Five Tips for Easy Weight Loss!

Weight loss is a hot topic among people today, especially considering the fact that more than half of us are overweight. As we get older we often get busier, and before we know it, find ourselves in the prime of our lives and packing a few extra pounds. With so little extra time in our lives it is impractical to join the latest diet fad or commit to sweating in the gym for hours at a time. Are we all destined to grow outward with each passing year, or is there a simple way for us to reclaim our healthy figures? If you struggle with your own battle of the bulge read on for five sure-fire ways to drop a few of those unwanted pounds, and more importantly learn how you can prevent packing them in the first place!

TIP #1: Burn it in the AM.

What is the first thing you do when you wake each morning? Hit the snooze button for an extra ten minutes of sleep? What if I told you that taking those ten minutes to strap on your sneakers and walk briskly around the block would result in weight loss? It has been proven that aerobic activity done on an empty stomach forces your body to recruit energy from storage. This energy is stored in the form of fat on various parts of your body. Starting tomorrow take ten minutes out of your morning to walk briskly around the block before breakfast. Do not sprint or try to walk as quickly as possible, simply walk at a pace that you could comfortably hold a conversation. This seemingly small activity, when done consistently, will produce surprising weight loss results!

TIP #2 Forget Your Late Night Snack.

I know I am not the only one who enjoys eating a snack after dinner! Although comfort food seems to taste better right before bed, it is also more prone to stick with us when eaten late at night. It has been proven that not eating three hours before bed reduces fat storage throughout the night. If you go to bed at 10pm, finish eating for the day no later than 7pm. Once you have made this a habit you will be ecstatic over the long term weight loss!

TIP #3 Kiss that Frappuccino Goodbye.

What tastes better than a frothy, venti frappuccino smothered in whip cream and chocolate syrup? While blended coffee beverages have rapidly gained popularity with the masses, their caloric tallies have been all but ignored. Whether you are an avid Starbucker, or only wander in for an occasional treat, it is important to know the truth about what you are drinking. The average Venti sized frappuccino weighs in at 530 calories. This staggering number equals 2.5 bagels, or one third of the recommended daily calories for an average woman. Not only is this an extreme amount of calories to be consumed in a beverage but the calories come purely from sugar, which is easily stored as fat. Next time you are in line at the coffee shop and find yourself eyeing a sugary beverage, redirect your attention to the tea selection, or stick with an old fashioned cup of coffee.

TIP #4 Fuel Your Fire.

Have you ever tended a campfire? You probably remember continuously adding sticks and branches to keep the fire from running out of fuel. Your bodys metabolism is similar in its need for constant fuel. Eating a small meal every three hours is a great way to keep your metabolism high all day long. When your metabolism is high you burn more calories throughout the day and are less likely to store fat. Rather than eating 2 or 3 large meals a day, and allowing your fire to go out, giving way to hunger pains, try eating a small meal every three hours and be amazed at your weight loss results.

TIP #5 Curb Your Carbs

Im sure sometime in the past year you have found yourself subjected to the testimony of a converted low-carb enthusiast. While these people may look great it is definitely not the right diet for everyone. Extreme fatigue, crankiness and downright impracticality are what make this diet a tough cookie to swallow. Cutting one or two carb-filled items out of your daily diet can make a huge difference in meeting weight loss goals. While I wouldnt recommend throwing out your bread basket entirely, consciously cutting carb-filled items out of your daily food intake is a great idea. If you normally have a sandwich for lunch make it open-faced, thus cutting out half of the bread. If you enjoy eating pasta for dinner reduce your pasta portion and add extra vegetables. These minor changes to your daily diet will prove themselves priceless when you step onto the scale!

It is you against the bulge, and now that you are armed with these 5 tips for easy weight loss, I am confident that you are going to win! Keep in mind that consistency is the key. The more effort that you put into implementing these 5 tips into your daily lifestyle, the quicker the unwanted pounds will disappear!

Diana Keuilian, author, ACE certified Personal Trainer, and co-founder of HitechTrainer.com offers online personal training and nutrition programs that fit your budget and schedule. Whether your goal is to lose weight, firm and tone, or to build muscle, HitechTrainer.com will build a custom designed program just for you.

