Best Ever Weight Loss Tips

- helping you on your weight loss journey

Weight Loss Tips

The Answer To Your Weight Problem

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There are any number of diets out there. I don’t know if anyone has actually calculated the number but I’d bet there’re hundreds. Reckon I’ve tried a lot of them!

You too?

How did that work out for you?

Yeah, me too 🙂

After a couple of decades I’ve come to realise that there is no ‘diet’ that will magically and safely shed weight permanently.  Why? Because when we look externally for the solution to our excess weight challenge, we take ourselves out of the equation and rely on something ‘out there’ to solve it for us. Got news for you. Ain’t gonna happen. The problem is you. The solution is you. Painful eh? I think it was Einstein who captured our dilemma:

You cannot solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that created it

Ouch.

Thinking Patterns

The way I see it, unless you have a true medical condition that created the weight and is untreatable (from what I understand that is uncommon) then you created the excess weight with a pattern of thinking that solves another problem for you. In my experience, that is usually psychological. Food is a treat. Food is a reward. Food comforts me. Food numbs my pain for a bit. Food avoids my feeling of loneliness. Food takes away my feeling of being unloved. Plug in your own relationship with food here. And if you don’t ‘get’ what your relationship to food is – at the emotional and rational level, then that may be the place for you to start. Talk with a qualified counselor to identify why you eat the way you eat.

So, for most of us I’d argue our irrational thinking uses food as a substitute for something else. We seek solace in it. It is external to us. In our head, the problem is external to us. I’m overweight because I was fed comfort food as a kid, I didn’t get fed much as a kid, someone who loved me gained my love through treats, I don’t have enough money for ‘real’ food, it’s ‘their’ fault. While we continue to see the problem as someone else’s fault, that the reason for being overweight/obese is because of something that happened to us, it’s going to be a forever struggle to lose and maintain that lost weight.

Stuff happens. Sometimes bad stuff happens. And it can happen to us. And that’s terrible. Yet you have control over how you respond to that event or series of events.

I just watched a movie called “Wild” about a woman who went off the rails when her mother passed away prematurely. She turned to drugs and sex because it was all that made her happy anymore. Nothing was ‘her fault’. She lost her rudder in life (her mother) and she became a victim to her need for solace. Now that journey could have continued and ended badly. She looked for answers out there – her friends and her husband, even a therapist. They didn’t work for her. At some point she realized she needed to take responsibility and find herself again. She did that by going within – on a bloody long walk across the Pacific Crest Trail.

In some respect I see a corollary in the lives of us overweight/obese types. No-one forced food in my mouth. No-one held me down and shoved chocolate, pies, cakes, biscuits, ice-cream, soda, and other unhealthy food down my gullet. No-one put my hand to my mouth so frequently throughout the day every day that I stacked on the weight. Nope. It was me. I did it because …. You know what? It doesn’t matter anymore.

You can continue to be controlled by your past or you can choose to build a better future

If I stay in the victim mentality, the ‘it’s not my fault’ approach,  giving a litany of reasons (aka excuses) for why I am my size then I am bound for an endless struggle much like the one I have been on for 30 years.

I choose not to do that anymore.

I choose to take responsibility for my future.

Easy to say.

Harder to live out.

But live out is necessary.

Or, I just accept that this is the way I want to live and enjoy eating what I eat for the rest of my days and live with the consequences.  No more struggle. That’s a valid choice.

For me, I choose to put aside the reasons, the excuses, the why’s and wherefore’s, the limitations of my health and physical capabilities and do what is necessary: take responsibility.

That right there is a change of thinking. Different thinking to what I’ve consistently had in the past.

Sure I’ve had moments of strength and discipline and while that lasted I’d be fine. I even lost 30 kilos in one period. But I fell back into old patterns of behavior, let go of responsibility because “I’d done the work”. As each pound crept back I’d say “I can shift that”. But I didn’t. Not consistently. I stated blaming again. I started saying “I’ve always been big” “They didn’t teach me what to eat” “I’m meant to be this size. “I’ve got big bones” And so on. Sound familiar?

