Health and Nutrition That Is AboveNBeyond

Ok, there is a huge number of those who are NOT active.  Oh yes, they’ll say, not active?  Hey, I work, I do chores around the house, help the wife/girl friend, I do this, I do that and so fourth.  Well, then why are they loosing the battle of the bulge?  Yes, Weight Watchers does count some of this activity towards your efforts to loosing or managing weight.  So, what’s the problem?  The problem can be attributed to a number of things.  Either one is consuming some of the wrong foods & drinks or the activity is not enough to burn off the calories being consumed or both.

I tell you the truth, if I did not run and exercise and only relied on nutrition and weight management, it would be much harder for me to control my weight.  Having an active life (in addition to your “other stuff”) really takes a bite out of your weight!  So, if you are not active and am having issues controlling your weight, you need to realize what you are doing or not doing about it. If you are active enough and are still having issues, then activity isn’t your problem.

If activity isn’t the problem, then it’s likely that portion control is. Unless you are the type that subscribes to the theory “oh, I don’t haven any problems controlling what I eat, I can eat anytime”. Then that’s the problem. Recently, I have posted more articles on portion control. This is a topic that has a great impact on weight management efforts. Portion control doesn’t only apply to your meals, but, also other items such as drinks, candies, cakes etc.

I’m sure that you seen this, people who seem like they never gain weight. It can drive one nuts to wonder why this is. Well, one issue is metabolism, everyone’s is different. Some suggest smoking as a factor, once they quit, they gain weight. I can’t comment on that but, that’s what I’ve heard. Weight management can be a balancing act to keep it where you want it.

We all usually get the right start in school with having access to a physicall education class, i.e: Gym class. After one gets out of school, fitness becomes less of a reality for some. This is unfortunate since by adding a fitness / active life can really be fun too in addition to it’s impact on ones overall health.

See other articles on – portion control

A side benefit of using Weight Watchers to help with portion control is how it can improve your attitude on what you can eat. You end up realizing and saying “oh, I can have a yogurt now”. When one has been used to eating a certain way, eating another way can be a hard reality to swallow. No weight loss program in the world will work if your head isn’t in the game. Portion control is an important issue because, if you can’t control your portions, then you are just spinning your wheels. Yes, we all love to eat, but, when your eating habits get out of control, so does your weight. Think of it this way, lets say that your workouts are fantastic, you are getting the right amount of nutrition, but, your eating habits are though the roof. Well, because of that one issue, your efforts are stalemated. There is nothing wrong with splurging now and then, but not daily. With portion control you can afford splurging now and then because you realized that you went overboard that one day and you are following a routine and therefore the impact of one time isn’t going to crash your efforts.

I just love Dunkin Donuts Medium Hazelnut Ice’d Lattes and I have at least one whenever I get a chance. By using the Weight Watchers Point system, I know that a 24oz Iced Latte is worth 2 points and that is cheap for what you get. Compare that to a 4 point McDonalds Medium Hazelnut Iced coffee.

Sound like a lot of work? Not at all, once you understand how the point system works, it’s a breeze. So, instead of being hampered you are actually enabled and weight loss actually becomes easier since your portions are under control and you are not stifling your efforts.

If you feel like you don’t want to be a member of Weight Watchers to loose your weight, well, no one ever said you’d have to stay a member forever now did they? Get in, Get Informed, Get It Done!
NO and I mean NO, I am not advertising Weight Watchers here, but, it DOES work.

As I’ve said, I also used Weight Watchers in addition to Herbalife to help with controlling my portions. One of the really neat things about Weight Watchers is that by utilizing their point system, you can really eat anything you want as long as you can live with the impact of how you use the points each day and week. See this Weight Watchers Online commercial.

You don’t have to order anything to have on hand at home or office, you can buy locally and literally eat anything you like. It’s in my opinion a very flexible system and again as long as you can make use of their point system effectively. It’s a great way to conquer the issue of portion control. I really like it and use it as part of my weight management system. A key benefit of Weight Watchers is that even after you stop being a member, you still can make use of their foods and other products as well as their point system. Kind of like the gift that keeps on giving or something like that?

Some people have a problem with counting calories. In this case, you are counting points. For example, one Yoplait White Chocolate Strawberry is worth 2 points. That’s cheap in the point system. On Monday’s and Tuesdays, I am up early and look forward to my 10am snack which usually is some Yorgurt. I can eat it without feeling guilty knowing that lunch time is just around the corner. Let’s say that your daily point limit is 28, and you just had some yogurt. You now have 26 points left for the day. That’s how easy it is. Hey, it works for me……

Now, if anyone is still having an issue with counting points, think of it as a guide to help you with your portions. It’s not so much about counting the points, but, seeing how much of a portion you can eat and still get what you need. This is a whole lot easier than counting calories and it works.

The Holidays can be a hard time of year especially for those who want to loose weight or start a new health and fitness goal. Most usually end up saying, I’ll wait until next year to start. With Christmas and New Years around the corner, it’s still not to late to take action.

Things that make it hard:

1. All the good food
2. Everyone having a good time but me
3. Goals
4. Health
5. Family Crisis (it can happen this time of year)
6. Sickness or Illness
7. Attitude
8. Comparing yourself to others
9. Struggling efforts
10. What you think others are thinking

This list (above) can go on, but, you get the picture. It’s all a head game. It’s all about how you are perceiving reality. The following is a list of what you can do now to get yourself on a better path for next year.

