Weight loss and self-esteem are like the scales of justice, as one side goes down the other side goes up. Usually, the more weight you lose, the higher your self esteem goes up.

No one should think that they have to be ‘perfect’ whatever that means anyway. Perfect is an impossible standard to have, or to achieve, no one is perfect. Even all the ‘perfect’ super models and actresses you see on t.v. aren’t so perfect if you would see them without their makeup and flattering lighting.

Just find the weight that is perfect for you and your body type. Once you have set realistic goals for yourself, stick with a program that will give you every chance of attaining those goals.

I have a friend who is getting married in the spring. She wants to lose about 60 lbs. by then. She has given it a lot of thought and has set a ‘start date’. She plans on starting an exercise routine and a healthier eating plan starting on that date and continuing for the rest of her life.

By gearing up to make these changes in her life, she is allowing herself to get her head around the whole thing. That will greatly increase her chances of success. Since she has a clear and realistic game plan and a reasonable time frame, she will almost assuredly meet her weight loss goals.

She has also enlisted the help of friends to accomplish this goal. Fortunately for her, some of her closest friends are work out nuts so they can help her and bolster her when she hits a rough patch, which she probably will.

Even after just having lost a few pounds, you can already see a significant boost in her self esteem. It’s more than just the fact that she has lost a few pounds, it’s also about the fact that she has set a goal for herself and slowly but surely she is accomplishing that goal.

Being able to set a goal and see that goal met is extraordinarily fulfilling. It can really make you feel great about yourself above and beyond just the physical changes you can see in the mirror or feel in your clothes.

This is why weight loss and self-esteem can be such a powerful combination. It really is a two for one: you become better looking and you are able to set and meet a goal for yourself. Both of those things on their own can be incredibly powerful, when you combine them the benefit can go up exponentially.

If you want to see the benefits of weight loss and self-esteem increase for yourself, just set a weight loss goal, make a plan, find a friend or two to help you along the way, and go for it. Do not make it harder than it needs to be by setting yourself up for failure with unrealistic expectations. Take it slow and steady and you will get where you want to be.

Tags: Actresses, Clothes, Eating Habits, Exercise Routine, Game Plan, Healthier Eating, Lighting, Losing Weight, Loss Weight, Lot, Makeup, Mirror, Nuts, Physical Changes, Realistic Game, Realistic Goals, Rough Patch, Scales Of Justice, Self Esteem, Super Models, Time Frame, Weight Loss Goals —

Today more and more of us are living life on a dangerous ‘cocktail’ of unhealthy life style choices. Many of us eat too much of the wrong things (and not enough of the good stuff) as well as way too little physical activity, and way too much stress. These issues are the main reason that some things are becoming more common, such as diabetes for example. The good news is that if you act now, many of this can be turned around such as weight loss and diabetes.

Most doctors will tell you to lose weight and exercise more, but what few doctors will help you with is finding the best method to do that. They don’t seem to want to admit that it is difficult, that you may fail a few times before you find the right combination of diet changes and exercises that you like to do.

Most people think that ‘working out’ is all about the work part. And it is work, but if you find an activity that you actually enjoy doing, it won’t seem so difficult and you may even find yourself having fun.

Remember when you were a kid and the sheer joy you felt when you would take off in a dead run? Or how free and alive you felt just skipping down your driveway? You can recapture a lot of that joy if you take the time to find a physical activity that you actually like to do. That is the number 1 ‘secret’ to being successful in your weight loss: find an exercise that you like doing.

Of course getting more physical activity is the first part of the weight loss and diabetes equation. The second part is to make better food choices. I hate to use the word ‘diet’ because that can have such negative connotations. People often equate that word with eating celery stalks for days on end (which is completely counter productive by the way)

Instead I think it’s better to make better food choices and lifestyle changes. Start simple and small. What is your biggest weakness? Too much soda, sweets, carbs? Whatever it is, start there. Now, don’t expect to go cold turkey and completely cut those things out of your diet. It’s unlikely that you will be able to succeed. Instead just make it a policy of cutting way back on that problem item.

If you like soda a little too much, than concentrate on changing that habit and cutting way back. Only allow yourself one soda a day, for example. It’s all about moderation.

Go easy on yourself. Instead of setting yourself up for failure by setting some grand, lofty plan that will be virtually impossible to stick with, give yourself every chance of success.

Choose to start smaller, with more achievable lifestyle changes. It won’t take longer because the overly confidant goals will probably never be accomplished anyway. Smaller goals have a much better chance of success, so start there.

Most health issues can be improved or prevented by maintaining a healthy weight and getting exercise. Diabetes is one of those illnesses, weight loss and diabetes reduction go hand in hand.

Tags: Celery Stalks, Cold Turkey, Dangerous Cocktail, diabetes;, Diet Changes, Eating Habits, Exercises, food choices;, Good Stuff, Having Fun, Healthy Diet, Lifestyle Changes, Losing Weight, Negative Connotations, Number 1, Physical Activity, Right Combination, Sheer Joy, Style Choices, Sweets, Unhealthy Life Style, Weight Loss, Word Diet —

Weight Loss And Better Clothing Options Go Hand In Hand

Anyone who has ever been overweight, whether it’s a few extra pounds post pregnancy or injury or morbidly obese, knows the challenge associated with trying to find flattering clothing styles for their body type and size. To get the most choices in the styles you can wear well, never underestimate weight loss and better clothing options.

