How Stress Affects Weight Loss
I think we really have become obsessed with calories and portions to the point that we are stressed. Stressing leads to eating, among other things and, well, there we go again. I am all for controlling portions but not at the expense of anxiety. Calories matter but if we are freaking out over the fact that we over did our fat (or whatever) grams, well, our bodies respond by slowing down our metabolism.
Our body has no idea why the stress is caused it only knows that certain hormones are signalling “trouble” which tells hypothalamus to slow down metabolism. Yikes! You can’t win for losing, can you!
And where does this emergency fat get stored? In your waistline!!
It seems, too, that we can directly relate belly fat with stress hormones. Again, any kind of stress will signal “danger” to the body. Whether running from a bear, watching an accident happen, severely changing your eating habits, getting tense over a deadline, getting a late start in the morning … your body just knows that you have danger and will respond accordingly.
So, relax. Take your new eating plan one step at a time. Learn to forgive your transgressions. Begin each day anew. So what if you had an extra cookie or two. Just purpose to walk a little further. Work out a little longer. Eat less next meal.
But do yourself a favor and learn to let it go. Stress can kill a diet faster than anything. Hey, don’t look at it as though it is the end of the world. Just a bump in the road.
Stop Trying to Lose Weight!
I have been visiting weight loss forums all over the Internet. I do this in order to get the “pulse” of the public – find out their needs. I hope to learn just what it is that they are looking for in a weight loss plan and maybe point them toward what works. But I have seen a trend here that I just have to address and that is the gal or guy who “tries” a diet and finds it doesn’t work.
Often you hear this person saying something like “I am skeptical about XYZ diet. I have tried so many diets and am tired of getting burned. Tell me this one is for real”.
OK. Let’s get one thing straight right now. It takes Two to Tango. Number 1 – a sound weight loss plan which includes regular sturdy exercise, but, more importantly than that, Number 2 – a person with commitment!!
I have addressed the Number 1 issue throughout my site here. I recommend several weight loss plans in my reports. There are several highly rated diet programs – any of which will serve the purpose to help you lose weight.
But folks, it’s time you STOP trying a diet. It is time to commit to sound health and fitness for a lifetime. Weight loss is a by product to long term, lifetime commitment to living right.
When we approach weight loss as our goal we tend to give up. We fuss that we didn’t lose 5 or 10 or whatever pounds so XYZ diet doesn’t work!
What really needs to be our goal is better health with weight loss being a by-product to better eating and exercise. It should be the result of better living choices.
It is time to take charge of the over all problem that got us fat in the first place – bad habits! Choose a weight loss plan that encourages smaller portions, 4 to 6 meals/snacks a day, made with fresh food. Make sure it includes exercise, the kind that makes your heart pump and your muscles get a work out.
You don’t have a disease that makes you fat. You have some badly formed habits – that of too much of the wrong stuff. And then doing it in front of the TV or computer.
Stop trying to lose weight. Stop blaming a diet plan. Take charge of your own health by taking charge of what goes into your mouth and what you do with your body.
Yoda told Luke, “Do or do not. There is no try!” Just do it!
Lose Weight While Eating Dessert
I love to expose myths about dieting. This is one I really enjoy, too. That is that you can never have another cookie (or whatever) again. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a proponent of healthy eating for life. But notice I didn’t endorse dieting. I don’t believe in diets, per se. Diets are a temporary thing in your mind. It is something you do for a while to lose weight then you stop. Anyone who has been at the diet thing for long realizes that diets don’t work in the long run.
The person who comes to terms with the fact that when they want to lose weight, certain things have to change permanently. You will make better food choices for the rest of your life. You will exercise regularly for the rest of your life. Weight loss is part of a “rest of you life” thing. Not a temporary thing.
You must know that you cannot continue to eat the way you do and lose weight and keep it off. But that doesn’t mean you must never have another chocolate chip cookie again.
So, since we are going to eat better for the rest of our life, it stands to reason that we can add a “cheat meal”, here and there. Folks, we are talking about a cookie or a brownie or a small snickers bar, here. Not one of those giant industrial sized half pounders, either.
