WEIGHT LOSS:GETTING INTO THE RIGHT MIND SET

Weight Loss: Believe it or not, there is a psychological factor that comes into play when you’re trying to lose weight. We like to compare it to the ―rah rah‖ factor that you sometimes need to succeed in sports. Look at your weight loss as your own personal sporting event. Just as you need to know the rules of the game as well as the basics of performing that game in sports, you also need the right information in your diet to make it effective.

When you have all the tools you need, you can become an excellent performer in almost anything you try in life. One of these tools is the right frame of mind. The right frame of mind will give you motivation, commitment, and the skills you need to overcome the obstacles that you might face along with temptations and distractions.

Think this sounds a little too ―new age‖ for you? Think again! When you have the right psychology during your weight loss journey, you will make your weight loss fun, easier, more exciting, and be able to develop changes towards a healthier lifestyle that will stay with you forever. Your mindset controls your behavior, actions, and thoughts.

 As people grow, they develop habits and associations that govern their life. Most of these habits are controlled by our sub-conscious and we are generally unaware of them. However, your subconscious could also sabotage your efforts – also while you unaware of them. This can be detrimental to your weight loss attempts. The right mindset entails using various techniques and strategies to control your behavior by monitoring your thoughts and actions.

 When you obtain this mindset, you will be better equipped to replace the old habits and associations that formed your thinking in the first place with new and more positive habits that will enable you to lost weight and be happier while you do so! Developing the correct mindset doesn’t occur overnight. It take a little bit of effort, but in the end, it is well worth the time you’ll spend doing so. You will have to regularly monitor your progress and behavior.

 Sometimes it will be easy – at other times, it won’t. The good news is that there are some easy ways to begin to put yourself into the right mindset.

1. Write your goals down – tell yourself what weight you want to get to. While you’re at it, write down any other personal goals you might have as far as your life in general. Since you’re undertaking something as huge as losing your extra weight, you may as well also focus your efforts on improving other aspects of your life while you have the motivation and drive.

2. Be specific about what those goals are. When you generalize your goals, you are trivializing them. Your goals ARE IMPORTANT. Make them important!

3. Assign yourself a deadline. You want to lose weight. You want to do it by Christmas, or your wedding, or the next class reunion. When you assign a deadline, you give yourself a goal to work for, and like we said, your goals ARE IMPORTANT!

4. Make those goals measurable and achievable. Don’t think TOO big or try to undertake more than what you are capable of. If you need to lose 100 pounds, don’t expect to do it in a few weeks. Give yourself enough time to do so in a healthy manner. You could also try to break the goals down into easier increments. Tell yourself that you will lose 10 pounds over the next month. Then tell yourself the same thing the next month. Eventually, you’ll reach that goal and feel the satisfaction of being lighter than you were before.

5. Focus on those goals everyday. Post them on your refrigerator. Write them in your date book. Put a reminder on the visor of your car. When you focus on your goals, you will keep them in mind all the time and when they are first and foremost in your mind, you will be well on the way toward achieving them.

6. Be committed to those goals – at all costs. There’s a reason why you want to achieve those goals. When you are committed, those goals become the focus of your mind and they will be much easier to realize.

The battle with our metabolism as we age can’t be denied. Our metabolism, which transforms our food into energy, slows down with each passing year.

 If we don’t adjust our eating habits and our exercise to compensate, we slowly add additional pounds. We may feel betrayed, but the reality is we’re going to have to change some habits in order to maintain our weight. If you take things one step at a time, there are basic steps that can be adopted. Stop telling yourself, ―I just can’t do it.‖ You can coax yourself into a new habit of healthy eating. Developing a psychology towards weight loss will help you achieve you goals and realize success.

 Aim high, push yourself to become the type of person you want to be and live the life that you want and deserve. We are not given the power of dreams without the power and ability to achieve those dreams. It’s time to start – RIGHT NOW!

METABOLISM AND YOUR WEIGHT

Weight Loss:METABOLISM AND YOUR WEIGHT

You likely know your metabolism is linked to your weight. But do you know how? Common belief holds that a slim person's metabolism is high and an overweight person's metabolism is low. But this isn't usually the case. Metabolism alone doesn't determine your weight.


