Weight Loss-10 Tips For Long Term Weight Loss

1. Do some resistive weight training 3 to 4 times a week using short rest periods between sets of 30 to 60 seconds. Work out no longer than 1 hour to keep your anabolic (muscle-building) hormones high and catabolic (muscle-wasting) hormones low. Over-training is a quick way to lose muscle along with fat. Maintaining muscle is the goal, and it will help keep your metabolic rate high so that fat loss continues at a steady pace. Attempt to lose no more than 1 to 1.5 pounds of fat per week.

2. Avoid traditional long duration cardio, instead perform HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) 2-3 times per week on alternating days or after weight training to burn fat and increase metabolic rate. HIIT cardio is best done on alternating days from weight training if possible.

3. Watch what you eat. Beware of low-fat or fat-free products. Typically, these products are loaded with carbohydrates and while you are not getting the fat, you may be getting way too many calories from simple carbohydrates. Avoid simple sugars and eat complex carbohydrates in moderation to reduce insulin output and prevent blood sugar fluctuations. Insulin is the main hormone responsible for storing body fat, and high insulin levels prevent the burning of stored body fat for energy. High-carbohydrate diets are not the optimal way to lose fat while preserving lean muscle. Rely on complex, high-fiber carbohydrates such as oatmeal, lentils and brown rice. Avoid breads, pasta, white rice and other highly processed, low-fiber carbohydrate sources, as well as sweets. As a guide, reduce carbohydrate intake to 0.8 to 1.2 grams per pound of body weight. For example, a 150-pound person would eat between 120 and 180 grams per day of carbohydrates (150 x 0.8 = 120 / 150 x 1.2 = 180).

4. Increase the amount of lean protein you consume daily to increase your metabolic rate, increase anabolic hormones and prevent muscle loss during dieting. Lean muscle mass is the active tissue that burns calories and maintains metabolic rate. The goal is to preserve the active tissue we want while encouraging the body to reduce the tissue (fat) we don't want. Eat high-quality, low-fat protein sources like skinless chicken, lean red meat and seafood during your weight loss program. High-quality protein supplements may be used when the diet does not yield enough daily protein.

5. Reduce saturated fats whenever possible and replace with polyunsaturated fats such as flax oil and monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats are considered "good fats" and should be a part of your diet. Research shows that omega-3 oils from many sources of fish like cod, flounder, haddock, monkfish, perch, red snapper, sea bass, salmon and tuna help improve health and fat loss. Essential fatty acids (EFA) are required for optimum health and fatty acid metabolism. Avoiding "good fats" is a sure way to sabotage a fat-loss diet and degrade your health.

6. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration and help liberate fat stores to be burned as energy. Water intake is often cited as the most underrated and overlooked part of fat loss.

7. Eat fibrous vegetables to increase transit time of food, improve digestion and improve weight loss. Increasing fiber intake from vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and other raw vegetables adds fiber, minerals and vitamins with very few calories. They add bulk to the diet while reducing appetite.

8. Spread food intake over 5 to 6 meals per day. Distributing your food throughout the day will improve nutrient absorption, prevent blood sugar fluctuations and decrease fat-storing hormones and fat-storing enzymes. Simply spreading the same number of calories over 5 to 6 small meals per day rather than the standard 3 meals per day will improve fat loss due to the above effects on blood sugar, hormones and fat-storing enzymes.

9. Avoid alcohol (or keep it to a minimum) while you're dieting. Alcohol contains nearly 7 calories per gram, and is easily metabolized and stored as fat. When you consume alcohol with a meal, your body will metabolize the alcohol first. The rest of the calories and the excess alcohol calories inevitably will be stored as fat. Alcohol is generally regarded as empty carbohydrate calories because you get no other nutritional benefit as you would from the vitamins, minerals and fiber that you get from the carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables.

10. Be snack smart. When you must have a snack, make a smart choice. Avoid sugary or fatty snacks like chips and soda, crackers, nuts, frozen yogurt and so on. Instead, try some air-popped popcorn (no butter or salt) or a slice of lean meat like turkey. When you space your meals to 5 or 6 a day, snacking becomes less important to you. Check the nutritional panels on your snacks for sugars and fats, remembering that fat-free does not mean calorie-free, and remember, excess carbohydrates in your diet will be stored as fat.

Weight loss-Stop Whining and Start Moving

NOTE: I realize this article may offend some people, but I believe that you need to hear the truth about weight loss rather than some watered down "feel-good" version of the truth!

