For my weigh in for the week I'm down another 3 pounds. So eight total so far. Not to bad I guess wish it were more! Cary lost 3 pounds last week also, he decided he wanted to loose 10 pounds or so. And ya know how he lost his? Doing basicaly NOTHING! He just quit drinking 3ish Pepsis a day and went to just one a day and BOOM he looses 3 pounds! So not Fair!
Fad Diets: Separating Fact From Fiction
Every year Americans invest billions of dollars in weight loss diets and gimmicks, many of which yield few results. However, the lure of quick, easy weight loss is hard to resist. Despite ineffective tools, most hopeful consumers are willing to give the next weight loss fad a chance. If you're planning to start a new diet, it is important to remember the following information.
Food-specific diets: Have you ever tried the cabbage diet or the fruit-only diet? These are just a couple of examples of diets that promote one "specific" food that causes weight loss. No matter how much you think you'll enjoy ice cream at every meal, inevitably you will get bored with eating the same food repeatedly. As a result, you'll eat less food than needed to maintain your weight. This type of diet will not teach you healthier eating habits or provide a balance of nutrients, and consequently is not effective for long-term weight loss.
High-protein, low-carbohydrate diets: One of the most recent trends in dieting, these diets are based on the concept that carbohydrates are "bad" and that everyone has some degree of insulin resistance, resulting in poor carbohydrate metabolism. Many proponents of these diets suggest that including carbohydrates in your diet will cause weight gain. The reality, though, is that eating more calories (whether as carbohydrate, fats, or protein) than you burn will cause weight gain.
High-fiber, low-calorie diets: As I've noted in many previous blog entries, fiber-rich foods play an important role in a healthy diet. They are a helpful ingredient of weight loss efforts because they provide bulk to the diet, which helps you feel fuller sooner. Be careful, though: if you plan to increase the fiber in your diet, be sure to increase your fluid intake at the same time or you may experience cramping, bloating, and constipation. High-fiber diets will help with weight loss only if you restrict calories in conjunction with addition of extra grains, fruits and vegetables.
Liquid diets: Consumers face a couple of different liquid diet options. Your local grocery store and pharmacy sell over-the-counter liquid meal replacements, which can be expensive and frequently add extra calories to daily consumption if not managed carefully. On the other hand are liquid diets that require medical supervision. These diets are usually very low in calories and may result in metabolic abnormalities if dieters are not carefully monitored. Neither type of liquid diet should be used for long‑term weight loss unless monitored by a health care professional. Radically changing your caloric intake in this way will not result in long-term behavior modification and healthy eating patterns.
Fasting: As a way to cleanse the body or jump-start a weight-loss program, fasting has been recommended for years. However, all that fasting really does is deprive your body of nutrients and decrease your energy, leaving you feeling weak and lightheaded. If the right nutrients are not available for your cells to use as energy, your liver will convert fat stores to ketones for use as energy (ketosis). Long-term ketosis can be harmful to your health.
No fad diet or gimmick will work magic for safe and effective weight loss. The following are some suggestions for ensuring a long-term healthy eating plan and getting your weight loss efforts off to an encouraging start:
Eat a variety of foods. Remember, a balanced diet will ensure that you get all necessary nutrients.
Get some physical activity every day. Calories in must be less than calories out to ensure successful weight loss. To keep "calories out" at a healthful level, make you get at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.
Include sources of fiber in your diet. They will add bulk and give you a feeling of fullness.
Choose a diet low in fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol. You do need to consume some fat for good health. Aim for no more than 30 percent of your total calories as fat calories, of which no more than 10 percent should be saturated fat calories.
Choose foods moderate in sugars. Foods that are high in simple sugars usually offer little nutritional value and will add unwanted calories.
Choose foods moderate in salt and sodium. Remember that salt has been added to many foods during preparation or processing, so it's not necessary to add extra salt at the table.
Weight-loss options: 5 popular diet approachesProvided by:
Last Updated: 06/23/2005
When it comes to weight loss, there's no shortage of advice. Check any magazine rack or bookstore and you're bound to come across that latest and greatest cure for being overweight. Some even work — for a while.
