Effective Weight Loss Strategies: A Comprehensive Guide - Prof. Salazar, Study notes of Personal Health

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100 WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

HELPFUL ADVICE TO GET YOU STARTED

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Chapter 1.........................................................................................................................................
  • Weight loss beginning with what you drink
• Chapter 2.........................................................................................................................................
  • eating well and losing the pounds
• Chapter 3.......................................................................................................................................
  • Lose weight by changing how you cook
• Chapter 4.......................................................................................................................................
  • Exercising to lose weight...........................................................................................................
• Chapter 5.......................................................................................................................................
  • Getting Started..........................................................................................................................
    • Working out really is good for you
    • Consistency is key

CHAPTER 1

WEIGHT LOSS BEGINNING WITH WHAT YOU DRINK

First and foremost, people don't realize that what they drink is the first step in losing that first 10 pounds. In fact, most people don't know that when they feel hungry, they may actually be dehydrated and they are really thirsty, not hungry. Water is remarkable as well. Over 66% of your body weight is nothing but water. This is also why water plays an important role in weight control. So TIP #1 is:

Drink plenty of water. It is recommended that you drink 8 glasses per day, but that may take you some time to work up to. Your body needs a whole lot of water. Water doesn't just flush all the toxins out of your body, but it makes you feel better and healthier. When you drink a lot of water you just begin to feel fit and this is the motivation you need to lose weight.

The best thing about water is you can drink as much as you want because it has no calories at all. When you're drinking a lot of water, you eat less as well because you won't feel as though you are starving to death. Remember, if you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water first and you'll realize you were probably just dehydrated and not hungry at all.

The whole 8 glasses a day rule is really something you should strive for. The best way to do this and to measure your water intake is to buy a jug from the drug store or grocery store that is designed to hold exactly 8 glasses of water. These are great weight loss tools because you can fill them up, freeze them and as it melts throughout the day you have fresh and cold water. Or, if you don't mind your water room temperature you can drink it that way as well. All that matters is that you're getting in the water your body needs.

TIP #2: Start off your day with a fresh, clean glass of water. As soon as you get up in the morning, drink one down. This will help your body to get going because it won't be fighting

through dehydration. Also, after you drink a glass of water you won't need to eat such a large breakfast. A glass of water wakes up all the digestive juices in your body and gets it well lubricated. You can always have your morning coffee or tea, but be sure to have a glass of water afterwards. Caffeine dehydrates you and you want to ward off dehydration.

TIP #3: Drink a glass of water before you sit down to eat. Water will naturally make you feel fuller so you don't have to eat as much food.

TIP #4: Have a glass of water while you eat as well. Take a drink after each bite and you will feel full more quickly so you can leave the table feeling satisfied without feeling bloated. Drinking water while you eat will also help your food to settle more quickly, which also helps you to feel full faster.

TIP #5 : Do your best to stay away from soda. All sodas are sweetened with lots of sugar. The more you can cut out of your diet the better. Also, diet soda is still soda. It may not have as much sugar, but it has other chemicals and components that are not good for your body either. If you drink a soda, counteract it with a glass of water. Remember, caffeine dehydrates you as well. Decaffeinated sodas still have caffeine in small amounts as well and just as much sugar, so they are not much healthier either.

TIP #6 : Fruit juice isn't as healthy as most people think either. Juice actually has a lot of sugar in it as well. If you are craving a glass of juice, drink fresh fruit juice instead of juice that has artificial flavors and coloring. It is even better if you can make your own fruit juice. Just be sure not to add too much sugar which adds to the calories. Instead of drink fruit juice, eat more fruit. Fruit provides your body with much needed fiber as well as vitamins.

TIP #10: If you must have alcohol, try dry wine. Dry wine is better than your sweet wines, because sweet wines have more sugar! Dry wines have sugar, but most of it has been fermented away into alcohol and from a weight gaining perspective, dry is better.

TIP #11: Another word on coffee, that is not necessarily bad, but more interesting than anything. Some people have reported that when they drank black coffee before exercising, they lost more weight. There's no scientific proof to back this, but nutritionists believe it may be caused by the body being forced to depend on fat for fuel. Hey, it's worth trying if you can stand black coffee. Just remember to drink plenty of water during your exercise!

TIP #12: Avoid drinking excessive amounts of coffee, as it desensitizes your body to the natural fat burning effects that caffeine has. One or two cups (if the day's really slow to get started) max.

CHAPTER 2

EATING WELL AND LOSING THE POUNDS

Okay, when most people think about losing weight and eating, they think about dieting. Well, unfortunately, all of the fad diets out there tend to cause people to gain weight. Why? Because they starve them to death and the person eventually breaks down and eats everything in sight because they are so darn hungry. They also deprive them of the foods that they love. This is not a way to lose weight, nor is it a way to live. You only cause yourself stress, which actually causes you to gain weight!

