In the nearly eternal quest to lose weight, people seem willing to do just about anything. It has been that way ever since people felt societal pressure to lose weight, and is sure to continue for many years to come. They will submit themselves to food they don’t like, brutal exercise regimens, and the downright bizarre. But there’s one thing very few of them do, and it can greatly increase their odds of permanent weight loss. What is it? Documenting their progress with before and after photos.

Huh? Does that sound like a dumb idea to you? Don’t laugh. It can have a major psychological impact; before, during and after your weight loss. It has the same effect as writing down your goals. Just by doing this step, you will increase your odds of success.

Look at it this way, you will be working hard, eating right and exercising to lose weight. Before and after weight loss photos won’t make the weight come off, but they are another tool in your arsenal in the battle of the bulge.

If you have children, then you’ve heard comments from relatives who haven’t seen them for a while. They say, “oh, they’ve gotten so tall”, or something similar. That’s one of the reasons for doing before and after weight loss photos, it’s not always easy to see your own weight coming off because you see yourself every day. But when you can look back at the visual evidence, it’s a game changer. It’s motivational.

Here’s the best way to do it to maximize your results. Take a photo every so many days, but with no more than a week between. Try for the same pose, in the same clothes, in the same location in your house. This next part will be harder at first. Expose as much of your body as decency allows. If you’re a female a sports bra and shorts; if you’re a male then just a pair of shorts. You want to see the bigger picture (pardon the pun). And don’t forget to do one picture for each a front and side view.

Refer to the photos later to see how far you have come. Put them up in the trouble spots around your home. For example, on the door of your refrigerator to keep you from binging, or on your weight bench to encourage to do a few reps.

It’s up to you whether or not you will share them with anybody else. But there’s a good chance that your desire to share will increase with the number of pounds you lose. So, be sure to eat right, get moving and get healthy. And while your at it, go ahead and keep a visual record of your progress, you’ll be glad you did.

Tags: Arsenal, Battle Of The Bulge, Decency, Dumb Idea, Eating Habits, Eternal Quest, Exercise Regimens, Exercising To Lose Weight, food;, Huh, Laugh, Look At It This Way, Losing Weight, Odds, Pose, Psychological Impact, Pun, Relatives, Societal Pressure, Sports Bra, Trou, Visual Evidence, Weight Loss —

So, you want to lose weight. That’s wonderful news! Have you heard about the new diet that everybody’s doing? If so, forget about it. It won’t work…trust me. I got news for all of the charlatans promoting fad diets, they’re nonsense is doing more harm than good. Don’t worry, this isn’t just a rant against the hucksters out there, some real tips that actually work are coming up.

There is no question that the people who following them can some amazing results, often in a short amount of time. People than see how well others are doing on the latest fad diet, and decide to try it for themselves. Pretty soon the person who created the fad diet is filthy rich from selling the modern version of snake oil. Their fortune always seems to reach its peak at about the same time all of the dieters start packing on the pounds again. Okay…so, what does work? Let’s find out, shall we?

Fill up. You will never lose weight if you’re feeling hungry all the time. If you do, then when you get around the foods that temp you most, you won’t be able to control yourself. To combat this, practice what some people refer to as grazing. Instead of eating three big meals, spread out your eating in smaller mini-meals throughout the day. By doing this you won’t get too hungry, and as a bonus…your metabolic rate will remain higher.

Get moving. I’ll be honest with you, I never liked the word “exercise”. The very thought of it just sounds too much like work. So, I fooled myself into doing it by never referring to it as exercise. I call it “activity”, “movement” or say, “time to get moving”. Regardless of what you call it, you need to incorporate more movement into your daily routine. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to burn more calories than you take in. You can do this by reducing the calories in the foods you eat and by burning them off through some sort of movement. Simple.

Do it together. Finding a friend to lose weight with makes it so much more enjoyable. You’ll have somebody to eat at healthier restaurants with, and an exercise buddy. Even more importantly, you will be able to encourage each other when you don’t feel like doing what it takes. While the way to lose weight is simple, it’s not always easy and having somebody there when you need it most will greatly increase your chances of success. There will also be somebody that you will feel accountable to. Even if it’s never spoken, you don’t want to feel like you’re letting your friend down.

So, there you have it. It really isn’t that complicated. Stick with it. Make the changes mentioned above, and add a few more. Don’t follow what the newest fad diet says. It won’t work. Look for something that’s been around for at least a few years. That’s the way to do it. Just think about how great you will look and feel as those pounds start melting away.

Tags: Amount Of Time, Calories, Charlatans, Daily Routine, Diet Weight Loss, Dieters, Eating Habits, Fad Diet, Fad Diets, Feeling Hungry All The Time, Finding A Friend, Fortune, Healthy Diet, Hucksters, Latest Fad, Losing Weight, Metabolic Rate, Nonsense, Rant, Snake Oil, Wonderful News, Word Exercise, Work Trust —

Yuck! You feel fat! Maybe you just caught a peek of yourself in the mirror and weren’t happy with what you saw. Or, maybe it’s more serious. You had a doctor’s appointment and you were told you could die early as a result of how much you weigh. regardless of the reason, you are now at a point where you want to know how to lose weight. Even if you’ve tried dropping a few pounds before, this time you have to do it, anything else simply isn’t an option. That’s good! If that’s your attitude, then you are already well on your way to losing weight.

