While it is important to understand the concept of calorie clearly for the purpose of successful weight loss, the different types of calorie controlling methods adopted by different dieting programs often leave us confused and bewildered. Take for example the concepts of calorie counting and calorie shifting.

Both methods would work in their own rights and lead you to weight loss success, provided that you follow the rules religiously. But of course the obvious question is: which method is easier and better? Well that is what this post would tell you.

It is indeed difficult to answer this question since both calorie shifting and calorie counting have their respective strong and weak points. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Calorie here, calorie there. Every time we try to lose weight, we are asked to monitor our calorie intake. Now what the heck is this calorie? Well, as a matter of fact, each of the foods and drinks we consume contain a certain quantity of calories. Once food enters our body, those calories are transformed into energy. In turn our body uses this energy to perform its day-to-day operations.

Now our body requires a certain minimum level of energy to be able to function properly. If the current energy level is below this minimum requirement, we would suffer from fatigue, weakness, and a host of other maladies. On the other hand, if our body receives more energy than required, it would deposit the extra energy as fat for future use.

As you can see, if you want to get rid of fat, you need to control your body’s energy production, which can be done only by reducing your daily calorie intake level. One way to do that is by controlling your food intake by dieting. Dieting of course means eating balanced, healthy meals rather than fasting. Another way to keep the energy levels at normal level is by burning the excess calories with the help of workouts. Read the rest of this entry »

You have probably added a lot of extra annoying pounds to your body through unhealthy eating habits and now you want to get rid of those pounds as quickly as possible. There are several ways to achieve this goal. Most people tend to get attracted to ’shortcuts’ such as fad diets which promise them quick weight loss. These fad diets literally make you starve with their abnormal food restrictions. While this may help you lose a few pounds of weight (which again is water weight and NOT fat that you need to lose), they could make your body weak and unhealthy.

People generally believe that the fewer calories they consume, the faster they would be able to lose weight. When these fad diets restrict their food intake to an abysmally low level, to the point of making them starve, they are not surprised because they believe this is the only surefire way to lose weight fast.

Now there is a BIG difference between food reduction and calorie intake reduction. It is true that in order to lose weight, you should control your calorie intake, but that doesn’t mean you should eat less than normal.

If you want to lose weight healthily, here are four steps you need to follow:

1. Calculate your ideal body weight: Your ideal body weight would be the weight of a normal, healthy adult of your age. Once you know about your ideal body weight, subtract it from your current body weight and you would know how much weight you need to lose to reach the ideal weight level. This can be easily done with the help of a tool called BMI (Body Mass Index) Calculator.

2. Calculate your minimum calorie requirement: It is not as hard as you think. There are a lot of calorie calculators available for free online. You simply need to download one of them and calculate your minimum daily calorie intake requirements. This should be same as the calorie requirements of a normal adult of your age.

Now realistically you must not try to reduce your daily calorie intake to this level right at start as it is simple not possible, more so if you are either overweight or obese (that is, if your body weight is 200% or more than the ideal body weight). However this should give you an idea of the daily calorie intake level you should strive for.

3. Know the bad and good foods: The third step is to know about the calorie contents of the foods you eat. Such information is usually available for free online. You might be surprised to realize that you eat a lot of high-calorie foods and only a few low-calorie foods. It is time to set the balance right.

4. Cut down on your daily junk food intake: The last step is to set a daily goal of cutting down on your junk food intake by taking away one food at a time from your daily diet and replacing it with a healthier alternative.

Eventually you would be eating only healthy and organic foods and forget about junk foods. When that happens, your calorie intake would reduce automatically and you would lose weight fast.

Notice that not for one instant did I advise you to reduce your food intake; rather I recommended that you replace calorie-rich foods with their low-calorie alternatives. This is the right way to reduce your daily calorie intake WITHOUT starving.

Guess how you gained so many unwanted pounds? I am not sure whether you were eating fatty or healthy foods before your weight gain, and I won’t even ask you about that either, because the type of food you eat doesn’t always determine whether or not you would gain weight!

Case in point: almost everyone would tell you that if you want to lose weight or avoid weight gain, you should steer clear of junk foods! But if that were true, I would have been overweight by several pounds by now, because I am a self-confessed junk food addict! If someone tells me to avoid junk foods, I won’t be able to follow his advice!

