Techniques for healthy weight loss

Weight affects people in many ways. These can range from physical appearance, self esteem, depression, health risks, general physical incapability etc which all ultimately affect our quality of life.

 

Most of us would definitely like to do something about that, and that is why there is so much searching being done for a weight loss technique that will get rid of all that fat, or cellulite, and turn one into a specimen of physical perfection.

 

One of the first things that a severely overweight person needs to do is to seek his or her doctor’s advice as to the best weight loss regimen for the present. The doctor may not be able to take you to single digits in terms of bodyfat, but they can certainly advise you to begin correctly.

 

A full physical examination is definitely in order. This will be your starting point for a weight loss regimen that will put you on track to that quality of life you want. The proper weight loss techniques will be decided upon here.

 

In order to lose weight fast, there are basically 4 aspects of life that need to be changed:

 

• Timing of food – when to eat
• Composition of food – what to eat
• General behavior and attitude
• General activity levels

 

 

Here are some tips that will definitely change your life as far as weight is concerned:

 

1.      Immediate weight is made of several important factors such as attitude, exercise, and in some cases, special supplements (these by the way DO NOT include illegal drugs!). Start by putting together an eating plan that can be followed and adhered to without fail. See what type of exercise you can do without any further damage to yourself – just because you were a bodybuilder or something years/ pounds ago doesn’t mean that you can start with the same intensity of exercise now. Think walking, swimming, jogging, and dancing for starters.

 

2.      Set realistic goals and approaches. Set goals for yourself which are reasonable, such as losing 10 lbs in 2 months. After all, it took you quite a bit of time to get to where you are today, and reversing the whole thing will not happen overnight. Focus on what you are doing, and keep the end result in mind, and not the discomfort that you are going through right now.

 

3.      Listen to your body, and monitor your progress. That doesn’t mean weighing yourself everyday okay! Keep records for all you do, and aim for a weekly recording session in the beginning – it is extremely motivating to see changes occurring and will definitely keep you on track. If you started running (over-achieverJ) and began to experience pain in your knees and ankles, then you need to back off and stop. Start walking first to get your body used to the whole thing before you begin to run. Also try and begin to do light weight training, as putting on a little muscle will actually help you to burn fat faster than if you didn’t do any weight training at all.

 

1.      Eat more fiber. It will make you fuller and stay in your stomach longer, keeping those hunger pangs at bay. Grains will also help you by moving fat faster through your digestive system.

 

2.      Stay away from fried food. Fried food will first of all have fat of its own, and have lots of oil added to it, thus further upping the ante in terms of caloric load. For now it would be best to concentrate on grilled foods as opposed to fried when ordering meats etc.

 

3.      Drink LOTS of water. Usually the recommendation is to take in any type of fluid, but I would suggest water as it is a nutrient which is always needed by our bodies, and high levels of caffeine may not be advisable for many people. Stick to water to help flush out toxins as well as to keep your skin looking good. Aim for at least 4 pints a day.

 

 

All in all, discipline and consistency is still the best practice and the key to rapid weight loss success.  Light dieting, working out, and the right amount of supplementation applied regularly everyday will result in faster weight loss than having a massive action only to be followed by a return to old habits as this would only lead to gaining more weight than when the weight loss plan has started.

Fasting: A new alternative for weight loss

‘Fasting has been reported to be effective for fat loss’ say industry insiders.

 

Fasting appears to be the newest weapon in the ‘battle of the bulges’ as research continues to be done and interpreted again and again. Fasting has been a discipline that many different people have utilized at different times. Some do it as a form of ritual purification, some as a means of attaining favor with the gods they worship, and some simply as a way of getting rid of toxins in the body.

 

Fasting takes many forms, such as total fasts, known as ‘Black Fasts’ among some communities, while others may choose to limit themselves in certain areas only, such as a abstaining from meat, or solid foods, or even other activities such as abstaining from games, TV and a host of other activities.

Continue reading…

 

What am I doing right now?

Some of you guys who’ve checked out my blog before might be a ‘little’ freaked out to find out what i am doing right now.

Why?

Well, it just so happens that what I am doing is the complete opposite of what my blog has so far been about – WEIGHT GAIN!

To be honest, I have been on a weight gain cycle for the last three months, and have already put on 20 lbs of bulk (fat and muscle included).

Again, why would I want to do that? Well, it’s just that for a long time I have been on a kick to get big muscles (aren’t we all), and for a long time have been trying to juggle some fat loss and some muscle gain – basically tried to gain lean muscle while keeping fat stores down. How much time did I spend doing this? Almost 5 or so years.

