the weight without the effort! Eat anything you want, and still lose weight!
Everywhere you look - magazine covers, print ads, radio, TV infomercials, the internet - headlines like those above, promoting the latest weight loss sensation, abound. They are impossible to avoid. Whether it is for the latest diet craze, magic pill, or infomercial gadget, we are inundated with a large daily dose of weight-loss-made-easy promises. And these ads obviously work, as the American Obesity Association estimates that American consumers spend over $30 billion per year trying to lose weight. Some estimates even put the figure higher, at over $50 billion.
Every day, in the quest to achieve the results claimed in the ads, people question which of these diets, supplements, or gadgets really work the best. It is a question that can best be answered with another question: If any of these products or diets really worked, why is it that, according to the Center for Disease Control, currently 65% of adults in this country are overweight? The truth is, while the ads work wonderfully, the products do not. Let's face it, if any of them did what the ads claim, nobody would be fat! We would all just pop a pill, or stop eating bagels, or use Suzanne Somers' latest gizmo for just 7 minutes a day, then run out and buy smaller clothes. Have you ever stopped to wonder why all of the "After" pictures in those ads have "Results not typical" stamped on them in really small print?
If these products do not work, why do we spend billions of dollars on them every year? There are a number of reasons, and some of the main reasons combine to create a very compelling force which drives people to make emotional spending decisions, when logic would dictate that they should know better.
* Overweight people have often tried dozens of different weight loss programs and some become desperate for a solution.
* People want to hear that there is hope.
* Very clever marketing, often disguised as science, reaches these people with the offer of that hope.
* Given that most people do not understand the science behind how the body works, they are willing to believe that this deceptive marketing actually is based in science, and the hope they desire can be theirs for just 3 easy payments of $39.95.
We are a society that wants instant gratification, and with a simple phone call and our credit card number, that weight loss is just a new, exciting miracle pill or best-selling diet book away.
Sadly, the only thing consumers are losing is money. Let's focus on the myriad of fad diets out there. Many of you will think I am crazy for saying this, but for the vast majority of people looking for long term fat loss, health, and fitness, diets simply do not work. Regardless of which book you run out and buy, in most cases calorie restricted diets, while showing short term weight loss on the bathroom scale, in the long term will lead to a slower metabolism and greater body fat than the dieter started with.
Think about it. We all know someone on a diet. How many of those people are dieting for the first time? Probably very few. Who doesn't know a dieter who can list all of the 'great' diets he has been on?
"Oh, in '89 I lost 23 pounds on the Cambridge Diet, then in '92 I lost 27 pounds on the Scarsdale Diet, in '95 I lost 30 pounds on that grapefruit diet, I did The Zone in 2000 and lost 16 pounds, then in '02 I did great and lost 24 pounds on Atkins, but now I think I'm going to do the South Beach Diet because I need to lose some weight."
One more diet and this person should weigh about 34 pounds. The unfortunate truth is that just about every time someone attempts weight loss with a diet based on calorie deprivation, they will end up gaining back the weight they lost, and then some.
Low carb, low fat, nothing but grapefruit.. It does not matter what kind of diet you choose, because behind the marketing hype, they generally all have one thing in common: The dieter is restricting calorie intake. A quick science lesson is needed to understand how our bodies react to a calorie restricted diet. First, when a dieter severely cuts back on their caloric intake, especially by cutting out carbs, they will quickly deplete their glycogen stores. What is glycogen? Well, when carbohydrates are ingested, they break down into sugars that are transported by the bloodstream and stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Glycogen is one of the main energy sources used by our bodies. An important fact to know is that every gram of glycogen stored in our muscles stores approximately 2.4 grams of water with it. So, by restricting carbs and depleting muscle glycogen, the dieter also releases a lot of water. This is one of the main reasons the scale will show a large loss of weight when one initially goes on a diet. Unfortunately, the goal should be to lose fat, not water which the body needs.
