The Two Ingredients For Weight Loss Success: Persistence & Patience
One of the most common mistake that people make that leads to weight loss failure is to chase fast weight loss solutions. Whether it is in the supermarket in the magazine rack, or on late night television, everyone is talking about the best ways to loose weight at an extremely fast rate. They tell you tahat they personally lost 5-10 pounds a week for a total of over a hundred pounds with the use of the advertised product or technique solution. While they disclose the fact that the results that they discuss are not typical, the want of such a product to work for you can often get you to ignore this fact and palce your hopes on getting a miracle in return for your hard earned cash. What you are often overlooking is the fact that diet results are reliant on several variables, and the variables that contributed to the weight loss on the screen may not have even had anything to do with the drug or weight loss program that they are promoting. These testimonials are very good at getting desparate people to part with their money, but do very little to tell the average person what effect the use of the product shown will have on their weight loss success.
Healthy, permanent weight loss depends on a consistant and positive change to ap erson’s lifestyle over a prolonged period of time to be effective.
A large percentage of dieters will fail due to giving in to the slick sales messages of commercial powers that pry on laziness. By targeting consumers that they know have trouble with the two ingredients for dieting success, pesistance and patience, they can market differnet products to those wishing to lose weight while keeping them inoerpetual need of another solution, one that they will readily and eagerly provide.
Both history and medical science have shown that the only consistantly proven way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat the proper foods in the proper amounts, and to increase physical activity to burn calories and keep the body from storing excess enery as fat. Though some people might find extra support or metabolic advantage from taking herbal suppliments or following a specific dietary regimine, without these two factors, and the will power to control them on an ongoing basis, any fast weight loss solution will ultimately end up in temporary, minmal weight loss with the highest health risks.
Weight Loss Simplicity: Don’t Diet
Losing weight has become a favorite pastime in the West, and more and more of a preoccupation in the East also. The effects of the western diet and lifestyle have been devastating for the weight management and healthy living of almost all people touched by it. The ever increasing availability of instant, often over processed and nutrient deficient food, to the daily commutes we make from one location of idleness to another, all while sitting down in the comfort of a car have had huge impact on obesity and general lowered the amount of physical activity that a person is faced with. Losing weight and being thin, in contrast to these norms, is still seen as the only way to be, and the pressure society places on this ideal is immense. Everywhere you look, in the media, and even in interpersonal expectation, thin is in. In a society that places heavy emphasis on weight control while at the same time places every obstacle possible in your way at the same time can be very frustrating, and is probably one of the main reasons diets fail.
There are many options out there for the person trying to lose weight. There are the usual options of a good diet and exercise, and then there are the extra provided options of binge diets, herbal supplements, drugs, and even surgery. The sad fact is that while many people opt for the instant options such as binging, drugs, or surgery, the duration of weight loss is usually short lived, though dramatic. The risks to health are much higher than if pursuing to lose weight with a healthy diet and exercise and the end effect is a diminished health, relapse into weight gain, loss of energy and resources put into the attempt, and a further shattered self esteem, making coming back from setback even harder than before on many different levels.
The best way to lose weight is to start a healthy and active lifestyle, not just go on a diet. If you make consistent, health improving changes to your life and stick with them, no matter how small, the accumulated effect will be healthy weight loss that sticks, instead of yo yo diet failure or added health risks with few positive results. Knowing what you put into your body is the first step to controlling your diet, and the first step in exercise is to find simple activities to replace inactivity, such as walking to the market instead of driving. Simple changes in lifestyle are more effective in weight loss than inconsistent workouts and dieting attempts of any level.
Do vitamin supplements encourage fat burning efficiency?
Everybody knows that a healthy diet and an active exercise program are the best ways to lose weight and to the tendency to put on extra pounds under control. What do you do during those times where you have tried everything that you can? You eat a balanced diet, and you work out on a regular basis, but the weight just does not seem to be coming off as fast as it seems like it should. Sometimes the best solution doesn’t lie in getting involved in the latest crash diet or chugging down nasty food replacement shakes. Sometimes the extra push you body needs is a vitamin supplement. Some studies have shown that certain vitamins help the body in the carbohydrate to sugar and starch processing functions by making sure that the body is able to process the most fuel for your body as possible, eliminating the need for the body to retain the food instead as fat stored in all of the wrong places.
Another benefit of the use of vitamin supplements is that for people on the go, the limited availability of certain food choices allows them to use supplements to replace used nutrients in the body that are missing in the person’s diet.
While the use of vitamin supplements has shown great promise, the idea that taking a multi vitamin in hopes of better body intake processing can simply be dismissed off hand. The ability to make vitamin supplements work for you is to research the body processes that you wish to be affected and which vitamins have shown to progress this process. By targeting specific functions and the vitamins that affect them is not only more effective but more efficient, as you might be getting too much or too little of a specific vitamin with the use of general multi vitamin combinations on your local store shelves.
