Tim Kassouf lost 45 pounds, and it all started when he got really mad at his girlfriend.
Kassouf, a 24-year-old marketing manager in Baltimore, Maryland, was moaning to his beloved that he'd gained weight recently.
He was worried. The men in his family are prone to heart attacks, and his grandfather died of one at age 29.But instead of giving Kassouf the sympathy he expected, his girlfriend told him off.
"She said, 'You keep complaining about it but do nothing about it.' I was angry she said that, but she was totally right," Kassouf said.
Inspired, Kassouf made radical changes in his diet."That would last about a day," he said.So he moved on to Plan B: small changes.
That worked. Four years after he got mad at his girlfriend, Kassouf weighs 200 pounds, down from 245, mostly by focusing on a few parts of his diet without changing everything.
"What I started to realize is, it didn't have to be all or nothing," he said.
There's actually a name for what Kassouf did: It's called the "small changes approach." James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, is the father of the movement, and in this month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, he writes about how "small changes are more feasible to achieve and maintain than large changes."
For Kassouf, small changes started with soda.
"I was probably drinking 10 Cokes a day," he said. By switching out those Cokes for water, Kassouf saved 1,400 calories a day.
Then he worked on his snacking. He used to eat a 12-ounce bag of Doritos while watching television.
"The show would be over, and the bag would be empty," he said.
Now, he takes a handful out of the bag and puts it on a plate, and that's all he eats, saving 1,350 calories a day.
Kassouf said he lost about 5 pounds just by making the Coke and Doritos changes and then lost 15 more by cutting down on sweets and switching from white flour to wheat flour. Exercising helped him shed 25 more pounds.
Hill said it's tough to say exactly how many calories you have to cut to lose a pound, but he encourages people to think of it this way: By eating 100 fewer calories each day, you can avoid the weight gain that comes with getting older.
Most people gain a pound or two a year, he said, which can really add up. A svelte 130-pound 18-year-old could turn into an overweight 170-pound 38-year-old.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Why Do You Want To Lose Weight
Reasons may vary from person to person, but the main reason for why lose weight has to be the pressure to look and be perfect.
Everywhere you look you are surrounded by constant reminders which tell you that in order to be happy, successful, respected and have strong personal relationships you need to be thin and beautiful.
However from this description alone, this desire to fit into what is considered ‘beautiful’ can undermine your self- esteem, your confidence and how you actually perceive yourself.
It is no wonder with such constant pressures that the following statistics have emerged:
• In the past 20+ years, the centre-fold for Playboy has lost 25lbs and weighs 18% less than the medical ideal
• Fashion models are a staggering 23% below the average weight of an ordinary woman. In a recent BMI study many actresses and models were found to have 10-15% body fat compared to 22-26% for a normal, healthy woman
• In the Miss World contest a few years ago it was discovered that the average contestant weighed below the US’s standard weight for anorexia
• In a 1994 survey by Glamour (conducted on 33,000 women), 75% thought they were overweight when in fact only 25% fitted into this category
• Placed in a hall of distorting mirrors, of the women surveyed, the vast majority believed the mirror which made them look fatter was their real selves whilst the mirrors which reflected their real selves or made them look thinner they thought were false
More worryingly, as the ideal body becomes thinner, we as a nation are becoming bigger creating an even more substantial gap between the two.
How to lose weight
If you are genuinely interested in losing weight, it is important that you don’t get caught up in these preconceptions of what is or isn’t considered to be beautiful.
As the above statistics prove, an unhealthy obsession with your weight can result in dangerously low BMI’s or even anorexia; neither of which are not good for your overall health or wellbeing.
To achieve your why lose weight goal you need to plan a proper diet, exercise regularly and possibly use diet pills to help you experience a safe, steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week.
Natural herbal supplements such as Proactol help you to reduce your dietary fat intake by up to 28% whilst suppressing your appetite, thus helping you to naturally decrease your meal portions at a pace that is right for you.
Everywhere you look you are surrounded by constant reminders which tell you that in order to be happy, successful, respected and have strong personal relationships you need to be thin and beautiful.
However from this description alone, this desire to fit into what is considered ‘beautiful’ can undermine your self- esteem, your confidence and how you actually perceive yourself.