So what have I learnt? That it is IMPOSSIBLE to do something like that, no matter how many muscle and fitness rags tell us that. Man, we just end up spinning our wheels in the air, thinking that we’re about to get somewhere. Hah…what a joke!

The real fact of the matter is that one must focus on one of the two, and decide what your end result is going to be. You see, if you don’t have a picture in your mind, then how will you know if you’ve got what you aimed for?

For those who want big muscles to go along with the low fat, there will HAVE to be a time when you will have to run a couple of bulking cycles, and first get the muscle you want, and then cut up.

If muscles are not important to you, then go the ‘gain lean muscle’ route, and check out www.turbulence-training.co.cc and sculpt what you got already.

As for me…I had to sit down and think hard about things, and I decided that I wanted to be at least 220 lbs of muscle, which translates to aroud 240 lbs total bodyweight at around 19%BF (which is where I am right now). Hence the bulking cycle.

Well, I hope someone finds this to be of help in clarifying your goals, coz that’s what it is all about – clarity of mind and purpose.

Cheers!

Weight Loss Extreme: How I got in shape for my wedding

Yeah…that’s a really good topic, and true to life too. So what exactly did I do? Do you really want to know? Then here goes…

 

I like to make plans, and tweak them for a few weeks before I commit myself to it. The reason for making a plan, and then tweaking it further, is to come up with something that I am convinced about. You see, I really need to be convinced about something before I will go ahead and do it. And once I get convinced, there are no limits to the extent to which I can go.

 

First thing I did was to sit down and analyze my present diet and exercise protocols. I found a couple of ideas that I thought would be perfect for me, such as:

 

• An exercise program that does not involve lots of aerobics (I really dislike the idea of lots of running in particular, coz I suck at running long distances)!
• A diet program that is something I have previously tested out and found to have worked
• A program that is not too time-consuming, and can in fact be incorporated into my life rather easily

 

Well this is what I did:

 

I ate low carbs for about 3 months, with a week of no carbs around week 9 (no particular reason for this). I would eat cans of tuna, and my workmates would actually wave pastries under my nose (ha ha ha … thought they could get me eh)! I stayed on the same general diet for the whole time, eating around 5~6 small meals a day.

 

I began to train on a something called an “Escalating Density Training” type of program for around 4 weeks. That was followed by a program where the weights were medium, reps were medium-high, rest periods were short, and upper and lower body exercises were supersetted for around 4 weeks.

 

This was followed by a stretch of around 3 weeks again with upper and lower body exercises done on different days, with an escalating density type of schedule again, albeit with different exercises than the first time I did something like this. After week 11 I began to train heavier again, trying to preserve muscle mass.

 

As for the ‘A’ word (aerobics) – well, like I said…I don’t like to run. But what I did do was begin to walk. I walked around 3~4 km each day. I would walk to the main bus stop, catch a bus to work, get off at the junction, then walk another kilometer to school, and do the same in the afternoon. This I did for a full 4 months.

 

So did I need to spend more hours running around? Not at all.

 

So what were the results like?

 

I lost around 15 lbs of fat in 3 months, and actually appeared at my wedding looking very trim and fit. Was it overkill? Maybe, but then…I never used a single supplement at all, and basically did it all naturally, as in just food, and exercise. Could I have had better results if I had used thermogenics and lipotropics? Maybe. But the fact is, we don’t always need lots of expensive supplements to help us with our goals. In fact, that is mostly A crutch we end up using, and an excuse for not looking good if we fail.

 

So what do you need?

 

Just these:

• Education – you need to learn about your body, and how it operates
• Common sense – the kind necessary to go against the ideas of people who have no clue as to why things work or not
• Lots of determination – an undying will to succeed in your endeavor!

 

Question is…do you have what it takes?

Weight Loss or Gain – some principles remain the same!

What’s this all about? Everybody knows that weight loss and gain are to completely different things! So what am I on about?

 

Well, it’s just that there are some things that will be consistent with either goal, and among the things you will see is one major principle which, when applied, has the power to literally remake you!

 

So what is this principle?

 “The Principle of Recording Caloric Intake” 

You see, one thing that most people don’t have a clue about is how much they are actually eating! Someone who is trying to lose weight may complain about how little they eat, while another who is fed up with being skinny moans about how they just can’t eat any more!

 

Let’s forget about the hype from the supplement and drug companies, and those fad diets, and think straight for a second!

