Weight Loss Tips Without Fad Diets

The first step for weight loss is to evaluate your body weight in order to understand if you are overweight and the extent to which you're overweight. Once you have done this, you can then proceed to chose a weight loss program that suits your unique weight loss goals and your lifestyle.

Evaluating your body weight is very simple . There are two methods that most professionals use to assess body weight, and these can be easily used by individuals at home to assess their weight. These are the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference.

The Body mass index (BMI)- The Body Mass Index uses an individual's weight in relation to height to measure body fat. Using the Body Mass Index, weight is assessed using the following scale:

BMI between 18.5-24.9 - Healthy Weight
BMI between 25-29.9 - Overweight
BMI 30 or higher - Obese

It is important to keep in mind that not everyone whose BMI is in the "healthy" range is at their most healthy weight. Those people who carry excess fat, with little muscle, need to concentrate on losing body fat and increasing muscle. Some people may have a BMI just above the healthy range, but have lots of muscle and little fat. Generally speaking, however, the higher the BMI measure beyond the "healthy" range, the greater the health risks associated with body weight.

Those people with a BMI above the healthy range should visit a health care practitioner to discuss potential weight related health risks.

Waist circumference- Waist circumference is a measurement taken around the waist. Waist circumference introduces another factor relevant to body weight and health risks, namely body shape. "Apple" shapes carry most of their fat around the waist and upper body. "Pear" shapes carry most of their body fat around the hips, thighs and lower body. When assessing health risks, most health care providers consider a pear shape to be less harmful to health than apple shape, due to the fact that most apple shapes carry excess weight around the abdomen which increases health risks associated with overweight and obesity.

Healthy weight women should have a waist circumference below 35 inches, while healthy weight men should measure under 40 inches.

Everyone knows that being over weight not only carried excess body weight but also carries a long list of possible medical conditions, diseases and the possibility of death. The impact of excess body fat can determine ones life span and quality of life regardless of the age of the person.

Many people face life daily with excess body fat that is stored among their bodies. If your body can not burn off the calories it takes in, it will simply store them. A large amount of excess body fat is referred to as obesity. Obesity is a very serious medical condition that affects over a quarter of adults in the US, and about 14% of children and young adults. It is the second leading cause of preventable death after smoking.

Excess body fat caused by being over weight or obese is linked to major physical threats like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. People who suffer from obesity are also at risk for hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Excess body fat has also been linked to gall bladder disease, gastro-intestinal disease, sexual dysfunction, osteoarthritis, and stroke.

Excess body fat is caused by an imbalance between energy intake and energy output or use. Excess body fat is produced when there is too much protein, carbohydrates and fats in the diet. If your body can not burn the fats or carbs, it will store them.

One way of discussing excess body fat is by using the body mass index, also known as BMI. The body mass index is one of the most useful tools for estimating excess body fat. BMI is a number based on both your height and weight. It can help determine the degree to which you may be overweight and gives a reasonable assessment of total body fat. Although BMIs don't account for body fat percentage, excess body fat is already known in the obese. In most age-groups, the absolute mortality is much lower in women, implying that the effect of excess body fat is less in women than BMI in men.

If you are feeling depressed or even uncomfortable about your weight, the good news is help is available.

Losing excess body fat is a complex matter that involves a myriad of factors such as heredity, body composition, stature, gender, age, or personal habits. The only way to get rid of excess body fat is to burn more calories than we take in, which means getting off the couch and moving your body. The trick to burning off excess body fat is to speed up your metabolism. Limiting caloric intake with exercise will help anyone reduce the amount of fat stored in the body. By making small healthy changes to your eating and exercise habits, you will help your body get rid of the extra fat and help you lose weight.

In general, reducing just 500 calories per day can result in a one pound per week weight loss. That is not a bad start for someone who is living daily with obesity or excessive body fat. Daily activity is also important for weight loss. If you are not used to exercise, select exercise activities that you enjoy and that can be scheduled into a regular routine. If you can cut out just 500 calories per day from your diet and get yourself into a regular routine of exercising you will be on your way to a slimmer and healthier lifestyle!

Overweight and obese individuals can all benefit from using obesity prevention strategies and proper diet and exercise!