I have a friend who was overweight, about 100lbs overweight. She had a great marriage to a loving guy and when she finally got serious about losing weight she asked him a very loaded question (she knew it was a loaded question but was curious about how he would respond).

She asked her husband if he would still find her attractive physically when she lost her weight. I mean he obviously found her attractive when she was heavy but would he still when she was thinner? Of course, he said yes so she questioned him further: “how can you find me attractive when I’m thin and when I’m fat, it should be one or the other, shouldn’t it”?

I thought his answer was perfect. He said “honey, I love the way you look now, but weight loss and better clothing options go hand in hand so you will be able to wear some styles that may be a little sexier, and I will like that too” Wow, the guy got himself out of a pickle with that answer!

But it is true, when you are overweight and you have rolls no clothes fit you the way they are supposed to. You don’t have to be a stick figure but whenever you have excess fat and skin it just throws off the line of your clothes.

I’m not even talking about some of the ‘fashions’ that people will wear in a misguided attempt to camouflage their rolls. I’m just talking about the way clothes were made to fit and hang on the body can get completely distorted when that body has a lot of excess rolls and skin.

Until you get to the point where you have lost all your weight, there are some choices you can make that will help you look better during the process. Gone are the days of the muumuu and stretch pants, thank goodness. Today there are fashionable styles for anyone who has extra body fat.

The biggest rule to follow is to find clothes that are well fitted without being too baggy or too tight. A good fit is the most important thing to strive for. Don’t try to camouflage your rolls, you really won’t be fooling anyone. If you wear clothes that are too tight it will be like shining a spotlight on your least desirable features.

So, you know that the better shape you’re in the better you will look (not only in clothes but out of them as well) and that weight loss and better clothing options go hand in hand, but make sure that you also find clothes that are as flattering as possible to your shape while you are in the process of losing weight.

Tags: Attempt, Choices, Clothes, Clothing Options, Clothing Styles, Excess Skin, Fit, Losing Weight, Lost, Loving Guy, Marriage, Overweight, People, Pickle, Pregnancy, Sexier, Stick Figure, Weight Loss —

Weight Loss Advice – Get Your Butt Off The Couch

It’s that time of year again, the time of year when many people make resolutions to lose weight. This year you can really succeed. Don’t worry if you haven’t met your goals in the past, every day is a new beginning. There is a lot of weight loss advice floating around and some of the tips are good, some not so much.

One way to make sure that you don’t get overwhelmed is to set small, easily achievable goals. When you approach your weight loss as an ongoing process, a lifestyle change, than you will greatly increase your chances of success.

Many women make the mistake of thinking that if they lift weight they will ‘bulk up’. Nothing could be further from the truth and if you really want fast results you would be very foolish to ignore the benefits of weight training.

Women simply do not have the biological make up to bulk up unless they work out on a full time basis, are extremely clean in their eating habits (and I mean clean, no cheating at all) and they take supplements. You just don’t have to worry about bulking up if you lift weights a few times a week.

What you should know though is that weight training will allow you to build muscle. Why is that important, simple the more muscle you have the slimmer you look. Think of a good muscle tone like a girdle that holds you in all over your body.

Let’s say two women each weigh 135 lbs. but one of them has good muscle tone and the other has more fat and less muscles, the woman who has muscle tone will look considerably slimmer even though they weigh the same amount.

Another benefit of building some muscle tone is that muscles burn more calories than fat does. That means that your metabolism will be burning hotter all day everyday, even while you sleep or sit on your butt on the couch.

The hotter your metabolism burns the more weight you will lose. Basically by adding a little muscle tone to your body you will not only look a lot slimmer you will also burn more calories 24/7, cool, huh?

There is so much bad information floating around that if you follow it you may actually gain weight. Don’t fall for out dated and incorrect diet advice.

Starving yourself is another big mistake that many people make. It’s now well known that your body must get all the nutrients it needs or it will think it is dying and will slow down the metabolism. The less you eat, the less your body will burn. That is the last thing you want when you are trying to lose weight.

Instead eat a balanced diet heavy on lean protein with little to no carbohydrates. Stay away from the white foods like rice, bread, and potatoes. Instead think brown rice, whole wheat bread (if you eat bread at all) and substitute mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes, it really tastes better anyway.

So there you have it, all the weight loss advice you really need. Do yourself a favor and don’t look for a quick fix, instead take a sensible approach, eat right, drink plenty of water and get plenty of exercise. If you do, you will be in that new bathing suit by May.

Tags: Achievable Goals, Atkins, Butt, Calories, Couch, Eating Habits, Full Time, Girdle, Healthy Diet, Lifestyle Change, Little Muscle, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Muscle Tone, Muscles, Resolutions, Time Basis, Time Of Year, Training Women, Two Women, Weight Loss Advice, Weight Training, Weights —