Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

I re-blogged this post from a post on WordPress. The author John Savill, writes about himself and how he won his battle with fat. I think this time of year we all could use an inspirational story. Before you read the story remember that your battle with your weight is really a battle with body fat. You can only measure your progress with a tape measure, forget the scale. I’ve been guilty in the past of telling people that it’s not hard to lose weight but that’s actually incorrect. The reality is that it’s not COMPLICATED to lose weight but it absolutely is hard, let's take a step back. Before I start I’m not a doctor, I’m not a nutritionist, I’m not a personal trainer. In fact, I’m completely unqualified, I don’t have a coach or a trainer.  I’ve always done what I think is logical. What I’m sharing here are my thoughts and what has worked for me. Nothing more, nothing less. Over the past 4 years, there have been two occasions where I’ve lost weight. The first was 3 years ago a...

 You don't have to exercise to lose weight. Some of us think you have to sweat off the extra pounds, but that's not true. Most people gain weight because they eat the wrong foods. By changing your diet and reducing the calories you consume you can lose weight. I follow the Mediterranean food plan. The diagram below explains what you can eat Daily, once a week, and once a month. One glass of wine is allowed otherwise drink water and don't forget to walk. You might not lose weight right away but it will take your body time to adjust to your new diet. If you notice there is very little sugar in this diet. The upside is that you don't have to count calories or restrict the amount of food you eat as long as you stick to the pyramid. Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover. If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get in...

Eating is something we need to do, but it’s kind of a habit. We were raised to eat the way our parents eat and they eat the way their parents did. In my home that was meat and potatoes. In some families it might be pasta or rice and vegetables. But in this new generation of adults, fast food has really taken a hold. The meat and potatoes diet wasn’t very healthy, but it did provide nutrition. A diet in red meat and starchy foods has too much cholesterol from the meat and dairy and not enough vegetables. That was the 1950’s and 60’s and now we know that a diet like that can cause heart disease and clogged arteries. I think the increased popularity of fast food started with the increase of students working in fast food jobs during the 80‘s. Fast food jobs were about the only jobs kids could get in the 80’s and early 90’s. We sent them to work because the country was going through hard economic times and kids needed more spending money. Besides that the divorce rate was climbing and singl...

Surprise: Everyone has some belly fat, even people who have flat abs. That’s normal. But too much belly fat can affect your health in a way that other fat doesn’t. Some of your fat is right under your skin. Another fat is deeper inside, around your heart, lungs, liver, and other organs. It’s that deeper fat — called “visceral” fat — that may be the bigger problem, even for thin people. When you measure your waist, It should measure one-half of your height. For example, I’m 6 foot tall, that’s 72 inches, and my waist should be 36. If your waist is larger than that, your waist is getting too big. You probably have too much deep fat. You need some visceral fat. It provides cushioning around your organs. But if you have too much of it, you may be more likely to get high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and certain cancers, including breast cancer and colon cancer. The fat doesn’t just sit there. It’s an active part of your body, making “lots of nasty substances,” s...

We all have spent the last few weeks on an eating binge. You can’t just give up because you gain some weight and blew your diet. Don’t think you are the only one who gained some weight lately. But you can get your eating back on track. Here’s how. First, Relax You need some perspective. You need to eat 3,500 calories to gain one pound of body fat. One unplanned treat — a slice of cake, some fries, or even a rich meal — probably won’t make a major difference on the scale. “We call these ‘taking timeouts,’ and we all take them,” says San Antonio nutrition consultant Rebecca Reeves, RD. “No one is perfect in their eating habits. What we have to learn is that we are giving ourselves permission to do this, and as soon as it’s over, we should go back to the eating plan we normally follow.” The goal is to not make a habit of it. “Most people overeat somewhere between 500 and 1,500 calories every single day,” says cardiologist Allen Dollar, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory Univ...

We all know that the key to losing weight is by eating fewer calories than you burn – but sometimes that seems easier said than done. Help is on the way: A few studies have revealed four proven ways to lose weight that can help your slim-down efforts. Try one of these weight loss strategies to increase your chances of success. 1. Eat with people whose eating habits you’d like to copy. In a 2015 study at the University of New South Wales, researchers reviewed the results of 38 studies that examined how much food people eat when dining with others. Those whose companions ate small amounts tended to eat less than they would if they’d been alone. Thanks to a psychological phenomenon known as “social modeling,” if your dining partner eats reasonably and has healthy eating habits, so will you. 2. Stick to the same brand. Whether you’re buying frozen pizza or cereal, being loyal to a single brand has benefits. Psychologists at the University of Liverpool and the University of Bristol studied ...

If you have read my posts over the past year, you probably have read some of my posts about this very thing. We all try for quick results and that is the mistake we make. Our body has built-in mechanisms to protect body and the one we are fighting is the mechanism to prevent us from starving. This was the number one problem for  “ancient man”. It was hard to find food and so the body has these defensive mechanisms to prevent us from starving. So why doesn’t the body prevent us from gaining too much fat? Good question and the way I see it, there are two answers. The first is that we are tricking our bodies by gaining weight over a long period of time. You might not think it's your weight gain over a long period, but if the body has had time to adjust, then that’s a long enough period of time. The most important thing you have to learn is how to lose weight slowly. Not just the physical components of eating and exercising, but the psychological aspects as well. If your body thinks th...

To help you lose weight, your doctor might have said things like, “Get more exercise,” “Cut back on calories,” or “Eat less junk.” It’s all good advice — but what exactly does it mean? How much exercise should you do? How many calories do you need to stop eating in order to shed pounds? Remember that your doctor is also running a business and he or she wants to keep you for a customer, so how “frank” can your doctor be without hurting your feelings or making you mad. Learn how to turn your doctor’s well-meaning, yet sometimes vague, strategies into real steps you can start taking today. You weigh 220 pounds and you are 5 ft. 8 inches. Your waist is 40 and so your doctor tells you that you should exercise more. “What does that Mean?” “I try not to walk, my feet are killing me.” “Then he tells me I should eat better. I eat healthy food.” You might think you do but why are you gaining weight? How did you get so big? Ask yourself the tough questions and be honest with yourself. Remember yo...