Diet Plan 1-2-3 » Dieting Motivation

The Weight Loss Diet Principles

GuestPoster — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:35:14 +0000

Following a weight loss diet is one of the most common and we can say an essential way to lose weight. While there are many things to consider when losing weight, the right diet is definitely among the most important ones. So how to follow it properly?

To be able to do so, you need to understand how our body works. No, we’re not going to dive into human anatomy, just a simple thing: our body is always trying to maintain homeostasis or internal balance. It means that it always tries to balance the intake and spending of the energy that we consume in a form of calories. So, to start the losing weight process, you need to interfere with this balance, i.e. you need to reduce significantly the amount of calories you consume in order to trigger the weight reduction process. How much should I reduce my calorie intake? It depends; sometimes people have to reduce it by 90%! But it is not a common thing; nevertheless, you need to understand, that 10 or 20% reduction is often not enough.

Another question here is: how to determine the proper amount of calorie intake? There is a simple rule: reduce the amount of calories you consume until you reach the losing weight pace at around 1000g a week. If you lose weight by less than that, reduce your calories more; if you lose weight faster, consume more calories. To be able to determine this, put yourself on scales from time to time, and usually you will have a clearer picture after a month or so.

Now it is pretty logical to ask: why I cannot lose my weight faster? The problem in the same homeostasis: our body cannot adjust itself so fast. The problems? Well, there some and they are pretty unpleasant.

If you happen to start losing weight by more than 1200g per week, you may face toxins formation and metabolic disorders taken place; your skin will become flabby because its internal processes are going too fast; the same will happen to muscles – they may simply degrade to a state you will never like them. So, after such a rapid weight loss, you may end up with a body that looks even worse than before, and you definitely do not want this. Also it is not only about your external look; the internal organs may suffer as well, especially liver and kidneys. You will have to do a thorough liver cleansing to restore its normal condition. So be gradual and aware of what is happening to your body during the process.

The First Steps to an Extreme Body Makeover

GuestPoster — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:45:09 +0000

One of the major problems facing a lot of men and women today is obesity. Resulting mostly from a sedentary lifestyle, obesity has caused many individuals to gradually lose confidence in themselves, and often results in a propagation of depression and destructive eating cycles. However, some people do decide to fight back, and one of the ways this is done is to go through an extreme body makeover.

An extreme body makeover involves undertaking a strict regimen, which usually takes the form of dieting, exercising, or a modification or combination of all three. It is not an easy decision to make, as it requires complete discipline and determination. Various programs are built around these three principles, which simply vary the specific components according to the individual’s needs and baseline measurements.

In dieting, food intake consists mostly of raw food materials, both to minimize free radicals, as well as increase the intake of antioxidants, vitamins, and other minerals while reducing fat and sugars. It is widely recommended to have 5-6 small meals per day to minimize fat formation. As for the specific food items, these vary from regimen to regimen, but some of the most common ones involve aloe vera, arugula, cucumbers, figs, olive oil, papaya, and turmeric.

For exercises and according to latest health news, a combination of slow and long distance exercises lasting for 45-60 minutes together with yoga is recommended. The goal of the exercises is to increase the metabolic rate and burn fat, while the yoga strengthens the muscles and improve posture. Related to these are regular spa treatments, which help burn more fat and promote relaxation. Some medications are also taken in addition to these, which further cleanse the body of toxins.

Finally, surgery is always an option for more radical changes, such as liposuction, nose lifts, breast augmentation and the like. These are generally regarded as a last option however, and should always be given an educated consideration before any procedure is done.

Watch your Health, Watch Your Food

GuestPoster — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 05:17:03 +0000

Ever wondered why a lot of people are conscious of what they eat these days? Are you one of these individuals who are diet conscious? Did you find yourself looking at food and thinking of how much calories it contains? So, why is there a heightened awareness of food content?

People are very much aware now of how food will affect their health. Back then it is just eaten to satisfy hunger. Now, people check first its value to one’s health before eating it. This is inevitable. There’s a lot of campaign going on saying you need to eat healthy. If you want to be physically fit, you need to eat healthy and exercise. Otherwise, you’ll become too thin or packed with excess fats on different parts of your body. So, before you find yourself wondering how to lose belly fat, you better watch what you eat.

