Since excess weight puts you at risk for many health problems, you may need to set some weight loss plans to help avoid those risks and prevent disease.

But what should be your long-term goal? And what short-term goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right at the beginning.

Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight loss plans and goals.

1. Be realistic

Most peoples long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious than they have to be.

For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.

Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.

From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your BMI.

2. Set appropriate objectives

Using a weight loss plan just for vanitys sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.

You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.

3. Focus on doing, not losing

Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.

Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behavior is.

4. Build bit by bit

Short-term weight loss plans should not be pie-in-the-sky. This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.

5. Keep up the self-encouragement

An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.

After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.

6. Use measurable measures

Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.

This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.

The bottom line is, people should make weight loss plans that will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to succeed.

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Do you dream of having a flat, firm stomach? Do you have just a little too much excess fat around your belly that you just can’t seem to get rid of? If so then this article might help you by giving you some ideas for how to lose your belly fat.

Unfortunately when you put on weight the belly is usually the first place to get fat and unfortunately it is usually the last place that you will lose fat. That is why there are many people that are reasonably fit but still have a bit of a tummy bulge. Even gym junkies who workout regularly and watch their diet closely may still be unhappy with their stomach. If you are wondering how to lose your belly fat then you need to know that you do have to be in reasonably good shape all over before you can get rid of that flab around the tummy.

If you are extremely overweight then your belly fat should not be your first concern. First you should focus on losing weight in general and getting down to a healthy weight range. You should begin eating a healthy diet and also introduce some exercise into your daily routine.

If you are in a healthy weight range but still carry some extra fat around your middle then you can start worrying about how to lose belly fat. When you are a healthy weight you will have a much better chance of tackling the belly fat problem.

Most people think that the best way to get rid of belly fat is to do sit ups or crunches and if your so called belly fat is actually just untoned muscle rather than fat then these exercises can be very effective.

If it is belly fat that you need to get rid of then you might need to try something more effective such as using a stability ball. Stability balls cost around $30 from sports stores and really are a great investment. Studies have shown that people who use a stability ball have twice the muscle fiber than people who do regular sit ups and crunches without a ball.

Other effective exercises for getting rid of belly fat are exercises that involve bringing your legs up to level with or above your waist. Kickboxing is a great way to exercise like this and get a flatter stomach. Kickboxing will give you a great cardio workout as well as giving you the left lifting exercises that help tone stomach muscles.

Dancing is another form of exercise that can benefit the stomach. There are many different types of dancing and they are all great for exercising and losing weight and toning the body. One very effective dance is belly dancing which specifically targets the muscles in the stomach. You can join a belly dancing class or even grab a DVD and do it from home. Zumba is another type of dance exercise that is becoming very popular and gives a great cardio workout. You can also do Zumba from home with a DVD or join a class.

Cardio workouts are great for burning fat but don’t rely solely on this type of exercise. It is best to combine cardio exercise with some strength training exercise to build your muscle mass. Muscle burns fat so the more muscle that you have the faster your will burn off fat.

The most important point to remember when you are trying to find out how to lose your belly fat is that if you are overweight all over there is no point focusing only on your stomach. You need to tone your body all over and lose weight all over and then if you still have some excess tummy fat you can then deal with it.

When you are a good weight for your height and age you can then target the problem area with exercises specifically designed to tone the muscles in the stomach and burn off fat.

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There are a lot of diets that have come and gone over the year, but there are always a few that work well enough to stick around for a while. One such diet is the South Beach Diet. This is an eating plan that is broken down into various stages. This type of plan works well for a lot of people for various reasons. Perhaps you are wondering about the South Beach Diet Phase 1. The general idea of the diet is to start out with some basic foods, and then add more and more foods in each successive phase.

This strategy works very well for a good number of people. They are not only able to lose weight early on, but they are able to keep it off. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of the South Beach Diet, with a focus on the first phase.

Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet has a lot of benefits. One of the best things about it is that it retrains how your body handles food. It works by fooling you into craving healthy foods, while losing your cravings for less healthy foods. Phase 1 does a very good job at not only changing what you eat, but how you think of food. There must surely be a catch, right? Yes, but only that you have to follow the diet for it to work. But that can be said of just about any diet.

Another benefit of Phase 1 is that it is relatively easy for most people to transition into it from their current diet. The main reason for this is that the South Beach Diet Phase 1 contains a lot of foods that a lot of people like to eat. This way they don’t feel deprived as they are starting a new diet. And if you can start on a positive note, there is a much better chance that you will be able to stick with the diet for the long term.

So what kind of foods can you eat? Well, how about cheese, vegetables, chicken, nuts, beef, turkey, fish and eggs for starters? Another aspect of the diet is to eat garden salads using nothing but olive oil for the dressing. It is also recommended that you have three meals per day. Generally speaking, most sweets are eliminated, but not completely. Just follow what the diet says and you will do fine.

What really counts, though, is that you will be retraining your body to stop craving unhealthy foods. This is a big difference when compared to other diets that only make you feel deprived by cutting out your favorite foods. But what if you stopped having those cravings and would start craving (yes, craving) foods that are better for you nutritionally and help you to lose weight? That would be awesome! That’s one of the biggest benefits of the South Beach Diet Phase 1…and that is only the beginning!

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Have you heard you can lose 10 pounds overnight if you follow this program! Thats why some lose weight programs are for the birds. They will tell you anything just to get your money.

Do you remember your Mom or Dad telling you not to believe everything you hear. Well this is one of those times you shouldnt believe what you hear. You not only will save your money, you may also save yourself from a trip to the hospital or even your life.

You can see it every day across the nation or world. There are lawsuits against companies and individuals for false advertisement and neglect for human life. The reason being is because someone bought into their program and they ended up getting some kind of illness or because a loved one died trying their method.

I know that everyone wants to lose weight quick, and there are safe ways to do so. However if it’s too good to believe, than most of the time it is. The best way to find a lose weight program is to find a program that has been around a long time and has a good track record.

There is not any kind of juice, powder, or smelly sauce that is going make you drop a bunch of weight in a short period of time. So instead of buying into some of those great on promise short on result programs, just do it the old fashion way.

I know it can be a lot of work to do it the old fashion way, however its safer more affordable and you will have a whole better chance of succeeding. The tricky thing is finding out which program can work for you and what is the safest for you.

Once you find that program then all you have to do is get ready to rock and roll. However there are a few things that you want to have in place before you get ready to tackle a program

First things first, you have to have your mind right. You have to convince yourself that you will succeed, and there wont be anything that can or will stand in your way. Once you have this mind set, then you need people around you with the same mind set.

Thats right, you need people that are going to give you a kick in the rear, when you are not able to give yourself that kick. Those days when you feel like giving up and just giving in on all your temptations, you need those people around you that wont let you do when youre down.

Once you have these things in place, then you will be on your way and ready to rock and roll. Just remember to stand up for yourself or you will fall for anything.

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