Weight loss, in the context of medicine or health, is a reduction of the total body weight, which can mean loss of fluid, muscle, bone mass, or fat. Weight loss may refer to the loss of total body mass in an effort to improve fitness, health, or appearance. Overweight and obese individuals face a greater risk of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and osteoarthritis
There is a huge market for products which promise to make weight loss easier, quicker, cheaper, more reliable, or less painful. These include books, CDs, and other materials, fitness centers, personal coaches, weight loss groups and food products and supplements. Americans spend an estimated $30 billion a year on all types of diet programs and products, including diet foods and drinks.
Suggestions to Reduce Weight
Weight loss is simple, burn more calories then you consume. If you can fully understand that then you are on your way to losing weight. There are 6 simple steps. Here they are:
1) Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. That's right, wake up, and eat like you would normally eat and count the calories in everything you eat and everything you drink and keep track of it on a piece of paper or on the computer some where. You might be thinking to yourself, "yeah right, I'm not gonna sit around counting calories all day." Well, if you're thinking that, then you're obviously not dedicated enough to losing weight. If this is the case, then feel free to go waste your money on the newest useless weight loss pill. But, if you are dedicated enough to take 10 minutes out of your day and count the calories, then keep on reading.
2) At the end of that day, add up the number of calories you ate/drank. Be as exact as possible. Once you add it all up, you now have the total number of calories you consume daily. Also, weigh yourself.
3) Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories LESS then you normally do. So, lets pretend that the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, you would eat 1500 calories a day. Understand? All you have to do is subtract 500 from the total number of calories you consume in a normal day, and eat this new number of calories every day for the next 7 days.
4) Instead of eating 3 big meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), or eating all day all the time, spread those calories out over 5 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours. Doing this will speed up your metabolism.
5) Cardio. Cardio is an important part of weight loss. If you're serious about losing weight, but don't want to do the cardio workouts, then you are requiring your diet to do all of the work. Jog, walk, swim, jump rope, ride a bike, take an aerobics class, whatever... cardio + proper diet = better than just doing one of the two. All it takes is 30 minutes a day, 3 - 5 days a week. I say 3-5 days a week because I don't know if you have 5 pounds to lose, or if you have 50 pounds to lose. So, depending on how much your looking to lose, figure it out. 3 times a week is good starting point though. (For information on the most effective time of the day to do your cardio workout, read doing cardio for maximum weight loss)
6) At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You'll notice a difference just after one week! Now, don't expect to see a 20 pound difference. Losing anymore then 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthly. So look for a 1 or 2 pound weight loss at the end of the week. Don't sound like much? You can lose 5-8 pounds a month! That's around 75lbs a year! So if you have A LOT of weight to lose, you can lose it. If have just a few pounds to lose, you can lose it.
Important weight loss tips for losing weight effectively! (extremely important!)
THE BAD FAT MUST GO Stay away from "bad" fat! Get rid of all the chips and candy. No more fast food, nothing fried. No more cookies, no more cake, no more of these saturated fats. There is no question about it and there is no way around it, get rid of these types of foods. Don't get me wrong, you should NOT be eating 0 grams of fat every day, but the only places you should be getting your daily fat intake from are lean meats (not the fried fast food kind), chicken (again, not fried!), etc. as well as the foods that contain the "healthy" types of fat, which can be found in just about every type of fish (tuna fish, salmon, fish oil supplements, etc.), nuts, olive oil and flaxseed oil.
LOWER THE BAD CARBS! Most people think that it is fat that makes people fat and that just by eating less fat, they are on their way to weight loss! WRONG! Certain carbs can be just as bad as fat when it comes to losing weight. Limit foods high in bad carbs. These carbs will eventually turn into fat. Foods like sugar, white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. are high in simple (bad) carbs. Sure, your body needs carbs, which is why foods like these are ok to eat, but don't go overboard. Stick to high protein/good carb/low fat foods like tuna fish (and other seafood), chicken breast, turkey, whole grains, fruits and vegetables etc. (For more information, go here: Diet Plans And Diets)
WATER! Drink water! Get rid of the soda, get rid of the beer, and get rid of the sports drinks. Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Spread it out throughout the day, just like your 5 meals. Yes that's a lot of water, but it's that water that will give you energy and speed your weight loss.
WEIGH YOURSELFat the end of every week. If you ever have more then 2 weeks go by without losing 1 pound, it's time to change something. Eat 250 less calories then you've been eating. And keep everything else the same. Each time you see weight loss stop for more then 2 weeks, decrease calorie intake by 250 until you get down to where you want to be. Remember, NEVER starve yourself!