Hardly a week goes when I don’t have chocolates, cakes, white breads, etc. -all high-calorie junk foods supposed to make you overweight, but they haven’t affected my body weight over the years (yes, I have always been like this). I find also find it hard to resist the temptation of going into a fast food restaurant and taking a bite!

Now, here is a second scenario: I know a friend who ate nothing except fruits and vegetables. He would eat the fruits raw and the vegetables roasted or fried in olive oil. You would think that he is slim and fit, right? Wrong!

Recently he was fired from a lucrative job, thanks to the economic downturn which is affecting the world like never before. Needless to say, he soon got depressed and began to eat more than before. Again, he was eating only ‘healthy’ foods, just more of them than before. A few months into this lifestyle and now he flaunts a very big, fat belly in place of his original flat belly!

Were you surprised? Don’t be. It is all about controlling your food portions. In my case, what I didn’t tell you is that I ‘limit’ my junk food intake. I don’t visit fast food restaurants more than once or twice per week; as far as chocolates are concerned, I have a small bar every week but no more than that. I usually have white breads and cakes every two or three days, but both the bread and cake are half the size of what my brother has!

In essence, I have learnt to control my junk food intake in a way which lets me enjoy my favorite foods without the additional headache of weight gain.

My regular food habit is something I should tell you about too. Unlike most other people, I don’t have two or three large meals per day. Instead, I split those large meals into several smaller meals, usually no more than five or six. I have each of those small meals every two or three hours.

Of course maintaining a healthy diet comes easy for me since I work from home. I also make sure that I snack between two consecutive meals, and contrary to what you might believe, my snacks are anything but junk foods! I usually have a carrot or an apple as snacks; sometimes I even cook popcorn at home using low-fat oil and then store them in my refrigerator to serve as snacks!

In case of my friend, he followed healthy eating habits all along, but he erred on one count: he increased his food intake drastically owing to depression. In essence, his body received more calories than required, and consequently deposited those extra calories as fat, thereby making him bulky!

There are people who believe that the source of calories DOES matter when it comes to maintaining a slim body; however, as you saw from the above article, weight maintenance is all about exercising portion control. Give your body exactly what it needs at a particular time; that way, it would never have any extra calorie left to deposit as fat and you would always be able to maintain your lean, slim figure!

Don’t deprive yourself but control your portions: Many people think that avoiding or depriving themselves completely of their favorite foods is the surefire way to avoid weight gain! If you too think this way you cannot be further from the truth!

If you deprive yourself of your favorite foods, your food cravings would increase all the more and a day will come when you would gorge on junk foods like a hungry wolf, thereby adding several pounds to your body in an instant! So a better option is to eat your favorite foods at least once every week! But at the same time you should monitor your food intake.

A good way to make sure that you don’t gain weight by eating your favorite foods is by exercising the trick of ‘portion control’! When you eat slowly and in small quantities, you would become satiated even by eating very little food. This way you would not only be able to satisfy your junk food cravings but at the same time keep your weight under control!

2. Smash all your beer bottles: Yep, you heard me right: open your cellar and throw out all the beer and soda bottles from there! Then promise yourself never to touch them again! Why would you do so? Quite simply, alcohol is high on calorie and sugar, both of which are bad for your health, especially when you are struggling hard to keep your weight under control! With alcohol and soda out of your way, you will find it easier to keep the pounds away and stay fit during the holiday season!

3. Buy tighter clothes: You might hate me for this advice, or think that I am crazy, but the fact remains that this is a good way of reminding yourself that you need to lose weight urgently! Think about it: how often have you promised yourself that you would lose weight before the next Christmas, and how many times have you failed to keep that promise!

It is no wonder that many people fail to lose weight because they simply don’t make weight loss their number one priority! I know that wearing tight clothes would make you feel uneasy, but it is this very uneasiness which would propel you towards the path of weight loss! The more uneasy you feel, the harder you would try to lose weight and become slimmer! This way you would reach your weight loss goal quite fast!

And by the way, don’t you want to be able to fit yourself in your favorite clothes? Make your dream a reality by doing this right now and eventually you will see that you are able to wear your favorite clothes without any feeling of uneasiness!

