Diet Plans, How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Ways You Can Eat, Control Your Calories, and still Lose Weight

When it comes to ways to lose weight, most of us tend to think in terms of "what" not "how," meaning we frame weight loss in terms of what we should eat and shouldn't eat instead of how we eat. While what we eat is extremely important to our general health and maintenance of a healthy weight, how we eat can be an incredibly influential factor in our ability to lose weight as well.

By making simple changes in the way you eat, you can avoid hundreds of mindless calories a day. These ten weight loss tips may feel a bit strange at first, but keep doing them until they become a habit and you will start to see the benefits.

Slow Down

Serving food — Lucia Lambriex/DigitalVision/Getty Images

It is very typical in our culture of fast food and hurried weekday lunches to eat too fast. Though it may be a time saver, it won't save your waistline. It takes up to 20 minutes before the stomach can tell the brain that it is full, yet the average meal lasts only about 10 minutes. The unfortunate result is that we eat far more than we need, which puts us at risk for being overweight or obese. If slowing down can save 100 calories a day, that could add up to a pound of weight loss a month. That's better than adding a pound a month.

Small Plates

Mini tacos on plate — Rosanna U/Image Source/Getty Images

A scoop of mashed potatoes looks small on our over-sized dinner plates. Put your food on small, 9-inch plates and your serving sizes will be more accurate. This simple trick can convince your brain into thinking that you have "eaten enough," saving you another couple hundred calories a day.

Sit at the Table

Family enjoying at outdoor meal table in yard — Morsa Images/Taxi/Getty Images

We can consume hundreds of calories of cookies and chips while browsing in the pantry or grabbing a quick snack. These calories add up. Eat every single bite of food while sitting at the table. The extra effort will scare off weak cravings and allow you to truly assess how much you are eating.

Only Eat from a Plate

Eating pizza — Sophia Volkova/Moment/Getty Images

Resolve to only eat from a plate. Eating from bags, shared dishes (like chip or popcorn bowls), or straight from the container hides how much we are really eating. Take the time to place all the food you eat on a plate to help regulate portion sizes. That's the better way to eat. We have become used to "grazing and not eating meals", not good. That's a recipe for adding fat to your body. Small meals more frequently are better. It keeps you from getting hungry.

Move the Serving Dishes

Happy man showing dish to family at outdoor table — Morsa Images/Taxi/Getty Images

Do not put serving dishes on the table. Doing so makes it far too easy to have a second or third scoop before you let your brain catch up to your stomach. Leave the serving dishes in the kitchen. You can still have seconds, you just have to get up to get them.

Eat Better Desserts

Assorted homemade Chocolate truffles — SusanadelCampoPhoto/RooM/Getty Images

Become a dessert gourmand. Eat only the finest, most expensive desserts you can find and afford. You will eat less and enjoy them more. The cookie and candy aisle in the grocery store is filled with sugary things that don't really taste that good. If you need to feed your sweet tooth, find some $4 truffles and relish them (in moderation).

Your ancestors, 2000 years ago, ate fruit for dessert, smart.

Eat Often

Caucasian woman shopping in grocery store — Aleksander Rubtsov/Blend Images/Getty Images

Eat less at meals but tell yourself you can go back in a few hours for more food if you need to. Have trail mix, nuts, yogurt, and other snacks handy. Try to decrease the amount of food you need to feel satisfied at a meal. Many nutritionists swear by an eating schedule closer to the following:

Breakfast
Mid-morning snack (make this a second breakfast)
Lunch (eat half a lunch)
Mid-afternoon snack (eat the other half)
Dinner

Eat When You Eat

Couple watching TV — Image Source/Image Source/Getty Images

When you eat, eat. Do not watch TV, read a newspaper, talk on the phone, or drive a car. Just eat. Pay attention to your food. Monitor your servings. Distraction will only lead to automatic eating. That said, sitting down to a meal with a friend or family member to chat with can be a good tool for slowing down, so don't shy away from healthy lunch dates.

Liquid Calories

Mixed race woman shopping for groceries — Dave and Les Jacobs/Blend Images/Getty Images

Examine the number of calories you drink. You can usually cut out hundreds of calories a day by eliminating sodas, juices, sweetened coffee drinks, and alcohol. Keep a log of everything you drink and then add up the calories. You might be surprised by how many of your calories each day are liquid. We used to think that drinking juice was healthy and then we saw that it was loaded with calories. Low-calories diets generally are about 1200 or 1600 calories a day, so don't drink your calories. Save your calories for solid food.