Rather, weight is dependent on the balance of calories consumed versus calories burned. Take in more calories than your body needs, and you gain weight. Take in less and you lose weight. Metabolism, then, is the engine that burns these calories and is the scale that regulates your energy needs.

 Stated simply, metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. During this biochemical process, calories — from carbohydrates, fats and proteins — are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function. The number of calories your body burns each day is called your total energy expenditure.

 The following three factors make up your total energy expenditure:

Basic needs. Even when your body is at rest, it requires energy for the basics, such as fuel for organs, breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, plus growing and repairing cells. Calories expended to cover these basic functions are your basal metabolic rate. Typically, a person's basal metabolic rate is the largest portion of energy use, representing two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories used each day. Energy needs for these basic functions stay fairly consistent and aren't easily changed.

Food processing. Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day. For the most part, your body's energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.

Physical activity. Physical activity — such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and
any other movement — accounts for the remainder of calories used. You control the number of calories burned depending on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities. It may seem logical to think that significant weight gain or being overweight is related to a low metabolism or possibly even a condition such as under-active thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). In reality, it's very uncommon for excess weight to be related to a low metabolism. And most people who are overweight don't have an underlying condition, such as hypothyroidism. However, a medical evaluation can determine whether a medical condition could be influencing your weight.

Weight gain is more likely due to an energy imbalance — consuming more calories than your body burns. To lose weight, then, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories, increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity, or preferably both. If you and everyone else were physically and functionally identical, it would be easy to determine the standard energy needs. But many factors influence calorie requirements, including body size and composition, age, and sex.

To function properly, a bigger body mass requires more energy (more calories) than does a smaller body mass. Also, muscle burns more calories than fat does. So the more muscle you have in relation to fat, the higher your basal metabolic rate. As you get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight. Metabolism also slows naturally with age. Together these changes reduce your calorie needs.


Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than do women of the same age and weight. This is why men generally have a higher basal metabolic rate and burn more calories than women do. Your ability to change your basal metabolism is limited. However, you can increase daily exercise and activity to build muscle tissue and burn more calories.

Your metabolism influences your energy needs, but it's your food intake and physical activity that ultimately determine your weight. Losing weight, like any task you undertake, requires that you have dedication and .motivation to succeed. This means you need to get your head in the right place.

WHY ARE WE SO OVERWEIGHT?

I suppose the easiest answer is fast food, but the problem extends out to so much more. Yes, the prevalence of fast food restaurants certainly doesn’t help. As Morgan Spurlock showed us with painful reality in his movie, ―Super Size Me‖, fast food menus offer us a heaping helping of fat, cholesterol, and calories. I highly recommend watching this movie if you find yourself addicted to McDonald’s – you could very well change your mind after you see it!

At any rate, many of these restaurants are now offering health-conscious choices including salads, potatoes instead of French fries, yogurt, and grilled meats instead of fried meats. So with these items now included on their menu, why aren’t we losing weight? The answer lies within our choices. Those choices extend to home life as well. Many people live horridly busy lifestyles, and they more often than not opt for pre-packaged foods that contain high amounts of salt, fat, and other unhealthy components that contribute toward weight gain.

We tend to maintain a mostly sedentary lifestyle choosing to watch a favorite television program after dinner rather than going out for a walk like they used to do decades ago. This type of life style unfortunately is being learned by our children as well. When I was young, we couldn’t wait to get through dinner so we could go outside and play a game of kick the can as the sun went down. We rode our bikes everywhere and only watched television when ―The Brady Bunch‖ or ―The Partridge Family‖ was on. Hey, we had our priorities! Today, you’re more likely to find kids on the computer or in front of the TV with a video game controller in their hands.

 Kids know more about the story line on Desperate Housewives than many of their housewife mothers. They can tell you about all of the new products being offered through commercials they see in between their programs. In fact, the average child these days will watch more than 15 hours of television each and every week. Now, we’re not saying television is BAD. In fact, some programs can be beneficial and even helpful in making kids smarter.

What we’re saying is that kids need to get outside more instead of sitting in front of the TV eating Cheetos and drinking sugar rich soda. The statistics are showing this to be true. Fifteen percent of all children and teens are overweight - a number that has tripled since a previous study done in 1980.

