Benefits Of Weight Loss Plans
Angela Rogers
December 21, 2007
weight loss involves using more energy than you are deriving from your daily food intake. When this occurs, your body draws upon the stored energy (in the form of fat) and uses it. When the stored fat is used, you lose weight.
Anyone contemplating weight loss must have a plan. As with anything else in life, you have to be able to put in writing exactly how you will go about achieving what you truly want.
The first part of your plan is your goal. How much weight do you want to lose? To determine this, you need to know what the ideal weight is for your height, age, and basic body structure. You can do a little research yourself or consult with a physician, dietician, or trainer at a health club. Once you have your goal, you are ready to develop your implementation plan. This involves a number of steps if you are going to do it correctly.
1. Take your total weight loss goal and divide the number of pounds by 7 or 8. This smaller amount is a safe monthly weight loss. You will then have the number of months it will reasonably take you to reach your goal. Put this down in writing, so that you can check at the end of each month to be certain you are on target.
2. You are going to make some dietary changes. Before doing this, it is a good idea to write down everything you eat in a one-week period. You will able to see a number of things here. Do your meals contain healthy or unhealthy elements? How often are you snacking between meals? How late at night are you eating? How much fat is in your typical weekly diet? How many carbs? How many sugars? Once you can see what and how often you eat, you are ready to cross out what you know you can do without and substitute other fat-producing foods for low-fat or no-fat ones.
3. Plan your menus for a week at a time. Grocery shop only after you have planned your menus, because you are only
going to buy those things that are on the plan. You have to be strong here – your plan won’t work otherwise.
4. Stick to your plan, even if you go out to eat. Every restaurant has a “light fare” menu, and, if you know what you are NOT supposed to eat, you will know what NOT to order. Tell your eating partners about your diet so that they can support you rather than tempt you with some of their French fries.
5. Develop a gradually more rigorous weight loss exercise program. If you have been totally sedentary, plan two 15 minute sessions of walking each day. Add to these minutes every day or so until you are up to 30. At the same time, increase your pace. You will be amazed how much better you feel and how much more energy you have with just this little bit. Once you have “mastered” the walking, you are ready to move onto more rigorous forms of exercise, to include jogging and aerobics. As well, your body is more physically ready to take the exercise without injury. Keep track of your exercise routine, so that you can see your progress.
6. Weigh yourself on the same day each month – not in between. There is nothing worse than getting on a scale only to see that you haven’t lost weight in the past few days. That is not how weight loss works. So – stay away from the scale!!
Nothing of value happens without a plan. And this is true of weight loss as well. Develop your plan, tell others about it, get the support you need and go for it!
Learn also about hoodia and weight loss.
Anyone contemplating weight loss must have a plan. As with anything else in life, you have to be able to put in writing exactly how you will go about achieving what you truly want.
The first part of your plan is your goal. How much weight do you want to lose? To determine this, you need to know what the ideal weight is for your height, age, and basic body structure. You can do a little research yourself or consult with a physician, dietician, or trainer at a health club. Once you have your goal, you are ready to develop your implementation plan. This involves a number of steps if you are going to do it correctly.
1. Take your total weight loss goal and divide the number of pounds by 7 or 8. This smaller amount is a safe monthly weight loss. You will then have the number of months it will reasonably take you to reach your goal. Put this down in writing, so that you can check at the end of each month to be certain you are on target.
2. You are going to make some dietary changes. Before doing this, it is a good idea to write down everything you eat in a one-week period. You will able to see a number of things here. Do your meals contain healthy or unhealthy elements? How often are you snacking between meals? How late at night are you eating? How much fat is in your typical weekly diet? How many carbs? How many sugars? Once you can see what and how often you eat, you are ready to cross out what you know you can do without and substitute other fat-producing foods for low-fat or no-fat ones.
3. Plan your menus for a week at a time. Grocery shop only after you have planned your menus, because you are only
going to buy those things that are on the plan. You have to be strong here – your plan won’t work otherwise.
4. Stick to your plan, even if you go out to eat. Every restaurant has a “light fare” menu, and, if you know what you are NOT supposed to eat, you will know what NOT to order. Tell your eating partners about your diet so that they can support you rather than tempt you with some of their French fries.
5. Develop a gradually more rigorous weight loss exercise program. If you have been totally sedentary, plan two 15 minute sessions of walking each day. Add to these minutes every day or so until you are up to 30. At the same time, increase your pace. You will be amazed how much better you feel and how much more energy you have with just this little bit. Once you have “mastered” the walking, you are ready to move onto more rigorous forms of exercise, to include jogging and aerobics. As well, your body is more physically ready to take the exercise without injury. Keep track of your exercise routine, so that you can see your progress.
6. Weigh yourself on the same day each month – not in between. There is nothing worse than getting on a scale only to see that you haven’t lost weight in the past few days. That is not how weight loss works. So – stay away from the scale!!
Nothing of value happens without a plan. And this is true of weight loss as well. Develop your plan, tell others about it, get the support you need and go for it!
Learn also about hoodia and weight loss.
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