You Are Not Destined To Be Overweight Forever

I know, you're probably thinking you have to starve to lose weight. But nothing could be more false. For the majority of us, we were born with a healthy weight. But as we grew older we developed bad eating habits, and then learned to diet. 

Fad dieting has caused a lot of our bodies to go into survival mode. Starvation diets can cause an intense urge to consume large quantities of high calorie foods afterwards or if we fail.  

These diets have set us up to fail by causing our bodies to fight against our natural survival mode.

After starving oneself on one of these fad diets, you may end up with the tendency to overeat once you stop.........however this does not mean you're a failure. 

You're human...and quitting, or not being able to finish this type of fad diet DOES NOT.... 

*It doesn't make you A FAILURE. 
*It doesn't mean you can't START OVER with something more realistic, safe, and healthier. 
*It doesn't doom you to being OVERWEIGHT FOREVER.
*It means you did the best you could at the time.

Eating food is one of the most natural thing we as humans do so listen to your body the next time you're eating, because it knows what it needs for you to live and be your best.

You just need to listen when it tells you enough is enough. Just as your body knows how to breathe, reproduce, and heal....it knows when you need fuel, as well as when enough is enough. 

Think of a newborn or toddler.

*They sleep when tired.

*They run, jump, and play while creating havoc until they can't anymore. 

*They eat, and drink when hungry or thirsty. 

*Once they feel full, they stop, no matter the bribe.

All of these natural instincts above live in each of us as well. 

We have the born ability to take care of ourselves. We just need to listen to our bodies just as we did as little ones. 

So stop thinking of yourself as destined to be overweight forever. You are not doomed to either being overweight or to being on a fad diet. Let overeating and fad starvation diets be a thing of the past. 

Not everyone is going to be super-skinny. The everyday pressure to be super thin is a huge part of the weight problem in todays society. Some of us are destined to be soft and curvy, while others are muscular, or even stocky. There is beauty in our differences.

Embracing and loving the individuals beauty will help you to love and work with what you have been blessed with. 

Realize and understand that you can live and learn to love your ideal weight. Eating normal while listening just as you did when young, will help you to be a finisher...You got this!! 

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or a nutritionistís recommendation. Prior to beginning any dietary program, including a low carb diet, individuals should consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or an appropriate path toward weight loss.

2020 Weight Loss Tips To Help Transform You

Here are 10 tips for helping to lose weight by using healthier meals and 10 tips for helping when you are eating out.

10 Tips For A Healthier You In 2020

When it comes to cooking a meal for the family, don't let your diet take a back seat. Just because you're on a diet and the rest of your family members are not does not mean that you have to eat a different meal. There are times when you have to draw the line e.g. Christmas lunch, Sunday lunch and family gatherings. Take a look at some of the suggestion below for a healthier meal:

1. Try steaming or boiling your vegetables instead of frying or casseroling, also stay away from using cheese based dishes. Try to use herbs and lemon juice instead of butter or margarine.

2. Cooking with chickens can pose as a bit of a problem, although chicken is very healthy in its self, containing half the fat of red meat. Don't go for the easy option of breaded chicken fingers or nuggets this is very unhealthy. Try roasting or steaming your chicken in a non stick pan, and eliminate the use of oil by using a cooking spray. Beware of the chicken skin as this is very fattening, try to buy a skinless chicken or remove the skin prior to cooking.

3. Watch out for different types of bread, stay away from white bread as it is full of sugar. Try to go for wholemeal bread, seeded bread and whole grain bread. Also look for brown rice, wild rice and basmati rice, the tastes are not all that different from white rice and have a much lower starch content.

4. When buying meats like pork and beef, try to buy lean and extra lean. Try some cuts like fillet and sirloin, these have less fat content than the other cuts. Roasting, grilling and dry frying are healthy methods of cooking meat. Once again try to use a cooking spray instead of cooking oil.

5. If you're preparing turkey, why not try cooking the stuffing separate. You will reduce the fat content by preventing the turkey fat from absorbing into the dressing. Be sure to use less margarine or butter when making the stuffing. Also don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy. Leave the drumsticks for the kids; as with chicken, choose light meat over dark and you'll save a lot in the calorie department.

6. Why not try serving fruit as a dessert? Serving fruit instead of pie or cake can make a massive reduction in the amount of calories you find in your meal. Instead of cake and pie, try serving a whole piece of fruit, some yogurt or a fruit cocktail. You will usually find that we don't need a dessert and have one just because of habit. I think you will be surprised at how fruit can substitute the sweet tooth in a dessert.

7. If you must have an ice-cream try a sugar free ice-cream of low fat frozen yogurt. Instead of topping with chocolate sauce or caramel, try some mixed fruit cocktail. The taste of the ice-cream is almost identical and the sugar from the fruit stops the sweet craving. All in all itís fewer calories than the full sugar and chocolate variety.

8. When cooking save yourself a lot of calories by using powdered milk. By doing this you will save on a lot of fat and calories. Also by using skimmed milk instead of cream in your favourite cream based recipes can also save on the calories.

9. Try some substitutions in your cooking. Use 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in your desserts, replace 1 egg with 2 egg whites or cup of egg substitute, replace half of the oil in dessert recipes with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce, try reduced or non-fat frozen yogurt or sugar free ice cream on pies.

10. If you still find yourself hungry after your meal and you do want to tempt your self to seconds, then go for the vegetables. Choosing steamed vegetables over meat and bread is far healthier.

10 Tips for eating out when on your Diet

1. For a starter, try and keep it light maybe a prawn cocktail or a side salad. Make an effort to stay away from creamy starters and red meats.

2. If you are a pasta lover and find it hard not to eat endless amounts. You must try and stay with a single portion. Also don't worry if you leave a little no one will persecute you for it, especially not your body.

3. When ordering a meat dish, always go for the chicken. Stay away from fried chicken. Always go for boiled, grilled or steamed. If you must ask for red meat, be sure to ask the waiter for a nice lean piece.

4. If you don't see anything on the menu, that is cooked to your liking. Ask the waiter if it would be possible for the chef to cook you a dish with say, boiled or grilled chicken, instead of fried. Don't be embarrassed at this request as you will not be the first or the last to ask for it.

