There are a lot of questions to consider when trying to lose weight make lifestyle changes, and develop healthy habits.
1. Think about what your current weight is, find out what your healthy weight range is for your height and age group and talk to your doctor to get their input. You may find that you don't need to diet at all and simply need to change a few habits and get more active. Your doctor can also refer you to a dietician, recommend a weight loss program, and also advise you on any health issues that you may have that may affect what programs you can follow and what type of exercise is suitable for you.
2. Educate yourself about nutrition. There are so many plans out there that it is really hard to separate fact from fiction - especially where fad diets, ads for miracle weight loss solutions and "supplements" are concerned. There is no "magic pill' for weight loss. It takes work to maintain long term weight loss. Don't eliminate an entire food group - it is important that you eat nutritious well balanced meals in order for your body to get the vitamins and nutrients it needs. Get some books out of the library on health and nutrition, cookbooks etc., search the internet, read magazines, consult a dietician or medical health practioner. Get as much help as you can.
3. Change your way of thinking about what you are eating. Read the labels in the grocery store- foods that say they are low-fat often substitute sugar for fat so you are not getting any benefit from them. Look for whole foods that go through as little processing as possible; fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, whole grain products etc. Remember to include low-fat dairy products and milk or, if you are a vegetarian, foods that contain calcium naturally in your plan as we all need these to maintain healthy bones and teeth.
4. Get active! Exercise is an important part of overall health and it does help with weight loss. If you don't currently exercise then start out small - taking a short walk everyday, then building up the length and pace of your walk is a good start. Then you can build up to more strenous exercise. Find something you enjoy doing; a team sport, jogging, join a gym, take a dance class, go swimming -whatever suits your needs and feels right for you.
If something feels like a chore then you will probably lose interest or find excuses not to do it - make exercise something fun and you will have a better chance at sticking to it
5. Have some fun! Get a diet or workout buddy for support, try new foods, try out new recipes, try a new activity, get involved in community activities, find a new hobby - keeping yourself busy and involved in new things and projects can help keep your mind off eating, renew your spirit and increase your commitment to yourself and boost your self confidence. You have to work on the inside as well as the outside to reach your goals
We frequently see teenagers here that may have just a few pounds to lose, or may not even need to lose any weight at all, but want to weigh what their friends weight.
You've probably all noticed how many fat adults there are, and you may be afraid of the same future. Research is beginning to show that teens that diet early may actually be hurting themselves in the long run.
If you think you need to lose weight, we ask that you get a second opinion first. Ask your family. Ask your doctor. Find out if you have a health problem that affects your weight.
If, after doing all of the above, you and your doctor/family decide that you should lose weight, take their advice first on how to do it. Many of the popular diet plans are designed for adults, not for teenagers or children. You have different nutritional needs.
Your first step may not even need to be a diet. Maybe you can look at what you eat, and just make gradual changes. Do you drink a lot of pepsi or other colas? Switch to calorie free versions,or learn to love ice water. Do you snack on potato chips, cookies, or candy? Cut them out, and you may not need to change your other meals. Do you love pizza? Try cutting back on toppings,
such as greasy meats, and ask for half the cheese. If you think you eat too many pieces, try cutting back one piece and see if you are satisfied.
Making gradual and small changes can have a big effect on your weight over time. You may not lose a whole lot at once, but you will lose it gradually, and slow weight loss is more likely to stay off forever. Quick weight loss usually comes back just as quick, and sometimes you gain more.
Also look at your activity level. Do you spend a lot of time watching tv, or playing video games? Walk away. Literally. Find a friend that you can take walks in the neighborhood with. If you have a dog, take it for walks. Take your neighbors dog for a walk. Get a video game such as Dance Dance Revolution that requires a lot of physical activity. If your family has a treadmill, use it. You can often watch tv while on a treadmill or exercise bike, or you can listen to your favorite CDs with headphones.
Don't compare your weight to your friends weight. You each have different bone structures, muscle mass, and other aspects that will make your normal healthy weight different from your friends normal healthy weight. Be yourself.
Here is an article that was recently published in HealthDay that is surprising, and may make youreconsider whether you want to go on a diet just quite yet.
Quote:
" New research suggests that the dieting habits of teenage girls offer a crystal ball into their futures.
The news isn't good: Those who try the hardest to lose weight as adolescents are most likely to become obese adults.
The reason for the link isn't entirely clear. But it's possible that early dieting may disrupt the metabolism of teen girls, setting them up for obesity later in life, said study co-author Joanne Ikeda, co-director of the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Weight & Health.
"There's a subset of the population who are vulnerable to weight cycling, to yo-yo dieting," said Ikeda, a registered dietician. "I'm not saying every person who diets has a risk of weight 300, 400 or 500 pounds. But we really don't know how to identify that subset of the population that is at risk of gaining tremendous amounts of weight."