My change of thinking now is realizing I am responsible. I have to do it. I have to do what I have not enjoyed in the past – moving my body more often, eating just fresh or least-processed food and building my discipline to not cave in to pig outs. If you’re in my situation you’ll know how hard that is to do. It requires discipline and an eye on the prize – a healthier body, hopefully a longer life and looking smoking hot! Well, maybe the last is a stretch 🙂 but that feeling of feeling good in your own skin.

So reflect on what you say to yourself about your size. Reflect on your relationship with food. Observe people who are in shape – what do they tend to eat and how do they eat.

In my observations, they eat less often, don’t snack as much and if they do it’s not on chocolate or chips, are less tempted by poor food choices, give themselves the occasional treat, move a lot more than me and don’t think about food and getting slimmer 24/7.

Finally, commit to taking responsibility for where you are right now. Recognize whether you want to give up the struggle and just live as you are. Or, resolve to live a healthier life without excuses, making better choices every day until that becomes habitual behavior for you. And when you do get to your desired goal weight, be vigilant. Squash every pound if it creeps on.

Big Tip

Solve your weight problem by changing the kind of thinking that got you where you are and look within for the answer.

 

PS: I’ve just re-read this. It’s likely to get some backs up. Not sure I’ve explained the subtleties of what I’m trying to say. It sounds easy on paper and I’m not saying people haven’t tried in the past or been committed. But taking real responsibility at the conscious and unconscious level is a different kind of thinking. It’s empowering. Maintaining that is going to be the challenge for me. That will take brutal honesty with myself! 

Have You Ever Tried Fasting To Help Weight Loss?

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I have to admit, I l-o-v-e my food! So the idea of fasting is usually only under sufferance and demanded by medicos when I have to go in for an op or a blood test that requires fasting. As soon as I hear “Nil by Mouth” my head automatically responds with “Not by Me!”. Annoying that we have to react responsibly sometimes 🙂

Lately I’ve been reading how occasional fasting is good to ‘clean’ your system and reboot your taste buds. In Ayurveda medicine it is also used for weight loss. It never occurred to me to actually do one. That requires discipline – a muscle I rarely exercise.

For some reason, I decided to do a fast on Sunday. It’s recommended you have a good meal on the night before. Luckily I was going to an Indian Curry night at a friend’s. Also luckily, the friend’s who cooked have a healthy eating mantra so the prepared food was not too fattening. I did go back for seconds I have to say, knowing that I’d be food-free for a day.

On the Sunday morning when I woke I carried on my normal routine. I picked Sunday because I had no engagements or visitors so less temptation to eat. In the morning I hit the bushes and pruned madly in the sun then just mooched around. I made sure I kept up the water intake. I didn’t add anything to the water but I could have added some lemon or honey. Probably I drank around 3 litres of water during the fast over 36 hours (including 2 nights sleep). That’s all I had all day – water, being only a one day fast.

It wasn’t til mid afternoon I had a pang of food regret. I downed some water and that passed.

By dinnertime I still wasn’t hungry so I watched a little tv and then went to bed – I knew if I stayed up on my own I’d be very tempted to hit the cupboards and fridge. Yes, I’m an evening, after-dinner binge eater. And I know I’m not alone in that!

I slept well and on waking wasn’t hungry at all. I thought I’d be ravenous. Obviously I have enough food stores in my fat cells to last a while! Lol!

I didn’t eat again until about 12.30 at lunch on Monday when I just had a shake with fruit. Don’t worry – I have a good serve of Indian food waiting for me for dinner and I’ll have a light snack mid-afternoon!

24 hour Fasting Results

Overall I was surprised how easy it was. I didn’t feel headachy or shaky at all. Apart from the morning I didn’t expend much physical energy but I was feeling listless. I survived the day just on water and dropped 0.5 kilos. Much of that will come back as I return to proper eating but I have no desire for sweets or stodgy food which I what I usually reach for when I crave food. I can see it would be detrimental to your health if you fasted just on water for more than a day.

