Tips on how to lose weight in a week naturally

March 7, 2010 by health1  
Filed under How to lose weight

It is possible to lose weight in a week; there is not doubt about that. What is of question is how much weight you can lose in a week using natural ways. Many experts suggest that the maximum healthy amount of weight you can lose in one week is 2 pounds. Taking that as a guide, below you can find some tips on how to lose weight in a week naturally and healthy.

1. You can lose weight by eating

The above statement is true. The correct way to lose weight is by eating. What you need to take care of is what type of foods to eat and in what quantities. As a general rule you should avoid processed food, canned food, fried food and junk food. In your daily diet you should include whole fresh foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods and generally anything that is low in calories, fats and sugars and contains no preservatives. To find these foods you have to do a bit of research before you go to the grocery shop but for sure that are plenty of healthy choices.

2. Eater smaller food portions

Many tips for weight loss are based around this principle. In order to lose weight you need to start eating fewer calories than you do now. This is also one of the most difficult things to accomplish in the whole weight loss process. Let’s see in more details some aspects of this process.

  • One pound is about 3500 calories. This means that to lose one pound you need to burn 3500 calories more of what you consume.
  • There are two ways to create this deficit. You can burn more calories through exercise and you can also consume fewer calories by following a balanced diet.
  • Reduction of daily calorie intake should be done gradually and slowly. You cannot dramatically reduce the calories you consume to a very low number because this at the end will create the opposite results and may also lead to other problems. A healthy amount of calorie reduction is between 250 – 500 calories per day.

So, now that we have seen the basics of weight loss, you can start thinking about your diet and what changes you can make in order to start the calorie saving process. These changes should include the replacement of certain foods that are high in calories and fat with food items that are lighter and healthier. Your target is to save around 300 calories per day. This means 300X7=2100 calories per week and 4X2100=8400 calories per month, which is equivalent to 2 pounds.

3. Learn to identify when you are really hungry

Many people tend to confuse hunger with other feelings and they consume many calories which are not really necessary. For example a lot of people have a desire to eat whenever they are stressed or when they have something in their minds that bothers them. It is really important that you control this situation and be in position to identify when you are really hungry and when you want to eat something because you have stress, because you feel thirsty or because of habit. A very nice trick is to drink water whenever you want to put something in your mouth. This action will reduce the amount of calories you consume and gradually you will be able to tell when you are feeling hungry and when not.

The above 3 tips cannot give you the complete answer on what you have to do to lose weight in a week but they can give you a very good idea on the changes you need to do in your lifestyle in order to lose weight permanently in the long run.

Fastest Way to Lose Weight

January 4, 2010 by health1  
Filed under how to lose weight fast

What is the fastest way to lose weight? Well, you have to follow a plan and stick to it. The first order of business then is to drink lots of water. Why does this work? Water suppresses one’s cravings and therefore the appetite. Also, it tones muscles, reduces cholesterol and aids in digestion and liver functioning. Not only that, water cleanses out the system and speeds up the metabolic rate so one can burn calories more proficiently. If you’re about 130 pounds, usually drinking eight glasses of water is enough for you to adequately burn calories and lose weight quickly.

Detoxing the System

Of course, drinking water in and of itself is not enough for you to lose weight fast. You also have to eat the right stuff in order to see any measurable reduction in your overall weight. Some of the foods that assist in immediate results when it comes to losing weight also help detox the system of any contaminants and pollutants. If you cleanse the system, your digestive tract and liver functions at levels that help speed up your metabolism and burn calories. Thus, if you eat foods that cleanse your system and are lower in calories, you will resultantly be not only thinner but more energetic too. If you’re more energetic, it only stands to reason that you’ll also burn calories more swiftly as well. So, what are the foods that are helpful in this regard?

Cleansing Foods
Eat strawberries and raspberries. They contain elegiac acid. This substance is effective in ridding the body of any contaminants. Eating grapes help the arteries to function with precision while cranberries assist in flushing out the kidneys. Lemons are helpful in cleansing the liver.

Ways to Burn Fat

Eat low fat dairy products, such as some cheeses, yoghurt or skim milk to burn fat in the abdominal area. These calcium-rich products help reduce the amount of absorbed fat in this region of the body. If you add to your fiber intake you will also lose weight at a much swifter rate. By doubling your consumption, you will feel fuller and at the same time cleanse the system so you can burn calories with greater efficiency.