So, in eating right there a few tips that you can follow each and every day and they're not going to deprive you of the foods that you love, but treat those foods as luxury items so you enjoy them that much more.

TIP #13: Eat fresh fruit and vegetables that have high water content. These are foods like tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupe, kiwi, grapes – you get the idea. All of those fresh and flavorful juicy fruits and veggies are good for you. These items contain about 90 to 95% water, so you can eat a lot of these and they will fill you up without adding on the pounds.

TIP #14: Eat fresh fruit instead of processed fruit. Anything that is processed as more sugar. Processed and canned fruits also do not have as much fiber as fresh fruits.

TIP #15: Increase your fiber intake as much as you can. This usually means eating more fruits and veggies.

TIP #21: Eat only when you are hungry. Be sure to drink a glass of water first to determine if you really are hungry or if you are really thirsty. Many people have the tendency to eat when they see food. It doesn't mean they are hungry; they just want to eat it. Don't eat anything you're offered unless you really are hungry. If you feel you must eat it out of being polite, just nibble, don't have a meal.

TIP #22: Try not to snack between meals, but if you must have a snack make sure it is a healthy one. If you travel a lot try to find healthy snacks and not junk food.

TIP #23: Veggies make great snacks. They can get you through the hunger pangs if you are having them. Carrots are great because they satisfy hunger and they are packed with nutrients.

TIP #24: Counting calories is a good idea for those must have food items. If it is a packaged food item, then it will have the calories on the packaging. Be sure to pay attention to serving sizes in terms of calories as well. An Otis Spunkmeyer muffin is intended to be two servings, so you have to double the calories listed. This is where food producers get tricky and you can't fall in their trap.

TIP #25: Work off the extra calories by the end of the week. If you feel you have splurged too much this week, be sure to get to the gym or go walking a little longer to work off those extra calories you have consumed.

TIP #26: Stay away from all things fried. If it is breaded, it is better that it is baked. Fried foods are immersed in fat and oil. Even after the excess has oil has been drained away, there is still oil absorbed into the food item itself.

TIP #27: Don't skip meals. You should have, at the very least, three meals a day, but preferably five small meals. This will keep you from getting hungry during the day and overeating out of starvation.

TIP #28: Just like fruits, fresh vegetables are better than those that are canned. It is even better if you can eat your veggies raw. When you cook them, you cook away the nutrients. If you must cook them, try to boil them to the point that there is still some crispness to them. Also, don't soak them in butter. If you can buy organic and pesticide free veggies, that is even better.

TIP #29: Don't eat more than one egg per day. It is best if you can reduce your egg intake to three a week.

TIP #30: Chocolates should be treated as luxury items. Buy the good stuff and only eat them every once in awhile. If you really savor each morsel, you'll experience that much more joy in eating them and they will taste even better.

TIP #31: Eat foods from all of the food groups each day. This is a great way to ensure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs and it helps to ward off any diet deficiencies. Also, don't eat the same foods all the time. Experiment so that you don't get bored with same old diet.

TIP #38: White bread is good, but high fiber multigrain breads are much better. These breads are another way to add more fiber to your diet and they also have a good protein level.

TIP #39: Pork does not assist in weight loss in any way. The less pork you eat, the better off you will be when trying to lose weight. Pork has a high fat content and includes food items such as bacon, ham and sausage.

TIP #40: Limit your sugar intake as much as possible. If you must have sweetener in your coffee and tea, try to find an artificial sweetener that you don't mind the taste of. However, these things are not all that healthy either and should be limited as well.

TIP #41: Try grazing five to six times a day. These are those small meals we discussed earlier. Some people lose weight better when they never feel hungry and grazing on healthy food items can do this for you. Plus, it keeps your metabolism working, which will burn fat naturally.

TIP #42: Don't worry about cheating, but don't cheat for a meal. Eat sweets and your favorite cheat food for the flavor only. If you want dessert after dinner, share one with the whole family. You'll get the flavor, but not the pounds.

TIP #43: Watch your fat intake. Each fat gram is 9 calories. If you know your total calories then you can figure the amount of fat in those items.

TIP #44: Take it easy on the salt and try to cut what you use in half. Salt is one of the main causes of obesity.

CHAPTER 3

LOSE WEIGHT BY CHANGING HOW YOU COOK

Here are a few tips that will help you to lose those first ten pounds by simply changing how you prepare your food. How food is cooked has just as much to do with how healthy it is or is not.

TIP #45: Instead of frying in oil or fat, try baking those items instead. Baking does not require all the fat and oil that frying requires and your food is not soaking in those substances while it cooks.

TIP #46: Use non-stick frying pan spray so you don't use oil. Also, pans that are non-stick don't require as much, if any oil.

