The weight loss industry is booming. You only have to walk down the aisles at the local grocery store or pharmacy to see that there is an entire aisle dedicated only to weight loss products, supplements and appetite suppressants. Obesity is at an all time high due in part to the incredible popularity of the Western diet. Couple that with the decreased amount of exercise in this fast-paced world and you are faced with the ultimate results-obesity, obesity related illnesses and conditions and death.
Most of the time we want something that will give us fast weight loss. We want it easy and painless. After all the weight seem to go on easy and painless, didn't it? We live in a world where we want to drive faster, eat fast food, climb the corporate ladder in record time and roll through life from birth to death in a race to get their first.
However, each of us is unique. Our genetic makeup will vary from person to person, our lifestyles and exercise habits, which also impact the body's ability to lose weight, is a different not only from person to person but also from week to week.
How in the world can you fit a weight loss program into a life that seems to be passing before your eyes?
The answer lies in understanding how weight is put on and how it comes off. In its most basic terms we gain weight because we eat more than we burn. In other words every activity that we do will burn a specific amount of calories. Even lying in bed all day will require a specific number of calories in order to maintain life. If the number of calories we eat exceeds the number of calories we need then we gain weight.
The reverse is also true. If we eat less than we need for our daily activities (even if it's only 100 calories less) we will loose weight. People who have successfully lost weight have learned that they eat to live and not that they live to eat.
The goal is permanent weight loss and a trimmer fitter you. By incorporating changes into your lifestyle slowly and easily you can make that goal a reality. For instance, you should make sure that any change you make in your diet, eating or exercise is permanent before you move on to add another change into your lifestyle.
The tips shared here for losing weight should be incorporated over time and not added all at once. Your first task is to take a strong look at the foods you are already eating. You probably know that the junk food, processed food and ice cream we eat because it seems convenient is only helping to sabotage our efforts to lose weight. So get rid of the junk food and the snacks that are loaded with fat, sugar and carbohydrates.
This one little tip may not make you happy but it sure does work! By replacing these snack items with more healthy choices that fill you up but also feed your body with the nutrients (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) it needs you will experience more optimal health.
These snacks can be substituted with more fruits and vegetables as well as some nuts and seeds. While processed foods may see more convenient, pulling a banana off the shelf or slicing an apple is just as convenient.
Eliminate all carbonated beverages and alcohol from your diet. Research is showing that the amount of soda being consumed in the United States alone is increasing every year, along with the waistline of consumers. People once drank 8 ounces of soda and now grab a 48 oz. Big Gulp. The amount of sugars, carbohydrates and phosphates in these drinks will add pounds and decrease your ability to absorb calcium which negatively affects your bone density.
Replace that soda with water. Water will help to eliminate waste and toxins from the body, help you feel fuller longer and improve the condition of your skin. Drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water every day. It may seem like a lot at first but it truly is the amount of water your cells and body need in order to function optimally.
All too often we skip breakfast on the way out the door to the office or school and make the excuse that were too busy. Sometimes we even believe were not hungry in the morning or that if we skip breakfast it'll help us lose weight. The opposite is actually true. By skipping breakfast you decrease your ability for the brain to function well throughout the morning making you feel fatigued and sleepy. This increases your hunger and cravings throughout the entire day so that when your resistance is low you'll grab that doughnut or candy bar.
In a study done in the early 1990s researchers found that people who included exercise in their weight-loss routine would actually lose more weight than those who just limited calories. And, interestingly, research has also shown that exercise in as little as 10 minutes a day three times per day will give the individual the same benefits as 30 minutes all at once.
Exercise is an important way for people to be able to lose weight by burning calories as well as enable them to eat slightly more food without feeling as if they're being starved. You're not training for the Olympics and you're not stretching for sweat busting exercise, you are only getting the exercise that your body requires to function optimally and lose weight.
People who are striving to lose a couple pounds, or even 50 or 60, should not starve themselves. In other words, women should not need less than 1200 calories per day and men should not be less than 1500 calories per day or they risk putting their bodies in starvation mode. Once the body anticipates that it will not get enough nutrition to function metabolism will actually slow and weight loss will not happen.
These tips can be used by themselves or with most other weight loss plans and programs. No matter how you choose to accomplish your goal of losing weight this year the equation will always be the same: eat less calories than you burn. By making changes to your eating habits and exercise habits you'll be starting down the right road at the right time in your life to make the right changes which will positively impact your entire life.
Jane Morrison enjoys writing health content for her readers. She also writes at
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