Weight loss > Weight Loss and Pitfalls

Weight Loss and Pitfalls

by: Gavin Walsh

WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAUS AND PITFALLS

It?s kind of like running into a wall ? that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results. This is called hitting a plateau and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight.

WEIGHT-LOSS WOES

The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories than you think? Research shows that most people underreport the number of calories they eat ? it?s not that they?re lying, they just don?t know how to make an accurate assessment of how much they?re eating. And even if you?re eating less calories than before you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain your current weight at your current activity level. It is important to keep in mind that as you lose weight, your metabolism slows down because there is less of you to fuel, both at rest and during activity. So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you lose a certain amount of weight, if you?ve hit a plateau, it could be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at your current weight.

EXERCISE YOUR OPTIONS

This leaves you with two options:

Lower your caloric intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being physically active. The first option is less desirable because you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that is very low in calories, and it is difficult to stick to it for very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight. The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself up for failure.

Not only does this type of regimen require an enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes. Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training, which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism- lowering effect of dieting and losing weight. Muscle is much more metabolically active than fat; therefore, the more muscle you can add, the higher your metabolism will be.

GET OFF THE PLATEAU

If you?ve stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus. By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you?ll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time. To help balance the intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories according to how active you are. Again, be realistic. Don?t attempt too much in an effort to burn more calories. Instead, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and, as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable, whether that be in-line skating, step classes or even mall walking.

About The Author

Gavin Walsh is a fitness expert based in London, UK. For more fitness related info visit www.gavinwalsh.co.uk.

How to Create a Weight Loss Plan of Action

How to Create a Weight Loss Plan of Action

by: Lynn VanDyke

The New Year is upon us.
Resolutions have been made and resolutions have already been broken.
This is the time of year that fitness centers see loads of new members scurry in.
These new members have weight loss dreams, but little knowledge of how to safely achieve their goal.
Many who started this New Year with fat loss dreams will end up frustrated.
Many will quit altogether within one month.

Permanent weight loss is absolutely possible with a little planning.
Frustration and failure are easy to avoid when weight loss seekers have a doable and effective plan of action.
The secret to fat loss lies in the planning and execution of the goal.

A weight loss plan of action should consist of a chain of events that eventually leads to a healthy and toned body.
It is a series of milestones designed to push the body...

How to Create a Weight Loss Plan of Action

Weight loss > How to Create a Weight Loss Plan of Action

The Glycemic Index: Key To Weight Loss Or Just Another Diet Gimmick?

by: Tom Venuto

The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that measures how quickly carbohydrate foods are broken down into glucose. The original purpose for the glycemic index was to help diabetics keep their blood sugar under control. The glycemic index has recently attracted a lot of attention in the bodybuilding, fitness and weight loss world and has even become the central theme in numerous best-selling diet books as a method to choose the foods that are best for losing weight.

According to advocates of the glycemic index system, foods that are high on the GI scale such as rice cakes, carrots, potatoes, or grape juice are "unfavorable" and should be avoided because high GI foods are absorbed quickly, raise blood sugar rapidly and are therefore more likely to convert to fat or cause health problems.

Instead, we are urged to consume carbohydrates that are low on the GI scale...

The Glycemic Index: Key To Weight Loss Or Just Another Diet Gimmick?

Weight loss > The Glycemic Index: Key To Weight Loss Or Just Another Diet Gimmick?

Weight Loss Diary, Day 1

Weight Loss Diary, Day 1

by: David McCarthy

Weight Loss Day by Day Diary:

Day 1: Sunday February 5, 2006.

In response to an email I received from a reader I have taken up her suggestion to share my next weight control program by publishing my weight loss diary in article form for everybody to follow.

I?ll start with a few personal details that will give you a guideline to make comparisons with your own progress.

- My height is a fraction over 6 feet. (1.83m)

- My current weight is 197 pounds (97.5 kilos)

- My target weight is 180 pounds (89 kilos.)

- My age is 65.

- My physical condition is basically sound but I do suffer from osteo-arthritis in both ankles. The left is severe the right isn?t much of a problem.

I guess the reason for coming clean on those personal details is to make the point that age or physical condition is a factor. Younger, fitter people will find this easier.

I have...

Weight Loss Diary, Day 1

Weight loss > Weight Loss Diary, Day 1

Eating Carbs Actually Leads to Weight Loss and Health

Eating Carbs Actually Leads to Weight Loss and Health

by: Mark Hyman MD

Carbohydrates are the single most important food you can eat.

That statement probably goes against everything you've ever heard, so let me explain.

If you don't believe me, take this little test. Think of a carb!

If you're like most Americans, bread, pasta, soft drinks, French fries, sugar, and similar foods probably flew into your mind. Yes, these foods are carbs -- highly processed and refined ones.

And if these are the kinds of carbs you consume on a regular basis, let me warn you, (unless you regularly run marathons), you're most likely either overweight or heading down the road to weight gain.

You may like them, you may consider them "comfort foods," you may think that they couldn't be so bad since they are so predominant in our current diet. But the biological bottom line is that human beings have not evolved to metabolize these types of carbohydrates.

They...

Eating Carbs Actually Leads to Weight Loss and Health

Weight loss > Eating Carbs Actually Leads to Weight Loss and Health

5 Mistakes People Makes When Doing a Workout Program

by: Terje Brooks Ellingsen

When you start out with a workout program - whether the purpose is weight loss exercise or another - you have started a training process that hopefully is going to last for a while. It is important that you are aware of some factors that can decrease your motivation for the exercising or even damage your health - while you are executing your training program. Even a few minor...

Weight Loss and Pitfalls fitness

Weight loss > 5 Mistakes People Makes When Doing a Workout Program

Choosing a Mortgage

by: Mark Lambie

A mortgage is probably the single largest loan that most of us will have in a lifetime, and choosing to commit yourself to one can be a scary notion. There is very little else that can lay claim on your life for twenty years or more - though a mortgage is probably cheaper than having kids!

Choosing the right mortgage for you can be a difficult process, and it is always helpful to talk to an independent mortgage advisor...

Weight Loss and Pitfalls Choosing a Mortgage mortgage

Weight loss > Choosing a Mortgage

Being An Effective Public Speaker

by: Colin Ong TS

Many people find it hard to speak in public. There are many reasons, namely the fear of being rejected or forgetting one?s train of thought. This will lead to stage-fright.

Even with the emergence of many multimedia devices that can spruce up a presentation, the importance of public speaking cannot be denied. The reason is that the individual has to be persuasive in bringing forward his views. For instance,...

speakers Weight Loss and Pitfalls Being An Effective Public Speaker Weight loss

Weight loss > Being An Effective Public Speaker

9 Tips for Handling Public Speaking Questions

by: Alan Fairweather

How you handle questions from an audience can often be the

deciding factor as to how your presentation is received. If

you're pitching for business, then it's absolutely vital to

handle questions well.

1. Be prepared for questions - When you write your

presentation, think about what you're likely to be asked and

what your answer is going to be. Maybe you won't want to

answer...

9 Tips for Handling Public Speaking Questions speakers Weight Loss and Pitfalls Weight loss

Weight loss > 9 Tips for Handling Public Speaking Questions

Weight Loss and Pitfalls mortgage Weight loss

Weight Loss and Pitfalls used cars Weight loss