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Thirteen Easy Steps To Healthy Weight Loss

1. Calories are far more important then fats when it comes to affecting your weight, as long as you're eating healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated and trans fat. A good rule to follow is to keep the amount of saturated fat you eat per day is less than 20 grams.
2. The human metabolism is to slow to be eating three big meals a day. In a perfect world six small meals a day is much healthier. Eating six meals a day will keep your metabolism active and also help keep your insulin levels stable.
3. PROTEIN!!! Protein supports, builds, and rebuilds muscle. The more muscle you have the faster your metabolism will be. (It takes fifty calories a day just to support one pound of muscle!). Lean meat, fish, and poultry are all very good sources of protein. Also it is important to spread your protein intake evenly throughout your day. By doing this you will enable your body to rebuild muscle all day long.
4. Controlling food portions. Low energy-density foods such as vegetables and fruits are less likely to be overeaten. Also they're full of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals which are critical to a healthy metabolism.
5. Don't cut any one food group. You should be consuming carbohydrates, protein, and fat at every meal.
6. Watch out drinks such as soda and fruit juices. They have tons of calories which can add up quickly. Plus they aren't even that
7. WATER!!! And lots of it! Water helps you stay hydrated which will allow for more intense activity. It also helps your body flush metabolic waste.
8. Eat your complex grains early in the day and then stick with the water rich carbohydrates such as fruit in the evening. This has to do with the way insulin is secreted into the bloodstream.
9. Sleep! 7-8 hours a night, More or less than that can have negative effects on your health.
10. Eat your meals slower; well chewed food is easier on your metabolism.
11. Eat some fish. Fish such as salmon is rich in Omega-3s, these Fatty Acids are essential. They'll keep your heart healthy, as well as the bad fat out. Fatty fish such as salmon, halibut and shellfish help reduce the size of fat cells which in turn helps out with fat loss.
12. Avoid hydrogenated fats (Trans fat), and High Fructose Corn Syrup. They send signals to the brain telling you that you are not full even when you've already eaten. Ever wonder why it's hard to drink 3 big glasses of water, but easy to down a 2 liter bottle of soda. It's the Syrup.
13. Exercise.

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Diet and Exercise Program For Permanent Weight Loss Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I explained how the only way to permanently lose weight is to change your lifestyle. "Dieting" will almost always result in an initial loss of weight (both fat and lean muscle) however, once you go off your diet you will rapidly gain back the weight you lost. In addition, since your body is designed to protect itself from a lack of calories, it will also put on additional stores of body fat. The old adage "one step forward, two steps back" applies to this type of "yo-yo" dieting.

I also discussed your Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR) and how that plays into your weight loss plan. If you go on any type of extreme diet, your body will simply lower its BMR even further in order to survive. The goal is to increase your BMR not decrease it.

So, you're probably asking, "How can I possibly eat 5-6 meals a day and still lose weight?" By eating more frequent, yet smaller meals, you are allowing your body to maintain if not increase its BMR. Also, you will avoid insulin spikes that happen when you eat only once or twice a day.

Below is a sample diet for one day. You can alter this, play around with it but with a little planning, you can stick to this while you aim for your desired weight:

Sample Diet For One Day

Assuming a weight of 220lb
Breakfast:
4 eggs scrambled (Only use 1 yolk) using non stick spray- 145 Calories
1 piece of whole grain toast with butter substitute-Approx 100 calories
8 oz NON fat milk-90 calories
1 piece of fruit: (Banana-Approx 110 calories)
(Apple-Approx 80 calories)
Total calories: Approximately 300-400

Mid Morning Snack
Nutrition bar (Balance bar-Approx 200 calories)

Lunch:
Chicken breast, no skin, baked or broiled.
Salad (lettuce, cucumber, any salad type veggie..NO cheese)
with olive oil and vinegar or NONFAT dressing: About 150-200 calories
Total calories: 350-400 calories

Mid Afternoon Snack
Balance bar or
1-2 oz of lightly salted cashews-Approx 250-300 calories or
One serving of low carb protein drink

Dinner:
4-8 oz Ground turkey (lean) burgers, no cheese-Approx 160-320 calories
Salad as per lunch-150-200 calories
Serving of veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, grean beans etc-50 calories
Approx 350-550 calories

Snack before bed:
Jello
Diet Popsicles

No carbs 2-3 hours before bed other than veggies with dinner!!!

With a little imagination you will find that you'll quickly come up with other items that you can add to this diet and make it your own.

In Part 3 of this series, I will discuss the importance of exercise. Not only for your weight loss program but as part of your lifestyle.