And that day would come soon!

You are fondling your baby in your arms, and reading a lifestyle magazine, and what catches your eye is the sexy photo of Jennifer Aniston – her curves as well as her flat stomach. You look at your fat belly and immediately start hating it like never before! You now want your belly to be like that of Aniston. While it is possible, it would take you some work and self-discipline in order to achieve your dream!

First of all, you should be overjoyed at the fact that you have birth to a new life, your baby, and even if you have regained some extra pounds in the process, it is still a small price you paid to give birth to your baby. And by the way, don’t forget that this situation is only temporary and if you follow my advice in this article, it is only a matter of time before you become your former self and gain back the slim figure that you had!

1. Be realistic: Like I said earlier, if you are serious about losing pregnancy pounds, you got to be extremely patient and realistic. Think about it: if you gained twenty pounds over the course of nine long months, is it realistic to think that you would lose them all within a month or two? Of course not! You should assume that it would take you at least another nine months to lose that weight, or maybe longer, since it takes more time to lose weight than gain it!

2. Breastfeeding helps: I would say that a mother is in a more advantageous position than an ordinary woman, so far as weight loss is concerned! Why? That is because as a mother you need to breastfeed your baby and you lose a lot of extra calories that way! You will be amazed at how much weight you would manage to lose everyday just by breastfeeding your baby!

But breastfeeding comes with a flipside too; since your body burns extra calories for the purpose of breastfeeding, it needs back those calories! Therefore, reducing your food intake is not an option for you. And of course you should stay miles away from fad diets which are more harmful than helpful for a mother!

Okay, so what should you do to lose weight? Eat healthy and in small portions. If you used to eat two or three large meals in a day, you would need to split those meals into several smaller meals, and eat each of those smaller meals every two or three hours!
Small and frequent eating would not only help suppress your hunger but also keep your metabolic rate high, both of which are required for fast weight loss!

When I mean healthy eating, I obviously don’t suggest that you survive on a piece of lemon, as that is totally unhealthy. You should include foods such as whole grains, natural fruits, vegetables, dairy products, soy, nuts, legumes, fish, etc., in your diet! These foods are pretty good for quick weight loss. Stay away from sugary foods because they would make you fatter!

3. Workout: You might be wondering whether workouts are at all needed since caring for your baby is work enough for you! Of course, it is true that you burn a lot of calories simply by caring for your baby, but that is not enough for losing pregnancy weight! You need to participate in regular workouts so that you are able to burn a lot of fat quickly. The more workouts you do, the faster you would burn fat and lose weight!

Moderate cardios are good for a mother. I would suggest that you don’t do any form of intense workout such as strength training or weight lifting till your body has recovered completely!

Another exercise I recommend is the Kegels exercise. It is so simple that you can do it anytime you want! All you need to do is simply tighten and release your Kegel muscles, the muscles you use to urinate. Did I say it is easy?

Some mothers feel a bit weak immediately after childbirth, and may not be ready for workouts. If that is you then it is perfectly okay. Since your body went through so much strain during the pregnancy it is only natural for you to feel weak during the first few months. Just stick to eating healthy foods as I suggested above and you may begin the workout session when you feel better!

Guess what is the number one reason behind so many people failing to lose weight even though they make a firm New Year resolution every year! Umm, you got it right: hunger. Yes, hunger is the primary reason why you struggle so much with weight loss! When you are trying to lose weight, there are basically two ways hunger can come in your way:

1. Let’s say that you used to eat every couple of hours. However, now that you want to lose weight, your doctor has probably asked you to reduce your food intake. When you reduce your food intake, you naturally feel hungry!

2. It is also possible that you are hungry because of emotional reasons. Let’s face it, emotional eating is one of the leading causes of obesity! Whenever people are stressed for any reason, they open up their refrigerator for comfort!

So the million dollar question remains: can you really get rid of this formidable enemy? In this article I will discuss just that!

1. Suppressing hunger using natural means: Do you know that there are several types of foods which are rich in fiber? If you eat such foods frequently, suppressing your appetite and getting rid of hunger would be as easy as pie for you, since fiber keeps you full for a long time! Besides, fiber-rich foods also keep you from gaining weight by maintaining your normal blood sugar level! One such food is the good old apple.

