Empowering Resolutions: Weight Loss Tips

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Empowering Resolutions: Weight Loss Tips

Tue Jan 5, 2010 7:03 am (PST)

Good Morning!

This month we will be keeping tabs on your New Years Resolutions, in

order to empower you, help you to stay on track and give you some

great tips for keeping your promise to yourself.

Empowering Resolutions: Weight Loss Tips

The key to losing weight effectively is:

1. Calories

Taking in fewer calories than you can burn results in weight loss.

Taking in more calories than you can burn results in weight gain!

-Women should restrict their calorie intake to 1200 a day

-Men should restrict their calorie intake to 1500 a day

Be Aware Of Your Calorie Intake : If you are unsure about the

calories in your meal, I feel it is essential to learn this amazing

tool for effective weight loss. Record in your ledger or journal the

calories of everything you but in your mouth for one week. Be in tune

to the total calories you consume daily, and make an effort to

replace high-fat foods with low-calorie ones like vegetables and

fruits.

2. Discipline

I cannot stress enough how discipline is the second most important

aspect in losing weight or achieving any kind of success in your

life! It is the secret to the most effective, efficient and well

strategize plan you can give yourself! Being successful, losing

weight, maintaining relationships are not tasks that come easy for

most people. They are all things we must work hard on creating,

keeping and maintaining! (Why do you think diet plans have *Results

not typical with an asterisks? Because most people have a lack of

discipline). You probably already have some forms of discipline in

your life. You pay your bills by a certain time, you show up for work

every day, often plan your finances, your meals or walk your dog.

These are all disciplines in your life already. Some of us need a

little more in our lives than others. This is where you can gain

great help and insight, by:

a). Creating a plan to lose weight.

. Shop ahead for your food.

c). Map out your food plan.

d). Eat 5 times a day

e). Plan out your days of exercise and what you will do

f). Drink your water, cleansing smoothies and juice

g). Incorporate the mental wellness techniques in our guide

h). Use the body beautiful techniques in our guide

i). Use the meal plan provided as a reminder for your day

j). Check off or write out what you have for each meal

k). If you want to map calories, do it for the first 30 days

The whole idea with these suggestions is to show you just how much

you are eating, how many calories you are consuming and to get you

into a pattern, which will set you up for great success!

3. Portion Control

This was a hard lesson for me to learn. As a dancer and someone who

always worked out, I felt I had my portioning under control. I

eventually learned why I would get that bloated and discomfort

feeling after eating. It was my portion size. Sure I was active and

exercising but as I aged and my metabolism slowed, my portions were

not changing with the rest of me! Once I understood the discipline

behind this, it changed my life! An easy way to understand portion

control is to look on the back of any Nutritional Label.

Eat portions to satisfy hunger, not to clean the plate. By dinner, if

you have complex carbs (potatoes, yams, brown rice…) with your meal;

it should be no more than a cup full. Half of your plate should be

vegetables. The meat, fish, chicken portion should be the size of

your fist. Portion control is the secret to a healthy weight!

4. Exercise is another key element in successful weight loss.

As we age, our body's composition gradually shifts as the proportion

of muscle decreases and the proportion of fat increases. This shift

slows our metabolism, making it much easier to gain weight. Many

people become less active as they get older, increasing the risk of

weight gain. Weight gain can be prevented by choosing a lifestyle

that includes good eating habits and daily exercise.

You have got to move! A walk around the block is just not going to

cut it. You have invested time in creating a plan, you have gone

shopping and you are eating your proper proportions, but exercise is

what your body needs to really keep you healthy, fit and strong. Not

only does it help burn excess calories, but also by increasing your

physical activity you can modify the way your brain regulates hunger,

hormones and stress, making you less susceptible to food cravings. If

you are currently on an exercise plan and you are not losing the

weight you want, you need to step it up! Change your routine. Change

the exercises you are doing. Mix it up. You should do both

cardiovascular movement as well as weight baring exercises. If you

are currently not working out, it is time to start. Talk to your

doctor about a physical exercise program. A doctor will tell you if

you are ok to exercise. Most doctors will not tell you that you are

not able to exercise. Then, find a knowledgeable trainer; join a gym,

exercise plan or community group, such as yoga, tai chi, pilates or a

running group. The most important thing to do is find fitness you

feel great about doing! It may take time, but the basics are

essential and that is aerobic exercise (cardiovascular) and anaerobic

exercise (weight baring). You must schedule exercise into your day,

as you schedule everything else.

5. Drink your water

What ever the current controversy is about water; 8 glasses or not 8

glasses; the bottles the water comes in (leaching toxins?), the key

to water is that it is essential to life! Most people do not drink

enough water. By the way, if you look on the bottom of your water

bottle (or any bottles you buy water in) they should have a number 1

on them. This plastic does not leach toxins into the water. The

plastic water jugs you purchase to carry water or fluids in may have

the number 7 on the bottom of the bottle. If it does, throw it out!

