9 Weight Loss Tips - Lose Weight Naturally

Everyone has a desire to rid themselves of their weight as quickly as they can. I wish that I had a magic wand that I could wave over every obese person out there and his/her excess fat would be gone forever. This simply is not the case. Here are some easy to follow weight loss tips to help you slowly and methodically get to your goal. So I hope you enjoy reading these 9 weight loss tips.

Weight Loss Tip #1: Want It!

In order to be successful at weight loss you have to want to lose the weight. You must commit to this want, not just say that you want to lose the weight. The best way to commit to losing weight is to make a goal, write it down, then stick to it.

A goal does not have to be just about the weight you lose or want to lose. You could write a goal using your body measurements or percentage of body fast lost, or it may be your desirable clothing size. Set your goals in a way that they are attainable. For example, I want to lose 15 pounds by Christmas or I want to drop 2 dress sizes by my sister's wedding.

Once you have set your larger goals, you need to set smaller ones to make sure you are on schedule to achieving your long-term goal. Keep track of your goals by using a weight loss chart, a food journal, or an exercise chart. Keeping a journal is the best way to track the foods you eat, the amount of water you take in, the amount of daily exercise, and to daily write out those goals. You can even track how you are feeling throughout the day. This will help in knowing whether you are eating because of a particular mood or not. Keeping a journal is good way to stay committed to your weight loss.

Weight Loss Tip #2: Keep it in the Kitchen

The of the worst habits that people have is not eating at the kitchen table. They are either standing to eat while doing other things or they are in front of the television. Experts say that generally people who eat while watching television eat larger servings of food. Our focus is on what we are watching, not what we are eating.

We need to move away from our family rooms and back into the kitchen. During this time eat slowly and spend some time with your family. Talk to the spouse and children. Pay attention to what you are eating as well as how much you are eating. When you eat slower, your stomach will have the time needed to signal you that you are full and you will not have over-eaten and feel miserable.

Weight Loss Tip #3: Throw Out Temptation

In order to remain faithful to your weight loss regime, you must remove all temptation from your cabinets, freezer, and vehicle. Replace the candy and fatty foods with the right foods. Sugar-free gelatin and pudding is a wonderful way to take care of that sweet tooth in a correct portion without adding a lot of calories. Low-fat popcorn or low-fat flavored popcorn is another wonderful replacement to fatty snacks.

Try not to eat unhealthy snacks for a couple of weeks. Keep a bag of crunchy vegetables, like carrots handy to help with hunger. Most crunchy veggies tend to satisfy you more and are lower in calories.

Weight Loss Tip #4: Find Support

Weight loss is a challenge alone, but with a partner, it will seem much easier. Look for a weight loss support group on-line or a forum. Facebook even has support groups. If you prefer, not to have someone on-line then start your own support group in your home or someone else's home. Otherwise, all weight loss companies offer a support group or sometimes a little one-on-one counseling.

Your support groups can include family, friends, coworkers or even your neighbors. Your group could be as large or as small as you like. Ask everyone you know to support you in your weight loss endeavors with some encouragement.

.Weight Loss Tip #5: Stop Bad Habits

Most learned or old habits are hard to break. It's time we make a change. We do not have to eat everything that is on our plate. Most of grew up knowing that we must eat everything on our plates because there are starving children in Africa. It is okay to leave a little food on our plates every now and again.

We need to listen to our bodies and stop eating when we are full. We must eat smaller portions of our food. We need to avoid having seconds. Try to eat 6 small meals instead of three large ones. Eat breakfast, have a morning snack, eat lunch, have an afternoon snack, eat dinner, have an evening snack.

When you eat out at a restaurant either order from the children's menu or ask when you order for the waitress to bring you a to go box. When the food arrives, place half or more of the food into the to go box.

Weight Loss Tip #6: Add Variety

You need a little variety in your life. This goes for food too. You will get bored eating the same thing week in and week out. Once this boredom hits, you will slip back into your old habits. Eat a little something from each of the major food groups, including fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy, whole grains, and fats.

In order to stay energized, eat five to six small meals everyday. This also helps your metabolism. Eat a protein with most meals, including eggs, beans, lean cuts of meats as well as fish. We need to try to eat a minimum of five servings and up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. If you are watching your sugars, also watch the amount of fruit you are consuming. You really need to eat more vegetables than fruit. Also you need to eat a variety of both fruits and vegetables. Don't just eat the same foods daily. Remember the key is variety.

The bread, pasta, and cereal you consume needs to be whole grain. If you have never had whole grain pasta, then mix with regular pasta and gradually add more and more whole grains until you are used to it. It holds true for bread especially if you make your own. The complex carbohydrates and high fiber in whole grain bread and pasta help to speed up your metabolism. The dairy products you consume should be low-fat or fat-free.

Also make sure you are eating good fats, such as olive or safflower oil. Your body needs a certain amount of the good fats. Make sure that you read your labels and stay away from foods that have trans-fats. Trans-fats are extremely bad for you.

Weight Loss Tip #7: Satisfy the Sweet Tooth

On your weight loss journey there will be times when you will crave something sweet. If you want it then have a small piece of whatever you are craving. It is better to have a small piece of it than ignoring your craving and then bingeing because you have deprived yourself from it for so long. 