SLEEP YES! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Trust me, you're gonna need it!
Eat Frequently, and Eat Slowly It is important to understand what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet. When you skip a meal your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. And when you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle. Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, provides consistent energy, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency. Eating slowly gives our bodies time to tell us they are full before we've eaten more than we need.
Eat More Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grains People who eat healthy, mostly unprocessed foods, including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and limited amounts of lean animal protein, often find that they can eat as much as they want without gaining weight. If they are switching from a diet containing lots of processed foods, they find that they can eat more yet consume fewer calories -- and they lose weight. Native Chinese eat mostly rice and vegetables with a little lean meat for protein and flavor, nothing like American Chinese restaurant dishes of deep fried sweet and sour pork. Civilization doesn't always bring progress. A step back to more natural foods would improve our health and waistlines.
Eat More Fiber Fiber makes us feel full sooner and stays in our stomach longer than other substances we eat, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer. Due to its greater fiber content, a single serving of whole grain bread can be more filling than two servings of white bread. Fiber also moves fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed.
Refined grains like white rice and those used to make white bread and sugary breakfast cereals have had most of their fiber and nutrients stripped away. They turn into blood sugar (glucose) so fast that, like sugar itself, they can cause a spike in our insulin level. This tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it. Eating foods with plenty of fiber will help keep our blood sugar at a more consistent level.
Cut Down on Sugar Be careful about sugar in coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and these drinks aren't filling. Watch for "hidden" sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups. And be careful with "fat-free" products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. Fat-free does not mean calorie-free. The greater concern with the insulin spike (above) is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don't burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway. The greater concern is that the insulin spike is followed by a drop in insulin level that leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us want to eat something else with a high sugar content. When we do, we start the cycle all over again. Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat-burning capacity.
Too Much of a Bad Thing Foods like cheese stand out as among the most fat-laden, with a great number of calories coming from fat. But as important as it is to select the healthiest foods, it is also important to consider how they are prepared. Fried foods, especially deep-fried, contain a great amount of fat. While chicken and fish are usually leaner than beef or pork, they can contain more fat when they are fried Be careful with salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other condiments that are high in fat content. They greatly increase the calorie count and can negate the healthy aspects of a meal. Replace mayonnaise-based condiments with fat-free alternatives like fat-free yogurt, mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce. And remember, a gram of fat contains more than twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate.
Too Little of a Good Thing But don't try to eliminate fat altogether, as dietary fat is necessary to maintain a healthy body. It is a vital component for building body tissue and cells, and it aids in the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Many people eat too much of the bad fats, but also eat too little of the good fats required for optimal health.
Exercise Regularly People who exercise regularly not only lose weight faster, they are more successful at keeping it off. Exercise makes it possible to create a calorie deficit and lose weight without starving your body and slowing your metabolism. At home, at the gym, or playing sports, participate in both aerobic and strength building activities on a regular basis. Not only does the exercise itself burn calories, but your body will continue to burn calories at a higher rate even after you're done exercising. If walking is all you can do, then walk because it's great for you. But muscle burns more calories than fat, so put on a little muscle if you can and you will burn more calories just sitting there... looking good.
But don't sit too long. The human body is good at adapting. If you dig ditches without gloves, you will develop calluses to protect your hands. If you sit too long, you will develop extra padding to keep you comfortable!
Take It Easy Unless you are excited to be following a very specific diet and exercise plan, do not try and change too much too fast. If you have been eating poorly and not exercising, both your body and your mind will have a lot of adjusting to do. All the sugar and fat were actually quite enjoyable, and sitting on the couch didn't feel too bad, either. If you try and change everything too quickly the odds are greater that you will feel bad, get discouraged, and give up. So be patient. A time will come when a healthy snack will taste as good as the junk food you felt bad about eating, and you will look forward to your regular exercise.
Begin Now You can achieve your goals, but it won't likely happen as a result of the next fad diet. Or the one after that. Learning to eat well and exercise is the only solution to long term weight loss.
12:08 AM
Ankur Dubey
Posted in:
Tips
Fruit and vegetables are an important part of your daily diet. They are naturally good and contain vitamins and minerals that can help to keep you healthy. Research shows they can also help protect against some diseases. Most Australians will benefit from eating more fruit and vegetables as part of a well-balanced, regular diet and a healthy active lifestyle.
