THINGS PREVENTING YOU FROM LOOSING WEIGHT

The weighing scale still shows the same number with some occasional treats of a few grams here and there. Why is this happening?

You are doing everything in your might but the rigid weight just refuses to budge. The weighing scale still shows the same number with some occasional treats of a few grams here and there. Why is this happening? Well, it could be because of some common mistakes that you are making. Here's an account of those:

Not sleeping enough
Resting is an important aspect of your weight loss journey. If your body is not rested, it will fail to burn calories and will instead tire your body. This gets all the more important if you are into strenous workouts and following a specific diet.

You are exercising too much
Spending hours in the gym every day won't do you much good unless your diet works in tandem. Whoever tells you, "You are working out so you can eat as much as you want" is ignorant of the biggest weight loss fact ever. That is the 80:20 ratio - it is 80 per cent diet and 20 per cent workout.

You stay hungry
Portion control is very good but it should not be taken so seriously that you leave your body starving. Always opting for salad will prevent you from your daily carbohydrate intake that controls hunger hormone. So eat enough for your body, do not deprive it!

PS: Salads are not always healthy. If you are adding blue cheese or those delicious dressings to your salads, you are indeed turning it into a high-calorie food.

You are eating too early
Yes, nutritionists recommend eating early dinner but if you are having your dinner at 7 and hitting the bed at 12, your body is again craving for fuel by then, and rightfully so. So while it is important to eat early, it is equally important to time it with your bedtime.

You see food as calories
Mindfulness while eating is very important, that's the reason a lot of people tell you not to watch TV or read while eating. They say this so you focus on the meal in front of you. But that doesn't mean you start viewing your food as calories. Masala Idli - 89 calories; Vegetable poha - 240 calories;
Oats Spinach Vada - 175 calories. Stop taking this too seriously. It is very important that you enjoy the food you eat and not tirelessly worry about the 'intake of calories' all the time.

You never listen to your body
Sometimes it's ok to have a cheat meal when you are following a strict diet regime. After all, listening to your body is the key. Your body will ask you to skip a workout someday because it hasn't rested enough or it may ask you to have a sweet course helping because your sugar levels are dipping. So mindlessly neglecting its desire all the time is not the right way to go about weight loss.

You obsess over weight loss
You check your weight multiple times. You are constantly trying new diets to shed kilos. You mindlessly follow workouts. That's not it. You stay away from the pleasures of life because your mind is round the clock stuck on one thing - weight loss. Stressing over something has never helped anybody, leave alone your weight loss journey.

Replacing 'real food'?
Protein shakes, protein bars, multivitamin tablets - they are fast replacing real foods. Skipping your glass of milk for a calcium tablet, missing dinner and popping Omega 3 and Multi-vitamin pills? That's not it, also taking diet suppressants too seriously. This not only sounds wrong but is also playing havoc with your body.

You don't cook
Sometimes it is important to take your health in your own hands, like literally. You cannot be at the expense of someone else, especially if you are trying to follow a healthy diet plan. You may be eating a healthy bowl of poha but if you don't know how it is prepared, in terms of the oil used to the spices, you are losing the game somewhere.

Your Weight Loss Support Team

When you're ready to start a weight loss diet one of the most important things to include in the plan is your support team. A weight loss support team will help cheer you on during the good times and will help pull you through the rough spots.  Having a good support team in place can mean the difference between reaching your weight loss goals and giving up.  Here are some tips for putting together a great support team. 

