self-fitness101

Losing weight in a safe, healthy way

Weight loss is a tricky topic. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, but most aren't sure how to change it — and many would be better off staying where they are. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. Besides, no magical diet or pill will make you look like someone else.

Being healthy is really about being at a weight that is right for you. The best way to find out if you are at a healthy weight or if you need to lose or gain weight is to talk to a doctor or dietitian, who can compare your weight with healthy norms to help you set realistic goals. If it turns out that you can benefit from weight loss, then you can follow a few of the simple suggestions listed below to get started.

Weight management is about long-term success. People who lose weight quickly by crash dieting or other extreme measures usually gain back all (and often more) of the pounds they lost because they haven't permanently changed their habits.

Therefore, the best weight-management strategies are those that you can maintain for a lifetime. That's a long time, so we'll try to keep these suggestions as easy as possible!

Make it a family affair. Ask your parents or roommates to help and support and to make dietary or lifestyle changes that will benefit the whole family, if possible. Teens who have the support of their families tend to have better results with their weight-management programs. But remember, you should all work together in a friendly and helpful way — making weight loss into a competition is a recipe for disaster!

Watch your drinks. It's amazing how many extra calories can be lurking in the sodas, juices, and other drinks that you take in every day. Simply cutting out a can of soda or one sports drink can save you 150 calories or more each day. Drink water or other sugar-free drinks to quench your thirst and stay away from sugary juices and sodas. Switching from whole to nonfat or low-fat milk is also a good idea. I (Wade) have not drank a soda in three years, and I am very proud of that.

Start small. Small changes are a lot easier to stick with than drastic ones. Try reducing the size of the portions you eat and giving up regular soda for a week. Once you have that down, start gradually introducing healthier foods and exercise into your life.

Stop eating when you're full. Lots of people eat when they're bored, lonely, or stressed, or keep eating long after they're full out of habit. Try to pay attention as you eat and stop when you're full. Slowing down can help because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to recognize how much is in your stomach. Sometimes taking a break before going for seconds can keep you from eating another serving.

Avoid eating when you feel upset or bored — try to find something else to do instead (a walk around the block or a trip to the gym are good alternatives). Many people find it's helpful to keep a diary of what they eat and when. Reviewing the diary later can help them identify the emotions they have when they overeat or whether they have unhealthy habits. Your doctor or a registered dietitian can give you pointers on how to do this.

Eat less more often. Many people find that eating a couple of small snacks throughout the day helps them to make healthy choices at meals. Stick a couple of healthy snacks (carrot sticks, whole-grain pretzels, or a piece of fruit) in your backpack so that you can have one or two snacks during the day. Adding healthy snacks to your three squares and eating smaller portions when you sit down to dinner can help you to cut calories without feeling deprived.

Five a day keep the pounds away. This is an expression we have heard a time or two. Ditch the junk food and dig out the fruits and veggies! Five servings of fruits and veggies aren't just a good idea to help you lose weight — they'll help keep your heart and the rest of your body healthy. Other suggestions for eating well: replace white bread with whole wheat, trade your sugary sodas for water and low-fat milk, and make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Having low-sugar, whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk with a piece of fruit is a better idea than inhaling a donut as you run to the bus stop or eating no breakfast at all! A registered dietitian can give you lots of other snack and menu ideas.

Avoid crazy diets. It's never a good idea to trade meals for shakes or to give up a food group in the hope that you'll lose weight — we all need a variety of foods to stay healthy. Stay away from diets because you're still growing and need to make sure you get proper nutrients. Avoid diet pills (even the over-the-counter or herbal variety). They can be dangerous to your health; besides, there's no evidence that they help keep weight off over the long term.

Don't think you can't eat certain foods. Don't tell yourself you'll never again eat your favorite chocolate ice cream or a bag of chips from the vending machine at school. Making these foods forbidden is sure to make you want them even more. Also, don't go fat free: You need to have some fat in your diet to stay healthy, so giving up all fatty foods all the time isn't a good idea. The key to long-term success is making healthy choices most of the time. If you want a piece of cake at a party, go for it! But munch on the carrots rather than the chips to balance it out.

Get moving. You may find that you don't need to cut calories as much as you need to get off your behind. Don't get stuck in the rut of thinking you have to play a team sport or take an aerobics class to get exercise. Try a variety of activities from hiking to cycling to dancing until you find ones you like.

Not an athlete? Find other ways to fit activity into your day: walk to school, jog up and down the stairs a couple of times before your morning shower, turn off the television and help your dad do some yard work — anything that gets you moving. Your goal should be to work up to 60 minutes of exercise every day. But everyone has to begin somewhere. It's fine to start out by simply taking a few turns around the block at first, and build up your stamina and fitness gradually.

Build muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat. So adding strength training to your exercise routine can help you reach your weight loss goals as well as give you a toned bod. And weights are not the only way to go: Try resistance bands, pilates, or push-ups to get strong. A good, well-balanced fitness routine includes aerobic workouts, strength training, and flexibility exercises.

Forgive yourself. So you were going to have one cracker with spray cheese on it and the next thing you know the can's pumping air and the box is empty? Drink some water, brush your teeth, and move on. Everyone who's ever tried to lose weight has found it challenging. When you slip up, the best idea is to get right back on track and don't look back. Avoid telling yourself that you'll get back on track tomorrow or next week, start now.