Mike Berg has been involved in bodybuilding and fitness as an enthusiast and trainer for over 20 years.

Visit his website at http://www.milleniumfitness.com

Is Low-Carb Weight Loss Really Just Water Loss?

Any weight loss or diet plan, including low-carb plans like the induction phase of the Atkins Diet will result in water loss during the first week or two.

However, one of the real beauties of following a low carbohydrate eating plan is that most of the weight loss than extends beyond the initial induction phase of the diet is really from a drop in fat pounds.

How can this be?

Well, when you follow a controlled carbohydrate eating plan like Atkins or the South Beach Diet, your body soon switches from burning carbohydrates (which the diet deprives the body of) to burning fat for energy. In other words, the majority of the weight loss that occurs beyond the initial induction phase is really loss of fat that has been stored in your body.

Contrary to what many skeptics and misinformed persons may report or say, even if your body sheds water during the first few days of a controlled carbohydrate diet plan like the South Beach Diet or Atkins, the bodys water balance soon returns to normal and the weight loss that follows is the depletion of fat pounds.

This loss of fat reveals itself to one and all in the form declines in inches (your body measurements) and pounds regardless which low-carb diet you follow.

About The Author

Craig Whitley is the Senior Editor of Diets and Weight Loss Plans a daily blog for dieters. Visit his website daily to read the latest news and articles on diets, dieting, weight loss and obesity. The URL address for Diets and Weight Loss Plans is http://weightloss.blogharbor.com You have permission to publish this article electronically on your website or in print, free of charge, as long as this resource box with all links and author attribution are kept intact.

Let's Look At Weight Loss After Pregnancy

Becoming a mother is the most beautiful experience for any woman. However this is also accompanied with the negative side of excessive weight gain during the pregnancy period. Losing weight after pregnancy is not possible but yes, it should be done only at a slower pace. It is not wise to diet and thereby deny your baby essential nutrients. You need to aim at eating in a healthy manner and also work at losing weight. You are likely to put on 25-30 pounds during your pregnancy, out of which about 12-14 pounds are lost after delivery. You are still left with a baggage of 12-20 pounds around your body. This feeling of excess mass can make one feel depressed and disappointed.

It is recommended to start losing weight 2-3 months after delivery. You should feel completely ready for the fitness regime with rigorous exercises. It is right to lose only about 1-1.5 pounds per week.

You need to understand that weight loss is not a miracle that will happen overnight. It is likely to take 6 to 12 months to shed off the excess mass. Only hard work, patience and faith will pay off in the right way.

Tips To Follow

Breast Feeding

One of the best ways to lose mass is to breastfeed. Your extra weight that is stored in you is to give you energy for breastfeeding. Breastfeeding takes about 200-400 calories per day. It is good to combine breastfeed with other programs.

Exercise

Exercise in general is good for blood circulation, it gives you an energized feeling, lifts your spirits if you are feeling low etc. It is important to wait for six weeks to start exercising even if you have had a normal delivery. Start from light forms like walking, yoga to moderate intensive forms of exercises. Increase your exercising time gradually as a sudden outburst of energy can tire you out very easily. Start initially by working out at home.

Healthy Diet

There should always be a combination of exercise with dieting. The diet should be wholesome packed with nutrients. This diet will not only aid you with weight loss but also provide your baby with the right food while you breastfeed. Crash diets or starvation can deprive you of the required nutrients and their results though quick and fast will only rebound multifold.

Walking

This is the best form of exercise as it just requires your time and space and is not dependent on any special place or equipment. It is highly practical and you can even take your baby out in the stroller as you go for a walk.

Eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day. This will keep your energy levels up the whole day.

Be Patient

Don't get disappointed if you find other mothers losing weight faster than you. Have patience, take your time and you will definitely achieve your goal.

Losing pregnancy weight is not impossible. It requires a combination of right planning and advice and following the required tips diligently. This way you will not be far from your goal. So go for it!

After loads of weight gained during pregnancy period, new moms just can't weight to get started on losing weight after pregnancy.

An ideal combination is exercise and a healthy diet to achieve your goal of losing pregnancy weight. Avoid surgery or crash diets. They are not good for you or your baby.

3 Problems With Weight Loss "Wisdom" - & What To Do About It!

Would you like to lose weight? Have you lost weight and gained it back?

If you're like most Americans today, the answer to that is a screaming, frustrated, "YES!" Let's cut to the chase.

