The Positive Weight Loss Approach

Once you have made up your mind to lose weight, you should make that commitment and go into it with a positive attitude. We all know that losing weight can be quite a challenge. In fact, for some, it can be downright tough. It takes time, practice and support to change lifetime habits. But it's a process you must learn in order to succeed. It is said that if you do something for 21 days it will become a habit. You and you alone are the one who has the power to lose unwanted pounds.

Think Like a Winner

Think like a winner, and not a loser - remember that emotions are like muscles and the ones you use most grow the strongest. If you always look at the negative side of things, you'll become a downbeat, pessimistic person. Even slightly negative thoughts have a greater impact on you and last longer than powerful positive thoughts.

Negative thinking doesn't do you any good, it just holds you back from accomplishing the things you want to do. When a negative thought creeps into your mind, replace it reminding yourself that you're somebody, you have self-worth and you possess unique strengths and talents.

Contemplate what lies ahead of you. Losing weight is not just about diets. It's about a whole new you and the possibility of creating a new life for yourself. Investigate the weight loss programs that appeal to you and that you feel will teach you the behavioral skills you need to stick with throughout the weight-loss process.

First you should look for support among family and friends. It can be an enormous help to discuss obstacles and share skills and tactics with others on the same path. You might look for this support from others you know who are in weight loss programs and you can seek guidance from someone you know who has lost weight and kept it off.

There are success stories across the country today on television and in newspapers, magazines and tabloids about people who have miraculously lost untold pounds and kept it off. In all instances they say their mental attitude as well as their outlook on life has totally changed.

Learning New Skills

Diets and weight loss programs are more flexible now than they once were and there are many prepared foods already portioned out. They are made attractive and can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Low-fat and low-calorie foods are on shelves everywhere.

You will probably need to learn new, wiser eating skills. You will want a weight loss regimen that gives you some control, rather than imposing one rigid system. Look for one that offers a variety of different eating plans, so you can choose the one that's best for you.

Keep in mind, too, that your weight loss program will most likely include some physical exercises. Look at the exercising aspect of your program as fun and recreation  and not as a form of gruelling and sweaty work. The fact is that physical fitness is linked inseparable to all personal effectiveness in every field. Anyone willing to take the few simple steps that lie between them and fitness will shortly begin to feel better, and the improvement will reflect itself in every facet of their existence.

Doctors now say that walking is one of the best exercises. It helps the total circulation of blood throughout the body, and thus has a direct effect on your overall feeling of health. There are things such as aerobics, jogging, swimming and many other exercises which will benefit a weight loss program. Discuss the options with your doctor and take his advice in planning your exercise and weight loss program.

Source: Centralhome

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First published in the CALGARY SUN, Monday June 11, 2001

Today's column will deal with the arithmetic of a seriously misleading concept in the world of weight loss.

Do you really believe statements like: “Burn Fat while you sleep”, “No exercise weight loss”, “Increase metabolism so fat just falls off”,  etc. etc. etc.?  These comments and many others like them lead people to believe that there are “Magic Bullet” products, machines and procedures that just help fat melt away.

 

First Myth Buster: Fat cannot evaporate from your body. To remove fat from the body you must metabolize it (a scientific name for “burn” it). To metabolize anything requires the expenditure of energy. The more energy you expend, the more fat your metabolize. The products that claim to be “thermogenic” (suggesting they increase the rate of energy expenditure and therefore increase the rate of fat burning) have not been proven to work. It is true that some essential fatty acids are necessary to provide a stimulus for the metabolism of other fats but there is no evidence that we can increase our fat burning capabilities beyond the energy requirements of the body.

Think about this. Energy expenditure produces heat as is evidenced by your perspiration (which cools the body). If thermogenic products really worked, you would walk around and lay around in a constant state of sweat.

The arithmetic goes like this: One pound of fat contains 3500 Calories. In order to lose one pound of fat you must create a Caloric deficit of 3500 Calories between energy consumed and energy spent. This will never change. The average Basal Metabolic rate (basic daily energy requirements excluding exercise) is 1200 – 1500 Calories per day. On a 900 Calorie per day diet you would have a 300 – 600 Calorie per day deficit, which equals 2100 – 4200 Calories per week, which in turn adds up to a potential fat loss of 0.6 - 1.2 pounds per week.

If you added 400 Calories of exercise energy expenditure each day (equivalent to running approximately 3 miles) it would add another 2800 Calories to the deficit each week, adding up to 4900 - 7000 Calories per week. That translates into 1.4  - 2.0 pounds per week. This scenario is not likely to be followed. Think about it – 900 Calories per day and running 3 miles per day – 7 days per week. Not very likely is it?

A more realistic and achievable goal would be a fat loss of 1 pound per week. Then you could be more assured that the weight loss is fat and secondly that you actually developed a  reproducible behaviour change which will serve you well for life.

There is an exception to the above arithmetic and that occurs when you are on a "Ketogenic" diet. That is a diet very low in carbohydrates and very high in protein (often referred to as an Atkins type diet – a popular ketogenic diet). Under these circumstances the body will excrete some partially metabolized fat molecules known as Ketone bodies and these contain some energy. In these circumstances there is some fat loss that will not conform to the conventional arithmetic model. The down side of a ketogenic diet is poor nutritional density and the unpleasant side effects of bad breath and body odor from the ketones. Although, with supplementations, the ketogenic diets may not be dangerous, they are difficult to maintain and do not represent a sound life-long eating practice.

The bottom line is be patient, eat well and exercise regularly. It is a matter of choosing a life style.

About the Author:

Lee Coyne, Ph.D. is a nutritional consultant, lecturer and author of Fat Won't Make You Fat and the Lean Seekers Nutrition coaching program. He may be reached at 1-800-668-4042 or by e-mail dr.coyne@leaseekers.com

Copyright Lee Coyne, Ph.D., reprinted with permission.

Source: Centralhome

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