Next, the body does not know why it is suddenly getting less food, so a million years or so of evolution kick in and direct it to go into famine survival mode. Fat is the body's long term survival energy source, so it decides that it must conserve fat to survive. That is probably not what you were hoping to hear, but unfortunately that is the way it works. In order to make up the deficit in available energy sources brought on by the diet, the body begins to break down muscle to use as an energy source. Another important science nugget to know is that muscle is metabolically active tissue and fat is not. In other words, muscle burns calories throughout the day, while fat just sits there. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even if you are just sitting on the couch. Of course, as we just discovered, the dieter is losing muscle due to the calorie restricted diet, so he is now actually burning fewer calories throughout the day. Again, looking to survive the perceived famine, the body becomes more efficient at storing fat and slowing down its metabolism to adjust to the lack of food coming in. Haven't we all heard someone complain that no matter how much they diet, they cannot lose weight because they are the victim of a slow metabolism? The reality is that, for the vast majority of people, we are the CREATORS of our metabolism, NOT the victims of it.
Now the body has slowed down it's metabolism to the point where the dieter stops losing weight. The usual reaction is to cut calories back even further. Of course, as we now understand, this only compounds the problem as more muscle will be broken down, further hindering the body's ability to burn calories throughout the day. Diets based on calorie deprivation usually are not sustainable for the long term, and eventually the dieter becomes discouraged and returns to their pre-diet eating routine. Unfortunately, this person has slowed down their metabolism significantly and is burning fewer calories than they were pre-diet. So, when they go back to their old eating habits, the weight comes right back on and it comes back as fat, not as the muscle that they lost. If they started out at 200 lbs with 25% body fat and lost 15 lbs during the diet, when they gain the weight back and hit 200 lbs again, their body fat percentage will now probably be closer to 30%! This is an illustration of a term most people are familiar with, yo-yo dieting, and it is why surveys show that over 80% of people who lose weight by dieting alone say that they gained back all of the weight they lost, if not more, within a year.
Does this mean that people should just give up trying to lose weight? Not at all. It just means people need to stop looking for the next quick fix diet that comes down the road. Nobody wants to hear that it takes actual effort to lose weight, but I am sorry to say that it does. It should say something that the obesity rate in this country continues to climb while all of the diet gurus out there rake in millions from innocent people looking for a solution. Obviously, reasons for being overweight vary, and every individual responds in a unique way to a weight loss program. But, for true long term fat loss and improved overall health and fitness, there are some common sense truths:
* A need to eat a balanced diet containing complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and essential fats. Avoid highly processed carbohydrates, excess sugars, and excess saturated fats.
* Eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day is better than eating 2 or 3 larger meals. You will have more energy throughout the day, and your body will burn calories more efficiently.
* Performing moderate aerobic activity provides many benefits including improved cardiorespiratory function, improved endurance, lower blood pressure, and improved cholesterol to name a few.
* In addition to aerobic activity, people should perform resistance training to maintain or increase lean muscle mass. As we have learned, maintaining our muscles mass is critical in driving our metabolism and the key to losing not just body weight, but body fat.
Keep these points in mind the next time you hear about the latest 'miracle' or 'breakthrough' diet and you will be on your way to losing pounds, and not just your money.
Dave Soucy, Fitness Consultant and Certified Personal Trainer, is the owner of Perfect Fit, LLC.
Dave can be reached at (603) 641-8297, via email at dave@perfectfitonline.com, or through www.perfectfitonline.com
Copyright © 2004 Perfect Fit, LLC. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dave Soucy, Fitness Consultant and Certified Personal Trainer, is the owner of Perfect Fit, LLC. Dave can be reached at (603) 641-8297, via email at news@perfectfitonline.com, or through www.perfectfitonline.com
With the healthcare industry coming up with newer programs and medications to aid the obese, people are also experimenting with different options to control their weight gain.
Overweight people try out different diet plans, diet pills, exercises, and they also join Weight Control Programs to lose their weight. They often succeed with their objective, but only to put it all back again once the dieting fever is over.
After significant weight loss, it becomes very important to pursue an exercise regimen strictly. Exercise is crucial to keep your muscles firm and helps tighten the skin. The diet plans must be followed even after losing weight. One of the biggest drawbacks to a substantial weight loss is the flabby skin that is visible and which often takes months to disappear.
The best way to maintain palpable weight loss is to keep on exercising daily as a routine. Daily work-out is an excellent way to lose weight and burn fat, improve fitness and boost energy levels. Jogging or walking is considered one of the best exercises for strengthening bones, controlling weight, and balancing your body. It stimulates the mind, increases self-esteem and a sense of achievement which can add a new dimension to your day.