It’s not something I’d do often and I am certainly not promoting it. I’m simply reporting my experience. If you do decide to do a fast I do recommend doing it under supervision, especially if you have any medical conditions or are pregnant. I followed medical instructions.

Having completed the fast, I’m not sure I released much in the way of toxins but I certainly gave my gut a rest and refreshed my taste buds. The weight loss is not something I’m focused on because I suspect it is temporary but maybe a couple hundred grams will be permanently lost.

5 Tips For Fasting

  1. Follow medical advice – don’t do it on your own or following a web plan or a supplement packet
  2. Prepare for it – make sure you have no events or activities on that day – treat it as a day of rest
  3. Keep hydrated – you”ll need to drink more water than usual – every time you think of food, drink some water
  4. After the day of fasting, ease back into eating – choose light healthy meals for breakfast and lunch
  5. Don’t do it just to lose weight – you’ll likely be disappointed after a couple of days

I’m not sure I’ll fast again. If I do I don’t expect I’d do it more than once every 3-4 months or whenever I feel the need to rejig my taste buds and break any pattern of poor eating.

What about you? Have you ever undertaken a fast for medical, health or religious reasons?

Track Your Intake To Lose Weight: Food Diary

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It’s amazing. Really. I am in the morbidly obese category even though I don’t look THAT big. (Denial, much?). And yet I always proclaimed that I didn’t eat much.

You know what? I didn’t. So imagine my quandary as to how someone who didn’t eat much could continually gain weight or at least stay well overweight.

No more confusion. I’ve been tracking my food and drink intake with myfitnesspal.

It’s a very useful app and if for nothing other than making you realise what you eat and drink adds to your problem then you need to get it (or something similar).

Benefits of keeping a food diary

What I realised when I started tracking using this app was that

1. I didn’t eat a lot (lucky to hit 1200 calories some days)

2. what I ate was the problem!

When you see the calories in one Anzac biscuit (123 calories) it doesn’t sound much. But when you scoff down 3 – that’s an entire meal full of calories! Compare that to nibbling on a cupful of cherries (74 cals) and you start to learn about better food choices.

That’s the thing that I have gained most from using this app to track my calories – that most of my habitual food choices are high calorie. So even though I don’t eat lots (in my mind) those nibbles and snacks on low-nutrient-dense foods that just satisfy my mouth are the reason I carry so much weight.

Solution? Eat foods that still appeal and satisfy but that do not have the high calorie load.

Usually that means fresh foods or least-processed foods. OR. Still having what I want but limiting the quantity.

Yeah. Haven’t learned that one yet so my best solution is to avoid buying those treats. I know when I think of heading to the shops on the way home to get ‘something’, my subconscious is trying to pull a swifty and push me into buying chocolates, cakes, lollies, pies, biscuits, ice-cream … you know, that food you’d kill for!

Apps like myfitnesspal also show you the nutrient breakdown of foods and drinks etc. That is also very educational if you have no clue whether a sugar is a sugar or a carb or what. Also, by paying attention to your balance of macro-nutrients (carbs v protein v fats) you start to understand what you need to take in during the day to stay in balance.

Filling out your food journal

Now when tracking, it’s real easy to ‘forget’ so the advantage of an app on your phone is that it’s usually always with you. Doesn’t take long to train yourself to think “oh, I must log that”. You get bonus points when you think about having something and check the calories on the app BEFORE you eat it! Then you know you’re in mode to really start losing weight!

Tracking is about capturing everything that goes in your mouth so include pills and supplements too. Remember to add sauces and condiments –  they all add up. Oh, and one thing you’ll realise is that alcohol can be a calorie killer – so if you can’t restrain yourself after one drink a week – abstain completely! Alcohol sure punches above its weight in the calorie department.

Whether you use a phone app, a paper based food diary, a food journal book doesn’t matter. It matters that you TRACK DAILY. Once you get into the habit of tracking your intake you’ll become so much more aware of what to eat or drink and make better food selections. And that will lead to losing weight over time. Educational and practical. Great way to go!

