If there’s one universal truth about dieting, it is this: sooner or later, everyone falters. The willpower flags. Temptation strikes. Stress drives you to the fridge. It happens. The trick is to accept these pitfalls and get back in the game as fast as possible.

To help keep you motivated and moving forward, here are some tried and true weight loss tips.

Weight Loss Tip Sheet:

Weight Loss Tip #1: Learn to Eat Like a Thin Person.

Yes, the thin and the overweight do eat differently. Thin people eat when they are hungry, stop when they’re full, and push away from the table without difficulty. They can even say no to dessert! How do they do it? Like this:

• Eat more slowly and take smaller bites. It takes your brain 20 minutes to recognize that your stomach is full, so extend each meal.
• Drink water with meals to help fill the stomach.
• Put your fork down between each bite.
• Always measure your portion onto your plate, don’t eat right out of a serving dish.
• If you’re still hungry after eating, wait 20 minutes before reaching for a second helping.
• Always sit down at a table to eat so you can relax and focus on your eating habits.
• Limit your meals to a designated place so you aren’t tempted to cheat by snacking in front of the TV or in the car.
• Space out meals so you eat more in the morning and less at night.
• And eat smaller meals more often so you don’t get ravenous.

Weight Loss Tip #2: Cheat on Your Diet and Get Away With It.

Hunger. Boredom. Stress. There are many reasons why we cheat on our diets. This weight loss tip is all about how to cheat without doing serious damage. So you can brush yourself off and get back on track.

• If you have to pig out between meals, have a "free" food snack: a cup of broth, a sugar-free Popsicle or Jello, a handful of fiber cereal… anything to quell your hunger without sugar or fat.
• For meals, eat as many veggies as you want. Raw ones, steamed one, salads, soups. No one ever got fat eating vegetables.
• The natural sugars in fruit will give you a burst of energy and satisfy that sweet tooth. Fruit does have carbs, however, so keep this weight loss tip within limits.
• If you’re still hungry, take a small portion of protein (egg, slice of turkey, cottage cheese) to help tide you over to the next meal.
• If you’ve eaten all that, you should be full. If not, try a small serving of complex carbohydrates like hot cereal, chick peas, beans, crackers, etc.

Weight Loss Tip #3: Plan Your Meals.
 

The logic behind this weight loss tip is simple: Planning your meals reduces the risk of impulse eating. Write down what you plan to eat for each meal a day or two in advance. As you plan, remember these weight loss tips: well-spaced meals, snacks to keep from getting hungry, a protein food every 3-4 hours, less food as the day goes on.

Weight Loss Tip #4: Graze. Often.
 

Spacing out your meals into 5 or 6 smaller meals a day is better for digestion, blood sugar levels, energy levels and of course better for weight loss. Here’s a sample menu:

     8 am – 1 poached egg, slice of whole grain toast
     10 am – 1 carton fat-free yogurt
     12 noon – chef salad with turkey/lean ham, fat-free dressing
     2 pm – low sodium V-8 juice, raw veggies
     4 pm – slice low-fat cheese, 1 piece of fruit
     6pm – 4oz fish, 2 cups cooked vegetables
     8pm – 1/2c fiber cereal, 3Tb raisins, 1/2c skim milk

Grazing not only provides you with the nutrients you need, but keeps you satisfied with far fewer calories.

Weight Loss Tip #5: Dine Out. Carefully.

These days, people eat out a lot. Making it hard to maintain control over calorie intake. Fortunately, more and more restaurants recognize the growing concern over healthy eating and are open to requests for certain types of preparation or ingredients. Here’s what you can do:

• Ask how foods are prepared then choose wisely: favor steamed, broiled, poached, with no butter or sauce on the side. That’s cheating!
• Avoid foods that are: au gratin, in butter, oil, gravy or cream sauce, sauteed, fried, braised or escalloped. Anything made with mayonnaise is sure to be high in fat.
• Ask for dressing on the side and use in moderation.
• Consider an appetizer and a salad instead of a main entree.
• Share an entree with a friend.
• Ask for a doggy bag if the portion is too large for your appetite or your meal plan.
• Beware breakfast! Their menus are usually very fatty. Opt for fresh fruit or juice.
• Use milk instead of cream in your coffee.
• Skip the alcohol, those calories add up fast.
• Ask the waiter to remove the bread from the table.
• Ask for vinegar or lemon juice instead of salad dressings.
• Instead of sour cream on that baked potato, try plain yogurt or salsa.
• Replace French fries with a salad or veggies.

Weight Loss Tip #6: Binge… and Get Over It.

Binging is understandable. But don’t use one binge as an excuse to give up on your diet. If you overindulge, your metabolism will work even harder the next day to burn off those extra calories. So return to your meal plan as soon as possible. Make up for the binge by cutting back on calorie intake for a day or two. And do a good workout to fry off those extra calories. And at all costs, don’t get into a pattern of binging and depriving yourself. That will really mess up your system.