What to do now:

1. Close your mind to what others may be thinking (are they really thinking anything?)
2. Set a small goal for the end of year i.e: 1 or 2 pound loss (or gain, yes as a limit)
3. Start using portion control now, but, be good, don’t be extreme here
4. Don’t over indulge
5. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!
6. Get out and enjoy yourself
7. Yes, have that desert you are craving, just one piece of pie / cake etc. (not two or three)
8. More than one party to go to, lucky you, portion control, portion control, portion control
9. Drink a lot of water and/or have a light healthy snack before heading out to a party
10. As in portion control, be sensible.

It doesn’t matter who you are, this can be a difficult time of year for more than achieving any goals. Everyone wants to have a great time this time of year. The holidays can be a mixed bag of realities for everyone.

Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings to everyone!

Tim

It’s never to late to loose weight! That’s the first and for most secret of all. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what time of year it is. Now, even when the holidays are upon us, one wonders if any effort should be started at all. We all like the food that comes along during this time of year, so, who wants to do without right? The second thing to understand here is that regardless if you are just about to start loosing weight, or you’ve been making progress, just watch your portions. You don’t want to over indulge throughout the holidays or anytime, for your efforts could be curtailed. Think of it this way, slowly eating a little bit can be just as delicious as eating a ton of food. Besides, do you want to feel like a beached whale afterwords?

A third item to realize that eating a lot of food makes it harder for your body to digest it all. As well as if after you finish your first serving, if you wait 20 minutes, you’ll feel full and will likely not want to get anymore. You need to give your body a chance to catch up with what you’ve eaten.

Fourth, when making your delicious recipes, find out ways to substitute ingredients with other lower fat options such as using applesauce instead of butter. You may have to do some testing here. Check out Festive Food and Fun This Holiday Season.

Finally, you never have to give up the food you like as long as you remember to think “Portion Control”. I still eat what ever I want, I just don’t over indulge. It takes effort on your part to achieve your goals. There is no such thing as “auto pilot” when it comes to weight loss and fitness. Consider this, there is a good reason why cars don’t have auto pilot, you’d never get to your destination. You need to control the car to get somewhere. Same is true with YOU!

Whether you are just starting out to loosing weight, or you’ve been making progress, over the course of your efforts, you are learning new things about how to get you from where you were, to where you want to be. This is not always an easy road to tread. It doesn’t matter how overweight or underweight you are. Cutting back, controlling your portions and taking vitamins / supplements are only part of the solution.

Unless you are trying to gain weight, you should consider some way to increase your activity. Even if you are working on gaining weight, exercise at some level is always good. By increasing your activity, whether it be running (my favorite), walking, riding bike, or even joining a gym, you’ll be increasing the effort to burn those calories. So, by making this choice, here is what you are doing:

1. Eating right (portion control and watching the types of food you are eating)
2. Taking supplements / vitamins
3. Exercise / increased activity

You’ve now started a brand new way of living, thus, enter a new lifestyle of fitness which will bring about a whole new you. After a while, you’ll begin to look back and say good bye to the old you that you once new. Now the list above, is only the beginning or a good starting point. You can pick and choose later what works best for you as you learn your way in this new lifestyle. Remember, it is a lifestyle and not a “diet”.

No pain no gain

Now, if you are trying to gain weight, there are products/supplements available to help you in this direction. While portion control would not be an issue where, you would still want to be aware of how much you are taking in, especially when you start gaining weight so as not to over shoot your goals.

A brief on Portion Control:
Why is Portion Control so important? Well, for one thing, without it, all your other efforts would be a waist of time. You would be just spinning your wheels which will get you nowhere.

Now and then regardless of how successful you are, your worst enemy can rear it’s ugly head. There can be many reasons for this such as seeing what other people are doing and you can’t or feeling like you aren’t getting anywhere. Or, you could have just lost 15 or 20 pounds and it seems like you can’t loose anymore. Another example could be that you took a break from this and have found it hard to get back into it. These feelings are normal. My wife and I have been there. Your continued perseverance will pay off. I know it can seem frustrating when you have hit a wall. But remember this, walls were built, so they can be taken down. To start tearing that wall down, you need to concentrate on the basics and stick with it:

1. Portion control
2. Eating right and avoid the bad foods
3. Pay attention to the Nutrition labels
4. Weigh yourself once a week, not every day
5. Don’t eat after 7 or 8 at night

These are just some basics to follow on your way to weight loss. Easy, no it’s not, but, you have to un-learn habits you picked up along the way. Besides, do you want your enemy to win? Of course not. Continue working on it and say good bye to your worst enemy forever! Understand that your success or failure starts and ends with you. How mad do you have to get before you say enough is enough and take control to banish your worst enemy? Keeping all this in mind, weight loss is only the beginning and you need to get proper nutrition as well.

When dealing with other issues like getting over a sickness or injury, paying off a mortgage etc, weight loss is no different then these issues. It doesn’t happen over night.
Patients, discipline, focus and effort all play apart in achieving goals. On the other hand, fear, emotions, doubt and lack of confidence can lead to interfering with making the effort or continuing the effort of achieving your weight loss (or other) goals. Make a commitment and stick to it. You’ll get there. Basically, it took you a while to get overweight, and it will take you a while to loose it too. Never starve yourself to loose weight, because you actually need to eat to loose weight.

One thing that people tend to forget or not think of is that you need to think of this as a change of lifestyle and not a diet. Diet signifies short term. The problem is if you don’t let go of those bad habits, you could get right back to where you started from and you don’t ant that. What do you got to loose by working at loosing weight? Weight ?? Go for it! How will you be 6 months from now?

For other related information, review posts on Portion Control