as i really need to teach myself some healthy new habits, which would anyone suggest for lifelong changes?
Avoid trying to lose weight. Instead, focus on creating a healthy body composition. Weight is very deceptive. A man with a healthy body composition can be more attractive at 250lbs than a man weighing 150lbs with a negative body composition. A woman with a healthy body composition can be more attractive at 150lbs than a woman weighing 110lbs with a negative body composition. The best way to judge improvements in body composition is by taking measurements of crucial body areas. Measure your stomach, hips and thighs. Write your measurements down. Measure yourself again once a week and write down your numbers. You will notice a gradual improvement.
Here are some other steps that will help you improve your body composition.
1. Eating more will boost your metabolism. Eat 6 small meals each day. Eat non-processed fresh fruit for breakfast when you wake up. Add eggs and bran cereal to this meal. Eat another serving of non-processed fresh fruit for your second meal a couple hours later. For lunch, eat a serving of meat, preferably skinless white portion chicken or fish, broiled or baked, not fried or processed. Add two servings of non-processed fresh vegetables to this meal. For your next meal, eat one or two servings of non-processed fresh vegetables. Then for dinner, eat another serving of meat, preferably skinless white portion chicken or fish, broiled or baked, not fried or processed. Add one or two servings of non-processed fresh vegetables to this meal.
2. Eat the right foods. With your 6 meals, eat only low glycemic foods. Eating low glycemic foods allows you to eat foods high in carbohydrates without storing your carbs as fat. Low glycemic foods have a glycemic index of 20-49. Occasionally, your meals can include foods with a glycemic index of 50-69. Avoid any foods with a glycemic index of 70-100. Avoid processed foods and eat only fresh foods. Here is a website that lists the glycemic index of various foods:
http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/gifoodlist.html
3. Drink the right beverages. Replace sodas and sweetened beverages with water and hot herbal teas, especially green tea without sugar or artificial sweeteners. Avoid alcohol, including beer, liquor and wine.
4. Improve your cardio health. Begin doing at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercises 4-5 times each week. Walking, jogging, swimming, dancing, biking and aerobics are good cardio exercises.
5. Replace fat cells with muscle cells. Begin doing at least 30 minutes of weight training 3-4 times each week. Be sure to exercise each muscle group. Some resistance exercises require only your body weight and all muscle groups can be exercised with a set of dumbbells. Dumbbells are more productive than machines or a barbell because they force you to exercise rarely used stabilizer muscles. Here is a site that illustrates various exercises that can be performed in any environment:
Homepage: http://exrx.net/
Exercise directory: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
6. Stretch to increase muscle health. Stretch for 5-10 minutes before and after exercising. Be sure to stretch each muscle group. Here is a site for various stretches:
Stretch directory: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html
7. Warm up for at least 5 minutes before stretching or exercising. Walking or biking are good ways to warm up. Warm muscles are less likely to strain. This will help you perform exercises that involve your lower back muscles, including lunges, step ups and squats.
8. Sleep to help your body recover. Sleep at least 8-10 hours each night. Your body needs ample time to repair itself and recharge.
Following these eight steps will lead to a healthier body composition. Stay committed to your goal and you will see the changes.
Those things you have looked at are a waste of time. You just need to eat healthy and excercise, it really is that simple.
For a healthy diet, you need to be eating small to medium meals regularly. 4 or even 5 times a day. Each meal (apart from breakfast which should preferably be fibre rich), should contain a balanced ammount of carbohydrates for energy, (from potatoes, rice and pasta, etc) protien (from fish, chicken, occassional red meat is fine, soya is good too) and plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (simple fresh fruit and veg). Eat like this and make sure you are well hydrated (fruit juice is as good as water, any fluid counts, but some fluids have negative effects too, such as alcohol or caffiene rich drinks.)
You can have a wide range of healthy meals with this, from Thai, Chinese, Italian, British, Indian, etc. Just make sure each meal contains balanced ammounts of these three. On the bright side too, fresh veg and rice and pasta is a lot cheaper than crappy junk food!
This doesn't mean you cant have chocolate or pizza/takeaway/etc, just save them as very occassional treats.
