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Almost everyone that tries to lose weight struggles with it at some point in time. You are far from alone. Luckily, there are things that can help.

Let’s look at four simple techniques for stopping the weight loss struggle:

1. Honesty is vital, if you want to lose weight. You can’t count some calories. If you conveniently leave the treats you eat out of your counts, your results won’t line up. So, you can have that slice of birthday cake, but you should be sure to record it. Along those same lines, you can’t cut corners with your exercise routines, either. Unfortunately, it’s really easy to stop your routine a few minutes early just this one time.

How do you avoid falling into these easy traps? Well, the best way is to journal. Make sure to record every single exercise you do and how long you do it for. Also, record all of the food you eat and the calorie counts of each one. For a little bit of added incentive, you can even keep a picture or video journal, so you can see your progress, too.

2. The second thing that might be causing your weight loss struggle is not keeping your goal in mind. Goals are important because every milestone you reach will give you a self-esteem boost, as long as you don’t set unreachable expectations for yourself. Don’t give yourself an excuse to fail by trying to accomplish a miracle.

3. Another common problem that you might have is over dieting. If you’ve decided to go on a crash diet because you’ve had trouble with other diet plans, you’re doing more harm than good. There are two reasons why that’s a bad idea.

The first reason is that your body needs a certain amount of calories in a day. If it doesn’t get those calories, it begins to go into starvation mode. What that means is that it starts to take the calories it needs from the muscles you have built up. Muscles give you better metabolism so, without them, it’s much harder to lose weight.

The second reason is that, when you don’t eat enough, you get hunger cravings much more often. Binge eating can undo any of the weight loss you have very quickly. So, it’s important to eat healthy and keep lots of small, healthy snacks available. That way, you’ll avoid harmful food binges.

4. The final reason you may be having trouble is that you may not be eating enough protein or good carbohydrates. It might seem like eating more food is the last thing you need when trying to lose weight. Really, though, eating good carbohydrates, such as whole grains, and proteins can help you to build muscle and keep unhealthy weight off.

Of course, these aren’t all of the reasons why your past diets may have failed. A lot depends on your own personal situation. If you follow some of these tips, though, you are much more likely to lose weight faster and in a healthy way.

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Technorati Tags: I need to lose weight, lose weight, losing weight, weight loss

If you’ve tried to lose weight before, you may be painfully familiar with this concept. You go on a diet and stick with it perfectly. You lose plenty of weight and feel great. That’s where the problem begins with chronic dieters.

Why is this a problem? Well, for the yo-yo dieter, the thinking goes something like this – because I look great and I’ve lost all this weight, it won’t hurt to splurge just a bit. And after the splurge, nothing bad happens. The next morning, the scale still shows a nice respectable weight and the clothes still fit well so no harm was done, or so it seems.

This cycle continues to repeat itself. Another opportunity to have an extra goodie comes along and so the former dieter goes ahead and enjoys it. After all, nothing bad happened the last time. Little by little the weight creeps back on and it goes largely unnoticed until it’s an obvious problem again.

After all of these seemingly innocent splurges, the scale now shows a heavier weight which is often the same as or more than the dieter’s weight before she began the first diet. Dieting has given her a fatter body composition and possibly left her with more pounds than before. Does this sound familiar to you?

Dieters often end up fatter than when they started because they have incurred damage to their metabolism. When calories are cut the body adjusts itself to use less energy because it doesn’t realize that we are restricting our calories on purpose. Our genetics are wired to believe we are in danger and need to preserve our energy stores when calories are significantly reduced. The result is excess stored fat.

When we simply diet without including proper workouts and nutrition to preserve muscle mass, this lean component is often the first to go – before the fat loss we desire. Further, once we start eating an increased number of calories again after the diet is over, the body is unable to burn them off due to its decreased metabolism. We end up with more fat as a result.

It is unfortunate in this scenario that the weight we lose is often lean muscle and the weight we regain is pure fat. This means the same number of pounds looks fatter each time we regain weight.

Aside from the health implications caused by yo-yo dieting, there is also an emotional component involved. Sometimes a dieter punishes herself by beginning a strict diet because she feels she shouldn’t have gained all that weight in the first place. This restriction works for awhile but typically cannot be maintained long-term. As a result, the dieter will either “cheat” on her plan or binge after the diet has been completed. If this sounds like a pattern you are involved in, special help may be called for. Sometimes it is necessary to seek counseling to break this up and down cycle and regain healthy eating habits.

In order to solve the yo-yo cycle and put it behind you, it is important to learn appropriate and healthy methods for reaching your fitness goals. A sound plan will focus on nutrition, fitness and motivation and embrace a lifestyle mentality rather than a short-term diet approach.

Technorati Tags: weight loss, yo-yo dieting, yo-yo diets

With improved health and appearance as the promised outcome, it’s no wonder people sign up in droves for the latest plans offering quick weight loss. However, slow and steady always wins the race when it comes to dieting. That said, how do you stay motivated when things seem to be moving at the proverbial snail’s pace?