Ikeda and her colleagues surveyed 149 obese women from 2000 to 2001. All the participants had attended two annual conferences for large women, and all had a body mass index of 30 or higher, classifying them as having crossed from overweight to obese. Their mean BMI, a ratio of weight to height, was 46; some weighed more than 500 pounds.
The findings of the survey, which was co-sponsored by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, appear in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
The researchers found that women who started dieting before age 14 -- two thirds of all the women surveyed -- were more than twice as likely to have dieted more than 20 times compared to women who began dieting later.
More than eight in 10 of those who began dieting before age 14 said they were never able to maintain permanent weight loss.
It's not known how much the women weighed as teens, but Ikeda said most reported they weren't severely overweight at the time.
The study findings suggest that the obese women are no strangers to dieting, Ikeda said, rebutting the common perception that "fat people are lazy gluttons, that they're basically people who sit on the couch all the time and eat potato chips."
In fact, she said, "my experience has been that they have tried seriously repeated times to lose weight."
And what of the idea that dieting can lead to weight gain? There may be some truth to it, especially in diets that virtually starve people, said Julie Miller Jones, professor of nutrition and food science at the College of St. Catherine in Arden Hills, Minn.
"There is some thought that continuous dieting, particularly with rather severe caloric restriction, forces the metabolism to be more efficient -- to lose less energy as heat and capture more for fueling the body. And the net result is that it is harder to lose weight and keep it off," Jones said.
The problem, she added, is that fad diets often focus on quick weight loss, which requires great reductions in calories, instead of "the rather unpopular way to lose weight -- very slowly." Ideally, people shouldn't lose more than a pound of weight a week, she said.
Both Ikeda and Jones said teens who decide to diet must do so carefully and with an eye toward proper nutrition. In some cases, a diet may not be necessary at all.
"Rather than putting an adolescent on a diet, I'd like to sit down and talk about what they're eating and how they're spending their time," Ikeda said. "Forget about the diet business."
Written by:
Martha McKittrick, RD, CDE - New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medical College
Introduction
The New Year comes with resolutions of weight loss. Each year, Americans spend over $30 billion in the weight loss industry. There are hundreds of diet books and programs on the market, and they each seem to have a different twist: low fat, high carbohydrate; high fat, low carbohydrate; high protein; liquid supplements; food combining; eat for your blood type; and many others. Finding a program that is safe, realistic and effective long term is quite a confusing task.
We have all heard the statistics: 95% of people who lose weight subsequently regain it. This is because the majority of the diets are fad diets that promise quick easy results, but unfortunately end up in weight gain. Most programs do not focus on changing behaviors. Therefore once you go "off" the diet, the weight is regained. Most of the diets are also not realistic or even safe to
follow on a long-term basis.
As a registered dietitian in private practice, I am frequently asked which is the "best diet" to follow. Before you continue onward to read my suggestions, I would recommend that you ask yourself two questions to assess your readiness to begin any weight control program:
1. Is this a good time for me to start a program? If you are under heavy stress or a hectic travel schedule, etc., you may want to postpone your efforts until the timing is better. You want to be able to give this effort 100%, as changing behaviors is a difficult task.
2. Are you self-motivated to lose weight or are you being pressured to lose weight by a spouse or health professional? You are most likely to be successful in losing weight if you are trying to lose weight for yourself--not to please others.
Once you have determined that you are ready to begin a weight loss program, use the following recommendations to help select a safe, effective program that will hopefully result in permanent weight control.
1. Look for a diet program that promotes a safe and realistic weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week.
Many people are still looking for the "quick fix" and gravitate towards diets that promise the most rapid weight loss. However the old saying holds true: the quicker the weight comes off, the quicker it goes back on. Loss of over three pounds a week (or over 1 — 2 pounds for a smaller person) will consist mainly of water loss. Once you return to your normal diet, the weight will
return as well. Slow and gradual weight loss is not as appealing as the rapid loss promoted in many of the fad diets, but it is more effective. I would recommend that you steer clear of those diets promoting quick weight loss.
2. Look for a diet that is not too restrictive in calories.
The hazards of a diet too low in calories include:
* Slowing of the body’s metabolism so that you actually burn less calories, making weight loss very difficult. I have witnessed this phenomenon many times with some of my clients who have put themselves on very restrictive diets. They are unable to lose weight even though they are consuming only 900 calories per day. Once the calories are slowly increased, the metabolism will start to speed up, making weight loss possible.
* Deprivation from a restrictive diet often leads to bingeing.
* Muscle will be used for fuel when the calories are too low. Muscle is an active tissue that burns calories. As you lose muscle, your metabolism will slow down.
I would not recommend a diet that is less than 1,200 calories for a woman or less than 1,600 calories for a man. For a long term program, even these calorie levels are a bit on the low side.