If you use these simple yet effective weight loss tips, you’ll be on your way to losing weight in a sustainable, healthy manner.

If you find that you still need additional help, learn more about

Xenical.

It’s a fat-blocking prescription medication that has helped many overweight and obese people lose weight when exercise and diet have failed.

"Know Thyself" is Key to Quick Weight Loss

Everybody wants a quick weight loss miracle. We don’t want to wait for good things to happen in our lives in our modern,instant gratification society. The problem is, in our rush towards quick weight loss,we often forget about self awareness.

Self-awareness can actually decrease the amount we eat and improve our food choices without a big struggle. After all,it’s not about achieving quick weight loss only to gain it all back in a few weeks or month. It’s about changing your habits and your ways of thinking… for good.

Three Things that Prevent Quick Weight Loss:

1. Advertising: Companies spend millions trying to get us to eat their products… and it often works.
2. Peer pressure: People don’t like to eat alone. We often eat when we are not hungry just because someone else is eating.Quick weight loss never results when we succumb to peer pressure.
3. Availability: If you are at work and the only food is in a vending machine, wise choices are very limited. Similarly, if your kitchen is full of junk food, eating that way becomes automatic.

Bottom line: To resist all that temptation, you need to be very aware of the reasons why you’re eating. When around food, be totally self aware. Ask yourself:

1. Am I really hungry or is it just boredom?
2. Is it the pleasure of eating that I really want?
3. Am I under stress and seeking comfort?
4. Do I have a craving that I want to feed?

With self awareness and attention to what your body and mind are really telling you, you can prevent yourself from eating for the wrong reasons.And that is one step closer to achieving quick weight loss the sensible way.

Self Talk Your Way to Quick Weight Loss

When considering food and how it contributes to slow or quick weight loss, listen to your self talk. Self talk is that little voice in your head that sends you messages about how you look and how you feel.

It can tell you to feel guilty about eating that bag of chips.Or it can tell you you have the willpower to stop eating the chips. It can tell you that you are capable of healthy, quick weight loss, or it can tell you that your fat is here to stay.

Training yourself to use positive self-talk will greatly help your efforts to regain your natural body shape and reach your weight loss goal. And remember, quick weight loss doesn’t have to be the only goal. By setting realistic objectives and by using positive self talk,you can transform your little voice into a cheerleader that will be on your team for a lifetime of healthy weight management.

How to change your self talk:

1. Write down the negative statements and change them into positive ones. For example, if your self talk says, "I hate my body," change that to, "I love my body."
2. Make sure the wording of your statements is positive. For example, writing "I choose healthy foods for my body," is much more effective than "I don’t eat junk food".
3. Try to write at least 15-20 positive affirmations.
4. Read your affirmations to yourself in the mirror once when you get up and once before you go to bed.

Projecting The Image

Wearing clothing that looks good on you can move you towards gradual or even quick weight loss success. Don’t believe it? Think about how confident you feel when you wear a color or a style that truly flatters your shape. Now think about how uncomfortable and constricted you feel wearing those jeans that used to fit you – two sizes ago. Think about how shapeless and frumpy you feel in your "fat" clothes.

You may be saying, "Sure, but baggy clothes hide my fat, while fitted clothes just show all the lumps."

True. But that isn’t the case with fitted clothing that’s sized just right for you, not too small or too big. Try an experiment. Put on your baggy comfort clothes and look at yourself in the mirror. How do you look? How do you feel? What impression do you think you make on people?

Now put on an outfit that fits you properly. And ask the same questions. Chances are you’ll look and feel better this way, and will make a better impression on others.

Business people traditionally "dress for success", and so can you: Dress for the success of your weight loss plan. Dress like someone who is confident and comfortable and who isn’t afraid to be seen. Because quick weight loss is only part of the goal. Your crowning achievement will be accepting, respecting and showing off your body.

Creating an Environment For Rapid Weight Loss Success

Achieving a rapid weight loss goal will be easier if your surroundings aren’t constantly tempting you to cheat on your diet. There are four danger zones that most of us encounter on a regular basis:

• Home
• Work
• Restaurants
• Social Situations

Fortunately, there are ways you can reduce the temptations in those zones and stay on the path towards your goal, whether you aim for a slow, steady weight loss or more rapid weight loss.

Home

You likely spend most of your time divided between work and home. So having a well organized home with a healthy kitchen is a crucial factor in any steady or rapid weight loss plan.

The Kitchen

Don’t sabotage your diet before it even starts by keeping the wrong foods in the house. Because remember, when we’re hungry, we want to eat NOW,so we gravitate towards the packaged and prepared foods. And those are usually things like salty carbs, sweets, and other snacks that we know aren’t good for us and don’t support our rapid weight loss plans.

