Ive Been Dieting for Five Minutes - Am I Thin Yet?
July 2, 2008
When Instant Results Take Time
Yesterday I decided to “get back in shape,” and today I’m already checking in the mirror to see if there’s a difference. Sound familiar? Everything else is instantly obtainable from microwave dinners to pay-on-demand TV, so why should weight loss take so long?
Before microwave ovens people had to decide in the morning what to make for dinner because it took all day to thaw the meat. Today most people don’t even think about what’s for dinner until 20 minutes before they want to start eating.
You Didn’t Gain it Overnight, You Won’t Lose it Overnight Either
Stop and think about how long it either took you to gain all your extra weight or how long you’ve been overweight. If it’s been years, then relax. You won’t take it all off in a few days. Give yourself some time to melt into a new shape. Have you been overweight your entire life, yet now you expect to lose it in a matter of weeks? Have you had emotional issues since childhood but now you think a day or two of effort should be all it takes? It takes time to make a change, so give yourself a break.
Help to Reduce Belly Fat
June 28, 2008
Can You Lose Weight Where You Want?
If you have excess weight only in specific parts of your body, you still must look at yourself as a whole. It’s not possible to spot reduce; in other words, you can’t dictate that you only want weight to come off one place or another. In most cases your so called “trouble spots” is where the fat will come off last, so be prepared to lose weight in your fingers (rings fall off) and your face (friends may ask if you’re feeling all right) first. There is hope for losing that belly fat though.
Work Toward Building Muscle and Reducing Body Fat
If you work toward building muscle and reducing body fat you will eventually tackle those trouble spots though, and develop a better physique in the process. Muscle tissue is active meaning it requires calories to be maintained. If you were stranded without a food supply, eventually your body would turn to its own muscle tissue as a source of nutrition first (muscles are protein) while saving the fat stores for last. Simply put, fat is nature’s way of ensuring survival during times of famine. That’s why the prevalence of heart failure kills someone who is severely malnourished. By building more muscle you become a more efficient energy burning machine which translates to mean you can eat more food! That to me is a good thing.
Tracking the Elusive Calorie - Weight Loss Tips
June 23, 2008
Why Making Small Changes in Your Eating Habits Adds up to Big Results in Your Weight Loss Efforts
First, get started by tracking your eating for at least a week or more. I carry a little purse sized notebook and just jot down what I eat during the day. Then each evening I input it into the Food & Exercise Diary for Windows software program I use (described in the Tools section of my website).
Tracking what I eat allows me to see trends over time, and also makes it very clear why my weight rises sometimes and falls others. If you decide to track your eating, it’s best to simply capture yourself being yourself. Don’t try to eat better just for the sake of logging better values. The idea is to discover your real eating habits and patterns.
Think You Know What You’re Eating?
Making Healthy Lifestyle Changes that Last - A New Look at New Years Resolutions
June 19, 2008
Would you run out of fingers, and maybe even toes, if you used them to count your tries at adopting a healthy lifestyle? Many of us would. The reason? Often it’s that we need to change how we try to make changes. How we make the journey, not whether we always reach our exact goals, determines our success. And how we make the journey is really about our ability to support ourselves along the way, instead of falling back into judgmental and self-defeating ways of thinking and doing.
If you’re thinking about making another run at a healthy lifestyle, consider these steps along the way.
Get real
Whether we’re trying to start eating healthier or become more physically active, the first step is to be clear about our goals…and clear whether they are something we can achieve. For example, if you currently walk once a week, and you begin to strive for five, what’s the chance you’ll get there regularly? Immediately trying to fit four extra workouts into your busy week may leave you struggling. Instead, think about an initial goal of walking twice a week. Small increases –’baby steps’ — build on success. As you feel good about your ability to do one extra walk, you’ll see your motivation ratchet up for another, ’til you reach that higher goal.
Learn the Secrets the Weight Loss Industry Doesnt Want You To Know About Weight Loss Diets
June 13, 2008
All weight loss diets make you Fat
That’s right, because on all weight loss diets, you always gain it back, and usually with a few extra pounds as a bonus, so why diet?
What’s the point in losing 20 Lbs, and gaining back 25?
Are you fed up with being overweight, and sick and tired of going on diets?
Why go through all the struggles of dieting, the starvation, the cravings, and the ultimate struggle with willpower, only to gain it all back?
When you consider the damage this does to your health, it’s simply not worth it, however…
There is an easy answer, but first…
You must understand the Biggest Problem
Definitely, one of the biggest problems in weight control is the weight loss Industry!
Surprise!!!
They want you to "Fail"; otherwise they would have no more business, think about it.
If everybody lost the weight for good, the weight loss Industry would die overnight, so they want you to gain it all back, then they lay a "Guilt Trip" on you for not sticking to your diet or maintenance diet.
Sound familiar? But…
Holiday Eating: Party Hearty Without Putting on the Pounds!
June 9, 2008
The holidays are definitely a special time of year. These days, however, many women wonder whether “special” means happy — or stressful. Do you know anyone who doesn’t feel more stress during the holiday season? One thing is for sure: Stress is a six-letter word that can spell added trouble for many women who struggle with food, eating and weight.
