The all important weigh in

Allowing your week to revolve around one event generally isn’t a good idea. If that one event turns sour, so does your week. When you are on a diet, your weigh-in can become that one event. If your diet is important to you, then your weigh-in will also be very important to you. A weigh-in will give you “thumbs up,” “thumbs down” or “hanging on”; it is your weekly progress report. I used to feel elated when I got a “thumbs up,” and dejected when I got a “thumbs down.” Sometimes those feelings would last all week until the next weigh-in, which would either confirm the feeling or change it. Please don’t make it this way for you. The weigh-in gives you feedback, and feedback is extremely important. Treat it as information and stay off the emotional roller coaster. What can you do to help yourself just before you step on the scale? Do you have any last requests? Is there anything else you can do to increase your probability of success? If you are thinking about taking fast-acting laxatives, I’ll give you a few bonus points for thinking outside of the box, but please do not rely on such substances. I certainly wouldn’t want to compound my problems by getting addicted to something else besides food. On certain weeks where I knew I would not have a favorable weigh-in, I wanted to clip my nails shorter than ever, get all the wax out of my ears and shave my head (anything to make me weigh less), but clearly I just needed to do better the following week. That’s about all one can do. Then there were the weeks when I knew I would have a great weigh-in. The night before weighing myself, I would lie in my bed, wanting to fall asleep as fast as possible so that tomorrow would arrive sooner. I couldn’t wait to get on that scale, much like a child cannot wait to open his birthday presents. I would mark down that one or two pound loss and glow with pride. My confidence rose on such days. My process of getting on the scale is by no means simple. I tried to get on the scale as lightly as possible rather than jumping on. I didn’t want to rattle the Fat Gods or anything like that. While both hands were pushing off of two different bathroom ledges, I would place my left foot on the scale. Slowly I would raise my right foot onto the scale while my hands were still responsible for cheating the scale reading by 30 pounds. Gradually, I would reduce the pressure from my hands and I would see the reading start to rise. How far would it rise? At the very point my hands would lose contact from the walls, I could see how I had done that week. If I gained a pound, I usually weighed myself again, but I always got the same result. It was worth a try. If I lost some weight, I did not weigh myself again. My thinking was that the second weighing might be higher. Why not leave a good thing alone? Many times before the weigh-in I used to starve myself for a day. I wanted to nail the weigh-in that badly. What would happen after the weigh-in? I would scarf down enough food for three people. I figured I could do this since I wouldn’t have to weigh-in for another seven days. I don’t think this was a good idea (no kidding, Johnny). Overall it just threw me out of balance. I think it is much better to be consistent day in and day out than starving yourself one or two specific days a week. You will just end up wreaking havoc with your metabolism. Remember that it is much more important to be consistent than carefree on your diet. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be carefree in other areas of your life. Why not wear fancy clothes but eat simply?

Dieting tips for weight loss

Keep A Diary Of What You Eat I think you will be very surprised if before you start your diet you keep a journal of what you eat and at what times. Do this for about a week. Then study your journal and see where you can cut back and find out at what times are you eating that could cause problems. If you find you are having a snack at 10 pm at night. Try bringing the time time in. You never what to eat to soon before you go to bed. Buy Diet Food Prepared What can make dieting hard to stick to is the preparation? Having the diet food available to you also means having to go shopping then come home and prepare your healthy meal. Now a days it seems everyone is so rushed with no time to spare. Would it not be easier to have your diet meal already prepared for you? There are a few diet nutrition food programs that will actually ship the food right to your door. Talk about convenience. I know of a few diets that deliver food, Atkins At Home, Diet To Your Door, Diet To Go, eDiets - Fresh Cuisine, Jenny Direct, Nutrisystem, Sunfare and Zone Chefs. Smaller Plates To Help Lose Weight Use smaller plates to help you lose weight. This will give you smaller portions but may fool the eyes. Never feel you have to finish everything on your plate. This does not mean you have to throw food out. You can store diet food for later. If you feel full, stop. Snacks Ready To Eat Have healthy snacks ready to eat. Instead of grabbing for the chips have carrot slices ready to grab. You will still get that sensation of crunchy with a more healthy nutritious choice. Water, Water, Water If you do some research regarding dieting one thing you will hear over and over is to drink plenty of water. Not only will water help to fill you up so you do not eat to much, but it is also great for your appearance. Water is the best beauty treatment. It flushes out the impurities and gives you great looking skin. Drinking water can also improve muscle tone. Muscles having all the water they need contract easier. Drinking water can give you a more effective workout when you exercise. You should drink at least 8 8 oz glasses of water a day and more if you are more than 25 pounds over weight. For every 25 lbs I would drink another 8 oz glass of water. Keep water by you. Use a straw if that will help you drink more. Good luck and stick with it. Take it day by day. I also recommend only weighing your self once a week. As always before you start any diet or exercise program check with your doctor first.