How much your skin tightens depends on various factors: your age, length of time the skin was stretched; how much weight you lost (and to some extent how fast you lost it), and the amount of elasticity in your skin. Another contributing factor is the genes.
Regular work-out helps your body by tightening and toning up the skin and your muscles. It definitely improves and shows up on your appearance.
For stomach, the best option is to maximize the metabolic rate. In trivial terms, metabolic rate is defined as "how fast we burn the calories we consume." Our body burns calories 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Our individual metabolic rates depend upon factors like whether we are at rest or we are active, and when we ate last. The way to maximize the number of calories we burn each day is not to give up sleep but to maximize our metabolic rate while we are active.
Every study pertaining to weight control has laid stress on the fact that the people who are most active are most successful in sustaining weight loss. Most scientists agree that exercise is the single best interpreter of weight maintenance success.
An equally important way is to seek and encourage the support of friends and family. Include them wherever possible in the healthier aspects of your new life. Support is extremely essential for anyone with weight loss and fitness related goals.
Hence the baseline is to burn more calories than you consume, by either reducing your caloric intake, or increasing your daily activity as you lose weight; so by the time you get to your goal weight, you can keep it off with your activity.
The end result is a great start of long term weight-loss plan and a healthier you!
To study in detail about weight loss tips, please visit www.slimtour.com as it contains valuable information on weight loss.
Fasting, when done properly, can be a basic part of a solid weight loss plan. If done correctly it can be a great start to your new way of living.
When I first started my weight loss program I began with a fast. I have fasted for 2-7 days on a few different occasions. The reason that fasting can be such a great way to start a weight loss program is because you can see results immediately.
It will also make it very easy to stick to your diet for the first week. After not eating for a few days, your food will taste better. This is a great time to go a few days eating only fruits and vegetables. This can easily turn your two day fast into a 7 day, full body cleanse.
Fasting can make you look much thinner in only a couple days. You may not lose a significant amount of weight, but it will look like you have. It can make your waist noticeably thinner and clear up blemishes or skin problems.
Although I do not think fasting is to be used specifically for weight loss, I think you can do it to get your body ready for a healthier way of living. Use it as a way to cleanse your body out and get rid of all the toxins clogging your system.
I suggest drinking fruit and vegetable juices while fasting. I have read that you should do a water fast, but it can be a miserable experience if you have never fasted before. So stick to natural juices.
One of the better results I saw from my fasting experience was that I have more self control over my eating habits. I have always been a binge type of eater. After my fast, I felt like I could restrain myself easier. It is probably a mental attribute. I mean if I can go without eating for 7 days then I can sure keep myself from eating something I shouldn't.
So although I don't think you can use fasting as a diet or weight loss program, I do feel that it can be a great start to a proper weight loss diet and exercise program. I think it is definitely something that everybody should do at least once a year.
If you have any health problems you should consult a physician before starting any weight loss program. And, if you absolutely cannot go without food then simply try going a few days eating vegetables and fruits only. This will give you most of the same results as the fasting will. However, I recommend the fast over the fruits and vegetables because of the confidence and control you will begin to enjoy as a result.
Weight control is a prevalent concern for many women after pregnancy. Although common during pregnancy, weight gain is difficult for many women to handle emotionally. Many women are unclear about how to separate fact from fiction concerning this "post-pregnancy" weight control. First of all, women need to understand how much weight gain is actually "normal" during pregnancy. Do try to keep in mind that your pregnancy weight wasn't gained overnight so it won't disappear that quickly, either. As a matter of detail, you gained that weight so that you would have plenty of reserves for feeding your baby.
Eat healthy foods. This really is unnoticed, though. Emphasize nutrient rich foods, which are not having too much fat. Avoid oily snack foods and so-called healthy foods like cheese and complete milk. Eat more fruits, vegetables, grains, pastas and beans and avoid red meat and salads laden with dressing. Try to build some outdoor activity into your day. In some way walk with your baby every day and try to get a jogging stroller added to your wish list. Sling makes carrying your baby more resourceful and burn more calories. Drink plenty of water. Avoid soda, cool drink and juice. Some foods are they were truly empty calories. Combining 200 fewer calories per day of higher fat foods that's just a couple portion of dressing or a piece of cheese with 20 minutes of a good walk with your baby will lead to exactly the weight loss and conditioning you want. Add in a little formal or informal yoga and stretching and you'll get there even sooner.
