Top 5 Things Keeping You From Losing Weight

1) Snacking

I am talking about the "harmless tiny little bites" you take during the day. I know it's easy to think those don't really count, but once you get in that habit, those snacks start adding up. This is especially dangerous in the holiday season, because everywhere you go there are some new snacks to try. Although it may seem like nothing to have a few snacks here and there, these really can dramatically slow down your weight loss goals. Try for a week or so to be very cautious about those little snacks, and you should see a major difference!

2)You Aren't Exercising right

What I mean by this is, do you have a plan when you start your workout? Do you usually bounce around from machine to machine until you feel tired or bored? Or maybe you have that favorite elliptical by the TV you always go to. Do you ever get your heart rate up above 100 bpm?

There is a science to exercising with the goal of burning fat. Doing the glute kickback machine or only doing low intensity cardio won't get you the results you are looking for. You need to be doing medium to high intensity cardio (heart rate is at least above 100 bpm) and weight training with compound movements (like a squat and overhead press, or walking lunges with a bicep curl). These are the things that are proven to burn fat and increase your metabolism, which leads to a more lean and toned body.

3) You Aren't Prioritizing

Another common roadblock to weight loss is not prioritizing this goal enough. If you are just hoping to lose weight while you keep eating poorly or infrequently exercising, you will be disappointed. There will always be reasons not to workout that day, but if you make your weight loss goal a priority, you will find time. The commitment is the hardest part. If you can get this part down, the rest will be smooth sailing.

4) Start Making New Habits

Most times we have formed a lot of bad habits over our lifetime. Whether it be how little we exercise or the sweets we get hooked on, these habits have to be broken and replaced with good, healthy habits. Remember I am giving advice on how to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way, so this has to be a lifestyle change. Be mindful of the habits you have developed, and start by making small changes. This won't happen overnight, but is a critical step in losing weight and keeping it off.

5) Monitor Your Carbs

This may be one that, if changed, could give you the most results the quickest. Here in the US, we love our carbs! Here are some examples: we serve bread sticks with our pizza, we serve garlic bread with our pasta, and our burritos have a tortilla, rice, and a side of chips! That is more than your daily recommended intake of carbs in one meal.

Here is a quick lesson in "carbology 101?- Carbs are a source of instant energy for our bodies, and are necessary in the right quantities for us to function properly. But if they aren't used/burned off, the extra gets stored in our bodies as "body fat".

So in short, if we don't have excess carbs, we can stop gaining body fat. Yet you should not cut out carbs completely. They should make up about half of your caloric intake. So if you eat 1400 calories per day, try limiting your carbs to 650 of those calories.

Bonus Reason 6!) You could be gaining muscle

Note: this would only be a reason if you are working out

You have probably heard muscle weighs more than fat, and it's true! My advice here is focus more on how you look, how your clothes fit, and how you feel. Your body composition is changing, and your clothes will start getting looser, and you will be getting leaner and stronger. If you are experiencing what I just mentioned, that means you are working out right but need to focus a little more on the diet.

Remember to acknowledge and celebrate all the small accomplishments along the way! You are bettering yourself in so many ways, and that is something to be proud of!

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Tips on Losing Weight After Pregnancy

Since pregnancy is a life changing experience that affects both the emotional and physical health of the new mom, one needs to know how to successfully adapt to the transformations into her lifestyle and levels of maturity. By the end of your labor, you might be surprised to realize that you have actually added tons of pounds and folds of excess fats. This will bring significant changes to your figure and physical body and hence the need to lose some weight after pregnancy. Here are some easy to follow tips and simple pointers on how to lose baby weight.

Most women scour the Internet daily, read widely, and consult almost everyone in their lives on ways of losing weight after pregnancy, but the sad fact is that most of them end up with unworkable weight loss routines. Firstly, it is imperative to point out that you will certainly shed off some pounds after delivery naturally, through breastfeeding; unfortunately, it is a slow, tedious process. This may take several weeks and months before you can actually trim excess fats and go back to your original figure. And what's worse, your body may not be able to go back to its pre-pregnancy contour if you do not put in some extra effort on your endeavor.

