A champion athlete has a good coach to help achieve their goals. Do your diet and weight loss goals get the support they need in order to be realised?

So you’ve got another diet underway in your battle of the bulge. You’re probably anticipating more deprivation and frustration before you even start. Then a short time later you’ve added yet another failure to your long list of attempts at weight loss. You coach yourself to the couch and give up yet again.

Why is it that this is such a common story from those with the balloon-shaped and pair-shaped bodies?

What is the one thing, outside yourself, that can really help you in achieving your weight loss goals?

For a change the answer lies not with you but with someone else.

Obviously, in the end, it is all up to you but you don't have to do it all by yourself.

Athletes rarely try to do it all by themselves.

All top athletes have a coach. Why is that?

Because they have a goal and the coach is there to help them achieve it.

Your goal is weight loss, or more importantly to change your body shape to what you desire. It is a worthy goal worthy of a coach's support.

How can a coach help?

* Set small weight loss goals

A coach can help you set smaller goals as stepping stones to the achievement of your bigger ones.

Focusing on all that weight you want to lose is like moving a mountain and very discouraging. But even a mountain could be moved with just one teaspoon at a time.

* Commitment

Making a commitment to another person is like a contract. You are probably more likely to honor a commitment to someone else than you will honor a commitment to yourself. Keeping a commitment to yourself involves willpower and we all know commitment runs second best to won't-power (our feelings).

Commitment to someone else brings pride, honor and integrity into play.

* Motivation

A coach can be your greatest source of motivation to start and keep going. Their encouragement can pull you through those times when you would give up on your diet or lapse into old habits if you were by yourself. Imagine being able to eat whatever you want as long as you ring your coach first.

No longer will you have only that self-sabotaging voice of Miss Gobble-it-up in your head to listen to. You'll have the voice of your coach to make it a fair debate so you can repeatedly make a better choice about what you're eating.

• Knowledge

While your coach could be anyone who is willing to help you and gently give you some tough love when it comes to your diet, it is probably wiser to find someone who knows about how the human body responds to food and eating habits.

That way you’ll be more likely to eat in a manner that actually removes fat rather than water and muscle tissue. You’ll also have some guidance when your diet stalls and doesn’t seem to be working any more.

With a coach you can avoid the Yo-yo diet syndrome where you get fatter and fatter. Even if you have to pay for a coach the cost will be more than justified when you consider the cost of obesity on your health, time and self esteem.

Get a coach. You've nothing to lose, but weight, and everything to gain, except weight.

Labels: Weight loss

What to do when diets do not work. Five great ways to lose weight permanently!

It is very hard to stick to your diets, so many people constantly fail them. They try every kind of new diets, hoping one of them would work and make them thinner. But unfortunately, that never happens. It's about the mistakes they make. The human brain ignores bad things or things that make us uncomfortable, so you hear many times people saying they only eat salat the whole week, but often that's not true. Here are five very useful tips that will help you lose weight permanently.

1. Write down what you eat

It's an easy thing to carry around a pen and a notebook, where you write down everything you eat. And that means every little thing from that snack in the morning, to the coffee or that evening juice. Or you have finished that half of the pizza from your partner - write it down. At the end of the day, just check what you wrote down and you'll be very surprised how much you actually eat during the day. You can calorie values of each food on the internet and calculate how many calories you've eaten.

2. Ask yourself - WHY?

Eating and drinking are usually unconcence behaviours, not controlled by the brain but rather by our stomach. That's why every time you eat something, ask yourself: "Why am I doing this?". You might be hungry or bored, lonely perhaps depressed, thirsty or stressed. But the only reason you should eat or drink is
thurst and hunger. So, if you're not hungry put that sendwich down. If you're not thirsty, put that bottle of cola down. If you're feeling lonely or depressed, go visit a friend, watch a movie or read a book. Best thing though is to exercise.

3. Never starve yourself

One of the biggest mistake in dieting is starving yourself. Unless you have a strong willpower, sooner or later you'll start eating snacks or fast food or whatever comes in your way. Starvation also makes your body go to safe mode, that means that it's limiting your energy levels and all that food you now intake will go to excess fat. So there's an absolute must that you eat three meals a day, plus a snack consisting of fruit and veggies. That's a good way to lose weight.

4. Eat your favourite food

Do not try to ban your favourite food, just because you are losing weight. The key here is eating moderate, not starving or denying the favourite food. Like pizza? Well, eat a piece or two, but not the whole plate. Like ice-cream? Eat one spoonful instad of three. That means eating your favourite food and eating less at the same time - this is what helps your weight loss long-term. But you should have a forbidden food day every 5 or 6 days, where you eat only "healthy" food, like vegetables, fruit and low fat food.