It is no wonder with such constant pressures that the following statistics have emerged:
• In the past 20+ years, the centre-fold for Playboy has lost 25lbs and weighs 18% less than the medical ideal
• Fashion models are a staggering 23% below the average weight of an ordinary woman. In a recent BMI study many actresses and models were found to have 10-15% body fat compared to 22-26% for a normal, healthy woman
• In the Miss World contest a few years ago it was discovered that the average contestant weighed below the US’s standard weight for anorexia
• In a 1994 survey by Glamour (conducted on 33,000 women), 75% thought they were overweight when in fact only 25% fitted into this category
• Placed in a hall of distorting mirrors, of the women surveyed, the vast majority believed the mirror which made them look fatter was their real selves whilst the mirrors which reflected their real selves or made them look thinner they thought were false
More worryingly, as the ideal body becomes thinner, we as a nation are becoming bigger creating an even more substantial gap between the two.
How to lose weight
If you are genuinely interested in losing weight, it is important that you don’t get caught up in these preconceptions of what is or isn’t considered to be beautiful.
As the above statistics prove, an unhealthy obsession with your weight can result in dangerously low BMI’s or even anorexia; neither of which are not good for your overall health or wellbeing.
To achieve your why lose weight goal you need to plan a proper diet, exercise regularly and possibly use diet pills to help you experience a safe, steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week.
Natural herbal supplements such as Proactol help you to reduce your dietary fat intake by up to 28% whilst suppressing your appetite, thus helping you to naturally decrease your meal portions at a pace that is right for you.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Want To Lose Weight?: Consider the Situational Values of Values
Dieting and weight control are really pretty simple. We gain weight and have trouble losing it because we eat too much and move too little. If we can switch that around, most of us should be able to maintain a sensible weight without resorting to unhealthy gimmicks.
But that’s just the biology of weight control. What about the psychology? Why do we habitually take in too many calories, even when we know those calories are a ticket to obesity and all sorts of chronic diseases?
There are two major reasons for unhealthy weight, according to experts. One is a simple lack of self-control. We live in a society where every day we confront an abundance of high-calorie foods. Not overeating in this environment requires extraordinary discipline.
The second is an inability to cope with stress. Struggling with ordinary but constant life stresses can drain the cognitive energy needed for discipline, weakening our resolve. Stress-related eating packs on unhealthy calories, contributing to weight gain — and over time to obesity.
What if there were a simple psychological intervention that addressed both of these issues at once — bolstering self-control and buffering against everyday stress?
I know. It sounds like one more gimmick, too good to be true. Perhaps, but in a new study, two psychological scientists propose just such an intervention — along with some preliminary evidence to back it up.
Christine Logel of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and Geoffrey Cohen of Stanford University describe a brief and simple way to give people the tools for resisting temptation and coping with life’s pressures.
It’s called “values affirmation,” and it’s done with a simple writing exercise. The theory is that focusing on one’s core values triggers a cascade of psychological processes: It bolsters a sense of self-worth and personal integrity.
It underscores our higher values rather than our impulses, and by reminding us what’s really important in life, it buffers against mundane stresses. Since stress saps our limited cognitive resources, such an affirmation frees up these resources for willpower and self-discipline.
At least that’s the theory, which Logel and Cohen tested in a simple experiment. They recruited a group of young women (apparently, women are more prone to stress-related overeating), recording their baseline weight and body mass index, or BMI.
The women were representative of North American women in general. That is, nearly 60 percent were overweight or obese, the rest normal. Notably, all were dissatisfied with their current weight.
Then half of the women wrote an essay about their most cherished values — religious beliefs, relationships, whatever they considered most important to them. The remainder, the controls, wrote about something they did not prize particularly, and why it might be important to someone else. Importantly, none of the values in the exercise had to do with weight or health.
That’s it. That’s the entire intervention. Then the scientists waited for about 2.5 months, at which point they called all the volunteers back into the lab. They again measured their weight and BMI, and also their waistlines.
They also gave the volunteers a test of working memory, which is one of the cognitive processes crucial to self-control. Reducing stress should theoretically boost working memory capacity, and consequently discipline.
The results, reported online in the journal Psychological Science, were clear and quite dramatic. The control subjects gained 2.76 pounds on average, and this gain boosted average BMI as well. Anyone who has ever struggled with weight knows that this is a huge weight gain in just 2.5 months.