 

I mean, it makes sense to think that if you want to lose weight and aren’t losing weight, then you must be taking in more than you think you are! And in the same way, for someone who wants to gain weight and yet can’t – you must be eating a lot less than you think you are!

 

So what am I to do?

 

Simple really – start cataloguing everything that goes into your mouth.

 

But that’s a lot of bother!!!

 

Yeah, well…nobody ever said this ‘weight loss / gain thing’ was easy. Think about it…if it really was that easy then everybody would be walking around all buff and lean and toned and fit and healthy right! But just a cursory glance at the general public when you’re in the city tells you exactly where everybody is at.

 

So, arm yourselves folks, because you are about to embark on a journey that will transform you, should you step off the wharf and into the boat!

 

There are two basic truths that I want you take and start applying to your life right now…

• Note down in a notebook EVERY SINGLE THING that goes into your mouth
• Learn the caloric values of the various food items you ingest

 

Remember the Simple Weight Loss article? Now is the time to put that into practice, right from your very next meal.

 

One of the first things I advise clients to do is to actually do this for a period of at least 2 weeks, and see what your personal intake is like. Note down everything you eat and see how your weight fluctuates during this period.

 

From there you can actually map out a goal for yourself, and get moving on that. And the rest, they say…is …just elementary!!!

 

Cheers!!!

The Truth About Calories

If you have ever looked in the mirror and not liked what you saw, then without a doubt you have thought about things like diets, exercise programs, and such like. One of the first things folks come across is the idea of calories. Don’t worry – it’s not some monster that will make your life difficult for the rest of your days. On the contrary, a proper understanding of this will ensure that you meet every single weight loss / gain goal that you set for yourself.

 What are calories?

A calorie, simply put, is a unit of energy. It is energy that our bodies may use or store. Usage is pretty simple, but storage is another problem. You see, when we begin to talk about calorie storage, we need to see how the body stores energy (calories). Yes, for those of you who are jumping up and down shouting the big ‘F’ word…you are absolutely right. Our bodies are designed to store excess energy as ‘FAT’.

 So why do we store fat?

The body is given more than the amount of energy it requires to exist. So it must store that energy. Why can’t we store energy as protein, or carbohydrates? Well, the short answer is, fat has more calories per gram than both protein and carbohydrates. So it is simply easier for the body to store 1 gram of stuff that will one day give it 9 calories (which is what 1 gram of fat contains), rather than 4 calories (both protein and carbohydrates have this).

 What’s that got to do with me looking good?!

Well, if you know first of all why your body stores fat, then you would also know why your body has stored so much fat already i.e. why you are fat. The simple thing is that you have been consuming more calories than your body needed – for those who are quite fat, perhaps more calories than you needed for a loooong time. You see, whenever you consume more than you need, the body has a tendency to store most of the extra energy that you took in. which by the way means that even if you eat completely fat free foodstuff, if you eat too much, you WILL get fat! Try it for the next 2 months if you don’t believe me J.

 So what do I do?

First and foremost, you need to educate yourself. As I have stated before…in knowledge lies power! Arm yourself with these for starters:

• Calorie count of various food items
• Calories burned in activities: running, jogging, gardening, weightlifting, or any other thing that you enjoy and can think of.

 

The next step would be to start applying that knowledge, by seeing how much you take in, and how much you expend per day (of course a weekly average would be good). Then simply tweak the balance so that your energy intake is less than what you use up – this will mean that in order to maintain your activity the body will have to turn to stored energy in order to complete simply tasks, and lo and behold…fat starts to melt.

 

In time to come I will take you through a real life example of how this simple but explosive information about calorie intake and output can be used to basically pursue any physical goal you desire, whether it be weight loss or gain. Cheers!

Why can’t I lose weight – part 3

What do I mean???

Listen…why are you fat today (oops)? It’s because of your LIFESTYLE, not 2 extra pieces of pie! It’s not your bones, it’s not your genes, and for goodness sake, it’s not your neighbor’s fault!!!

All the things you have been doing have been adding up. What you are today is a sum total of what you have done for the past 10 years. What you will look like a year from now will depend on what you do EVERY SINGLE DAY from here onwards!

Think about it!
• What are you eating?
• How much are you eating?
• Are you making good food choices?
• Are you taking the time to plan your meals?
• Do you know how much food your body actually needs? (We all know how much our stomachs, and sometimes our minds want!)