3. The program should promote behavior changes.
Any diet will promote weight loss. However, in order to achieve permanent weight control, you should select a program that focuses on your eating and exercise behaviors. Following a specific two-week diet plan may promote a several pound weight loss, but since your problem behaviors have not been addressed, the weight will likely return. Behaviors need to be changed! I strongly support programs that encourage keeping food records. Food records are valuable tools that can help you become aware of your eating behaviors. Once the problem areas are identified, your diet program should provide you with support to help make positive changes in these areas.
4. The program should incorporate exercise.
Exercise should be an important component of your weight loss program. A habit of regular, moderate physical activity is a key factor in losing weight. It is even more important in keeping the weight off. Studies have clearly shown that physical activity significantly contributes to maintaining weight loss. The benefits of exercise include:
* Burning calories.
* Preserving the body’s muscle. When you lose weight, it comes from both muscle and fat.
Exercise helps maximize fat loss while preserving muscle.
* Promoting positive psychological benefits (i.e., making you feel good about yourself) as well as
many physical health benefits (i.e., decreasing cardiovascular risk).
5. An effective weight loss program includes a maintenance phase.
It is very difficult to change behaviors that have formed over many years. Often times, when stress occurs in our lives we tend to revert back to old habits. A program should encourage you to continue getting support on a regular basis even after you have lost the weight. Most programs do
not have a long-term support system–or if they do, it is not used by the participant!
6. Make sure the diet is nutritionally balanced.
The diet plan should be based on the Food Guide Pyramid and include a variety of foods from the different food groups. [Please see our article on "Basic Nutritional Principles" for further information on the Food Guide Pyramid.] Avoid programs that exclude certain food groups, such as a diet that forbids dairy products, or a diet that allows only "fat-free" foods. Steer clear of the popular diets that discourage intake of carbohydrate, claiming they will raise insulin levels and turn into fat! Low carbohydrate diets are mistakenly believed to be successful because they produce an initial weight loss, which is almost entirely due to loss of water.
When the person resumes their normal diet, water is retained again, and a weight gain results. Carbohydrates should not be strictly limited as they provide energy and are important for good health. The key is portion control. Also, steer clear of those diets that promote high intakes of fat and/or
protein--neither is good for your health! Worst of all are the high fat diets, as they can increase your risk of heart disease and many types of cancer.
Select a program that promotes variety and portion control, which is the sound, healthy way to eat for the long term. Remember that all excess calories, whether protein, fat or carbohydrates,will be stored as body fat!
7. The diet program should allow flexibility.
Avoid diets that have "good" and "bad" foods. This approach is doomed for failure. If you like a certain food, but feel it is "forbidden," you will probably end up eating it. This can cause you to feel guilty, out of control, and eventually lead you to abandon your weight loss attempts.
8. Seek a weight loss plan that does not solely rely on special foods, supplements or pills.
Prepackaged foods may be a good idea on occasion, as they are portion-controlled and convenient. However, I would not recommend a program that requires that they be eaten on a daily basis. A program should also teach you how to deal with "real food"–how to make healthy choices in restaurants, how to cook healthy foods for your family, as well as how to learn portion control. In addition, many of these meals are high in sodium and low in fiber. On occasion they are fine–but not for everyday consumption.
I would also not recommend a program that requires you to purchase any supplements or pills. Certain situations might warrant a prescription medication for weight management. This option must be discussed carefully with your physician and dietitian. However, situations requiring medications are the exception, not the norm. Of course, patients taking weight loss medications should be monitored carefully.
9. Look for a program that is led (or authored) by a qualified instructor, preferably a registered dietitian or physician specializing in weight control.
I would strongly recommend that you check out the experience and credentials of the people behind the diet. Not every physician or dietitian has significant experience in weight control. Look for people with the most experience and who have been working in the field for a long time.
Summary
Choose a program that fits your personality and lifestyle. Do you feel more comfortable working with a nutritionist on an individual basis or do you prefer the support found in groups? Or would you prefer to use a book as a guide so you can go at your own pace?
The bottom line is that youneed to find a plan that you can live with. And that plan needs to be healthy. It should include all foods in moderation and incorporate regular physical activity.
__________________
1. Set small goals for yourself and take one day at a time.
2. Track what you eat for a week and you may be surprised to find out that you have eating habitsyou weren't aware of.
3. Listen to your body- as soon as you feel full stop eating.
4. Stick with naturally low fat foods such as fruit, vegetables, fish, lean meats and don't be afraid to experiment and try new things.
Make exercise a must
1. Get moving by taking advantage of the nicer weather - go for a run, a walk or a bike ride 3 times per week.
2. Be consistent with your exercise so that if becomes part of your daily routine.
3. Wear a pedometer to track your steps and it will make you more aware of your activity.
4. Doing the same thing everyday can get boring pretty fast- try mixing up different activites throughout the week and try something new. Play tennis once or twice a week, walk daily, try a yoga class once a week - shake up your routine!
