Posts Tagged ‘Losing Weight’

Chosing the Right Weight Loss and Exercise Program

The right program of exercise and diet can make a major impact on your body. In fact, correctly done you can lose weight faster, lose body fat in stubborn areas, and even completely transform your body. However, the route to your best body should be considered a journey and not a race.

Forget about programs that promise you quick weight loss in short periods of time. Often these can be unhealthy or place unreasonable demands on your time. You’ll be asked to exercise too frequently and spend countless hours in the kitchen preparing meals.

Or, worse, you’ll run across programs that seem promising, yet only result in short term weight loss. Often water weight and muscles weight. Careful with these programs as they can actually harm your metabolism and make losing weight even harder.

What to look for in a weight loss and exercise program:

Calories count. People who claim you can eat whatever you want on their diet program are selling promises not weight loss. No matter what some “experts” say, calories do count and the most successful programs will get you burning more calories than you consume. Running in circles or rubbing your tummy after you eat are not realistic strategies to lose weight…Believe it or not, I have seen a program that recommends these crazy ideas.

By now, most people know that fruits and vegetables are important to their diet. I am sure this is not a surprise to many people, but if you’re looking to lose weight, these are important foods. Other good additions to your diet are low fat protein and healthy fats.

Sane, results-oriented diet programs will recommend a good balance of healthy carbs, fats, and proteins. Not only will this keep you healthy, but the right balance will help regulate important hormones and keep you feeling full for several hours after you eat. Long term weight loss cannot be achieved by some lemon drink concoction or prolonged fasting.

Resistance training is an important element to a good program. To really see great progress, it’s best to burn calories all day long, not just during the actual period of exercise. There is a great deal of evidence which show that resistance training, when done correctly, can have a great impact on your metabolism.

I’ve seen plenty of people who get outstanding results exercising 3 to 4 times per week, some even less than that. You don’t have to dedicate yourself to hours in the gym everyday. If you workout hard, you can get a lot more out of your time there and spend more time at home.

A beginner would need a much different program from someone who is more advanced. A proper weight loss and exercise program needs to account for everyone’s unique starting point and most use an appropriate work and rest plan to achieve each individuals goals.

Choosing the right weight loss and exercise program doesn’t have to seem confusing. Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You lose weight with exercise and a healthy diet. Not some magic combination of foods.

By: Wayne Lance

About the Author:

If you want a healthy, yet effective approach to weight you can find our more by visiting our site. We have plenty of info about weight loss and exercise programs.

Does Weight Loss Without Exercise Make Sense

Of all the articles and ads about weight loss and weight loss products, you will notice that many of them seem to be saying that weight loss without exercise is what they have to offer. They will tell you about some diet pill, or perhaps a diet, which is going to take the weight off without you lifting a finger…other than to unscrew the cap.

So here’s the question: Can somone really lose weight simply by adjusting their diet? So many people feel that they do not have the time to exercise, or feel they lack the energy to exercise, or just plain don’t want to. It would be great if all they had to do was take some pill or eat some specific diet and the weight would go away, right?

Now, my problem is that when I think of, or advise someone on, weight loss, I automatically throw in adjectives like “healthy” and “permanent”. I’m not really in touch with the concept of using a diet to lose a few pounds to get back into last year’s clothes or to look good at the high school reunion. I tend to think of losing weight as a step to the point where you achieve your weight loss goal and enter the realm of weight management. At this point, you are living a healthy lifestyle of combined physical activity and proper nutrition and are able to enjoy life to the max…for a good many years to come!

“Yeah, Don, that’s great, but I’m one of the first group of people you talked about. I just want to lose weight and don’t want to mess with exercise. Heck, man, I’m so overweight and pooped all the time that just thinking about exercise scares me. Just tell me what diet pill to take or diet to follow so that I can get my weight down, look good, feel good about myself, and enjoy life like you say!”

Well, there are people who want to be rich but who don’t want to “mess with” saving, or making wise purchasing decisions, or working hard, either. Whatever we really want in life usually has some sort of price tag attached, and, as the saying goes, we usually, “get what we paid for”.

To throw in another old saying, anything worth doing is worth doing well.

To get back to the weight loss without exercise issue, let’s look at a couple of facts.

1. Diets do not work as far as permanent or healthy weight loss is concerned.

2. Permanent, healthy weight loss is commonly achieved through a combination of exercise and proper nutrition.

3. While there are diet products and supplements which can enhance the effects of any weight loss program, they very seldom do the trick by themselves for most people.

Let’s start with that last one.