6 Tips On Losing Weight Safely

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When you want to lose weight, often the first thought is to reduce the amount of food you eat. This may be one solution but it’s not exactly the best there is! In fact, if you reduce the amount you eat by too much this can become a dangerous option and negatively impact your health. So how does one lose weight not only effectively but safely?

Here are some points you should consider when trying to lose weight:

1. Avoid Crash Diets

A number of people think that cutting down on calories alone will shed their unwanted excess weight. Maybe this belief is encouraged with the food industry’s massive advertising campaigns promoting low-calorie food products and beverages. What people don’t realize is that this could be doing more damage than good. When calorie intake is dropped too far below the required levels, the body begins to digest fats. Sounds good doesn’t it? But it isn’t actually.

Burning fat requires a LOT of energy. When you cut your caloric intake significantly, your body does not have sufficient reserves of energy to facilitate the metabolism of fat. Consequently, your system will run at a very slow pace leading to increased fatigue, illness and a weakened immune system.

So, if not crash dieting, then what?

Low-calorie diets are also compensated for by the body burning muscle. People on this type of diet who revert back to their old eating habits end up gaining back some, if not all the weight they have shed. This would consist mainly of fats. And since fats have more volume per mass than muscle, they end up having the same weight as before but with more bulk. In losing weight, the key is to aim to lose excess body fats only.

However, try eating small meals at more frequent intervals. It’s about portion sizes. This way the body will not think that it is being starved and will not store food as fat.

2. Eat Proper-like

What IS eating properly? Real food. Veggies, meat, fruits, nuts, seeds etc. Less processed goods. You need to monitor what you are eating. Choosing a variety of foods is the best way to get the necessary nutrients from any diet. In deciding to have variety, keep in mind that it is healthier to eat food which has been roasted, steamed or broiled – NOT fried. Include a lot of fiber in the diet to ensure your metabolism does not get sluggish. Rehydrating frequently helps replenish lost fluids and keeps internal organs functioning well. Water, clear fluide and herbal teas are good for that.

3. Pump Up lean Muscle Mass

When muscles work, they burn calories. Interestingly they still burn fat while at rest! If you have excess fat you know it just hangs around making you uncomfortable, bulging in places it shouldn’t even be! Muscles on the other hand burn calories all day long. So there is significant benefit to converting your fat into muscle mass. When you build up your muscle mass you actually lose weight because muscle weighs more gram-for-gram than regular muscle

Therefore, the first goal of weight loss is to increase muscle mass. The more muscles, the less fat will be left. You don’t need to bench-press huge weights to convert fat to muscle. The easiest way to start is to simply do resistance exercises.

4. Get Into Aerobics

Aerobics are fantastic for the heart by providing increased cardiovascular endurance. Aerobics work to increase lean muscle mass while at the same time decreasing excess body fat. As a result the metabolic process becomes more efficient while the metabolic rate operates at a higher level – and is sustained. Just imagine: work hard enough and you can still be burning fat while you are driving along the freeway or even while watching television!

5. That Extra “Push”

A long long time ago I tried reverse psychology to lose weight. Knowing that most people who gave up smoking claimed they gained weight, I thought that if I took up smoking I would lose weight!

Wrong!! And an incredibly bad decision for my overall health. Fortunately I hated the whole smoking thing so I didn’t last more than a day or two! Funnily enough though, some people do believe that extra smokes and caffeine can actually help in losing weight. Flawed thinking folks. The increase in those two substances will cause more damage than it’s worth to try. If you want some extra support, try taking appropriate food supplements, getting a personal trainer or get your friends onboard.

6. About Diet Pills

Over-the-counter diet pills affect the amount of weight you lose as well as how long that weight is kept off. Please bear in mind the side-effects of these diet pills. We do not condone them at all and any diet pills consumed should be done with the full knowledge of your medical practitioner. Faithfully follow the instructions provided with the packaging.