Know what you nutritional goals are and take the correct vitamin combination to promote it. You can have adverse side effects from taking too much of one kind of vitamin, so be sure to also keep track of the nutritional intake of the foods that you eat on a daily basis, so tat you can accurately manage the amounts of specific vitamins that you put into your system.
Remember, that vitamin supplements are just that, supplements. Do not use them as a food substitute or expect positive results without proper diet and exercise.
Which Weight Loss Plan Is The Best?
First and most sensibly, the best weight loss plan for you is the one that you can stick to. You can pick the most rigorous plan, but if you can only stick with it for a week or two weeks or a month or any other set amount of time, it’s not going to do you any real good. You need a dietary plan that will help you not only loose weight, but one that you can stick to for the long term. Many people make the mistake of going onto a dietary plan, sticking to it until they’ve lost the weight they want to loose, and then they go right back to their old habits which starts packing the pounds back on. Weight loss isn’t just about calories, it’s about what you eat, how much and in combination with what else. Proteins help you burn carbohydrates, carbohydrates help you absorb the protein, etc. If you try to eat a full protein diet, you will not only feel weak, you will be weak in every part of your system. If you eat just carbohydrates, you won’t be able to fully utilize those either. Moderation is the biggest thing to remember in your weight loss plan.
Eat things you can every day, not things that have to be special ordered for you from a company that manufactures them. You’re not going to want to order from this type of firm for the rest of your life, so why start? Remember to reduce your calorie intake, eat whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and grains. Don’t eat things with gluten in them. The word ‘glue’ comes from what it is made of… gluten.
Weight loss isn’t just about food, it’s also about activity. Increase your daily activity. This doesn’t mean start practicing for a marathon, just increase your activity a little bit each day. Take a walk around the block, take the stairs, even the little things help.
If you are at a weight that dictates surgical help, do your research, make sure you know what kind of surgical procedure is best for your type of weight problem. Make sure your physical health is in a condition that will lend itself to this proceedure. If you elect to have the procedure done, you will still need to modify your diet to take in lower calories, meaning smaller portions, less fat, less sugars and eat more brightly colored vegetables and whole foods.
Weight Loss Basics
Weight loss is all about moderation, deciding to eat only carbohydrates or only proteins will not only not help you loose weight, it’s an unsound practice for your body health. Don’t go out and buy TV dinners and all sorts of other processed foods, the more processing involved in creating the food, the further it gets from natural and the worse for you it is. Eat whole foods whenever you can. Have your fresh vegetables, Good quality meats, etc. Don’t eat the manufactured protein bars, they contain too many things your body not only doesn’t need, it also doesn’t want it, things such as artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup, etc. Try to eat items from each of your food groups in a balanced fashion. If you are calorie counting, known what your a allotment is and split it as equally as possible between your food groups.
Know what your portion sizes are. Generally speaking, restaurants serve more per item than your portion size should be. If you must go out, split your dinner up and take a portion of it home. Again, it’s not so much about what you eat as it is the amount of each item you eat.
Look at the ingredients of the food you are eating. Make sure you are avoiding such things as high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or trans fat, monosodium glutamate and any artificial sweeteners. All of these items can interfere with your weight loss. Artificial sweeteners can trick your body into thinking it’s actually getting sugar and it will react accordingly.
Most of us have really no idea how much food we are eating. We just eat when we feel like it or when the clock tells us to eat. We don’t pay attention to our body and when and how much it wants to eat. Our brain rules over our stomach in this case. A way to deal with that is to notate when you eat, the types of food you eat and the quantities. In doing this you will get a better idea what your intake is and where you can cut things out. It might just surprise you how much garbage food you eat.
Make your diet realistic, make it something you can live with rather than something you have to put up with. If it’s something you are making yourself do, you’ll likely not be able to stick with it for the long term. This should be more of a life time eating habit change rather than a short term dietary torture. Allow yourself some goodies, if you don’t you may end up being resentful of your diet and eventually drop it.
Dieting Tip: Drink More Water!
Everyone knows about how healthy water is for our bodies. However, water is overlooked way too often during the time of dieting. Water is one of the most important parts of dieting, without water our bodies won’t be able to lose the weight as quickly as one could by incorporating enough water in their daily diet in order to maintain a healthy body, both on the inside and the outside.
How does water help out with dieting?
When it comes down to it, water is one of the most critical parts of dieting that shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone who is or trying to become active in dieting. Water can help you while dieting by suppressing your appetite (which causes you to eat less) as well as helping your body function a lot easier. These are just a couple of the critical benefits that water has on one who is dieting.
How can water cause me to eat less?