Tips for a Healthy Kitchen

• Remove all processed/refined foods from the house.
• Put healthy snacks where they’ll be easy to spot. Things like:
  1. raw nuts (almonds/walnuts/pumpkin seeds).
  2. chopped vegetables (e.g. carrots, celery,cucumbers, broccoli, peppers).
  3. nut butters (e.g. almond, cashew, macadamia) to spread on apples, celery or toast.
• Try a new veggie. Pick one that you have never eaten before to keep things interesting.
• Choose whole grains (e.g. oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa).
• Choose meats that are low in fat (chicken, turkey or wild game).
• Choose fish as a protein source.
• Try making extra for dinner so you can bring leftovers to work the next day.
• Cook large amounts of healthy meals and freeze portions for the week ahead.

Making changes to your home eating habits and surroundings will put you way ahead in the pursuit of your rapid weight loss goals.

How to Grocery Shop For Rapid Weight Loss:

• Never shop when you’re hungry.
• Avoid the grocery store when you are upset or unhappy; you may make unwise purchases.
• Always make and take a list.
• Do most of your shopping around the outside edges of the store; that’s where the healthier foods are usually found.
• If there is a health food store near you, shop there instead. They tend to have more variety in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Rapid Weight Loss and The Workplace

Work can be full of food traps just lying in wait to ruin your diet: a coworker with a candy dish on her desk, vending machines full of fatty snacks and sugary drinks, Friday afternoon pizza parties, bagel and cream cheese morning meetings. Destined to destroy your rapid weight loss dreams? Not so.

New routines and planning ahead can save you from many of the most common office pitfalls.

• Eat a healthy breakfast that includes protein and fiber to keep you full until lunch (e.g. poached eggs on whole grain toast or oatmeal cereal with milk, nuts and raisins).
• Instead of fattening lattes, cappuccinos, and coffee with full cream, try herbal or green tea instead.
• Bring healthy munchies (nuts, fruit, protein bar) to satisfy the mid-afternoon munchies.
• Bring your lunch to work… maybe some leftovers from last night or a raw veggie pita sandwich.
• Keep water on hand. If you feel hungry, have a full glass of water first. You may just be thirsty.
• If you are stuck in a meeting and can’t avoid eating what is served, choose the least processed foods. Or bring your own lunch/snacks into the meeting if possible.

Restaurants Versus Rapid Weight Loss

Dilemma: To stay in business, restaurants need you to like the taste of their food. An easy way of doing this is to add fatty dressings, butters and sauces that add hundreds of calories. So even if you order a salad or poached fish, the calories have a way of finding you! How to keep your rapid weight loss plan on track and still enjoy eating out once in a while?

Tips for Eating Out and Maintaining a Rapid Weight Loss Goal:
(You may want to print off this list and keep it in your purse or wallet)

• Always ask for dressing on the side when you order a salad so you can control the serving. Oil and vinegar dressings are best.
• Avoid croutons and other high carb add-ons for salads.
• Avoid the bread and butter; ask the waiter not to even bring it to the table.
• Resist the appetizers; they are excess calories you don’t need.
• Order baked entrées versus fried or sautéed.
• Ask for your steamed veggies without butter or sauces.
• Choose meal items with little or no sauce, or ask for the sauce on the side.
• Substitute a baked potato (without toppings) instead of fries.
• Most entrées are very large so ask if a smaller portion is available.
• If there are extras included in your meal that you don’t want, ask for them not to be put on your plate. You can’t be tempted by what isn’t there.
• Just say no to dessert when dining out. Or share one with a friend. You’ll find that your sweet tooth is usually satisfied after a bite or two.

Social Situations

Are your friendly gatherings centered on eating and drinking? Or are they more about going places and being active? Instead of making a dinner date, make a gym date. If you want to catch up with a friend, do it over a walk instead of over a cocktail.

Unfortunately, when you change your eating habits, you may have to change your friends unless they can stick with the program. Convince them it’s in their best interest to join you. Having a healthy lifestyle "buddy" could create a support system that leads to rapid weight loss for both of you.

One Last Thing…

If you need to lose a lot of weight and are finding it impossible to get there on your own, you may want to consider bolstering your weight loss program with safe, effective medication.

Xenical is a prescription pill meant for the very overweight and obese.It aids in weight loss by blocking fats from being absorbed into your system.The goal isn’t rapid weight loss, but a gradual loss of weight and then keeping it off.

Learn more about Xenical and then talk to your doctor about it.

The Weight Loss Information Center of eDrugstore.md is a central repository for reliable information about healthy, realistic, and sustainable weight loss. Here, you’ll find articles about proper eating habits, exercise and weight training, how to find the motivation to lose weight quick, and how to choose and use approved weight loss medications like Xenical.

