Weight Loss Made Easy

If you really want to burn more calories, but you want to stay walking and you don’t want to take up anything like jogging, try walking uphill instead. Walking uphill burns a lot more calories than just walking on a flat surface.

You’ll also tone your lower body when you walk uphill. As you walk up the hill you’ll work your legs, back and stomach muscles. Try to find a hill and walk up and down it for a good workout.

If you don’t have a hill set your treadmill’s incline at 10%. Walk uphill for a minute or two, then turn around and walk downhill. Keep doing this for at least half an hour.

So your mom ate a lot when you were a kid, and she expected you to do the same. Fill your plate and eat it all, she would say. After all, there are starving kids on the other side of the world who would be really happy to have your food.

You’re all grown up now, it’s time to forget about what your mom said and start eating the right way. Don’t fill your plate anymore. Don’t cook for two people when it’s just you eating. Don’t finish it all if you don’t want to.

It’s better for the extra food to be in the garbage then in your body adding calories. It’s time to grow up and do what you know is right.

Do you eat when you’re sad or when you’re really happy? How about when you’re bored? This is my favorite, eating when  you’re depressed about being overweight. Most overweight people have one or more of these problems.

What you need to do is think before you eat. If it’s not mealtime, or if you’ve already had your meal, then you shouldn’t be eating. If you think you’re hungry and it’s not mealtime, think about why you thing you’re hungry. Decide if you’re really hungry, of if you’re just bored.

If you really think hard before you eat, you may  just realize that you’re not really hungry at all. If it’s only an hour until lunch, you can wait that long.

The best way to get the much needed exercise your body desires is to play. What do you like to do? When I was younger I played softball. It was hard work and definitely kept me in shape. My son does cycling. He’s in great shape and  has a lot of fun doing it with the local cycling club.

What did you used to do when you were younger? Basketball, soccer, football? All of these are fun and also good exercise. There are amateur adult leagues for most sports. Maybe you can find one in your community. If not, create your own.

If you have kids, play with them. What do they like to do? Play baseball or toss a ball around with them. Go on a bike ride or practice kicking a ball into a goal. Whatever it is, just have fun and play.

If you have a REI store near you go and visit it. You’ll be able to find places to have fun with your family, and get some exercise at the same time. REI stores are handing out directions, maps and information for hiking trails and bike trails near you.

If you have kids, they’re going to like this too. They’ll each get an “Adventure Journal”. After each outing they can go to the store and get their journal stamped. After every three trips they can earn a prize.

Visit REI online for more information. They also offer some great trips you can go on. Explore the world and get in shape.

I don’t know about you, but if I go shopping without a shopping list I’ll end up buying everything that looks good, whether it’s good for me or not. I can’t possibly eat that much in one week, but my eyes think I can.

To stop this from happening, create a meal plan. Plan out your meals, decide what you really need to buy. Then create a shopping list. Everything should be included, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, even desserts.

If an item is not on your shopping list, don’t buy it. That’s final. This will not only help you stick to a diet better, it’ll also help you save money. A lot of people buy too much, then they end eating too much. They also end up throwing a lot out, wasting money.

Adding a little flavor to your food will help you like your low fat diet food better so you won’t crave the high calorie alternatives. This can be done in a low calorie way by just adding a little spice to your life. Here are three ways to make your food a lot tastier.

1. Pesto is a mix of basil, pine nuts and garlic. It’s only 80 calories per tablespoon so add this to your chicken or other foods to add flavor instead of butter or oils.

2. Pimenton is a smoked Spanish paprika. Because it’s much more flavorful than regular paprika it’ll make all your foods have an extra zing to them.

3. Instead of marinading your chicken or fish in an oily high calorie marinade, try rubbing the spices in. Combine a little bit of olive oil with your favorite spices and rub it on really good. Your food will taste great.

I love my weighted hula hoop. Since I’ve started using it my stomach and back muscles have become much stronger. You can see the muscles on my belly starting to come out from hiding. But does this mean the weighted hula hoop is better than the traditional light hula hoop? In some ways it is, in other ways it’s not.

The weighted hula hoop is good for making the muscles of your core stronger, it’s true. But if your goal is to burn calories, this may not be the best bet for you. The weighted hula hoop is easier to keep up and keep going than the light hula hoop, this means less calories per minute.

If your goal is to burn a lot of calories in a short time, you may want to consider getting a lighter hula hoop too. If you combine the two types of hula hoops into one workout you can burn calories and strengthen your core at the same time.

The quickest way to lose a few pounds is to stop eating salt and processed foods that are full of salt. But the pounds you’ll lose are water weight, not fat. Still, too much salt isn’t good for you and can make you eat more, probably because it tastes so good. So knock off the salt and loose that tube around your midsection.