However, if you are looking for some of secret, or “latest diet breakthrough” then you will be let down. On the other hand, if you are only concerned about results and melting away that unsightly flab that has invaded the wrong parts of your body, then you’ll want to pay attention.

You should know, no matter how you feel now, it is entirely possible to lose weight. Notice I said “possible” and not “easy”. It may be easy for you, or it may not. But it is possible. My guess is that some of the techniques will sound a little goofy, but they worked. Besides, you have to stop worrying about what others think if you’re going to do well. For the record, none of what follows is theory. They are all things I did to drop 22 pounds in a few weeks. Use as many of them as you like and celebrate the victory of each pound coming off.

I’m about to use a word that I used to despise. I liked to watch TV and play around on the internet, in fact, I still do. Oh yeah! What is the word I’m referring to? Exercise.

If you are cringing at the very word, then we may have already zeroed in on part of your problem. Who likes to exercise? Sorry, it doesn’t matter. You have to engage in activities that put your metabolism into high gear, and that’s what exercise does. It’s not as bad as it sounds as you will see.

Just as the word “diet” conjures up negative images of torture and self-deprivation, so to does the word “exercise”. So call it something else. “Activities”, “play”, “fun”, “sports” or…”movement” are all good alternatives. Whatever it takes to get you to change your perception of it into something more positive.

You don’t need any fancy equipment, or any equipment at all to get started. Go for a walk around the block, climb up and down the stairs an extra time, run in place, lift large soup cans, work in the garden, anything and everything that is extra movement will burn extra calories. Even if you only burn a few, they will add up over time. Of course you can always jog, go to the gym or join a local amateur sports team if you like. Whatever you enjoy doing is fair game.

The final tip is to try to keep moving. At any given moment during the day you should be engaged in some kind of movement. Even something as inconsequential as twiddling your thumbs or tapping your foot. Sure, people may think you’re nervous about something. But, remember, you don’t care what they think anyway…you’ve got weight to lose! You can do it!

Tags: Appointment, Attitude, Calories, Diet Breakthrough, Exercise Plan, Fancy Equipment, Flab, Guess, Healthy Diet, Lose Weight, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Mirror, Negative Images, Peek, Somethin, Torture, Victory, Word Diet —

When all is said and done there is still only one way to lose weight. You have to burn off more calories than you take in. Exercise is an important part of that equation, but we are going to take a look at some foods that can help you achieve your weight loss goals.

As a general rule weight loss foods are those that make you feel fuller without adding all kinds of empty calories. Adding these foods to your diet on a regular basis will help you to lose weight faster. Here are some of the top contenders.

Beans are at the top of list for several reasons. They come in many varieties, meaning they’re versatile and you don’t have to get bored eating them every day. They are low in fat, but very satisfying. They are packed with protein. And they contain plenty of fiber, which not only adds to how full you feel, but also reduces your risk for several diseases. The only thing you have to watch out for are re fried beans that have extra fat added, and canned beans that are too high in sodium. But you’ll be doing yourself a tasty favor by eating any variety of dried beans.

Whole grains. There’s one change you can make in your diet that’s very easy: stop eating refined grains. The “refining” process gets rid of most of the good stuff, making them so void of nutrition that they actually have to re-add nutrients to make the process complete. All of that so our bread and rice can be pure white. To be blunt, it’s ridiculous. Start eating whole grains to get the full nutrition nature put there in the first place.

Olive oil (or any other oil high in monounsaturated fat). Surprised? Yes, it still has many calories as any other kind of fat (9 calories per gram) but fat adds to the feeling of fullness. It also adds a nice flavor to many different foods. Besides olive oil is one of the healthiest fats that you can. So, while it may seem to be a lot of calories up front, the amount of calories you eat later will actually go down because it’s so satisfying.

Oatmeal is another one of the best weight loss foods out there. A few years ago it got some good press for being able to reduce cholesterol. It’s true, it is. But did you know that it has about the same amount of soluble and insoluble fiber? Again, it makes you feel fuller and is good for your overall health. Plus, it’s low in calories. Most people think of oatmeal as a breakfast food, but it has a flavor that works well with many different foods. Therefore, it can be incorporated into any number of dishes throughout the day.

There are many more weight loss foods, no question about it. But the four mentioned above will give you a great start on losing weight. Keep trying to reduce the bad foods, and increase the good ones and your waistline and health will be the better for it.

Tags: Amount Of Calories, Breakfast Food, Calories Foods, Canned Beans, Different Foods, Diseases, Eating Whole Grains, Empty Calories, Fats, Fried Beans, Good Stuff, Healthy Diet, Losing Weight, Nutrients, Oatmeal, oil;, olive oil;, Protein, Refined Grains, Refining Process, several diseases, Sodium, Top Contenders, Weight Loss Foods, Weight Loss Goals —