Oh, I know the reasoning behind getting the giant-sized food. Best bang for the buck. It is time to adjust your thinking here. There is no good price for junk food. Learn that it is OK to buy the small size Coke® even if the medium is only ten cents more. Yes, the Hershey® bars work out to be 58 cents each when you buy them in a box but you only need one 85 cent bar! Like you have enough self control to make a box of Hershey’s last two months, right? Don’t set yourself up for failure – buy one treat, not a box full. Repeat – there is no good price for junk food.
The point here is, allow yourself to have treats. Go so far as to plan them into your day/week. Make Saturday Night your dessert night. And have on slice or piece. When the family goes out for pizza, have a big salad and one slice of pizza.
Losing weight and staying healthy is for life, ladies and gents. The general rule is: Eat Less. Exercise More. Occasional treats. Enjoy life!
The Weight Loss Diet Waiting Game
“I want to lose my weight – yesterday!”
Sound all too familiar? We don’t fuss as we indulge and slowly pack on the pounds over months or years. But one day we wake up “fat” and decide we have to lose weight and so we go on a hunt for the best healthy weight loss diet we can find. Oh, I slipped that word “healthy” in there, didn’t I. Pity.
You see, when it comes to weight loss and dieting, we cannot expect fast results. When we get anxious, we set our expectations too unrealistically and when we cut our food intake and eat rabbit food for a week or two and find that we only lost 8 pounds, we whine!
Mind if I talk straight? You cannot expect to lose it any faster than you gained it. As a matter of fact, it will be tougher to lose it as your body sort of got “stuck in” at the current intake of calories and when it feels that intake is threatened, it will sense when you change gears and adjust downward.
So, eating less is not the only factor here. What will help your body to kick in gear to the new plan so to speak is to give it a jolt. What kind of jolt? Exercise!!
[moans and whines] Yes, my friend, good stout, sweaty exercise is the only thing that will tell your bod to jump out of storing fat to burning fat.
Which bring me to the point of this article… there is some waiting involved while you lose weight. No two ways about it. BUT the wait will be shorter and more efficient when you add regular, internal training and resistance exercise.
The great thing is that it doesn’t take 4 hours a day to achieve some significant results. In as little as 15 minutes a day you can see great changes. Holly Rigsby makes a point that 15 minutes of resistance workouts every other day alternating muscle groups with interval training daily is enough to make big changes in your dress sizes, for you ladies.
And guys, Tom Venuto of Burn the Fat, advocates longer workouts. As long as they are regular, daily sessions, you can notice huge differences in how your pants fit.
Weight loss is a waiting game, let’s face it. But you can see those pounds melt off almost as quickly as they came on when you add regular, sweaty exercise to your day.
Welcome to Best Healthy Weight Loss Diet!
For everything there is a beginning! So cliche…
We are on the brink of information overload collapse! Face it, there is just so much you can read and study and digest and ponder on any one subject. Don’t you just wish there was a Control Center that oversees the vast Internet and filters the good stuff from the junk. I do. When you type “healthy weight loss diet” into Google — WHOA! How can there possibly be so many programs out there and which one is the best??
Well, fo rone thing there is no BEST weight loss diet. Oooooo, I heard some of you groan. And some of you got all head up – of course there is a “Best weight loss diet”.
Nope. But there are some things you can count on being true about a healthy weight loss program. The usual:
#1 regular sturdy exercise
#2 controlled eating – both quantity and quality
#3 which is one we don’t think of much as a part of a balanced weight reduction program, lifestyle factors.
When looking at a weight loss plan, all three should be part of it.
So, which ones are the best? Well, our team has investigated dozens of plans and programs and have come up with quite an interesting collection of great and not-so great plans. Take a look at the sidebar for the plans we have written up
Oh, and I might add the best part of this evaluation hinges on “Peer Reviews”. Look for the yellow box on each report where we cite customer feedback from all over the ‘net.
So, no there is not an easy one size fits all weight loss plan out there. There are a lot of really great ones though. Ultimately, you will need to decide which plan will suit you best. But here is where you will get the straight scoop from those who have already been there, done that!
Glad you stopped by!