A 6-Step Plan To Achieving A Healthy Weight....Forever!

Despite the current interest in fitness and the explosion of new ways to consume energy drinks and exercise, Americans are still gaining weight. With all the knowledge we are armed with, we are nonetheless eating 25% more than in 1960 and our activity level has decreased by 25%. The obesity rate has increased to an alarming 62%, and it all boils down to lifestyle. Obesity has no specific symptoms. Eating an unhealthy diet does not give you "instant feedback" as to what your diet is doing to your body. To add insult to injury, poor diets today co-exist with a sedentary lifestyle we did not have the luxury of living 40 years ago. Choosing the drive-thru window to purchase a super-size McDonalds meal sums it up quite nicely.

If being overweight isn't enough of a challenge, what's worse is it increases your risk of developing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, osteo-arthritis, cancer and a plethora of other diseases. Is being lazy and always making your food choice based on what's yummy really worth this decrease in the quality of living?

If you are part of the obesity epidemic and are sick and tired of being overweight, all you need to do is make a few lifestyle changes to get back on the road to good health. Weight loss is just the beginning, and the road is long, but the rewards of living healthy make the journey worthwhile in more ways than one. Here are 6 steps to achieving a healthy weight and keeping it for life.
Step 1 - Determine Your Healthy Weight Not everyone is built the same, so therefore not everyone can look the same. The rate at which people lose weight also varies. Find your numbers on a BMI (Body Mass Index) and use that as a starting point to determine your goals.

Step 2 - Set Realistic Goals Losing weight, while enhancing your health is a gradual process. Forget about the person you saw in the magazine who had the body you wanted. Reaching for your first small goals is much more productive than worrying about how you will eventually look. Women should plan to lose 1-2 pounds per week, while men should plan to lose 2-3 pounds per week.

Step 3 - Forget About The Scale You will lose inches faster than pounds, which is the true measure of decreased body fat. Muscle weighs more than fat, but is denser, so it takes up less space. Weight and measure once a week, preferably at the same time of day. Too many people get hung up on weighing themselves every single day. They get discouraged easily and they quit.

Step 4 - Find A Healthy Weight Loss Program Direct-selling companies, provide an array of meal replacements, healthy snacks, and herbal accelerators that you cannot find in a store. The distributors with these companies provide the support needed to help you believe in yourself. Confidence is needed to change eating habits and lose weight.

Step 5 - Follow Your Plan Without Excuses I lost 70 pounds in 3 months and have kept it off for over 15 years simply by following a plan already laid out for me. I replaced 2 meals per day with soy protein-based shakes, and ate healthy snacks 3-4 times per day. I never skipped breakfast but at the same time did not make it a feast. I also drank 5-6 eight ounce glasses of fresh water daily.

Step 6 - Expect To Slip Once In A While No one is perfect, and changing your eating habits take s a lot of work and will power. If it was easy, everyone would be thin and healthy. Allow yourself to break from your routine every once in a while. This is a lifestyle change, not punishment. When you slip and regret it the next day, don't beat yourself up over it. Just get back on your track.

Just because you have the option of living a lazy life doesn't mean you have to choose it. If computers and televisions have slowly replaced the short walks and bike rides around your neighborhood that you once loved, by all means get back out there.

Very few people were obese before the remote control was invented. Think about it.

Healthy Ways To Lose Weight

Are You Really Ready to Lose Weight?

Are you really ready to lose weight? Are you sure? Is this you?

1. You are constantly thinking about losing that excess weight and those spare tyres you are carrying around.
2. You are forever counting the calories in each meal.
3. You go on one of the latest fad diets you read about for a few weeks but then give up.
4. You read everything you can about dieting, weight loss, and exercise, but never really do anything about it.

Unless you are really ready to lose weight both mentally and emotionally, you will be defeated before you begin. Dieting before you are really ready to lose weight can also lead to yo yo dieting which in turn puts the body under constant strain, forever desperately trying to keep a balance.

Losing weight can be just as hard as giving up smoking for someone who has smoked cigarettes for most of their adult life. Overeating and smoking cigarettes can both be very addictive and hard habits to break. In order to succeed in either case you must have the right mental attitude and be very determined to succeed. If you start a weight-loss program without the intention of keeping it up, then the doubt that is always in the back of your mind will make it so much easier for you to fail.

For many people it is more about what goes on in the mind than what they are putting into their mouth and you might have to deal with these issues first before you have any real success with losing weight and getting in shape. We do most things in life subconsciously including good and bad habits and by turning those bad habits into positive lifestyle changes your bodyweight won't be something that is constantly the focus of your life.

Mind power is a very powerful thing that can work for or against you and by eliminating bad habits from your life you will be retraining your mind to accept the new lifestyle as your natural state whereby you will be able to maintain a good healthy body weight for the long-term.
So when you feel you are really ready to lose weight, find a good weight loss program that you feel comfortable with and one that will suit your life style. Don't just jump on the bandwagon of the next fad diet that comes into fashion. Sensible eating and regular exercise are all good ways to maintain a healthy way of life.