If you are starting a weight loss program, it may be helpful for you to know that there are some simple steps you can take to make any weight loss program more effective.  We will share 7 tips that have been proven successful by millions of weight loss participants in any weight loss program of their choice.

Weight Loss Tip #1: Realistic Goals

The fastest way to lose motivation is to set unrealistic weight loss goals for yourself before you even start your weight loss program, ask yourself some simple questions-“What do you want to achieve from this weight loss program?” and “How much weight do you want to lose in a day, a week or a month”.  Remember that each small goal you achieve will propel you closer to your final destination.  But if you set unrealistic goals, you will only end up in frustration and disappointment when they are not achieved, even when you are making significant progress in your weight loss goals.

Weight Loss Tip # 2: Preparation is the Key

Now is the time to start a new lifestyle and start getting rid of your junk food, your colas in the refrigerator, those puddings and those chocolates you stash in your drawer!  Make a new list of the food you need and start stocking on them in large quantities.  Include vegetables, fruits, healthy snacks, mineral waters and vitamins and minerals supplements you may need.

Weight Loss # 3: Reward system

Give yourself a pat on the back and create a reward system for your weight loss program. For instance, you may want to get yourself a new shoe, a new CD or even a new handbag if you reach a certain point in your weight loss efforts.

Weight Loss # 4: Healthy Breakfast

This is the most important meal that you should never miss.  Skipping breakfast means that you are programming your brain to think that you hungry starved and deprived, this will only cause you to feel lethargic and when the pressure is too much, you may decide to embark on an eating binge. This is sheer suicide to your weight loss program!

Weight Loss # 5: Exercise

For long lasting effects and to boost the rate of your weight loss, this is one important activity you must inculcate into your routine. No weight loss program can be successful without a good exercise program.  Choose a good exercise program that lets you burn fat and gives a good cardiovascular exercise at the same time.
 

Weight Loss # 6: Sleep

Always get enough sleep during your weight loss program. A normal adult would need an approximately 7-8 hours of sleep a day.  This help to keep your bodily system working in perfect order, which is crucial to the success of your weight loss program.

Weight Loss Tip 7:Relaxation

This is important in any weight loss program and you should make relaxation a crucial apart of your schedule.  Meditation, relaxation and affirmations can help boost your confidence and make the process more enjoyable.
By following these seven simple tips, you can start seeing results in your efforts to lose weight.  Be consistent and make them part of your lifestyle and success in your weight loss program is assured.

There are more than 70 million adults overweight and considered to be obese with an estimated annual medical cost of $150 billion to treat problems caused by obesity.

Obesity is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some types or kinds of cancer. Foods high in sugar, salt and fat and the consumption of these types of foods are one of the leading causes of obesity in both adults and children.

We never have the time to purchase healthy foods so we stop at some fast food restaurant to buy a burger, fries and some type of soft drink which is bad for anyone with or without a weight problem.

Replace high fat foods with lean meats, fish, vegetables and fruits with less fat, sugar and salt, when you crave a snack grab some raisins or dried fruit and stay away from the cookies, cake and ice cream.

About 60 percent of adults drink at least one sugary drink per day, skip these and drink water instead. Eat small portions or healthy snack food five or six times a day instead of a large meal. Go for a walk around the block or through the park, stop and take notice of your surroundings. If you stay at home get outside in the yard instead of sitting in front of the TV.

There are many ways to lose that excess weight whether it be exercise or diet . Some exercise programs are very expensive and some are modest in cost be it a gym membership, a treadmill or other home exercise equipment. But diet or exercise programs are real killers if you are not prepared to commit yourself to them, I believe a good brisk 30 minute walk does wonders.

Good suggestions on maintaining your weight loss:

Losing weight can be very difficult, but when you have met your goal and loss the weight you have set your mind to do, this will be achieved much easier by following a proven weight loss plan, your next step is to keep those extra pounds off and here are some good suggestions to help you do just that.

Eating the right type of food:

The first thing you can do is to make sure that you continue on the healthy food lifestyle that you used previously to lose that weight.  Obviously in order to be successful in your weight loss program, you have made certain changes in the type of food you eat and the intake of such foods.  Now is the time to permanently instill those habits into your lifestyle.  If you go back to your old eating habits, you will definitely put the weight back on and next time it will be much harder to get rid of that extra weight.