5. Avoid the temptation of cream sauce, butter, oil, batter and home made gravy.

6. If you do not like leaving your food, then you can always ask the waiter, to wrap it up so you can take it home afterwards.

7. If you are a take away person as I am. When you serve your take away at home, only serve half of it, and keep the other half for the next day or for another family member. Willpower is the key here!

8. If you know where you are going for your evening meal. Why not ring the restaurant and ask them to post a menu out to you, or go and pick one up. Now you can give the menu a good read and find out the best meal to suit you. When you arrive at the restaurant, your choice is already made and a healthier one it will be.

9. Buffets are the worst of all restaurant temptations. You must know your portion control. Try and have only one plate. Once again the key factor here is will power!

10. When the day comes for you to go out for your meal, try to eat smaller meals during the day, then you can keep an eye on the calories for the day and evening. However do try to remember not to starve yourself as you may just end up eating like a horse, which is never a good diet tip.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or a nutritionistís recommendation. Prior to beginning any dietary program, including a low carb diet, individuals should consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or an appropriate path toward weight loss.

Are You An Emotional Eater?

Millions of people suffer from the same eating problems, but among those eating issues, there is one that stands out. Emotional eating. For most people, it is the leading cause of abnormal weight gain, as you end up compensating for your emotional distress by sitting down for a large snack. Once and a while this is fine, but doing it often, you can find it hard to lose any weight at all.

If you are an emotional eater, lets talk "Food Journal".

Every time you eat anything, you need to write down your state of mind in your food journal. Were you feeling tired, upset, depressed, happy or energetic? Just writing a few words about how you felt at the time you decided to eat can make a world of difference when it comes time to analyzing your eating behaviors.

While your emotions are a good starting point, if you want to get even more in depth in your journal, you should go ahead and make that extra effort. At the end of each day, make a note about what happened during that day. Were the events good or bad? Did they lead to you eating more than you normally would have?

Once you analyze your emotions in regard to your hunger levels and how often you eat your meals, you may be able to find a pattern which you can use to become a more proper eater. Maybe you'll find that you eat more when you're depressed, even if you do not feel that hungry. Or perhaps you will find that you bolster happy days with food to make you feel even better.

The ultimate goal of any food journal you create is to be able to track your dietary patterns to see what needs to be changed if you hope to lose weight. While the core of your food notebook should be based on what you eat and how much of it you ate, you should also take the time to write about your state of mind, how often you eat, and where you have your meals. While these facts may seem useless at first, they can provide you with a number of interesting observations about what you need to change if you hope to lose weight.

Written by,

Dwight Obey (Founder - 1st N Weight Loss), and AdvoCare Independent Distributor.

" I have found that AdvoCare has so many nutritional supplements that support overall wellness, weight management, energy, etc.."- Dwight Obey

Interested in Searching, and Learning more about AdvoCare Products, Click Here 

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Lean And Fit In 2019

In order to get Lean and Fit in 2019 (www.leann2019.com), it will require good nutrition, and the ability of the body to function with vigor and alertness.  Nutrition refers to the nurturing of our body, and our ability to keep it healthy and functioning as it is supposed to do, by providing the body with all the necessary food, vitamins, and minerals so that we continue to thrive in our daily life processes.

Do you know if you're really fit?

First, you might want to look at your exercise habits, if there are any. Everyone, no matter what their age, benefits from exercise.  It keeps our bodies conditioned, our mental sharpness working at top speed, and thanks to the physical aspect, we get a boost to our cardio health, extra calorie burn, and more oxygen to those cells!

Are you getting the needed vitamins and minerals your body needs?

Are you supplementing your food intake with the needed vitamins and minerals to make sure you are getting your recommended daily allowances?  If you're not making the most basic of efforts to take care of your nutritional needs, you may not be as fit as originally thought.  You may not look sick, you may not have any noticeable symptoms of ill-health, but you're not the lean, fit and toned individual you could be either.

What about the stress levels in your life?

Do you work in an environment with high levels of stress?  Is your personal life a source of comfort or does it add to your stress levels?  Do you engage in some form of stress-relieving activity?  Stress is the number on contributor to heart attacks and strokes, since they manage to speed up the affect of the real culprits.  Stress is basically an out of control situation for most adults today.  We manage to schedule every moment of our free time, and leave ourselves with no time for quiet moments to reflect on the good times, or time to deal with life's unexpected emergencies.

Fitness requires us to examine more than just our exercise routine.

The mere definition of fitness refers to the body's ability to meet physical stresses. That includes coping with our day to day life, starting from the beginning of the day to the end, without being worn completely out. In order to be truly fit, we need to find ways to rid ourselves of built up stress, the kind that begins to affect our muscles, muscle tone, and composition.  Massages are the best cure for ridding our bodies of the stress buildup that can occur, even with exercise regimens and detract from our overall fitness.

Exercises that demand total body involvement are the best for maintaining and improving your level of fitness most effectively.   Running, swimming, jogging, dancing, cycling, and very brisk walking are some of the more popular total body involvement exercises.

As humans, we have so many occasions to stop and question our efforts of maintaining optimal health, that we usually don't even take the time to begin the examination. But it is beneficial to our overall health, the quality and quantity of our life, to make every effort to be fit, healthy, individuals.  Read more health and fitness articles at www.1stnweightloss.com 


Written by,

Dwight Obey (Founder - 1st N Weight Loss), and AdvoCare Independent Distributor.

" I have found that AdvoCare has so many nutritional supplements that support overall wellness, weight management, energy, etc.."- Dwight Obey

Interested in Searching, and Learning more about AdvoCare Products, Click Here 

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Dieting On A Busy Schedule

When it comes to dieting many of us find that the number one hindrance to our success is the lack of time to prepare the proper meals and snacks for our dietary needs. It is often much more convenient to throw one thing in the crock pot for the family or resort to the fast food last resort rather than preparing the healthy and nutritious meal that we should be eating.