I receive hundreds (yes, hundreds) of questions every month with this general theme... "HELP... I'm doing all the right things but I'm still not losing weight." After talking to hundreds of these people over the years, I've come to a few general conclusions. Keep in mind that these are generalizations, but they would apply to over 95% of people in this situation. Also, please note that these ARE in order of importance...and I'm not pulling any punches! :)

1. The vast majority of these people (I call them "non-losers") are not exercising anywhere near enough (if at all)! You can only decrease your caloric intake so much. Your other alternative is to increase your caloric expenditure. You can write this in stone... ** VERY FEW people are successful at losing weight AND keeping it off without exercising almost everyday!!

If you're having trouble losing weight, 20 minutes of exercise three times a week isn't going to cut it! Most people who tell me they are *really serious* about losing weight are not willing to do what it takes to get where they want to be. If you're not willing to make exercise a *serious* priority in your life, your chances of succeeding at losing weight and keeping it off are VERY small! Many of my clients who are serious about weight loss are exercising 1 to 2 hours per day. Many split it up and do some in the morning and some in the late afternoon or evening. If you're having difficulty losing weight, I would recommend that you average at least 30 minutes *everyday*, ideally more.

2. Most "non-losers" that are exercising are not weight training. Weight training is *critical* to maintaining your muscle mass and tone. If you're not weight training while trying to lose weight, you will lose muscle mass and tone and your basal metabolic rate will decrease causing you to burn fewer calories 24 hour-a-day!

3. "Non-losers" are actually consuming about 600 calories more per day than they think they are. Recent research with a large group of "non-losers" determined that they were significantly under-estimating the number of calories they were consuming on a daily basis. If you're not sure, write down everything you eat for a few weeks.

4. "Non-losers" want *instant* results. When it doesn't happen they either give up or go on some crazy diet. You HAVE to be resolved to the fact that it WILL be slow!

5. "Non-losers" are actually consuming more fat than they think they are. Limiting fat intake to 20 to 30 grams per day is critical for "non-losers".

6. "Non-losers" are notorious for skipping meals! This is really bad news because it slows your metabolism causing you to burn fewer calories 24 hours-a-day.

7. "Non-losers" consume far too much sugar or simple / refined carbohydrates such as white rice, white (non whole wheat) flour products, white (non whole wheat) pastas, soft drinks ("pop" for you northerners), sweetened drinks, and the hundreds of products that contain addded sugar that's deceptively listed on ingredient lists with names like sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, etc.

8. Some "non-losers" don't want to give up their alcohol. Alchol is a triple whammy...it stimulates your appetite, slows your metabolism, and it's loaded with calories! Enough said.

9. Many "non-losers" consume far too few fruits and vegetables.

10. Many "non-losers" always eat until they're full. Practice stopping before you're "full" and see how you feel 30 minutes later. You will probably feel satisfied by then.

11. Many "non-losers" consume artificial sweeteners which stimulate the pancreas to release insulin just like sugar would. Insulin causes your body to store fat and prohibits your body from burning fat for fuel.

Weight loss is VERY difficult! Simply put, If you don't want it bad enough to do what it takes, it's NOT going to happen. If you really want to lose weight, quit playing around with it. Get serious about it and make it an absolute, non-negotiable priority in your life... and it will happen! :)

Weight Loss-Try this and NEVER get FAT

• People say that they eat just two meals a day and still can't get rid of the excess flab.What i want to say is the Almighty has designed our body for the purpose of survival and not Ripped body with six-pack abs.If we eat only two meals a day and deprive our body of the nutrition it needs,our body goes into the survival mode.It burns less calaroies then normal and the BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate) of our body goes low.

• So what i am trying to say is this,the worst habits one could have is to skip breakfast,have a light lunch,over-eat during dinner and then round it up with midnight refrigerator raids.

• REMEMBER THESE WORDS:To get lean,you have to eat at regular intervals.

• If you just follow some basic rules about what to eat and when your body will become a lean fat burning furnace .The daily intake of calories depends on the individual,metabolism,age and activity levels.Always try to consume fewer calories then your body needs.Just avoid high fat and high calory items ,keep a record of what you eat and over a period of a monthyou will know where you are going wrong.It is advisable to burn your calories rather than starving yourself.

• Carbohydrates are a very confusing issue.They are vital in breakfast,for normal brain functioning and are essential for people who workout.but on the othet hand,when the activity levels are low,the body stores them as additional fat. the easiest way is to have them around workouts.complex carbs like vegetables,whole grain breads,combined with protein like egg whites,pulses,chicken breast,fish ,about 90 minutes before breakfast,To fuel the training.

• Take simple carbs like Fruit,milk,yogurt,honey immediately after workout to recover.

• So my ADVICE:Keep the intake of carbs low,replace white breads with much healthier brown breads,or even better ,simple home made roti.Drink a lot of water to keep your sodium levels low.

• MY RECOMMENDED meal timings:7 AM , 10 AM, 12 PM, 3:30 PM, 7:30 pm, 8:45 PM.