The Weight Loss Info Center will help you learn how to juggle all the health and lifestyle factors that contribute to weight gain… and the best ways to undo its effects on both your body and your psyche. You’ll learn ways to lose weight, keep the weight off and keep your spirits up!

Because, as you know, weight loss is not just about a healthy body. It’s about establishing healthy ways of thinking about your body. And translating those into habits that feel good while they do good. That ultimately is how to lose weight fast and keep it off – for life.

Lose Weight Quick, Don’t Get Sick

We understand the challenges faced by those who are overweight or obese. We know it isn’t easy to lose weight on your own. That’s why we provide easy online access to information and prescription products that can help you in your quest; medications that give your body the support it needs to lose weight the healthy, safe way.

When yo yo dieting and other fad diets haven’t worked, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help… in fact, it’s the first step towards successful weight loss.

The information you find on these pages can lead to a more active, more satisfying way of life and a happier, healthier you. In other words, you’ll gain the information and inspiration to…

BECOME THE PERSON YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE!

Use the links in the left menu to browse our library of weight loss and nutrition articles.

Do I need to lose weight?
Can calculating my BMI help me decide?

Finding out your BMI (Body Mass Index) can be a good indicator of whether you need to consider a weight loss program or not. Your BMI is a method of determining your weight category if you have an average physique (if you have a very muscular build, these calculations may not apply to you.)

Use the BMI calculator below to find out if you are normal, overweight, or obese. That will give you an idea of whether weight loss should be an important goal for you or not.

Imperial System:

Metric System:

Should You Be Concerned About Weight Loss?

As our society becomes more and more overweight / obese, weight loss takes on more urgency. Weight loss programs, good ones and bad, abound. But so do unrealistic and unhealthy images of so-called "ideal" bodies. Models, stars, magazines and media encourage us to think of thin as an appropriate weight loss goal instead of fit and healthy.

But maintaining an appropriate weight is not just about looking good. Being overweight / obese increases our risk for many diseases and conditions, like:

• Cardiovascular disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Sleep Apnea
• Gall Bladder Disease
• Osteoarthritis and other joint disease
• Cancer (endometrial, breast, ovarian, cervical, colorectal and prostate)

We can avoid these associated risks by being proactive about weight loss and living a healthier lifestyle.

Weight Loss Summary

Is overall good health important to you? Is disease prevention something you strive for? Is your BMI 25 or higher? Are you uncomfortable with your current weight? These are all questions you should ask yourself before planning and embarking on a weight loss diet.

Visit our Weight Loss Strategies information page to learn more about how to make your weight loss goals a reality.

And if you find it impossible to "go it alone", you may want to consider supporting your weight loss program with a safe, effective medication. Xenical is a prescription pill that aids in weight loss by blocking fats from being absorbed into your system. And it can help keep the pounds off over time, preventing the yo-yo effect.

Learn more about Xenical and then talk to your doctor about it.

Weight Loss Information To Help You Get Past the Dieting Wall

Your diet is chugging along well. You lost 2 pounds the first week. 1.5 the next. Then suddenly you gained a pound! And after that, nothing would come off. What’s going on!?

It’s common to hit a dieting plateau where progress grinds to a halt. It’s understandable. After all, to lose just one pound, you need to sacrifice 3500 calories. No wonder losing weight takes so long! You’re bound to experience stalls along the way.

In this article, we’ll examine why these plateaus happen and how to avoid getting discouraged and giving up on your diet plan. It’s the kind of weight loss information everyone embarking on a diet should be aware of.

Why You Stop Losing Weight

Have you set realistic goals? Studies show that it’s almost impossible to lose more than one or two pounds a week. So don’t be disappointed if it isn’t melting off faster than that.

Are you being loyal to your diet? Cheating once in a while is expected but regularly deviating from the program or skipping your daily exercise can throw your progress off course. Here’s a daily checklist you can run to police yourself:

1. Did I follow my weight loss plan faithfully today?
2. Did I drink 8 glasses of water or more?
3. Did I avoid eating too much salt or salty foods?
4. Did I balance my carb and protein intake, avoiding excess carbs?
5. Did I avoid eating processed foods?
6. Did I eat more calories early in the day and less later on?
7. Did I say no to after-dinner munching?
8. Did I exercise today?
9. Did I stay away from the scale?

Why is #9 such an important piece of weight loss information? Weighing yourself too frequently is discouraging so limit weigh-ins to once a week. Even so, your weight may fluctuate. But that’s no reason to conclude the diet isn’t working. There are many other reasons for up and down weight: constipation, large meals, drinking water before a weigh-in, water retention, wearing different clothing for weigh-ins, illness, hormones, and plain old cheating on the diet.

So stick with the eating plan regardless of these fluctuations… remember, you’re in it for the long haul!