5. Exercise

Last but not least, it's exercise. If you're not used to it, start small. Maybe 10 minutes per day, 3 or 4 times per week. There's no need to go out and run for 4 hours straight. Start small and lengthen your exercises when time passes. Your goal should be at least 30 minutes of workout every day, 60 minutes is even better but it will come in time. EVentually you'll lose weight, get a great figure and live a healthy and happy life.

Labels: Weight loss

This article explores common mistakes most people make in their diets and why they fail to uncover those six pack abs from the flab on top.

Below is the portion of an interview I did recently where we covered our best nutrition and diet strategies for losing body fat to uncover those 6 pack abs that everyone wants. Here goes...

CB: And finally Mike, a couple of your best diet strategies for etching out those 6 pack abs. Give us your best info!

MG: No problem Craig. I think you'd agree that there has never been a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition and diet for consumers. Every so called "nutrition expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each other on what's the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.

One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet does not need to conform to any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat", or high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).

In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions... a salad of poison ivy leaves is "natural and unprocessed" but certainly wouldn't be good for us!

I will summarize here with a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition that help to get you lean for life and showing off a six pack...

1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it is a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle... And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I personally do not eat many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I am a bit of a fan of sprouted grains. I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for losing body fat.

3. Don't be afraid to eat dietary fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily. Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that's way beyond the scope of this article).

4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

*artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods

*high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market

Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.

I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.

Labels: Weight loss

The diet and supplement industries are filled with corrupt marketing predators that are becoming rich by feeding on your fears, desires and ambitions. Unfortunately, there has been no way of protecting yourself from becoming a victim of these ruthless scam artists - until now.

There are thousands of diet programs and dozens of people claiming to be experts. However, very few of these so-called "Fat loss experts" practice what they preach or have the credentials and track record to back up their claims.

One thing that you need to realize is that almost everyone is dead wrong in the way they diet to lose body fat. In fact, the way you're dieting to lose weight might be severely damaging your metabolism.

· Lose fat for good. It's a fact - 95% of the people who go on conventional diets put on all the their weight back and sometimes they end up putting on more than when they started. How do you learn to be in the successful 5% group that keeps it off forever?

· Lose body fat without destroying your metabolism. If you've ever started a diet, then smashed into the dreaded "plateau," it's probably because you cannibalized your own muscle and decelerated your metabolism. Try and keep your metabolism up and eat the right foods.

· Lose fat without drugs. When you mention bodybuilders, some people think of steroids or fat burning drugs. It's sad but true - most pro bodybuilders take them. But the joke's on them. Drugs work, but the results are temporary and the side effects are nasty. The tiny handful of natural bodybuilders who have learned how to use training and nutrition science to alter body composition without drugs are the only people in the world who keep their fat loss and muscle gains for good.

· Lose fat without supplements. 97% of all supplements are a total waste of money! You are being lied to and ripped off by crooked companies that don't give a rat's ass about your health and well-being. The ugly truth about the $13 billion per year supplement industry, and the $40 billion per year weight loss industry is that they are interested in your money so they will do pretty much anything to peddle their wares.

It is time to start taking charge of your life and start eating correctly. That old saying “you are what you eat” has never been more applicable than now.

Labels: Weight loss

Losing weight the intelligent way has never been so easy. One simply has to follow common sense.

As the world changes, people are becoming more and more conscious about their physical appearance and their overall health. Knowing that obesity can affect not only their lifestyle and social lives but their total well-being as well, people who are overweight are now determined to seek for solutions that can lead then back to leaner and healthier physique.

Since people are what they eat, one of the most popular weight loss aids today is indulging into weight loss diets. Aside from trying rigorous exercises, enrolling in various weight loss classes and programs, enduring routine workouts, and even trying different weight loss products, having a weight loss diet is one of the effective eats of losing weight.

EATING AND EFFECTIVE WEIGHT LOSS DIETS

People often associate weight gain with food intake. This is the reason why more and more of them take dieting as the ultimate solution to weight loss. Although it is a fact that eating greatly affects weight gain, it is not the sole reason why people become overweight. Other factors like the nutritional content of the food they eat, eating behavior and patterns, nutrients required by the body are the major reasons why people become obese.