Don't get into a habit of eating this way daily though. It is okay to give into the craving from time to time, but not daily.

Weight Loss Tip #8: Watch What You Drink

Of course the number one choice to drink is water clean of chlorine. You need a minimum of six glasses of good water. You can also drink green tea. Consumption of green tea can help with weight loss.

Several people do not track or think about the amount of calories in their beverages. A regular flavored cola has more than 100 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugars. Fruit drinks are also high in sugar and calories. Switch to diet drinks and drink more green tea and water.

Beware of your alcohol consumption. Most alcoholic drinks have lots of sugar and are high in calories. Alcohol turns to fat and sugar in your body. Limit how often you have a drink. Save it for special occasions and try to consume lower calorie beer or wine.

Weight Loss Tip #9: Get Active

Getting active is an import key to weight loss. We need to get moving if we want to lose weight and keep it off. However, sometimes when you start an exercise program, you go from couch potato to exercise fanatic. You want to gradually start the exercise regime over time.

Start off with just walking. Walking takes no special equipment other than a good pair of shoes. Walk at a pace that is good for you and walk for twenty minutes, three times a week. As time goes on, walk a little faster and add more time. You can add strength training twice a week. Start with something light like two cans of soup then gradually move to light hand weights.

Exercising will burn excess fat and calories. The strength training helps build lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle mass you have the more calories you burn due to your higher metabolic rate.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

10 Worst Fitness And Nutrition Mistakes

Many workout and fitness plans get derailed by some common mistakes and bad habits.

Be careful to avoid these...

Failing to fuel your body with sound nutrition

Nutrients are key to the regeneration of muscles. Your body needs protein and vitamins... not excess fat and junk food. Make sure what you take in each meal furthers your fitness goals, rather than hamper them. Go with lean meat, fruits and vegetables over processed and fatty foods. Make sure you eat regularly to keep your metabolism moving and to maintain energy for those workouts. Plan your meals like you plan your workouts if possible. It matters just as much.

Being active only during workouts

Most of us live sedentary lives. Workouts become harder to stick with when they're the only time you're physically active. Sitting around slows circulation and fat burning, counteracting your workouts. Do more outside the gym. Park the car and walk more. Play sports. Play with your kids or dog. Add hobbies and get out more. Or stay in, clean up the yard or pick up around the house. It's true what they say about bodies in motion -- tend to stay in motion, and that's a good thing.

Drinking sports drinks instead of water

Sports drinks contain electrolytes. They also contain sugar, and not the good kind. Most sports drinks contain high fructose corn syrup, which sends your liver into overdrive to process the high sugar concentration, storing anything else as fat. Check the labels of sports drinks to avoid the extras that you don't need, and only drink sports drinks when you need them -- they're not meant to quench your everyday thirst. Unless your workout is intense -- and we're talking marathon-intense -- you probably don't need a sports drink. If you need some flavor, try a spritz of lemon or lime. You may also try infusing your water with fruit (berries, pineapple, cucumber, orange, etc) to add flavor but no calories to your drink. Give them a try.

Working out without focus and efficiency

A good cardio session can take 20 to 30 minutes. Keep in mind that cardio doesn't only mean running, jogging or an exercise machine either. Dancing is a form of cardio also! A good weight workout can take 30 to 45 minutes. That 60-second rest period becomes 3 minutes if you don't watch the clock, making a 30-minute workout last more than an hour. Keep moving throughout the workout to completion. Too long of a rest period can decrease your workout's effectiveness.

Working out without a battle plan

Some people walk into the gym and wing it -- with no sense of how well they're working out all their muscles, and then wonder why they don't make progress. Write down a workout plan: Map out all your workouts to the set. Figure out your goals and set a plan to get there. Read books for ideas if you must, or take advantage of the trainers the gym makes available. The trainers can advise you on proper form, the right machines for you, the frequency of your workouts and so much more. The cost of one or two sessions is well worth it when you consider the invaluable advice you'll get. Stick to your plan, and keep notes. A good plan allows you to monitor your progress.

Doing incomplete workouts

Doing cardio alone doesn't develop fat-burning muscle like weights do. Focusing on chest exercises shortchanges other muscles that now have to compensate to balance an overdeveloped chest with your body. You don't have to work out every muscle group every day. Alternate upper and lower body workouts, and mix up heart-strengthening cardio with strength training. Stay balanced, and your body will show the results.

Failing to push yourself

Pushing your body as reasonably far as possible is the key to making progress. An un-challenging 20-minute cardio session or easy sets don't test your body. Make sure once you start finding sets easy that you increase the weight to continue meeting your goals.

Failing to vary your routine

Once your body accustoms itself to a routine, your growth slows, this is also referred to as a plateau. A workout strengthens your body by taking you beyond your comfort zone. Change exercises in your workout plan periodically. Switch your cardio from the treadmill to the exercise cycle. Use a barbell instead of dumbbells for those bicep curls. Take a class you've never tried --there's something for everyone offered in most gyms these days. Don't be afraid to take your workouts outside the gym also!

