Tips for Reducing Weight
When you want to reduce weight you first need to decide that you’re going to follow through. There is no point in losing weight if you don’t plan to keep up with your routine. It’s a lifestyle change not just something you can do for a couple of months.
You also need to make it a priority. This is another reason why people fail they don’t make their weight loss goals a priority. Once you make weight loss a priority then it will happen.
Then there’s the people who talk about reducing weight and say that they wish they could. There is no wishing there is only doing. Weight cannot be wished away. You have to make a concentrated effort everyday, not just now and then or a few days a week.
Once you’ve made up your mind to do it you have to start reducing your calories to 1500 a day no less than 1200. This can be done by reducing 200-300 calories a day until you reach your goal of 1500. A little at a time is best so that the body has a chance to adjust.
At the same time you need to up your activity level. It’s always good to choose something you enjoy, so that you will do it. If you don’t exercise then your progress will be slower.
Reducing weight is hard to do with diet alone. Not to mention the fact that you will be flabby and not toned after weight loss. The combination of the two will get optimal results.
The more muscle you gain the better, so some form of weight training with dumbbells or exercise bands would be great. Muscle burns more fat and raises the metabolism, which will help you lose weight faster. Workout every other day at 3 days a week.
It may take several months to see significant results, so patience is needed. Reducing weight takes time, consistency and effort. Safe weight loss is about two pounds a week.
Check out my post on weight loss tools for more weight loss resources online.
Emotional Eating
Did you know that emotional eating
We tend to use food to soothe or suppress negative emotions such as loneliness, sadness, anger, stress and even boredom. Eating comfort foods can help temporarily, but then later you find that it has created a another problem and that is weight gain.
I’m sure you have wondered why negative emotions lead to overeating. One of the main reasons is that the food serves as a distraction and the fact that it tastes good kind of puts the emotions back in sync by giving you pleasure. Therefore, when we get upset one of the first things we go for is something like chocolate, ice cream or maybe pizza. Emotional eating can become a serious issue unless you catch it before it becomes a habit.
There are several things you can do to stop emotional eating
* Don’t keep junk food available. Definitely don’t do grocery shopping when upset.
* Look somewhere else for comfort. Call a friend, read, see a movie etc.
* Keep healthy snacks close at hand. Veggies and low fat dip and fresh fruit.
* Know your triggers. Figure out what they are and avoid them.
* Recognize type of hunger. Is it emotional hunger or physical?
* Exercise regularly and get enough sleep.
* Eat a good balanced diet, don’t skip meals.
Even with these suggestions you may end up falling off the wagon. Don’t put yourself on a guilt trip over it, but start fresh again the next day. Do your best to learn something from it so that you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you make in your eating habits and not the negative and see how much better you feel each day.
To find out more on emotional eating read this book Breaking Free from Emotional Eating
Effective Weight Loss Exercise
Effective weight loss exercise has a different meaning for everyone. This is due to different types of exercise being effective for each person. If you’ve tried to lose weight by doing what someone else did and it didn’t work then this could be the reason why.
For this reason, it’s better to choose an exercise you enjoy this is how people stay consistent. If you enjoy it then you will do it and you will do it more often.
To find what works for you it may take some trial and error. Once you know which exercise works then decide on frequency. Usually it’s three to five days a week.
For exercise to be effective it must be consistent and it also helps if you have variety. Find other effective weight loss exercise that you enjoy and alternate them. This way you work muscles differently and keep your exercise routine challenging. The body needs challenge.
For an exercise to be effective it should also be able to keep weight off permanently. In other words, it needs to work as good six months from now as it did in the beginning.
Keep in mind, that diet is a major part of weight loss and maintaining that loss. There is no exercise in the world that will help you lose and maintain weight if you don’t keep track of calories. Knowing how many calories you eat each day is vital.
If you don’t know how to calculate the amount of calories you should eat to lose weight then it’s a good idea for you to research and learn. In addition, when you cut back don’t do it all at once, but gradually take off 100-200 calories a day until you reach your goal.
The body needs to adjust and adapt to diet and exercise changes. Otherwise, you could have an unpleasant experience and decide to abandon the routine altogether.
