This week on the Oprah Winfrey show, she invited people who lost dramatic amounts of weight to share their stories. All of the people that were there were able to drop the pounds without surgery, and without diet pills.  One women dropped over 500 pounds! Really, it’s amazing and is a great motivator. If these people can lose that much weight, we can reach our goals too whether it’s 10, 50, or 100 pounds. Here are a few before and after pictures:

Nancy

Current weight: 173 pounds
Total weight loss: 530 pounds

David

Current weight: 173 pounds
Total weight loss: 530 pounds

Bunny

Current weight: 168 pounds
Total weight loss: 267 pounds

Chris

Current weight: 180 pounds
Total weight loss: 187 pounds

Emily

Current weight: 135 pounds
Total weight loss: 160 pounds

Are you being realistic with the weight-loss goal that you set for yourself? Being realistic is one of the most important things to take into consideration when you’re setting your goals. If your goals are unrealistic, you’re likely to fail. You deserve to achieve the goals that you have made for yourself, so set yourself up for success! If you weigh 210 pounds and your goal is to weigh 110 pounds in six months, it’s not going to happen. Realize that you should only lose about two pounds per week for healthy weight loss.

According to the Mayo clinic, to lose weight, cutting back on calories is needed.  Below is a table that shows what your daily calorie goals should be, based upon your weight, if you want to lose weight:

Eliminating breakfast to save yourself calories for the rest of the day is one of the worst things you could do for yourself! What you’ll need to do is incorporate healthier foods into your diet that are lower in fat which means they’re lower in calories. Take out all the fast food and the junk processed foods and start eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and you’ll have no problem achieving your daily calorie goal, all while feeling satisfied!

When I first started losing weight, I dropped my calorie intake to about 1,200 calories as suggested and then I started eating healthy whole foods and started exercising. In no time, the weight started coming off and I was able to meet the realistic weight-loss goal that I had set for myself.

There are all kinds of mental things that you can do to help you lose weight like dealing with your emotional eating, preventing yourself from impulse eating, and getting rid of negative thoughts that bring you down. But there are also physical tools that can help you along the way as well.  Today I’m going to share with you three of the tools I use to help me lose weight and keep it off!

1. Scale - If you don’t have a scale, get one! It’s one of the most important things to have around the house no matter if you’re trying to lose weight or not. Sure, getting on it initially might be a challenge, but you need to do it.  Weighing yourself regularly will get you thinking about healthy behaviors.  I choose to weigh myself each morning after I wake up, and because I know that I do this every morning, I make better eating decisions throughout the day.
2. Measuring cups - There was an article posted over at the Diet Blog not that long ago that pointed out that those 100 calorie packs that you can buy at the store are double the price! You’re paying a premium price to have everything portioned out for you. Get yourself some measuring cups and do the portioning yourself, and you’ll save yourself some calories and money.
3. Table - Eat your meals sitting down and away from distractions! Right now I don’t have a table to eat at due to living in a small one bedroom apartment with no room for a table, and boy, do I miss it! Take the time to enjoy your meal sitting down at a table, and it’ll be much easier to practice mindful eating like we talked about yesterday.

Lately I’ve been trying to soak up and learn as much as possible about Mindfulness. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with Mindfulness, I like to think of it as a way of living where you’re intentionally aware of your thoughts and actions in each and every moment. Practicing mindfulness can improve so many different aspects of your life. Often times mindfulness is associated with meditation, but it can also be applied to eating. When it is applied to eating, I think you’ll find that your attitude towards food will change, and with that change in attitude will come a healthier life and perhaps even weight loss too.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can be mindful while you’re eating:

• Be Thankful - Start each meal by being thankful.  Think about where it is that your food comes from, and the nourishment that it offers you, and be thankful for that.
• Create the environment - Choose to free yourself of rules and unrealistic expectations and be flexible - allow yourself to eat new foods.
• Five Senses - Eat with the five senses. Look at your food, taste it, touch it and feel for texture, smell the aroma, and listen - is there are crunch when you eat it?
• Have control - You have the power to take control over your eating by being mindful about the portion and choices of food that you eat.
• Look beyond a craving - Be mindful of your cravings and whether they mean that you’re really hungry, or that you’re just bored or stressed.