Why You Plateau

If you’ve been faithful to the diet plan but your weight hasn’t changed for a few weeks, you’ve plateaued. Here’s a little known piece of weight loss information: most people on a diet hit a plateau before they reach their ideal weight. It’s because our bodies don’t like change and try to keep body weight static.

Another startling nugget of weight loss information: fat cells never go away. You can only make them smaller or bigger. And they resist shrinkage! This is another reason you may have hit a plateau.

But just remember, plateaus don’t last forever. They are temporary hurdles thrown in your path by a physiology that doesn’t like change. But you can change it.

Plateau-Busting Tips

1. Increase the protein in your meals, eating cheese and nuts for snacks.
2. Keep carbs down by avoiding white flour, sugar and starchy veggies like corn and potatoes.
3. Eat frequent small meals that contain protein but very little fat.
4. Increase activity level and make it more rigorous.
5. Drink more water.
6. Don’t eat within 3 hours of going to bed, especially high carb foods.
7. Reduce daily calorie intake but don’t go below 1000 as this affects metabolism.

These plateau breakers are a short term plan and shouldn’t be used continuously. Use them for a few days and then return to your regular program for weight loss. Information on this subject can be found throughout the Weight Loss Information Center of the eDrugstore.md website.

Visit the Weight Loss Information Center home page or use the menu on this page to select other articles.

If you are very overweight or obese, ask your doctor about Xenical. It’s a prescription medication that has been shown to block fats from being absorbed in most users. Along with a sensible weight loss program and exercise, Xenical may be effective for you.

If you’ve ever gone on a diet, you know that willpower - in other words, the power of the mind – is 99% of the battle. Being able to control your attitude, ideas and emotions in order to guide your behavior is crucial to success when it comes to dieting, whether it’s slow and steady or fairly fast weight loss.

So we’re going to learn some mental techniques to help you with your attitude and motivation.

Changing Your Reactions to Food

Did you know that overweight people are much more sensitive to cues like taste, smell, sight, and associations between food and certain places or occasions? These cues can be things like seeing baked goods in a store window or smelling a certain food, and they prompt us to eat even if we’re not hungry. Many of us were brought up to clean everything off our plates. That’s another unhelpful cue or signal that works against all our efforts at fast weight loss.

Let’s get to know these cues better so we can learn how to turn them off:

Internal Cues: These are signals that come from inside you like a grumbling stomach or a headache or other signs that tell you your body is hungry. These are good cues. If you stop paying attention to them, you may actually lose your ability to know when you’re truly hungry as opposed to feeling like eating for other reasons.

External Cues: These are the troublemakers. They are the things we see, smell, or otherwise are tempted by. They include TV commercials, check-out candy displays at the supermarket, and just walking through the mall past all those food kiosks. This is an ever-present challenge for anyone on a fast weight loss diet… or anyone who’s just trying to control their eating.

How to Lose the Cues

The best way to beat the external cues blues is to avoid them when possible and learn how to respond correctly to those you can’t avoid. For instance, you can empty your home of chocolate bars and packaged snack foods, but you can’t do a thing about all the temptations you face on your drive to work or the treats in the office lunch room.

So it’s best to learn some techniques for controlling your responses to temptation:

• Wait it out. Those temptations are time-limited. If you don’t respond to them immediately, they will pass. And every time you resist the urge to eat, that cue will become weaker and have less effect on you.
• Remove all bad foods from sight. Like they say, "Out of sight, out of mind".
• Keep "good" foods around: low fat, healthy choices. This will help program you to reach for these foods first when you are hungry.
• Don’t leave serving containers on the table when you eat. This will dramatically cut down on second helpings. If you have to keep snack foods on hand for family members, buy only the things you don’t like.
• Don’t eat anything that’s not on your plate. Grabbing forkfuls of food right from the fridge is just cheating, and you’ll trick yourself into believing it doesn’t count. It does!
• Plan your menu before hand and don’t eat anything that isn’t on the plan.
• Eat only at your designated eating places, like the kitchen table or the cafeteria at work… no eating in front of the TV, at your desk, or in the car. It’s too easy for that to get out of control.

You know yourself that there are certain bad eating habits that sabotage your efforts at fast weight loss. Identify them and tackle them one at a time. Replace them with better habits and don’t stop until they are second nature to you.

Write a list of problems and solutions so you have solid evidence of your intention to lose weight. Like this:

Problem: I can’t resist buying my favorite "comfort" foods.

Solution: I won’t shop on an empty stomach. I will shop only after eating and after working out. I will shop from a list. I will wear "blinders" as I go through the check out so those candy bars and snacks can’t lure me into buying them.

Problem: I am addicted to eating while watching TV.

Solution: Instead of eating, I’ll put my treadmill / stationary bike in front of the television. I’ll knit or do some other craft so my hands are busy while watching TV. I’ll only eat healthy snacks like unbuttered popcorn or fruit in front of the tube.