Instead, try substituting with water. If you're in the need for a little caffeine or flavor, try a cup of hot or iced tea. You might also want to consider skipping the diet sodas and drinks as well. While they have little to no calories, the sweet taste only makes your brain and body crave sugar more. Do yourself a favor and drink water instead.

Crave from Your Plate at the Table

Smiling woman eating fruit salad in kitchen — Hero Images/Hero Images/Getty Images

When you have cravings, first try to wait at least 5 minutes. If you are still craving the food, do the following: get a small plate, put a few bites of the craved item on the plate (no more than one serving - read the label!). Then put the package away, take your plate to the table, and eat your food without distraction. Ask yourself if it is worth it. Usually, a craving is for salt or sugar. You can satisfy that craving with healthy food like a hard boiled egg with a little salt. Trying to lose weight is an awesome task. You should cut out salt and sugar, but because that's hard to do, cut back to almost nothing. Add a little sugar to some tea. When you try these tricks a couple of time you'll realize how little you need to make that craving disappear.

You may also try to find some healthier substitutions for certain cravings. You might be surprised how satisfying the sweetness of Medjool dates or eating a few grapes can help.

blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of website looking for the material you want.
My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Monday, September 4, 2017

Can You Think Your Way Thin?

It’s obviously not that simple, but there are little mind tricks you can use to bolster your efforts to lose weight. Being positive and believing in yourself is a big part of the battle. Try these smart ways to put your brain to work for you:

1. Imagine Yourself Fitter. You’ve undoubtedly heard about the power of visualization. And when it comes to exercise, an important part of any weight loss program, your imagination can be an effective motivational tool. One small study published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology in 2010 found that adults who imagined their future selves -- either as slimmer and fitter or out-of-shape and inactive – were more apt to stick with their exercise routine. So whether it’s hope or fear, choose whichever motivates you to keep moving.

Yes, think positive and always imagine you as a fit, healthy person who jogs or bikes with friends and having fun. This is the best way to keep motivated.

2. Tweak Your Attitude

You may occasionally catch yourself thinking things like, “There must be an easier way,” or “I wish I could have potato chips instead of carrot sticks.” When this happens, cognitive behavioral therapy expert Judith Beck, PhD, author of The Beck Diet Solution, suggests countering those thoughts with an “oh, well” attitude. In other words, say to yourself, “I may not like this, but I’ll accept it, do what I have to do and move on.” A shorter version? “I want the potato chips but I’m going to skip them. I know better now".

3. Focus on the Habit, Not the Calories

You’re really not hungry, but that 100-calorie snack is only … 100 calories. Will it bust your calorie count for the day? Not likely. But here’s the problem: When you cave to that urge to nosh, it doesn’t matter if it has 20 calories or 200. Eating when you’re not hungry reinforces the habit of giving in to temptations, according to Beck. Instead of focusing on calorie count, stop and think about why you’re reaching for food. Are you bored or upset? Is it time for your favorite show and you always eat in front of tube? Whatever the trigger, go for a walk, work on a hobby or call a friend --anything that distracts you from feeding a bad food habit.

blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of website looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Beginner's At Exercise Need To Read This

Great article, this problem is the major reason most beginners stop working out.

What You May Not Know About Muscle Soreness

If you're new at exercise, you can't be afraid of soar muscles. Soar muscles are an indication that your workout is working. Depending on your age, your body needs two or three days to recoup after a hard workout. It doesn't mean that you have to stop exercising. It means you have lite workouts and you heavy workout. I'm over 40 and only do 2 heavy workouts a week. I space them 3 days apart and the other days are lite workouts like walking or yoga. Read the post that follows and learn from the pros.

As its name suggests, “DOMS is muscle soreness that becomes evident six-to-eight hours following activity, peaking around 24 to 48 hours post-training,” says Jon Mike, CSCS, NSCA-CPT and PhD in Exercise Science at the University of New Mexico. While the symptoms will often start to diminish at about 72 hours, “the precise time course and extent of DOMS is highly variable,” Mike says.