You’ll start to lose weight right away if you cut out the salt. Firstly, because of the water weight. Secondly, and more importantly, because doing away with high salt foods means eating healthier. You’ll stop eating that high fat processed food and start eating fruits, veggies and  high fiber breads. You’ll be thinner in no time.

Alli is the over the counter form of the diet drug Xenical. Xenical has been prescribed to people for many years and is fairly safe, that’s why they decided to make it over the counter. It does have some rather unwelcome side effects though.

I was on Xenical several years ago, so I know. I even went to a totally non-fat diet and still had the side effect that it’s popular for. They say   you’ll only have the side effect if you’re eating too much fat, that’s not the case for everyone, like me.

In case you’re wondering what the unwelcome side effect I’m talking about is, I’ll tell you. If you’re the squeamish type, don’t read any further.

There’s an oily discharge that comes out your, well, your but. It’s really gross and can happen at any time. You think you’re going to pass gas, then suddenly, squish, and it stinks too. In my case I ended up having to wear a maxi pad all the time.

On the other hand, some people don’t get any side effects from it, or so I’m told. I did lose weight, but probably more from going on a fat free diet than from the Xenical.

Alli is a milder form though. About half the dose I was taking. I don’t know if they changed the formula before putting it out on the shelves, I hope so.

While I was at Pizza Hut I picked up one of their nutritional charts. Now I want to tell you what I’ve found to help you with making a choice the next time you go to Pizza Hut. I found 9 different styles of pizza on their menu that are under 200 calories per slice. They all come from 12″ pies

Thin and Crispy

- Pepperoni and Mushroom 190cal, 9g protein
- Quartered Ham and Pineapple 180cal, 9g protein
- Veggie Lovers 180cal, 8g protein

Fit ‘n Delicious

- Diced Chicken, Red Onion & Green Pepper 170cal, 9g protein
- Diced Chicken, Mushroom, & Jalapeno 170cal, 9g protein
- Ham, Red Onion & Mushroom 160cal, 8g protein
- Ham, Pineapple & Diced Red Tomato 160cal, 8g protein
- Green Pepper, Red Onion & Diced Red Tomato 150cal, 6g protein
- Diced Red Tomato, Mushroom *& Jalapeno 150cal, 6g protein

When you’re out and about at a restaurant, get what you really want. Even healthy food has calories. If you get the healthy choice you may end up eating more. This is because you need to feel satisfied before stopping. The healthy food didn’t satisfy you as quickly, so you just keep eating.

Also, you may underestimate just how many calories are in that healthy food. So you eat more of it thinking it’s ok to eat more of it. You can eat what you want, as long as you use portion control. This means don’t eat out every night, maybe once a week instead.

Every time you go for a walk or a jog, rev it up a little. Every few minutes add a burst of energy to your workout. Walk or jog faster for a minute every now and then. By adding these short bursts of energy to your workout you can burn up to 100 calories more without having to add on any time to your workout. If you go for a walk 5 days a week, that adds up to an extra 500 calories per week burned

Doing something more challenging than what your body is used to also helps speed up your metabolism. If you don’t want to jog you can try speed walking, skipping or jumping rope as part of your walk.

People who don’t sleep enough tend to have higher BMIs than people who get at least 8 hours a night. The main reason for this is that when you don’t get enough sleep your body goes into survival mode and starts creating more cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that makes your body hold onto the fat in your system, just in cast it needs it to survive.

Another reason people with less sleep tend to weigh more is that they’re too tired to make smart choices. Instead of making a veggie rich salad you may tend to want the pizza in the fridge. Your craving it more, and it’s the easier food to make.

Even if you can’t lose 10 pounds by the end of the week, you can feel like you did. Here are a couple tricks to make you feel 10 pounds lighter by next week.

- Trade White for Whole Grain: Whether it be white bread, white rice, pasta or pizza you can make a trade off pretty easily. Just eat the whole grain alternatives instead. When you eat the white variety it absorbs itself some water. Before you know it, you’re bloated.

- Eat Small: Eating a big meal before an important event will just make you feel like your stomach is sticking right out in front of you. Eat a smaller meal instead.

-  Watch the Salt: Too much of the stuff can make you retain water, in your stomach of all places.

-  Drink More: Water that is. Drink 8 - 10 8oz glasses a day to stay hydrated. This will help your food digest faster and keep it from piling up where it doesn’t belong.

Here’s a really easy way you can loose weight while still eating the same foods you eat now. The trick is to not eat everything you’re given. For instance, if you have a blueberry muffin for breakfast, eat all that you would normally eat of it, but this time, leave 3 generous bites on your plate. When you eat your roast beef hogie for lunch, leave 3 generous bites on your plate.

Leave 3 generous bites on your plate of everything you eat from now on. If you don’t normally eat the whole sandwich, eat 3 bites less. If you do this with every meal you’ll save 50-75 calories per meal. That’s 150-225 calories less per day.