Ten Tips For Losing Weight And Keeping It Off

Over the years, millions of people have been searching for the secret to successful weight loss. Some do find their way to the Promised Land, but for most, it is more like Ponce de Leon’s search for the Fountain of Youth. They are sure it is there, but it simply cannot be found.

Well, the fact is, there are methods that have been proven to be effective throughout the years, but you just have to know where to look. A lot of times you'll find that some of the answers were right there in front of you all along. Here are some proven ideas that will help you succeed in your journey to shed the extra pounds for good.

Over the years, millions of people have been searching for the secret to successful weight loss. Some do find their way to the Promised Land, but for most, it is more like Ponce de Leon’s search for the Fountain of Youth. They are sure it is there, but it simply cannot be found. Well, the fact is, there are methods that have been proven to be effective throughout the years, but you just have to know where to look. A lot of times you'll find that some of the answers were right there in front of you all along. Here are some proven ideas that will help you succeed in your journey to shed the extra pounds for good.


EXERCISE: This is not a new concept. Exercise has been around for as long as there have been people on the planet. Yet, it remains to be one of the most important tools in determining if you will succeed at long term weight loss. You should try to get in 30 minutes of exercise per day, four to five days per week. Recent research has shown that three 10 minute sessions per day are as effective as one 30 minute session. This is good news for those who use the old adage "no time for exercise" as an excuse for not doing it. The key here is to find forms of exercise that you will enjoy such as walking or jogging with a friend. Join a softball league or a hiking club, or even take some classes at the local gym or YMCA. Once you give exercise a chance, you will start to see and feel the positive changes that you will enjoy for a lifetime.

TRY WEIGHTLIFTING: While this is technically in the exercise area, it is a more specific area of exercise because of the significant weight loss benefits that come with it. Muscle is metabolically active tissue which means the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even at rest. Fat, on the other hand, is not active tissue and so building some extra muscle is a great way to burn fat. Mariam Nelson, a tufts university researcher, found that a group of women who followed a weight loss diet and did weight training exercises lost 44 percent more fat than those who only followed diet alone.

KEEP A DIARY: A large part of why people overeat is due to eating unconsciously. That is, not keeping aware of what you are consuming throughout the day. Keeping a food diary can be a huge asset in successful weight loss. Over a period of several days, you will be able to see what sort of a pattern you have developed. With this you will be able to make positive changes in your eating habits because you will begin to develop a keen awareness about what you are consuming on a day to day basis.

THINK HEALTHY, NOT THIN: Many people who changed their thinking from being thin to being healthy were more successful at long term weight loss. Focus more on eating healthier foods and less on eating "diet" foods. Look to the food pyramid for basic advice on the types and amounts of foods you should eat daily for your nutrient needs.

GET SUPPORT: Quite often, weight loss success comes from receiving encouragement from others. Groups like "Weight Watchers" have reported good results most likely because of the support of others going through the same challenge. You can also check with your local hospital to see if their registered dietitian holds group weight loss programs.

CONTROL YOUR PORTIONS: This is one of the biggest areas of weight loss setback. Our idea of a "normal" portion of a meal has grown to truly epic proportions. Most often, when at the dinner table, we see a nice, big, full plate as a proper size dinner. A foot long sub at the local sub shop seems more common than it's six inch version. Be aware of the amount of food you consume at each sitting. Use a smaller plate at home to help keep the portion down. If you buy a foot long sub, take half of it home for later. At the restaurant, always ask for a take home bag before your meal arrives, then put half of it in the bag as soon as the meal gets to you. The rest is what you should eat and you have a nice meal for later as well.

SLOW DOWN: The speed at which you eat is another major area of weight loss setback. From the time you start to eat, it takes the appropriate hormones around 20 minutes to register the feeling of fullness to your brain. It is usually within these 20 minutes that overeating takes place. One way to combat this is simply to eat slower. Chew your food, take the time to enjoy it and saver each moment. if you do eat faster and you still feel hungry, wait 10-15 minutes before going for seconds. More often than not, you will find by that time, you are no longer hungry.

EAT LESS FAT: Everyone is aware that lowering fat intake is crucial in a weight loss effort. This is because fat packs 9 calories per gram, verses 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein. Now, be aware that cutting out fat but replacing it with foods that have equal amounts of calories overall will be counterproductive. The fact is, cutting back on fat is great but it's the extra calories that make you fat. If you consume more calories than you burn daily, you will gain weight. Eating less fat will help you lose weight. Replacing it with excessive calories from other sources will not.

LOSE THE WEIGHT SLOWLY: Too often people will try to lose as much weight as possible in as short a time as possible. The catch 22 here is, if you lose weight too fast, most of the loss will be from water and muscle, not fat. Since muscle is active tissue that burns calories, losing it is not productive to proper long term weight loss because less muscle = less calorie expenditure. The best goal is to try to lose 1-2 pounds per week. One pound is lost by expending 3500 extra calories. This is done best at the rate of 500 calories per day, which leads to the loss of around 1 or so pounds (of mostly fat) per week.

EAT 5-6 SMALL MEALS, NOT 3 BIGGER ONES: Eating 5-6 smaller meals per day has multiple benefits. First, you will be eating less calories at each sitting. Second, you will be eating more often thus not allowing yourself to feel hungry, inducing "snacking" on extra calories between meals. Third, it takes around 2 1/2 hours or so to digest a meal and eating more often means you will be eating around every 3 hours. This in turn "revs" up your metabolism making you burn even more calories per day while maintaining active muscle tissue.
If you follow some of these tips for weight loss, you will find the road that leads to the body you desire to be a lot less bumpy. Long term weight loss is well within your reach if you simply take the time and make the effort to stay with it and you will find that it gets easier to stay with it as time goes by.

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