(These bottles have currently been shown to leak toxins into the

water from the plastic). Water is also an important component in

weight management. It nourishes the body and fills you up.Carry this

bottle of water with you everywhere and enjoy its contents. Drink

pplenty of water daily. Not only will you loss water as you exercise,

drinking water makes you feel full, therefore, not as much room for

food.

6. Be prepared

Having the right food around is imperative. Because when you get

hungry, you are likely to eat anything you get your hands on. Plan

your meals, do your food shopping and have a variety of heart health,

fiber-filling foods you love at your disposal. Ready to be eaten when

it is meal or snack time.

7. Think Lifestyle

Remove the word diet from your vocabulary. You will be making changes

that will have a profound effect on your way of thinking, how you eat

and most of all, your lifestyle. Once you make these changes, they

become habit. Good habits. Good habits become a healthy lifestyle.

8. The Glycemic Index

The glycemic index describes the difference by ranking carbohydrates

according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Low GI carbs

produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin

levels and this is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk

of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight

loss. You must try to eat low on the glycemic (sugar) index, in order

to avoid highs and lows in your blood sugar that can lead to

increased insulin production and conversion of calories to fat.

9. Alcohol is fattening

Since it can't be stored by the body and burns up right away, it

increases the likelihood that the food you eat while you're drinking

will turn into fat.

10. Eat Right, More Times

Eating the right carbs, proteins and fats should be consumed in small

portions more times throughout the day. This keeps craving and blood

sugar levels in check. Water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are

the basic building blocks of a good diet. By choosing the healthiest

forms of each of these nutrients, and eating them in the proper

balance, you enable your body to function at its optimal level.

11. Vitamin Therapy

This is a good way to help your body regulate what you may not be

getting through your diet. A good daily multivitamin is the best

start.

12. Limit Animal-based Foods

Foods such as meat and dairy products, which are loaded with

saturated fat and cholesterol. Use olive oil or canola oil instead of

butter or margarine to reduce your intake of saturated fat and

hydrogenated fat (trans fat). Moderate your consumption of fried,

salted and smoked foods.

13. Believe

Your belief system has everything to do with the mental and spiritual

aspects of weight control. Fight anxiety with relaxation exercises

rather than food. Utilize meditation, yoga, stretching. By creating

healthy eating habits and regular exercise, you are sure to lose

weight without depriving yourself of nourishing food. And if you

continue those good habits after you reach your goal, you will have

an excellent chance of maintaining your desired weight and see it

more as maintaining a lifestyle as opposed to a diet. Learning to

have a more structured and disciplined lifestyle can make all the

difference in your progress. You deserve it!

14. Sleep Well

Good quality sleep is important, especially when you are trying to

loss weight. I think it is most important to go to sleep with

a "Quiet Mind". Sleep rejuvenates, detoxes and regulates the body.

Sleep allows our body to rejuvenate and repair!

15. Overcome Fear

Fear can be an underlining problem in many cases. There are many ways

to quiet the mind. Doing 15 to 30 minutes of meditation or yoga can

be very helpful. You must allow yourself to be distracted or get into

your meditation or yoga and "let go" of the days thoughts...see

Meditation.

16. Don't Smoke

Besides the fact that it can cause lung cancer and is the second

leading cause of death for both men and women, nicotine is a

stimulant and complicates weight control.

17. Life to Go

Everyone has a busy lifestyle. You plan your day's meetings, schedule

your kid's soccer game or know when to pick up the dry cleaning. Do

the same with your meals and snacks. Prepare food ahead. Make goodie

bags with cut veggies, apples, grapes, pears, and bananas. Have some

nutrition bars on hand or cook/pack your lunch the night before. Mix

a salad or make a large pot of soup or hearty chili.

18. Shop Ahead

Go natural, go organic or simply go to your local food store, which

seems to have fresh produce. The products you choose should be low in

sodium and contain wholesome ingredients, and they should be trans-

fat free. Plan meal ideas and shop ahead for them. This way, it gives

you less of an opportunity to end up at a fast food restaurant.

19. Weigh In

At the start of your program, weigh yourself. Note the weight in your

journal and note your goal. What is your goal? Is it 5,10,20,30

pounds or more? Keep it realistic. Achieve goals in small increments,

then reassess your goals, once you achieve that level you decided on.

NOW give yourself sometime. Do not step back on the scale for another

two weeks. Your weight will move up and down, may change due to your

water intake and output or fluctuate with hormone levels. If you give

yourself a two week window and you have remained firm to your

discipline, you will be amazed at your progress after two weeks.

20. Body Mass Index BMI

According to The Cleveland Clinic, A BMI (Body Mass Index) of 40 or

more indicates morbid obesity, which increases a person's risk of

death from any cause by 50% to 150%. BMI is an indirect measure of

your body fat, which is a quick way to see if you are overweight. BMI

uses a person's weight and height to gauge total body fat.

A BMI of 18.5-24.9 is ideal.

A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is overweight.

A BMI of 30 or more indicates obesity.

A BMI of 40 or more indicates morbid obesity, which increases a

person's risk of death.

Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac

http://peacefulmind.com/weight_loss.htm

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit