Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

By adopting sensible eating habits and practicing portion control, you can eat nutritious foods so that you take in as many calories as you need to maintain your health and well-being at your ideal weight. Often, weight loss occurs on its own simply when you start making better food choices, such as avoiding processed foods, sugar-laden foods, white bread and pasta (substitute whole-grain varieties instead), foods with a high percentage of calories from fat, alcoholic drinks. While nothing is absolutely forbidden, when you do succumb to temptation, keep the portion size small and add a bit more exercise to your daily workout. By replacing some unwise food choices with healthy ones, you'll be cutting back on calories. If you add some moderate physical activity by simply walking more you have the perfect weight-loss plan without the need for special or inconvenient (and often expensive) diet plans. A 45-year-old woman complains that she has gradually put on 12 pounds over ...

We talk about cutting back on food consumption in a previous post but we haven’t said how. So today I have some ideas. I plan my meals the day before. Actually I started planning to save money. I was planning a week at a time so I knew what to buy. Then I found that planning not only saved me money, but I had less food in the house and I ate less. Not really by design, kinda by accident. It might sound like a crazy idea. If you try it you’ll get it. I wasn’t going out as much. I ate at home more because I knew what was for dinner. The problem with going out to eat is you end up eat whatever your craving. Before I started planning I’d stop and eat on the way home. It was easier and I didn’t have to clean up. But I’d just get home and turn on the TV and pull out the snacks. Now I go home, make dinner, I stick to the plan. Eat dinner and clean up. Take care of any phone calls I need to return, do my email and finish up any paper work I need to do. By that time it's usually after 8 a...

The Upside of More Than 3 Meals a Day While eating many meals may not rev up your metabolism or make you burn fat, experts say it could help you in other ways. The longer you wait between meals, the hungrier you get, and then you’re more likely to overeat. “After about 3 hours without food, blood sugar begins to fall. And after 4 hours, your body has already digested whatever you sent down earlier,” says Cleveland dietitian Amy Jamieson-Petonic, RD. “Once you’ve crossed the 5-hour mark, your blood sugar begins to plummet, and you grab whatever you can to refuel.” That’s why breakfast is so important. After 7-8 hours of sleep without food, you need energy to get moving, Jamieson-Petonic says. People who regularly eat breakfast tend to weigh less than those who skip their morning meal. They also get more nutrients like vitamins D, B12, and A. They may even be more likely to resist food cravings and make better food ch...

If you really want to lose weight you have to keep a food log. This is probably the number one reason people don’t succeed in losing weight. And even after you lose, you want to continue to keep the log just to maintain your weight. It’s not that writing down all your calories makes you lose weight, but it’s the way to find the mistakes and correct them before they turn into a big problem. If your really serious about losing your body fat you don't want to start over. The idea is to just do this one time and don't look back. Don't ever return to your old self.  Because we can put APPS for anything we want on our smartphones, keeping a food log is easier than ever. I use MyFitnessPal or you could try UnderArmour. In fact there are dozens of APPS to help with weight loss and most are free. If you don’t have a smartphone you can download food logs on several different websites. But if you still are not into technology but are trying to lose weight, you can keep a log ...

The following is part of an article I read in the WellBlog in the NY Times. It’s totally factual and is well worth reading. This will explain what people go through when trying to lose weight. Some people just can’t do it and some can. I say if you want it don’t give up. I have always felt perplexed about my inability to keep weight off. I know the medical benefits of weight loss, and I don’t drink sugary sodas or eat fast food. I exercise regularly — a few years ago, I even completed a marathon. Yet during the 23 years since graduating from college, I’ve lost 10 or 20 pounds at a time, maintained it for a little while and then gained it all back and more, to the point where I am now easily 60 pounds overweight. I wasn’t overweight as a child, but I can’t remember a time when my mother, whose weight probably fluctuated between 150 and 250 pounds, wasn’t either on a diet or, in her words, cheating on her diet. Sometimes we ate healthful, balanced meals; on other days dinner consiste...

These are some of the most common reasons and the solutions. The first one and I think the most common reason is  Boredom.  We often head for the frig when we have nothing to do. At work, you might head for the break room to see if anyone brought treats. It happens to me when I'm writing, I just need a break, so I head for the kitchen, or at work it's the break room to see if they filled the vending machines. Well try this instead, go talk to a co-worker, ask them if they want to get a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. If I'm home it's a little different, There's no one to talk to. So call someone if your bored. When your home along you don't have to punch a clock so just get up and walk around, take time to organize your thoughts. Turn on the TV for a while, Turn on CNN for a few minutes to see the headlines or the weather and then go back to work. The only reason you head for the kitchen or the break room is because that what your use to. That's the routine...

Could giving up wheat help you to lose weight, feel better, and have more energy? What if a doctor told you it could? The term "Wheat Belly" comes from cardiologist William Davis, MD. In his best-selling diet book, Davis recalls seeing a picture of himself from a family vacation that made him realize he was carrying about 30 extra pounds around his middle. Today's wheat is not our grandmother's wheat. Today they process wheat. That's how manufacturers make light and fluffy breads and pastries. But in the process they are stripping all the nutrition out of the wheat and by making it fluffy, when you eat the bakery goods that processed wheat is transformed into a carb that your body isn't processing, so it's being stored in fat cells. At the same time, Davis noticed that he often felt sluggish after a breakfast of toast, waffles, or bagels, even after a great night’s sleep; but he felt energetic if he had eggs for breakfast. His blood work revealed high...

