Weight Loss Made Easy

Give yourself a goal and you’ll go further with your weight loss. Giving yourself a goal, besides weight loss, to achieve will help you on your way. It’s hard to lose weight just for the sake of losing weight, so let’s find another goal.

Train for a 5K run . Once you accomplish your goal you’re going to feel great about yourself. Just think about how much differently people are going to look at you when you finish a 5K run. You don’t have to run a 5K run the whole way the first time. Just finish.

Training for the 5K run will automatically help you lose weight without thinking about losing weight. So stop thinking about losing weight and start training for that 5K run.

Stop cravings that happen because you’re eating when bored. Stop cravings that happen because you’re eating when tired. You can stop cravings in their track, but first you have to learn to recognize them.

What are your biggest triggers for cravings? In order to stop cravings you’ll first have to relize why you eat when you’re not hungry. Do you eat because you have nothing better to do, stop cravings by finding something else to do instead. Take up a hobby or go for a walk.

Do you eat because you’re tired and you don’t think you should be sleeping in the middle of the day. Surprise. Stop cravings by getting more sleep. Your body may be telling you that you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Stop cravings by taking a power nap in the middle of the day. Then start getting more sleep at night.

You already know how to use the Internet so start your search for local hiking trails near you. They may be disguised as biking trails, cycling trails or walking trails. As you do your Internet search make sure to try these terms and add the name of your town.

If you can’t find any hiking trails that way you can try searching for local nature preserves, game preserves, state parks, state game lands or even just your local community park. Some local community parks have a place for bikes to ride but also has a walking trail and a wooded area with paths through it.

Find something like this and go for a walk. If you prefer you can go for a bike ride, a hike, or go roller blading, whatever you prefer. Take a friend, kids or a dog with you if you want. Just get out there and get  moving.

 Mix together all the ingredients, except the romaine lettuce, ahead of time, at least one hour before eating. Stir the ingredients together again before adding in the lettuce. Then eat. Makes it’s own dressing as it sits so you save on calories.

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large cucumber, sliced
• 1 cup radishes, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carrot,sliced
• 1/2 Cup kidney beans
• 1/2 Cup garbanzo beans
• 1 Cup green onion, sliced

Makes 4 servings at about 330 calories per serving. 10g fat, 50g carbs, 18g fiber, 15g protein, 70mg sodium.
http://caloriecount.about.com

A recent study has shown that brown fat doesn’t go away after infancy and may, if harnessed, be able to help people lose weight. Brown fat is the fat that keeps babies warm and keeps animals warm in winter. It’s like a heat generating system.

Scientists think that brown fat may play a part in keeping thin people thin by creating more heat in their bodies hence burning more calories. Overweight people may be overweight because they don’t have enough brown fat cells in their body to create enough heat to burn enough calories.

If they can figure out a way to create more brown fat cells, maybe they can create a way to help people lose weight. Until then, you’ll have to create your own body heat .

To do something and do it well you often need a partner. Whether you hire a personal trainer to push you and call you when you don’t show up for appointments or your just get a neighbor to lose weight with you, you’ll lose weight faster with a weight loss partner.

It’s true. Studies have shown that people who have support have better success at losing weight. Think about this. You ask a friend or neighbor to lose weight with you. Maybe you are supposed to push and call here on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and she’s supposed to call and push you on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Every day’s covered.

Or maybe you’re both supposed to meet every day for a walk at the same time in the same place. No phone calls. You’d be pretty mad if she didn’t show up, and visa versa, so you’d both show up, every day. It’s just expected.

Better yet. Start a walking group in your neighborhood. Pass out flyers and see who shows up. Who knows, maybe you’ll make some lasting relationships.

Every calorie counts. I’ll tell you why. Let’s say you make a peanut butter sandwich for your son and you lick the peanut butter off the knife. 30 calories. Then you bake a cake and lick the beaters after making the frosting. 50 calories. Then you’re making a pizza and eat some mozzarella while shredding it. 100 calories. Then you finished off the Hawaiian Punch your son left in his cup. 20 calories.

You’ve just ate 200 calories that you didn’t even include in your diet. 200 calories that just snuck up on you and sabotaged your otherwise good day.

You’ve been watching what you eat, counting the calories and wondering why you can’t lose weight. This is why. It’s all those extra calories you’re not counting.

Being a downer will only bring you down. Think up and you’ll be up. Think yourself thin is not just a cliche. If you have a positive attitude and think positively about your weight loss, you’ll have a better chance at losing weight.

Instead of thinking, “oh poor me”, whenever you can’t have something you like, think about how the food you are about to eat is going to give you more energy and how it’s going to burn the fat right off your body. Think about the power it’s going to give you.

When you start thinking about healthy foods in a positive way, they become a positive influence in your life. Soon you’ll be eating, and thinking yourself thin.

If you have a dog it’s time to make your dog part of your exercise routine. This will make your dog really happy and make your waistline smaller at the same time.