Weight loss after pregnancy can be slow and many new mothers find it difficult to continue a diet after having a baby. Babies do not recognize your desire to lose weight and regain your figure. As a result regular meals can be difficult. However, please avoid the fast or 'starve' yourself into regaining your pre-pregnancy shape. Stock up with healthy, filling, convenient snacks, like soups, low-fat pasta sauces, lean meats, whole meal bread and cereals, fresh vegetables and fat-free dairy products.There seems to be a myth that weight loss after pregnancy can only be successful if it occurs quickly. Somehow, many women feel that if they have not lost all the pregnancy weight by 1 year after delivery, something is wrong with them, they are not standard, or they have failed in some way. In fact, the truth is that weight loss after pregnancy can take a very long time, sometimes even few years, without signifying that something is wrong.
Gradual weight loss is the standard, not the exception, and the rate of weight loss depends on several factors, such as whether there were difficulties with the pregnancy or delivery. Pregnancy complications can make a woman feel weak with her mobility. Certain diseases like postpartum inflammation of the thyroid gland, which is a general complication that shows itself soon after delivery, can cause massive weight struggles if they are severe. Exercising every single day, even if that exercise is just walking, is an absolute must and the lack of exercise is what often holds up the process.
Consulting a dietician is a best way to obtain an individualized plan. The dietician will assess key issues like your food preferences, schedule.. etc in order to create a customized individual plan. As well, while you follow the dietician's plan, you needsto keep up daily exercise to optimize your weight loss. We are only human. Fast weight loss will not stay off, but rational weight loss will stay off. Weight loss will simply not be acceptable if exercise is lacking. This is true for many reasons; including that exercise helps to keep your body's metabolism from decreasing extremely while dieting.
Weight loss plans come in all shapes and sizes. Some are fad diets that are too restrictive to follow more than a couple of weeks, while others are provided by professionals that make customized plans for us. All of them give us some guidelines on what we should and shouldn't eat to ultimately reach our weight loss goals. No matter how many food plans we try, healthy or unhealthy, there are some fundamental things you must know in order to be successful in a weight loss program that, believe it or not, have nothing to do with food.
1. Readiness- Are you ready to make change in your life right now? How would you know? The reason many weight loss plans fail is because people are not truly emotionally ready for change. In order to have true lifelong weight loss you have to commit to trading your old habits in for a new, healthier lifestyle. This has more to do with readiness for change than a desire to shed pounds- there is a big difference. The good news is, as you start on the journey to change these old habits you will be amazed how much better you feel physically, psychologically, and emotionally. This is the place where the people who have experienced long term weight loss have entered and want to stay. When you are truly committed to changing your lifestyle you will achieve lifelong weight loss and so much more!
Ask yourself a few questions. Are you ready to make permanent dietary changes for you and your family? Are you ready to start exercising regularly? Are you ready to defend your new lifestyle changes to those who are undermining your efforts? Don't fret if you aren't completely ready to dive into change. This is the stage to keep up the learning process by reading articles and gathering information. You will know when the time is right and that will be when you answer an unequivocal "Yes!" to the above questions.
2. Developing a vision. When I ask people what their goals are for a weight loss program the answer is always, "to lose weight of course", or "to lose x amount of pounds". It is crucial to have another more, heart-felt reason to lose weight other than losing pounds and appearance. This is because when times are tough, and they will be during any change process, you will need a heart-felt or internal reason to lose the weight to keep you motivated. Losing weight for appearance is ok but it is an external reason and will not help to keep you motivated for long.
In the past my clients have chosen things like, being able to play with their kids, running a marathon, backpacking trip they have longed to go on for years, and a big motivator is often a health condition. I call this your vision. It is imperative to take a few minutes to learn what your vision is. What is important to you that you will be able to achieve with weight loss? Write this vision down and plaster it everywhere so you always see your end goal and it will always help to motivate you further when times are tough.
3. Self Talk - is yours negative or positive? Unfortunately it's true that we are our own worst critics and like hearing any critic it often leads us to failure because we believe the critic is right. Furthermore, we start to believe things are true that are absolutely not true. For instance, if a child is told they are a klutz from an early age they will likely always think they are a klutz. We believe what we are told repeatedly.
