You know, it may not be fair that society and advertises perpetuate an unreasonable ideal for what people should look like. Nobody’s perfect. On the other hand, there is also a point when it’s a good idea to lose weight. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy, or to look your best. Losing weight isn’t always easy, but what follows will make it much, much easier. Nothing complicated, just stuff that actually works.

Building muscle burns calories even when you’re at rest. Wait! While that may be true, the calorie-burning effect of extra muscle tends to be exaggerated. The one thing that is not in dispute is that muscle does burn more calories, pound for pound, than fat does. The only question is how much, but in the battle of the bulging waistline we’ll use every trick in the book.

Write a plan to lose weight. Even if you’re writing down somebody else’s plan. The sheer act of writing it down increases the odds of your success. What foods will you be adding or reducing? What new habits will you encourage? What about exercise? There are no right or wrong answers, you know yourself better than anybody, so only you can make the best plan for you. The more specific your plan, the better.

Be ready for the inevitable roadblocks and setbacks. Yeah, I’m human, too. There will be times when you veer from your plan. It may be a moment of weakness, or it could be due to an unforeseen circumstance. The trick is to not let it get to you. All too often we make one slip and use that as an excuse for letting our plan slide for the day. Don’t let that happen. Forgive and forget and get back to your plan.

Make the better choice. This ranks right up there as an easy way to lose weight. For example, let’s say you are buying a bag of potato chips (yes, you can eat chips), compare it to another bag and see which has the fewest calories. Or, even better, compare the chips to another snack food, or something from the produce department. You always have a choice. How much weight loss you experience will correspond directly to how good your exercise and food choices are.

Perhaps you noticed that we actually said you can eat potato chips earlier. Yes! Chips. It’s silly to think you will really be able to swear off the foods you truly love for the rest of your life (barring serious health reasons for doing so). So, instead of fighting it, you’re going to control it. How? By eating smaller portions of the foods that do the most damage to your waistline.

None of the things we just covered are complicated. Start incorporating them into your daily routine now. The best part is that you can keep eating all of the foods you love if you’re willing to build a little extra muscle, have a plan, be prepared, make better choices and keep portions in check.

Tags: Building Muscle, Burns, Calories, Easy Way To Lose Weight, Easy Weight Loss, Eating Habits, Excuse, Exercise, food choices;, Losing Weight, Moment Of Weakness, Muscle Burns Calories, Odds, Potato Chips, Produce Department, Roadblocks, Setbacks, Sheer Act, Snack Food, Unforeseen Circumstance, Waistline —

Whether you are trying to get rid of an unsightly beer belly or want to look good in a swimsuit, the battle of the bulge can be a tricky one to win. The good news is that it’s entirely possible to drop the pounds in a relatively short amount of time. How to lose weight comes down to one thing: burning more calories than you take in. Therefore, you either have to burn them, or decrease your intake. Here is one way to help you do the latter: Cut out soft drinks. First we’ll cover soda, then we’ll look at some other options.

You may think that drinking just one soda per day doesn’t make that much of a difference. If you’re active, and have your weight under control, then having the occasional soda is fine. But let’s take a look at how that one soda can add up and what the impact on your weight will be when you go with a calorie-free alternative.

Let’s use some simple math to see what a positive difference this one small change can make when trying to lose weight. The first thing to know is that every 3,500 calories you get rid equals one pound. Next, a typical 12 ounce can of soda contains 150 calories. Okay, here’s how it works out…

365 days in a year X 150 calories per 12 oz. = 54,750 total calories.

54,750 calories divided by 3,500 calories = 15.6 pounds!

Talk about a small change that can make add up to significant weight loss. And if you happen to drink soda in larger bottles, it could make a difference of 30 pounds or more. But be careful that you don’t replace those calories with other calories. In other words you have to cut those calories out completely to get the full benefit.

So, what are the options? Most people think juice is a good replacement for soda. Not if you’re counting calories it isn’t. For example, while soda may have 150 calories per 12 ounces, grape juice has closer to 250. Some juices have a higher water content, so you’ll have to check the label to be sure. However, if it’s a choice between soda and fruit juice, go with the juice. At least the juice contains some vital nutrients while soda is nothing but empty calories.

Another thing you may not be aware of is that the sugar in soft drinks can make you thirsty. Putting you into an endless loop of drinking calorie-laden beverages to slake the thirst that the same beverages are causing.

The best way to quench your thirst when trying to lose weight is water. Keep a large bottle within arm’s reach throughout the day, making it easy to take a sip when needed.

Tags: 365 Days In A Year, Amount Of Time, Battle Of The Bulge, Beer Belly, Benefit, Calories, Counting Calories, Days In A Year, Fruit Juice, Grape Juice, Juices, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Math, Ounce, Oz, Soda, Soft Drinks, Swimsuit, Water Content, Weight Control, Weight Loss —

Many people are finding themselves in a ‘catch 22’ situation these days: they desperately need to have gastric bypass surgery, but they can’t get it since they either don’t have insurance, or the insurance that they have doesn’t cover the cost. There are real benefits to the surgery and for those people who are suffering from severe obesity related health issues, the need is even more urgent. This article will show you what the cost of gastric bypass surgery is which may make it easier for you to decide on the best course of action for you and your health.