Don't genetics affect weight?
Absolutely, but you have to manage your weight within that. Work with the hand you've been dealt; for example, being big-boned is no excuse for being 100 pounds overweight. Accept that you have some extra challenges -- and that you'll probably never be stick-thin -- but don't let that be your excuse.

What if medication makes me gain weight?
Some people truly have a medical reason for weight gain. If you have to take medication, or if you have a biological disorder that causes you to gain weight, the best you can do is manage it. Learn to be at peace with it.

My friend lost weight; why didn't her strategy work for me?
Everyone has different challenges, different resources and different gifts. Consequently, people must develop different strategies to accommodate their schedules. Find out what gives you results -- and don't quit if it doesn't seem apparent right away.

What if I just really like food?
Just about everybody likes the taste of food, but you have to develop the maturity to balance your intake. Control the quality and the amount of what you eat. Meal shakes work well to fill your belly without the huge calorie intake as a meal and most meal shakes contain natural vitamins to help support good nutrition.

How is it that I can like everything about myself except the fat?
You don't feel 100 percent good about yourself. You can't be completely happy with yourself unless you're happy about everything that makes you who you are.

I can't seem to get my appetite in check. What's wrong?
If you're overweight, then you're out of control. That's not a natural place to be. You're out of control with your impulses, your life or your schedule. Evaluate your behaviors, anticipate your personal challenges and restore balance.

Why do I keep slipping into my old habits?
You can't break habits without forming new ones. If you take something out of your life, there's a void. And when there's a void, it's easy to drift back to what you used to do. You need to replace the bad habit with new, incompatible behavior that will crowd the bad behavior out.

How can I heal poor body image?
Don't let low self-esteem be an excuse to not live your best life. Require more of yourself than what you have been requiring. Just because you aren't proud of yourself every minute doesn't mean that you don't get to participate in life. Get specific and define what low self-esteem means to you. Then, behave your way to success.

I have stopped stressed related eating but I am still overweight why?
You're holding on to the response that you associated with your problems. Although the problem has been solved, the behavior -- in this case, overeating -- remains. When you solve a problem in your life, you must also stop "dealing" with it in negative ways.

We hear people talking all the time about losing weight. There is no doubt that many diets will help you lose weight.. The problem is, much of that weight is tissue other than fat.

Example: If you go on a low-calorie diet you will lose weight, but as much as 50% of it will be lean body mass or muscle tissue. So only half the weight loss might come from fat. The weight you want to lose should be coming almost completely from fat. Losing muscle is the last thing you need to be losing because the more muscle tissue you have the more energy you expend just maintaining that tissue.

3 Weight Loss Rules:

1. You have to think about losing weight without drastically cutting calories so that your metabolism does not slow down.

The best way to do this is to expend more energy than you consume, in other words exercise.

Although you can change body composition without exercise, if you do exercise you will lose weight from the right sources faster. Regular aerobic exercise will burn body-fat while resistance exercise builds muscle tissue. This elevates the resting metabolic rate, thus burning off even more energy.

Lose weight by changing calorie sources:

2. Cut the calories only a small amount, say about 3 or 4 hundred, and make the cut from mainly fat calories rather than carbohydrate calories.

You can easily do this by becoming a label reader. At the supermarket, read the labels and make a goal of keeping your fat intake to less than 30% of your daily calorie intake. It is particularly important to watch the intake of saturated and trans fats.

For instance try fat-free Italian dressing rather than regular salad dressing which can have up to 70 calories in one spoonful and 90% of those from fat; cut the cooking oil used by just one tablespoon and you've saved 120 calories, all from fat; eliminate butter and you've cut out about 100 calories per spoonful.

There's 300 calories and we've hardly tried. Smart substitutions for snacks and desserts could eliminate many more.

Lose weight by eating more often:

3. Eat small frequent meals throughout the day. This boosts metabolism so your body works more efficiently while keeping hunger pangs under control. Eat most of your calories earlier in the day and cut down on eating in the evening.

Following just these three steps you will definitely lose weight and make your body composition change. You will lose the weight from the body's fat deposits without losing lean muscle tissue.

If you are male suffering from extra unwanted weight or struggling with obesity, your first step in dieting is to change the types of foods you eat and your second step if to reduce your calorie intake. Once you have worked on these two diet starters, you will find losing weight to be much easier!