What do you tell yourself? One common statement I hear a lot of these days is, "I can't eat carbohydrates because once I start I can't stop". This is a belief that you have set up from constant defeating self-talk and once you believe it then no doubt you will act it out. However, there is no scientific reason why a person would not be able to stop eating after having a bite of carbohydrates. Your belief makes it your reality. So whenever you hear yourself say I can't do something or any other self-defeating talk. Stop yourself and change the sentence to a positive. For example, I realize that carbs have been a challenge for me in the past but I can eat a portion and put the rest away for later. Keep working on your own positive reinforcement by being gentler with yourself and tell yourself all that you CAN do.
4. Be prepared for change. All weight loss programs require us to change a habit yet no one warns us about the process of change. The first thing to know is that the beginning of change is difficult and uncomfortable. This is because it forces us to get off autopilot and focus on our new behaviors. Luckily it takes about 21 days to make a new habit and the uncomfortable part goes away and our new habits become autopilot.
For example: Imagine you get your dream job and it requires that you have to get up at 5:30am. Yikes! You normally get up at about 7:30 am. So, what do you think will happen that first morning when the alarm goes off at 5:30? You aren't going to feel so great and your body is going to beg you to get back into your warm bed! This will go on for about 2-3 weeks until your body stops fighting you and realizes this is the new habit. The same thing will happen to you when you change eating and exercise habits. Just expect a little resistance and keep going! Your new healthy changes will eventually become your new habit. You just have to keep at it.
10 to 20 pounds can improve your health by lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Your body weight is controlled by the number of calories you eat and the number of calories you use each day. So, to lose weight you need to take in fewer calories than you use. You can do this by becoming more physically active or by eating less.
Following a weight loss program that helps you to become more physically active and decrease the amount of calories that you eat is most likely to lead to successful weight loss. A weight loss program should also help you keep the weight off by making
changes in your physical activity and eating habits that you will be able to follow for the rest of your life.
To lose weight and keep it off, you should follow a weight loss program that will work for you. Three types of weight loss programs commonly used include: do-it-yourself, clinical and
non-clinical programs.
Any efforts to lose weight by you or with a group of like-minded others through support groups, worksite or community-based programs fits in the "do-it-yourself" category. Individuals using a do-it-yourself program rely on their own judgment, group support, and products such as diet books for advice.
Clinical program may or may not be commercially owned. Services
are provided in a health-care setting such as a hospital, by licensed health professionals such as physicians, nurses, dietitians, and/or psychologists. In some clinical programs, a health professional works alone; in others, services are provided by a group of health professionals. This program may offer services such as nutrition education, medical care,
behavior change therapy, and physical activity.
Non-clinical programs may or may not be commercially operated, such as through a privately-owned weight loss chain. They often use books and pamphlets that are prepared by health-care providers. These programs use counselors (who usually are not health-care providers and may or may not have training) to
provide services to you. Some programs require participants to use the program's food or supplements.
Other weight loss methods used to treat severely overweight patients include low-calorie diets, prescription weight loss drugs and surgery. If you are considering a weight loss program
and you have medical problems, or if you are severely overweight, programs run by trained health professionals may be best for you. These professionals are more likely to monitor you for possible side effects of weight loss and to talk to your doctor when necessary.
The key to successful weight loss is making changes in your eating and physical activity habits that you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. The first step is to look at
your eating and physical activity habits, thus uncovering behaviors such as television watching, that lead you to overeat or be inactive. Next you'll need to learn how to change those
behaviors.
Johnny Layton, MS., Publisher of Health and Fitness Facts newsletter. Subscribe and receive a free gift. http://www.1800healthfitness.com/subscribe.htm. Web site: http://www.1800healthfitness.com
I don't know anything about you but if you're anything like me then you struggle with a weight loss problem. Your weight loss problem consists of you struggling to keep your weight down, or struggling to make your weight go down.
Most people who see me wouldn't believe that I have a weight loss problem, but I do. I've battled bulimia and constant gains and losses in weight, of ten pounds each time. Thats what I call a big weight loss problem.
A lot of women and men with the same or a similar weight loss problem would sympathize with me I'm sure. I want to look good (who doesn't?) so that always motivates me to go on a diet.