You may also be one of those who are diet conscious. By that, it means that you stick to a diet program to attain your goal on physical well being. The intent may vary. It could be that you want to lose weight, look sexy, build abs, and stay lean or plainly just to lose belly fat. Whatever the motivation, it’s always better to be careful with what you eat.
You see, food is packed with its nutrients and calorie content. This means that every time you eat food, there’s a corresponding calorie intake to that. Now, if you eat up more calories than what your body burn every day, then you start to gain weight. That’s when you start to see excess fats stored in different parts of your body. Now if you continue to eat more then that’s when fatty deposits really start to show.

Following a diet program is not the only way to lose weight and get rid of belly fats. There are different exercises to lose belly fat. The most popular of which is resistance training. This includes weight lifting, sit ups and the like. Aerobic exercises will also help lose belly fat. These exercise routines will increase your body’s ability to burn the calorie you consumed every day. It is a good way to prevent fat from building up in your body.
Now physical fitness is not all about food and exercise. You need to be disciplined if you want to stay fit and healthy. Health is your greatest asset, be sure to value it as much.

Lose Weight By Setting Goals

GuestPoster — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:43:04 +0000

One big reason that people do not lose weight when they attempt to is because they do not set goals. Setting goals is a larger part of losing weight than a lot of people realize. If you do not have any goals set then how do you know how much weight you want to lose or how fast you want to lose it? There are a few things that you will want to think about when you are trying to think of what your weight loss goals should be so that you are able to keep your mind focused and start losing weight.

One thing that you want to keep in mind is not to set your goals to high. Some of the people who do set goals when they are trying to get into shape sometimes set unrealistic goals that they cannot achieve. If you set yourself goals that are unattainable then you will be setting yourself up for failure. You want to make sure that you set goals that you know you can achieve so that you will not fail to meet the goal you have set and give up.

In order to make sure that the goals you are setting for yourself are achievable you will want to start off slow by only making one goal that you know you can achieve. For example, you might set a goal to lose two pounds in seven days. With the right diet and exercise this goal is not hard for most people to reach. Once you meet that goal then you might set the same one for the next week and see if you reach it. The more small goals you start to achieve the more your confidence starts to build up. The higher your confidence is the more you love what you are doing. This will help you to stick with your exercise routine and will help you to start achieving your goals.

When you are trying to lose weight it is a good idea if you have one big goal that you want to reach, but then you want to break that big goal down into several smaller goals so that it is more achievable. By breaking your goal down into smaller goals that you can reach each week you will be able to reach your big goal a lost faster than you have probably ever imagined.

Breaking the Rules of Weight Loss

GuestPoster — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:00:53 +0000

Keep your will alive and your conscience awake! Every time you sit down for a few seconds trying to reflect on the fact that the food from the plate will get you one step closer to your goal. Imagine how you would feel if you had an ideal weight and a good health. As you make these connections with your subconscious mind you will naturally feel inclined to love the foods and drinks to help you achieve your dream. Also when you exercise to lose weight or when you run on the treadmill imagine you run towards your goal.

Your mind is the most powerful ally and it will help you overcome any obstacle. Remember: the scale is not the only judge of your success. When weight loss in pounds slows you will continue to lose inches, you will wear clothes with smaller sizes, and you will generally feel better. Do not let the plateau period discourage or distract you from reaching your goal. Your body is now undergoing a stage of, but you will soon see results!

Forget about the scale for a period of time! At the same weight, a person can be full of muscles (which weigh heavier), or full of “fat” (more and light). Just stop thinking about the scale as a tool to measure weight loss and let the diet continue!

Smile and be optimistic! A good spirit is crucial for weight loss! Celebrate each small victory and each new result whether you lost pounds or inches!

A lot of weight loss programs tend to discourage you by saying that you are not allowed to eat certain thing. If you are told you are not allowed to do something you want to do it more, so if you are limited by rules you tend to break them, so chose a program that tells you what to eat not what not to eat.