Losing weight does not have to mean sacrifice and suffering. There will be consequences to changing your eating and exercise behaviors. Losing weight might actually mean opening up to a fuller and healthier life. There’s no need to feel bad about yourself, of not being happy with the way you look or not being able to do what you want to do.

Losing weight might involve a few little adjustments plus the discomforts that come with changes, but as the old saying goes, “no pain, no gain.”

Besides fat, what has one got to lose anyway?

4 Steps to Exercise For Weight Loss

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Feel like you’re living your life like a caged animal?

Our bodies are built to move yet we often put ourselves in a cage! A corral. A stationary state.

Our bodies are designed for racing across the plains, but instead we live a limited physical lifestyle: we travel from the bed to the breakfast bench, to the car seat, the office chair, the restaurant table, the living room couch and back to the bed. Not inspiring, really, is it?

It wasn’t always this way. Think about how much exercise we used to get even just a generation ago, let alone two or more generations back!  Kids were out playing in the street until tea-time; we’d walk the shopping strip – we’d even walk TO the shopping strip; cleaning house was way more labor intensive [though the houses may have been smaller :)]. My how things have changed.

Today, our daily obligations of work and home keep us tied to our chairs, and if we want exercise, we have to make it happen.

In fact, health experts argue that the obesity issue today is significantly caused in part by lack of physical activity as much as by eating too much of the wrong foods. Not surprisingly, it is more important than ever that people move around more.

Now that does not mean that a lap or two around the old high school track will offset a daily dose of donuts. Exercise on its own is not necessarily efficient, experts say. They contend that if you simply adopt exercise yet do not change your diet, you might prevent weight gain or even lose a few pounds for a while. Of course, that’s a good thing.

but if you want to drop weight, it is unlikely something you will sustain unless exercise is part of an overall program. The more regularly you exercise, the easier it is to maintain your weight.

Here are ideas on what to do every day to ensure you get the exercise you need.

1. Ensure Quality Sleep.

Adequate sleep is a must. Good sleep patterns are conducive to exercise and reduce the risk of injury from tiredness. If you feel worn out during the day, you are less likely to get much physical activity during the day.

Apart from that, there is evidence that people who are tired tend to eat more, and more of the wrong things, using food as a substitute for the rest they need.

2. Walk. Walk. Walk.

You were most likely born with two feet. Walking is probably the easiest exercise of all. In fact, it may be all you ever have to do, according to some professional health experts.

Gradually build up to at least 30 minutes of brisk walking five times a week. Brisk walks themselves have health and psychological benefits that are well worth the effort. In fact, those thirty minutes don’t need to be all at once – 3 ten minutes walks a day are fine.

3. Get On The Treadmill.

I moved to a country coastal town and didn’t get why there were so many gyms around when the walking areas along the beaches were so beautiful. Then after living here a while, I realized. The weather is gorgeous but it gets quite hot and humid so if you want to work out, a gym is ideal with its air conditioned comfort! When the weather prevents outdoor exercise and if you don’t want to join a gym, create a workout zone at home. If you have a treadmill, great. If not, start walking around the house. Over time increase your pace and time. That will help weight-maintenance plan.

4. Make The Time.

Lack of time is often a limiting factor for most people. We live busy busy lives. That is why health experts recommend basic guidelines for integrating exercise into your daily schedule.

Get as much exercise as you can that feels good without letting it interfere with your work or family life. If you need to, remind yourself that you are preventing many health problems when you prevent weight gain; and keeping your health is a gift to your family as well as yourself.

Keep in mind that your health is important and you make a priority time for things that are important, don’t you? Consider exercise time an appointment with yourself!

So what can you do today to build exercise into your daily routine?

Starving Yourself : Lose Weight Without Doing That!

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You can lose weight without drastically cutting down on your food intake. A lot of people who are overweight become demotivated when they find they have to reduce their food intake – but this is not necessarily the case. You can lose a reasonable amount of weight and still be eat some of your favorite foods. This is not entirely difficult especially knowing that there are many that are doing that. Let us examine one way one can achieve this.

