| |
| |
|
Weight Loss Information |
|
|
|
The 4 Secrets to Weight Loss Success the Diet Books Don't Tell You
Weight loss plans come in all shapes and sizes. Some are fad diets that are too restrictive to follow more than a couple of weeks, while others are provided by professionals that make customized plans for us. All of them give us some guidelines on what we should and shouldn't eat to ultimately reach our weight loss goals. No matter how many food plans we try, healthy or unhealthy, there are some fundamental things you must know in order to be successful in a weight loss program that, believe it or not, have nothing to do with food. 1. Readiness- Are you ready to make change in your life right now? How would you know? The reason many weight loss plans fail is because people are not truly emotionally ready for change. In order to have true lifelong weight loss you have to commit to trading your old habits in for a new, healthier lifestyle. This has more to do with readiness for change than a desire to shed pounds- there is a big difference. The good news is, as you start on the journey to change these old habits you will be amazed how much better you feel physically, psychologically, and emotionally. This is the place where the people who have experienced long term weight loss have entered and want to stay. When you are truly committed to changing your lifestyle you will achieve lifelong weight loss and so much more! Ask yourself a few questions. Are you ready to make permanent dietary changes for you and your family? Are you ready to start exercising regularly? Are you ready to defend your new lifestyle changes to those who are undermining your efforts? Don't fret if you aren't completely ready to dive into change. This is the stage to keep up the learning process by reading articles and gathering information. You will know when the time is right and that will be when you answer an unequivocal "Yes!" to the above questions. 2. Developing a vision. When I ask people what their goals are for a weight loss program the answer is always, "to lose weight of course", or "to lose x amount of pounds". It is crucial to have another more, heart-felt reason to lose weight other than losing pounds and appearance. This is because when times are tough, and they will be during any change process, you will need a heart-felt or internal reason to lose the weight to keep you motivated. Losing weight for appearance is ok but it is an external reason and will not help to keep you motivated for long. In the past my clients have chosen things like, being able to play with their kids, running a marathon, backpacking trip they have longed to go on for years, and a big motivator is often a health condition. I call this your vision. It is imperative to take a few minutes to learn what your vision is. What is important to you that you will be able to achieve with weight loss? Write this vision down and plaster it everywhere so you always see your end goal and it will always help to motivate you further when times are tough. 3. Self Talk - is yours negative or positive? Unfortunately it's true that we are our own worst critics and like hearing any critic it often leads us to failure because we believe the critic is right. Furthermore, we start to believe things are true that are absolutely not true. For instance, if a child is told they are a klutz from an early age they will likely always think they are a klutz. We believe what we are told repeatedly. What do you tell yourself? One common statement I hear a lot of these days is, "I can't eat carbohydrates because once I start I can't stop". This is a belief that you have set up from constant defeating self-talk and once you believe it then no doubt you will act it out. However, there is no scientific reason why a person would not be able to stop eating after having a bite of carbohydrates. Your belief makes it your reality. So whenever you hear yourself say I can't do something or any other self-defeating talk. Stop yourself and change the sentence to a positive. For example, I realize that carbs have been a challenge for me in the past but I can eat a portion and put the rest away for later. Keep working on your own positive reinforcement by being gentler with yourself and tell yourself all that you CAN do. 4. Be prepared for change. All weight loss programs require us to change a habit yet no one warns us about the process of change. The first thing to know is that the beginning of change is difficult and uncomfortable. This is because it forces us to get off autopilot and focus on our new behaviors. Luckily it takes about 21 days to make a new habit and the uncomfortable part goes away and our new habits become autopilot. For example: Imagine you get your dream job and it requires that you have to get up at 5:30am. Yikes! You normally get up at about 7:30 am. So, what do you think will happen that first morning when the alarm goes off at 5:30? You aren't going to feel so great and your body is going to beg you to get back into your warm bed! This will go on for about 2-3 weeks until your body stops fighting you and realizes this is the new habit. The same thing will happen to you when you change eating and exercise habits. Just expect a little resistance and keep going! Your new healthy changes will eventually become your new habit. You just have to keep at it. © Meri Raffetto, 2005 Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She is the owner of Real Living Nutrition Services providing interactive online weight management programs. Sign up for her free monthly nutrition newsletter at http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Weight-Loss - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Saint