Do you notice your thin neighbor out there everyday walking or running with their dog? Now it’s your turn to join the thin revolution and do what the thin people do. One of those things is, take your dog for a walk every day.

It’s true, whether it’s raining or not thin people put their dog first, and themselves, and go for a walk every day. I don’t know if they’re doing it for them or for their dog, fact it, they’re thin. If you want to be thin too, do as the thin people do and take your do for a walk every day.

The 5 day migraine has makes it tough to exercise, as I’m sure do any chronic condition. That’s 5 days without any exercise, without being able to focus on what I’m eating. Of course I didn’t feel like eating fatty foods during those 5 days, I think that may have helped.

What to do now. I’m still taking it easy today. Still weak, still tired, afraid the migraine will come back at an moment. I was supposed to go to an Autism walk with my kids this morning, can’t go.

Tomorrow though, I will be back to normal. After an illness you have to start anew. Start just as though nothing happened. Exercise, watch what you eat and become the person you know you can be.

Your weight is only one indicator of your overall health, not the only one. When trying to lose body mass, weight is also not the only indicator, and often a poor one. As a matter of fact, if you’re using exercise to help you get in shape, you may even gain a little weight while you slim down.

The reason for this is that muscle weighs more that fat. As you work out and tone your body you’re gaining muscle, this means your putting on weight, this is a good thing, don’t worry about this weight. The more muscle you put on, the more calories you’ll burn. Muscle needs more calories to maintain. This means the more muscle you have the less fat you’ll have.

Add more muscle so you’ll burn more fat. Soon you’ll start seeing the scale move down as the fat starts to burn away.

Don’t just dive into a diet. Start slot, remember, this has to be a lifestyle change, or it won’t work. For the first week or two just make one change. Don’t make any more changes until this one becomes a habit.

Maybe just work on making your breakfast healthy. This one’s easy. Find a couple whole grain breakfasts that you like and some fruit and get in the habit of eating them every day.

Once they’re a habit you’re ready for another change.  Maybe make the second change an exercise. Add some toning exercises to your day, every day. Once you’ve found a way to make the toning exercises part of your every day routine, and they’re a habit, you’re ready for another habit.

Keep adding one habit at a time. Some day you’ll be the thin healthy person you know you can be.

Here are four simple exercises that you should do each day to tone your body. If you do nothing else, just take 10 minutes and tone your body. You’ll start to see results in a matter of a couple weeks and you’ll feel so much better about yourself.

Crunches - Lay on the floor with your legs in the air at a 90 degree angle and cross your feet. I like to lay with my but against the couch and my legs on the couch. Support your head with your hands, but don’t use your arms to do the crunches. Using your stomach muscles pull your head up until your body comes off the floor at bra strap length. Go  back down. Start with 3 sets of 8 on day one and work up from there.

Push ups - Face down with your knees on the floor and your feet crossed in the air behind you. Your hands under your shoulders on the floor. Bend your elbows until your nose almost touches the floor, then come back up. Start with 3 sets of 8 and work your way up from there.

Squats - Place your feet shoulder width apart, keep your back as strait as a board and squat down as far as you can go, come back up. If this is too easy, use weights. Start with 3 sets of 8 and work your way up.

Lunges -  Lunges can be done in place or walking. To do lunges in place, oyt your right foot in front of you bending both legs, then go back to straight position. Change legs. To do lunges walking put your right foot in front of you bending both logs, then pull the other leg forward going into straight position. Change legs. Start with 3 sets of 8 for each leg.

If you sit in front of the computer for hours on end trying to find out how you can lose weight, chatting with your friends, networking on your Facebook, twitting you Twitter, then the Internet my be one of your problems. Look, you’re doing it again. While you’re sitting there, unless you’re chilling , you’re not burning any extra calories.

What you need to do is figure out how much time you spend on an average day doing things like hanging out on the Internet and watching TV. Then cut that time in half and spend that time walking, bike riding or doing something else that is active.

What did you used to like doing? Plant a garden and watch it grow, join a Karate class, throw or hit a baseball, anything.

I’m obviously not suggesting that you go out in freezing cold weather without your coat on, that would just make you sick. What I am suggesting though is that you let yourself be just a little bit chilly. Not so much that you can’t stand it, or can’t get anything done, just a little.

Shivering can actully help you burn calories. That’s right. While you’re sitting there at your computer reading my posts, turn down the heat a couple degrees and burn some calories while you read.

On the same note, drinking ice water can help you burn calories. While your body is busy trying to warm the water back up, you’re burning calories.

So when you’re not burning calories by exercising, burn calories by staying just a little bit chilly.

As I write this it’s Easter Sunday and I’m surrounded by Easter candy and good food. What’s a dieter to do. I’ll tell you, moderation. I can’t resist chocolate so I’m going to have some today. This is what I like to do.