There are things you can do however that will reduce the temptation to hit the drive thru and keep you on course with your dieting needs. The first of these is a process known as once a week cooking. With this method you cook enough meals to last you a week on one day. This means that for every night of the week you have a diet friendly meal ready to go. If your entire family is dieting or eating healthier with you, this works for this situation as well. Dieting and incorporating healthier eating habits into the food for your entire family is a great way to set an example for your children while keeping you motivated and removing temptation.

With once a week cooking you freeze the food that won't be immediately consumed and thaw it the morning you will be eating the food to cook when you arrive home after work or decide it is time for your evening meal. This is a process that works well no matter how many soccer games, dance practices, and band recitals you have on your calendar for the week. You can manage to stick to your diet while having a great meal for your family each and every night of the week.

You should also make sure to have a nice supply of cleaned cut fruits, vegetables, and salad ingredients in your refrigerator in order to make these dishes readily assessable for quick lunches or snacks. Having these foods readily available will help you resist the temptation to snack on higher calorie prepackaged food while also helping to ensure that you have a ready supply of fresh fruits and vegetables to help you get your 5 servings a day.

You should also keep some conveniently packaged yogurt on hand as a good quick and easy dairy product. Sugar free pudding cups are another decent snack for those who need something quick and easy to have on hand. Preparation and planning are essential to successfully meeting your weight loss goals. By preparing as much of the food as possible ahead of time you will never even miss the convenience of those high calorie pre packaged meals and snacks that so many of us survive on when not dieting.

Another time saver is to work your fitness opportunities into the course of your day. Rather than performing one lengthy workout each day, try to find methods of bringing a little fitness activity into the most mundane portions of your day (go stair climbing at lunch, park on the top level of the parking garage and walk down-then up when returning), park far away from the door of the supermarket and see if your mall has a walking path that is clearly marked. You'll be amazed at the hidden opportunities many of us have for exercising during our busy days. The trick is often in discovering the activities rather than the time.

When all is said and done, dieting doesn't have to be as time consuming as you may think it is. There are all kinds of prepackaged plans for dieters however if that is the choice you feel is best for you. Whether you are going with Lean Cuisine meals, Weight Watchers frozen entrees, Jenny Craig, or an AdvoCare program there are all kinds of opportunities to work dieting and fitness into even the busiest of schedules. When planning your dieting practices be sure to consider the tips and advice mentioned above.

Written by,

Dwight Obey, AdvoCare Independent Distributor

"I have found that AdvoCare has so many nutritional supplements that support overall wellness, weight management, energy, etc."

Why Your Diet May Be Failing You

Have you tried to lose weight by going on every diet out there with little or no success? This article tells you exactly why most diets fail and what you can do to finally make losing weight a reality.

Over the years, there has been millions and millions of people who have tried countless numbers of different diets to try and lose weight. Equally so, there has been millions and millions of people who failed at these diets. If all of these diets are supposed to be designed to make you lose weight, then why do most of them fail to do that? Why is it that no matter what diet you try, it never seems to work? Perhaps the diet itself was no good. Maybe it was too expensive to stick with. It could be that there was no support. Possibly, it just seemed to take too long to lose weight.

The fact is, not one of those reasons is why most diets don't work. Surprised? Don't be. In reality, it all boils down to one simple yet complex reason. Yes, there is really only one thing that stands between you and your weight loss and that one thing is; your desire to eat was stronger than your desire to lose weight.

It may sound too simple and may be a little hard to swallow, the truth often is, but that, my friend, is the plain and simple truth.

The only real reason diets fail is because people decide to let themselves go back to their former eating habits rather than making the changes necessary to lose the weight and keep it off and maintaining those changes.

Dieting is a long and oftentimes difficult journey that must be done step by step, little by little. There can be and often are all kinds of setbacks and pitfalls that can trap you, particularly during an endeavor that takes so much time and effort. Just one slip, one temptation given in to, and your whole struggle for weight loss can be sabotaged.

In order for any diet to be successful, it must have a strong foundation. With a strong foundation, it will be a bit easier to hold your ground when those little pitfalls come along to tempt you. There also must be a solid plan. Without a good, solid plan, you will just be grasping at straws and going in all different directions.

You need a plan to help guide you in the right direction at all times.
One thing that has helped many people who were successful with their diets was having the support of family members and friends. This can be a major asset that can help you stay with it.

Probably the most important thing to remember is, never starve yourself, make sure you make room to eat the foods you like from time to time and make a little time for some moderate exercise. Your diet does not have to fail, and with a little help from you, it can succeed and that means, you can succeed.


Written by,

Dwight Obey, AdvoCare Independent Distributor

"I have found that AdvoCare has so many nutritional supplements that support overall wellness, weight management, energy, etc."

*Video Music: We do not own the rights

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Home Remedies For Detoxing Your Body

Accumulated toxins inside our bodies must be cleared in order for it to function well. Your body needs to be healed to regain it's energy. There is one effective way of clearing your body from these unwanted toxins and it is called body detox or body detoxification using natural herbs. However, it is not taken as a single step but a continued process so that the natural ability of your body is supported for the effective dispelling of toxins everyday.

Another process being incorporated in body detox together with using herbs is limiting the toxins which enter your body.  Eliminating or restricting the use of the usual culprits such as refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, household chemicals, and petroleum or synthetic-based body paraphernalia is a very good way of starting.

You should start eating organic natural diet foods, getting regular exercise, and drinking adequate amounts of water to facilitate your detoxification. Your body can adjust easily in a gradual change that is much better compared to other practices.

The following herbs below that have been known to be effective for many years can be used as a home remedy.

These are some of the more natural ways of body detoxification.

Psyllium seeds and husks contain high fiber which can gently act as a natural laxative. You can utilize it by soaking the seeds in water. Psyllium is generally considered as adaptogenic which supports the healthy function of your bowel. It is also useful in treating diarrhea and other irritable bowel diseases.  It is a very good choice for body detoxification since its gelatinous substance after soaking absorbs toxins.

Hydrangea root and the Joe pye weed (gravel root) helps in preventing, dissolving, and expelling stones and crystals in the bladder and kidneys. It is good to keep your kidneys free from any obstructions to stay in good working condition essential in effective elimination of toxins.

Cascara Sagrada is used also as natural laxatives. It could be safe even for a longer duration of usage where it strengthens your colon muscles.