Learn About Diets That Work

Diet Plan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:58:12 +0000

Judging by the level of interest in weight loss plans and dieting in America it’s obvious that many of us are trying, and failing, at losing weight. Finding diets that work is like a holy grail for many people. Weight loss supplements are all over the shelves and it’s hard to see a single page on the internet that isn’t promoting some sort of weight loss product or diet plan. Even with all these different diets and products we can’t seem to take the weight off and keep it off.

One factor that hinders many of us when trying to lose weight is that we don’t have definite and specific goals when trying to lose weight. I want to look like so and so or I want to fit into my old jeans may be goals, but they are not specific enough to keep most of us focused on losing weight. In addition, these types of goals are usually long term in nature and without a constant positive feedback we eventually give up. If you make specific short term goals you are much more likely to stay on track and to succeed with your weight loss.

It’s so important to have a positive mindset and positive expectations when starting any long term plan, especially weight loss. Again, it helps when your goal is realistic and when it takes into account your own personal specifics. Both these things will help you to find diets that work for you and to maintain a positive attitude. One of the easiest ways to set a weight loss goal is by using a height and weight table. You can easily find one of these by searching on the internet and they will tell you what your ideal weight range is given your gender, height and current age. Determining your ideal weight is a great starting point for a weight loss goal.

Once you’ve determined your goal weight it will be much easier for you to focus on the task of losing weight. We tend to be very goal oriented creatures and having a set goal like “Lose 50 pounds” makes it easier for us to visualize the end result and to keep ourselves accountable. It gives us a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. And while a 50 pound loss may seem like a lot now, we can make things easier on ourselves by breaking that down into smaller goals. Let’s say you simply focused on losing 5 pounds. That would be fairly easy and quick and once you reached that goal you’ll know you can be successful at weight loss. You then move on to the next 5 pound goal and so on. Before you know it you’ll have lost the 50 pounds and maybe even more.

Once you decide to start dieting you’ll also want to know where to find weight loss help and the best diets that work. All of us need help sometimes and luckily there are many websites available to teach us about dieting and weight loss. These sites can not only teach us, but can also help to motivate and support us when necessary.

Many of the super diet sites offer a host of features such as email updates for motivation, forums of other dieters for added motivation and loads of great information about ways to succeed in your weight loss efforts. You’ll be able to find useful recipes and nutrition help too as well as tips to keep your weight loss moving forward. Many sites will also teach you about proper exercise and fitness techniques to speed up your weight loss. These sites typically offer all of this for free.

You can also find sites that are dedicated to healthful living that are focused on disease prevention through proper diet and nutrition. These sites will teach you about heart health, avoiding or managing diabetes, lower cholesterol and other prevention topics. Use them to educate yourself, but always be sure to also consult with your doctor about any potential illness or disease.

Most of these sites don’t view dieting as having an end point. Rather they look at your diet as a lifestyle and will help you not only to lose weight, but to maintain a healthy weight. They will attempt to give you the knowledge and skills necessary to keep you at an ideal weight for life while also improving your fitness level and quality of life. Sites like Sparkpeople.com and Weight Watchers feature the best weight loss information available combined with helpful and lively communities.

Weight loss is not particularly easy, but finding weight loss help and diets that work is easy. Just open up a search engine and look for weight loss groups or weight loss communities and you’ll have your pick of many of the top weight loss resources available. Best of all, most of them are free and all of them are available at any time of the day or night. These sites can’t lose the weight for you, but they can provide you with all the tools and support you’ll need to be successful in attaining your weight loss goals.

The Top Weight Loss Secrets Of Successful Dieters

Diet Plan — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:45:59 +0000

Almost everyone has gone on a diet at least once in their lives. It’s hard to change your eating habits, but the desire to shed those pounds steels your resolve. Ironically, many a diet fails due to this steely resolve. Just because you want to lose weight doesn’t mean you have to administer punishment to yourself to accomplish your goal. Here are several sure-fire weight loss secrets that anyone can use.