Lastly, effective weight loss exercise and healthy eating habits go hand in hand, but need to be implemented gradually, especially if it’s your first attempt.
Diabetes and Weight
Many times there is a connection between diabetes and weight. In fact, sometimes just by losing weight your blood sugar can go back to normal. This sounds like a good reason to lose weight to me. After all, why risk the dangers of diabetes if you can avoid it?
On the other hand, did you know that you can be thin and still get diabetes, especially if it runs in the family. So, it’s good to always stay aware and check any irregularities.
Whether you’re heavy or thin the best way to avoid diabetes and or weight problems is a change in lifestyle. This means analyzing what is and what isn’t healthy in your life.
One of the first things that needs to go is refined sugars. To do this you start replacing high fat, high calorie desserts with fruit. The best way to do it is to start with small doable goals such as eating fruit 2-3 days a week then 4-5 days a week etc.
Next eat smaller meals more times a day as opposed to larger meals that are harder to digest. In addition, use smaller plates this is a great weight loss tactic. Also, plan meals and keep a schedule when possible, so that there’s no chance to get hungry.
Additionally, don’t eat meals or snacks while watching TV many people tend to overeat doing this. It’s also good to have low cal snacks prepared ahead of time ready to go out the door with you. This way you won’t need to eat foods that are off limits.
Next, cut calories by 200 a day until you reach 1500 a day, but no less than 1200. As you adjust the diet cut back on sodas and other drinks and eventually replace them with water.
While diet is a major concern when it comes to diabetes and weight gain you also need to add exercise. A regular exercise program that you enjoy 3-5 days a week is ideal.
It may take a while to adjust to lifestyle changes, but be patient and tackle them one at time and it will not only be doable, but also not as hard as you first thought.
At Home Fitness
When you think of at home fitness it brings to mind people who have treadmills, stationary bikes or maybe even a mini-gym in a spare room or basement. While this may be true in some cases, however, there are people who need to workout from home for various reasons who don’t have any equipment.
If you find yourself needing to do at home fitness then you’re not alone. Whether it’s due to no transportation, bad weather or you just simply can’t afford it there’s always the old stand by exercises that everyone knows how to do. Here’s the list just in case you forgot:
* Push ups
* Squats
* Lunges
*Step ups
* Crunches
* Plank
* Chair dips
* Leg raises
You can do these at home fitness exercises in any order you choose and do them as a routine. Do at least 8-12 repetitions of each one. If you want to you can also do several sets and start at the beginning to make it a circuit routine. You can do the circuit as many times as you are able.
There should always be a brief warm up to prevent injury and get circulation pumping. You can do this by jogging in place or around the house. If you have stairs use those and pretend you’re Sylvester Stallone in the movie Rocky.
It’s a good idea to do the at home fitness routine or circuit at least 3 days a week with one day off in between for muscles to develop and avoid burn out.
Some other ideas for at home fitness is buy a few small pieces of equipment to vary the routine. Like an exercise ball, Power Block, jump rope, mini-trampoline, exercise mat and a few workout videos. I have some favorite picks here on the blog to your right.
Exercise the Heart and Lose Weight
To exercise the heart you need to do some form of cardio. This is good news because there are many different types of cardio to choose from. You’re sure to find something you enjoy. One of the best ways to find what type of cardio you like is to visit a fitness center.
When you visit a fitness center they will give you a tour so you can see what’s available. You can try them out and maybe even join the facility. Or if you like a particular machine you can buy a similar one at Sporting Goods store and workout at home.
Whether you’re at home or in the gym to exercise the heart you need to get your heart rate up. In addition, you want to do 25-45 minutes depending on age and health condition. For example, a teenager could go 45 minutes, whereas, an elderly person may only be able to do 15-25 minutes.
If you have joint issues it’s better to go with little or no impact. The elliptical machine has become quite popular for this reason. It’s also easy to use and you can do any level of intensity you choose. Beginners should start out at an easy level and work their way up.
On the other hand, if you’re not limited to low or no impact you can opt for the treadmill. If it has an incline feature you can make it harder for interval training. Which means, you can do incline for 2 minutes or however long you choose then go back and forth from flat to incline for the entire routine. Interval training is great way to exercise the heart.