But what you need to look for is something that works for a lifetime — a weight-loss approach that can help you establish a healthy lifestyle to control weight. And the best weight-loss program for you is one that you'll commit to long term.
Here's a summary of five different types of weight-loss strategies in circulation today. Though these approaches may not be the ultimate weight solution to your weight-loss quandary, they may help you see the relationship between what you put in your mouth and its eventual effect on your body.
1. Low-fat diets
Eating foods low in fat is a logical strategy for losing weight. A gram of fat contains twice as many calories as a gram of carbohydrates or protein. So cutting down on high-fat foods can help you cut down on your daily calories and thus help you lose weight.
So why don't low-fat diets always work? The truth is that even a low-fat diet can lead to weight gain when people ignore the total amount of calories they're eating and regularly exceed their daily calorie goals. Too many calories from any source, low-fat foods included, can add pounds.
It's also not a good idea to cut most or all fat from your diet. This may deprive you of essential fatty acids — which are necessary for the health of your body — and possibly other nutrients sometimes found in foods that contain fat. In addition, your body needs some dietary fat to help absorb certain vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E and K.
Whatever percentage of your calories is from fat, choose fats that will promote your long-term health. Limit saturated fats — found in animal products, coconut, palm and palm kernel oils — and trans fats (hydrogenated oils). Instead, use monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as those found in nuts and nut oils, avocados, and olive, canola and other plant oils.
2. Low-carb diets
Another popular strategy for losing weight is to limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat. The theory behind this weight-loss program is that carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels, which causes an increase in your body's insulin production. High insulin levels drive blood sugar into your cells, where it's converted to fat.
Proponents of low-carb diets, such as the Atkins diet, believe that a decrease in carbs will result in lower blood sugar and insulin levels, leading to weight loss. By reducing the amount of carbs you're taking in, your body turns to stored carbohydrates (glycogen) for energy. When these reserves are exhausted, your body turns to the next source of energy, fat tissue, leading to weight loss.
Some people do lose weight on low-carb diets, but the weight loss probably isn't related to blood sugar levels. More likely, it's related to these factors:
Loss of water weight. When you initially decrease your carbohydrate intake, your body burns glycogen. Glycogen contains large amounts of water, so burning glycogen leads to the release of water and increased urination, causing weight loss.
Decreased appetite. Burning fat without carbohydrates creates byproducts called ketones that build up in your bloodstream. When this happens, you may not feel as hungry.
Increased feeling of fullness. Low-carbohydrate diets are usually higher in fat. And fat takes longer to digest, which makes you feel fuller longer.
Reduced calories. Most low-carb diets reduce your overall calorie intake because they strictly limit the variety of foods you can eat. Carbohydrates — including bread, pasta, rice, cereals, milk, most fruit and any sweets — are to be limited or avoided, thus leading to a significant reduction in calorie intake.
3. Glycemic-index diets
The glycemic index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods based on their effects on blood sugar. For example, eating highly processed foods, such as bread made with refined white flour, raises blood sugar higher and faster than does eating whole foods, such as coarse whole-grain bread or an apple. This earns white bread a high glycemic-index rating and whole-grain bread and apples a lower glycemic-index rating.
Similar to the theory behind low-carb diets, glycemic-index diets — such as the G.I. Diet or the Sugar Busters diet — are based on the premise that increased blood sugar levels lead to overproduction of insulin, leading to weight gain. Therefore, eating the right carbs — foods low on the glycemic index — can help you lose weight by lowering insulin production and regulating your appetite.
Using the glycemic index for meal planning is a fairly complicated process, however. Many factors affect the glycemic-index value of a specific food, such as how the food was prepared and what you eat with it. Also, the glycemic-index value for some foods isn't known. And people typically eat a combination of foods, which may affect blood sugar differently than does a single food.
4. Meal replacements
Meal replacements, such as Slim-Fast, provide fewer than 400 calories a meal and are nutritionally complete. You replace one or two meals a day, such as breakfast and lunch, with a low-calorie shake or meal bar. Then you eat a healthy third meal, between 600 and 700 calories, of your own choosing. You can eat healthy, low-calorie snacks, such as fruits and vegetables, throughout the day. Most of these programs encourage regular physical activity. Meal replacements can be as effective as a traditional calorie-controlled diet.