I’ll have one Cadbury Creame Egg, but I eat it very slowly, savoring every bite, every lick of the cream, close my eyes and imagine I’m eating a second one, and another. By the time I’m finished I think I’ve had three, but I’ve only had one, I’m full.

Let’s go have something healthy now. Some ham, but only a little, and some potatoes, pass on the butter, if you lick the potatoes off the fork you can feel the texture on your tounge. Them makes them taste better, part of taste is the texture of the food (more so for some people).

Use a smaller plate, this little trick really does work. Only put a tablespoon sized portion of everything you like on your plate. This way you get to taste everything and you don’t feel like you’ve missed out on anything.

I don’t know about you, but my biggest problem with going for a walk or a bike ride is the weather. It’s either too hot, too cold, raining, or something else is wrong. I’m sure I can find something wrong with about 90% of every day of the year. So when do I have time to exercise?

The trick is to get rid of the excuses. Other people do it, thin people. You want to be a thin person, don’t you? Maybe you don’t. If you really want to be a thin person, then you have to start thinking like a thin person. Get rid of all the excuses.

If it’s too hot, pack extra water and wear shorts, no sleaves and pack on the sunscreen. Don’t worry about what other people think, just get out there and move your body.

If it’s too cold, put extra layers on under or over your clothes. Wear a hat, gloves, scarf, whatever you need to keep warm. Just get out there and do something. If you have asthma, bring along your inhaler.

If it’s raining, not pouring, put on a raincoat, use an umbrella (unless it’s windy), get some rain boots. Enjoy the sounds of the rain and relax while you take a walk in the rain. Keep warm and don’t worry about getting a little wet, you can dry off later.

Today we’re going to compare two Burger King favorites and decide which is healthier for you to choose from when you go to Burger King for dinner. I’ll even break it down for you so you can see why.

The winner is…..

Wopper Jr (hold the mayo)

Your standard Wopper Jr, without mayo and a garden salad, only has 365 calories and 12g of fat.

Compare that to what you were going to have instead. The BK Big fish, with tartar sauce and fries. A whopping 1000 calories and 52g of fat.

My skipping on the fried food, leaving out the mayo, and choosing salad over fries, you just saved 635 calories in one meal. Think the burger’s dry without mayo, replace it with barbecue sauce.

If you had opted for the Triple Whopper with Cheese and mayo you would hav ingested 1230 calories and 82g of fat. Think about that.

You know that little feeling you get in your gut that you think means you’re hungry? You know you just ate an hour ago, so you know you shouldn’t be hungry, but there it is, teasing you and making you think that you must me. Suddenly all you can think about is how to make this feeling go away.

Stop! It’s not hunger. It’s a trick you’re body’s playing on you. Some how, some way, your body has gotten another body function mixed up with hunger.

What is Hunger?

If it really was hunger your stomach would be making that growling noise and would be rumbling around. Is it doing that? Can you actually hear it? Can other people hear it? If the answer is no, then you’re not really hungry.

Then What Is It?

That feeling that you’re mistaking for hunger is actually your stomach digesting the food you just ate. That feeling means that there’s still food in your stomach, so you don’t need to go adding more food.

What Should I Do?

You still want to make that feeling go away. I know, it’s really annoying. Here are some things you can try:

• Drink some water, tea or something else
• Go for a walk or bike ride
• Play with your kids or pets
• Do a puzzle or other activity
• Work in your garden
•  Something, anything to keep your mind off food

There are 6 weeks in my walking routine for beginners. This walking routine is designed to start you out very slow and ease you into walking. It fits in a lot of interval training so you burn more calories with a shorter workout. You start out with a short easy workout and slowly work your way up over the course of 6 weeks.

• Week 1 :  20 minutes at an easy pace this week.

• Week 2 : Up it to 30 minutes a day this week, you can do it.

• Week 3 : Trying for 40 minute for each workout this time at a moderate pace.

• Week 4 : Ready for that hour yet? Half way though the 6 week walking course now.

• Week 5 : Let’s try to walk a little faster this week.

• Week 6 : I wonder how far you can go in one hour?

Happy walking!

This is my own personal diet. I’m going to lose weight and gain control of my bad eating habits once and for all with this little trick. So far so good. The first few days are hard, but once you get the hang of it, it really starts getting quite easy.

The main goals of the diet are:

• keep from getting hungry
• keep blood sugar level
• keep calories low
• cut out cravings

Here are the main rules of the diet:

• eat every 2 hours
• eat between 150 calories at each most meals
• breakfast, lunch and dinner can from 150-400 calories
• you can eat whatever you want at these meals, but you’ll feel better and have more energy if you eat healthy foods.

Some of my favorite foods for this diet:

• cheese (low fat)
• yogurt (low fat, sharp)
• cereal (high fiber, low fat milk)
• half sandwich (turkey, chicken)
•  fruit or veggies
• oatmeal or cream of rice