Best Ever Weight Loss Tips

- helping you on your weight loss journey

Weight Loss Tips

What Causes Obesity Anyway?

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Sadly, there is new information from weight loss researchers and nutritionists showing that more than 300,000 people die each year from complications resulting from obesity. Obesity is a major problem in the United States and many other parts of the world. It is fast becoming the leading cause of death and cause of hospitalizations.

Obesity is a complex disorder involving an excessive amount of body fat (mayoclinic.org). It is where the body accumulates more fat than is being burned by normal metabolism and this causes fat deposits to begin to build up in the belly area, thighs, buttocks and waist. The problem of obesity in children is so acute that some schools have began to offer strictly vegetarian diets to their students and the students have embraced this diet well.

So what causes obesity?

  1. One cause of weight gain is genetics – some people with genetic maladjustment can cause a problem with the way the body processes food.
  2. Another is hormonal influences. An under-performing thyroid gland for example can cause the body metabolism to slow and so accumulate fat.
  3. Some people might have an eating disorder. In the same way that there are eating disorders which cause bulimia, there are disorders that run in the opposite direction and cause compulsive eating and an abnormal appetite. A disorder called Pica for example results in a craving for non-foods (earth, pens, pencils and anything close by). These eating disorders can be treated and the person can resume normal eating habits.
  4. Leading a sedentary life of little or no activity. This is common in the West where people use cars to go even short distances.

The fundamental cause of most obesity is however an energy imbalance. Too much energy taken in by way of calorie-dense foods and not enough energy expended by way of exercise and activity. It seems a simple equation but within that simple in-vs-out model lies a plethora of issues and opinions.

The good news is that being overweight is not necessarily anyone’s fault. They are not necessarily to blame. But taking responsibility for weight gain is a necessary step to taking action to resolve it.  Learning about nutrition, nutritional value of foods, product labels, focusing on eating quality fresh foods and less processed foods, certainly less takeaway or pre-prepared food where you don’t know what’s in it or how it was prepared. Being vigilant to what goes in the body. Making efforts to increase daily activity.

Obviously the more obese one is the greater the challenge to overcome it. It is by no means easy otherwise we wouldn’t have an overweight population. It is however achievable. If one person has reduced their weight and gained greater health then another person can do it, and another, and another. Support, knowledge and a big enough reason to make the behavioural changes needed are key.

Losing Weight Naturally

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By ‘natural’ we mean not losing weight using any supplements, pills, dietary products or other aids. Using food and preferably fresh food is the better way to lose weight over the long-term.

You have read all that you need to know about how to stop being overweight. That simple set of instructions should be easy to follow, but not for the 50% of Australians who are unable to prevent being overweight.

When we are overweight we usually want to trim down for a whole lot of reasons: some related to health, others having to do with perception – our own or others.

It really is never too late to lose weight.

It is obviously a whole lot easier to prevent putting on weight in the first place than to try losing it.

One thing we all know is that weight gain is likely to continue if we do not take active steps to stop it.

Evidence shows that many people who are trying to lose weight invariably stray. They tend to go back to their old eating habits even after they learn to adopt better eating habits. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising.

The good news is that despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening.

Health is a major factor in choosing to lose weight. Being overweight takes a huge toll on people’s physical health and longevity.

The Way to Losing Weight…Naturally

The nuts and bolts of eating right to maintain a healthy weight is not all that complicated. In fact, it is a good bet that most people pretty well know what is best. Hence, losing weight the natural way should not be a problem at all.

Consequently, an accepted reasonable approach for losing weight naturally is to stick to a diet that is high in complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

Not sure what they are? A complex carbohydrate is a baked potato. Fat is the sour cream and butter you should not put on it. Fiber is vegetables. Fat is the oil you should not fry them in. Protein is a lean cut of meat. Fat is the gravy you should not pour over it.

Health experts argue that dietary fat promotes weight gain because it is a very dense source of calories. Also, when you consume excess calories from dietary fat, you store those calories as body fat more efficiently than excess calories from other sources. In this case, more efficient is not good – it means your body hangs onto the fat really well!

Do not fall into the so-called “fat-free” trap – that will not help you lose weight naturally or otherwise. Manufacturers keep coming out with low-fat or fat-free versions of their best-selling foods, but Americans keep getting fatter anyway. Why? Check the label. Often you will find more sugar or salt added to compensate.

One of the greatest misbeliefs is that “no fat” means “non-fattening.” The truth is, you are often getting just as many calories from the no-fat version, even if the calories are not coming from fat.

The term fat-free can be a trap if you start to believe that you can eat any amount of the foods that are advertised that way.

Get used to reading labels. ‘Fat-free’ is an indicator, not a license to eat!

Learn to to respond to hunger with healthier snacks. Some health experts suggest it’s better to eat every three to four hours to keep your metabolism stable. Just make sure it’s a nutritious low-fat snack between lunch and dinner.