Have a think lean Mindset:

You need to condition your mind into believing that you will keep that weight off after your weight loss goal has been met to your satisfaction. This type of mindset will assist you in developing healthy eating habits that will in turn help you stay trim and healthy.  Visualizations and meditation can help you to get into the right frame of mind to achieve this end result.  By developing the right mindset and following a weight loss program to the letter, you can keep yourself from reaching out for those fatty foods or snacks and go for the more nutritional food instead at the next family get together or party.

Exercise is critical:

This is a crucial step in any type of weight loss program.  Without proper exercise, you can never have the long-term success in your efforts to lose weight.  Select the right exercise that you can enjoy, have lots of fun and get a great workout at the same time.  There are plenty of exercises you can do right from your home, but please talk to your physician before beginning any rigorous exercise program. To get started a leisure walk in the park or around your neighborhood will do you a world of good and help relive stress also.

Friends and Family Support:

Sometimes what you need is family and friends encouragement to keep you going on your weight loss program. And by sharing your weight loss goals with a few of your close friends or family members can go a long way to keep you focused on the path you chose to lose that weight in the first place. Remember to choose wisely, and do not share anything with those who will have a negative attitude or who will most likely dampen your desire to lose weight. Losing weight can be full of fun, if you know the right way to do it. One thing to remember, you will always move towards things that brings you pleasure, and if you want to make sure your weight loss is permanent, make the process fun and rewarding by taking the necessary steps to incorporate these four tips  into your lifestyle.

By: Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS
mealplans101

1. Eat 4-6 small meals a day instead of the usual 2-3 large meals. Eating frequently will help regulate and boost your metabolism to burn more calories.

2. Consume whole foods that are high in fiber and low in sugar such as lean protein (lean beef, chicken, fish, and whey protein), fruits & vegetables (oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, peppers, asparagus, carrots, nuts (almonds, cashews, & walnuts), and whole grains.

3. Eat low-glycemic carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole-wheat products and oatmeal instead of refined processed carbohydrates which usually come in a box or a bag.

4. Recommend consuming 25-35 grams of fiber per day. Since the average diet contains only 14 grams we could all use more fiber. Fiber will help satisfy hunger pangs as well as control insulin and blood sugar levels which tend to promote fat storage when they are elevated.

5. Eat some type of lean protein at each meal. Protein helps to satisfy hunger and provide the necessary building blocks to maintain lean body mass while losing body fat.

6. Consume adequate amounts of healthy fat foods such as olive oil, walnuts, almonds, Omega-3 fortified eggs or other Omega-3 products. Healthy fats are great antioxidants as well as help with brain function and many other essentials processes that take place in the body on a daily basis. Essential Fatty acids also help prevent certain diseases.

7. Recommend eating 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day to meet your micronutrient needs. Vegetables also contain a good amount of fiber and help to control appetites and curb hunger.

8. Consume Green Tea or Water instead of calorie filled drinks such as soft drinks. Green Tea has many health benefits and should be drinking 1ml of non-caffeinated fluid for every calorie that you consume. This works out between (8-12) 8oz glasses of Green Tea or Water a day.

9. Balance your fat intake for the day. 1/3 should come from saturated fats, 1/3 from monounsaturated fats, and 1/3 from polyunsaturated fats.

10. If you want to start building habits then you need to follow a plan. Habits are formed by repetitively following a prescribed plan. Therefore map out your meals every day and follow them. If you follow your plan everyday for 2-3 weeks you will form habits that become part of your daily routine and you won’t even notice it. How do you think bad habits are formed? By repetitively doing something over and over again.

11. Include what I call “Superfoods” into your meal plan on a daily basis. These include but not entirely lean meat, salmon, low fat plain yogurt, tomatoes, spinach, mixed berries, whole oats, mixed nuts, olive oil, flax seeds(or flax meal), green tea, and various beans. These are just some of the “Superfoods” who should be incorporating into your daily meal plans.

12. Keep total fat intake under 30% for the day. This can be accomplished by not adding too many extra fats such as butter, sour cream, mayonnaise, etc. This doesn’t mean you have to completely eliminate these items, but do not eat them as a regular food item every day.