By now, people should have realized that losing weight is not an overnight thing. They should know by now that eating less through improper dieting can make it harder for them to lose weight. Wanting people to be more educated in proper weight loss diets and effective means of losing weight, nutritionists and experts continue to research on various subjects to prove that having a proper weight loss diet can be the solution to lose weight safely.

Through the years, many weight loss diets and programs have emerged. Majority of these promote the achievement weight loss through the simple process of burning calories.

One of the most popular weight loss diets today is the Atkins Nutritional Approach. This specific weight loss diet has become one of the most after weight loss diets out there because it allows a person to eat satisfying amounts of delicious and nutrient foods while customizing the program to specific individual needs, tastes and preferences. This weight loss diet works by stabilizing a person’s blood sugar, lowering cholesterol and triglycerides levels while addressing other obesity-related conditions.

Bill Phillips’ Eating For Life, on the other hand, is a plan that is based on four primary ingredients such as food, amount, combos, and times. By encouraging the intake of right foods, balancing the right amount, matching right combinations, and eating at the right time, this weight loss plan will lead to the formulation of the right recipe to satisfy the body’s needs. Since it the diet plan aims to provide a balanced, healthy, satisfying, and effective way of losing weight, the person who is into it will be able to reduce body unwanted fats, gain energy, and can have that youthful glow.

While the former focuses on formulating the ultimate weight loss formula, the Blood Type Diet says that losing weight can be achieved by matching the body’s biological profile through blood type. This specific weight loss diet believes that since people have individual needs, they should eat the foods that their bodies require.

For people on-the-go and do not have much time to indulge into healthy and freshly-prepared foods, the NutriSystem can be the perfect weight loss diet for them. Since this weight loss diet deals with managing diet through prepackaged foods, by providing a list of prepackaged meals monthly. Although this is perfect for busy people who would want to lose weight, experts say that this weight loss diet plan may not encourage effect.

No matter which of these weight loss diets you plan to do, bear in mind that food is quite important for the body’s overall well being. It is a must that you become particular about the food you eat because it will determine the success and failure of your weight loss attempts. Aside from focusing on weight loss diets, learn to practice healthy lifestyle by eating and exercising properly.

Labels: Weight loss

Disclaimer: The content provided on this web site is for information purposes only. It is intended to provide educational material and is not designed to provide medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding any medical issues you have relating to symptoms, conditions, diseases, diagnosis, treatments and side effects. The calorie calculators are not for everyone. They are for the average adult, within a desirable body weight range, and wants to maintain their weight. The Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator is for the average adult between the ages of 20-65. The calculators are not for use with pregnant or lactating women or children. These calculators are not for everyone and are not designed to provide medical advice or recommendations. If you have a concern about your weight or health please consult your health care provider.

Calculate Your Ideal Body Weight

Labels: Body Weight, Weight loss

Research confirms the Mediterranean diet is a safe and healthy way to eat that is also effective for weight loss.

Would you be surprised to learn that eating the Mediterranean diet way is not only a healthy way to eat but is an effective and natural way to combat heart disease and some cancers, while losing weight inthe process?

For many women, dieting for weight loss can be a daunting and somewhat restricting undertaking and especially so, if you're a vegetarian. Most weight loss diets will nearly always involve giving up or limiting your intake of some of the foods you particularly enjoy. Whether it is a low carb diet such as the atkins diet or any of the many fad diets. Either way you'll most certainly have to deprive yourself in some way.

Any diet that involves deprivation in any way shape or form, will lessen your chances of achieving your weight loss diet goals. You're also more likely to regain any lost weight once you've finished your diet and resume normal eating. This is where the Mediterranian diet approach is a god-send.

The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is being touted as the best two-pronged approach to achieving healthy eating and weight loss, without the need to resort to starvation diets or, extra gruelling physical exercise.

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet doesn't just stop there either! Recent research confirms that the Mediterranean diet foods - (with one of its chief ingredients being olive oil), is not only generally healthy, but can actually help lower harmful LDL cholesterol that can cause heart and other chronic diseases, including cancer.

The Mediterranian diet approach for weight loss is based on ground breaking scientific research by 'The Harvard School Of Public Health'. No matter what your goals are, anyone can start using this model. You do not even have to adjust your lifestyle in any significant way to improve your health, achieve your weight loss and/or weight maintenance goals.

If you're looking for a healthy diet that tick all the boxes - i,e. is not low carb; is not low fat; does not involve starvation; and is also ideal for people seeking a low calorie and vegetarian diet, then you can do no better than the Mediterranian diet approach.

Labels: Mediterranean Diet, Weight loss