Monday, June 29, 2009

How Many Calories Should I Eat To Lose Weight?

Have you ever asked yourself "how many calories should I eat to lose weight?" Experts recommend women consume around 2000 calories per day and that men consume around 2500 calories per day, just to keep trim. This is a guide, and assumes that you are eating a balanced diet, with no more than around 90g of fat per day. If you want to lose weight, women should aim for around 1300 to 1400 calories and men should aim for between 1500 and 1800 calories.

It sounds easy doesn't it! - Most of us know that its not. When we examine the nutritional information on the packaging of our favourite foods, we often find that we are surprised by the amounts of sugar or fat that they contain. This can leave us completely confused as to how to put together meals that will have the right nutritional balance, still leave us feeling full and most of all, that we will still enjoy.

There are diets out there that will give you a menu for the week that will meet all of the criteria. The problem with these is that many of the meals may contain food that we don't enjoy or seem bland and in many cases have such small portions, that we can easily see why we might lose weight eating them!

It is far better to design a menu around meals that you eat normally. Yes, there are things that will need to be cut out, and you will need to change some portion sizes. Some of the portions can go up as well, for example, vegetables can be used to fill your plate and your tummy without adding many calories.

To help you identify how many calories the food that you eat contains, I have added a calorie counter to my blog. You can select for a list of foods that you have eaten and keep count of how many calories you have consumed each day.

If you need more help, I found a diet program that works very well. It has an ingenious menu designer that lets you select the foods that you enjoy and eat normally, and then it automatically works out a menu for you. If you would like to give it a try follow this link - Stripthefat.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

How To Tone and Slim

In order to get the best from your weight loss program, ascertaining the best ways to burn fat will help ensure success. Below, are 5 key strategies, which can show you how to tone and slim.

1) Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.It is very important to stay hydrated, and experts recommend at least 8 glasses of water each day. It is also advised to stay away from sugar laden drinks like sodas.

2) Eat 'a little and often'.Large meals are more difficult for your body to process. By consuming five or six of smaller meals, your body is better able to metabolize your food.

3) Ignore diets that promote 'fat free', 'carbohydrate free' or 'protein free'.Eliminating part of our body's requirements can be effective in the short term, but invariably these diets do not last. Your body needs fat, carbohydrates and proteins and getting the balance right is the only way to successfully tone & slim in the long term. Also, by taking one or more of these out of your diet, you are drastically reducing your food choices. The number one reason that people come off diets, is that they get bored of the same meals.

4) Use a varied exercise regime.It can really help to have a number of different forms of exercise. These can include walking, running, swimming, ball sports, or any sport that gives a good cardio work out. By mixing up your activities, you will reduce the likelihood of boredom.It is also a good idea to include weights in your program. When trying to tone and slim, using weights is an excellent way of burning fat and toning your muscles. The extra body muscle also helps to speed up your matabolism which contributes further to your fat burning.

5) Reward YourselfSet yourself goals, and reward yourself. We all need our treats, but they should be exactly that - a treat, not a regular part of your diet!

Many of us have ambitions to tone and slim our bodies, however the lifestyle changes required can hold us back. Nevertheless, there are programs that follow the principals above and allow us to keep our varied diet and have different interests. You don't have to eat the same meals day in day out and spend all of your free time at the gym. Mix it up and enjoy yourself!

For a structured program that can help you tone and slim, follow the link below.

Tone & Slim

How The Right Program Will Help Lose Inches From Waist and Hips

To lose inches from waist and hips is the target of many women, yet despite claims to the contrary, there is no magic pill; the hard work has to be done by you, and a lot of it is in your head. To lose inches from waist and hips takes commitment to the right program of diet and exercise. It can take longer than we wish to achieve our goals, so, how do you stay focused and keep to the program? The following five tips should help you out.

Tip #1
Set realistic targetsMost programs will claim that you can lose inches almost immediately. There are a lot of factors that will determine this, but the truth is that if you can lose at least a couple of pounds a week, you are right on track. Many people expect to lose much more and set unrealistic targets. This will then lead to despondency and increase the likelihood of you giving in to your urges to eat snacks, or worse still, giving up on the program altogether.

Tip #2
Ignore programs that promote 'fat free', 'carbohydrate free' or 'protein free'.Eliminating part of our body’s requirements can be effective in the short term, but invariably these diets do not last. Your body needs fat, carbohydrates and proteins and getting the balance right is the only way to achieve success in the long term. Also, by taking one or more of these out of your diet, you are drastically reducing your food choices. The number one reason that people come off diets, is that they get bored of the same meals. Stubborn areas like your waist and hips are often the last areas to improve, so it's important to have a program that you can stick with.

Tip #3
Use a varied exercise regime.It can really help to have a program that includes a number of different forms of exercise. These can include walking, running, swimming, ball sports, or any sport that gives a good cardio work out. By mixing up your activities, you will reduce the likelihood of boredom.It is also a good idea to include weights in your program. When trying to lose inches from waist and hips, using weights is an excellent way of burning fat and toning your muscles. The extra body muscle also helps to speed up your metabolism which contributes further to your fat burning.

It is important with any program that you stay focused and stick to the plan. If you select the right program, with a balanced diet, and varied meals, along with a good mix of different workouts, you can avoid the repetitiveness that leads to failure and even begin to enjoy your new lifestyle.

For more information on programs that can help you, please visit my website by following the link below.

Lose Inches From Waist and Hips

Friday, June 12, 2009

Lose Inches From Waist and Hips Permanently

This blog gives free advice about how to lose inches from waist and hips permanently. With any weight loss program, the key to success often lies in our own motivation and willpower. It becomes even more difficult to 'stay with the program' when the program has a very restricted diet, in both choice of food and volume. The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way. There are programs that don't drastically restrict your choice of food, but show you how to find the right balance, so you can still feel full, but without taking in too many calories. Here are my tips, which can help you identify a program that you can stick to.

Like many people, I have had an ongoing battle against weight gain. Eventually I realized that I had to be honest with myself, and ask myself 'why are you overweight?'

I eat the wrong types of food (too much junk food) and I rarely exercise.

I then had to ask myself 'are you serious enough about this to stick to the task?' The truth was that I was serious, but a week of following strict diets, with either no carbs or no protiens or no fats just gets impossible to maintain. I just get bored of the same meals and find that I no longer enjoy certain foods that I used to.

Eventually, I decided to research various programs, with a view to finding one that suited me. It turns out that diets do exist that tick all of the boxes, and they tend to follow these key principals.

Eat at lease 5 smaller meals a day. This keeps your metabolism working and is less likely to leave you feeling hungry between meals.

Exercise more. This doesn't have to mean 5 nights a week in the gym. It can involve walking to the local shop instead of jumping in the car, or taking the kids swimming. The key is to mix it up, try lots of different forms of exercise, to avoid repetitiveness and give yourself more chance of finding something that you really enjoy. If you want to lose inches from waist and hips pemanently, consider including some weights in your program because it will help tone your muscles as well as your waist and hips and will increase your metabolism which help you burn even more fat.

Drink plenty of water. Experts recommend at least 8 glasses a day. It is important to stay hydrated and flush out those toxins.

There is a danger of making this all sound too easy. We all know that changing your lifestyle is anything but easy. But if you have the determination to succeed and you choose a program that gives you flexibility and a degree of control, you will be able to lose inches from waist and hips permanently.

For information on a program worked for me, follow the link below.

Lose Inches From Waist and Hips Permanently