It’s the equivalent of more than 13 pounds in a year — for no particular reason. By contrast, those who had completed the values affirmation lost an average of 3.4 pounds — also huge — and trimmed their BMI in the process.
Women in the values intervention also had smaller waistlines, independent of BMI. And these women also had better working memory, suggesting that it was indeed their enhanced cognitive function that bolstered their self control. Even the most seriously overweight women experienced these dramatic results after the brief writing exercise.
Losing even a few pounds and keeping them off can be maddeningly difficult. So how could one brief intervention like this have such long-term results? The scientists believe that people can get stuck in repeating cycles, in which failure to lose weight impairs psychological functioning, which in turn increases the risk of more failure. Even a quick and simple intervention has the power to disrupt this destructive cycle.
But that’s just the biology of weight control. What about the psychology? Why do we habitually take in too many calories, even when we know those calories are a ticket to obesity and all sorts of chronic diseases?
There are two major reasons for unhealthy weight, according to experts. One is a simple lack of self-control. We live in a society where every day we confront an abundance of high-calorie foods. Not overeating in this environment requires extraordinary discipline.
The second is an inability to cope with stress. Struggling with ordinary but constant life stresses can drain the cognitive energy needed for discipline, weakening our resolve. Stress-related eating packs on unhealthy calories, contributing to weight gain — and over time to obesity.
What if there were a simple psychological intervention that addressed both of these issues at once — bolstering self-control and buffering against everyday stress?
I know. It sounds like one more gimmick, too good to be true. Perhaps, but in a new study, two psychological scientists propose just such an intervention — along with some preliminary evidence to back it up.
Christine Logel of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and Geoffrey Cohen of Stanford University describe a brief and simple way to give people the tools for resisting temptation and coping with life’s pressures.
It’s called “values affirmation,” and it’s done with a simple writing exercise. The theory is that focusing on one’s core values triggers a cascade of psychological processes: It bolsters a sense of self-worth and personal integrity.
It underscores our higher values rather than our impulses, and by reminding us what’s really important in life, it buffers against mundane stresses. Since stress saps our limited cognitive resources, such an affirmation frees up these resources for willpower and self-discipline.
At least that’s the theory, which Logel and Cohen tested in a simple experiment. They recruited a group of young women (apparently, women are more prone to stress-related overeating), recording their baseline weight and body mass index, or BMI.
The women were representative of North American women in general. That is, nearly 60 percent were overweight or obese, the rest normal. Notably, all were dissatisfied with their current weight.
Then half of the women wrote an essay about their most cherished values — religious beliefs, relationships, whatever they considered most important to them. The remainder, the controls, wrote about something they did not prize particularly, and why it might be important to someone else. Importantly, none of the values in the exercise had to do with weight or health.
That’s it. That’s the entire intervention. Then the scientists waited for about 2.5 months, at which point they called all the volunteers back into the lab. They again measured their weight and BMI, and also their waistlines.
They also gave the volunteers a test of working memory, which is one of the cognitive processes crucial to self-control. Reducing stress should theoretically boost working memory capacity, and consequently discipline.
The results, reported online in the journal Psychological Science, were clear and quite dramatic. The control subjects gained 2.76 pounds on average, and this gain boosted average BMI as well. Anyone who has ever struggled with weight knows that this is a huge weight gain in just 2.5 months.
It’s the equivalent of more than 13 pounds in a year — for no particular reason. By contrast, those who had completed the values affirmation lost an average of 3.4 pounds — also huge — and trimmed their BMI in the process.
Women in the values intervention also had smaller waistlines, independent of BMI. And these women also had better working memory, suggesting that it was indeed their enhanced cognitive function that bolstered their self control. Even the most seriously overweight women experienced these dramatic results after the brief writing exercise.
Losing even a few pounds and keeping them off can be maddeningly difficult. So how could one brief intervention like this have such long-term results? The scientists believe that people can get stuck in repeating cycles, in which failure to lose weight impairs psychological functioning, which in turn increases the risk of more failure. Even a quick and simple intervention has the power to disrupt this destructive cycle.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
The Positive Weight Loss Approach
Once you have made up your mind to lose weight, you should make that commitment and go into it with a positive attitude. We all know that losing weight can be quite a challenge. In fact, for some, it can be downright tough. It takes time, practice and support to change lifetime habits. But it's a process you must learn in order to succeed. You and you alone are the one who has the power to lose unwanted pounds.