The big secret to keeping a healthy weight and staying healthy is EXCERCISE, particularly cardio excercise (running, swimming, cycling, etc).
Cardio exercise will not only burn calories and reduce your body fat levels, but will also improve your resting heart rate and lung function, making you healthier.
Strength training will help you strengthen and tone your muscles. Heavy weights with short reps/sets will build your fast twitch muscle fibres and build size, power and strength, but if you use light to medium weights with lots of reps/sets, you wont build size, but you will tone up your body and train muscle endurance. This will obviously make you 'look' healthier and more toned, but will also increase your metabolism (as your muscles demand more energy) so you will burn calories faster.
As far as excercise goes, you should aim to strike a balance between cardio training and strength training, this way you will build good strong and toned muscle, but also keep your body fat levels down and increase your heart and lung performance, making you much fitter and healthier.
Hope this helps.
Slimming world is good. I have been a member for four years. I lost two stone three pounds and got to target, but I stopped going and put on over a stone again. It seems to be harder to get it off now though. Weight Watchers is also good but with both organisations, it's more about group support than anything else. I think you have to set your mind to the fact that you must change (as you said yourself) your eating habits for life. The first thing you should do is to make sure you have a good breakfast each day and have three proper meals. Not eating enough is the best way to retain weight, as the body goes into emergency fat store and hangs onto it, hence only losing tiny amounts of weight or none at all. I make a weekly menu and stick to it. The kids like it too as they can choose the meals they like. As for cooking food, you can modify most recipes to use less fat. Using things like 'Fry Lite' instead of oil or lard and using a low fat spread to have on sandwiches can make all the difference. Increase fibre and fruit and veg to fill you up. Good luck.x
I would reccommend slimming world.
I have lost over a stone with it so far, and you can eat so much it doesn't even feel as though you are on a diet.
It is split into Red days and Green days - on a red day, you can eat as much meat as you want and on a green day, you can have as much pasta/potatoes etc. I am a carb lover, so green days are great for me!
You can use your "syns" if you fancy a bit of chocolate, or anything else that's not classified as "free".
You can adapt your favourite foods to the plan, so you never need to feel deprived. Most fruit/veg is free and even if you are hungry during the night - you could get up and make yourself a big bowl of pasta (if you were having a green day).
It does take a bit to get your head round, but I would suggest that you go to a meeting - for the first few weeks anyway, and then once you get the hang of it, you can go it alone if you wish.
Good luck!!!!
There are many sensible things you can do that will make a tremendous difference over the long term if you need to lose weight. It can be done in a healthy way. This is what has worked for me.
Keeping a food journal really does help. It will give you a much better sense of how much you are eating, and when, and why.
Make a few additional small changes - walk everywhere, always use stairs instead of elevators, walk on escalators, get up and move around at least once an hour if your work or your life in general is sedentary, walk every day, use a pedometer. Walking 10,000 steps a day is a really good idea. Build up to a long brisk walk everyday, or most days. Be more active and watch less TV and spend less time on the computer. Buy one piece of exercise equipment to have at home and be strict with yourself about using it. Sometimes you can find mini-steppers or exercise bikes at second hand stores and thrift stores for just a few dollars.
Start a weight lifting routine. Join a gym. Possibly you can find one that has someone who specializes in weight lifting programs for beginners. Weight lifting will increase your metabolism as well as improve posture and appearance overall. Even if you can't get to the gym you can work out at home using things around the house. Invest in a good weight training book. The Dummies series actually has a good one.
In terms of diet, cut out or reduce things like junk food, pop, fat, fast food. Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish. Particularly if you choose a vegetarian lifestyle include natural peanut butter, hummus, dried fruit and nuts. Pay close attention to getting the nutrients your body needs to be healthy.
Make your portion sizes smaller. Use a smaller plate - in our society we have become accustomed to thinking that we need a large plate of food at every meal, and we don't. About quarter of your plate of food should be protein and at least half of it should be veggies.
Learn to count calories. At your current weight and activity level, you may possibly need about 2000 calories or more to maintain your current weight. So you will lose weight at a reasonable and healthy rate if you cut back to about 1600 or 1700 calories a day.