One way of losing weight without starving yourself is to become as educated as you can. This means researching and reading as many resources as you can on ways to lose weight while still maintaining most of your existing good eating habits. Dig around a few quality weight loss forums that provide considerable information to people looking for how to develop a smart diet plan. These forums are full of opinions and practical ideas from people who have made progress on their weight gain and this information is incredibly valuable. What makes forums so useful when it comes to the battle against weight gain is that they are interactive. Once you sign up you can easily begin to post opinions of your own and ask questions. Often they will have sub-groups based on geography, fitness, amount of weight to lose, situations like working and dieting and so on. Finding people who are facing similar dilemmas to you can help enormously.

Another way to lose weight without necessarily starving yourself is to go on an expert diet. Now we all know that there are a zillion different diets out there. Some are expensive, some are cheap and some are downright stupid. Be discerning and look for sensible diet regimes that qualified and respected nutritionists and dietitians would support,

Reading the labels when shopping is one of the best things you can do. Notice the levels of fats, sugars and sodium especially.

Better yet, only shop for products that don’t need a label! Fresh produce, eggs, meat. The healthiest diet and most effective one is the one with the least manufactured food.

Shareable Weight Loss Quote

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How true is that!

Apart from an apparent sugar addiction I have been an emotional eater. I have a lot of emotions so I did a lot of eating! Combine that with the sugar and you’ll get the picture of the result. Not pretty and not good for my health. Nor yours.

If you’re an emotional eater, you’ll totally understand this quote.

Instead of dealing with your emotions – happy, sad, bored, worried, excited, disappointed – you deal with it by eating the wrong things or too much of something. Why not change your habit?

It’s tough but it can be done.

You need to find the trigger for the emotion and then continually remind yourself to do a different thing to what you normally would do.

So instead of reaching for the chocolate, strap on your sneakers and head out for a bit of exercise!

Me? I’m on it!

Key Weight Loss Tips

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Being overweight can not only be dangerous but can in fact lead to premature death.

Thousands of people die every year in Western countries alone due to a range of weight-related complications. It is even argued that obesity now causes more deaths than smoking. Weight gain is now considered an epidemic.

Obesity, is defined as having a BMI or body mass index of over 30. 25-30 puts someone in the ‘overweigth’ category. Devised in the mid 1800’s, BMI is still the accepted determinant of relative weight. Body mass index is calculated by dividing weight with height and then squaring the answer. The medical profession has long realized the dangers of having a BMI that is above the recommended figure.

Overweight people are inclined to suffer low self-esteem, sleeping disorders, fatigue and even a higher risk of heart issues. Obesity compounds these symptoms. It increases risk of diabetes, heart attack or stroke, sleep apnoea and a range of other chronic diseases. Obesity depresses the body’s immune system thereby making the obese person more susceptible to opportunistic illnesses.

Are there ways to beat weight gain? Absolutely.

Increased education around nutrition is key. It is surprising to know just how many people cook food or eat food without the slightest regard to what is contained in those foods or how many calories they contain. Whenever you buy food at the grocery store, learn to read the label and see what ingredients and locked up in the food and how many calories there are. It can be confusing but if you search online or viit at weight loss forums you will start to learn the nuances of nutritional information, what’s important and what’s not. Over time you willdevelop the knowledge on how to eat right and become healthier.

While you are on the internet, search around for healthier recipes and how to eat the foods that have the best nutritional mix.

Search for the food pyramid recommended by the Health authorities. It is contentious as some argue the pyramid is inverted the wrong way and that carbs should be at the pointier end of the pyramid. Government websites have a lot of information regarding proper nutrition and is worth studying in the battle to lose weight.
Weight loss is about eating better quality food to fuel your body. Maybe start thinking of food as that, fuel, rather than a taste sensation or a treat to make you feel better – reserve those for special occasions!

How Does Dieting Impact Weight Loss?

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Diet has become a dirty four-letter word for many people!

Yet diet is simply the kinds and quantities of food you habitually intake. So in essence you are already on a diet. It just may not be one that is serving you well.

