Weight Loss Advice

WALKING TO BURN FAT

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Turn on the TV and you are bound to see an ad for a miracle weight loss gimmick. With all the pills and contraptions, it seems hard to know what will help us lose weight safely. But the answer really is simple. To rid yourself of unwanted pounds you don’t need more than your own legs, some comfortable shoes, and a little open space.

It's About Balance

When it comes to body weight, remember this: 1 pound = 3500 calories. For every pound you want to lose, you must burn 3500 calories worth of energy. The only way to do that is to move.

Walking is one of the best forms of exercise. It uses up oxygen, causing your body to burn stored fat. For example, you’ll expend about 100 calories by walking a mile. That might not seem like a lot at first, but just think about it. Most people average just under 3 miles through the course of their day.

If you add an enjoyable morning jaunt or a brisk evening walk you could easily move 4 miles a day. If you walk 4 miles 4 times a week, you can burn 1600 calories! That’s half a pound of fat gone. Add more steps to your day while making sure not to eat more calories than you use, and your body can’t help but trim down.

Walking also strengthens muscles, which tones and shapes your body. The increased muscle mass boosts your metabolism. This means you burn calories long after you stop moving. And you don’t have to get all of your walking in at once. If you don’t have time for long walks, find pockets of time throughout your day for short jaunts.

Maximize Your Walk

• Any form of walking burns calories and improves muscle definition. But to get the most from your walk, concentrate on these main points: Focus on distance over speed. It’s better to walk at a steady pace than walk too quickly and have to quit early. As your fitness level improves, you can speed up gradually.
• Alternate inclines. To help build your muscles, try walking up stairs, bleachers, or hills.
• Warm up slowly. Walk the first few minutes at an easy pace to get your body prepared. If your start is too brisk, you risk burning only the immediate sugar supply in your body rather than the stored fat you want to lose.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be hard to produce results; it just has to be steady. Walking lets you work your muscles and burn off stored fat. It’s simple, enjoyable, and a good weapon in the battle against bulge.

THINK AND GROW THIN

Eventually, I came to the hard realization that reasons drive everything. There is nothing that was made or yet to be made that wasn’t for a reason. Some call it your “why”, and other call it your “dream”. It is your anticipated result, or the end point of your effort.

The weight or importance you attach to this end result which in this case is your reason for wanting to lose weight, will determine your desire or motivation to getting started on the path towards achieving your weight loss goal.

Success in your weight loss goal begins with changing your mental picture. Feed your mind pictures of the “new you”. Utilize a concept called creative visualization. Have a clear picture in your mind of what you want to be look how good you want to feel, or how positively you want to impact your health. Also hold a clear mental picture of the energetic you. If you can create these mental pictures, and if you can hold them in your mind long enough, it will become your reality.

All high achieving, self actualizing people have the capacity to visualize in their mind’s eye, and create dreams, and their go to work, to fulfill those dreams. That dream should be one that fills you up with enthusiasm and excitement. I don’t know what can be more exciting than the thoughts of going from an undesirable weight to a much smaller you. The thoughts of the end result even breaks me out in goose bumps. The health benefits of lower weight can reduce the chances of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, sleep apnea, and disabling diseases like low back pain, knee plain and arthritis. If any of these diseases already exist, the ability to reduce their progression sounds very enticing. To start bubbling with new energy and feel and eat better are terribly exciting.

Every single person that has successfully lost weight, or achieved their dreams, has a very clear set of goals, which they work on every single day, towards the end result.

The 5 Basic Food Groups for a Healthy Diet

Let the food groups guide you to good nutrition

When it comes to good nutrition, what you should and shouldn’t eat, and how much you should eat can be overwhelming and confusing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has laid it out for everyone with their famous “Food Pyramid”, which has been updated in recent years. This diagram clearly outlines what the best foods are for you to eat, and how much of them you should eat each day. By using this tool as a general guide for your diet, you will be able to maintain a healthy weight, in addition to receiving all of the nutrients that your body needs to function properly.

The Food Pyramid is broken down into 5 food groups.

• Grains. Whole grains are an important source of energy. Whole grains are the best for us to eat, which are made from whole-wheat flour, rather than white flour. They are not as processed, and therefore still contain many of their vital nutrients and fiber. It is recommended that you eat 6-11 servings from this group each day.
• Fruits & Vegetables. These nutrient-rich foods are all-natural because they come from the earth, and are loaded with many different nutrients, including fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, potassium, and folic acid. Eat a wide variety of each to garner the greatest health benefits. Try to get 3-5 vegetable servings and 2-4 fruit servings per day.
• Proteins. Proteins help your body to build and retain muscle, as well as provide the energy you need each day. Protein-rich foods such as beans, lean meats, poultry, fish, and eggs also provide healthy doses of zinc and iron. Some of the foods in this group can be high in cholesterol, so keep that in mind when making food choices. 2-3 servings of protein are recommended each day.
• Dairy. Dairy products provide us with bone-building calcium, which is known to help prevent osteoporosis. While this is a very important food group to include in a balanced diet, it is important to remember that some dairy foods are high in fat, such as ice cream and cheese. Remember portion control, and try to get 2-3 servings of dairy daily.
• Fats and sweets.

Following this pyramid will give you the tools to following a well-balanced diet. You might think that it is impossible to get than many servings of all the different types of foods in the pyramid. But there is something to think about, especially if you are trying to lose weight, or maintain a recent weight loss, and that is portion control. Portions can make or break a diet, and most people have no real idea of what a portion is. Therefore, most of us tend to eat a little (or a lot!) more than a suggested portion. A portion is:

When you see what a portion really is, you might realize that it isn’t that difficult to fit all the right foods in to your daily diet!