Valentine Never Had it So Good There are several theories on the origins of Valentine's Day. Some believe it originated on February 14, 269 A. Diet Pills and Consumer Fraud Diet pills have met with many different fates, and come with many different promises. But at what point does the line between misleading advertising and outright fraud cross? And how long will health products be allowed to cross this line? Some diet pills have proven very effective, but were then found to have serious health side effects. Setting Morning Intentions For Success Ever heard of the expression, "Getting up on the wrong side of the bed?" Many people have less than idealistic starts to their day. The alarm goes off, the snooze button gets thwacked several times and something gets grumbled about it being too early. For Effective Weight Loss - Curb Hunger And Avoid The Binge Curb Hunger and Avoid The Costly BingeEveryone's been there - you miss a meal or you are getting used to a lower calorie phase of your nutrition plan when the munchies hit. You grab the nearest and quickest food available - usually a high carb snack food - and you chow down. Weight Gaining I learned about gaining weight when I heard the question of a skinny girl asking, "how does someone gain weight." First I came to surprise because gaining weight is not something that people want to have around you. How to Start Losing Weight and Keep Losing Weight I have put off writing a motivation article because of two reasons: 1) There is a glut of articles out there already; 2) My philosophy is so simple, I didn't think it justified an entire article. I was amazed at the incredible number of articles on the net and in the news that dealt with motivation to diet and exercise. Free Weight Loss Tips - Help For Beginning a New Diet If you are about to begin a diet, the number of diet plans and products available may make it confusing to know which is right for you. No matter which diet you choose, here are some tips that may be helpful to you in your weight loss regimen: 1. The Diet Dilemma. Why Diets Dont Work Let's face when it comes to overweight and obesity there are 2 basic facts we have to take into account.First, dieting is a huge industry. The Lost Road of a Failed Gastric Bypass Surgery In 1994, I had a RNY surgery. At 350 lbs and 26 years of age, I felt like my life was over, I felt like my husband and my child would be better off without me. Food Intolerance and Low Carb Diets Food intolerance is a pharmacological reaction to the consumption of certain foods. In many cases, food intolerance may appear to be the side-effect of pharmacological drugs, but in fact, it is generally caused by the consumption of natural foods products, additives, or the combination of both. Ephedra Is Back - But Is It Safe? It's been called the world's oldest medicine, the miracle fat burner, and is known in some parts of the U.S. Natural Weight Loss: Add to Your Diet and Add Years to Your Life As I was saying in my past articles, others have added years back to there life with a few added ingredients. They also added energy and youth. Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #9 WAHOO!!! for YOU!! You are the most AWESOME person alive!! Stand up and repeat after me. Come on, get up and feel the presence of God all around you. Mastering the Motivation to Stay Fit Have you ever just felt like you were doing everything you were supposed to in order to lose weight and STILL weren't dropping the pounds?During her journey to lose 40lbs in 16 weeks, my good friend Kim faced some pretty serious challenges with regards to her level of motivation before being featured on my YourBestBodyNOW web site.Another friend of mine, Antonio Goodwin, who lost 4 inches from his waistline in 9 weeks with my program, faced the same frustration. Understanding the Glycemic Index Things get so confusing when it comes to understanding what foods are high on the glycemic index scale and what effects your blood sugar production. I have focused a lot of my diet around eating lower glycemic index foods, but more importantly understanding that even when you eat high glycemic foods you can help reduce the blood sugar impact, by eating a combination of both high and low glycemic index foods together, that overall helps slow down the insulin production in your body. The Tao of Weight Watchers Part Two As I explained in the first part of this article, the Weight Watchers' Points system teaches you to budget the amount of kilo joules and fat you consume every day.How many points do you need to consume will depend on your weight, height and gender. The Number One Secret Of Successful Weight Loss There's one thing that most people forget about when it comes to weight loss. The truth is it's even more important than the right diet or effective exercise. Why Did I Do That? How to Deal with a Lapse in Your Weight Loss Efforts A bad day or even a bad week is not enough to "break your diet" unless you let it get you down. It's what you eat over the long run that counts. To Be or Not To Be: Low Carb... I get asked all the time, "what do you think about the Atkin's Diet?". Well, as a Nutritional Bio-Chemist, my opinion and answer to that question would have to be a biochemical response. Healthy and Fast Weight Loss: Ephedra - Why the FDA Couldnt Keep Their Ban On It? Why was the FDA trying to hide the facts about Ephedra from YOU?In April 2004 the FDA removed ephedra from the market claiming that it was responsible for dozens of deaths. The legal battle between the FDA and health officials began when the health officials became unhappy with the FDA's decision to ban ephedra.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