Alder buckthorn barks are also used but it must first be dried and be stored for at least one year since its fresh barks are so strong which can be considered toxic.

Juniper berries also promote the urinary system's overall health. It detoxifies and strengthens your urinary tract, bladder, and kidneys. It is excellent for cleaning purposes but prolonged usage is not recommended because it can cause some overtaxing in your kidneys.

Nettles also have detoxifying properties which can be extended not just in your urinary system. Nevertheless overusing it can display similar effects as the juniper berries.

Burdock seeds and roots are similar to nettles. It has mild and cleansing diuretic action but has stronger effects. Heavy metals inside your body can be removed by using burdock.

Basil, cypress, celery, grapefruit, lemon, fennel, rosemary, thyme, and patchouli contains essential oils effective for flushing out toxins underneath your skin and stimulating circulation of your lymph. 

Dandelion root and milk thistle help in cleansing and strengthening your liver. Milk thistle has silymarin which does not only protect your liver but helps in regenerating itself. Dandelion root helps in removing waste products from your gallbladder and kidneys.

So remember, if your body needs detoxification, you can do it from home. Utilizing some of these wonderful herbs to obtain their natural remedies, may help in rejuvenating yourself and feeling good about it.

Written by,

Dwight Obey (Founder - 1st N Weight Loss), and AdvoCare Independent Distributor.

" I have found that AdvoCare has so many nutritional supplements that support overall wellness, weight management, energy, etc.."- Dwight Obey

Interested in Searching, and Learning more about AdvoCare Products, Click Here 

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

How To Lose 5 Pounds

We all know that most diets are not easy to maintain -- for the majority, once you come off the diet, the weight comes right back, along with a tad bit more, and you end up worse off than before. Here are some tips on how to lose 5 pounds. These simple yet sound tips that when followed could easily help you to lose five pounds, or more.

Does any of the following sound like you?

You desperately want to lose weight, and you have tried so many different diets and failed over the years that you've grown discouraged.

For the most part, diets that you may have tried, such as the cabbage soup diet, the Master Cleanser to low-fat diets such as the Atkins Diet, one of two things typically happens:

• You lose some weight along with becoming stressed, as life becomes an unbearable nightmare of boring food and not enough of it.
• You don't lose weight because you just cannot stick to that diet.

In either case, you feel bad, and discouraged, thinking that you are a failure. But, take heart, losing weight is possible. In fact, here are five simple yet sound tips that when followed could easily enable you to lose five pounds, as stated earlier.

#1 Cut the Carbs! Cutting down on your carbohydrate intake, particularly white carbs (that is, carbs from white bread, potatoes, etc.) and instead eating more high quality lean proteins (such as chicken and fish) is a great way to drop a few pounds quickly. But don't cut carbs completely! You should still eat fibrous carbs, such as berries, spinach and apples.

#2 Stop Eating Processed Foods! Instead eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Often, people who are used to eating a lot of junk food will discover they can actually eat a higher quantity of delicious fruits, vegetables and whole grains without gaining any weight.

#3 Cut Down on Your Sugar Intake! In particular, watch how many sodas or juice drinks you consume. The sugar in these beverages can add up quickly and these drinks aren't filling. You should also watch out for "fat-free" products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. You will also want to be careful about how much sugar you add to coffee and tea.

#4 Drink More Water! Water naturally helps to suppress your appetite and drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will help you lose weight and burn fat. On the other hand, if you don't drink enough water every day, your body may store water and fat that you don't need. To determine how much water you should drink: multiply your bodyweight by .66 to get the required number of ounces per day.

#5 Exercise More Often! The healthiest way to lose weight is to exercise. Someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly lose weight. Plus, excessive sweating from cardio activity, such as running, walking and using aerobic gym equipment, will help you de-bloat and lose inches and pounds quickly.

But a word of caution, if you have not exercised in a while be sure to check with your physician first and also be sure to start any exercise program slowly.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Two Main Causes Of Stretch Marks For Women

Initially stretch marks have the appearance of purple or red looking lines. In time Stretch Marks can fade to a white or off white color.

Stretch Marks are a VERY common condition. Just think of all the people who are either pregnant or overweight!

Stretch Marks, known in the medical community as erythrocyanosis are a form of scarring that can occur when a person's skin is overstretched.

The Two Main Stretch Mark Causes For Women Are:

• Pregnancy
• Obesity

Appearance:

Stretch marks have the initial appearance of purple or red looking lines. In time Stretch Marks can fade to a white or off white color.

Stretch Marks are a VERY common condition. Just think of all the people who are either pregnant or overweight!

Stretch Marks are not just confined to the female population either. Did you know that few people realize that this is a common complaint of male body builders?

Three Possible Stretch Mark Solutions

Three of the most common are:

DERMABRASION. This is a serious medical procedure that takes place under a general anesthetic. Dermabrasion is definitely not for the faint of heart.

In Dermabrasion the surface of the skin is literally removed by a process of sanding. The aim of dermabrasion is to remove (or at least lessen) the appearance of scars, damage from the sun or dark spots.

The procedure is obviously very painful (hence the general anesthetic) and the healing process can take several months. However, the results can be quite spectacular.

Dermabrasion works best when the scar or mark being treated is above the surface of the skin and is generally much less effective when used to treat sunken scars.

Be Warned: Having a general anesthetic is NOT something to be taken lightly; it carries inherent risks and can be life-threatening. Always seek a second medical opinion (speak to more than one doctor).

MICRODERMABRASION. Often referred to as Microderm, is a far less invasive procedure that has become very popular throughout the Day Spa and cosmetic industries.

In Microdermabrasion the surface layer of the skin is removed by using a special wand with a roughened surface that lightly sands the skin. The shed skin particles are removed via a suction device attached to the wand.

People like Microdermabrasion because it has a reputation of being a safe, painless procedure that does not require an anesthetic.

SKIN TREATMENT CREAMS. This is one of those areas where you are most likely to encounter wild claims and the general rule of thumb here is that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

That said, there are literally tens of thousands of people who swear by such things as Vitamin A Cream, Cocoa Butter and a whole raft of different specially formulated cosmetic creams.