5. Commercial weight-loss programs
Commercial weight-loss programs, such as Weight Watchers, offer a reduced-calorie diet and individual or group counseling. These programs assist your weight-loss efforts by giving you eating plans, exercise recommendations and ongoing support. Some programs also offer ready-made meals delivered to your home.
The most popular commercial weight-loss programs — Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and LA Weight Loss — vary in the services and programs they offer.
Weight Watchers. As a member of Weight Watchers, you attend a weekly meeting for a private weigh-in, group information or activity session, and supportive conversation with fellow participants. The program involves a three-step approach encompassing the foods you eat, your activity level and the use of specific strategies that promote long-term healthy weight.
Jenny Craig. This program encourages long-term weight loss through exercise, stress reduction and individual support. Jenny Craig also offers ready-made frozen meals delivered to your home overnight. The meals contain the proportion of fats, carbohydrates, proteins and other necessary nutrients you need. The plan also offers telephone counseling and an at-home program for people who don't live close to a Jenny Craig center.
LA Weight Loss. This weight-loss program includes one-on-one counseling sessions and help in planning meals and snacks, which you prepare at home. The program encourages clients to make food choices from readily available foods.
Which weight-loss plan is right for you?
How can you determine if a weight-loss program is right for you? The American Dietetic Association suggests that you ask yourself these questions. Does the program:
Include various foods from the major food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains (particularly whole grains), low-fat dairy products, lean protein sources (meat, poultry, fish), nuts, seeds, and beans and other legumes?
Include foods you find appealing and that you would enjoy eating for a lifetime — not just for several weeks or months?
Feature foods you can easily find in your local grocery store?
Allow you to eat your favorite foods, or better yet, all foods?
Fit your lifestyle and budget?
Include proper amounts of nutrients and calories to help you lose weight safely and effectively?
Encourage regular physical activity?
If you answer no to any of these questions, the weight-loss program isn't right for you, as you probably won't stick to it long term. Successful weight loss requires permanent changes to your eating and physical activity habits. This means you need to find a weight-loss program that you can commit to and follow for life.
How Do I Start Eating Healthier?
Step 1: Look at how you eat
To eat healthier, you first need to know what makes up a balanced diet. The food guide pyramid emphasizes whole grains and fruits and vegetables in your diet while limiting fat and sugar. Once you know what foods make up a balanced diet, you can determine what changes you need to make.
eep a food diary for a week or two and record everything you eat or drink. Make sure to track the number of servings you get from each food group.
You need:
6 to 11 servings of a variety of whole grains (rice, bread, pasta, cereal).
2 to 4 servings of a variety of fruits.
3 to 5 servings of a variety of vegetables.
2 to 3 servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese.
2 to 3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, nuts, or eggs.
A small amount of fats, oils, and sweets.
After the first week, review your food diary. Ask yourself a few questions: Are you getting the minimum number of servings from each food group on the average? Do you get plenty of fruits and vegetables throughout the day? Are most of the foods you eat high in fat, sugar, and salt? Do you prepare meals at home, or do you eat more fast foods or convenience foods? Do you drink beverages that contain a lot of sugar? Do you drink plenty of water?
The number of calories you need each day depends on your age, gender, and activity level. In general:
Less active women and older adults need about 1,600 calories per day.
Active women and most less active men need about 2,200 calories per day.
Active men need about 2,800 calories per day.
Step 2: Start thinking about changes
Do you find that you eat out a lot? If so, you may be getting more fat, salt, and calories than you need, and your diet may not be balanced. Do you eat a lot of meat but not many vegetables? Your diet may be too high in saturated fats and low in fiber. Do you rely on packaged convenience foods for a lot of your meals? If so, you may be getting more salt and sugar than are healthy.
Start reading labels on convenience foods that you eat to see the amount of nutrients they contain. Fast-food and convenience-food meals often contain few or no fruits or vegetables, so making sure you have some fruits and vegetables on the side will make the meal more nutritious.
Step 3: Start small
Don't try to make dramatic changes to your diet all at once. You would likely feel overwhelmed and deprived of your favorite foods and, therefore, would be more likely to fail. Start slowly, and gradually change your habits. Try any of the following:
Use whole-wheat bread instead of white bread.