It does not take those Hollywood celebrities some rocket science of sorts to achieve pregnancy weight loss. The secret to weight loss after pregnancy is hard work. You ought to be a hard worker to be able to go back to your pre-pregnancy shape. Hardworking also means that you have to be strict to your exercising routine or program and keep maintaining a healthy and balanced diet at all times in order to achieve the much desired health improvement. Remember, at this stage you will not be eating for two as you may have been used to doing during your pregnancy, but eating healthy.

Moreover, it is advisable to breastfeed your new-born if you intend to lose baby weight that you might have gained because breastfeeding helps release lots of body fats from the body. Breast milk production involves burning of fats and calories by consuming the extra fats gained due to increased appetite. In fact, breastfeeding can help a new mother lose baby weight by burning about 200 to 500 calories a day. Doing regular exercises is very vital in not only helping in slimming or trimming off some extra body fats but also in reducing postpartum depression. Although exercising will always be any slimming program regardless of whether it is meant for a new mom or not, one has to seek some professional input from a physician especially if she underwent a C-section.

Besides adapting a healthy balanced diet so as to help in cutting off some weight after pregnancy, eating lots of vegetables and fruits will help produce that much needed healthy breast milk that your infant needs. Apart from that, adapting a healthy lifestyle is in itself setting a good example for your family in future. Contrary to common belief, starving yourself or cutting down on the amount of food you eat all over a sudden will not help in achieving pregnancy weight loss but instead contribute towards unwanted muscle building.

Cristina Palmer is the author of this article on lose baby weight. Find more information, about pregnancy weight loss here

Honest Tips for Losing Weight Fast

If you have to attend a special event or party relatively soon and you have tried on that dress you had to have only to find it is too snug, you may be interested in ways in which you can lose those extra pounds quickly. Simply by paying close attention to a few details you can be on your way to losing those uncomfortable extra pounds.

One of the quickest ways to shed those extra pounds is by fasting. If you have the willpower a fast can be quite beneficial. During a fast you are only allowed to drink water and juice. This method has been used for years in a number of different cultures. Fasting was primarily developed for religious reasons, but it has also proven to be efficient at helping people lose weight. Fasting can be a difficult process and many people only make it a few days before giving in. But with a high level of dedication and willpower, it is possible for an individual to lose up to 5 pounds on a 3-day fast. This may be enough to help you fit comfortably in your clothes.

Another helpful way to lose weight fast is to make changes to your existing diet. These changes can include increasing the amount of water you drink each day. It is recommended that everyone drink at least eight 8 oz. glasses per day. You should also cut down on the amount of servings that you have during mealtimes. It is also important that you eliminate between meal snacks. Removing all extra sugar, salt and fat from your diet is also a great way to speed up your weight loss.

The most important step you can take is to implement some type of exercise into your daily routine. Simply by increasing or adding exercise into your daily routine you will begin to notice that your clothes are beginning to fit a little looser. The more exercise you perform the higher the amount of calories you will burn throughout the day. Simply increasing the amount of time you spend walking can make drastic results to the amount of weight you lose.

Another great tip is to avoid situations that cause you to demonstrate bad choices. If you tend to visit the vending machines at work during your break, it may be prudent for you to avoid walking in that direction. To avoid temptation, you can also use the time to call a friend or catch up on some work.

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Tips To Losing Calories - Watch What You Eat

Many diets recommended out there actually cause people to gain instead of lose weight. This is because these diets deprive people of proper food consumption and make them so starved that they will tend to eat everything in sight when there is a chance. They are also deprived of the food they loved so that dieting becomes an unpleasant and stressful thing for them, and eventually give up dieting altogether. This article provides some tips to help a person diet effectively and efficiently to lose calories fast.