13. EXERCISE!! You can lose weight by just following a nutrition plan on its own but very few succeed at it and it takes much longer than when you eat properly as well as exercise. I am not talking about just getting on a treadmill for 30 minutes every other day. Though you can lose weight this way it is not the most efficient use of your time nor maximizing the ability to burn calories. The most effective way to lose fat is by strength training or some type of interval training utilizing strength training and cardiovascular exercises. A properly designed program can burn more overall calories in 20 minutes than 20 minutes on a treadmill. Also, the X factor in all this is that you will burn more calories per minute hours after you finished strength training because of the EPOC effect. Static exercise on a treadmill doesn’t produce this X factor.

14. Record what you eat and drink. You will be amazed at what you consume and not even realize you did it until you right it down and reflect back on the day. Keeping a food log is critical to your success because if modifications need to be made you need something to be able to evaluate and analyze. If changes aren’t happening like you had hoped the answer can usually be found in the food and or exercise journal.

15. Follow the 90% rule. If you can follow your plan 90% of the time then that is enough to have success with weight loss. If you find yourself breaking the rules more than 90% of the time then the chance of being successful with weight loss is not as likely. Your chances of failing increase significantly. Lose the all or nothing attitude and just take one day at a time. Reflect on your day before you go to bed at night and instead of getting down on yourself because you weren’t perfect just set goals to accomplish next day that would eliminate those errors.

About the Author:

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS, is a registered dietitian and fitness professional with more than 10 years of experience. He has worked with 1000’s of individuals in achieving their ideal body and has been published in numerous magazines. He is also co-creator of Meal Plans 101 nutrition software. For more information on how you can utilize Jayson’s expertise go to mealplans101 ]]> http://downwithfat.com/15-rules-for-fat-loss/feed 0 http://downwithfat.com/losing-weight http://downwithfat.com/losing-weight#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:42:43 +0000 admin http://downwithfat.com/?p=476 Beware of the Invisible Saboteurs of Your Weight Loss Program!

When you start a weight loss program, you would definitely want to have as many people who are close, to be supportive of your weight loss goals.  Unfortunately, this idealistic mindset is almost impossible to achieve in this imperfect world.  There are to be saboteurs in each and every little endeavor you choose to take in life and that includes your weight loss program too!
This should not dishearten you to abandon your weight loss goals, but what you need is to strengthen your willpower and resist those subtle and malicious suggestions or responses they make whenever you reach a specific milestone on your path towards a slimmer body and a healthier lifestyle.

Why does this happen?
Well, the reason why these people adopt such a response to your success is that they are afraid of losing something once the goal is attained.  If it is a spouse, he or she may feel threatened by your new look and that you will appear more attractive to others.  If he or she is a sibling, then they may feel uncomfortable with losing a friend to share the good food they use to enjoy or they can stem from the feelings of jealousy.  This is also apparent if your best friend is sabotaging your weight loss program, they may fear the fact of losing you to a new and improved circle of friends once you get all the weight off.

Here are some clues to use if you want to see if they belong to this category of saboteurs

1. Offer you Fattening Foods
This is one neat trick that can make you fall to their plans and be a victim of these weight loss saboteurs!  Over time, they may shove at you your favorite food and offer something that used to be your personal cravings.  Thank them and refuse to have any of them.

2. Negative Comments
Some small remarks such as” You can never stick to your weight loss goals” or “ You look good being fat!” are simply some of the tactics employed by these tricky characters!

3. Catch you Doing Something Forbidden
They have a habit of keeping an eye on you and then merely to jump onto something you did that is on the contrary to your weight loss program.

4. Constant Criticism
They have a habit of criticizing everything they can and how you decide to manage your weight loss program.

So how do you face these characters in your life?  They are the people dearest to you and you can’t simply shove them aside.  Well, what you can do is simply ignore these remarks, and move on with your weight loss program.  You can make some attempts to reassure them that things will not change and will be what it used to be in the past. What is changing is only your weight and your lifestyle and you are doing it for your own well-being and your health.  Isn’t your happiness  more important to them than their fear of the unknown?