During the first 3-4 weeks, your goal will be to reduce your intake or high sugar foods and reduce your high fat foods. You will need to replace these foods with healthier options which are lower in fat and higher in fiber. You will also want to start reducing your sodium intake and select whole grain carbs.

Make sure you do not skip any meals during this period. By choosing healthier foods and avoiding long gaps between meals, you will achieve a number of benefits.

Doing these things will reduce your cravings for unhealthy foods, and will reduce your cravings for sugary or fatty foods. You will also feel a boost in your energy level. You will your improve your blood sugar levels, and will help improve your digestion of food.

During this time you will want to reduce your red meat intake protein and increase your intake of vegetable or fish proteins. The aim is to reduce your intake of refined carbs, while increasing your intake of whole grains. You will also want to reduce your carb intake and increase your whole grain intake.

At the same time, you will want to eat a large selection of vegetables and fruits because these are rich in antioxidants, which will improve your immunity.

Types Of Food You Will Want To Avoid

• Limit red meat to three servings per week.


• Remove all visible fat from any red meats you do eat.


• Full-fat cheese, you can replace that with reduced fat cheese.


• Butter, Mayo, and Sour Cream.


• Frosted and high sugar cereals.


• Instant or White Rice.

Types Of Food You Will Want To Eat

• Lower-fat dairy foods


• White fish which is rich in protein and low in fats.


• Whole-wheat pasta's.


• Skinless chicken fillets are also good sources of protein.


• Egg whites. They contain more protein than egg yolks, but no cholesterol.


• Nuts and seeds for the source of vegetable protein.


• Fresh vegetables.


• Spinach, kale, green cabbage, or any leafy green vegetables.


• Grapefruits or other citrus fruits, for the Vitamin C.


• At least two medium fruits per day.


• Granola, wheat, and oat cereals.


• Brown rich in place of white or instant rice.

Once you have began to increase your intake of healthier foods and reduce your intake of fatty or sugary foods, you may focus on your weight reduction by following a specific calorie controlled eating diet plan.

How To Get Serious With Weight Loss

What you are about to read... will help you get serious about losing those extra pounds and finally loosing weight.

According to the latest government statistics, two-thirds of American adults are overweight. If you are like most people and have tried diets in the past, they have probably not been successful diets because you did not set realistic goals for yourself. Many dieters tell themselves that dieting is so very difficult, when in fact, they are not! In order for any diet program to work, you must understand why you weight what you do, and must understand that your habits are probably affecting your weight gain.

There are several basics you need to consider before you make a decision to try a diet. Because every diet program is different, understanding you and your habits will help you a great deal in being a successful dieter.

What has caused you to gain weight?

Do you eat allot of sugar on a regular basis?
Do you enjoy fast food on a regular basis?
Do you find yourself eating because of stress?
Are you on medications that have caused you to gain weight?
Do you eat very large portions of any meal?

Knowing why you eat is also very important when selecting a diet plan that will work for you.

Do you eat to relieve anxiety?
Do you eat small portions of unhealthy foods?
Do you eat for pleasure?

How much weight you want to lose is also very important. Are you setting a goal for your weight loss or just hoping to lose a few pounds?

Knowing how much weight you want to lose will help you set better weight loss goals and will also help you keep track of what you are eating on a daily basis. Because the things we eat and do affect our weight, if you find yourself setting a goal to follow, you are more likely to lose the weight than someone who has no weight loss goal.

It does not matter how much weight you want or need to lose. Before you can commit to a diet that will work you will need to understand that lifestyle changes will be needed to make any diet work.

Because all diets offer healthful ways to reduce calorie consumption, decrease your urge to eat, and increase physical activity, you must understand that you have to be willing to make a change in yourself for your diet to be successful.

After you determine the reasons you eat, or why you are at the point where you feel you need to lose weight, you are one step closer to getting started on a diet that will work for you.

It does not matter what diet you select to try, if you know your reasons for losing weight, you will find the diet program much easier to continue with and you will find your motivation to lose the weight will increase!

If you do not make a change in your lifestyle and do lose weight, you will find that you will gain the weight back once you have stopped dieting.

The story goes that the bush people in South Africa have always known that you can eat hoodia and remain slim and trim. Hoodia is a succulent plant that is native to bush country and it is reported that the bush people eat it while working. It supposedly keeps them slim and provides them with nourishment at the same time.