Etc. etc. Only you know what your individual challenges are. You know what temptations foil your fast weight loss efforts time after time. And you know how to solve them.

Mind Games for Fast Weight Loss Success

If dieting is all drudgery, it’s no wonder people fall off the wagon. Here are some fun things to try in your pursuit of fast weight loss… or slow and steady weight loss.

• Put a picture of yourself at your heaviest on the fridge or mirror. It will serve as a reminder of how far you’ve come. Take pictures of your progress and the changes you see will reward and motivate you to continue.
• Save a piece of clothing you wore at your heaviest. Just one item for comparison. Try it on once in a while for a tangible demonstration of how well you’re doing.
• Use visualization to help you. Studies show that when the mind has a good idea or picture of what it wants to do, results will come quicker and easier. Your fast weight loss goals are within reach.

Daily Visualization Method:

• Pick a quiet comfortable place — lying in bed first thing in the morning or at night.
• Close your eyes and relax. Picture what you will look like at your ideal weight.
• Imagine your feelings of joy, pride, and energy. Imagine the new clothes you will be wearing, and what you’ll be doing at the time.
• Also imagine what you need to do to reach this goal. Imagine these things not as unpleasant tasks but as enjoyable accomplishments.
• Think of someone you admire and want to look like or be like. It could be a model, athlete, movie star, friend or anyone who inspires you. Pretend you are them. Enjoy the experience.

These days there are many celebrity articles about the fast weight loss diets and workouts of the famous and beautiful. Imagine how they eat and what they do to keep in such great shape and have so much energy. If you pretend that’s you, it will get much easier to say no to bad foods and keep yourself motivated.

This is a good motivational trick to use when your willpower is low. This is how you, too, can become a big winner by becoming a big loser! And whether your goal is fast weight loss or a gradual, steady, consistent weight loss, a strong, determined mind is your greatest ally in the battle of the bulge.

This nutrient guide will introduce you to all of these nutrient types and illustrate how to incorporate them into a workable weight loss plan.

Water

This is the most basic and important nutrient in any diet, whether your goal is weight loss or weight maintenance. Almost every physiological process of your body relies on hydration to work properly. On average, adults need 2 liters of water a day. So whether you are thirsty or not, make it a habit to drink at least 8 glasses a day. And if your weight loss regime includes exercise, which it should, you may need more water than that to replace fluids lost to perspiration.

Carbs

Oh, those controversial carbs. With so much focus on weight loss, carbs have gotten a bad name. But there are good carbs (the complex carbohydrates) and bad ones (simple or refined carbs). Knowing how to tell them apart can make a big difference in your general health and in reaching your weight loss goals.

Unrefined grains, cereals, beans and peas, and vegetables are good sources of complex carbs. Maximize them in your diet and minimize the refined carbs, which tend to create weight problems for most of us. Things like: white flour products, white rice, sugar and sugar products like sucrose, dextrose, maltose, glucose and syrup. The only good form of sugar is fructose, or fruit sugar. That’s why a sensible weight loss diet includes fruits instead of sweetened desserts.

Warning: Eliminating carbs completely while dieting will only make it harder to return to a "normal" pattern of eating once the diet is over. Eating the right kind of carbs in moderation is the key to success.

Protein

High protein weight loss diets have received a lot of attention because they help the body burn off fat. If your body is deprived of carbs, it has to burn something. But there are negative health effects associated with this kind of rapid weight loss that can be very serious. And for that reason, many dietitians no longer recommend it.

Instead, they say opt for a balanced diet that meets these simple standards:

• Low fat, with only small amounts of polyunsaturated fats
• High fiber
• Lean meats/fish
• High complex carbohydrates
• Low fat dairy products
• More aerobic exercise

Fat

Fat has been demonized in modern culture as we tend to lump all fats together. But in fact, your skin, hair and nails require essential fatty acids (EFA) to be healthy and strong. So do all your cells. So eliminating all fats from the diet is counterproductive to your healthy weight loss goals.

EFAs are found in foods like fatty fish, wheat germ, nuts, seeds, soybeans, corn oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil (the last 3 should be taken sparingly). Mono unsaturated fats like canola, olive and peanut oil are considered "good fats" as they can protect against heart disease.

Fats to avoid: Saturated fats like butter, shortening, palm oil, coconut oil, cream and full fat dairy products, fatty meats, hydrogenated fats usually found in margarines and packaged snack foods.

How to Read Food Labels

Your weight loss plan can only succeed if you become religious about reading food labels. That way, you can truly control what you eat and how much of it. Here are the markers to look for:

Total Fat: the less the better. Four grams or less is good, two grams or less is best.

Types of Fat: Avoid saturated. Seek out products with mono or poly unsaturated fats.