1) To ensure the body gets all the correct nutrients, eat food from all food groups. Don't eat the same food all the time. Try something new each day so that one will not get bored with the same old diet. An effective diet needs to be 50-55% carbs. Proteins should only make up 25-30% of the diet. Meat as a source of protein should be kept minimal. The body only needs 15-20% fats in the diet which is readily available in the form of sugar, cream et cetera.

2) Eat more fruits and vegetables. Always eat fresh instead of processed/canned fruits. Besides providing much more fibre, sugar level is also cut down. Vegetables is the best type of food source when it comes to losing calories. Besides fibre, leafy greens also contain lots of natural water and working them in a salad provides a sumptuous and healthy meal. Just watch out on the dressing, especially if cheese is included. Eating raw vegetables is the best as cooking them destroy the nutrients. If one must cook them, try to boil them to a point where there is still some crispness to them. Food like tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupe, kiwi, grapes contain about 90-95% water so they can fill a person up without packing on the pounds.

3) Reduce meat intake. The more meat cut from the diet, the more fat can be reduced from the body. If meat is a must, then eat white instead of red meat. White meat includes chicken, fish and some other fowl. Red meat includes beef and pork. Pork has a high fat content so the less eaten, the better off for weight loss. Same goes for ham, bacon and sausage.

4) Set meal times and stick to them. An eating pattern will also help regulate what one eats and when one eats. Plan for 5 small meals a day rather than one or two huge meals. Eat only when hungry but not to the point of feeling starved.

5) Always share guilty pleasures like ice-cream, chocolates and desserts with friends and family. Sharing makes it more pleasurable plus one gets and flavour but not the calories.

There are actually more tips to eating than i can write here. Suffice to say that these 5 tips are the more crucial ones when it comes to correct dieting to lose those calories.

Losing weight through dieting should not be a torture. To learn how to diet effectively and efficiently to lose calories and yet enjoy the process, go to my website at http://www.losecaloriesfast.com/ where i share more useful content on weight loss and dieting.

Eating Too Little and Not Losing Weight?

When we think diet, to many the first thought that comes to mind is eating less or close to nothing. That is the biggest misconception, and the perfect way to set up yourself for failure. A few days ago, I was speaking to a female that weighs approx. 140lbs. She had told me she eats a 3-oz chicken breast and some plain broccoli 4 times a day everyday. One of two things, complete B*S*, or she's only been on the diet for a day and hasn't felt any of the negative effects this can have on a person. Without doing the math, her daily caloric intake wouldn't even come close to 1000 calories.

Cutting calories exceptionally low, usually leads to cutting micro and macro nutrients which can be putting you on on the right track to fail. My personal diet consists of eating high carb, high fat meals at the right times of the day, that way I keep my metabolism revved up and my body burning more calories throughout the day, and night.

Another dilemma you will face when cutting your caloric intake too low, is cutting your vitamins and minerals out of your diet. Cutting your essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients (carbs/fats/proteins) will directly hinder energy levels, growth and repair of the body (hair, nails, muscles), joint lubrication, heart health, and your overall well-being. Who wants to feel like shit right? I know!

Many people complain that their joints ache and pain when dieting. Many times this happens because they have cut out many of the nutrients from their diet which will aid in repair in the body. I can't stress how important it is to get a wide variety of foods in the diet especially fruits, vegetables. We all know that fruits are high in sugar, however they do not carry the same characteristics that table sugar does and the body does not utilize them the same way. Look how many vitamins and minerals a grapefruit contains, why miss out on all of the benefits...

Many people have the excuse that they can obtain these nutrients from a multivitamin, sorry to break it to you but who knows how much of the multivitamin your body actually can use of it.