Don’t Hold the Hot Sauce

If you like any type of hot food, you’re in luck. Capsaicin, which is found in chili peppers, speeds up the metabolic rate and increases your ability to burn calories by roughly ten percent.

An Excellent Diet Drink

A good beverage to add to your diet, besides water, is green tea. By drinking around 5 cups per day, you can boost your metabolic rate as well as burn as much as eighty calories in a single day.

More Meals and Smaller Portions

Keep in mind as well that it is best to eat more meals and smaller portions. That way, you burn calories more effectively as well as stave off any hunger pangs. Pick fruits such as bananas, apples, cherries, blueberries, cantaloupes and watermelon for optimum weight loss. Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cabbage, legumes, spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes, black beans, onions, and collard greens are also excellent foods to eat for quickly reducing one’s weight.

Select Grains

Choose grains such as whole wheat breads and rolls, whole grain cereals, oatmeal and barley to give any excess weight a quick “heave-ho.” Or, choose skinless chicken breasts, pork chops, tuna and salmon to burn fat and reduce weight at a quick rate.

Choice for Snacks

For snacks, good choices are popcorn (without butter of course), nuts, seeds, trail mix, applesauce, raisins, pretzels and granola bars.

Maintain a Schedule

When trying to lose weight in a minimum amount of time, it’s also important to plan your meals. Write down a daily schedule as to when you’ll eat and what food you’ll be eating as well. By doing so, you can maintain a type of diary to make sure you’re keeping on track with regards to your weight loss plan. A good schedule might include breakfast at 7 a.m., a nutritious snack, such as an apple at 10 a.m., lunch at noon, another healthy snack at 3 p.m. with dinner scheduled around 6 p.m. As you can see, by following this type of schedule, you can eat a number of low-calorie, fat-burning foods throughout the day without feeling deprived.

Consume Beverages Separate from your Meals

Don’t consume water or tea with your meals. By doing so, your foods will be better digested. Drink a cup of warm tea about ½ hour after you eat.

To Lose Weight Quickly – Choose a “Blue” Food

An interesting note – certain colors affect our perception of what we eat. For example, any foods that are colored blue, purple or black normally suppress the appetites of most people while foods colored red stimulate the appetite. Therefore, it might be helpful for some people to design a diet where they add some foods colored blue in order to help them in their weight loss efforts. Much of what we enjoy eating then has a good deal to do with the color of the food.

Stay with the Program

In any event, the above information can assist you if you want to lose weight fast. By referring to it as you plan your diet, you can be assured you’ll see results in a short manner of time.

How to lose weight naturally

August 24, 2009 by health1  
Filed under How to lose weight

There are many way to lose weight but the most important thing to do it to find those ways in order to lose weight naturally. This is because if you manage to lose weight naturally then most probably you will not easily gain the lost weight once you stop your weight loss efforts. This article is about how to lose weight naturally using very easy to follow weight loss tips and techniques.

How to lose weight naturally #1- Be careful on what you buy from grocery stores and supermarkets

Supermarkets and grocery stores  are designed so as to make you purchase items you may not need. Have you ever wondered why core items such as milk and eggs are positioned way in the back of the store. They are designed such a way as to make you walk through the entire store before picking up those items. While navigating through the store you pass by hundreds of other items. Most people have the habit to see and buy many things they think they need and even worse they will make impulse buys which include a lot of unhealthy items like sweets (candy, cake, donuts) and salty foods (chips, crackers). When you visit a store try and concentrate on shopping items that you really need and match your diet needs. Usually these items are located in the outer corners which include the sections of meat, poultry and fish. While browsing through the store, look around you and for a moment stop and think how the store is setup and the number of unhealthy food choices they have available for you to help you destroy your weight loss efforts.

How to lose weight naturally #2 – Food portion size

Being able to manage the portion size is extremely important when it comes to weight loss. With all of the extra large size portions out there, it’s very difficult to know what the correct portion size is. As a rule of thumb you can satisfy your protein needs when eating meat, poultry or fish by choosing a portion size that is about the size of a deck of cards. When eating out in a restaurant, if the portion looks too large then it probably it is large and more than what you need to eat. You can simply eat only a small portion of it and ask to take the rest home to eat in  another meal. By managing your portion sizes, you will be able to teach your mind and stomach into the proper amount of food you should eat . This is very important for creating new eating habits and following a healthy diet plan.

How to lose weight naturally #3 – Eat foods that contain low calories

Although there are no ‘negative calorie foods’, there are some foods that contain a few calories and as a result the calories needed by the body to do the digestion are more than the calories in the food itself. For example, 100 grams of broccoli has 25 calories and the body requires 80 calories to digest it so as a result we have a net loss of 55 calories! Other foods which are very low in calories and require lots of calories for their digestion include asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, lettuce and zucchini. These are some nice and healthy foods to include in your weight loss diet.

How to lose weight naturally #4 – Build more muscles

Muscle mass is the most active tissue in our body and it is responsible for burning calories throughout the day. If you can increase your muscle tissue by 1 extra pound, this will help you burn about 50 extra calories a day! It is of great importance to include some form of physical exercise into your overall weight loss plan.

How to lose weight naturally #5 – Set clear and precise weight loss goals

Having precise weight loss goals is very important in the process to lose weight naturally. By setting your weight loss goals, you will have a plan to follow so you can make those changes in your lifestyle which will eventually develop into healthy habits to last a lifetime. Concentrate on both short term and long term goals. You can initially set a weekly goal of losing 1 pound of fat. This is the healthiest amount of weight you can lose per week without causing any other health problems. To reach this 1 pound of fat loss per week, focus on making a 500 calorie deficit in the overall calories you consume every day. An easy way to create this 500 calorie deficit is through exercise or through your diet. Try to use a combination of both exercise and diet for the best results!

How to lose weight naturally #6 – Losing weight is a process that needs patience

It is a fact that it didn’t take you 2 weeks to gain those extra 20 pounds, so it definitely will not take you only 2 weeks to lose them! Focus on a solid weight loss/diet plan and stick to it for at least 8-12 weeks. When you begin, you should expect your body to resist the change to some degree. Stick to your plan and don’t be discouraged if you’re not losing weight very quickly. With patience and persistence your body will eventually become a fat burning machine. Be patient and the results will come!

How to lose weight naturally #7 – The mirror always tells the truth

When you are engaged in a weight loss process you want to have progress and you need the results to be visible. You can use the mirror to check your progress. Just wear your underwear or swimsuit and stand in front of the mirror. Take a close look at your trouble areas which tend to concentrate big amounts of body fat like the hips and thighs (for women) and the abdomen (for men). Sometimes the scale may not indicate any weight loss, but you may have added lean muscle to your body, and this will be shown in the mirror.

How to lose weight naturally #8 – Fat loss

When you want to lose weight naturally you probably work very hard in exercising and following to a healthy diet, so you need to make sure that you monitor your body fat levels. You need to make sure that you are losing body fat and not hard earned muscle tissue. Visit a professional to examine and analyze your body fat levels with either hydrostatic weighting (underwater) or with bio electrical impedance (sensors). These will provide you with a very accurate measure of your body fat percentage and will provide immediate feedback to your overall weight loss plan.

How to lose weight naturally #9 – Keep a weight loss journal

One of the most important aspects of weight loss is keeping a journal. Weight loss journals will allow you to keep a detail record and track everything you eat or drink. By keeping a weight loss journal you can immediate get a complete picture of your eating habits. Your journal will keep record of how many meals you eat everyday, the portion of your meals and when you eat each meal.

Except recording all of the foods you eat, your weight loss journal can include your feelings, thoughts and reactions with each meal. You can record such things like were you actually hungry when you ate your last meal or just bored? Did you eat because you were happy, in a bad mood or frustrated? Did you feel stressed or rushed during a meal? Also, you can record your feelings after you ate your meal. Did you feel tired and lethargic? These are very important things to document when keeping your weight loss journal. You will be amazed how much you can learn by recording those dietary events and using this tool is crucial for a successful and healthy weight loss!

How to lose weight naturally #10 – Always consider what you eat

When you want to eat or drink something, think for a moment if the food/drink will help you meet your weight loss goals or if it is setting you back. By considering what you are consuming, you will have a clearer picture of your dietary habits and you will be able to make those changes in your diet that will eventually help you to lose weight naturally.