This is a great post you should read. Some of us still shake their head and wonder why they can't lose weight, but if you read this it will spell out the problem that most of us have with our weight. What's the Worst Time of Day for Sitting Too Much? By Wendy Bumgardner Prolonged sitting is a risk factor for heart disease, even if you exercise, according to studies. Now that so many people are wearing activity trackers, Fitbit looked at anonymous aggregated data from over a million users to see who sits the most and when. It is enlightening. The Worst Times of Day for Being Sedentary Fitbit's data showed three times of day were the most likely to find you sitting or slumped at your desk. Afternoon from 2 pm - 3 pm After-coffee/before lunch - prime work/meeting time of 10:30 - 11 am After work and after dinner, specifically from 7:30-8:30 pm. 10 Tips to Stop Sitting Still: If you know when you are the most likely to be inactive, you can literally take th...

We all make mistakes when we try to lose weight but if you know the pitfalls going in you may avoid some of the common mistakes. When you rely on crash diets you are training your body to burn calories more slowly. Not good. Skipping breakfast , it makes you hungry the rest of the day, so you snack more and eat more for lunch. You also never started to burn any calories until later in the day. It makes a difference because your body will only burn so many calories per hours and by not eating breakfast you could be losing 3 or 4 hours of calorie burning. Also people who skip breakfast will usually consume more calories per day than people who eat breakfast. Losing track of snack , your eating too many calories from snack food because you lose track of your many snacks during the day. Not snacking at all, not good, you should have a  protein bar or handful of nuts for a snack between meals. You want to eat something every 3 hours from to keep from overeating at meals...

I'm reblogging this post because I believe using the park to jog or just walk is much healthier than using the treadmill. It's all about the fresh air. If you have any doubts about this just drive by one of the neighborhood parks on the weekend and see for yourself the dozens of people of all ages and all income groups and nationalities who exercise in the outdoors. Adult sports like baseball and soccer are very popular. Biking and walking and jogging are more popular then ever. I'm always amazed at the large numbers of people trying to get into shape and I applaude them for trying. I do worry that most of them won't lose any weight. As much as people try, most people only lose weight temporarily. Read this ladies post and you'll realize that people are motivated by working out with others even if you are actually communicating with anyone. And just breathing the fresh air give you new energy. By Holly St. Lifer The warm weather has finally arrived -- and w...

Many factors can impact the success or failure of a new diet or exercise program, so we often spend a lot of time researching and choosing the best weight loss program, finding the most effective workout routine or eating the right foods. But there is also a mental attitude that can affect whether or not you lose weight. One of these factors is self-efficacy, and it’s easy to change. If you have trouble keeping the extra weight off, it's probably because your defeating yourself. What is Self-Efficacy? Self-efficacy is your belief that you can successfully carry out a specific task. Simply said, You have to believe you can do it. If you start your weight loss journal with the words, “I can lose weight!”, your self-efficacy with regards to weight loss is probably high. You noticed I said weight lose journal, I know most of us don’t keep a journal, but today it’s easy. The traditional way would be to buy a book with blank pages and write everyday about the goal you have. Today, you...

This author has nailed it for me. She says everything I wanted to say. Losing weight is all about changing the way your living and the food your eating. Remember, there’s no quick fix. You didn’t put on the weight in a week and your not going to lose it in a week. Exercise will tone and firm the body, but to lose weight you have to change your diet. I've posted this before but it's an important post and others who write about weight loss feel the same way. Take a minute, if you never remember anything else I post, this you should remember. 5 Great Ways to Change up Your Diet You don't have to overhaul your entire diet to get a big health boost. Here are five simple changes you can put into action today for high-impact results. 1. Load Up on Fruits and Veggies You know fruits and vegetables are good for you, but did you know they should fill half your plate at every meal? That's what the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends, and for good reason: Packe...

For years researchers thought that low income and lack of education were the major causes for Americans eating unhealthy foods. Today we know that's not true. In Fact, the average "fast food" consumer is aware of the bad choices they are making. And if you didn't know, the average fast food consumer earns more than twice the poverty level income. So if it's not ignorance or income why do Americans gravitate to fast food? The answer is CONVENIENCE !!!! 92% of people polled said that the #1 reason for eating fast food was due to lack of time. They know they should be eating healthier, but they haven't got the time. O.K., and yes that's a valid excuse. I think we all know if your going to eat healthy you have to make it yourself. There lies the problem. Yes, you can go online and find dozens of recipes for a 10 minute meal, but, I know you never have the right ingredients or the time to shop. Shopping in a grocery store is hectic. The stores are overcrowd...

Did you ever wonder how people in some European countries manage to stay thin? When I was in Europe I didn't see an low-calorie food. Restaurants had no diet food or low calorie meals. But very few people were what we call obese. I've personally been to more than 15 European countries and normal people are in better shape than American.  I read a non-diet book last year "The secret of eating" were by the author explains that diets don't work. This is a weight loss book about how this woman had gained 20 pounds while going to school in the States and then losing the weight when returning to France, her home country. She goes on to say that in France women don't get fat. In the States when she was going to school the portions of food were too large and foods were too sweet. Now I understand students call it the "freshman fifteen", it happens to everyone.  When returning to Europe she returned home and returned to eating the way she grew up. In...