Calories from Fat: 20% is the ideal amount for weight loss purposes.

Sodium: Choose foods with less than 300 mg of sodium per serving.

Fiber: 30 grams per day is a good goal.

Sugar: Also labeled as sucrose, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, brown sugar, etc. Keep intake as low as possible.

Daily Values: These are based on a diet of 2,000 to 2,500 per day, too high for most people on a weight loss diet. So the DV listing may not be useful to you.

Nutrients in Weight Loss: Summary

As you can see, being very familiar with the nutrients you consume is vital to achieving your weight loss goals. And the best part is that sensible eating is the only sort of diet that is sustainable and can easily be continued for life. So your weight loss accomplishments can be achieved and then maintained for years to come.

So let’s explore an eating plan that is doable and can result in significant weight loss – a diet that isn’t really a diet so much as a natural way to eat sensibly.

Here are the food categories you need to get familiar with as part of this healthy weight loss diet that we’re going to call "The Un-Diet": It consists of a smart balance of carbs, proteins, fruits and veggies, dairy, and fats.

The Weight Loss Diet Un-Diet

Complex Carbohydrates

As you know, carbs are an important source of nutrients and energy. They are also a valuable part of any weight loss diet… in moderation.

When trying to lose weight, keep your carb intake under strict control. Why? Because your body loves to burn carbs, not fat. So if you keep it supplied with carbs, it will only burn carbs instead of drawing on your body’s stored fat for energy. And you will lose weight more slowly.

Research shows that it takes up to four times longer to lose one pound on a high carb diet than it does on a restricted carb diet.

It’s also better to eat carbs earlier in the day because that’s when your metabolism is at its most active, burning up more calories. Do you enjoy a big evening meal? Then scrimp on carbs during the day and save them for that one big meal. But don’t do it every day as that will slow down your weight loss progress overall.

Proteins

Ever notice all the contradictions about protein’s roll in a weight loss diet? Some diet plans promote a high protein intake while others ignore it. What’s the real story?

Protein is vital to your health and cannot be eliminated without serious consequences. Too little protein means your body starts using up muscle tissue for fuel, which slows down your metabolism and a sluggish metabolism makes weight loss even more difficult.

But too much protein can also impede your efforts to lose weight because your body will convert it into fat. And excess protein can cause health problems like kidney damage and decreased absorption of calcium.

This is why a balanced intake of protein is necessary for a health weight loss diet. How much and how often you eat it are also important factors. Your body can’t store protein, so it needs a constant supply throughout the day. So eating a protein-rich food every three or four hours will keep you in balance.

Eating Protein The Right Way

Saving up your daily protein allotment so you can indulge in a 16 ounce steak for dinner doesn’t work because it forces the body to go a long time without any protein and then suddenly it gets much more than it needs. That causes it to burn muscle during the lean times, and later convert all that extra meat protein into fat… two unwanted side effects that will derail even the best weight loss diet.

Here are some tips:

• Eat small protein portions every 3 to 4 hours each day.
• Eat only one protein serving four times a day, don’t double them up in one meal.
• Don’t skip a protein meal; and don’t eat a large protein meal.
• Choose proteins from a low fat or no fat food source.

Fruits and Veggies

Fruit may be sweet and loaded with fruit sugar, but it’s the good kind of sugar that can take the place of other sweets in your weight loss diet. The fiber and water content make it a healthy snack that appeases your sugar cravings. And it has been shown to help reduce obesity, high blood pressure, and cancer. So bring on the fructose!

With the exception of starchy vegetables, you really can’t overdose on veggies – low in calories, lots of fiber and nutrients, they should be part of every lunch, dinner and snack.

Beware restaurant vegetables drowning in butter or rich salad dressings. Instead, try them steamed or raw with herbs and spices for flavoring. Treat yourself to veggies with low cal dips and sauces (such as plain yogurt, soya sauce, hummus etc).

Dairy

One of the reasons that dairy products like whole milk, cheese, sour cream and whipped cream taste so good is their high fat content. They contain carbohydrates, protein and lots of fat.

So for this weight loss diet, we recommend skim milk or low fat milk and dairy products. Cut down on the amount of cheese and cream products you consume or substitute with soy alternatives and yogurts.

Fats

We love fatty foods because the fat in them tends to stay in the mouth longer, prolonging the happy sensation of eating even when the food has been swallowed. For this reason, we gravitate towards fatty foods and they are largely responsible for today’s high rates of obesity.

How much fat is acceptable? If you’re on a weight loss diet, you should aim for about 20 grams of fat a day. That’s about the equivalent of 4 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Not very much, right? Here are some tips on how to restrict your fat intake.