Unfortunately, insurance companies seem to be run primarily by short sighted bean counters, people who only look at the bottom line and won’t consider any procedure that will cost money. When it comes to gastric bypass surgery, this short sighted approach is actually costing the insurance companies more money. Why? Because they will be paying to treat diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many other obesity related illnesses for many years. By approving just one gastric bypass procedure they could be dramatically reducing the number of claims they get for the other obesity related illnesses.

One word of caution: don’t automatically assume that your insurance company won’t cover the surgery particularly if you are morbidly obese and have been for many years. Many companies will also do a complete physical, and emotional, workup before making a decision on whether or not to allow the procedure. More and more insurance companies are coming to understand the benefits of allowing this type of surgery, make sure you check with your company.

The cost of the surgery can range from between $15,000 and $25,000. Some clinics who perform the procedure will allow the patient to set up a payment plan, again, it’s important that you don’t assume anything and instead ask the question.

Some people are also having success by going to other countries, such as Mexico, to have the procedure done. In some cases well qualified doctors can perform the surgery much cheaper in other countries due to the fact that they don’t have to pay the ridiculously high mal practice insurance premiums that they need in the U.S. to protect themselves against frivolous lawsuits.

If you opt to have your surgery done somewhere else it’s very important that you carefully research to find a highly qualified doctor and clinic to perform the procedure. While it’s possible to save some money, you want to make sure you aren’t sacrificing quality or safety.

The bottom line is this: the cost of gastric bypass surgery can be high, but if you are morbidly obese and are suffering from a multitude of other health issues, you should try to do everything possible to get your weight to a more normal level. Make sure you ask questions and don’t just assume that you can’t afford the procedure, you may be surprised at some of the help that is available. Your employer may even be able to provide some help with this issue. Just don’t give up, keep working on ways to improve your health.

Tags: Bean Counters, Bottom Line, Catch 22, Caution, Cost Of Gastric Bypass Surgery, diabetes;, Gastric Bypass, Gastric Bypass Surgery, Gastric Surgery, Health Issues, heart disease;, high mal practice insurance premiums, Illnesses, Insurance, Insurance Companies, insurance companies more money, Insurance Company, Many People, Mexico, Money, obesity;, Related Health, severe obesity, Stroke, surgery, United States;, USD; —

A Simple Way To Lose Weight And Keep It Off

Funny how those few extra pounds seem to creep onto our bodies without notice. Then, one day, it’s almost as though they have all been added at once. Perhaps it a glance in the mirror, or worse, a comment from a friend you haven’ t seen in a while. Whatever it is, you are ready to lose weight. You want to look and feel better. At the same time, there’s so much conflicting information about the best way to lose weight. What’s a person to do?

What follows may not be at the top of everybody’s list for ways to lose weight quickly, but it works. At the very least it should be added to your bag of tricks for dropping those extra pounds. Some of the tips may sound a little silly, but you can’t argue with results. So, what is this method? Portion control. And it can actually be a lot fun!

For starters, when you focus on your portions, there’s no need to carry along a bulky calories counter guide when you go out to eat. I used to hate trying to be “casual” when using those, because I just knew all of the other diners were watching me; thinking to themselves how fat I was.

The most basic way of controlling your portions is…get ready…this is good…putting less on your plate. See? Easy. Not so fast! If it was that easy we would all be at our ideal weight. Yes, by all means, make an effort to put less on your plate. Here are a few more tricks to keep portions limited so you can lose extra weight.

Don’t worry about cleaning your plate. In fact, make it a habit to always leave a few bites on your plate. Speaking of your plate, using smaller dishes will give the illusion that there is more food on them. You can even eat on a saucer instead of a large dinner plate. Granted, you may have to fill it a second time, but all in all, it’s an easy way to limit the amount of food you’re eating.

A big problem for a lot of people is that they eat so fast that they are technically full long before they feel full. Slow down the speed with which you normally eat. Doing so will give your stomach more time to signal the brain that it’s full.

The beauty of doing it this way is that you can eat the same foods you enjoy now. You should still add more healthy foods, but you don’t have to give up any foods if you can keep the portion sizes under control. Once you get used to it, it’s as close to automatic weight loss as you can get. There are many other things you can do, too. Imagine looking good in the mirror, or being complimented by a friend the next time you see them.

Tags: Best Way To Lose Weight, Big Lot, Big People, Calories, Calories Counter, Diners, Dinner Plate, Dishes, Eating Habits, Extra, food;, Fun, Funny, Glance, Habit, Ideal Weight, Illusion, Limited, Losing Weight, Mirror, Portion Control, Second Time, Starters, Ways To Lose Weight —