• Choose your team now.  The best time to get support is before you begin your weight loss program.  Picking who you want to have support you now will help you avoid reaching out to the wrong people later on. Ask your team members if they will support you throughout your entire process.
• Pick positive members only.  Your support team needs to be made up of people who love and support you no matter what.  There is no room for doubters or negative personalities.  You definitely don't want any spoilers on your team.  Only consider people who really believe in you and will give you the help you need when you call on them.
• Pick dependable people.  You want to have people on your team who you can call up at midnight when you're having a bad diet day.  The purpose of the team is to help you with your weight loss – they need to believe in you even when you don't seem to believe in yourself anymore.  They simply won't give up on you and they won't let you give up on yourself.
• Lose the haters.  You'll probably have people in your life who say they believe in you but really have their doubts.  These people may ignore you, put you down or even try to sabotage you.  There is no room for these people on your weight loss team.  No matter who they are they can't be a part of it.
• Give them the rules.  Sit down with your support team members and explain exactly what you need from them.  If you call them crying that you want to give up your diet you need them to be strong and give you a pep talk.  If you are out to eat with them you need them to help you make good food choices.  Whatever you need be clear so that they can prepare for their roles.
• Vary your support personnel.  Just like a football team doesn't use all the star players at once you want to reserve some of your team for specific roles.  Know what roles each of your friends will be best at and then ask them to play that position. 
• Additional support.  In addition to certain friends and family members you can also get outside support as well.  Look for local or online weight loss support groups and forums where you can get and give the help that is needed through the various stages.  Support groups can be very helpful since they are somewhat anonymous in nature. 

Understanding the New Food Pyramid

You may have grown up learning about the food pyramid.  The food pyramid is the dietary recommendations made by the United States Department of Agriculture.  The food pyramid helps people to more easily understand their nutritional needs.  The food pyramid has changed in order to accommodate the latest nutritional information.

The recommended daily allowance of each food group depends on your age gender and amount of physical activity. The most important thing to keep in mind about the food pyramid is to eat from the recommended food groups daily for a balanced and healthy diet.

Grains

Grains include any foods that are made using rice, wheat, oats, cornmeal or barley.  The most popular types of grains include cereal, bread and pasta.  There are two main types of grains – whole grains and refined grains.  Whole grains use the entire kernel while refined grains have been processed.  Whole grains contain much more fiber, vitamins and iron than refined grains do.  Refined grains often add vitamins and minerals back into the product during processing.   White bread and white rice are both types of refined grains.

Women typically should eat about 3 ounces of grains per day while men should eat about 4 ounces.  At least half of your daily intake of grains should come from whole grains.

Vegetables

Vegetables consist of cooked, raw, frozen, canned, dehydrated or juice.  There are 5 categories of vegetables including dark green, orange, dry beans and peas, starchy vegetables and other vegetables.  Daily intake of vegetables should include about 2 ½ cups for women and 3 cups for men. 

Fruits

Fruits may be raw, cooked or juiced or may be frozen or canned.  Keep in mind that fruits eaten in desserts such as pies include other ingredients that must be accounted for.  When choosing fruit juice the juice should be made of 100% fruit.  Women should eat about 1-½ cups per day while men should eat about 2 cups of fruits daily.

Milk

The milk category includes milk and milk products including cheese and yogurt as well as milk-based products.  Some common milk products include ice cream, pudding and frozen yogurt.  The recommended daily intake of milk products is about 3 cups for women or men.

Meat and Beans

The meat and beans category includes all types of meat, poultry and fish as well as dry beans, nuts and eggs.  Choose lean cuts of meat to avoid excess cholesterol.  Fish and nuts provide healthy oils that are necessary to the diet. Women should eat about 5 ounces of meat/beans daily while men should eat about 6 ounces.

Oils

The oil category includes oils such as vegetable oil.  Most oils are used in the cooking process while some come directly from eating foods such as fish, nuts, olives and avocados.  While the body needs some oils on a daily basis you should limit your oil intake to only polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats since these do not raise the cholesterol level.  Women should get about 5 teaspoons of oils daily while men should get about 6 teaspoons. 

Discretionary Calories

The food pyramid allows you to have some daily discretionary calories.  This lets you have some extra calories to eat what you choose.  The number of daily calories that you can use for discretionary purposes depends mainly on your daily caloric intake and your activity level.  In general most people can eat about 200 discretionary calories daily.

Pedometer and its importance in weightloss

You're probably familiar with pedometers – those little gadgets that keep track of how many steps you walk.  Research finds that people who use pedometers as a part of their exercise routines increase their physical activity by almost 25%.  More steps per day equates to more calories burned and that means more weight loss.  You can try using a pedometer to help you take charge of your physical activity.

