Star Dust

Dieting and Common Sense

Every where you look these days there are ideas to help with dieting.  There are several very good websites that are also there to help with dieting.  However, something to remember is that just because something works for one person, doesn’t mean that will work for another.

Weight watchers is a very good program, however using their program as a maintenance guide if you’ve had gastric bypass, it not a good option.  Jenny Craig program and Nutri-system are also good programs and if you can afford the food and the program go for it.  There are other clinics and programs for dieter’s and more pop up each day.  If you can’t afford the diet pills and supplements or the food for the programs such as above, then just use some common sense and try it on your own.

Dieting slowly and making lifestyle changes is one of the best ways to start.  Don’t just jump right in and go on a starvation diet.  Starvation used to be 600 calories a day and that was considered starving.  Watching the amount of calories you eat is important, and you should consult with your doctor to set an amount that is right for you and the weight that you want to obtained.  Exercise is also an important part and you need to consult with your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program.  Your doctor can tell you how to start safely and not cause you medical conditions that might interfere with your dieting.

Remember portion control is also important, when cutting back use a smaller plate instead of a large one, even though you are eating less, you won’t think about it because you have a full plate.  Chewing your food slowly and putting your utensil down in between bites is also a good thing to learn.  You will eat slower and fill up faster.  Also don’t drink while you are eating.  The fluid fills your stomach and you continue to eat and it over fills and causes your stomach to stretch.  Stop drinking at least 5 minutes before you meal and don’t start again until at least 30 minutes after.  This gives your food time to start to digest before adding to the contents.

There are some websites that allow you to track your daily food intake and will even break down your food in to calories, protein, carbs and fat.  You can also find a buddy to help keep you motivate and keep track of personal goals along with your weight and exercise.

Some of these tips are very simple and dieting really only takes a commitment to the goal and using common sense.

Boosting Your Metabolism

One of the best ways of losing weight is by burning more calories.  Of course everyone thinks of exercise when it comes to calorie burning – and with good reason, exercising so you burn more calories than you consume is a great way of losing weight.

But one of the reasons that exercising is so powerful is not just because of how good it is at burning calories directly, but also because it ups the bodies metabolism.  It is the metabolism that decides how many calories you burn when you are doing things, such as exercising, and even when you are resting.

How to up the metabolism

So what ways are there to up the metabolism, ensuring you burn more calories?

• Exercise.  As we mentioned above exercise is one such method of burning calories, interestingly though it is weight lifting that gives the biggest metabolism boost, not aerobic exercises like running or cycling, so make sure to include at least a few weights in your workout.
• Eating.  Your body goes into ‘hibernation mode’ if it doesn’t eat – which simply means it will conserve energy (calories) by burning less, so don’t starve yourself if you want to lose weight.  Similarly eating little and often, rather than a couple of big meals, will help keep the metabolism up.
• Spicy foods.  Spicy foods are another very useful way of boosting our body’s metabolism, so make sure that some of your foods have a bit of a kick to them!
• Keeping ourselves hydrated.  Burning calories needs water, so it is important we don’t become dehydrated if you are looking to give our metabolism a nudge up a gear or three.
• Getting enough sleep.  Our body doesn’t cope well with being sleep deprived, and will look to save energy if this becomes the case.  A good nights sleep will help get the metabolism going faster when you wake up.

Tips to Burn Calories

Burning calories can seem like a lot of hard work. If you are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight then you will need to exercise in order to help you to burn calories. It is possible to lose weight without exercise but you have to eat a lot less and it has been scientifically proven that it is far harder to maintain weight loss if you do not exercise. This may seem worrying to people who do not like exercising but there are ways of doing it which are easy and gradual. The best way and most familiar way for most people is walking. It is free and you do not need any special equipment apart from a pair of good shoes. Start off walking on the flat at your normal pace and then as you do more walking speed up a bit. You should easily be able to fit a walk in to your daily routine whether you walk to work instead of driving, walk to the shop instead of taking the bus or just take a walk in the evenings instead of watching television. You can make many other small changes which could make a difference, run instead of walk, make unnecessary journeys up and down the stairs, use the stairs instead of lifts or escalators, join a gym or fitness class, buy an exercise machine or video. There are many things you can do to increase your exercise levels and just a small change can make a big difference.

Dieting Tips:  Include a Food Journal

Every day in America there is a person who either starts a diet or stops a diet.  Obesity has become a major health risk for people in the United States, including our children at early ages.  A lot of the problem is that people don’t realize they are over weight until they are really over weight.

You can be successful at dieting and it doesn’t take a miracle for you to achieve the desired results.  Just like any time you are planning to diet, consult your doctor first.  They will give you a good rule of thumb on how many calories you need a day to stay healthy but to lose the excess weight, and they will also give you some pointers on exercising.  If you have a lot of weight to lose, it might be best not to start an exercise program right off the bat, but weight until you have lost a few pounds to make it easier on your joints.

One of the first things to do however, before you even consult the doctor, would be start a food journal to see exactly what you eat in a day or a week’s worth of time.  A big problem with people is that they don’t realize exactly what they consume on a daily basis.  They don’t think about that cup of coffee from Starbucks with the extra shot of cream or extra whipped cream on top as being an issue, and it may not be ever once in a while. But if it is consumed on a daily basis or two to three times a week, you might be surprised how that will quickly add up and add on the pounds.

A food journal will show you not only what you are eating, but you can count the calories and share that with the doctor.  It will help to know what you have been consuming and how much to start cutting back to at the beginning.  If you are consuming 3500 calories a day and think you are only eating 2000 a day, this will be a good way to open your eyes. Sometimes starting too fast in a cut back of calories will throw your body into shock.  It might think it is starving and instead of burning fat try to store it, and you will not be any better off.

Share your journal with the doctor and work out a plan together.  Keep the journal going even after you start either manually or through one of the websites that are available on the internet.  It will help to keep you going and you will have accomplished the weight loss in the end.