Weight Loss Strategies

What’s your goal weight? For most, that goal will be their 'ideal weight', but for many, that 'ideal weight' may be exactly the wrong weight for them to be aiming for.

The 'set point' is the weight at which your body naturally feels most comfortable. If you've been overweight for a very long time, or if you've consistently lost and re-gained weight, your body may respond to your initial weight loss by lowering its metabolism because it believes that you are starving. This slowing leads to discouraging plateaus that often knock people off their diets entirely. This can lead to regaining all or part of the weight.

Many experts now recommend aiming for shorter-term attainable goals. Since the bulk of diet research shows that most dieters lose weight steadily for about 12 weeks, then hit a plateau, that's the number that they suggest you aim for. The strategy that many have found works best for them is one of alternating periods of weight loss and maintenance, each lasting 8-12 weeks. That way, when the plateau hits, you’re not knocked off balance mentally.

Choose a realistic amount of weight that you can lose in about three months. Figuring that the most reasonable and healthiest weight loss rate is 1-2 pounds per week, 30 pounds in three months is possible. Diet until you reach that goal, or for 12 weeks, whichever comes first, and then switch to a maintenance diet.

Now you're re-educating your body and letting it establish a new 'set point'. Once you've maintained your new weight for 8-12 weeks, set another weight loss goal, and move back into weight loss mode. By giving your body a break from 'starvation', you'll have overcome its resistance to losing more weight, and be back to dieting for 'the first two weeks' - the weeks that most people lose weight more rapidly. Pretty cool, huh?

You'll also be giving yourself a chance to 'practice' maintaining your new, healthier weight. Many people gain back their weight because they never re-educated their palate along the way. By practicing weight maintenance in stages, you'll be proving to yourself that you CAN do it.

This will work with any long-term weight loss diet. Regardless of the diet you choose, though, by alternating between weight loss phases and maintenance phases, you'll teach yourself and your body how to maintain a healthy weight. And that means you can get rid of your “fat” clothes once and for all!

Posted by Anna Dedrick
Check out http://dietingsucks.blogspot.com/

What’s Your Body Mass Index?

What's your Body Mass Index and why should you care about your BMI?

If you’re 40 or more pounds overweight, chances are you’re aware of your need to lose some extra pounds. But what about the borderline overweight? Does just an extra ten pounds really raise your risk of health complications? Are you just 'big-boned'? How do you decide if you really need to lose weight - and how much you need to lose?

Now the most commonly used measure is the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI measures your weight relative to your height. It’s a fairly accurate representation of muscle-to-fat ratio, although there are some limitations.

1. Muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. So if you’re really athletic, it may overestimate your BMI.

2. It may underestimate the BMI of an elderly person, or someone with low muscle mass.

BMI calculators available online will allow you to check your own BMI. Here’s the table for determining risk factors associated with obesity:

Below 18.5 - Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 - Normal
25.0 - 29.9 - Overweight
30.0 and up - Obese

So, if your BMI is above 25.0, your doctor or other medical professional can advise you on the best weight loss plan for you. There are actually great benefits to losing even a moderate amount of weight. Benefits like:

* Lowering your risk of diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, a weight loss of as little as 10 pounds can decrease the chances of pre-diabetes developing into diabetes by 58%.
* Lowering your risk of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, coronary problems are directly correlated to weight. By losing weight to bring your BMI to within normal ranges, you significantly lower your risk of developing heart problems.
* Reduce your risk of arthritis and pain from arthritis. Some forms of arthritis are related to weight. Losing weight substantially decreases the strain that additional weight places you your knees, hips, back and ankles.

Let’s look at three ways you can start losing weight today:

Move it.

If you do nothing different in your life but exercise for one half hour daily, you’ll lose 5-7% of your body weight per year.

Nix white breads and sugars.

Substitute yummy whole grains for refined flours and sugars, and you'll automatically reduce the number of calories that you consume daily.

Eat more fresh vegetables.

Fresh vegetables, especially raw, offer many of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs daily. They're high in nutrition, while low in calories. By increasing the amount of fresh vegetables that you eat, you'll cut calories and carbohydrates.

Then having your BMI calculated won’t be so scary!

Posted by Anna Dedrick
Check out http://dietingsucks.blogspot.com/