The Importance Of Water

The Importance Of Water

Water is the most important substance that our bodies need, after air. Without air, we will die in a few minutes. Without water, we die in a few days. But we can live without food for weeks, as long as we have plenty of air and water.

Never try to restrict the amount of water that you drink. It contains no calories and it does not lead to water retention. Bloating and water retention can be caused by having too little water, but never by having too much. It can also be caused by vitamin and mineral imbalances, or by hormones, especially for women.

So if you suffer from bloating, make sure that you are getting enough water. Covering your vitamin and mineral requirements is important too.

So how much water is enough? Well, a slim adult of average height can use around 3.5 liters (118 oz) a day, of which they will usually get around 1.5 liters (50 oz) from food. This leaves 2 liters (68 oz) that we need to drink. So 8 x 8 oz glasses comes close.

People who are overweight can use more. Some people say 0.5 oz water for every 1 lb body weight. This means 100 oz for somebody weighing 200 lb, and 150 oz for 300 lb.

Of course, we can survive with less than this. The body is remarkable in its ability to adapt to circumstances that are less than ideal. However, over the years it will slowly begin to suffer. Common diseases like viral and bacterial infections will be more severe and last longer; more serious diseases may begin to take hold. Some studies have linked Alzheimers disease to a lack of adequate water intake.

If you have trouble believing this, try drinking the full 3.5 liters (118 oz) of water per day next time that you are sick with flu or a cold. You probably wont be eating much so you will need the full amount. You will almost certainly find that you have less nasal congestion and you recover more quickly.

It is best to spread your water intake through the day, drinking more in the morning and slowly decreasing through the afternoon and evening. For example, a couple of glasses on waking, then one glass per hour in the morning and one every two hours in the afternoon and evening. Be sure to have a glass around 15 minutes before you eat. This will help you feel full and satisfied with your meal.

You are not likely to drink too much water but it is possible to drink it too fast. If you tried to drink 3.5 liters all at one time, it could flood the brain and even cause death. The body can process 1 liter of water per hour, and in order to avoid stressing the kidneys, its best not to exceed that. That means a maximum of 4 x 8 oz glasses per hour.

Water even helps keep us regular, when combined with enough dietary fiber. Eat plenty of vegetables to maximize your fiber intake.

Taking good quality vitamins and minerals is also important for maintaining a healthy body and losing weight.

Moderation Is The Key To Success

Moderation Is The Key To Success

Everything in moderation – that is the key to success in weight loss as in most things in life. If we take anything to extremes, it has a habit of biting us in the back.

The reason that most of us gained weight was because we were eating or drinking to excess. We were not applying the golden rule of moderation.

Since we are used to doing things to excess, we then try to diet in an extreme way: cutting out whole food groups completely, or eating virtually nothing at all.

Then we are surprised when it does not work and we are soon back to our starting point.

In the same way, if you make huge changes in your level of exercise too suddenly, the consequences are likely to be bad. You could strain a muscle or even cause serious heart problems. It is vital to begin an exercise program slowly.

When it comes to diets, it is true that can be an advantage in kick starting a diet with a more restrictive first phase lasting from 10-14 days. This makes the most of the high motivation that most of us have in the first few days of a new diet.

However, after that time it is very important that we begin to introduce more foods. This way we will soon have a diet that is flexible enough to handle most of the situations that we find ourselves in, such as restaurant meals, weddings or vacations.

We can also concentrate on positive changes such as drinking more water or getting a little more exercise.

The important point to remember is that both exercise and food are good for us in the right quantities.

Taken to extremes, having either too much or too little food will kill us. The same is true of exercise.

Food is not bad in itself. It is what we do with it that counts.

Programming The Mind For Weight Loss

Programming The Mind For Weight Loss

Sometimes it seems that however hard we try, we cannot lose weight. Or we lost a lot, but now we are stuck and there is no getting past this point.

When this kind of thing happens, it is often because we have unconsciously programmed our mind to believe that we cannot be slim.

Recent research has shown that thought is much more powerful than we think. Our thoughts actually influence our reality. Anything we think about a lot, or believe strongly, is likely to prove true, if it is in our control.

So if we believe that we will always have money troubles, then we probably always will. And if we believe that we will never be slim, then we will find it almost impossible to lose weight beyond a certain point.

When this happens, we need to reprogram our minds to reflect a new reality. This means constantly focusing on being slim: not as a dream or a fantasy, but right now. Think, I am slim. Start to do the things you would do if you were slim. Pretty soon, you will start to lose more weight.