Choosing a Pedometer

Pedometers come in many different styles.  The most basic pedometers simply count the number of steps that you take.  More complex pedometers can keep track of total distance walked and calories burned.  However this information can be determined by doing some easy calculations.  So it's not necessary to get a top of the line model.  You can find a basic pedometer for under $25 with some as low as $8. 

How to Use a Pedometer

The pedometer is a small device with a digital readout.  The device clips onto your belt or the waist of your pants.  Some pedometers come with an armband for those who prefer wearing them in this way.  The pedometer records each step that you take.  It works through motion – each time you take a step the motion records it.  The pedometer needs to remain in a horizontal position and works best when it is placed in line with your knee – about midway between your hip and your belly button.

How to Know How Far You Walked

The pedometer records every step that you make.  About 1,000 steps is equal to about a half-mile.  Since everyone has a slightly different pace when walking it is recommended that you determine exactly how many steps you walk in an average mile.  To do this take your pedometer to a marked track.  Start the pedometer at 0 and walk around the track the number of times necessary to make a mile.  Then see how many steps you recorded.  It's that easy.  You can keep track of how many steps or how many miles you walk in a day.

Getting Started with a Pedometer

Using a pedometer is a great way to add more exercise to your day and to stay motivated.  Before you begin using your pedometer read the instructions carefully so you understand how to use it.  Most pedometers are very simple to operate.  To begin with try wearing your pedometer on a typical day.  At the end of the day see how many steps you have taken.  Now set goals for yourself by trying to add more steps to your day.  For those who are new to exercise it's wise to start this or any exercise regime slowly.  You can try to add 500 additional steps each week until you are walking a greater distance. 

Setting Goals

Your pedometer will help you set exercise goals for yourself.  You can see how using a pedometer can help you to increase your exercise routine easily.  When reviewing your results keep in mind that there are about 2,000 steps in a mile.  As you become more aware of your physical activities and add more workout time you'll likely be able to meet and beat all your exercise go

Acheiving flexibility a key for weightloss

Flexibility is a prerequisite for many exercises and activities.  People lose flexibility as a result of age and weight gain.  Many months or years without exercise can greatly decrease your flexibility.  As you begin to exercise to lose weight you will need to start by learning to increase your flexibility.  There are many exercises that you can do to become more flexible.

When starting a flexibility program keep in mind that a little exercise every day is more helpful than a lot all at once.  Stretching requires you to gently increase your flexibility over time.  This can take days, weeks and months to accomplish so don't expect results overnight. However rest assured that if you continue to do some flexibility exercises every day you will increase your flexibility.

Anyone can begin doing flexibility exercises – in fact they are highly recommended for those who are extremely overweight.  These exercises will get you started slowly by introducing you to a simple exercise routine that won't overstress your body.  You can begin with easy arm and leg stretches.  If you aren't comfortable standing or can't easily sit on the floor you can do some easy stretching by sitting in a chair.

When starting stretching exercises for the first time remember to take it slowly.  You won't feel the burn of the exercises until some time later or the next day.  The muscles will tend to feel pain because they are moving in ways they are not accustomed to.  This is normal.  As you continue to stretch the muscles they will become more and more flexible and will no longer hurt.

When doing stretching exercises try to stretch and hold the position for 3 to 10 seconds.  It is not good to keep bobbing as you stretch but rather it's better to simply stretch and hold the position in one spot.  Count to 5 or ten and then relax.  Then repeat the same stretch again for another 10 seconds.  Try to do 20 repetitions of each muscle stretch.  This is called a set.  As you become more flexible you'll be able to stretch more easily and can perform several sets in a row.

The most common stretches to do involve your arms and legs.  Stretch your leg muscles by doing toe touches or by sitting on the floor and reaching your toes.  As you stretch hold in the position for up to 10 seconds before releasing.  Don't worry if you can't touch your toes (or even come close).  The idea is to work on stretching your muscles a little bit each day.  Soon you will be more flexible and will be able to touch your toes.

To increase arm flexibility do arm stretches either in the air or out to the side.  As your abilities increase you'll be able to add weights to your workouts to give your arms more muscle.  You can also use flexibility exercises on your neck, shoulders, thighs and back.  Try to do exercises daily and you'll see an