DOMS is most pronounced when you introduce a new training stimulus—a new activity, increased intensity or volume—or if you are new to physical activity in general. “Your body is making adaptations to better prepare your muscles to do that activity again,” says Lauren Haythe, certified Kinesis Myofascial Integration Practitioner and yoga teacher. That’s why on Day 1 at the gym, after doing squats or lunges with 10-15 pound weights, you can be brutally sore the next day. “But, as you continue on, you can build up from there, and you won’t be so sore,” she says.

While all kinds of muscular contraction can cause soreness, eccentric contraction—where the muscle lengthens as it contracts—is most often associated with DOMS, according to Mike. This includes movements such as running downhill, lowering weights or lowering down into a squat or push-up position. “There is also some evidence that upper body movement creates more soreness than lower body exercises,” says Mike.

Muscle discomfort is the most common characteristic of DOMS, but there are other symptoms. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), these may include reduced range of motion and joint stiffness, local swelling and tenderness, and diminished muscle strength. These symptoms appear gradually following exercise (not to be confused with acute pain that may arise during physical activity).

Muscle Soreness: Myths vs. Facts

No pain, no gain. Lactic acid build-up. An indicator of muscle growth. These are all phrases that we tend to associate with DOMS. While you may think you know everything you need to know about the condition that has you waddling like a duck, you may be surprised by what’s actually happening in your body.

The verdict: Not true. During exercise, your body needs energy, and it breaks down molecules to get that. As a result of this metabolic process, your cells naturally become more acidic, which makes your muscles feel like they’re burning. But this isn’t caused by lactate. Lactate is actually a by-product of the metabolic process and serves as a buffer that slows down the rate at which the cells become acidic. “People produce lactate all the time, even at rest. It clears your system 30 minutes to 1 hour after working out,” says Mike.

A study in Clinics in Sports Medicine found that DOMS is the result of microtrauma in the muscles and surrounding connective tissues, which causes inflammation. The reason that eccentric muscle contraction (think lowering a dumbbell back down in a bicep curl) is more likely to be the culprit is because it places a higher load on your muscles compared to concentric contraction. “It’s the active lengthening of muscle fibers under load. It’s like you’re pulling on a rope, and there’s so much force that the rope starts to tear and pull apart,” says Mike.

We often wear our DOMS as a badge of honor and believe that if we’re not sore, we’re not doing enough during out workouts. But that’s just not true.

“It doesn’t mean that you’re not getting as good of a workout because you’re not crippled the next day,” says Monica Vazquez, NASM certified personal trainer. “You should feel [soreness] 24 hours to three days after the activity. If, after three days, you try to do the same exercise and you cannot because you go immediately to muscle failure, you’ve done too much,” she says.

According to Mike, studies have shown that soreness itself (using a scale from 0 to 10 to assess the level of soreness) is poorly correlated as an indicator of muscle adaptation and growth. There are many factors that influence how DOMS presents itself in individuals. “There is great variability, even between people with similar genetics and even among highly-trained lifters [and athletes],” he says. So while comparing notes (and commiserating) is all part of the process, soreness and DOMS isn’t the best gauge of how effective your workout was or who’s in better shape.

It’s true that you will start to feel less sore as your body adapts to your workouts and learns to distribute the workload across your muscle fibers more effectively. That’s why you should regularly change up your exercise routine.

However, there is also a genetic component to how sensitive we are to pain and soreness. “People can be no-responders, low-responders or high-responders to soreness,” says Mike. If you’re a high-responder, you will experience DOMS more acutely than someone who is a no- or low-responder when given the same training load. While you can’t change your genes, it is important to know where you fall on the spectrum to understand how your body may respond to changes in your workouts.

Yes, DOMS appears to be caused by trauma to your muscle fibers, but it’s not a definitive measure of muscle damage. In fact, a certain degree of soreness seems to be necessary. “When muscles repair themselves, they get larger and stronger than before so that [muscle soreness] doesn’t happen again,” says Vazquez. While these mechanisms are not completely understood, Mike notes that some muscle trauma is needed to stimulate protein production and muscle growth.

Unfortunately, no. A review of studies for the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews on the effects of stretching before or after exercise on the development of delayed-onset muscle soreness found that pre- and post-workout stretching did not reduce the effects of DOMS in healthy adults. In fact, research has found that static stretching prior to working out does not safeguard you against injury and may actually decrease your power and strength.