I want to stress the importance of not being on a diet for 8 weeks or so, but to try and live a healthy lifestyle, so you can eat tasty foods, enjoy them, experience weight loss, while still feeling sane. It is possible without a doubt, you just have to eat well balanced meals. Spend the money to get a meal plan tailored specifically for you, and not by somebody who is only concerned that you shed off the weight, but for your health also. I can assure you, that if the diet is very hard to stick to, and you are kicking yourself in the ass everyday, and hating every minute of it, you will get to your goal, and crash hard one day and BINGE! Their is only so long you can do something you hate, so make sure enjoy eating healthy foods and don't put to many restrictions on what you can eat unless you are dieting for a bodybuilding competition. It is better that it takes you a bit longer to lose the weight rather then shedding it so fast. By doing so you will keep the weight off permanently and not pig out and gain an extra 10lbs on top of what you started with. Many bodybuilder's (not all) look amazing, but only for a few weeks out of the year, one of the reasons being is that their diet is very difficult to stick to, and can only be done for so long and not a life-long thing.

A few tips:

1. Eat a well balanced diet to get as many vitamins and minerals as possible

2. Eat fibrous carbs, fats proteins, and drink plenty of water throughout the day (4-6 times in smaller portions)

3. Eat different foods, rather then the same meal everyday (trick your body, keep it working and guessing

4. Portion controlling your food, eating enough but not to the point that you are full

5. Stay away from foods that have been altered, processed, or have been changed in any way. Stay away from foods that have additives (added ingredients).

How To Stay Slim After Losing Weight

Most overweight people often make the mistake of thinking that the biggest hurdle that they will face in their quest to lose weight is how to shed off their excess body fat when the real and greatest challenge that they will face is how to keep and maintain their weight at a normal level without regaining all the fat that they had managed to shed off initially.

While losing weight may be difficult, keeping off the excess body weight is even much more tedious. The truth of the matter is that we are all born with a specific number of fat cells which remains consistent from our early 20s till the time that we die. Scientific research has also revealed that we do not really "burn" away our fat cells when we shed body weight; all that happens when we lose body weight is that we shrink our fat cells and these shrunken fat cells can easily get bloated up again if they are exposed to the "right" environment.

This is most likely the reason why so many scientific research done on losing weight and maintaining the lost body weight have revealed that you would probably have to work harder to maintain your slim stature than you worked to shed your excess body fat in the first place.

So, if you do not want to fall into the trap of regaining excess body weight after you have worked so hard to shed off body fat, you should be ready to work hard, and you can make use of the following tips to stay fit and trim:

Tip 1- Bury your old unhealthy and fattening habits

While it is true that old habits die hard, there is no way you are not going to become fat again if you do not bury your bad old habits permanently. According to a recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine you are likely to regain small amounts of weight gradually over some time if you start indulging in these three main lifestyle habits:

a- Eating more of potato chips and sugary beverages which have a high starch content.

b- Reduction of your level of activity; spending most of your time in front of your television or computer.

c- Getting little or too much sleep

You would start experiencing significant weight gain within months if you slip back into these harmful habits. So, if you do not want slip back into your former fat and unhealthy shape stop those habits right away.

Tip 2- Maintain guard over what you are putting into your mouth

Just because you are now slimmer doesn't mean that you can now throw all caution overboard when you want to eat and just east as much as you like. You have to continue to consume more of low fat proteins and complex high fiber carbohydrate foods which make you feel fuller for longer periods and which discourage the secretion of the insulin hormone.

Tip 3- Chew your food more

Recent scientific studies published by the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition have revealed that fat and obese people tend to chew food less than slim people. This finding is most likely due to two facts; (a) when people chew slowly they tend to consume fewer calories, and ( b) proper chewing of food leads to lower secretion of the hunger hormone called ghrelin by the gut which leads to decreased appetite and subsequently lesser eating.

So chewing of your foods will help to stop eating once you are no longer hungry as opposed to stop eating of food when you are full.

Tip 4- Be weary of emotional eating

Any time that you want to eat you should always pause to ask yourself this question, "Do I want to eat because I am hungry or do I want to eat because I feel emotionally moved to eat." Never be in a hurry to eat; relax and evaluate your reason for wanting to eat before you start stuffing the food into your mouth.

Tip 5- Continue to exercise

You should make working out part of your normal daily routine, and you can engage regularly in weight lifting and other types of simple resistant training to help you to continue to burn calories even when you are resting.