It is very easy for us to set ourselves up to fail. For example, we might buy a large candy bar telling ourselves that we will eat half today and half tomorrow, but at the back of our minds we know that we will eat the whole thing within 5 minutes of arriving home.

The way to change this habit is to understand that what actually controls our behavior is the underlying belief (the belief that we will eat the whole thing).

In the beginning, the solution to this is to accept that the belief will be the reality and buy a smaller candy bar that its OK to finish right away. That way, we dont keep setting ourselves up to fail.

Then, as we develop better eating habits, we can slowly change the belief. We can start by buying a large pack of something that we actually can save half of. Making realistic choices that inch us toward success gradually, is the way to reprogram the mind for successful weight loss.

Why Isnt My Diet Working

Why Isnt My Diet Working?

Often times it happens that we hear about a great new diet that has worked amazingly well for somebody, but when we try it ourselves, it doesnt seem to work.

Or maybe theres a diet that we tried years ago and lost a ton of weight. We get back on it expecting to be just as successful the second time around, but the results are disappointing.

There can be many reasons for this type of failure. Sometimes the diet is at fault and sometimes it is not.

For example, if we hear that somebody lost a ton of weight on a certain diet, there are many things that we do not know.

Did they follow the exact same version of the diet that we have? What did they do in terms of exercise? Were they locked up in a health spa where they could not cheat? How long did it take them to lose the weight? Is it even true that they lost so much?

Then we have to take account of differences in individuals. In most cases, a heavier person will lose weight faster than a lighter person. However, the individual metabolism is important too.

There are many factors that affect our metabolism. Metabolism slows down as we age, as we become less fit, or if we have certain health problems (especially thyroid dysfunction or hormonal issues). Diabetes affects the metabolism and so do many medications.

Having a slow metabolism does not mean that we cannot lose weight. It just means that we must be extra determined not to give up. Our weight loss may be slower than for other people. It may be slower than when we were younger.

Remember that improving your level of fitness will speed up your metabolism. This is one of the best things that you can do if you are not losing weight as fast as you expected.

Do We Have A Fat Point

Do We Have A Fat Point?

Some overweight people take the fatalist view that their body was just born to be fat and there is nothing that they can do about it.

Often times, this view gains power in our minds when we hit a plateau with our weight loss and do not lose for a while. It seems like it is impossible for us to lose any more weight.

But this is not true. Our body just needs a little time to adjust, and then it will start to lose again.

Of course our body adjusts to our current weight the best that it can. If we are overweight, it will allow the skin to expand to contain the extra fat, so that we dont burst. It will also set up more capillaries, develop extra connective tissues and adjust hormones in line with the size that we are.

This means that when we lose weight, the body again needs time to adjust all of these factors. First it will slow the metabolism to stop us losing any more weight while it figures out what to do. Then it will spend some time adjusting for a new, slimmer size. Then finally we can lose a little more.

This is why weight loss goes in steps.

So do not expect your weight loss graph to be a straight line.

And if you do not lose for a while, do not think that your diet is at fault. Remember that your body is adjusting to the new weight, and pretty soon you will start to lose again.

Rewards For Losing Weight

Rewards For Losing Weight

As you progress toward your weight loss goal, remember to reward yourself for the mini goals that you reach along the way.

Of course, the rewards should not be food related. We need to get out of the habit of always rewarding ourselves with food. Instead, how about something new to wear, some music that you enjoy or a trip to the movies?

Setting up mini goals to mark milestones along your path can be a huge incentive that keeps us going through the plateaus and slow sections of our weight loss highway.

For many people, their major weight loss goal may be a long way off so that at bad times it can seem almost unattainable. But its not! When you see the road ahead in terms of smaller steps, it becomes much more manageable.

Knowing that you have a certain treat to look forward to when you lose just two or three more pounds can keep you on track.

Your reward does not even have to be something that costs money. If your spouse or partner is supporting your weight loss, perhaps they would offer you a reward such as a day off from the chores.

Celebrating our successes is also important to anybody who suffers from a lack of self esteem … and thats something that many overweight people have big trouble with.

Be careful who you tell because negative people can have a negative impact. If negativity surrounds your weight loss efforts at home, you might want to keep your mini goal successes to yourself, or go celebrate with more positive people in an online forum.