Eat brown rice instead of white rice.
Try whole-wheat pasta instead of pasta made with white flour. Or try a mixture of the two.
Use skim or 1% (low-fat) milk instead of whole milk or 2% milk.
Try low-fat cheeses and low-fat yogurt.
Add more fruits and vegetables to meals and have them for snacks.
Add lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onion to sandwiches.
Add fruit to cereal.
Step 4: Know your ingredients
o make healthy choices, you need to know how certain foods affect your body.
Fat: Recognize the difference between fats. Saturated and hydrogenated (trans) fats can raise cholesterol levels. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids may reduce your risk of developing coronary artery disease. 3 Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, such as trout, tuna, and salmon, as well as in plant foods, such as flaxseed, canola oil, walnuts, wheat germ, and soy. They may also help lower blood pressure and triglycerides.
Carbohydrate: Learn the differences between types of carbohydrate. Choose whole-grain sources of carbohydrate found in unprocessed cereal grains, such as brown rice instead of white rice and whole-wheat bread instead of white bread. Whole-grain sources of carbohydrate add fiber to your diet and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Sugar: Milk and fruits contain naturally occurring simple sugars, but they also contain many other vitamins and minerals. Added sugars, such as in granola bars and fruit drinks without 100% real fruit juice, have been refined so that all the other nutrients in the sugar are removed. Used sparingly, added sugars can enhance the taste of food. But too much sugar can fill you up and displace other more nutritious foods, contributing to excess calories and weight gain.
How do you make those permanent changes? Follow these six strategies.
1. Make a commitment
Permanent weight loss takes time and effort. It requires concentration and a lifelong commitment. Make sure that you're ready to make the necessary permanent changes and that you do so for the right reasons.
No one else can make you lose weight. In fact, external pressure — often from people closest to you — may make matters worse. You must undertake diet and exercise changes to please yourself.
As you're planning new weight-related lifestyle changes, try to resolve any other problems in your life. It takes considerable mental and physical energy to change your habits. So make sure you aren't distracted by other major life issues, such as marital or financial problems. Timing is key to success. Ask yourself if you're ready to take on the challenges of serious weight loss.
Keep in mind that no matter how prepared you may be, you'll occasionally overeat or eat foods that you should avoid. Rather than let a setback derail your efforts, accept that it happened and get back on track. Don't expect perfection — and never give up.
Motivate yourself by focusing on all of the benefits of losing weight, such as having more energy and improving your health. Then look at the negatives, such as finding the time to exercise, and come up with creative solutions.
2. Get emotional support
Ultimately, only you can help yourself lose weight by taking responsibility for your own behavior. But that doesn't mean that you have to do everything alone. Seek support from your partner, family and friends.
Pick people who you know want only the best for you and who will encourage you. They should be available to listen to your thoughts and feelings and encourage you, perhaps spend time exercising with you, and share the priority you've placed on developing a healthier lifestyle. An ideal support person might be someone who also is participating in a weight-loss program.
Some people fare better with professional support, such as a dietitian or personal trainer. Others benefit from the group support they receive from organizations such as Weight Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous.
If you do join a group, keep in mind that what you get out of it will be in proportion to what you put into it. If you sit in a corner and just listen, you may hear some good suggestions. But if you actively participate, you're more likely to reap the potential rewards of the group, such as support, encouragement, feeling that you're not alone and helpful suggestions specific to your concerns.
3. Set a realistic goal
When you're considering what to expect from your new eating and exercise plan, be realistic. Healthy weight loss occurs slowly and steadily. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. To do this, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories a day through a low-calorie diet and regular exercise. Losing weight more rapidly means losing water weight or muscle tissue, rather than fat.
Set weekly or monthly goals, and then track your progress. Remember that you're in this for the long haul. Anything you undertake too intensely or too vigorously may quickly become too onerous, so you're more likely to give up.