Think like a winner, and not a loser - - remember that emotions are like muscles and the ones you use most grow the strongest. If you always look at the negative side of things, you'll become a downbeat, pessimistic person. Even slightly negative thoughts have a greater impact on you and last longer than powerful positive thoughts.
Negative thinking doesn't do you any good, it just holds you back from accomplishing the things you want to do. When a negative thought creeps into your mind, replace it reminding yourself that you're somebody, you have self-worth and you possess unique strengths and talents.
Contemplate what lies ahead of you. Losing weight is not just about diets. It's about a whole new you and the possibility of creating a new life for yourself. Investigate the weight loss programs that appeal to you and that you feel will teach you the behavioral skills you need to stick with throughout the weight-loss process. First you should look for support among family and friends.
It can be an enormous help to discuss obstacles and share skills and tactics with others on the same path. You might look for this support from others you know who are in weight loss programs and you can seek guidance from someone you know who has lost weight and kept it off.
There are success stories across the country today. On television and in newspapers, magazines and tabloids about people who have miraculously lost untold pounds and kept it off. In all instances they say their mental attitude as well as their outlook on life has totally changed.
Diets and weight loss programs are more flexible now than they once were and there are many prepared foods already portioned out. They are made attractive and can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Low-fat and low-calorie foods are on shelves everywhere.
You will probably need to learn new, wiser eating skills. You will want a weight loss regimen that gives you some control, rather than imposing one rigid system. Look for one that offers a variety of different eating plans, so you can choose the one that's best for you.
Keep in mind, too, that your weight loss program will most likely include some physical exercises. Look at the exercising aspect of your program as fun and recreation and not as a form of grueling and sweaty work. The fact is that physical fitness is linked inseparable to all personal effectiveness in every field.
Anyone willing to take the few simple steps that lie between them and fitness will shortly begin to feel better, and the improvement will reflect itself in every facet of their existence.
Doctors now say that walking is one of the best exercises. It helps the total circulation of blood throughout the body, and thus has a direct effect on your overall feeling of health.
There are things such as aerobics, jogging, swimming and many other exercises which will benefit a weight loss program. Discuss the options with your doctor and take his advice in planning your exercise and weight loss program.
Think like a winner, and not a loser - - remember that emotions are like muscles and the ones you use most grow the strongest. If you always look at the negative side of things, you'll become a downbeat, pessimistic person. Even slightly negative thoughts have a greater impact on you and last longer than powerful positive thoughts.
Negative thinking doesn't do you any good, it just holds you back from accomplishing the things you want to do. When a negative thought creeps into your mind, replace it reminding yourself that you're somebody, you have self-worth and you possess unique strengths and talents.
Contemplate what lies ahead of you. Losing weight is not just about diets. It's about a whole new you and the possibility of creating a new life for yourself. Investigate the weight loss programs that appeal to you and that you feel will teach you the behavioral skills you need to stick with throughout the weight-loss process. First you should look for support among family and friends.
It can be an enormous help to discuss obstacles and share skills and tactics with others on the same path. You might look for this support from others you know who are in weight loss programs and you can seek guidance from someone you know who has lost weight and kept it off.
There are success stories across the country today. On television and in newspapers, magazines and tabloids about people who have miraculously lost untold pounds and kept it off. In all instances they say their mental attitude as well as their outlook on life has totally changed.
Diets and weight loss programs are more flexible now than they once were and there are many prepared foods already portioned out. They are made attractive and can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Low-fat and low-calorie foods are on shelves everywhere.
You will probably need to learn new, wiser eating skills. You will want a weight loss regimen that gives you some control, rather than imposing one rigid system. Look for one that offers a variety of different eating plans, so you can choose the one that's best for you.
Keep in mind, too, that your weight loss program will most likely include some physical exercises. Look at the exercising aspect of your program as fun and recreation and not as a form of grueling and sweaty work. The fact is that physical fitness is linked inseparable to all personal effectiveness in every field.
Anyone willing to take the few simple steps that lie between them and fitness will shortly begin to feel better, and the improvement will reflect itself in every facet of their existence.
Doctors now say that walking is one of the best exercises. It helps the total circulation of blood throughout the body, and thus has a direct effect on your overall feeling of health.