One thing you can do is ask the people trying to sell you any Stretch Mark Removal treatment to show you before and after photographs of their last 50 clients.

Also, ask for written testimonials.

Skin care experts also say that the correct diet, nutritional supplements, rest and common sense (avoiding excessive sun exposure) can have a big impact on the skin's ability to heal and its general appearance.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment. Results may vary by each individual while working out, or utilizing any of the products mentioned in this article.

Calorie Burning Tips For Weight Loss

These are all small habits that can contribute to a big difference and increase your metabolism over time.  You can achieve your weight loss goals quicker and easier by increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories.

These few habits are to be embraced to start revving your metabolism right away. You may have heard stories about people who have lost dozens of pounds simply switching to diet soda or walking a few minutes each day. These are all small habits that contribute to a big difference and increases your metabolism over time.

For more Calorie Burning Tips see below:

Move More

Sedentary people burn about one-third less calories per day.  By simply taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn in one day. Small movements will add up over time to lots of calories.  The trick is to keep moving throughout your day. Write the word move on a post-it note and put it in places you'll notice, when you're sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move.

Check out these ideas for burning even more calories:

• Tap your feet
• Swing your legs
• Stand up and stretch
• Move your head from side to side
• Change position
• Wriggle and fidget
• Pace up and down
• Use the restroom upstairs
• Park in the furthest corner of the parking lot
• Stand up when you're on the phone and step from side to side
• Clench and release your muscles

Eat Little and More Often

Evidence suggests that eating small meals every 2-4 hours will keep your metabolism burning faster than larger, less frequent meals. When you eat small amounts often your body is constantly working to digest and absorb food which requires energy.

Eat Some Fat

If you want to feel really good and keep the fat off you need to first put it in.  Fat not only tastes good our bodies need it to work efficiently.  By consuming several servings of healthy fats every day you will actually increase your calorie burning potential.  Try incorporating fats like Flaxseed oil, hempseed oil, olive oil, avocados, salmon, albacore tuna, nuts and seeds into your diet daily.

Drink Cold Water

Evidence shows that your body might expend more calories trying to raise cold water to the temperature of your body then hot beverages. And overall being well hydrated will help your body metabolic processes burn quicker.

Exercise With Weights

Training with weights boosts your metabolism in a number of ways. By lifting weights you will build muscle tissue. And muscle tissue is metabolically active, so it requires calories even when at rest and so it helps to increase fat-burning enzymes in your body.

Spice Up

Eating hot spices might speed up your metabolism.  Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help boost metabolism and keep blood sugar levels in check. Can't stand the thought of cinnamon in your morning cup of coffee? Spice up with cayenne, crushed red pepper or wasabi.

Eat More Protein

Protein requires a more complex chemical breakdown by your body in order to be digested and used as fuel. For example, 100 calories of protein may take up to 30 calories to process.   Protein also takes longer to digest and helps to stabilize blood sugar for longer periods of time  and this can help you to not overeat later in the day.  Eat a portion of protein at every meal and as part of your snacks and you will increase the total number of calories you burn each day.


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Five Simple Weight Loss Tips You Can Bank On!

Here are five simple steps to stopping the madness and finally getting on track to consistent weight loss. Get the full picture of the path you will take and build your accountability team to make sure you get there.

If you are one of the millions who are carrying around a few extra pounds like most of us are, you all know the reasons why we should take the weight off. It can reduce stress on our heart, reducing the chance of heart disease, cancer, possibility of diabetes; feeling better, and looking more attractive, etc.

There are hundreds of reasons why, but it can be a real pain to finally get that weight off. You push really hard, make a little progress, get side tracked, and bam you are heavier then you started.

It's maddening.  Enough with that hassle, I have put together 5 simple steps to actually losing weight and keeping it off. These steps can be applied to anything, but we are focusing on weight loss here.

• Know What You Want
• Know Where You Are
• Track Your Results
• Make Course Corrections
• Being held Accountable

Now all your extra weight will effortlessly melt off.  Yeah right! A simple list of 5 items is not going to do it, so let me explain the intricacies of the 5 items and where the hang up normally occurs when applied to losing weight.

Know What You Want 

This one is really simple. Most people that want to lose weight have an idea of how many pounds they would like to lose or how they would like their body to look.

I think we can safely say if your body started looking the way you wanted it, you would know, even if you didn't have it completely mapped out and detailed.

Know Where You Are

This is the big trip up. It is almost always overlooked and is the number one reason for the up and down Yo Yo effect we experience with losing weight. We are unhappy with how our body feels and how it looks and it is painful to zoom in and get an accurate picture of where we are. Unfortunately, we have to know where we are, to be able to accurately judge the results we are getting.

Look at it like this: You are on a trip to San Diego, California. You would like to start your trip from Phoenix, Arizona, but you really don't know where you are. No problem.  You get an Arizona/California map and find that a simple 6 hours trip west on interstate 8 will get you to San Diego.

6 hours later, you have no clue where you are and it is definitely not sunny San Diego.  You feel defeated and you want to give up!  Do you blame the car? The stupid maps? San Diego? Yourself?

Now what if I told you, you were actually in New Your City, not Phoenix, Arizona. A 6 hour car ride west from New York City will never get you to San Diego.

If you took the time to accurately find out where you were, you would have been able to choose the appropriate means to get to San Diego and have an expectation as to how long it would take.

This is the same with weight loss and our personal physical condition. In our minds, we think we are starting in a different physical condition then we really are. When the results don't follow the illusion in your mind, we get upset.

Track Your Results

This is conceptually simple. If we have no clue as to WHAT we are doing, how do we know what is working? It might be a simple to do, but it is also simple not to do. In the end, most people never track their results.

Make Course Corrections

We love to do this one. We have it hands down. It is like step 1 of knowing what you want. We try the new food diet, the super sit up machine, and the cardio hip hop power energy yoga fat burner class.

We might be great at switching it up, but without knowing where we are starting from and a history of tracked results, we have no clue as to what we should change or even which direction we should go.

Being held Accountable

No, not accountability! That is an evil word. I don't want someone to know what I am doing, or more importantly what I am not doing.