Start by reading the labels or advertising literature of most diet pills and other weight loss supplements. Somewhere you will usually find a statement that will say something like “when used with regular exercise and a sensible nutrition program”. In other words, taking that diet pill or supplement “might” help you lose weight IF it is taken as part of some other weight loss program.

Even the manufacturers of the Alli fat loss pill, which at the moment is the only federally approved weight loss pill, will let you know that you really need to be doing other things as well as taking their pill to experience effective weight loss. Testing of that pill, one of the most effective available, show that weight loss with the pill alone will be minimal unless it is used with a program of regular exercise and proper nutrition.

Let’s face it. If there WAS one diet pill that you could take and then sit around watching TV, eating ice cream, and drinking beer…AND still lose weight and be healthy, there would not be so many different diet pills claiming to do the trick!

Okay, I started with the last fact, so let’s jump around and deal with the first fact next.

Diets per se do not work for permanent, healthy weight loss.

When you suddenly decrease the calories you regularly have been feeding your body, it senses a starvation situation (built in survival trait) and lowers its basic metabolic rate. In other words, it adjusts itself to function with fewer calories. This might not be too bad, but, if you go back to your old eating habits, the same amount of calories will now produce more fat to be stored on your body.

This is the reason that going on and off diets is very likely to cause weight gain, rather than weight loss! It’s called yo-yo dieting.

Additionally, extreme reductions in nutrition can also mean extreme reductions in the vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats (needed for life), phytonutrients, and other nutritional factors required for health, energy, and long life. You might lose weight but actually endanger your health and lack the energy necessary to live your life with pleasure.

Just to throw in another monkey wrench, once your body has adapted to its new diet and adjusted its basic metaolism, the weight loss will cease. This usually occurs after only a few pounds have been lost. To lose more weight, you will have to cut your nutritional intake even more, or simply decide to take a look at the second fact I listed.

Test after test and study after study has demonstrated beyond a doubt that the most effective weight loss program is one that includes regular, moderate exercise and healthy eating and living habits. The exercise does NOT have to be extreme, although overall results will usually be directly related to the amount of effort expended.

Most of us are NOT going to wind up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Cory Everson unless we exercise and eat like they do!

However; regular, moderate exercise can burn calories and build lean muscle tissue which will continue to use up excess calories and burn fat even when we are not exercising. It will raise energy levels, make daily life easier, help elevate mood and fight depression, and will help protect us against a host of degenerative diseases. It has been shown to delay and mitigate the effects of aging, and has been shown a potent protector against many conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.

Healthy eating does not necessarily mean “dieting”. Healthy eating involves such things as proper selection of foods, paying attention to portion sizes, and changing a few eating habits…including that great American pastime…snacking!

I used the term “healthy eating and living” because such things as getting the proper amount of sleep, having fun, and having friends can also contribute to health in general and weight loss in particular.

Is weight loss without exercise possible?

Sure! Millions of people throughout history have gotten very thin before they starved to death!

Millions more have simply combined exercise with healthy eating and living habits to experience permanent, healthy weight loss and have enjoyed a long and happy life as a result.

Your choice?

By: Donovan Baldwin

About the Author:

Donovan Baldwin is a central Texas writer. He is also a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. His interests include nature, the environment, health, fitness, yoga, and weight loss. He often posts articles on health and weight loss at http://nodiet4me.com/articledirectory/

Lose weight tips – top weight loss programs reviewed & compared.

fortms234 asked:

www.TheProSays.com Lose weight tips – top weight loss programs reviewed & compared. Weight loss is fast, safe & easy. Losing weight tips WILL take it off! Rapid weight loss! Guaranteed!

How can I kick start my weight loss again?

Nerds Rule! asked:

I’m stuck at a weight loss plateau. I keep losing/gaining the same 3 pounds. How can I start losing weight again?

Powered By Yahoo Answers

Can someone please explain this, weight loss experts and/or personal trainers?

kmsca5 asked:

Ok, I have never watched this show before and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about and so I watched “The Biggest Loser” last night. BTW those who haven’t seen it, you have to check it out even one episode. My first question is how did they lose 15-20 pounds in one week? One person even loss 28 pounds in a week. The show states the contestants health status are tailored specifically for their own weigh loss program. So that tells me they have professional medical, nutritionists, and exercise trainers on hand. These people are losing weight very fast. So why does everyone state that losing weight fast is bad for you? This show seems to be promoting it. I kept telling myself there is no way they lost that much weight in a week, may be 2 weeks but a week come on! So can I just call it TV or is it really true? If it is true, shoot! how can I get on this diet? I have about 40 pounds to lose. Thanks ahead of time!!

Powered By Yahoo Answers