Saturday, January 20, 2007

Weight Loss Tips for the Weary

For many people dieting and more specifically keeping the weight lost off can be a nightmare, the reason for this is usually because many of the diets that people choose are too limited or the person doesn’t change their lifestyle once the desired weight has been reached and falls back into their old routine. Here are some tips to help those that are feeling a little weary, stick to their diet and maintain their weight.

Stick to an exercise routine

Exercising not only plays an important role in helping you to lose weight but also in maintaining your weight once you have reached your desired goal. You should aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes everyday for 5 out of the 7 days of the week, however this doesn’t have to all be done at once, the effects are still the same if you split this into 3 lots of 10 minutes of exercise per day. Finding a form of exercise that you particularly enjoy is essential if you are to stick with it in the long term; another option is joining a gym and working out with friends to give each other the encouragement when the going gets a little tough.

Keep a food journal

Keeping a written account of what you eat, when you eat and how many calories the meal was is a good way to make you more self-aware of conscious of what you eat and how it affects you. It can help you to realize the size of portions in relation to how many calories it contains and helps you to make the changes needed in the future to successfully keep the weight you have lost off for good.

Join a support group

Joining a support group such as weight watchers can often be a huge help for those struggling with their diet and needing support and encouragement, the beauty of groups such as these is that everyone is in the same boat. You are more likely to stick to a regime if you have support and the weekly meetings are an excellent way to get you going again and give you a much needed boost.

Take a good look at yourself

Very often we eat not because we are hungry but out of boredom, anxiety, loneliness or some similar emotion, emotional eating is common and very often we can do it without even realizing it. Take a good look at yourself and your eating habits particularly if you are eating between meals, this is usually the time when most people “comfort” eat. If you think your problem lies with emotional eating then take steps to alter your behavior by learning new behavioral skills.

Portion size

Be aware of the size of portions that you are eating, it is surprising how many calories are in meals, for example many fast food restaurants now offer super size meals and the calories content in these can be half or more of the total calorie count allowable for your day if you are on a calorie controlled diet.



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