Losing Weight In Steps

Losing Weight In Steps

When people ask questions about a diet, one of the things they always want to know is how much weight they can expect to lose in a week. Health advisors, too, talk about how much you should lose per week as if weight loss is a steady progress. However, this is not the case and it is important to understand this if you want to be successful in your diet.

So what really happens when we lose weight?

For most people, the first effect of starting a diet is that a considerable amount of weight is lost in the first 7-15 days. This is particularly true if the diet is very restrictive or has a jump start induction phase.

What do we mean by a considerable amount? Well, it will depend on the person and the diet. Generally, heavier people will lose faster, and men will lose faster than women.

A man who weighs over 300 lb might drop 15-20 lb in the first two weeks. A woman who is only a little over the normal range for her height might only lose 2-5 lb in the same time on the exact same diet.

After the first two weeks, you can expect your weight loss to slow down. Some people experience their first plateau at this point and do not lose anything in week 3.

If this happens, it is vital to stay motivated and stick with your diet. You have probably moved into a second phase which is less restrictive but that is not the reason for the plateau. It is simply that having lost a lot of weight, much of which was water, the body is taking a little time to adjust to its new set point.

This will happen over and over as you continue with your weight loss. Youll lose different amounts for 2-4 weeks and then there will be a week or two when you dont lose. Its possible that there will be times when you will even gain a little. But its a question of taking two steps forward and half a step back.

After the plateau there will come a moment when for no apparent reason your weight drops again. Anything that was gained is lost, along with more.

Tracking your progress on a graph will help you see this clearly. The graph will move downward for a while, then it will flatten out or even rise a little, then drop again. Over time, you could maybe work out an average, but from week to week the variations can be great.

Have patience. Do not be tempted to return to phase 1 or look for a different diet. That will just send you off the rails completely. Stay with your plan and if you want to change anything, think about getting a little more exercise. You will soon see the weight dropping off again.

Cut Down Or Quit

Cut Down Or Quit?

Most diets are actually pretty flexible and allow us to eat certain things that we might be better off cutting out completely.

For example, some diets allow a couple squares of dark chocolate. If you can eat 2 squares of chocolate and then stop, thats fine. But for most overweight people, this is just not possible.

Another cause of many slip ups is alcohol. For those who are used to drinking a lot, it is hard to stop after one beer or one glass of wine. And even if you can do that without difficulty, alcohol lowers the boundaries of self control so that it becomes harder to say no to the unhealthy snacks that are often served up with a drink.

Most people have trigger foods that they cannot eat just a little of. Often, these trigger foods will set off a binge of eating all kinds of other forbidden foods too.

Common triggers include chocolate, cheese, bread, pasta, nuts, chips, certain fruits, salty food, or sugar. Make your own list and make it as specific as possible. For example if cheese is a trigger for you, specify different cheeses. If its chocolate or candy, write down the brands.

Then put your list into order. Like Colette with her truffles, it is best to cut out all of your triggers completely at first. But as you approach your goal, you can begin to add them back.

When you add them, begin with the specific recipe or brand that you can handle most easily. That way, your confidence will gradually grow until you find that you can handle just about any food without bingeing.

Facing Feelings While Losing Weight

Facing Feelings While Losing Weight

Its true that people are overweight because they eat more than their bodies need … not just once but day after day.

However, the reason that we do this, is often emotional.

As we have said before, eating has a sedative effect. The blood sugar is raised, serotonin production goes up and we feel happier and more peaceful after a meal or after a carbohydrate snack.

In many cases, we learned to deal with difficult feelings by eating, and we began so long ago that the process has now become unconscious. We are not even aware of the feelings, because we automatically reach for the cookie jar before the feelings have a chance to come to the surface.

This means that when we begin a diet, cutting out all or some of those quick release high carb foods, we are often unprepared for the difficult feelings that may arise.

So next time that you feel an uncontrollable urge to grab something sweet or starchy, take a moment to look at what is really going on. Probably something just happened that set up an emotional reaction for you. Did someone say something that might have made you angry (even if you are not aware of feeling angry)? Did something you heard or saw remind you of a sad event in your life?

It may feel very uncomfortable to let your feelings come to the surface in this way. You may have been stuffing them down with food since childhood. Keep trying, and eventually you will be able to handle them.

Working with a therapist or in a group can be a huge help with the emotional issues that often lie under our weight problem. So do ask for help if you need it.

If we learn to live with the natural emotions that arise in our lives, we can stop using food as a sedative and lose our excess weight.

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