You can also exercise the heart on a stationary or regular cycle. Cycling is a no impact exercise, therefore, easy on joints. A stationary bike is great in bad weather so you can exercise indoors. I have both indoor and outdoor.
You can also do aerobic videos to exercise the heart. Billy Blanks has excellent videos that work the entire body. He will indeed get your heart rate up and has beginner to advanced workout. There are many other videos that do the job just as well. The best way to find a good one is to go to Amazon and read the reviews.
Swimming is another option, however, it’s seasonal unless you belong to a fitness center that has an indoor pool. Swimming is a great way to exercise the heart; no impact and you work the upper body as much as the lower.
Cardio doesn’t have to be serious it can be enjoyable. You can have fun and exercise the heart at the same time. Working the heart muscle is vital to good health. Don’t put off what you know you need to do, get busy and start today. What are you waiting for?
Obesity in Kids
Obesity in kids is at an all time high and seems as if it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Since children depend upon their parents for food then there is no other place to put the blame. If parents cannot control their child’s eating habits then who can?
There may be an isolated case here or there where the kids have a medical issue, but for the most part parents should be in control of everything a child eats and drinks.
Poor parenting skills and lack of control of on how parents eat themselves are the two main problems. If the parent is obese and teaches the kids it’s okay to over eat then how is a child going to develop healthy eating habits? Answer- they won’t!
Therefore, it’s imperative that the entire family seek help, whether it’s with OA (Overeater’s Anonymous) or family counseling. If parents aren’t willing to do this then their food addiction is taking priority over the welfare of their kids.
It’s no different than addiction to alcohol or drugs and as you know people lose custody of their kids all the time over those addictions. Food addiction should be treated just as seriously, since the kids are placed in danger of becoming obese.
If a parent is an addict of any kind it affects their children, this means that they and they alone are responsible if that addiction places the child in danger in any way.
First of all, the parents need to be willing to seek help for the entire family and admit there’s a problem. Second a whole new lifestyle needs to be implemented, one with healthy eating habits and an exercise program designed specifically for them as a family.
Obesity in kids can be stopped if parents make the effort to do what has to be done for the family to achieve a healthy balanced lifestyle.
8 Easy Tips for Weight Loss Goals
Well planned weight loss goals keep you focused and motivated. If you don’t have a plan or goals you most likely won’t succeed. Check out these 8 easy tips for weight loss goals 
1. The first thing you want to do is aim for realistic weight loss, safe weight loss happens steadily over a period of time. Losing weight quickly is usually a sign of losing water weight or muscle instead of fat. A realistic goal would be 1-2 pounds a week, possibly 3 pounds at most.
2. Don’t try to do too much at once. Start with a few small goals so that you don’t overwhelm yourself and wind up giving up. Keep it doable so that you will stay in it for the long haul; taking it one step at a time.
3. Plan short term goals and long terms goals. Therefore, you will have daily (short term)goals and long term goals which encompass the big picture. For example, short term would be walking 20 minutes each day and long term would be preparing for a walkathon.
4. Make the weight loss goals personal. They must be goals that you’re capable of, know your limitations. Take into consideration available time, fitness level, motivation and any health concerns you may have.
5. Choose a date. There must be a time set aside for you to begin or else you may procrastinate. Once you have set the date don’t change it for anything. You may have to change some things in your schedule to do this, but if you’re serious you will do it.
6. Take into account there will be setbacks. Every time you make lifestyle changes 
7. Another important tip is to write it down. The more details you have the better. For instance when and where will you do it. How will you fit it into your daily routine? What do you need to do to get started?
8. Let’s not forget to evaluate and reassess. Review your goals and adjust them as needed. Be willing to change your weight loss goals if they’re not working as planned. Think about what worked and what didn’t. Maybe you started out small and are now ready to take on a bigger challenge.
These 8 easy tips for weight loss goals will help you focus on a plan that is successful. All you need to do now is go forward and implement. You can do it!
* Added note: To lose 1-2 pounds a week you will need to burn 500 -1000 calories more than you eat each day. You can do this by eating smaller portions, low-calorie foods and exercise. Changing your habits and making it a lifestyle change is one of the major keys to losing weight and keeping it off.