While you may not be able to avoid soreness altogether, ACSM suggests advancing slowly with a new workout, giving your muscles time to adapt and recover. Vazquez recommends always including a proper warm-up (including dynamic stretching), and cooldown period as part of your routine.

Stop Waddling: How to Recover from DOMS

There are a number of ways to alleviate those can’t-make-it-up-the-stairs symptoms. A sports massage is one good way to reduce the effects. “A massage will move the fluid and blood around in your body, which can help heal the microtrauma in your muscles better,” says Haythe. A study in the Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation found massage to be beneficial on both gait and feelings of post-workout soreness.

Other common ways to treat DOMS include foam rolling, contrast showers (alternating between hot and cold water), Epsom salt baths, increased protein intake (to increase protein synthesis) and omega-3 supplementation (to reduce inflammation), and sleep. New research in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that supplementing with saffron may also help to alleviate DOMS. Regardless of your preferred Rx, Haythe recommends looking at your diet to make sure you’re taking in nutrients to help your body heal. “Find a diet that can really help you feel the best that you can feel,” she says.

When It’s More Than Just Soreness

There may be times when you overdo it with your workout and feel bad. Really bad. But when should you be concerned?

“If your level of soreness does not go down significantly after 72 hours and into the 96 hours mark,” says Mike. ACSM advises that if the pain becomes debilitating, you experience heavy swelling in your limbs or your urine becomes dark in color, you should see your doctor.

If it’s an injury, you’re more likely to feel it immediately during your workout— something that should never be ignored. Soreness, on the other hand, will appear gradually, often the next day. “An injury will likely limit your range of motion and last longer than three days,” says Haythe.

When all is said and done, DOMS shouldn’t be avoided or revered. And it shouldn’t be your only gauge of your level of fitness or strength. “People think that the only part of their workout that matters is the hard part,” Vazquez says. “But, you can do more of the hard part if you don’t injure yourself.”

Long-term, Haythe says, “You’ll build more muscle, strength, and endurance if you give your muscles a chance to take a deep breath and recover.”

—By Christine Yu for Life by DailyBurn

blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of website looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Exercise And Your Weight Loss

If you watch all the advertising on TV and the internet about losing weight you might think you have to spend money to lose weight. You might have to buy some pills or specially packaged meals or maybe get a gym membership, but none of that is true. Those people want to make money and the only way to do that is to sell something.

The weight loss industry may be the largest retail industry in this country or at least the industry with the most potential. We have more than one hundred million people that need to lose weight and most of them are either not trying or have given up.

The part of this story that you don't hear about is that more people are trying to be healthier. I heard on the news last week that food manufacturers are losing money. More people have stopped buying or buy less soft drinks. There is a new trend that has recently gained in popularity, "eating fresh". Eating "gluten-free" and cutting back on salt and sugar. We are also selling less meat in the grocery stores.

I have also noticed more people in the local malls, walking for exercise. I try to go to the mall early, before the stores open and I see more "mall walkers" now then I saw last year. Of course, this is a neighborhood with many new residents. We have one of the largest school districts in the area and it's still growing.

The point I want to make is that more people are waking up to the fact that they can do something about their weight and their health and I see them eating better and drinking more water and tea and less bottled and canned drinks.

We are all in different stages of our lives and just because being overweight hasn't affected you yet, it will as you get older. Do something about your health now because waiting will only make it harder to get in shape.

I know that some of you don't know where to start, but it's going to be easier than you think. You should read-up on healthy foods and just do some extra walking, an extra one hour a day, everyday. As it becomes easier to walk that extra hour, you can increase the speed a little. Stop eating foods that add fat to your body.

p.s. I live in the Houston area and have been affected by the flooding. We still have internet but it's possible that I could lose my connection during the flooding. I'll get back online as soon as possible if that happens.

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Slow And Steady Wins The Weight Loss Race

From Medicinenet.com this blog post will confirm that losing weight is about living a healthy lifestyle, not starving to cut calories.

If you're trying to lose weight, take your time and stay the course if you want to keep the weight off, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that when dieters' weight fluctuated or swung erratically, they were less likely to maintain their weight loss over time.

"It seems that developing stable, repeatable behaviors related to food intake and weight loss early on in a weight-control program is really important for maintaining changes over the long term," said study lead author Emily Feig. She is a former graduate student at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

For the study, the researchers investigated why some people have more trouble maintaining weight loss. The study authors enrolled 183 people in a 12-month weight-loss program and followed them for two years.