Eat small amounts frequently, rather than three large meals. Never skip breakfast. Include some protein in your breakfast. It will help get you through the day.
Drink plenty of water, at least 8 big glasses of water a day, and more if it is very hot, if you sweat a lot, or if you are exercising intensely, and eliminate fruit juices. Fruit juices have too many calories, so get your vitamins from fresh fruit, not the juice. You will begin to see changes in your body.
Check out websites about nutrition, exercise, weight training, etc. Here are a few helpful links.
http://www.nutrawatch.com/
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/
http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_diet.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Lose-Weight-the-Healthy-Way
http://weightloss.about.com/cs/fitness/a/aa011503a.htm
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/no-weight-workout?page=4
The best thing possible would be to consult a professional. They take your body fat percentage, analyze your diet and exercise habits, and come up with a unique plan that will work for you.
Many gyms offer this sort of service as well as special health clinics that specialize in planning out your new healthy lifestyle.
As for doing it on your own, it will take a lot of research. Don't read one or two sites and decide that they are good enough. Even after you have done the research it would still be best to at least consult your doctor to make sure it is a healthy diet for you.
I used to weigh alot.
I tried all kinds of diets, but when you put into your head "diet" you immediately start thinkin of all the foods that are bad for you...
1, Chuck out all the crap you have in your cupboards.
2. Go shopping, buy salad, chicken, cereal, fruit, fish, rice, potatoes,
3. Buy some cook books,
teach yourself to cook tasty healthy food, i never used to be able to cook, now i love to cook for me and for friends, and mainly all healthy, but i do still treat myself on a Sunday.
Have 1 day of the week where you can have some icecream or a treat of your choice, so your not cutting it out completely, but disciplining yourself.
also excercise, doesnt have to be running because i hate running...
Even just a brisk walk, find a sport group that you enjoy.
I have taken up pilates and its great, and i have maintained my size, and trust me once you get to the size you are happy with, you will not want to go back, so it does become a new lifestyle.
Hope i have helped!! Good Luck... ; )
If You want a real answer? I'll give it to you.
All you have to do to lower you weight and be healthy at the same time is basically eat less.These may sound useless,but millions of americans eat much more than their body needs.The reason is because our body has been consuming food much more than it needs in one day,it has become addicted to the point we think is normal to eat three times a day.Along with a snack or dessert.The reality is you feel hungry some times because your so use to it.If you want a more convincing answer,you should always have a full breakfast,after that you should eat 50% less then of what you would've eaten later through the day.
I have personal experience,and i have lost weight without really even noticing it,by that mean I don't exercise at a point where i have to sweat a lot.I don't take diet pills and i don't eat vegetables or fruits everyday.But, i have lost decent weight by eating much more less than i used to.I Felt like i would starve my self when i first started to eat 40% less of what i ate in a single day.But,My body got used to eating less,and then whenever my mom would give me a full plate of food i'd leave so much left with the feeling of being full.
If you want much more details that will really make this answer 100% valid you should read a book called Natural Cures "they don't want you to know about" by Kevin Trudeau.
After i finished reading i followed some simple steps like the ones i Mentioned and lost weight.He also explains how the food we are eating has chemicals that make us addicted to the food,therefore becoming more hungry as i said in my answer.I recommend this book,since it will help you "never" gain weight again,as this is stated inside.
Be Healthy =D!
yeah you could get a trainer but it is expensive....their are so many little things you can do, like eating a big breakfast and then you won't eat as much during the day, don't eat out like fast food EVER...drink a lot of water at least a gallon a day, water turns on ur fat blaster, get more sleep at night you burn like 60 calories an hour, and probably the number one thing, do NOT drink pop, EVER no pop or energy drinks or any of that stuff, I got my parents to stop drinking pop and they both lost about 15 pounds in a month just from not drinking pop any more, it does a lot
I have tried many diet plans. However I find that the one that may be the best is using zone diet. Then once you have attained about 12 to 15% bodyfat, what you can do is turn on your leptin in order to reach single % bodyfat. Along the way, perform resistance training.
List of Weight Loss Plans you can try ;-)
http://all-about-health-and-beauty.blogspot.com/2008/07/weight-loss-plans.html