But after sticking to a diet for a week and dropping the unwanted weight my love for good tasting food overpowers my need to feel attractive and the weight piles back on pound by pound.
There is always exercise to help with a weight loss problem, I remind myself as I lie lazily on the couch chomping down on one of my non-diet treats. "Sure!" I groan "I don't feel like wearing my butt out without seeing any results for weeks at a time."
Whenever I start a workout regimen I only stick to it for a few weeks (usually less) and then I get bored and drop it. So my weight loss problem continues.
How many other women I wondered (or men, for that matter) get bored while exercising? I thought about that for awhile then I set about to find a solution to help all those poor people (and myself too, of course) with this weight loss problem.
First I asked myself: What did I like to do? What did I find Interesting?
"Hmmmm, well" I thought "I like dancing, but long periods of it are exhausting. I like to read, to listen to music, and I really dislike being on my feet for over long periods of time.
What could possibly combine all or most of these to make my exercising interesting and help solve my weight loss problem?
The solution to my weight loss problem was amazingly simple!
I own an old stationary bike, and I do mean OLD, but the important thing is that it operates. You can do this with any form of stationary bike, whether it's a twenty year old model or an up to date model.
It doesn't matter whether you own the stationary bike or use a gym's or your local YMCA's or YWCA's facilities.
My weight loss problem solution is this:
Find something engrossing to read. It could be a novel or your favorite magazine. Or listen to music that you enjoy, you could even use audio books or any different CD's or things you could listen to.
I suppose if your bike was somewhere around a television or computer with a DVD player, you could even watch your favorite movie.
The next step is to mount your stationary bide and start biking while reading or doing any of the above listed activities, and not to get off for at least 45 to 60 minutes, except for an occasional rest every quarter of an hour.
I usually just keep biking away the whole time and sometimes I bike longer because I'm so engrossed in what I'm reading, and I won't allow myself to read it once I'm off the stationary bike.
After a week of this, without change in my eating habits, or any dieting, I'm maintaining a healthy weight. Best of all I'm not putting on any new pounds, and my legs look visibly slimmer.
So I've kissed my weight loss problem goodbye, and I'm saying hello to slim jeans and size 6 dresses, and you can too.
For the first time in a long while I actually look forward to putting on a bikini.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
If this method isn't appealing to you or just doesn't work, you should try visiting Brad Callen's website at: http://snipurl.com/98g1
He gives excellent weight loss advice for those seeking it.
Aerobic cross-training refers to using two to three different types of aerobic exercise during an exercise session. For example, if you plan to exercise for 60 minutes, you might start with 20 minutes of walking or jogging, followed by 20 minutes of biking, and finish with 20 minutes of rowing.
Now, please don't get the impression that you have to be in great shape to do this or that it has to be 60 minutes long. You can start with something as simple as a ten minute walk followed by ten minutes with an exercise video. This is cross-training too. You can gradually build up from there.
Here are some of the exercises you can use in your cross-training program; walking, jogging, biking, rowing, stair climbing, swimming, exercise videos, etc. Any combination of aerobic exercises will do. You simply go from one to the next with very little time between them.
Aerobic cross-training is beneficial to you in several ways:
1. It provides variety which eliminates the monotony often associated with doing the same exercise for a long period of time.
2. If your exercise sessions are less monotonous and more enjoyable, you are much more likely to exercise more often and for longer periods of time.
3. You are less prone to over-use injuries that sometimes occur from doing the same exercise movements over and over again.
4. You tone more muscles because you are using more muscles. For example, walking tones mostly the lower body muscles and rowing tones upper body muscles also. Even exercises like walking and biking that both tone lower body muscles, tone them at different angles and each tones some small muscles that the other doesn't.
5. Aerobic conditioning is very specific to the muscles being worked. For example, you can walk ten miles a day and still be somewhat breathless after climbing stairs because you haven't trained the muscles for that specific movement. Aerobic cross-training allows you to develop more comprehensive aerobic training.
6. Aerobic cross-training is effective for weight loss because your are toning and training the fat-burning systems of more of your muscles. It turns more of your muscles into 24-hour fat-burning machines! You are also more likely to exercise on a regular basis and for longer periods of time. this also promotes weight loss and fitness.