A national survey of women conducted earlier this year revealed that women see stress and lack of energy as two of their top health issues. But here’s where it gets interesting: Women were twice as likely as men to snack as a way of dealing with stress!
So how do you enjoy the famous holiday party time that seems to start with coffee breaks at work or weekend brunches and last through dessert parties late in the evening without overdoing on all those wonderful foods? Here’s a list of ideas to consider that can help reduce holiday stress, boost energy and maximize your ability to make smart choices to support you in your efforts to feel well and stay healthy.
Keep It Simple
Weight Loss Program: Do Your Expectations Sabotage Your Success?
June 5, 2008
When women talk about their biggest obstacles to successful weight and health management, we often hear about hurdles like not enough time or knowledge to prepare healthy meals. Or frequent social occasions that involve food. Or hectic schedules, or stress in their lives, or transitions they’re currently going through. The list goes on. But if you’re like many of us, it’s really none of these. Instead, our biggest obstacle is unrealistic expectations.
All the menu planning, exercising, and positive behavior change in the world will not help the woman who has set goals that are impossible to achieve. Unfortunately, too many of us are that woman ? driven, all-or-nothing, compulsive perfectionists. Because of feelings of insecurity or inferiority, we idealize our standards of success and try to mold ourselves into perfect people. The irony is that the worse we feel about ourselves, the more perfectionistic we become and thus set ourselves up for failure.
It’s easy to understand intellectually that healthy eating, physical activity and a balanced lifestyle are key to getting and staying fit. The hard part is ‘doing it’– dealing emotionally with the slow, ordinary, day-to-day process called moderation. Unrealistic expectations don’t blend well with everyday life. As such, everyday life becomes a failure; each failure undermines confidence in our ability to succeed and creates feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. After a while, it’s easy to stop trying.
Your Words Affect Your Weight Loss - Stop the Struggle
June 1, 2008
Are you Telling Yourself It’s Too Hard to Lose Weight?
Telling yourself you have to “struggle with this weight issue for the rest of my life,” is as good as telling yourself there’s no point in trying. “Why bother? I’ll just gain it right back. It’s no use. I might as well eat more cake. Poor me. Life is hard.” You know the drill. Life’s a beach and then you die. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can change from talking trash to talking yourself right into doing what you say you want to do. Here’s how.
Stop the struggle by Stopping Self Talk that Supports the Struggle
You’ve heard it before — what you focus on is what you receive. Nowhere is that more true than in believing it is a struggle to stay healthy. Who would want to be healthy if it’s such a horrible chore? Yet, you’ve probably seen plenty of people who are fit, healthy and happy? You might even know a few. They seem to bounce when they walk. They’re animated, excited about life, and no, if you asked them, they probably wouldn’t say it’s a struggle. “What do you mean,” they’d ask? “Struggle? Nah, I love my life,” and they’d mean it.
School for Overweight Teens
May 28, 2008
Getting Kids Moving - Help for Overweight Teens
A residential school program for overweight teens comes with a hefty price tag (some in excess of $5,000 per month). These programs rely on the same formula for weight loss as is commonly recommended; strict eating guidelines and increased activities. In other words, better nutrition and exercise. Hopefully some counseling is offered, and college prep courses are usually on the curriculum, but what about those kids? Are they getting a realistic head-start on a lifetime of healthier habits or are they simply doing what they are told, only to be fed to the wolves when they leave the safe environment of the school?
I tried to find stories of teens who had successfully completed these programs and gone on to healthy lives, and came up empty. If you are one or know of someone who’s been through one of these live-in school/weight loss programs, please drop me a line. I’d love to hear a success story. If you want to be everything you can for your kids, here are ideas for getting them (and you) up and moving again.
Exercise Should be Fun
The Miraculous Claims of the Zone Diet
May 24, 2008
One way of recognizing a fad diet is said to be the promise of multiple miraculous effects upon health. And Zone diet promises a lot.
“Why is the Zone diet so controversial?” “Beats me!” Extract from an interview with Dr. Barry Sears, by Harper&Collins Publishers
Five cover promises
At first glance, Barry Sears’ first published book “Enter The Zone” has the following main points:
These five statements should make us buy. I think I would buy if only one of them were true, point three, preventing disease.
How can a diet not be controversial when it says it can “prevent diseases”? But, to be fair, Dr Sears provides further details of his ambiguous statement somewhere between the covers of the bestseller. We find out that Zone diet can help to:
- prevent type II diabetes, as Zone diet is nothing more than permanent and accurate insulin control through food we ingest
- prevent cardiovascular diseases (cardiomyopathy, arthritis, artherosclerosis, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia)
- prevent or cure “mental diseases” such as depression and alcoholism
- restore energy in conditions such as CMS, PMS or even HIV infections
- prevent cancer development and make antibodies fight tumors with greater success.
I really want to believe Zone can be that magic recipe that can help me live a longer and healthier life, without too much effort. But I expected some scientific proof for all these promises. And what did I find instead? Some stories about people who successfully solved their problems by following Zone diet, and their everlasting gratitude to diet guru Barry Sears! I’m sorry, but I’m not buying that.