You gained your weight back for one of two reasons:

1. You (and EVERYONE else!) is a "weak-willed failure". Or...

2. The diet "experts" from whom you sought help failed to adequately train you.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ninety-five percent of all weight that is lost is regained in the first five years following the weight loss. This is clearly an industry problem, NOT a customer problem! Imagine a headline in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal that read, "95% Of All Airline Flights Fail to Reach Their Intended Destination". Not one customer would feel responsible for his or her failure to reach the desired destination! This would CLEARLY be an airline industry problem. Similarly, a ninety-five percent weight regain at five year follow-up is CLEARLY a diet industry problem!

There are three major problems with the conventional approach to diet and weight loss.

1. Weight loss is sold and defined as success. I say, "If weight loss was the cure for weight problems, we would have an epidemic of thin people not fat people!" Weight loss is like having a baby. No one would argue that there is anything easy about having a baby. As difficult as having a baby is, any parent will argue that pregnancy and delivery is the easy part. Weight management services should be marketed as weight control services, NOT weight loss services, and this perspective should be introduced in the marketing phase and built upon in the treatment phase.

2. Diets, and almost all nutrition professionals assume that all overweight people are overweight for the same reason. Consequently, OVER-SIMPLIFIED weight loss (not weight control) services are offered in a one-size fits-all fashion. Services are NOT tailored to the causal issues related to, and the needs of, each individual!

3. The psychology of weight loss - critical psychological difficulties - many of which are created by conventional diet "wisdom", are not understood, acknowledged or addressed in treatment. Weight loss counseling is substandard by nature. For instance, conventional diet "wisdom" holds that one should be on a "diet". Consumption of a piece of pizza is defined as "breaking the diet" and a "failure. If one "fails", that makes that person a "failure". If one is "a failure", isn't he/she doomed? Further, "stress eating" and "compulsive eating", family or origin issues, and body size issues, among a host of other critically important psychological issues and dynamics, are rarely addressed.

In summary, the diet industry has failed miserably to deliver results of any lasting value - results that consumers of weight control services are paying for and entitled to. What is desperately needed is a forward thinking, cutting edge approach that understands the limited value of weight loss, and focuses on providing patrons what the REALLY want:

Weight control for life...

With a relative degree of ease...

While they live and participate in the real world!

Gary Avignon, a psychotherapist of almost 20 years, specializes with food, nutrition and weight issues. He is the author of a revolutionary new book, Weight Wizardry 101: Introduction to The Psychology of Successful Weight Control. YOU can nab Chapter One, "The Single Biggest Secret That Causes Diet Failure", for *FR*EE* for a limited time at http://www.theweightwizard.com

Drop Pounds Fast

The most effective way to drop pounds fast is to follow a diet regimen that yields the greatest number of pounds lost in the shortest span of time, with the least amount of effort, sacrifice, or dietary readaptation.

The Calorie Shifting Diet is an example of one such diet. You can expect to lose 9 pounds every 11 days, or upwards of 20 pounds per month.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, following this crash diet does not require you to reduce your caloric intake. You do not need to count calories. You do not need to reduce your carbohydrate intake. You do not need to cut fats, sodium, or sugars out of your diet. On the contrary, while you are on this diet, you are allowed to eat as much food as you desire at every meal until you are completely satisfied, but not until you are too full. In addition, you are required to eat four full meals every day! And while you are on this diet, you are required to eat a variety of foods from all four major food groups. Moreover, in order to counter the potentially detrimental effects of rapid weight loss, you are required to take a mandatory 3-day break from the diet every 14 days. This gives your body a chance to stabilize and rest from the rapid weight loss you will have been experiencing while on this diet, before you resume this diet again for another 11 days.

It may seem too good to be true or you may wonder at how such a diet as this could even be regarded as a diet at all. But you would be pleasantly surprised to learn that this is a highly effective way to drop pounds fast, that is gaining widespread popularity. The secret to this diet is in the theory of shifting calories.

Espousal of the shifting calories theory is based on the premise that you can manipulate your body's metabolism at will to induce weight loss, not by reducing calories but buy shifting the types of calories that you consume, from meal to meal, from day to day, on a rotational basis. It is possible to consume your calories in such a sequence as to achieve this effect.

Drop pounds fast without ever going hungry or having your cravings go unsatisfied. How would you like to be 9 pounds lighter 11 days from now? The Calorie Shifting Diet will get you there! Learn how at: http://www.CalorieShiftingDiet.info