TIP #47: Boil vegetables instead of cooking them. You can also steam them, as this is probably the healthiest way to eat foods like cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.

TIP #48: Be leery of no fat and low fat food items. There are many of these food items on the market, but they are not exactly healthy. Many of these food items use some sort of chemical or carbohydrate to sweeten them so that they taste better. However, the body turns these chemicals and carbohydrates into sugar in the body, which means they are still getting turned into fat.

CHAPTER 4

EXERCISING TO LOSE WEIGHT

There are two things that you must do to lose weight and one of those we have already covered pretty extensively and that is to eat right and fill your body with good, clean water. The other thing you have to do is get your body moving. You don't have to purchase a gym membership to get exercise. In fact, there are several things you can do on a daily basis that will help to kick start your body into losing weight and there are several exercises you can do on your own to lose weight.

TIP #52: When you begin working out, whether at home or in a gym, don't be discouraged if you don't see results right away. It takes more than a week to get your body into shape and to begin making progress. Many people make the mistake of believing that their exercising isn't working when it just takes a little bit of time.

If you push your body too much when you first get started exercising you can end up with injuries. Your bones, joints and ligaments are not prepared for the exertion you are putting on them. Don't think that if you really push yourself hard for a few workouts that you'll lose money, unfortunately the body doesn't work this way. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to exercising.

TIP #53: Check your weight when you start exercising, but don't use it as a guide to how much weight you are losing. Your weight fluctuates throughout the day. If you check your weight every day, you may only end up getting discouraged.

TIP #54: The best way to know if you're losing weight is by the fit of your clothes. If you start to feel as though you're floating in your clothes then you know you're eating and exercising is doing you some good. Another way to know if you're losing weight is if you can begin moving where you usually buckle your belt, of course tighter is better.

TIP #55: When you periodically check your weight and the fit of your clothes, reward yourself. Buy yourself some new running shoes or a new pair of jeans. This will help to keep you motivated as you pursue your weight loss goals.

TIP #56: Take a day off from exercising to provide your body with a chance to rest and repair. Your body needs a day off once a week.

TIP #57: Three days of 30 minute exercise will help you to maintain your weight, but you need at least 4 days of 30 minute exercise to begin to lose weight and 5 days a week is even better.

TIP #58: Collect information on exercise and easy things you can do from your own home. There is tons of extensive research available on exercise and you can choose what will assist you the most to meet your weight loss goals. Browse the Internet or pick up some books on health and exercise from your local bookstore or library to learn more and how to burn off the desired number of calories you are trying to burn each week.

TIP #59: Try to find an exercise buddy. This should be someone who is as committed to exercising and losing weight as you are. One of the advantages of finding a committed partner is that you have someone to keep feeling responsible to them. The knowledge that someone is

TIP #65: Don't lie down if you can sit. Same concept as the two above.

TIP #66: The couch and the television are anti-weight loss. If you are inclined to become a couch potato, don't sit on it. In fact, if you have to, put a not so comfortable chair in front of the television so you won't spend so much time in front of it. The same is true for the computer if you're a computer junkie. Some people have a more comfortable chair in front of their computer than they do in front of their television. (This is, of course, if you don't work from home and need to work hours at a time in front of your computer because your chair is very important then.)

TIP #67: If you have a job where you sit the whole time, stand up and stretch every half hour or so. Most of today's jobs are in front of a computer and require you to sit. If you have a job like this make it a point to move every so often.

TIP #68: Walk around while you're on the telephone. You'll get a good workout if it is a long conversation.

TIP #69: Use the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. These are great conveniences, but they make us very lazy. Also, it may be quicker to take the stairs than to wait on an elevator to open.

TIP #70: Quit smoking. Smoking does not contribute to your weight exactly, but it does lead to erratic eating behaviors and increases caffeine dependence.

TIP #71: 10 minutes of cardio a day is good for most, you can get this by other methods than running.

TIP #72: If you can't run for a physical reason, then try 15 minutes of brisk walking to keep fit.

TIP #73: You can walk anywhere if you have time. If work or the grocery store is not far away, consider walking there or riding a bike. It may take you longer, but you're getting your workout in at the same time.

TIP #74: Hide the remote control from yourself. Remote controls are also evil when it comes to losing weight. If you didn't have a remote, you may not even turn on the television, which means you might find more active things to do. Get up and change the channel if you don't have a remote or go for a walk instead of watching TV.

TIP #75: Do your own fetching. If you need something from the kitchen, the TV channel changed, the mail or newspaper from the driveway, walk and get it yourself. Adding a little walking to your day will do wonders for you.

TIP #76: Walk along or climb the escalator with it or just take the stairs.

TIP #77: Walk around during commercial breaks or do simple exercises like crunches or bending over and touching your toes. Do anything to get your body moving more and to keep your blood pumping.