In addition, make your goals "process goals," such as eating judiciously and exercising regularly, rather than "outcome goals," such as losing 50 pounds. Changing your process — your habits — is the key to weight loss. Make sure that your process goals are realistic, specific and measurable — you'll walk for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
Work out a strategy that gradually changes the habits and attitudes that may have undermined your past efforts to lose weight. Choose a definite start date. Consider where, how often and how long you'll exercise. Develop a realistic eating plan that factors in plenty of water, fruits and vegetables. Write everything down. Find the potential roadblocks, and make plans to deal with them.
Ask your doctor how much weight you can safely lose. Your doctor may refer you to a dietitian or someone else who specializes in weight loss.
4. Enjoy healthier foods
Liquid meals, diet pills and unusual combinations of foods aren't the key to long-term weight control and better health. Instead, learn how to eat a variety of healthy foods.
Adopting a new eating style that promotes weight loss must include lowering your total calorie intake. But decreasing calories need not mean decreasing taste, satisfaction or even ease of meal preparation. One way you can lower your calorie intake is by eating more plant-based foods — fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Strive for variety to help you achieve your goals without compromising taste or nutrition. Cutting back on calories is easier if you focus on limiting fat.
To lose weight, talk to your doctor about setting these daily calorie goals:
Your weight in pounds
Daily calorie goal
Women
Men
250 or less
1,200
1,400
251 to 300
1,400
1,600
301 or more
1,600
1,800
Over time, your caloric needs may change based on your health risks, the rate of weight loss desired or needed, and your personal goals and preferences. You can increase your calories if you're too hungry or if you've reached your target weight and want to stop losing.
Very low calorie diets aren't a healthy long-term strategy. Fewer than 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,400 calories for men aren't generally recommended. If your calories are too low, you run the risk of not getting all of the nutrients you need for good health.
It's usually best to talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before starting any weight-loss plan. A weight-loss specialist can help guide you in making the healthiest, most effective and safest food choices based on your individual needs.
5. Get active, stay active
Dieting alone can help you lose weight. Cutting 250 calories from your daily diet can help you lose about half a pound a week: 3,500 calories equals 1 pound of fat. But add a 30-minute brisk walk four days a week, and you can double your rate of weight loss.
The goal of exercise for weight loss is to burn more calories, although exercise offers many other benefits as well. How many calories you burn depends on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities. For many people it's easier to keep a routine of longer duration, lower intensity aerobic exercises. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise — such as walking — for more than 30 minutes most days of the week.
Strength training exercises, such as weight training, also are important because they help counteract muscle loss associated with aging. And since muscle tissue burns more calories, muscle mass is a key factor in helping maintain a healthy weight. The more lean muscle mass you preserve, the bigger "engine" in which to burn more calories.
Exercise sensibly by starting out slowly and gradually increasing the duration and intensity. Walking is an ideal choice, as is swimming, bicycling, jogging or dancing. Decide, too, if you prefer to exercise alone or with others. Often, having a buddy helps you stick to your schedule.
Even though regularly scheduled aerobic exercise is best for losing fat, any extra movement helps burn calories. Lifestyle activities may be easier to incorporate into your day. Think about ways you can increase your physical activity throughout the day. For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator, or park at the far end of the lot. Stair climbing, walking, gardening, lawn mowing and even housework all help burn calories.
6. Change your lifestyle
It's not enough to eat healthy foods and exercise for only a few weeks or even several months. You have to incorporate these behaviors into your life. To do that, you have to change the behaviors that helped make you overweight in the first place. Lifestyle changes start with taking an honest look at your eating habits and daily routine.
To assess your eating behaviors, ask yourself if you tend to eat when you're bored, angry, tired, anxious, depressed or socially pressured. Look at your eating style and shopping and cooking techniques. Were you taught to clean your plate? Do you eat too fast? Do you eat while watching TV? See if any patterns emerge to identify possible triggers for overeating.
After assessing your personal challenges to weight loss, try working out a strategy to gradually change habits and attitudes that have sabotaged your past efforts. Simply admitting your own challenges won't get you past them entirely. But it helps in planning how you'll deal with them and whether you're going to succeed in losing weight once and for all.
You likely will have an occasional setback. But instead of giving up entirely, simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you're planning to change your life. It won't happen all at once, but stick to your healthy lifestyle and the results will be worth it
good job cindy every litte bit counts.
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