You have probably heard of the many benefits of apple before! You will be surprised to notice how easy it is to curb hunger by eating just one apple per day! Another such appetite suppressant food is egg. I have noticed that if I eat just four or five eggs per day, I virtually don’t feel hungry at all for hours! Being rich in protein, eggs would help you with weight loss by building strong lean muscles for you (the more lean muscles you have, the more fat you burn)!

Yet another fiber-rich food is legumes and nuts! Whenever I feel hungry, I often eat grams, black beans, peas, soybeans, groundnuts, etc., of course in raw forms! They are not only a good and easy way to keep hunger away for a considerable period of time but also helpful in weight loss, since they too are rich in protein content just like eggs!

2. Suppressing hunger using artificial means: While you should be using natural food suppressants as much as possible, they may not sufficient for you! If you feel that the natural means are not enough to curb hunger, you may try appetite suppressants such as Hoodia. Truth to be told, Hoodia is actually a natural appetite suppressant in the form of supplement; hence it is 100% safe and free from side effects!

3. Stay away from hunger triggers: Getting rid of ‘hunger triggers’ is as much important as curbing hunger itself! Foods which trigger unbearable hunger are usually those which are rich in sugar. Being rich in sugar, they dissolve into your bloodstream quickly and increase your blood sugar levels, which in turn increases your appetite manifold! Therefore, say no to white flour, candies, chocolates, processed fruit juices, fizzy drinks, soda, biscuits, etc!

Regardless of the number of fad diet pills and supplements coming up in the market, the rules of weight loss have not changed over the years! The basic rule of weight loss is still the same: follow a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly. If you want to do something that breaks this basic rule, you will be in for trouble.

Do you want to lose weight quickly by following a fad diet program? No matter how expensive and popular the diet program is, you won’t be able to lose weight permanently if you try to get rid of fat by any unnatural means.

Diet Pills and Weight Loss?

Some of the diet pills out there will take you through a rapid cycle of weight loss. No sooner have you finished smiling at the dipping scale than you will notice that the scale is going upwards as fast as it had gone downwards. In simple terms, you will gain weight as quickly as you had lost it.

There is a reason why this happens. It is all okay as long as you follow the diet, but there is no fad diet in the world which is not a bit over-the-top in terms of food restrictions,. These fad diets restrict your food intake in such a way that you end up craving for your old, favorite junk foods. You start by binge eating: that is, taking one bit of your junk food everyday. Soon it goes out of your control, and you won’t even realize when you have cheated on your diet program, quit it and got back to your old lifestyle.

Diet change needs to be permanent

As soon as you return to your normal eating habits (that is, eating more and more junk foods), you end up gaining a lot more weight than what you started with. Read the rest of this entry »

The gastric bypass surgery is one of the most well known ways of achieving quick weight loss. It is a balm for those who have tried every other avenue in order to lose weight and failed miserably. It is a hope for those who are frustrated with their weight loss attempts as well as the excessive hype that is prevalent in the weight loss industry.

Many doctors claim that gastric bypass surgery is totally safe because it has been widely tested for a long time before it was made available to the public. Even then, people are concerned about two things:

1. Whether it is safe and effective for everybody

2. Whether it comes with any post-surgery side effect that is so common with any type of surgery! Read the rest of this entry »

Ever noticed those infomercials about exercise equipment? I am sure you have. These are pretty expensive equipment and they promise to flatten your abs so that you can gain a figure like your favorite celebrity. These gadgets promise to help you lose fat in specific areas. such as the stomach, the chest, etc. Basically, these companies are just exploiting the gullibility of the common masses.

Most people believe that in order to lose belly fat, they only need to work on the belly. This is a big misconception and a major reason why so many people fail to lose weight successfully.

Spot Reduction is a Lie

The fact remains that no matter what you do, your body will not let you lose fat in any specific region of your choice. You maybe doing abdominal crunches all day long in the hope of losing belly fat quickly, but maybe astonished to find that you have lost only a few inches after weeks of hard work. What is more, what you have lost may not be fat at all but your valuable abdominal muscles. When you exercise, your body decides in which area it should burn fat. Thus spot reduction of fat is totally impossible. Read the rest of this entry »