Beat Temptation vs
1. Keep a stash of healthy snacks in your purse, at your desk, in your backpack or tote bag along with a bottle of water.
2. Treat yourself to the occasional square of chocolate or a Hershey's Kiss once in a while - feeling deprived can lead to a binge.
3. Budget for eating out - if you know you are going out to dinner at night try eating a lighter lunch so you have some flexibility at dinnertime.
4. Brush your teeth after dinner -it can help you stop snacking later on - nothing tastes good with the taste of toothpaste!
Staying on Plan
1. Pick an item for inspiration and put it somewhere you can see on a daily basis. ie. A "before picture", your bathing suit, a dress you want to fit into or a picture of where you are going on holiday for motivation.
2. If you have a bad day don't beat yourself up over it. Think about where you made your mistakes and start the next day fresh.
3. Make health your goal not just weighing this much or being that size. Imagine how good you will feel with better health, energy and being fit.
4. For every mini-goal you reach treat yourself to a non-food reward. Some fitness magazines to get ideas from, a new piece of clothing,a funky shade of nail polish, a new cd, etc.
We're all on an eating plan but we can't say that we will never eat out again - that's just not realistic and not fun when we can't go out with friends and enjoy ourselves
Limiting the amount of times you eat out is helpful to weight loss and enjoying a treat once in a while is okay.
Here are some ideas:
McDonalds:
- instead of a Quarter Pounder with cheese (520 cals, 29 g fat) choose a McGrilled Chicken classic (250 cals, 3 g fat). add a side salad with lite or low fat dressing instead of fries and a diet coke or bottled water.
KFC:
- instead of 1 extra tasty crispy chicken thigh (370 cals, 25 g fat) pick the KFC rotisserie gold chicken breast (skin removed) for (199 cals, 6 g fat), add one of their new salads and a diet soft drink or water.
Subway:
- instead of a tuna salad sandwich (522 cals, 33 g fat) choose a Subway Roast beef sandwich ( 299 cals, 6 g fat); choose low-fat milk as a side or if you pick a combo take a bottled water and baked chips intead of cookies or regular chips.
Pizza hut:
- instead of one slice of meat lovers pan pizza (340 cal, 18 g fat) choose 1 slice of pizza hut ham hand-tossed pizza (213 cals, 5 g fat) - adding a side salad and a diet coke can round out you meal
General tips:
- Avoid foods that have been fried.
- At oriental restaurants, start with hot and sour soup; eat half portions of chicken, fish or lean meat stir-fried with vegetables; order plain rice instead of fried rice. Drink lost of water as asian food sometimes is very salty and can cause bloating.
-At Italian restaurants, choose pasta with tomato-based sauces. Avoid sausages, fatty cuts of meat and limit the amount of cheese.
- At delis, order sliced turkey, ham or lean roast beef. Skip the cheese and replace mayonnaise with mustard. Ask for "washed" coleslaw, tomatoes, a pickle or pretzels instead of fries or chips.
-Eat low-fat snacks before going to a party, in order to avoid the temptation to eat higher fat foods there.
- When it is difficult to refuse high-fat foods, eat only small amounts.
- at buffets cruise the buffet table to see what is available and make healthy choices; have the salad and raw veggies with dip, a little bit of protein and one small dessert as a treat if you must. If you like shrimp then pick the cold shrimp with seafood dip over deep fried shrimp. Have one regular plate of food then sit back for a few minutes to let your body decide if it is full or whether you need to eat a little more. Remember - just because everyone else is eating like the buffet is going to run out of food doesn't mean you have too!
A lot of places now offer their nutritional information on-line - Wendy's, Subway, McDonalds, Tim Horton's, etc. Plan ahead and you'll stay on plan!
(originally posted by Noodles -not sure of source)
Too much sugar can be dangerous to your health and can prevent you from reaching your weightloss goals. Always check the label and try to keep your sugar intake to 12 grams or less per meal or every 3 hours.
Below is a list of common drinks with their corresponding teaspoons and gramsof sugar.
Help with weight loss, general information
Exercise is an important part of overall health and it does help with weight loss. If you don't currently exercise then start out small - taking a short walk everyday, then building up the length and pace of your walk is a good start. Then you can build up to more strenous exercise. Find something you enjoy doing; a team sport, jogging, join a gym, take a dance class, go swimming -whatever suits your needs and feels right for you. 
Do you really need to lose weight?
Some weight loss tips
vs 
and put it somewhere you can see on a daily basis. ie. A "before picture", your bathing suit, a dress you want to fit into or a picture of where you are going on holiday for motivation.
Are you drinking too much sugar?