The fact is, when we ‘go on a diet’, we automatically think of when we will end the diet, and what happens next? We go right back to eating the way we were before the diet; meaning, (listen closely now)

WE GO BACK TO WHAT MADE US FAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

There, I said it finally.

So, do you want a diet, or do you want lasting changes? Do you want to keep on going up and down the rollercoaster, or do you want to stay in that place that you like so much, ‘the land of slim and lean’?

Whichever one you choose is up to you. Just realize that ‘diets don’t work, lifestyle changes do!

Why can’t I lose weight? (part 2)

Well, I guess we got rid of the slackers! So let’s map out a way to make sure you don’t end up on the “yo-yo” path ever again.

 

Major PowerUp Lesson!!!

Forget about diets!

 

Yeah you read that correctly…I said, forget about diets!

 

I hear someone saying, “This guy is crazy! Everybody knows you have to diet to lose weight!”

 

Not really. You see, as soon as you talk about a diet, a picture begins to form in your mind about what things you have got to give up, when you have to start this ‘diet’, and how long it’s going to last for. You tell yourself, “in three months I will be back to the size I was when I got married’ or “2 months is all it’s going to take for me to get my 6-pack back’!

 

Listen, I’m all in favor of goals and deadlines, but sometimes they backfire on us! We lose the weight and get back the shape, begin to enjoy yourself, and before you know it, you’re back to the same as you were. The only thing is, you put yourself through so much pain, and that makes you even sicker!

 

So, what should you do?

 

Get a grip! It’s not a diet you need! It’s a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!!! (Repeat this 30x a day (10x per meal)

(part 3 tomorrow)

Why can’t I lose weight???

One of the toughest questions to answer is “why can’t I lose weight?” From the stay at home mom busy all day long, to the professional who practically lives and breathes his or her ‘career’. It’s a question that stumps the best of us.

 

Sometimes we begin, and initially are extremely excited at the changes we ‘see’ are taking place in our bodies almost on a day to day basis. For the rest, it seems we have tried everything, and filed dismally. A month after the ‘specialized diet program’ we are right back where we started, and for some, even fatter than before.

 

Introducing …… the ‘Yo-Yo Syndrome”!

 

The “Yo-Yo Syndrome” is characterized by constant fluctuations in our physical state, and mostly revolves around the losing and gaining back of weight. Each time we gain the weight back, we swear we will never touch another diet book or program again, resigning ourselves to the ‘fact’ that we:

 

• Have a big structure
• Are genetically destined to be fat
• Have hormonal problems
• Don’t have the time to do what it takes (we think it will take superhuman amounts of will power, and insane amounts of time to fulfill our dreams of being slim)
• Don’t have the equipment or space to do any kind of training
• Have too many injuries that hinder us from training (for some of us, surgeries that we had 20 years ago still remain an excuse)

 

Well folks, I’m here to tell you that…IT DOESN”T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY! (Tarzan shouts in the background).

 

You can, and WILL break you out of that rut of losing and re-gaining for good. The method may be rather drastic for some, but I daresay you are at the stage where you are absolutely sick and tired of whatever has happened before, and are willing to do what it takes to PowerUp your fat loss and chop your path through the jungle to a fitter, healthier, better looking you!

 

Oh yeah, and if you’re one of those who is not at the ‘absolutely sick and tired’ stage, then maybe you should come back in six months time eh?!

(Come back tomorrow for part 2)

Simple Weight Loss – Part 3: Putting it all together!

(continued from Part 2)

Well actually, for best results, I would like you to monitor your food intake for at least a week. Now this stage actually is quite critical, as you need to make sure you are eating EXACTLY the same as you have been for the past few months. At the end of the week, sit down and see exactly how much you have eaten that week. Needless to say, you must also record your snacks and soft drinks (cups full) in the same way.

So where does that take us? My old school motto said something like “In Scientia Fortitudo” (In knowledge lies strength). You see, now you are ready to actually make some sound decisions about your food intake. See what meals / snacks you could have avoided, and resolve to cut them out from here on. Also endeavor to decrease your food intake by around a tenth, and then weight yourself after 2 weeks.

If weight loss has occurred, you are on track. If not, you know you can actually afford to cut more food out, and you will also realize how much excess food you had in fact been consuming.

The fact is, at the end of that first 3 week period (1 week of measuring and 2 weeks of reduced intake), you will be armed with a new sense of what it will take to get you that new look that you were after.

Keep going on, and don’t ever look back. When the craving for those pies and cakes hit you, remind yourself that those were what made you what you were. But you are now different – a newer, better you, and that’s what PowerUp is all about!!!