Some people blame their excessive weight gain on slow metabolisms. In some cases, this might actually be true. However, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed what no one really wants to face: we’re overweight because we simply eat too much of the wrong foods. Losing weight is actually quite simple – eat less, exercise more. But we’re resistant to that message. Mainly, it’s because we’re looking for a quick fix – an easy, painless way to drop pounds without sacrifice.

After all, losing weight just CAN’T be that easy, now can it? No, it isn’t. You have to consider portion control, food choice, exercise, how much exercise, what kind of exercise, etc. But worrying about all of the specifics will do you little good. You need to get the big picture in mind first before worrying about the specifics. What you want to do is lose those extra pounds.

And there are many, many ways to go about that. But before you wait around for the next miracle diet, try some of the tried and true methods we’ll show you. It’s not as monumental as you think it is!

Weight Loss Without Starving Yourself

Are you carrying a little extra weight around the middle? Maybe you’ve got more than just a little weight problem – maybe it’s a rather large one and you need to get rid of the fat for health reasons. Rest assured that you’re not alone! Obesity in America is at an all-time high. One of out of every three Americans is obese – a number that has doubled in just ten years.

 

 This epidemic is growing out of control in other countries as well as fast food franchises open in China, Japan, Germany, and other industrialized nations. When you are overweight, it’s a serious issue. Carrying extra weight can make you more susceptible to heart problems, diabetes, stroke, and various types of cancer. It can also affect your body image as well thus causing problems with your self-esteem. You deserve to be healthier and take off some of that weight that is making you unhealthy. 

 

But what if you’re like me and love food so you hate the idea of having to eat rice cakes and alfalfa sprouts or starving yourself just to help the weight come off. We have good news for you! You don’t have to starve yourself to lose weight! Many people associate weight loss with being hungry all the time. They're afraid to start a weight loss plan because they want to avoid the frustrations of hunger.

And yes, a lot of times for many people they think it's better to be overweight than to starve. I'm no exception. I really like to eat, so there's no way I would be constantly

hungry for the sake being thin. What kind of life is it if you're always feeling hungry? Our natural instinct tells us to eat when we are hungry. Hunger is a signal telling the body that it needs to eat. It is also a signal to the body that it is in danger, that it needs food now. Our self-preservation instinct makes us scarf down everything in sight in response to feelings of starvation. Our body doesn't care that we live in the modern world where food is plentiful. It acts the same as it would if we were living in a wild, having to hunt for our food. 

 

And it is not wise to go against the instinct that is designed to protect us from starvation death. So, get ready for a surprise: you do not have to be hungry in order to lose weight. On the contrary, eating regular meals and keeping yourself full is what will actually help you stick to your healthy eating plan and reach your goals. Keeping your hunger in check will help you avoid overeating. It will also prevent you from feeling miserable, frustrated and out of control. Diet and weight loss is big business these days. It seems you’re always seeing and hearing ads for weight loss products that promise amazing results.

 

 Some of them have their own meal plans, some are just small little pills that purport to burn fat, and others ask you to cut certain foods out of your diet in order to adjust the body’s metabolism. There are many, many people out there who have amazing success using these programs. Kirstie Alley’s looking great these days with Jenny Craig, and there’s no denying that Anna Nicole Smith has regained her image as a sex symbol with Trim Spa.

The downside to these companies and diet plans is that they can often be expensive. The pills you take for weight loss can contain dangerous chemicals or have a large amount of caffeine that make you jittery and feel out of control. The positives are that they are easy to follow and provide you with support when you have questions or just need a positive uplift on the way to your goal weight. 

 

If you want to join these programs, that’s wonderful! But know that everything they offer you can be done all on your own. You can prepare the meals that Jenny Craig offers, you can gain the same effect that those fat burning pills give, you can be in control of your own weight loss program – and you don’t have to starve to do it! Inside the pages of this book, we’ll give you all kinds of tips and tricks toward successful weight loss. 

 

We’ll examine some common weight loss myths and even give you some great recipes to try while you are on this journey. It won’t be easy and you’ll have to maintain your willpower to be successful, but losing weight without starving yourself is a goal YOU CAN achieve!