There are things such as aerobics, jogging, swimming and many other exercises which will benefit a weight loss program. Discuss the options with your doctor and take his advice in planning your exercise and weight loss program.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips
How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off
In our eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and losing weight, even tougher. Adding to the difficulty is the abundance of fad diets and “quick-fix” plans that tempt and confuse us, and ultimately fail. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before, you may believe that it’s just too difficult or that diets don’t work for you. And in one sense, you may be right: traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term.
But there are plenty of small but powerful changes you can make that will help you to achieve lasting weight loss success. The key is to create a plan that provides plenty of enjoyable choices, avoid common dieting pitfalls, and learn how to develop a healthier, more satisfying relationship with food.
The key to successful, healthy weight loss
Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn then you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? So why is weight loss so hard?
All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—as well as winning the battle of the bulge.
Not all body fat is the same Where you carry your fat matters. The health risks are greater if you tend to carry your weight around your abdomen, as opposed to your hips and thighs. A lot of belly fat is stored deep below the skin surrounding the abdominal organs and liver, and is closely linked to insulin resistance and diabetes.
Getting started with healthy weight loss. While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:
Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life.
Various popular diets can help to jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.
Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—so that you can get the encouragement you need.
Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.
Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as goals like wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.
Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound you lose and inch of your waist lost. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.
Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you.
In our eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and losing weight, even tougher. Adding to the difficulty is the abundance of fad diets and “quick-fix” plans that tempt and confuse us, and ultimately fail. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before, you may believe that it’s just too difficult or that diets don’t work for you. And in one sense, you may be right: traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term.
But there are plenty of small but powerful changes you can make that will help you to achieve lasting weight loss success. The key is to create a plan that provides plenty of enjoyable choices, avoid common dieting pitfalls, and learn how to develop a healthier, more satisfying relationship with food.
The key to successful, healthy weight loss
Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn then you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? So why is weight loss so hard?
All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—as well as winning the battle of the bulge.
Not all body fat is the same Where you carry your fat matters. The health risks are greater if you tend to carry your weight around your abdomen, as opposed to your hips and thighs. A lot of belly fat is stored deep below the skin surrounding the abdominal organs and liver, and is closely linked to insulin resistance and diabetes.
Getting started with healthy weight loss. While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:
Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life.
Various popular diets can help to jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.
Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—so that you can get the encouragement you need.
Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.
Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as goals like wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.
Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound you lose and inch of your waist lost. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.
Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you.
Friday, 10 February 2012
Weight Loss Motivation
Motivation for weight loss will snowball once you see the effectsLosing weight is by no means the easiest of tasks so it's important to get and keep yourself motivated. Being in the right frame of mind can be one of the most important factors in weight loss.
Keep yourself focused on reaching your target but keep your targets realistic. Putting on weight is only a disaster if it causes you to give up.
Conversely, if you have a particularly good period of weight loss, don’t put too much pressure to meet or beat the same targets over the next period.
Benefits of losing weight
Focus on how the weight loss will be beneficial to you.
You may find visualising how you will look in smaller clothes helps.
Focus on the health benefits. You'll have more energy and blood glucose levels will be better too.
You’ll feel more confident and able to look forward to holidays and special occasions.
Hints to help you through the weight loss
Keep your targets small and realistic
Review your progress on a monthly basis rather than a weekly basis
Get a trusted behind you to help motivate you during the harder times
Make a conscious effort to focus on the positives
Make a record of your progress, this might be online or you could make a photo diary
Keep yourself focused on reaching your target but keep your targets realistic. Putting on weight is only a disaster if it causes you to give up.
Conversely, if you have a particularly good period of weight loss, don’t put too much pressure to meet or beat the same targets over the next period.
Benefits of losing weight
Focus on how the weight loss will be beneficial to you.
You may find visualising how you will look in smaller clothes helps.
Focus on the health benefits. You'll have more energy and blood glucose levels will be better too.
You’ll feel more confident and able to look forward to holidays and special occasions.
Hints to help you through the weight loss
Keep your targets small and realistic
Review your progress on a monthly basis rather than a weekly basis
Get a trusted behind you to help motivate you during the harder times
Make a conscious effort to focus on the positives
Make a record of your progress, this might be online or you could make a photo diary
Friday, 3 February 2012
Top Ten Weight Loss Tips
Weight Loss Resources members share the secrets of their success in our Top Ten Tips list. The list represents important ideas that come up time after time when members tell us about their weight loss success.