So, why do we resist accountability, your secret weapon to weight loss?  Because it works!  If you know someone is going to be watching, you would follow through or at least feel very uncomfortable not following through.

Accountability when used wisely is the ultimate turbo booster to your weight loss. Since you are going to be accountable anyway, you might as well get something out of it.

Using accountability up front, you can achieve the body of your dreams. If you let your body hold you accountable, it will throw on fat in places you don't want it to be.

The biggest obstacle to weight loss is not taking any action. It doesn't matter how good the plan is, it is worthless if you don't follow it. So what do I do now?

First and foremost get Accountable.

Forward this article to someone you respect and care about and tell them I want to be accountable to finally taking off my extra pounds. When they agree to support you, start working through the five steps above.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Your Belly Fat Could Be Killing You!

Belly fat. Some of us have it, others don't. Is there anything special about a big belly compared to a large bottom? Well, surprisingly, not all body fat is created equal! According to a study carried out by researchers it seems that gauging your heart attack risk depends on where your fat is, rather that how much fat you have.

These types of findings are not unique for Human Nutrition reports, which state that distribution of body fat is a more important predictor of heart attack risk than the traditional measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measurement based on the ratio between your height and weight.

It appears that a more accurate predictor of the impact body fat has on your health, is your overall body shape. You may be more like an apple or a pear, or evenly shaped top and bottom. You may have large thighs, fat hips and a huge bottom and have a lower heart attack risk than someone with skinny legs and a big belly.

A more accurate and telling predictor of heart attack risk, is the waist-to-hip ratio.

What is your waist-to-hip ratio?

Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. For example, if your hips measurement is 40 inches and your waist is 34 inches your hip-to-waist ratio is 0.85. If you are a man, that's great, if you are a woman, that's OK (but you are right on the limit of healthy).

- A man's ratio should not be over 0.90

- A woman's ratio should not be over 0.85

Don't fight what you were blessed you with.

If you were born an apple you will stay an apple and if you were born a pear you will continue to be appear. Accepting your natural body shape is the first step in losing weight. Through my own research, I've concluded that women, and men whose actual body shape differs from their desired one may find losing weight frustrating and have more trouble sticking to a weight-loss program as a result.

If this sounds like you, accept your overall shape as nature intended, but pay attention to reducing fat around your middle and tummy areas. Circumference is much more important to your health than how you look in relation to your top and bottom.

Learn to love yourself, while reducing your belly fat!

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

How To Strive For A Positive Body Image

A positive body image is one that we should all strive for.  This is when you know yourself and who you are.  You have a very true perception of your size, shape, and weight.  You see yourself as you are in the present.  You accept yourself, even though you may be overweight.

You believe in yourself and love yourself while still striving for something better.  When you have a positive body image, no time is spent obsessing about food, weight, calories, exercise, etc.  You are proud of who you are and feel comfortable in your own body.

Many people who suffer from binge eating disorders do not have a positive body image of themselves.  Instead, they have very distorted images of how they see themselves.  Here are six ways to create a positive body image for yourself.

1.  Create a list of people that you admire.  Write down why you admire each person.  As you are writing the characteristics you like, take notice of what you are writing down.

For example, let's say that you have a high regard for Oprah.  Your list might include her generosity towards people, her willingness to support what she believes in, and her strong character that went for success no matter what background she came from.

You do not admire Oprah because of her looks; you admire her for the difference that she has made in the world.    For her contribution to society.  How she has touched and changed so many lives.

2.  Remember a time in your life when you felt great about yourself.

Travel back in your life to a time when you were happy with your body.  Maybe this was high school or college.  Whatever the time, just close your eyes and remember how you felt.  Let these good feelings radiate within you.

3.  Write down what you like about yourself now.

Take out a piece of paper and write down everything that you like about yourself: your legs, your eyebrows, your smile, your hair, etc.  The key here is to focus on the likes of yourself instead of the many dislikes.  Start appreciating what you do like about yourself.  This will make you feel better overall.

4.  Notice how you carry yourself when you walk.

Do you walk with your head down looking at the ground?  Do you slump your shoulders?  Perk up!  Start walking and making eye contact with people.  Hold your head up high.  Walk with your shoulders held back.

5.  Start exercising.

If you haven't exercised in a while, start off slow.  Go for a walk outside on a nice day.  If you are used to exercising, keep it up and change up your routine so that you don't get bored.  When you exercise you begin to feel good about yourself, even if it is for 15 minutes.  Start off slow and work your way up.

6.  Hang out with positive people.

Take a look at the people closest to you.  Are they positive or negative people?  Chances are if they are negative this attitude will reflect on you and your attitude.  Try to limit your time with any negativity as this will only make you feel bad about yourself.  You will focus on the things that you do not like about yourself.

Start feeling good about yourself and learn to accept yourself.  Little by little you will notice changes that have occurred.  Learn to be on your side instead of always being against yourself.  Put your shoulders back and quit thinking about what you're not.  Love the person you are and the person that you are becoming.


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

We Do Not Need A Nation Of Size 5 Women, Find The Beauty Within You.

1st N Weight Loss: Couch Potato Challenge: Day 16

There is some truth when it comes to dieting. None of us enjoy the process, although we all eagerly await and anticipate the results. The problem is that far too many men and women around the world focus so much on dieting and perfecting their external beauty that they forget the beautiful people they are inside along the way.

Our culture is becoming obsessive about the perfect body and the perfect body image.

If there was one message that should make it out to everyone dieting it is this: dieting should be more about health than beauty. You should not need to conform to some preconceived notion of what is or should be beautiful.

If we create a world where everyone looks alike it would be rather boring in the end.

You need to focus on being happy with who you are in order to achieve the greatest dieting success you will have ever dared dream. Many of use eat out of emotional need or a simple need for comfort when we are depressed, hurting, uncertain, or simply in unfamiliar territory.

There is no solution that will work for everyone when it comes to making peace with who you are and this by no means indicates that you should no longer seek to be the healthiest you there is. It simply means that your focus should be more on coming to terms with who you are as a person than in creating a new person or imagine behind which you can hide.