The participants relied on meal replacements and set goals, for both their total calories and physical activity. In addition, they reported on food behaviors -- such as cravings, binges and emotional eating -- and took part in weekly weigh-ins in a group setting. One year after the weight-loss program ended, the participants were weighed for a final time.

The study, published Aug. 28 in the journal Obesity, found that the participants who had irregular swings in their weight didn't fare as well as those who reliably lost a consistent amount of weight over the course of the program.

"Settle on a weight-loss plan that you can maintain week in and week out, even if that means consistently losing three-quarters of a pound each week," principal investigator Michael Lowe, a psychology professor at Drexel, said in a university news release.

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 27, 2017

It's not my regular post

I live in the Houston area and most of the residents on the north side still have power, internet, and other public services, but I don't know how long the services will last. I don't want to minimize this disaster. I've lived in the Houston area for 40 years and rode out many Hurricanes, but I never saw flooding like this. We have tropical storms every year and two foot of rain over a couple days is not unusual, but I think after a few more days we will have had about 4 feet of rain in a week. If we lose public services like power, we lose water cell phone towers, internet, cable, and maybe phones. For how long, no one knows. Hopefully this storm will move east before that happens. Anyway, I might not write any blog posts for a while, but "I'll be back".

Thanks for being a loyal reader and follower. Remember, "don't believe the ads that tell you to buy their product if you want to lose weight. If you want to lose fat, you don't have to spend money. Do your homework and read about healthy foods.

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of website looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

About Comfort Food

We can't live with it and we can't seem to live without it. Comfort food is something we were born with, we grew up with comfort food and is it even possible to kick the habit? I tried to lose weight simply by cutting back on food, but starving only works for a short time and then you end up bingeing.

I tried to substitute carrot sticks for chips and it works because carrots are sweet and you're not really adding calories, but after a while, you start to crave salt. I found that I don't need snack food to get salt. I can eat a hard boiled egg with salt and get protein and take care of the salt craving.

The biggest attraction to comfort food is the high-fat content. It's the fat content that causes the weight gain. Losing weight for me came when I realized I had to give up fat. The low-fat diet is what worked for me. You can't totally give up fat because there is some fat in almost everything. But low-fat diets are basically fruit, vegetables, and a protein source like beans, seafood, poultry, and occasional meat. Poultry and seafood have fats but the fat isn't the same as animal fat. Humans metabolize animal meat differently because the fats in animals are different than poultry. Animal fats will add fat to your body and you can trim everything possible from animal meat but the fat is marbled into the meat and you can't avoid it. Animal fat is in hamburger, sausage, hot dogs, pork, steaks, and any other product like deli meat that comes from an animal.

One of the new diet trends today is to cut back on meat and salt. Get more protein from plant sources like beans, nuts, legumes, and protein powders. I'm sure that you have seen these big sections of your local grocery store packed full of protein supplement products like protein powder, protein bars, protein shakes etc. All of this is meant to give you protein options to replace meat in your diet. It's been proven that a diet of seafood instead of meat is healthier than the average American diet. Think about it for a minute, in many parts of the world seafood is the main source of protein in the diet and now seaweed and algae is another source of high-nutrient food.

So where do we find those comfort foods with a high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar content? It's the processed foods or manufactured foods that you should avoid if you want to reduce body fat. There are healthy substitutes to even bread and cake but you have to do some work and read labels and buy products that you can trust. Expensive food is not always the best. If you're buying bread, for instants, the brands are not all the same quality. Labels are important so do some work and know what you're buying.

You will save money in the grocery store by not buying the snacks and sodas and desserts. Fresh fruit is the "new" dessert. On the news yesterday the announcer was talking about the stock market and how food manufacturers were losing market share in the grocery stores because the new trend is to buy fresh food. And soda makers have changed to making non-calorie drinks with water. The food business is making the biggest change to their industry in the past 40 years. Many of the old companies will disappear in the next few years. What is happening to retail today will happen to the food industry next.

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog post.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of website looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Monday, September 4, 2017

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Great article, this problem is the major reason most beginners stop working out.

What You May Not Know About Muscle Soreness

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Saturday, August 26, 2017

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