Trying to do too much at once

Enthusiasm can push you into doing too many sets, lifting too much or running too long. At best, your body's extra soreness hampers future workouts, but injury is the true risk. If you push your body too far, it breaks.

Working out without stretching

Stretching beforehand prevents muscle cramps and injuries by loosening up your ligaments and muscles. Stretching after workouts loosens up your muscles and ligaments, promoting healing.

You also want to get enough rest between workouts to let your body heal. Your body needs time to repair the damage a workout does. Alternate days of strength training -- do upper body one day, lower the next. This way, you'll be sure to minimize damage. A little soreness is OK. After all, the tiny tears in muscles that result from working out create mass as they're repaired. The most important thing to remember to do after a great workout is to nourish your body with protein, which helps to repair the muscles.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Think Fat Loss, Not Weight Loss

Weight loss is one of the hottest topics ever. Everyone seems to be trying to lose weight nowadays. Most diet programs are about weight loss and body weight is often used as an indicator of fitness progress. But, this is an incorrect approach.

Your ultimate goal should always be to lose fat and reducing excess body fat is what you should be concerned about. Weight loss and Fat loss is NOT the same thing! Many people confuse the two terms, often believing that they mean the same, when in fact weight loss and fat loss are very different from one another. This article will help you understand how weight loss is different than fat loss and how fat loss is far superior to weight loss in almost all ways.

What Is Weight Loss?

Weight Loss = Muscle Loss + Fat Loss + Water Loss

Weight loss is attempting to lower your total body weight. It simply refers to a lower number on a scale. Your body weight is composed of all the parts of your body such as muscles, fat, bones, water, organs, tissues, blood, water etc. When you lose weight, you lose a little bit of... fat, muscle and water.

You lose fat but very little and along with the fat you lose muscle and some amount of water. The higher you reduce your calorie intake, the faster you drop weight and the more muscle mass you lose.

Do know your muscle matters? Loss of muscle affects your health and your overall appearance. When you lose weight too quickly, your body cannot maintain its muscle. Because muscle requires more calories to sustain itself, your body begins to metabolize it so that it can reserve the incoming calories for its survival. It protects it fat stores as a defense mechanism to ensure your survival in case of future famine and instead use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with calories it needs to keep its vital organs such as your brain, heart, kidneys and liver functioning. If you reach a point where you have very little fat or muscle, your body will metabolize your organs to keep your brain functioning leading to heart attack, stroke and liver and kidney failure.

As the body loses more muscle mass, the body's overall metabolic rate decreases. The metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns calories and is partly determined by the amount of muscle you have.

So the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate; the less muscle you have, the lower your metabolic rate and fewer calories you burn. This explains why it is crucial to protect your metabolic rate and not have muscle loss.

Loss of muscle also leads to loss of tone underneath the skin leaving you soft and unshapely with no form or contour. If you lose weight too rapidly, your skin won't have time to adjust either. Also muscle is what gives you strength and loss of it means a weak body. With weight loss you shrink in size and become a smaller version of yourself with a fragile frame with saggy skin.

Weight loss works in the short run to make you smaller but is temporary, almost everyone rebounds and regains the weight. This forces you to find another diet. And then another one, and another one - because eventually they'll all fail.

What Is Fat Loss?

Fat Loss = Loss Of Stored Body Fat

Fat loss is attempting to lower your total body fat - i.e. the percentage of your total body weight that is made up of fat. The right approach for fat loss is to exercise smartly and eat intelligently in a way that maintains muscle and focuses on fat loss exclusively.

The muscle you have is not there forever. If you don't feed it and don't use it - you lose it. A proper plan with right combination of resistance and cardiovascular training with adequate progression and a right nutrition plan to support it can help you achieve this. Exercise only boosts the burning process but doesn't just melt the fat away on its own - if you do not create a deficit and feed the body too much - it won't touch the stored fuel reserves. On the hand if you drastically cut your calories and do not feed your muscle properly or don't exercise and use your muscle, you will lose it. Fat loss is about finding that right balance.

With fat loss you maintain the muscle and keep the metabolic rate running high. You also develop stronger connective tissue, tighter skin and stronger bones and joints. With fat loss you transform your body.

Fat loss is a lifestyle approach where you give your body what it needs without depriving and shocking it with threat of starvation. You get to see slow but permanent steady progress.

It may sound odd, but it's possible to get thinner without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight stays the same, even as you lose inches. Lets see how this happens.

Fat tissue is very loose and not dense. It occupies a lot of space in your body. Whereas muscle is more dense and takes up less space. When you lose fat, this space is freed and you can notice inch loss. If you are following a consistent strength training program then gain in lean muscle tissue will balance out this loss of fat and weight stays the same. Since muscle takes less space than fat, you lose inches and start to look more toned, lean and shapely.

Consistent strength training program then gain in lean muscle tissue will balance out this loss of fat and weight stays the same. Since muscle takes less space than fat, you lose inches and start to look more toned, lean and shapely.

Myth: "Getting fit" means "Losing weight."

Truth: Getting fit means lowering your body fat percentage!

Article Source: EzineArticles.com