The top weight loss secrets of successful dieters

If you get too extreme in your diet program, you’re setting yourself up for failure. No one is going to stick with a diet that consists of a glass of juice and a container of plain yogurt for breakfast, a couple of saltines and a cup of soup for lunch, followed by a dreary dinner of a tiny piece of meat and a dinner salad. You’ll be down at the convenience store getting a bag of cookies by the second day. You do want to count calories, but be reasonable. Many people fail simply because they got too radical, cutting calories to 900 a day, in hopes of losing weight quickly. Nine times out of ten, this strategy does not work. Setting realistic goals and following a consistent program is the first weight loss secret of every successful dieter.

Keeping a food diary is a proven technique in keeping dieters honest. Get a small, 5 by 8 inch notebook and carry it everywhere. Whenever you eat something, jot it down. You’ll be surprised when you review your notes at the end of the day. Food seems to go into our mouths, unnoticed, unless you use this method of keeping track. Many studies have shown that dieters who keep a food diary, lose more weight than those who don’t, and also tend to keep the weight off.

Keeping a food diary also helps you discover certain eating patterns which contribute to those unwanted pounds. When you log your weight, once a week, you’ll also start to notice foods that work for you. For example, you’ve been adding more fruits and veggies to your menus, while cutting back on sweets. Your taste buds and appetite adjust, over time. Now you prefer the produce and, lo and behold, you’re losing weight at a steady pace! This is a new addition to the weight loss secrets arsenal, fast gaining a huge following.

Discover How To Shed Pounds With Quick Weight Loss Diets Secrets

Diet Plan — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:10:56 +0000

Are you struggling with managing your proper weight? Are you overweight or obese and finding it difficult learning how to lose weight quickly? The answer to attaining your ideal weight is likely in looking into how to have a positive approach to losing weight.

Phase 1 of building your positive mental attitude to dieting and losing weight is set your goals and be serious about achieving them. Only then, when you have decided you are going to achieve your ideal weight, it becomes paramount to make the commitment to your goals. Weight management, especially losing weight can be challenging. Most people give up before reaching their weight goal. A huge number of people still embark on unhealthy and low calorie diets, or potentially dangerous weight loss pills, or quick weight loss diet programs but realize that not longer after they stop the diet they start piling the weight back on again. Healthy weight management is a process that will give you the best results when it is attacked in a positive light.

To lose weight successfully you need the right knowledge, lots of practice, and backing from friends, family or support group as you are going to be changing the way you do things that will help you form new habits which will ultimately result in you achieving your weight loss goals. Owing to the fact that learning how to lose weight is down to healthy eating habits, you could well suffer setbacks during your journey, your positive attitude will determine how long you stay down when you stumble.

There’s more to losing weight that just a healthy diet, although that is a very big part of it, you also need to look at your lifestyle and making sure you get enough sleep at night, making sure you drink the recommended 2 liters of water a day and ensuring you get plenty of exercise. Having that positive attitude is a great gift. The best thing you can do for yourself is look after your health.

A positive approach to life is not just about you; building an encouraging support group around you with friends and family makes a big difference. Your support structure could include close friends, family members, a local weight loss club, a health consultant and probably your doctor.

Focusing on your goals means you’ll naturally be more consistent, and much better results with regards to achieving the smaller steps along the path to reaching your weight goal. If you believe in yourself, you will succeed and if you don’t plan to succeed you’re actually planning for failure. You know that regular exercise improves and strengthens your muscles, by continually channeling your emotions and thoughts these positive emotions and thinking have a way of growing stronger in your life and you can achieve more.

Learn how to drop negativity and be more positive about everything in your life. Determine how you can improve your self esteem and self image and learn different techniques to acknowledge and accentuate your unique strong points and skills.

How are you going to put a positive spin on your weight loss goal? What steps are you going to take that will insure your success? Are you ready to have a positive weight management or weight loss experience that will have a healthy impact on the rest of your life?

Get Motivated – 10 Ways to Change Your Diet Habits

Diet Plan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:59:24 +0000

If you’re going to lose weight then the very first thing you want to do is to decide to make it happen. This is where people have the biggest problem. Most people know that to lose weight; they should exercise more and eat less. It’s not what to do that’s the issue, but how they can do it. HOW do you eat less and exercise more? How do you change your diet habits?