I absolutely love the practice of mindfulness, especially when it comes to eating. It’s so easy to eat while on the go, or eat in front of the TV and not pay attention to what it is and how much food is going into our mouths. These types of unhealthy habits could lead to problems of being overweight and eventually obesity. Another important part of eating mindfully is to slow down so that you’ll have the opportunity to realize when you’re full and stop eating before you overeat.

By practicing mindful eating, I think you’ll find that you form a healthy relationship with food which is key to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

It’s Apple season in America right now which means there’s no better time to eat them! Not only do Apples taste good, but they’re good for you too. And with so many varieties to choose from (over 2,500 different kinds), I’m sure there’s at least one kind that you’ll like.There are a TON of health benefits that come from eating Apples, so lets take a look…

1. Helps control weight gain - studies have shown that eating apples regularly will help you control gaining weight
2. Apples contain fiber - fiber helps you feel full
3. Low in calories
4. Great source of certain vitamins and minerals
5. Helps boost your energy
6. Includes disease fighting chemicals that help prevent cancer, heart disease, and more…
7. Helps lower blood cholesterol
8. May prevent wrinkles from forming

What’s listed above is only the start of all the healthful benefits, there are many many more. The more often you eat apples, the better, and that’s why the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is so true. To get the most benefits from an apple, remember to eat the skin. While it may not taste as good as the inside of the apple, it’s the best part for you.

Now that we know the benefits of eating apples, here are a few tips for buying the best apples and keeping them fresh:

• Apples should be hard when you buy them
• If there are any dents in an apple, it’s not a good choice
• One study suggests that red apples have more benefits than green - it’s your call which to buy though…
• Keep your apples refrigerated so that you get the longest life possible out of them
• If you slice apples and they’ll be sitting for a short amount of time before you eat it, squeeze some lemon juice and water over the apples to keep them from turning brown

Each year it seems studies reveal more and more benefits of eating apples, so I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t want to eat them. Find the different kinds of apples that you like, and find different ways to serve them such as slicing them and spreading a little bit of peanut butter on them, or dipping them in a low-fat yogurt or other healthy dips.

And remember, an apple a day… certainly does keep the doctor away. Hmmm… I think it’s time for an Apple!

Most people underestimate the nutritional value (or lack there of) of the fast food that they eat despite the fact that most fast food restaurants make this information readily available online. Perhaps it gets ignored on purpose? If people only realized the amount of calories, fat, and sodium that they were putting into their bodies, they’d likely think twice (at least I’d hope so) about the choices that they made. Below you’ll find nutritional information for some of the most popular items at fast food restaurants. It came from the fast food vendors themselves, and you can easily find this information yourself at www.mcdonalds.com, www.burgerking.com, www.wendys.com, and www.arbys.com.

Amazing, isn’t it? Of course none of the items I listed would be considered a “healthy” choice at these restaurants, but unfortunately, the majority of people choose these types of items over salads or grilled chicken options. The next time you’re thinking about pulling up to a drive-thru, take the time to visit the restaurant’s website so that you can view the nutritional information and get an idea of what you’re putting into your body. And remember, it’s not just the calories that count - it’s the fat, trans fat, and sodium that you should be looking at as well. Keep in mind, eating fast food (unhealthy) regularly is definitely something that could eventually cause you problems with your health.

There are SO many health benefits of walking. It’s good for the mind, body, and spirit, and helps you feel good. Not only that, but it can also help you out while you’re on your weight loss journey. Even when I’m not able to go to the gym, I still manage to get a walk in each evening which helps me maintain my weight, and I also find that it even helps me sleep better. Walking is probably the easiest form of exercise you could do because it doesn’t take any special equipment, and you can do it just about anywhere you go.

Today we’re going to talk about some of the benefits of walking, but also tips for making your walking experience that much better.

First, the benefits - they truly are amazing:

1. Walking reduces body fat
2. Lowers resting pulse rate
3. Reduces blood cholesterol
4. Reduces blood pressure
5. Increases metabolism - thus helping you to lose weight
6. Increases flexibility and tones muscles
7. Reduces stress
8. Improves problem-solving
9. Improves self-esteem
10. Maintains bone density

–Walking Tips - Make your walk better!–

• Walking Shoes - Buy a pair of comfy walking shoes, you’ll need them!
• Walk with a friend - Find someone that you can walk with - either a friend, family member, or a walking group in your community
• Incorporate walking everywhere - Instead of fighting for that close parking spot, park farther away and walk
• Get those arms movin’ - When you walk, get those arms moving. Elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle, and they should move with each step you take
• Solve your problems - If you ever feel stressed or have a lot on your mind, take a walk to think things through and sort things out
• Get a pedometer - Count your steps and try to take about 130 steps each minute for a great workout

Sources: MSN Health, UMICH

Wouldn’t it be be nice to get paid to lose weight? I mean, who would turn down a little cash for all the effort it takes to drop the extra pounds? Getting paid to lose weight was the focus of a recent study that found that people who are paid to lose weight actually lose more. Of course it’s not surprising, but it’s still interesting.