Easy weight loss make a start right now

Oh dear, oh dear, it's that time of year but yet again! The holidays are over, Christmas has come and gone, and what is there to look forward to! Summer holidays I suppose, but they do seem such a long time away. Anyway, I must confess that at the moment, even the thought of a holiday horrifies me, because after my over-indulgence during the festive season, the last thing that I want to be doing is even more eating and drinking. So, if there is nothing to look forward to for now, and we are in the midst of the January depression, what on earth CAN we do to lift ouselves out of the blues at this time of year! Here's one thought for you, start right now and get fit. I suggest that not only will that make you feel heaps better, after a few weeks, you will even start to look forward to that summer vacation. Let me give you another more serious and compelling reason for this, and that is that we all shoud start to take our long term health much more seriously than we do at present. At least that is my humble opinion. Did you know for instance that current statistics reveal that 75% of Americans are overweight and 40% are obese. That is just in the US, and I am prepared to hazard an educated guess that the rest of the developed world is not far behind. For those who desire to lose weight and obtain optimal health therefore, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to start. From the Atkins Diet to the South Beach Diet, from low fat to low carb diets, there are numerous weight-loss plans to choose from. In addition, given conflicting information as to what works best, it can be difficult deciding what to do. For those who have tried many diet plans with no success, it becomes more difficult and frustrating. Many people forget that a diet might work wonders for their friend but won't work well for them. This is not necessarily because the diet is "bad", but because each body reacts differently. However, there is a way to lose weight that is easy, fast, and doesn't involve deprivation or calorie counting. It is important to address some background information about body genetics and why weight loss can be difficult before I start to discuss weight loss tips. At the start of any diet, it is important to note that each person has a different body build. Some people are short and stout, while others are tall and thin. Some have big hips and shoulders, and others are short and very muscular. Genetics can determine body shape and a person's natural build just as it can do eye color, hair color, skin color, and so on. The good news is that genetics do not determine whether or not one will be fat, but will determine one's body shape. This means that not every woman can expect to be tall and thin like a Hollywood actress or supermodel such as Tyra Banks. Not every man can expect to be defined and muscular like The Rock. The goal really, in my opionion, is to be at a comfortable weight for one's body shape and to feel good about it. Having said all that, why is it that people are overweight! I have listed ten of the most common reasons below:- 1. Slow metabolism - People who are overweight have a hard time "burning off" their intake of food. As a result the fat is stored up in the body, rather than used. 2. Emotional eating - Those who struggle with weight often eat when stressed, or when other emotional upheavals are happening in their life. 3. Hormonal imbalances - This does mainly apply to the ladies, (complex creatures that we are!). 4. Eating portions - We can all be guilty of the syndrome that I like to call "greed not need". So watch out for those portion sizes. 5. A build up of toxins in the body - This can be due to too much junk food, candies, sodas, too much coffee, these can all contriubute to this. 6. Eating too late - Late-night eating can cause food to convert to fat a lot more easily, as well as making sleep more difficult. 7. A high susceptibility to growth hormones - These are the hormones which are given to animals to help them grow faster and larger. Some meat and dairy can have some residual growth hormones. These hormones can sometimes result in increased fat storage. 8. Not eating breakfast - This really does make your metabolism slow and sluggish. 9. Numerous diets - Going from diet to diet has a negative impact on the metabolism and causes weight loss to be much more difficult. 10. Food ingredients - The reasons why are amazing and beyond the scope of this article. Here Are Seven Simple Steps For Easy Weight Loss Now that there is a better understanding of body genetics, and why people have a tendency to be overweight, here are my tips for fast easy weight loss. #1: Drink some water first thing in the morning. Ideally you should drink eight ounces of distilled water, bottled water, or filtered water (not tap water). #2: Eat a big breakfast. Suggested foods to choose from are apples, bananas, rye bread with no sugar, plain yogurt, tuna, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, raw honey, and such like. #3: Drink distilled water throughout the day: I recommend that you try and drink at least eight glasses per day. #4: Walk non-stop one hour each day. This doesn't have to be power walking, just walk at your own pace. Walking is one of the best forms of exercise you know! #5: Try and stop eating after 6:00 PM. This is very hard for many people, but do the best you can. You will be surprised at how much you benefit from this. #6: Do a candida cleanse. Candida is yeast overgrowth in the colon that can cause all kinds of health problems. Check online for "Candida Cleanse" or go to your local health food store. #7: Do a colon cleanse: This cleanse cleans out the digestive system, which is clogged and sluggish in many overweight people. Once again, check online or go to your local health food store. More and more people worldwide are becoming overweight. Extra weight can result in many health issues and negatively impact your emotional state and self-esteem. However for those struggling with this problem, there is hope, because you can lose it and keep it off if you really want to. Now that you have a understanding of body genetics and why you might be overweight, why not take some positive action today! Commit to trying at least a few of the steps, you will be glad that you did.