The following ten steps will give you the motivation and the tools necessary to make a positive impact on your lifestyle and help you lose weight easily and effectively.

1. Plan Ahead: You need to plan so you know what to do now and what you’re going to do going forward. Without a plan even the best diet and exercise program can get derailed when you run into adversity. You should know what kind of diet you are going to use to lose weight. Low carb, low fat and low calorie diets all work well, which path will you be following? Each of us will lose weight differently on different diets. This may be the time to seek the help of the professionals with a diet plan to determine what will work best for your goals and personality.

2. Learn how to Grocery Shop: Grocery shopping goes hand in hand with planning ahead. You need to know what choices you are going to make BEFORE you get to the grocery store. If you don’t know what you’re looking for then the marketers will surely sabotage your diet efforts once you get in the store. Learn what to buy and how to make a list and you’ll be one step ahead in your diet planning. Most good diet programs will teach you how to grocery shop and more importantly how to avoid the bad grocery store choices.

3. Understand there is no magic bullet: Some people will get discouraged and lose their initial enthusiasm when they begin an exercise or diet program because they expect overnight success or a ‘magic bullet’. It’s important to understand that no exercise program or diet book can cure a lifetime of bad eating habits. Nothing will happen overnight, but small daily changes and successes will add up in the long run. If you continually encourage yourself and work towards improving your habits on a daily basis you will make improvements and create a healthier you.

4. Understand Motivation: You should know why you want to lose weight. General reasons like ‘looking better’ or ‘becoming more healthy’ are not enough to keep you motivated and keep that fire burning for the long haul. If you want to change your behavior and keep your motivation high you’ll need specific reasons to lose weight that are goal oriented. I want to lose 20 pounds in the next 3 months is a specific and measurable goal. Weight loss sounds good until Friday at 5 PM rolls around and it’s time for you and your friends or co-workers to go out and “kick back” after a long, hard week. Remember, you need to find the fire within, the motivation to drive you daily, to reach your goals.

5. Self-Monitor: One of the most valuable things you can do is to self-monitor your own behaviors. Self-monitoring is the observation and recording of a specific behavior. This can be as simple as placing a check mark on a calendar when you achieve a certain behavior or as detailed as writing down everything about a behavior (i.e. time, date, location, specific details, emotions). Often people are not aware of their own behaviors and self-monitoring can increase awareness. This is especially true for your diet. I would be willing to bet most of us have no idea how many calories we eat in a day or where they come from. The simple exercise of writing down or tracking what you eat for a week can be very enlightening. Try tracking your food for a week with FitDay and I think you’ll be surprised. Often just tracking your eating like this is enough to help you stay motivated and lose weight.

6. Problem-Solve: Studies have shown that those who used behavior change and problem-solving strategies when losing weight did better at maintaining weight loss than those who merely used behavior change strategies. Problem solving means you find the real problem that is keeping you from reaching your goals. Once you’ve found the problem you can then create possible solutions to overcome the problem taking into consideration your lifestyle, personality and the likelihood of success. Choose one of the strategies and evaluate how successful it is in helping you solve the problem. If necessary change to a different strategy, but make sure you are working on overcoming the problem daily.

It is important to recognize that not all strategies will be successful. Various strategies can be created to ultimately identify and correct a problem. Also remember that just because something works for one problem, does not mean it will work for every problem. Seek out the best solution for each problem you face. Long hours at work, social settings, traveling for business, etc.; each present different challenges to your weight loss efforts, and will require unique strategies. Be creative.

7. Work with a friend(s) or your spouse: It’s been proven that social support improves weight loss and the ability to keep the weight off. You can use this to your advantage by getting a group of friends and/or family members together on a plan and working towards a goal. You are much more likely to exercise regularly if you know there will be friends there to meet you. It helps to keep you more accountable and can also help because of the peer pressure or competitive nature of people. And the support of friends and family can be just the little extra you need when trying to break through a barrier or plateau to the next level.