For this study, over 200 people were divided up into three different groups. The first group of people were encouraged to lose weight but weren’t offered any type of “reward” for their efforts.  The second group of people were told that if they lost weight, they’d get paid $7 for every percentage point of body weight that they lost.  The third and last group was told they’d get $14 for every percentage point of body weight that they lost. Any guesses which group was the most successful?

Yep, you guessed it, the group getting paid $14 for each percentage lost the most weight. Those in that group averaged a 4.7 pound drop in weight while the group getting paid $7 lost an average of 3 pounds, and the group getting paid nothing at all lost about 2 pounds on average. With more than 64 percent of American adults overweight or obese, perhaps employers should start offering some type of monetary reward to those employees who drop pounds? In the end it could potentially save them money if their employees are healthy, miss less work, and have less visits to the doctor.

This made me wonder if I’d be more motivated to lose weight if there was money involved, although feeling healthier and looking better has been enough of a reward for me, and hopefully it’s enough for you as well.

Source: Reuters

While there are more and more obese adults these days, there are also more and more overweight and obese children. It’s gradually turning into an epidemic, and the public is finally starting to pay attention to it and address the issue. Often times, those who weigh more than they should ended up where they are because of unhealthy habits. Healthy habits start in the home which is why it’s important as adults that we set good examples for our children.

A habit is defined as an established custom, or a pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition. That frequent repetition part is what gets us in trouble.  Frequent repeated trips to fast food restaurants, frequent repeated hours in front of the computer or TV, frequent repeated over-eating, frequent repeated “lounging” for hours instead of getting up to do something, and the list goes on.  If you’re reading this article, chances are that you frequently repeated behaviors which then turned into unhealthy habits for you and possibly for your children.

It’s in the home where big changes must be made. According to a new study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, the following three factors may put your child at greater risk for being obese:

1. A fat mother
2. Too much TV
3. Rapid weight gain in early childhood

So what can you do? Well to address the first issue, a fat mother, change that as best you can. Start changing your habits now so that you’re healthy! When you start changing your eating habits and how active you are, you’ll likely see a drop in weight. And if you watch a lot of TV in your home, turn it off - it’s as simple as that!

I don’t have children yet, but when I do, I hope to introduce them to a lifestyle of nutritious foods and activity. As more families focus on health in the home, I think we’ll see a rather large drop in the number of obese adults AND children. Remember, healthy habits start in the home!

For one reason or another, it’s always easy to be hard on ourselves. I know I am. When I’m hard on myself, I tend to be more negative as well, which doesn’t help in any situation, especially when you’re trying to lose weight and change your lifestyle. That’s why it’s important to praise yourself at all times, but especially when you stick with your weight-loss program. It’s easy to get discouraged when you get on the scale and you haven’t lost as much as you expected, or when you know you could have eaten better, but try to stay positive, think positive, and learn to keep yourself motivated.

Here are a few ways that you can praise yourself -

1. I’m lookin’ good!
2. Wow, my clothes are really starting to feel lose.
3. I’ve been eating so healthy, and I’m feeling good!
4. I’m starting to notice that I have more energy.
5. It’s hard to go to the gym, but I’m doing it!
6. I’m feeling stronger.
7. I don’t get out of breath as quickly now.
8. The choices I’m making are healthy!
9. I’m proud that I’m stickin’ to it.
10. I’m starting to look and feel my very best thanks to my hard work.

The whole idea is to start thinking positively, and be gentle with yourself. If your friend came to you and said she had lost 5 pounds but gained 2 back, you wouldn’t say “you loser, I’m so disappointed in you,” would you? No, you’d say something more positive like “that’s okay, just pull yourself up, keep your chin high, realize what you’ve already accomplished, and keep trying - I’m proud of you!” Praising yourself is one of the best weight-loss tips I think anybody can ever tell you, so make a conscious effort to do it…starting today!