Because of these reports, the hoodia diet has taken off like wildfire. Everybody who is overweight is always looking for an easy weight loss gimmick that causes no pain and melts the weight off while they continue to eat the foods they love. Realistically, this is not possible.

Since reports of hoodia have hit the market, the plant has been exported to the American market by leaps and bounds. Email spams run rampant throughout the country, leading people who have been overweight all of their lives to believe their miracle drug has actually arrived. The Internet and health food stores everywhere are offering hoodia for sale at a hefty price of $35 and above. Some places even offer chocolate mint chews to entice unaware buyers.

Hoodia sales are skyrocketing, but the question still remains as to whether or not the stuff works. Since it is not marketed as a physician prescribed product, there are not any actual scientific studies which can substantiate the claims. Many people feel that there is a lot of hoopla about nothing since nobody can actually prove that it works. It is sold as a diet supplement, which means the FDA is not involved in the way the product is produced.

Hoodia is a succulent that is reported to trick your brain into thinking your stomach is full when it is actually empty. When your stomach feels full you will naturally eat less, but it takes a bit of imagination to really believe that you will feel full if you have not had anything to eat. There are some studies that suggest at least part of this is true. In its purest form, hoodia does seem to at least reduce one appetite.

Often the problem comes with the way hoodia is processed and packaged. When fillers and preservatives are added there is less of the natural product consumed and the affect is not the same. Only the purest form of hoodia has shown any kind of promise and there are very few companies that market a pure form of hoodia. Those that do charge an enormous price and most people cannot afford to pay it. This is the reason when people see a bottle of hoodia for $20 they buy it, because they think they are getting a bargain. Not many of them take the time to read the list of ingredients which would show them that there is very little hoodia in the product.

One good thing that comes out of the hoodia scam is the fact that so far it has not proven to be harmful to anybody and is relatively safe to consume. There may be a problem with filler materials that are used to product the lower grade product but for pure hoodia the report is good. Medical doctors are skeptical over hoodia use because it is not controlled by the FDA. Most medical doctors will recommend a lifestyle change which includes exercise and proper nutrition for those who need to lose weight. This seems to be, by far, the most sensible approach, but it is also the one most resisted.

Calorie burning can be increased by controlling how you exercise. Many common exercises will help you burn off extra calories. Calories burned during exercise is affected by body weight, intensity of workout, conditioning level and metabolism. Physical activity leads to immediate calorie expenditure during a particular workout, and also helps your body to continue burning extra calories when exercising is over.

Calorie burning is higher when exercise is performed for longer periods, so when you get the urge to walk, does it for just a few more minutes. Those extra few minutes will help you burn even more calories.

If exercise is performed at a faster pace more calories will be burned. So the next time you go to the store, walk at a faster pace while you shop or walk at a faster pace when you are heading back to the car.

So, what are the best exercise for burning a greater number of calories?

The Treadmill- The treadmill has been used by many for years and has proven to be a great calorie and fat burner. Start off slow and gradually increase the walking pace. The more increase of speed, the more energy used and the more calories that will be burned!

If an average 170 pound person used a treadmill for just 30 minutes four times a week at a walking pace to help burn a higher percentage of fat it would equate to a calorie burning total of at least 850 calories. That is not bad for just 30 minutes of use a few times a week. Not only that, if you use a treadmill for exercise, you will find yourself not having an excuses NOT to exercise due to weather!

Aerobics Video's- If you do not have the funds for a gym membership or exercise equipment, don't worry! Aerobic videos are inexpensive to buy and offer a great calorie burning work-out! Aerobic training is often called "cardio" exercise because it strengthens the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The best type of activity for "instant" calorie-burning is aerobic training.

If continuous steady movements are achieved the fat burning potential can be high! Because calorie burning is higher when exercise is performed for longer periods, start off with a 5 minute aerobic, then move to 10 or 15 minutes, and finally increase yourself to 30 minutes.. The intensity level for all exercises should be built up gradually over time as the body becomes accustomed to it. As your body adjusts to the routine, you will not only feel much better when you are done, you will have also burned many calories!

Just 30 minutes four times per week at a moderate pace would equate to a calorie burning total of at least 720 calories. Again, that is not bad for just a few days a week!