1.Don't cut out all the food you enjoy. I like the occasional takeaway, but now I save up calories to have one or earn it. If I restricted myself to just fruit and veg I'd give up very quickly. I also found that I could still eat my favourite foods if I 'tweak' them a bit: low fat cheese, low fat spread instead of butter, light mozzarella etc. Also the best thing I did was get olive oil spray! Sara
2.Write everything down. Even (or especially) on bad/splurge days. It’s only if you write things down that you know what you are doing. I’m not saying don’t have the Peking Duck. I am saying, at least know what having the Peking Duck means. Rachael
3.I find sticking a wedding invitation or holiday photograph of destinations I want to visit in a prominent place in the kitchen. This is a bit more subtle than a fat photograph of yourself and reminds you when you are tempted. Laura
4.Use scales in the kitchen - it's amazing how easy it is to deceive oneself! Mary
5.I think it is a good idea to buy some new clothes when you are down a size or two. That way, you are reminded of what you have achieved and not to go back to old sizes. Chuck out the old stuff or give it away. Steve
6.Life is too short so build in treats! Ok my weight loss is nice and slow but I don’t feel like I am on a diet or that I am depriving myself of anything (including chocolate and cheese. Lol!!!) Daniela
7.Be honest with yourself. Ok, if you go over the required cals, but keep a record, it's the average calorie intake that matters. Colin
8.It is not rocket science, but I am convinced that exercising is the key to success with sustained weight loss. I try to vary my routine, including the cross trainer and walking regularly, and cycling and swimming occasionally. Rob
9.Always measure alcohol consumed at home carefully, as it is easy to fool yourself. Maureen
10.Don’t ever give up! You are going to get bad days/weeks; it happens! Just get straight back on it and limit the damage. Joanna
11.Bonus Tip - my only tip really is to join up for the WLR 24 hour free trial and see for yourself. Everyone seems to adapt the site to their needs and if it works for me (never had much willpower and exercise was a bad word) then it has to be worth a try for everyone trying to lose either a few or a lot of kilos. Sarah
1.Don't cut out all the food you enjoy. I like the occasional takeaway, but now I save up calories to have one or earn it. If I restricted myself to just fruit and veg I'd give up very quickly. I also found that I could still eat my favourite foods if I 'tweak' them a bit: low fat cheese, low fat spread instead of butter, light mozzarella etc. Also the best thing I did was get olive oil spray! Sara
2.Write everything down. Even (or especially) on bad/splurge days. It’s only if you write things down that you know what you are doing. I’m not saying don’t have the Peking Duck. I am saying, at least know what having the Peking Duck means. Rachael
3.I find sticking a wedding invitation or holiday photograph of destinations I want to visit in a prominent place in the kitchen. This is a bit more subtle than a fat photograph of yourself and reminds you when you are tempted. Laura
4.Use scales in the kitchen - it's amazing how easy it is to deceive oneself! Mary
5.I think it is a good idea to buy some new clothes when you are down a size or two. That way, you are reminded of what you have achieved and not to go back to old sizes. Chuck out the old stuff or give it away. Steve
6.Life is too short so build in treats! Ok my weight loss is nice and slow but I don’t feel like I am on a diet or that I am depriving myself of anything (including chocolate and cheese. Lol!!!) Daniela
7.Be honest with yourself. Ok, if you go over the required cals, but keep a record, it's the average calorie intake that matters. Colin
8.It is not rocket science, but I am convinced that exercising is the key to success with sustained weight loss. I try to vary my routine, including the cross trainer and walking regularly, and cycling and swimming occasionally. Rob
9.Always measure alcohol consumed at home carefully, as it is easy to fool yourself. Maureen
10.Don’t ever give up! You are going to get bad days/weeks; it happens! Just get straight back on it and limit the damage. Joanna
11.Bonus Tip - my only tip really is to join up for the WLR 24 hour free trial and see for yourself. Everyone seems to adapt the site to their needs and if it works for me (never had much willpower and exercise was a bad word) then it has to be worth a try for everyone trying to lose either a few or a lot of kilos. Sarah
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