Here are some tips to keep you focused and motivated:

1. First and foremost, set realistic goals for yourself and always monitor your progress – if you set impossible targets, you will not be able to achieve them and your motivation will go right out of the window.

2. Secondly, always choose weight loss programs by consulting with a nutritionist and fitness expert first. Once you and your health professional have chosen the best plan for you, make a commitment to stick to it. This is your goal and you’re going to do everything necessary to achieve it.

3. You obviously decided to go on a diet to melt excess fat and become fit. Start thinking of excess body fat as the villain who is preventing you from reaching your goal (a healthy and fit body). Thinking of your fat as a villain will put you in command-mode and you will aggressively begin fighting your fat.

4. Follow success stories of people who have reduced their weight and become fit by following a fitness routine and a healthy diet plan. And realize that we all have the same capabilities – if they can do it, so can you. Positive thinking is a must during your program.
 
5. Flip through health and fitness magazines. Looking at fit bodies pictured therein can really keep you motivated.

6. Visualize how you will look after you shed that extra flab – let this picture guide you into a positive frame of mind and keep you focused on your goal.

7. Develop a ruthless frame of mind when it comes to sticking to your plan – remember, your plan will only work if you follow it consistently. For example, if you’re going to a party, fill up on water a large salad before leaving home and you’ll be less likely to splurge later on.

8. Think of unhealthy foods (fatty, sugary and starchy) as the weapons used by the villains in tip 3 above and stay away from them. If you get a strong craving, try having just a bite. If a particular food seems to be a trigger for you, just keep it out of your home – the last thing you need is to be needlessly tempted. Instead, keep plenty of healthy snacks at hand such a fruit, yogurt and nuts and you’ll be more likely to eat them.

9. A monotonous fitness routine can become difficult to stick to. To stay motivated, add variety into your fitness regime. If you’re bored of jogging, start biking or swimming, or join an aerobics dance class. That way you won’t get stuck in a groove and will look forward to being active.

10. Make friends while working out. Friends are a great motivational factor – you will enjoy their company as you exercise. That’s like increasing your social circle while getting fitter at the same time – two birds with one stone!

11. If jogging or going to the gym is not your cup of tea, switch to a sport. Sports feature that competitive factor that makes them more fun and motivating.

12. Do little things that enhance your fitness plan – reward yourself with small gifts when you achieve a certain target, for instance. Also, turn daily routines such as walking to the store or climbing the stairs at home small add-on workouts.

Most of all, don’t beat yourself up – when you slip off track, just get right back on again. By eating a healthy meal and doing a workout, you’ll be right back on track with your weight loss program.

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Technorati Tags: weight loss motivation, weight loss program

You may be thinking that anyone who wants to lose weight must be ready to start a diet. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t want to lose weight in the first place, right? Being ready to start losing weight requires that one be in the proper mindset or it is nearly impossible to achieve success. By having the proper mindset, or attitude, toward weight loss it is much easier to maintain the motivation necessary to stick with a program.

So how does a person know if they have the mindset required for success on their weight loss plan? The first step is to make a list of all the reasons for losing weight that matter to the person who will be losing the weight. Good reasons for losing weight for one person may not carry enough meaning for someone else to make a difference.

Once a list has been made, the potential dieter needs to decide how important these reasons are. If they fall in the “would be nice” category they are probably not strong enough to provide any motivation for staying on a plan for very long. However, if they represent a dream or something the person has always wanted, there is a better chance of reaching the necessary level of motivation for a successful weight loss program.

If the reasons are valid and meaningful, the next step is to set some goals. Normally a goal for someone wanting to lose weight will be “I want to lose weight” or “I want to lose thirty pounds.” While this may be a good start, it is not nearly specific enough. An overall long-term goal might be “I want to lose thirty pounds in six months.” When a big picture goal has been set it is time to break that goal down into smaller pieces and set sub-goals.

Setting smaller, more manageable goals will result in a greater likelihood of success. Each sub-goal should be in writing and list specific results to be achieved, the steps necessary to be taken and the time frame required. Goals should be reviewed at the beginning of each day as a reminder of what needs to be done and they should also be revisited at the end of the day to verify that everything was accomplished.

Momentum will be gained with every success realized from reaching the sub-goals which will result in continued motivation. Having goals and putting them into a written plan provides both a roadmap and a sense of accountability for someone on a weight loss program. Be sure that any weight loss program you consider includes a motivation component. While diet and exercise are certainly important and must be addressed as well, having the proper motivation is a preliminary requirement for expecting success with a new weight loss program.

For a program that combines motivation with nutrition and exercise, see our review of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. It is a great program for those who are willing to do the work and achieve great results.

Technorati Tags: fitness motivation, weight loss program