8. Train like you mean it: Don’t simply go through the motions when you’re in the gym. Make this time count! By training hard you’ll not only burn more calories right now, but you’ll also boost your metabolism to burn more calories later. You want to keep your rest between sets to 60 seconds or less and you shouldn’t be spending more than 60 minutes in the gym. Train hard and get out! Remember your goal is weight loss and you won’t get that by socializing or slacking off.

Additionally you want to plan for your training just like you plan for your nutrition in step 1. Get a spiral notebook and keep track of exercises, weights, rest time and sets so you’re not going forward blindly. The best way to see your progress is by writing it down and I can tell you it is VERY motivating if you can look back one month and see the progress you’ve made. This applies to both weight training and aerobic based training like running, biking or swimming.

9. Learn to Read Food Labels: This goes hand in hand with rule #2, learning to grocery shop. You would think this would be easy, but it does take some degree of understanding. For example, the nutrition information shows the nutrients based on each serving. There may be 2 or 4 or even 10 servings per package so you need to know that and how to determine your proper portions and the quality of the foods. It also helps in finding the proper proportions of macro nutrients which is very important in most diet plans.

10. Eat Breakfast: I’m sure you’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and if you haven’t then I’m telling you now. Don’t skip breakfast. Not only has research shown that those who eat breakfast regularly consume higher levels of many nutrients, but it has also shown time and time again that those who eat breakfast daily have lower body fat levels and body weights. Breakfast gets your body started, gives you energy and charges up your metabolism. It is also the best time of the day to eat carbohydrates when you’re on a low carb diet because the carbs will provide your body with energy throughout the day. It’s not good to skip any meal, but breakfast is the worst meal of all to skip.

No matter when you decide to start losing weight or what diet plan you use there will always be difficult situations and barriers to changing your eating and exercise habits. As with any area of your life significant changes take desire, willpower, motivation and a change in your mindset. It’s easy to fall back into your comfortable patterns and skip the gym or stop for a pizza for dinner instead of taking 20 minutes to prepare a healthy meal. It’s up to you, but realize that if you don’t make the change now then when will you? The time to change is right now!

Diets Don’t Work!

Diet Plan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:50:34 +0000

‘I’ve tried everything to lose weight but nothing works!’

This is a common statement made by people who have tried losing weight without success. They may lose weight initially but inevitably put the weight back on a short time later and usually with re-enforcements!

This scenario is also known as ‘yo-yo dieting’, which relates to the up-and-down fluctuations of the dieter’s body weight.

The experience of the yo-yo dieter is one in which they follow the latest ‘fad diet’ that promises to be the ‘holy grail’ of weight loss; the diet that will get the excess kilos off their body once and for all!

Soon after commencing the diet though, they start feeling hungry, tired and lethargic. Then the cravings begin and images of food dominate their thoughts. Not long after that, their will power breaks and they binge out on all the great-tasting food they’ve been craving.

Immediately after satisfying their hunger, guilt sets in because they broke the diet and they feel like they’ve ‘blown it’. Then they return to their previous eating habits and shortly thereafter the ‘lost’ weight manages to ‘find’ them!

If you can relate to this scenario even partially, then it is time to break the cycle and get off the dieting merry-go-round. It is time to face some facts and make some life-changing decisions because it simply doesn’t make sense to continue on this path!

Here’s a few points to keep in mind:

- Diets don’t work so do not follow one ever again!

- Losing weight and keeping it off requires permanent lifestyle changes so make a decision to permanently change or at least modify some of your lifestyle habits.

- Use a ‘multi-directional approach’ to lose weight rather than simply dieting. This means you will need to consider other ‘lifestyle factors’ like exercise and supplements in conjunction with nutritional habits in order to achieve your weight-loss goal and then maintain the results.

People who make the statement that they’ve tried everything to lose weight but nothing has worked have inevitably been doing the wrong things!

If you want to lose weight and keep it off you must learn the correct principles, make some permanent lifestyle changes, stop dieting and consider other lifestyle factors.

By doing so you will finally lose weight, get in shape, feel great and achieve the results you have always wanted!

Best of all, by following the correct principles, achieving your goal will not be difficult either.

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