Health & Weight Loss Tips

So you’ve reached what you think is the pinnacle. You’re at that ambivalent stage where you know you’ve lost some weight but it’s not quite enough. You’re becoming restless because you’re still a good 30 pounds away from your ideal weight! You are exercising, eating healthy and no more weight loss. Here is how you will be able to lose the rest of the weight!

Don’t you think it’s time for a change?

Come on now, you don’t have to cut all those calories! Fad diets are for the desperate and naive. Most of the time you would only find yourself gaining more weight as compared to the time when you started. Your goal should be to get healthy. You should develop determination and focus on making your eating habits and lifestyle healthy.

Oh, and before we forget – there are certain foods, including, but not limited to soy milk and skim milk, that may be more beneficial for weight gain programs, despite their reputation as hip “health” foods.

It might be time for you to go organic.

We would be referring to organic meat, produce and dairy, of course. Listen not to those who say meat is taboo – you need protein to burn off fat and build muscle.

Still you would need to eliminate processed food, white sugar and white flour.

Avoid the bad carbs– white sugar and white flour. If you can, totally eradicate processed foods from your diet. It is the bad fats and oils, carbs, preservatives, MSG, and food dyes that keep many people overweight.

Use oil when cooking – coconut, that is.

We are of the belief that there is no better cooking oil than coconut oil. Unlike other oils, it is burned akin to how a car burns fuel, and does not store as fat, thus propagating weight loss. It is a harmless saturated fat that has been proven not to cause heart disease, and actually helps fight cardiovascular disease. And you can use it for higher temperature cooking, unlike olive oil.

Exercise moderately, and not to the point of overkill!

There are people who keep whining that they can’t get enough exercise (even if they’re overdoing it), so if you’re one of them, LIGHTEN UP, BUDDY! And lighten up, body! It’s saying “take it easy on me, master!”, so listen closely and move gradually instead with your exercise routines. Vary your exercise routines. Don’t just do aerobics, do some weight training and alternate each exercise type.

When you still can’t lose weight, get some help.

And when we say herbal, we’re not talking about Bob Marley and Jeff Spicoli’s favorite. We’re referring to another kind of extra help, scientifically and medically tested herbal supplements and other sources of vitamins and minerals that could speed up your metabolism, curb your appetite and turn your flab into well-toned muscle.

There are also a lot of diet scams out there, so be careful. To avoid being caught in such a trap, there is only one thing to do – do your homework!

American is becoming obese at an alarming rate and the rest of the world is following close behind and this is a fact. Not only are we eating more, an more of the wrong stuff, but we are also exercising less or getting no exercise at all. With our health being in steep decline, doctor and hospital visits are at all time highs. With just a brisk 30-minute walk a day, this can turn that around.

One fact you need to know is that it is getting worse. Some of the diseases we have include heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, out of control blood sugar levels, diabetes, obesity, and more. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends getting at least 20-30 minutes of moderate activity each day and many of us are falling far short of even that.

An average person takes about 3000 to 5000 steps a day, and some even much less and this has been shown in studies. Aside from the fact that we are not getting the exercise our ancestors did a hundred or so years ago, we also tend to eat more refined foods. For some of us, most of steps we take are from the easy chair in front of the TV to the fridge so we can fill up on snacks. As part of our jobs, some of us, myself included, would just sit at a computer.

Walking about 10,000 steps a day is what many fitness experts recommend in order for us to maintain our weight and overall good health. Give or take depending on the length of your stride, 10,000 steps are approximately 5 miles. To count how many steps you take each day, you will need to purchase and wear a pedometer. Follow the directions that usually come with the pedometer. You will get a good average step count if you do this for a week or two. Your goal is that each day, you would walk 10,000 steps or more. This will put you in the right ballpark even though there is nothing magical about 10,000.

A person will burn about 100 calories walking a mile, depending on age, size, and fitness level and this is the general rule. You will burn more calories the heavier you are.

Try being creative on ways to increase your steps. At work, you can try going for walks at lunchtime. Go for walks with your spouse or children. Walk the dog. Walk to the store instead of driving, or park at the far end of the parking lot. Try using the stairs instead of the elevator. You can take brisk 2-mile walks around the neighborhood (aerobic walking) for twice a day everyday. Just do whatever works best for you, but do it! Good walking shoes and socks are what you will need in order to prevent injury when walking for exercise like aerobic walking.

Go to your favorite search engine and type in “10,000 steps” to learn more about this life saving, life changing program. There is a lot on this information.