Six Ways to Reduce Your Fat Calories:

• Eliminate the highest fat foods that you feel you could live without (eg: the breakfast donut).
• Substitute low fat or non fat versions of foods you can’t live without (the mayo on your sandwich).
• Eat only in moderation the remaining fats that you can’t do without (the cream in your coffee).
• Eat fruits, veggies and low fat protein snacks instead of fatty snacks.
• Instead of frying food, trying grilling, steaming or baking.
• Actively shop for low fat or fat free products in the supermarket.

The good news: Once you start eating less fat, your brain will start ratcheting down your fat cravings. And you will find your desire for greasy, fattening foods will diminish greatly.

Finally, for those who are significantly overweight or obese and for whom ordinary diets alone don’t work, there is an FDA-approved medication available. When used along with a healthy weight loss diet and an active life, products like Xenical can be beneficial.

Learn more about Xenical here, then ask your doctor if it’s suitable for you.

But do you know how it works to accomplish all that? And do you know the best way to incorporate weight loss and exercise into your life? That’s what this article is about.

Metabolism and Weight Loss

Exercise not only burns calories. It also raises your metabolism. That’s your body’s ability to burn calories. So exercise can cause calories to be burned at a higher rate, even after the workout is over. You can imagine the beneficial effect this has on your overall weight loss!

Exercise is also the best way to change your body composition. Why is that important? Your body is composed of different types of tissue: muscle and fat are the two we’re mostly concerned with. Muscles require energy and burn calories even when you’re sleeping or resting. But not fat. Fat cells store calories. So it just makes sense that having more muscle than fat will allow you to eat more food (yes you read that right!), be stronger, and look more fit.

And the only way to get a greater muscle / fat ratio is through sensible weight loss exercise. As you lose weight you want to try your best to maintain muscle mass by eating enough calories and protein, and by exercising routinely.

Here’s how the weight loss exercise equation looks:

Add more muscle > your metabolism will run faster > you’ll burn more calories > and lose weight faster > and find it easier to keep the weight off.

3 Types of Weight Loss Exercise:

1. ANAEROBIC EXERCISE: This is exercise that calls for short spurts of energy, like sprinting or weight training. It burns carbs and encourages muscles to grow. That speeds up the metabolism and makes for a tight, firm physique. One of the fastest forms of weight loss exercise is weight training.
2. AEROBIC EXERCISE: Activities like walking, jogging or dancing raise the heart rate and keep it raised for some time. This uses up stored fat and can boost your metabolism for hours after you’ve stopped exercising. Great for weight loss, aerobic exercise should become a daily part of your routine.
3. INTERVAL TRAINING: This is a form of weight loss exercise that raises then lowers your heart rate in intervals. It can improve both anaerobic and aerobic capacity at once. It’s been shown to reduce fat, increase muscle, and speed up the metabolism. Try using this technique in whatever exercise you are doing — If you walk, alternate between very brisk speed walking and a slower, easy paced walk, or jog then walk. Or alternate between sprints and jogging. On a bike, alternate between fast and slow pedaling.

The Exercise Plan for Exercise-Haters

Hate to exercise? Take heart. You can achieve excellent results with even a small investment of time and energy. Use the following guidelines for a fat-burning workout that works.

Weight Loss Exercise Guidelines To Burn Fat:

1. Be Consistent. Long periods without exercise will let your body go back to where it was. Muscles will shrink, metabolism will slow back down, and fat will pile back on.
2. Exercise Everyday. For the ultimate in weight loss, exercise frequently so your body burns more fat. Your physiology changes as you do more workouts in a way that provides more energy.
3. Lift Weights. Weight lifting is considered by many to be the only permanent solution to weight loss. Exercise with weights for 30 minutes just twice a week, and the results can be lasting: better metabolism, more calories burned and turned into muscle instead of fat. And a toned, lean appearance.
4. Aerobic Activity. Get your heart working harder by starting gradually and building up to a higher fitness level. Walk, swim, cycling, dancing, aerobic classes… it all burns calories and fat while improving your heart and lung capacity.
5. Harder and Faster, or Longer and Slower. You can choose from two weight loss exercise regimes. Do several vigorous workouts that are fairly short (15 – 20 minutes each). Or a slower aerobic activity done longer, like a 60 minute walk or bike ride. Choose the workout type that fits your lifestyle and energy level best.
6. Timing is Everything… Almost. Working out in the morning before eating lets you burn a greater amount of fat. If you exercise after eating, you get a dual effect: calories being burned as a result of digestion, and calories burned from exercise. This can lead to greater weight loss results than doing the two separately.

Summary

These fitness tips will help you blend weight loss / exercise into your daily routine without requiring any drastic lifestyle changes and without depriving you of the foods you love.

If, despite all your efforts, the pounds refuse to budge, you may benefit from a visit to your doctor to discuss Xenical, a fat-blocking prescription medication that has helped many overweight and obese people lose stubborn weight when exercise and other methods have failed.