Tip 6- Continue to monitor your self

If you do not want to slip back into your former fat and unhealthy figure, you have to continue to monitor yourself closely; continue to monitor your calorie intake; continue to monitor your fat intake, and continue to monitor your level of physical activity. The minute you stop to monitor yourself, you will begin to slip back into your former sloppy shape.

Tip 7- Keep on reminding yourself of the benefits of staying slim

Always keep reminding yourself of the numerous health benefits of staying in shape; when you are slim and fit, you are less prone to diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart diseases, and a host of other serious medical conditions. As long as you do not lose sight of these important benefits, you will not lose your motivation to keep on doing all that is necessary to make sure that you do not become overweight.

Charles D Moody is a health worker with special interest in fitness, women issues, and weight loss. He contributes regularly to health sites that help people to become slimmer, fitter and healthier. You can visit his blog to discover how you can plan your simple and effective fat loss diets.

How to Start Losing Weight NOW

The only thing that will decide whether you actually want to lose weight in the now, is your perception of your body. Here's a little quiz to help you determine whether your reasons to start losing weight is powerful enough:

Are you comfortable in your skin?

Can you undress confidently in front of your man without worrying about flab spilling out?

Can you dance confidently in a club with a devil-may-care attitude?

Do you shop often for clothes?

If yes, is your first reaction on seeing yourself in new clothes, critical or approving?

Lastly, do you FEEL HAPPY about being the shape you are in NOW?

Honestly, I do not need to provide you with an answer because while you were taking that quiz, your mind has already worked out whether or not you are ready.

If you are still reading this, you are more than just ready and even a little motivated. Here, at this point I will just tell you one thing and with hundred percent faith and confidence: if you manage to stay consistent and self-motivated for the next 2 months, you will lose close to 5% of your body weight.

Understand that every person's requirement is different. Some people are struggling to lose the stubborn last 10 pounds while others might just be starting off. Also, how your body reacts and the amount of effort you put in directly influences the end result, hence I did not say that you will lose so and so pounds by the end of 2 months. That goal number has to be fixed by you.

How do I determine my Short Term weight loss goal?

There are three factors to be taken into account to calculate your 2 month's goal

• Current weight and Measurements.

• Daily caloric requirement

• How many hours of exercise can you put in throughout the week

Current Weight

Maintain a weight loss diary with weekly updates, motivational quotes, etc. Take your weight the first thing in the morning after you've used the restroom. Make sure that you weigh yourself either naked or just your inners.

Measure your chest, upper and lower waist, hips, each thigh (at their widest) and each arm. Jot it down in your weight loss diary in an organized manner.

Now, if you think that you are someone who starts tearing her hair out seeing no change on the scale, then I'd advise you to not weigh yourself before the 2 month's mark. However, if your diet and workout isn't affected by the number on the scale, then weight yourself weekly to keep a tab.

Daily Caloric Requirement

BMR or Basal Metabolism Rate is the rate at which your body would burn calories even if you lie in bed all day. When people want to maintain their current weight, they are advised to consume calories limited to their BMR.

However, since you are trying to lose weight you need to create a deficit between BMR and calories consumed. Consider your body similar to a water balloon (pardon the pun), the balloon needs a certain amount of water to reach its maximum size, now if you keep reducing the water content by 1 teaspoon, the balloon would eventually start to shrink in size.

Similarly, consuming less than the allotted caloric value (which is the BMR) you are creating a deficit and will hence burn fat faster, but remember that at all times you must not eat below 1200 calories plus minus 75 calorie units.

Your BMR is calculated taking your weight, age, sex and height into accordance.

Exercise

Like the old adage goes: eat less burn more! Exercising is not just limited to the gym; the idea is to be active. If you can't afford the gym membership or don't have the time, be resourceful: run up and down the stairs or dance while cooking.

You know you are truly working out when you start sweating a lot and your heart rate pumps up; strolling at 2mph for 30 hours is not enough if you want to lose close to 2 pounds a week.

A good workout, no matter if you are doing it at the gym or in your backyard, is the one where you can feel the burn.