Simple trick to losing weight 

When it comes to fast weight loss, there is a plethora of tips and tricks you can find of online. However, truth be told, most of these tips are either ineffective or just re-used stuff from old weight loss methods that hardly go well with the modern lifestyle. That said, the trick I am going to tell you about is not only simple but also effective.

You would be surprised to know that this trick doesn’t require you to join an expensive weight loss program, buy equally expensive exercise gadgets, or count calories like crazy. All you need to do is control your food intake…but NOT the way most weight loss experts would teach you.

First of all, tell me how did you gain weight? Was it because of eating bad foods, not working out regularly in the gym, or eating at wrong times? Most probably the reason behind your weight gain is the third one. It is true that junk foods make you overweight, but only when you eat them in the wrong way.

I know many people who maintain a a good body despite being junk food addicts. You would think that they workout like mad all day long to keep that good body? Wrong. They just know the power of eating in small portions. Once you know about this power, you too would be able to enjoy your favorite foods and still keep weight away.

Controlling your food portions is more important than reducing your food intake. Let’s face it, you can reduce our food intake only to a certain level; that is, if you don’t want your body to move into a starvation mode and stop the fat burning process altogether.

But, you can surely control the way the food is served to you. You have probably heard of the benefits of eating in small portions. If you have four or five small meals per day instead of a couple of large ones, you will lose weight. However, it is easier said than done, as I learnt recently.

When I realized that I could lose weight by eating in small portions, I foolishly began to put little amounts of food on large plates. And almost always I would inevitably go back to the kitchen and put some more food in my mouth. I just couldn’t resist the temptation of overeating despite my best efforts. Heck, I even joined one of those diet delivery programs which deliver regular meals to your doorstep, readymade and packaged in small-sized portions so that all you have to do is to serve and eat them. But even they failed me. Why? That is because I was using large eating as before.

One day I decided to do a little experiment by buying some smaller plates from the market and using them for my breakfast, lunch and dinner. This trick really reduced my food intake successfully. The reason is this: when I put less food on large plates, my eyes would still see it as “less” food. Consequently, my brain thought that I was ‘under eating’. However, once I put the same amount of food on smaller plates (in which case the plates were all filled up to the brim), my brain was fooled into believing that I was eating a lot of food.

Now don’t think I am crazy because this trick really works. After using it, I no longer feel any temptation to go into the kitchen for an extra fill because I was satisfied with what I ate for dinner. So what are you waiting for? After all, you have got nothing to lose, except maybe those annoying pounds.

 GAINING weight in a safe, healthy way

The right way to gain weight safely is by eating more calories than your body burns. Not just any calories though, it is important to give your body good quality natural food it can utilise to build the required body mass without layers of fat. The quickest and easiest way to gain weight safely is to develop a healthy eating habit.

If you change your diet to natural food, your appearance will also change and natural collagen production will improve, this in turn will fill in any hollows under the eyes and around your cheeks. This doesn’t just affect your face; it affects every inch of the skin covering your body.

Healthy eating and sticking to a healthy diet has other major benefits. When you eat natural food the whole surface of your body will improve; your skin will become soft and smooth yet firm and supple to touch. Visible pores will diminish; dull skin will take on a more porcelain-like complexion. Eyes will become clear and bright with a bluish tinge to the whites and your whole face will radiate good health.

A healthy diet of natural food not only helps you to gain weight safely it will also give your body all the vitamins and nutrients it needs to repair cells and regenerate. Eating natural food little and often prevents you from getting too hungry and making the wrong choices. Replace salads with fresh vegetables for a healthy diet in the colder winter months, when cooked they should still be slightly crunchy. Over cooking vegetables will destroy their vitamin content.

As your body rids itself of toxins and retained fluids, you will notice changes occurring – you will feel brighter and more relaxed, concentration powers will improve, you will take more interest in people and things around you and you will be more optimistic. This is the feel good factor brought on by healthy eating.

Vitamin D can promote the feel good factor and is in abundance from sunlight. Controlled exposure to sunlight encourages your body to produce its own Vitamin D. It is unwise to lie out in the sun for hours on end but simply taking a 10 to 15 minute walk in the sun two or three times a week is all the exposure you need. This will clear your head, relieve stress and increase blood circulation. It’s that simple.

This is why you are more inclined to feel depressed on dull cloudy days and the medical profession knows this condition as ‘seasonal affective disorder’ or SAD. It’s also why sunbathing makes you feel so good, it’s not just your tan you’re topping up.

A healthy diet of good quality natural food high in protein together with firming exercises will build up body mass and help you to gain weight safely. A good quality snack food packed with protein is peanuts. Did you know 250g of peanuts contain more quality protein than a fillet steak of the same weight?

Nut butters are also a good source of protein for gaining weight safely, especially peanut butter. Make sure you eat one that is 95% peanuts and contains no additives or preservatives.

The final point to consider is whether you get enough sleep. Sleep is a time when your body regenerates and repairs itself. If you do not get enough good quality sleep you will find it difficult to gain weight safely.

So, to gain weight safely, you need to develop healthy eating habits, eat good quality protein, do firming exercises to promote body mass and get adequate sleep.

Here is a list of natural foods that may help you get started if you are considering changing your diet: