Quick Weight Loss Diets How Do You Know If They are Working?
I come across individuals all the time that tell me they have followed a Quick Weight Loss diet, but don't know if it worked or not.
What do you mean you don't know if it worked or not?
Did you lose weight? Did your body fat percentage decrease? You have to know if it worked or not.
I then ask them if they took any measurements and body fat calculations at the beginning of the Quick Weight Loss diet.
Usually the answer is no.
So I guess they are really telling the truth about not knowing if they lost any weight or not. Generally they say they got on the scale in the beginning and then weighed themselves at the end.
The scale can give you some answers, but it won't tell you the whole story on whether or not your Quick Weight Loss diet is successful. It can also give you plenty of false numbers along the way that will discourage your efforts.
To be successful at fast weight loss you need to be obviously eating properly, but also strength training. Strength training produces lean body mass which is weight on the scale, but looks great on your body and is key to keeping the fat off once you have lost it.
If I only used the scale as my measuring tool and I lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 5 pounds of lean muscle the scale would tell me that I only lost 5 pounds.
I would think that I failed.
If I took before measurements, pictures and body fat calculations I would know that I lost 8% body fat, 4 inches off my waist and gained 5 pounds of lean body mass.
I now know that my Quick Weight Loss diet was successful. The scale didn't tell me those numbers.
Before you start any exercise or Quick Weight Loss diet program make sure that you not only take before pictures, but you also find out what your body fat percentage is and your circumference measurements.
This way you have all the evaluative tools to tell you if a program is successful or not. It will also tell you if you need to modify that program so that you see better and quicker results.
I advise those looking to follow a Quick Weight Loss diet program to start with all these baseline measurements and re-take them every 2-3 weeks to re-evaluate your progress. This will ensure that you know quickly if you need to modify anything with your exercise or diet program so that you can garner more successful weight loss.
Don't just assume a Quick Weight Loss diet program is going to work. You have to measure the results and make modifications to suit you individually. This is the way to guarantee successful weight loss.
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Weight Loss Success - 6 Quick Tips
By Kathryn O'Neill
Want weight loss success? Before you can succeed at weight loss, you have to know the main reason why people fail.
The main reason many people give up on losing weight is because they try quick fad diets instead of making real lifestyle changes. This actually backfires not only because they don't lose weight, but they damage their self-esteem in the process ("Why can't I lose weight? I must be a failure at dieting").
This ultimately leads them to stop trying - when the truth is that almost anybody can lose weight, regardless of past history with diets.
But here's the key: weight loss success is the result of long-lasting lifestyle changes in one's thinking, diet, and exercise - not a quick 2 week fad diet.
To help you kick-start your weight loss, here are some basic dos and don'ts of healthy eating, which will help you become your own weight loss success story.
DO: Focus on eating healthy foods instead of focusing on what you can't have ('junk foods'). It's a basic psychological principle that we are drawn to what we focus on.
Think about what you can incorporate into your diet to make it healthier. This gives you a more positive focus instead of that dreaded diet 'deprivation' mentality.
Food pyramids generally recommend incorporating a lot of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. These can taste delicious and give you tons of energy after eating them.
Also, take some time and read about the benefits of healthy foods. This will help you to want to eat them and you'll also feel better about yourself when you eat them (because you know how much they're helping your body).
DO: Divide up your daily caloric intake into several small meals. Eating several small meals while you try to lose weight will help you feel satisfied rather than hungry. (Hunger is the enemy of all dieting plans!)
Fresh fruits and/or vegetables make great snacks. Other healthy snacks include whole grain pretzels, low-fat yogurt, peanut butter on whole grain crackers, low fat string cheese, whole grain cereal, and 100-calorie packs.
By doing this you also help to keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day and your insulin levels lower (insulin, among other things, signals your body to store fat).
DO: Exercise. Most weight loss success stories incorporate some sort of exercise into their daily or weekly routine.
Physical activity is good for your body and mind. Try to find exercise you enjoy rather than something you don't like - because if you don't enjoy it, you won't stick with it.
Take a daily walk with a friend. Run a mile each day. Take a bike ride. In general, you should combine strength training exercise with aerobic or heart-pumping exercise. Strength training can include lifting weights or doing some challenging stretches.
Exercise is also a great way to stretch your caloric budget every day as regular exercise helps to build and increase metabolism.
Physical activity won't undo the effects of a poor, high calorie diet. But it can give you that little edge, especially when you know you're going to be eating extra calories that day or for a special occasion.
DON'T: Don't cut "unhealthy" foods completely out of your diet. Cutting unhealthy foods, such as cookies, cake, brownies, and ice cream completely out of your diet will only leave you craving these foods.
In turn, it may lead to overeating these foods once you finally give in to temptation.
Instead, eat unhealthy food in moderation. If you are craving ice cream, for example, eat one 1/2 cup serving. If you are craving a chocolate chip cookie, eat a small to medium sized cookie.
Eating unhealthy food in moderation won't ruin your diet and can actually help you lose weight faster since you don't feel deprived.
DON'T: Don't avoid fat completely. Having fat in your daily diet is healthy.
In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, fat helps your body in numerous ways including giving you energy, aiding in the production of hormones that help your body clot blood, constrict blood vessels, and regulate heart rate and blood pressure.
Fat also carries vitamins to the blood, helps protect your organs, maintains healthy skin and hair, and helps keep your body insulated. It is important however to know what fats are good and bad for you.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for you. These fats can be found in canola oil, peanut oil, olive oil, fruits, corn oil, fish, nuts, and flaxseed. Cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fats should be avoided whenever you can.
Foods that contain these types of fats include, but are not limited to, beef, pork, veal, dairy products that contain 2% or whole milk, butter, palm oil, and lard.
According to the American Heart Association, people should limit their daily fat intake to less than 25-30% of all calories consumed.
Additionally, the organization recommends individuals limit their cholesterol intake to 300mg. per day, trans fat intake to 1% of caloric intake, and saturated fat to less than 7% of caloric intake each day.
DON'T: Don't use food to cope with stressful or upsetting situations. This is a big one as many people ruin their diets because they can't stop stress eating.
Invest time into finding healthier ways to deal with uncomfortable feelings. Healthy ways to cope with feelings include writing in a journal, taking a walk, reading a book, talking with a friend, and listening to music.
So there you have some tips for jump-starting your weight loss success plan. Remember that true weight loss success stems from a lifestyle change so incorporate these changes at your own pace.
Do what you can and build new 'thin' habits into your life at a pace that feels comfortable for you. If you're committed and take the steps above, you're well on your way to losing weight and keeping it off for good.
About the Author: Kate Fox writes for Diet Food Delivery - offering reviews of Diet Meal Delivery services. It's been proven that people lose more weight when they eat prepared meals. For more information on Diet Meal Delivery services visit the Diet Delivery Services page.
Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=235045&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet
Quick Weight Loss - Not All it's Cracked up to be?
Is Quick Weight Loss a good idea? It all depends what you consider 'quick'. Some people follow what used to be called 'crash' diets, eating next to nothing for a limited period of time in an attempt to lose weight as quickly as possible. This is seldom a good idea, for several reasons. First, super Quick Weight Loss necessitates following such a restrictive diet that the dieter is more than likely to feel deprived - indeed, he or she has an excellent reason for feeling this way!
A diet very low in calories is unlikely to provide adequate nutrition, so it leaves you feeling hungry, deprived and resentful. People have different reactions to this; some rebel, while others are convinced that they don't deserve to eat normally and that they'll never be able to, without gainin weight. In other words, crash diets set the stage for future eating disorders.
Also, very Quick Weight Loss seldom stays off. That's because most people's bodies tend to have two metabolism 'settings', probably left over from those of early humans. When food is plentiful, it is consumed as needed, and the excess is stored in the form of fat. But when food is scarce (like during a restrictive diet) your body is convinced that it's going through a 'famine' time, and metolism slows down to conserve energy.
If you're after Quick Weight Loss, that's the last thing that you want, of course. And after you start to eat normally again, your body might still think that it's in a famine and needs to hold on to every bit of energy it can. In fact, some chronic dieters succeed in permanently slowing down their metabolism to the point where they end up gaining more weight than they ever lost in the first place. That's because lost muscle weight can sometimes be replaced by an equal volume of fat.
The real key to Quick Weight Loss, therefore, is not cutting calories but increasing activity so that you burn more of them more quickly. Consider the fact that ballet dancers can lose up to five pounds in a single performance - now that's Quick Weight Loss! Of course, most of us will never be active enough to lose weight that quickly, but certainly a daily workout, long or short, can help get you on the road to Quick Weight Loss. An exercise program coupled with watching what you eat is absolutely optimal in allowing you to lose weight fast. Don't be tempted by gimmicks or pills, though; at best, they are likely to be waste of money, and at worst, they can be downright dangerous.
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