A diet that is not serving you well may result in excess weight. Excess weight is often referred to by the term overweight or in more serious cases, obesity. Where the body accumulates more fat than is being processed or burned by the normal metabolism, that leads to excess weight gain. In some cases, this can be genetic but in most, there is a dietary issue that needs to be addressed. Excess weight is measured in what is called body mass index or BMI according to the fitness and medical circles. BMI is arrived at by dividing weight by height and then squaring the result. A BMI of 25-29kg/m is considered overweight. A reading of 30 or more is in the obese category.

Obesity is outright dangerous. Medical research shows that the chances of a heart attack are exponentially increased the higher the BMI goes. People who are overweight also struggle with a myriad of other complications. These include diabetes, some cancers, high blood pressure, gallstones, sleep apnea, and more. Want me to stop? That’s just the medical view. Obese people also have to deal with a low self-esteem, being ridiculed or preached to, withdrawal from regular activities, loss of job prospects, limited clothing choices and so it goes on.

How does diet help?

There is a direct correlation between weight loss and dieting according to researchers and nutritionists. Education is key. Learning to read and understand the labels when shopping is a lifesaver. There are some foods which have a higher caloric content than others, have increased amounts of sodium or trans-fats or sugar and knowing this will put you on the right track. It allows you to compare products and ake better choices if you have to buy processed food products. It’s also worthwhile familiarizing yourself with the food pyramid although some argue the pyramid should be inverted. Take a look for yourself by going to the government website.

Please remember that “dieting” does not mean starving yourself. It can mean that you are being more careful as to what you eat. Being more mindful of what goes in your mouth will help enormously. Apps like myfitnesspal give you a good idea of what nutritional values a food has – check them out before you eat. Logging your food intake and the calories as well as nutritional value is pretty sobering in my experience.

What Exercise is Best For Weight Loss?

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Being overweight clearly has its share of health issues. About 300,000 people die each year due to weight or obesity related complications according to reports. People with a BMI or body mass index of 25-29 are, according to many experts, considered overweight. More than 30 on the BMI scale and you are classified as obese. Obesity now affects over 25% of the US population and more and more people are realizing that obesity kills.

People that are overweight struggle with sleep problems, breathing problems, susceptibility to disease and illness and chronic fatigue – not to mention low self-esteem because the of society norms and the media which portrays  people who are obese as abnormal and those that are skinny as the ideal.

Obesity is a result of a number of causes.

  • One of them is eating more than the body is breaking down through the normal metabolic function. This causes excess fat to accumulate in many cases in the tummy area and causes someone to be overweight.
  • Some people don’t eat copious meals and snacks but they eat the wrong kinds of foods – calorie-rich foods with little nutritional value. The result is a satisfied mouth but a body that can’t cope with all that poor quality food.
  • Then there are people that are overweight not because they over-eat, but because they have a genetic malfunction which causes their overall body metabolism to slow and food to be digested slowly.
  • Others get overweight because of a combination of all of the above.
  • Oh and there is the  sedentary life factor. This means a life that is pretty much devoid of exercise and movement.  There are some exercises that one can do no matter their starting point to battle weight gain.

Any activity is the best way to start an exercise plan.

  • If you can run, go for it if you have a medical clearance.
  • If you can walk, you can start by walking anywhere for as long as you can and keep going for longer each time.
  • Some people like the gym and that can be great for variety, all weather conditions and for some social interaction.
  • If you can’t do any of those, start with something you can do. A couple of weights (cans of beans will do it) and start lifting them as often as you can. Sitting up and down if you can.
  • Use your imagination and just push a tad beyond what’s comfortable for you.

Hey, I’m talking from experience. I have hated exercise. Yet I’m doing more movement each day just to get going. I know from when I was smaller that my body actually enjoys exercise and loves being outdoors and functioning as it was meant to. It’s my mind that doesn’t like it! But I’m pushing myself and every day gets a little easier.

There is no growth (or weight loss) by staying in your comfort zone!