One of the most important benefits that just about everyone seeks while dieting is losing excess fat that’s just outright ugly. If you drink a glass of water before and after you eat, the water will make your stomach full, which in turn requires you to eat less in order to be full. This will help you shed off those extra pounds a lot quicker than if you didn’t drink water before and after you eat a meal.
Did you know that water can help you burn off more calories if you consume more than normal?
That’s right folks! It has been proven that a person whom drinks at least a pint of water can burn up to about 50 more calories than someone who isn’t actively incorporating water into their dieting action plan. With that said, you should already be sipping an ice cold bottle of water down!
Part of dieting is exercise. That is if it’s a good dieting routine.
In order to make your body reach the peak level that you want to be at, your body needs to be fit, not looking like a couch potato waiting for the next television show to come on. Exercising can be demanding of your body, which is why it goes hand in hand with dieting. Not only do you burn fat, but you can also turn some of that fat into muscle at the same time. Being involved actively in exercising means that you need to keep your body well hydrated and water is the best thing on Earth to do just that.
When it comes to water and dieting, you’re not doing everything if you don’t consume water on a daily basis. Don’t just do it for you, do it for the sake of your body. Trust me, you will see the difference if you start drinking water regularly while dieting. Even if you’re not dieting, water is still an essential element that your body demands.
Why Protein?
It doesn’t matter if you are watching a Rocky movie, or reading your favorite bodybuilding magazine, there is no escaping the fact that in order to build muscle, a high protein diet is recommended. Have you ever wondered why there seems to be such an emphasis on protein consumption for those interested in muscle building? Wouldn’t it be better to simply eat a regularly balanced diet, with normal amounts of protein eaten along with the other food groups? While having a healthy diet is a MUST, the extra protein added to a bodybuilder’s diet plays a very important role in the breakdown and rebuilding of lean muscle mass that no other nutrient provides. Without extra protein in your diet, the actual buildup of muscle mass is unlikely to occur, no matter how much you train. Many people, even if interested in bodybuilding, fail to realize the actual process of muscle creation and the role that protein plays in its actualization.
The first misconception that most people have is that you simply “build” muscle by working out. Bodybuilding is actually a process of muscle breakdown and re-growth. Without first breaking down the muscle tissue through the lifting of weights or other stress exercises, such as isometrics, the body would not be stimulated to create new muscle tissue. People do not even create muscle mass by lifting weights. They are in effect tearing the muscle tissue at this stage, and the actual creation of bulk muscle tissue is done while resting. When resting, the body uses protein to repair and build the torn muscle tissue, which is vitally important to any results that may be sought while working out. A person who continually works out will usually see less progress than the one who works out aggressively with periods of rest to compliment their workout schedule, as the body is not given the chance to “recover”, the process that produces the muscle mass we are working out to achieve.
Recovery time could be sleeping at night, taking a nap, taking a few days off from lifting, or simply shifting the muscles that your lifting concentrates on. One of the most productive workout schedules for muscle creation is to work out on a daily basis for 3-5 days in a row, and then to take 2 days off for rest and recovery.
Making sure that the body has enough protein to complete the recovery process is very important to the bodybuilding process because without it, the broken down muscle tissue will not repair and build upon itself, creating the “bulking up’ that is so desired. Eating at least the same number of grams in protein that the weightlifter is in pounds ensures that the body has enough protein to finish this process effectively.
Beginning At The Gym
Showing up to the gym for the first time, no matter how confident you may feel while working out in your home can be an intimidating experience. If you are venturing out into the world of communal fitness for the first time, following a few common sense tips can make a world of difference, and keep you going back time and time again to create the body that you crave.- Get the advice and support of someone else – Going it alone can be a scary thing. There is no reason to try to learn or do everything by yourself, especially at the beginning. Getting the advice of another bodybuilder, or even investing in a personal trainer can often make the difference between having the information you need to succeed, and floundering or giving up due to lack of direction or support. It is also a good idea to have another person who is experienced around not only to give you good advice, but also to act as a spotter and to make sure that proper form is used so that injury is not an issue.
- Make sure to get enough sleep – Making sure that you have enough rest, especially when working out for the first time, usually requires more time resting than normal. Try to get a few extra hours rest the night before, or at least spend you time doing relaxing and stress free activities so that you are not tired or overly anxious during your workout routine.
- Eat right – Many people feel that working out requires you to eat copious amounts of food. The reality of it is that better food, not more food is the secret to success. Eating proper amounts of food, even increasing the amount you eat is key, but if you are not eating the right kinds of food, no increase will do you any good. Make sure to eat a good, quality, as well as healthy quantity meal the night before you work out, or even better, every meal to get optimum workout results.
- Setting realistic goals – Making sure to set goals for yourself is the only way to gauge success, but making sure that your goals are realistic can help you from feeling that every work out is a defeat, and often failure through quitting. Know what you want to achieve, and then break that down into smaller goals so that you can easily see progress as it comes in stages.
