Weight Watch

Obesity and being overweight affects a person in different ways. An overweight or obese person may suffer from depression, fear of being ridiculed by the public, low self esteem, loss of sexual ability and other health risks such as diabetes and heart problems. That is why lots of people today are going in for weight loss and trying out the latest techniques to get a trim, fit and sexy body.

The first step for an overweight person who wishes to lose weight is to seek a doctor for a thorough physical examination and get the techniques of a suitable weight loss program recommended by him. He sholuld also consult a qualified Dietican who will chart out a proper diet. For losing weight fast, the following four rules should be followed (1) What to eat and what not to eat (2) How to eat,i.e. the quantity or amount to eat and when to be eaten (3) Your behaviour and attitude towards weight loss and (4) Your activity level.

The following are the techniqjues for rapid weight loss that can be effectively tried by an overweight person.

(1) The first step for rapid weight loss consists of making the mind fully determined to achieve the goal that has been set and then to exercise and follow the diet and supplement charts that has been set out. The first step would be to follow a planned food diet that can be easily accustomed by the person wishing to lose weight. Alongwith the diet plan an exercise plan like brisk walking, running, swimming and dancing atleast for fifteen minutes continuously at a stretch should be strictly followed.

(2) The second step is to set up a realistic approach and proper mindset .You should have the ability and focus to lose the extra weight as quickly as possible. This can be brought about with proper discipline and determination.

(3) Listen to what your body speaks. The body metabolism of different persons reacts differently to different weight loss programs. Try to choose those programs that suits your body's metabolism. If you think that walking is all the exercise you can do, then just walk and forget about the other rigorous exercises.

(4) A person on weight loss programs should eat more fibers because fibers can be very filling. Fibers stay in the stomach longer and thus slows down the rate of digestion and consequently affects hunger. It has been seen that a single helping of whole grain bread makes the fat inside your digestive system move faster. The grains turn into blood sugar and thus the insulin level in the body becomes higher. This makes the body more energized  and ready to do more hard work. With exercise, the insulin level comes down. A signal is sent to the brain to stop working and rest.

(5) A person on weight loss program should keep away from fried and deep fried foods and these contain a larger amount of fat. The oil which is used for frying can make the fish or chicken more fatty than you think. Therefore grilled food is highly recommended for those who are weight loss diet. The fat is burned when food is grilled.

(6) Plenty of fluids or water should be taken daily. Drink from 6 to 8 glasses of water daily. Water drains the body of impurities through urine and sweat. The body becomes refreshed with drinking of water.This enables the body to eliminate waste products  and consequently bring down weight. Drinking at least six to eight glasses of water a day keeps the body refreshed.

Over and above, by following a strict discipline, consistency and practice, succesful rapid weight loss is guaranteed though it depends largely on the amount of hard work you do. It is therefore, recommended that  light dieting, regular workout  with intake of right amount of supplements followed strictly will rapidly bring down the body weight.....For further reading go to Weight-Watch-Blog

A recent study that appeared in the Clinical Cardiology has examined the fitness level on an average of those persons who are morbidly obese (body mass indexes between 40.0 and 49.9) and have stated that those obese persons are sedentary for more than 99 perent of the day and walked less than 2500 steps daily which is far below the average of a healthy and normal person. These findings provide an important link between obesity, poor fitness and cardiovascular disease.

While conducting the study a precise body sensor to measure physical acitivity , use of calories and movement was used continuously which recorded a minute by minute record for over a 72 hours period. The study was conducted at the homes of the volunteers...Read more. Go to Weight-Watch-Blog

One of the fastest growing and popular diet program for losing weight is the 'Atkins Diet Plan.' This program was founded by Dr. Atkins in the early 1970's. Since then, it is used widely by all those who want to shed off some of the excess weight and burn excess fat too. Atkins diet consists of low carb, low fat and high protein diets which eventually induces weight loss after a period of use.

Generally we all love snacks. Traditional three meals a day has become outdated. People are now eating snacks all the time, whether in the office, driving to work, coming back home in the afternoon, evening and even after having dinner, a late night snack is a welcome break. The snacks that we eat are full of refined sugar and carbohydrate. Atkins diet frowns upon both these items in its diet plan. So if we are following the Atkins diet, we should keep away from the carbohydrate, sugar and fat based snacks.

Snacks that are sweet have high value of carbohydrates and are full of calories. These snacks have no food value but yet they are popular especially with the Americans. As per the estimates of the Snack Food Association of America Sweet it has been found out that Americans eat about 3.1 billion pounds of chocolate every year. The consumption of snacks snacks in the United States is the highest in the world and grosses more than 30 billion dollars a year.

All snacks are made with white flour, white sugar, corn meal and corn syrup which consists of highly refined carbohydrates. These have high value of trans-fats which is one of the chief contributor of clogged arteries. So we can say that snacks are the worst type of food we eat.

So if you are following the Atkins program you have to leave snacks aside for successful implementation of the plan. But if you love snacks then don't be disheartened. You can make your snacks Atkins friendly. But for this you have to take proper care to educate yourself about the ingredients of the snack and its composition. You have to read about the trans fat and the artificial flavorings as well as the preservatives that are added to the snacks. When you read the labels of snacks, you will be surprised to find how many trans fat, artificial flavorings and preservatives have been used in making the snack.

The second step you have to take is to get rid of all the snacks that are available in your house. You can give it to someone who loves snacks, or someone who is hungry and needy or just throw it into the dustbin. Remember if there are no snacks at home then you cannot eat it. You should also get tough and ignore your family's plea for bringing snack foods at home once again. Tell them that you know what's the best for them.

The third step would be to replace the snack foods with some other snack foods that are acceptable to the Atkins diet plan. Remember these Atkins friendly snacks should form a part of your daily eating as it will prevent you from getting too hungry and will also prevent you Now you’ll need to replace those snack foods with some better choices. Giving up your snack foods is not the same as giving up snacks. Snacks should be a part of your daily eating plan because it will help you from becoming too hungry and also prevent the temptation in having high carbohydrate treats on the sly.

Many low carbohydrate snacks such as string cheese or small cheese rounds are available in the stores. You can buy them and keep them in the regrigerator for your use. You can also buy meat snacks, jerky strips and other meat products that are fat free and good to eat when you are hungry. Always check the labels for hidden carbohydrates when you buy these products.

Some other snacks are low carb instant soups which are very easy to prepare and filling. Then there are low carb soy chips and celery which gives the crunchy effect. You can also use peanut butter of cream cheese spred to add more protein to these snacks. Another useful low carb snack is eating a handful of nuts. Nuts are rich in protein and can used for quick snacks.

These low carb snacks are useful during the first stage or induction stage of the Atkins diet plan. But you can use it for all the time also if you think it is right for you. However, after the induction period, you can eat berries with cream as a snack. There are many fruits which are also acceptable as a low carb snack and should be used for the pre-maintenance period....Read more about Atkins Diet Plan. Go to Atkins File