When you feel the urge for food coming on, snacking on something healthy such as a slice of whole-grain toasted bread is a better alternative to a biscuit. By the way, never skip a meal and eat snacks instead – that is the worst thing you can do if you are trying to control your eating habits and weight.

Remember, if you want to lose weight naturally, you have to keep track of every food you eat and of every activity that you do.

Losing weight naturally is a process and not a fad.

It’s going to be slow. It’s going to need determination, self-control and discipline to make the lifestyle changes that will lead to permanent weight loss and achieve your ideal weight.

And you’re so worth it!

The One Fast Way To Lose Weight

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Here comes the news some of you did not want to hear:

There is NO quick-fix solution to losing weight.

There is also no ONE WAY to lose weight.

If there were then we would all be able to lose any amount of weight we desired at any time. But patently that is not the case. And because it is not the case there is a multi-million dollar industry all too ready to take your money by providing what they claim is the solution to weight loss.

Now there are some products that will work for a period. Diet pills, supplements, programs, methods, systems – you name it – they will work. For some people. Not all people. And possibly not you.

Exercise is great. If you can’t do it yourself there are thousands of products that will help you – ab-rollers, rowing machines, cross-fit trainers, kettlebell kits and so one. They will work. For some people. Maybe not you.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your excess weight and keep it off for the long-term is to combine a sound nutritional diet full of fresh foods with a properly designed exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake and your exercise plan are important for you to get this right.

There have been studies done that divided participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. Both groups made good progress in losing weight yet the diet-only group lost significantly LESS fat than the diet with exercise combined group.

So next time you’re inclined to think you can lose weight with diet only or exercise only remember that a blend of both is far more effective.

In terms of food, the more unprocessed natural produce you can include in your diet the better.

If your diet now consists predominantly of manufactured products like ready-made dinners or take-home meals or big quantities of snacks like chips and chocolates or drinks like Cola then you are going to have to switch your food choices. No question. Did you ever watch “You Are What You Eat?” It clearly made real what people had been eating and in what volumes. Laying a week’s worth of what has gone in your belly onto a table is sobering stuff. Watch the video here or buy the book here You Are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life. Definitely worthwhile.

So what is unprocessed natural food? True unprocessed natural foods are hard to come by. For example you couldn’t have milk unless it was raw or butter because it has be processed to be separated from the milk itself. But the least processed and most natural is what you are better to aim for. What we want to avoid are lots of additives that add to our weight!

Increase these and decrease all the junk food and other stuff you know is not healthy. Fresh fruit and vegetables. Meat with fat trimmed. Chicken with no skin. Fish. Condiments, herbs and sauces (in moderate quantities). Nuts, seeds, lentils. Look up the advice provided by the government and dietitians. But really, the closer your food intake is based on foods which have had the least processing done the more nutritional benefit they will have.

At the supermarket, pick up most of your groceries from the fresh fruit and veg section, the meat section, the seafood section and the dairy section. Go around the outside aisles to shop. The inner aisles is where the less healthy stuff sits waiting for you!

Set Yourself a Weight Loss Plan and Goals

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You know that excess weight puts you at risk for serious health problems. To help avoid those risks and prevent disease you may need to set some weight loss plans.

Yes, I hear you ask “But what should my long-term goal be? And what short-term goals should I set to help me get there?” Here’s one thing I do know: you have a way better chance of reaching your goals when you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right from the beginning.

Want to know what a number of experts say are guidelines to follow in choosing your weight loss plans and goals.

1. Take a Dose of Realism

Beware of making your long-term weight loss plans more ambitious than they have to be.

For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that may not be a realistic weight loss goal for you.

A good indicator is your BMI (body mass index). It will guide you on how much you need to lose to move closer to an ideal BMI range. That ideal is betwen 19 and 25. Over 25 is POverweight while over 30 is Obese.The higher the number, the more weight (and risk) you carry.

With the BMI you can only change two things: your height and your weight. Your height we’ll assume is poretty well fixed so your option is to change your weight to get back into acceptable BMI range. To do that, you need a sensible weight loss plan that will not jut lose the weight but keep it off, forver.

2. Set appropriate objectives

Using a weight loss plan just for vanity’s sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.

You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.

3. Focus on doing, not losing

Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.

Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behavior is.

4. Build bit by bit

Short-term weight loss plans should not be “pie-in-the-sky.” This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.

5. Keep up the self-encouragement

An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.

After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.

6. Use measurable measures

Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.

This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.

The bottom line is, people should not make weight loss plans that will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to succeed.

Why Is Losing Weight Good For You?

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Who does NOT know that there are huge benefits that accrue from losing weight?

If we know the health benefits, why don’t we just lose weight? Of course, if it were easy there would not be a multi-million dollar industry attached to it because we would all lose any weight we wanted on demand!

Because it is not easy, it’s hard to stay motivated to shed those unwanted and unhealthy pounds and that makes yo-yo dieting a reality: lose a bit, gain more, lose a bit, gain more again.

Sometimes to stick at a new diet we need a reminder of the significant advantages gained from losing excess weight.