Dieting for the most part is an opportunity for many men and women to become someone else. Whether that someone is the person you used to be or some person you think you want to be, you are quite unlikely to find happiness at any weight until you accept you for the person you are inside.

This is often a difficult process but one that is well worth the effort. Once you've accepted the person inside you can address the specific needs that often lead to the excess weight to begin with.

Depression is a common factor in weight gain as well as an inability to lose weight. By finding contentment depression will no longer be a controlling factor in you life. For many, this is the freedom they need from their weight problems while others will find there are still hurdles remaining.

The important thing is that you stop allowing the person you are to be defined by what the scales say about you.

Once you've reached a point in your life where you are happy with your appearance and feel that your personal fitness level is in hand you should discuss things with your doctor and see what he or she has to say.

We do not need a nation of size 5 women. We need a nation of women who are self-aware and self confident and not afraid to be who they are on the inside regardless of how they look on the outside.

Finding the beauty within is often the most important aspect of dieting that there can be. Take the time while dieting to get to know the person you are and introduce that person to the person you want to be.

In time the two will work out a healthy compromise and you will find that image isn't really everything no matter what the glossy magazines try to tell you.


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Does Saying The "D" Word Create Thoughts Of Failure In Your Mind?

1st N Weight Loss: Couch Potato Challenge: Day 12

Why is it that merely saying the "D" word, you know "diet" brings immediate thoughts of failure to the minds of many men and women around the world? Could it be that we have all learned through trial and error that diets simply do not work?

I know many of you are sitting back with jaws dropped at the moment. After all, this is an article about dieting, right? It is and it isn't. Dieting is the kiss of death for many while a new phase in your life or lifestyle adjustment may be just the thing that will mean success for you and your fitness and health goals.

Eating for some is an addiction. Unfortunately, you can't exactly give up eating all together as a smoker can give up cigarettes. I'm not applying by any means that giving up cigarettes is easy but how much more difficult would it be if you were forced to have three a day? At that point you may as well enjoy them every time the urge hits right?

The same holds true for food. You must eat in order to survive. You cannot live without eating. This means that if food is a problem in your life, you must find a healthier way of viewing food.

Isn't this where diets generally come in handy? The short answer is no. This is where diets often fail. Diets do very little to change how we view food. In fact, most diets only serve to tell us which foods are good, which foods are bad, and which foods (typically most of the foods we enjoy most) are strictly taboo.

Diets begin by forcing people to feel deprived or punished. And no one likes to feel either of these things. I know that I don't.

Even worse however, is that we punish ourselves further when we slip along the straight and very narrow pathways upon which our diets place us.

This means that we are going to wallow in guilt over every little misstep we make until we give up all together and decide to over indulge once again and ignore the guilt all together. I have been here, how about you?

In order to have real success you must make a lifestyle change. This is the only way that you will be able to shed those unwanted pounds without experiencing the horrible guilt that so many dieters go through each and every step of the way with their diets.

Set goals for yourself. Keep them aggressive but realistic for fitness, dropping pounds, and eating new healthy foods. Even if your goal is as simple as eating  5 vegetable servings a day it is a great place to start.

Change your way of eating. Then change your way of seeing food and you will experience amazing changes in your attitudes toward your health, your body, and even your fitness level.

As the first pounds begin to drop you will begin to experience more energy and less pain when exercising. This should help keep you motivated to do even more as time goes by.

Do not think that long term weight loss goals will be as easy to achieve as the first five or ten pounds. Consistency is vitally important when making these lifestyle changes. Take each day as it comes and begin again the very next day.

This means that even if you fall completely "off the wagon" today, you can start over tomorrow. The trick is in staying the course more days than not and learning moderation and balance when it comes to straying from the straight and narrow. Wow, this is so true!

There are many ways to fail when it comes to dieting and I know people who have failed in almost every one I can possibly imagine. There is no way to fail, however, when you are making positive changes in your life that are getting positive results.

It may take weeks, months, or even years to reach your goal. As long as you are making steady and continuous efforts and progress, you are doing many great things for your health and well being. So remember, TODAY IZ THE DAY....WHY WAIT!


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Which Diet?

1st N Weight Loss: Couch Potato Challenge: Day 11

There is no diet that suits everyone. So how will you know which diet suits you best?

The hallmark of a modern developed society seems to be people with those ugly bulges. And lots of dieting ads! Okay, let's face it. We will have to live with dieting. The question then is how to do it effectively and safely.

Dieting refers to regulated food intake to satisfy a short-term goal: losing weight or adding it. Diet refers to the food items that form the dieting process.

We as humans need essential nutrients such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. A well-balanced diet must meet these nutritional requirements or it could threaten general health and physical fitness. The diet must make the person healthy enough to be active and still provide only enough calories that can be burned away in the course of a day without it accumulating as fat.

Remember not every diet works for everyone. That is because there are metabolic differences between individuals. The challenge is to choose a diet that works for you. This you can do only with the help of a physician.

Diet pills are quite the "in thing" among health-conscious individuals. Some diet pills are associated with comprehensive dietary programs. However, these diet pills, especially the ones containing vitamins and minerals are not effective weight-loss tools for everyone. Some medicines cause short-term weight loss, but the loss is normally accompanied by dangerous side-effects.

Diet drugs can be classified into diuretics and stimulants. Diuretics induce water-weight loss, while stimulants such as ephedrine increase the heart rate and reduce appetite. These drugs can also cause kidney and liver damage. The stimulants increase your risk of sudden heart attacks and also cause addiction.

Exotic dieting patterns are not just ineffective, but dangerous as well. Starvation diets are undertaken by many to gain that perfect physique - the lean and athletic one. You know the look. But these diets are normally counterproductive. Yo-yo dieting refers to alternating periods of feasting and famine. It too is quite ineffective. When you starve, the body responds by decreasing metabolism. When you begin consuming food again, the food gets stored as fat. These adjustments leave the dieter feeling lethargic and fatigued. 

