Monday, October 26, 2009

Are You Truly Ready To Lose Weight?

I know, I know. What a crazy question!

Considering that we've all tried so many diets until we can give calorie counts in our sleep - where do I get off asking a question like that?

But bear with me please. This may actually get you closer to your weight loss goals than you think!

We've heard it a million times but it's true:

Losing weight permanently is not just a quick fix.

It's not taking a magic pill and waking up the next morning with a body fat count of 10%. It's not reading the latest diet-book-of-the-week and 'poof!' you're a size 6. It's not getting into 'the zone' for half a day and all your weight troubles disappear.

But you know that right? We all know that!

But if we know that why do we jump from diet to diet to diet? From weight loss plan to weight loss plan?

Why do we keep trying the latest way to lose weight? Why do we get discouraged so easily? Why do we give up and think it's just not possible?

Here's the truth: Losing weight is a life change, plain and simple.

Funny how we cut ourselves some slack with other life changes like moving or getting married or having a baby, but not with losing weight! Why not?

Are all those infomercials promising fast, easy weight loss getting to us? Are the constant images of thin models and size 0 actresses making us think it's easy? That's not the truth people - that's called marketing!

The key to success with weight loss is simple: you first have to ask yourself if you're really ready for that kind of life change.

Are you ready to change your eating and exercise habits for good? Are you willing to move permanently towards a healthier way of life?

You also have to realize that letting go of extra weight requires letting go of other things as well. Like the way you might do things, or the way you think about food and eating. It requires you to be open to change, to be ready to see what works and what doesn't.

So before you choose a method of losing weight, you should decide if you're truly READY to lose weight or not.

Key point: It's ok, if you're not!

For one reason or another you might not be ready yet for a change in your lifestyle - that's ok. Accept yourself and wait until you are truly ready.

BUT if you are ready, if you are determined to lose weight WHATEVER it takes, if you're open to the kind of life changes losing weight will require-then look out baby. Here you come!

Because when you decide that - yes - you're truly ready to lose weight, nothing will stop you!



By : Kathryn O'Neill
Kathryn O'Neill is a contributing writer to Diet and Weight Loss Reviews (http://www.Freetobethin.com ) For more free weight loss tips and diet reviews, visit http://www.freetobethin.com

Monday, October 19, 2009

4 Strange Diets to Avoid

Diet and weight loss ideas are all over the internet and other media's. There are some legitimate diet and weight loss programs. There are also some very strange diet and weight loss ideas. It has become clear that when battling the bulge some people will stop at nothing to lose weight. Here are a few of the strangest diet and weight loss ideas on the internet.

A lot of the new fad diets insist that you eat only one thing. The cabbage soup diets swears you can lose 10 pounds in a week if you can stomach eating cabbage soup and nothing else for an entire week. There are many variations of this diet that include everything from grapefruits to chicken soup. Eating only one item does not make for a healthy diet and weight loss program.

A new fad right now is the Jesus diet. There is no biblical justification for this diet. It basically proclaims that the followers of this diet and weight loss program eat only raw foods, not including meat, and fast at least one day per week. Plus you are only allowed two meals per day and each meal cannot go over 1-2 pounds. This diet isn't exactly unhealthy but maybe they figure if you have no energy you can't get to the food anyway. This is defiantly not a diet for anyone who wants to do anything but sleep.

Okay this one is not for the faint of heart. Famous women like opera singer Maria Callas and supermodel Claudia Schiffer are alleged to have tried the tape worm diet. Pills that contain tape worms are ingested. The tape worms live in the intestines and help consume the food you eat. You are always hungry but never gain weight no matter how much you eat. This one is defiantly not healthy and a little on the extreme side. Somehow eating worms for diet and weight loss just doesn't seem healthy.

Here's a diet and weight loss idea for those who really like breathing. The breatharian diet allows you to reach a higher spiritual plane where food is not necessary. No food is allowed ,only air. I guess no one ever told them man cannot live by air alone. Need I say this one is unhealthy and just completely off the wall.

The only healthy diet and weight loss program is watching what you eat and exercising. Following these strange and dangerous fad diets may help you lose weight but what happens when you eventually go off the diet, sometimes you end up gaining more than you lost. The whole idea of diet and weight loss is to be healthier, so why risk your health with fad diets that can often be dangerous.