Weight loss prevents high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

  • There is a three in one benefit from losing weight right there.
  • It is a fact that heart disease and stroke are one of the primary reasons for disability and death in both men and women in Western countries. In some countries, heart disease is now the leading cause of death in women.
  • People who are overweight are more likely to have elevated levels of cholesterol in their blood stream as well as triglycerides (also known as blood fat).
  • Angina, one type of heart disease, could cause chest pains as well as a decrease in the oxygen pumped to the heart.
  • Sudden death can occur from heart disease and stroke, and usually this strikes with very little in the way of warning signs or symptoms.

It is a fact that by decreasing your weight by a mere five to ten percent, you could positively decrease the chances of having or developing heart disease or a stroke. Naturally, your heart functions would also improve and your blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride count would decrease.

Weight loss prevents type 2 diabetes

  • Diabetes is a debilitating and dangerous disease. At best it is tedious to monitor. It is life-threatening and unpleasant complications arise from having it.
  • Both types of diabetes, type one and type two are linked with being overweight.
  • To those who already have diabetes, regular exercise and losing weight could help in controlling blood sugar levels as well as reducing the medication you may be currently taking.
  • Increase your physical activity any way you can. You could simply walk, jog or dance. It helps get those blood streams moving as well as lose that unnecessary weight.

Weight loss helps reduce your risk for cancer

  • Being overweight is linked with a number of forms of cancer.
  • For women, the more common types of weight-related cancer include cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, ovary, breast, and colon. This is not meant to scare you, this is only to keep you informed.
  • Men are at risk too from developing cancer if they are overweight. These include cancer of the colon, prostate and rectum.

Extra weight and a diet high in fat and cholesterol should be avoided as much as possible.

Weight loss reduces sleep apnea

  • It could even eliminate it altogether.
  • Sleep apnea is a sleeping condition where one temporarily stops breathing for a brief period and then the heart needs to kick-start the breathing again putting excess strain on the heart.
  • Sleep apnea is also associated with heavy snoring.
  • Sleep apnea could cause drowsiness or sleepiness during the day and in chronic cases could result in heart failure.

Shedding those excess pounds could help in eliminating the symptoms and possibly the problem itself.

Weight loss reduces the pain of osteoarthritis

  • If you carry a lot of weight, you will know that this weighs on your joints – knees, hips and lower back.
  • These body parts have to exert double, if not triple, effort to carry you throughout your waking, walking and moving life.
  • This could cause further tension and stress on these joints.
  • Weight loss decreases the load these joints carry thus decreasing – if not eliminating – the pain of osteoarthritis.

Factoid: a ten percent reduction in weight takes 50% of pressure off the knees. And that could mean no replacement knee surgery for some!

Being overweight seems inconvenient, uncomfortable and demoralizing. But think about the physical consequences of what it is doing to your body. This amazingly functioning machine that you are destroying by not addressing your weight. Do yourself a favor. When motivation to lose weight wanes, think about what you are doing to your body – much of the damage unseen – and keep moving forward!

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Easier Ways To Lose Tummy Fat

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A fat tummy is an obvious indicator of a person’s health. How so? Fat is considered by most specialists as hazardous to one’s health. If you have a bundle of unhealthy trans-fats moving through your blood stream it’s a good chance these trans-fats may cause artery blockages and strokes.

Tummy fat can also become a haven that is a perfect space for disease-carrying bacteria and viruses. Research shows that people who are obese struggle much more than other people with a plethora of conditions such as depression, low self-esteem and acute fatigue syndrome let alone more serious diseases such as diabetes.

There are steps you can take to lose tummy fat.

When you are out shopping for groceries be very aware of what you buy. Read the package labels of the items you are buying to make sure you know the Fats component is acceptable. Look at trans-fats especially but also saturated fats – neither of these are good for you and you don’t need an excess of them. Avoid buying food based on appetite, emotions and craving. You will end up with a basket full of foods that have a high calorie level ending up in the pantry and then onto the dinner plate and ultimately, in you!

Exercise. Yep. I said it. It’s not my favorite pastime but I do notice that the older I get the less I move without conscious effort. Unless you are in a physically active role, you need to to move more.

Some people are thrown off by the discipline involved in enrolling at gym or hiring a personal fitness trainer. Don’t allow it to become a deterrent. Sure, if you can afford the time and money to go the gym you will get great advice on proper exercise techniques to minimize risk and maximize results. Remember though that simple exercises like jogging or walking around the neighborhood can be very effective to build up your cardio ability and start to shift the weight.

People have been known to start their weight loss regime by walking to the letterbox or around their backyard. Do what you can but push yourself a little. Make it a habit to walk short distances rather than driving. Take the stairs.

You can also lose tummy fat by getting as much information as possible. They say knowledge is power and without knowledge, many fall off the edge. Arming yourself with knowledge involves simply taking the initiative to learn about the reasons why tummy fat accumulates in the body and also joining online forums where people who are working on the same issue discuss ideas and solutions.