Certain medical conditions require special diets. A diabetic person is put on a diet for managing the blood sugar level, while mild hypertension is partly cured by following a diet of fruits and vegetables and a diet low in fat and sodium. The hypertension diet could focus on weight loss, if controlling blood pressure is necessary. Celiac disease patients follow a gluten-free diet, while people with kidney disease are required to follow a low-sodium diet to lessen the load on the kidneys. Lactose-intolerant people leave out milk products from their diet. 

Many diets include medicinal plants. These herbs include leaves, bark, berries, roots, gums, seeds, stems, and flowers. They come in the form of tablets, capsules, liquid beverages, bark pieces, powders, tinctures, fluid extracts, creams, lotions, salves, and oils. These medicines include herbal products which are available over-the-counter or at health food stores. However, it's always better to consume medications prescribed by doctors and provided by pharmacists.

Go on a diet if you need to. But play it safe, and do it in consultation with your doctor.  And remember, if one diet does not work for you, it doesn't mean you have failed. You could still find a diet regimen that will work wonders for you!

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment. Results may vary by each individual while working out, or utilizing any of the products mentioned in this article.

Dieting And Fitness Tips For Living A Healthy Life

When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two necessary ingredients: diet and fitness. While some believe that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory eating habits.

There's a clever little line in the Jimmy Buffet song "Fruitcakes" when his 'lady' is lamenting:
"I treat my body like a temple, and You treat yours like a tent"

I can't help but think of this line whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of those who are endorsing these products.

To be completely honest, it is possible to shed pounds through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra pounds hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we consume a high fat low substance diet our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same time if we aren't providing our bodies with the tools it needs to build muscle it doesn't matter how many weights we lift.

When it comes to diet and fitness, the best results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to build muscle.

I've heard many times in my life that a pound of muscle weighs less than a pound of fat. While this is not true at all, a pound is a pound regardless; a pound of muscle occupies less space on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting alone does not build muscle and that is something you will do well to remember in your efforts.

You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very important that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results.

The problem is that far too many people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline. Measure your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.

By incorporating fitness into your diet routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed during the day. This means that if you want to have a small 'cheat' during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than normal in the evening. This isn't something that should happen often but an occasional occurrence isn't going to make or break your diet.

You should also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both.

Diet and fitness when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best possible results.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Stop The Madness, And Do These Tips For Consistent Weight Loss

Uncover the five simple steps to stopping the madness and finally getting on track to consistent weight loss. Get the full picture of the path you will take and build your accountability team to make sure you get there.

If you are carrying around a few (I use that term loosely) extra pounds like most of us are, you all know all the reasons why we should take the weight off. It will reduce stress on our heart, reducing the chance of heart disease, cancer, possibility of diabetes; feel better, look more attractive, etc.

There are 101 reasons why, but it can be a real pain to finally get that weight off. You push really hard, make a little progress, get side tracked, and bam you are heavier then you started...sounds familiar.

It drives us crazy.  Enough with that hassle, I have put together 5 simple steps to actually losing weight and keeping it off, and hopefully for good. These steps can be applied to anything, but we are focusing on weight loss here.

1. Know What You Want
2. Know Where You Are
3. Track Your Results
4. Make Course Corrections
5. Being held Accountable

Now all your extra weight will effortlessly melt off.  Yeah right! A simple list of 5 items is not going to do it, so let me explain the intricacies of the 5 items and where the hang up normally occurs when applied to losing weight.

Know What You Want

This one is dead simple. Most people that want to lose weight have an idea of how many pounds they would like to lose or how they would like their body to look.

I think we can safely say if your body started looking the way you wanted it, you would know, even if you did not have it completely mapped out and detailed.

Know Where You Are

This is the big trip up. It is almost always overlooked and is the number one reason for the up and down Yo Yo effect we experience with losing weight. We are unhappy with how our body feels and how it looks and it is painful to zoom in and get an accurate picture of where we are. Unfortunately, we have to know where we are, to be able to accurately judge the results we are getting.

You are on a trip to San Diego, California. You would like to start your trip from Phoenix, Arizona, but you really don't know where you are. No problem.  You get an Arizona/California map and find that a simple 6 hours trip west on interstate 8 will get you to San Diego.

6 hours later, you have no clue where you are and it is definitely not warm San Diego.  You feel defeated and you want to give up!  Do you blame the car? The stupid maps? San Diego? Yourself?

Now what if I told you, you were actually in New York City, not Phoenix, Arizona.  A 6 hour car ride west from New York City will never get you to San Diego.

If you took the time to accurately find out where you were, you would have been able to choose the appropriate means to get to San Diego and have an expectation as to how long it would take.

This is the same with weight loss and our personal physical condition. In our minds, we think we are starting in a different physical condition then we really are. When the results don't follow the illusion in our mind, we get upset.


Track Your Results

This is conceptually simple. If we have no clue as to WHAT we are doing, how do we know what is working? It might be a simple to do, but is also simple not to do. In the end, most people never track their results.


Make Course Corrections

We love to do this one. We have it hands down. It is like step 1 of knowing what you want. We try the new food diet, the super sit up machine, and the cardio hip hop power energy yoga fat burner class.

We might be great at switching it up, but without knowing where we are starting from and a history of tracked results, we have no clue as to what we should change or even which direction we should go.


Being held Accountable

No, not accountability! That is an evil word. I don't want someone to know what I am doing, or more importantly what I am not doing.

So, why do we resist accountability, your secret weapon to weight loss?  Because it works!  If you know someone is going to be watching, you would follow through or at least feel very uncomfortable not following through.

Accountability when used wisely is the ultimate turbo booster to your weight loss. Since you are going to be accountable anyway, you might as well get something out of it.

Using accountability up front, you can achieve the body of your dreams. If you let your body hold you accountable, it will throw on fat in places you don't want it to be.

The biggest obstacle to weight loss is not taking any action. It does not  matter how good the plan is, it is worthless if you do not follow it. So what do I do now?

First and foremost get Accountable.

Forward this article to someone you respect and care about and tell them I want to be accountable to finally taking off my extra pounds. When they agree to support you, start working through Steps 1 thru 5.

I held myself accountable, by telling everyone, and anyone who would listen, that I was sick and tired, of being sick and tired of being overweight. After seven months, people are taking notice in the difference Im making in my health, at age 53.


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.