By : Guy Ray
Guy Ray is a published web author on various subjects as well as a certified copywriter and webmaster. To learn more about proper diet and weight loss visit his site at http://www.dietweightlosssolutions.com

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Facts About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery is a treatment for those who are extremely obese and is a very severe treatment. It should be used as a last resort for obesity and should only be used if all other weight loss methods have totally failed.

There are two types of gastrointestinal surgery, which are known as restrictive weight loss surgery and malabsorbtive surgery. These two surgeries have different purposes but have the same risks and the same hoped outcomes.

Restrictive weight loss surgery is used to help restrict the amount of food that can be consumed at a given time. Often this is performed by stapling the stomach. This surgery creates a very small pouch to hold a small amount of food at the top of the stomach.

This causes the person to feel very full after eating very little food. Usually patients can only eat less than a cup of food at a time or they will become sick to their stomach. This surgery makes sure that patients can eat only small amounts of food at a time.

Another type of is malabsorbtive surgery, commonly known as a gastric bypass surgery. This type of surgery is usually more common than the restrictive weight loss surgery. This type of surgery is supposed to prevent nutrients from being absorbed into the body. This surgery accomplishes that by actually bypassing most of the intestine. Not only does this result in a reduced appetite, but it also leads to losing a quite amount of weight.

There are side effects that come with these special surgeries. Side effects can include ulcers of the stomach, gas, diarrhea, nutrition deficiencies, and fainting. Before you have this type of surgery, you must be evaluated by a doctor so it can be decided if you are a candidate for this type of serious surgery.

To qualify, you must bee at least 100 pounds overweight and not have had success with other methods of weight loss. If you have serious health problems due to obesity you may also be a candidate for this type of surgery. If you decide to consider having this, be sure that you take the time to contemplate the risks associated with it.

You will have to also make sure you can finance since many insurance companies will not cover the surgery. Be sure that you find a surgeon who is experienced and who will help you through the entire process.



By : yuushoji
Resources of diet and weight loss programs can be found at: http://www.dietandweightlossprogram.com

Friday, October 2, 2009

The Most Important Tool In Weight Loss

If you struggle with weight gain it's a good bet that you have tried at least one of the "fad" diets that crop up on a regular basis. There's the Atkin's Diet, South Beach, the Sonoma Diet, and many more.

The truth is that some of these diets may grant you temporary weight loss which in many cases is just due to changing the foods you were eating or even a chemical reaction. In the usual case, however, the weight returns as soon as you stray from the diet which is why most people are unsuccessful at dieting. If a diet is too restrictive it is bound to fail.

The bottom line is that you gain weight because you consume more calories than your body is able to use and no diet is a substitute for good eating habits. It is simple, you eat TOO MUCH! Forget about what you were told as a child about cleaning your plate, one of the best things you can do to lose weight is to leave some food on the plate.

Those starving kids from India aren't coming here to eat it. It is simple biology; your body requires a certain number of calories in order to function properly. If you truly wish to lose weight, you must burn off more calories than your body requires. And contrary to all the late night infomercials you will lose more weight if you exercise plus you get the added effect of an increased metabolism if you add weight training to it. Why is that important? The more muscle mass you have the higher your resting metabolic rate which means you are burning more fat even when you are doing nothing.

Before you begin a weight loss program, however, it's important that you fill your arsenal with every possible tool available to insure your success. The most important tool in your weight loss program does not include diet or exercise. There is no special equipment you need to purchase. You don't need to join a gym or health club. And, you already have every component you need to put this tool to work for you and begin a successful weight loss program.

What is it? It's your mind. That's right, your mind. You must be focused and dedicated before you even begin. You must write goals down that you wish to accomplish and make them weekly and monthly goals. Without written goals you are doomed to failure. Use your mind and your diet will be a success.



By : Glenn Freiboth
Glenn Freiboth is a Certified Health Advisor lives in Illinois and has helped many overweight and obese people lose weight and keep it off. Get Medifast diet and weight loss products at http://www.GetYouHealth.com