Women’s Health Blog

Since excess weight puts you at risk for many health problems, you may need to set some weight loss plans to help avoid those risks and prevent disease.

But what should be your long-term goal? And what short-term goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right at the beginning.

Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight loss plans and goals.

1. Be realistic

Most peoples long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious than they have to be.

For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.

Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.

From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your BMI.

2. Set appropriate objectives

Using a weight loss plan just for vanitys sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.

You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.

3. Focus on doing, not losing

Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.

Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behavior is.

4. Build bit by bit

Short-term weight loss plans should not be pie-in-the-sky. This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.

5. Keep up the self-encouragement

An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.

After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.

6. Use measurable measures

Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.

This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.

The bottom line is, people should make weight loss plans that will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to succeed.

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When Mike turned 65, he was 25 pounds overweight. By strict dieting, he shed the extra pounds, but he lost more weight; he also lost his energy and vitality. He was always exhausted, and his friends, seeing his gaunt, drawn face, worried about his health.

By the time volunteered for a particular fitness program two years later, he had put 25 extra pounds back on. After 6 months of exercise and some willpower at the dinner table, Mike slimmed down again. This time he felt better than he ever had, brimming with energy and glowing with good health.

What made the difference? The first time Mike lost weight; the second time he lost fat. The distinction is important. According to research, a large portion of the weight lost by dieting alone is active tissue, such as muscle and connective tissue, while a smaller fraction is excess fat. Exercise has the opposite effect. It increased his lean body mass and decreased his excess fat.

Same thing goes with cellulite. Most people tend to think that cellulites are only present to people who are obese. That is why they sometimes associate cellulite with fats and obesity.

Actually, even if cellulite refers to the chain of wrinkled fat cells and subcutaneous connective tissues beneath the layer of the skin, it should never be associated with people who are fat or obese. In fact, there are many people who have cellulite but are not fat at all.

In reality, nobody knows the main reason why some people accumulate cellulite. However, there are some factors that health experts are considering such as the structure of the fat cells or the poison that entered the body. Some experts say it may be caused by some hormonal changes in the body. But none of these things has been proven to cause cellulites.

However, the only main reason why most of the cellulite cases are abundant in women is that the connective tissues of women are more rigid and firm than men. Hence, whenever a woman gets fat, the fatty cells tend to swell and get bigger. It creates a protruding appearance to the skin producing an orange peel look.

For this reason, women are more prone to cellulite than men. That is why it is important for women to be more careful on their body as they have higher chances of accumulating cellulite.

Fats and Cellulite

With the many cases of obese people having cellulites in their body, most of them believed that their cellulites are caused by being too fat.

Even though not all those who are obese develop cellulites, being overweight can really trigger the development of cellulites. This is because too much fat under the skin tend to push the connective tissue creating a strain on the skin. Thus, cellulites form.

However, this is still dependent on the structure of the cells. If an individuals cell structure does not inhibit the tendency to bulge or expand even if fat deposits accumulate, then there will be no cellulites.

So, the most important thing to remember here is to keep those connective tissues firm and strong and avoid accumulating excess fats so as to avoid the development of cellulite.

How? Start an exercise routine program.

Transforming food into fat seems all too easy for most of us. Losing fat is far more difficult, and to accomplish this, we have only three alternatives: (1) decrease food intake and keep activity constant; (2) increase activity and keep food intake constant; or (3) combine both approaches: diet and exercise.

Physical activity can help reverse the results of inactivity. An hour of vigorous exercise burns up 300 to 600 calories. If you also cut 300 to 500 calories from your daily menu, you can also lose weight at the rate of one to two pounds a week.

Without exercise, you would have to eat 500 to 1,000 fewer calories a day to lose the same number of pounds in a week. Exercise is not for everyone who is over-fat, however. The severely obese person should exercise only under medical supervision to prevent strain on the cardiovascular system and connective tissue. And no one should restrict food intake drastically without consulting doctor.

Resorting to this kind of activity will only get the matter worse. Remember what happened to Mike? He thought that when he started dieting, he would eventually lose all the excess fats he has accumulated. The problem is that he lost those connective tissues rather than excess fat.

For people who are prone to cellulites, this will be a greater problem. Losing connective tissues instead of fat by strict dieting can only make the skin more prone to greater problems but the fat cells are still there. That only means that the problem is not solved at all.

Hence, if you wish to loose those cellulites, it would be better to loose those fats first. The idea here is to burn those fats by increasing your metabolism by 7.5% to 28% more than your normal rate.

It is for this reason that exercising is an important factor in losing cellulite. So for a more cellulite free body, always engage in an exercise routine.

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Almost 108 million Americans were overweight or obese in 1999. Until now, obesity continues to be a serious problem and is predicted to reach epidemic levels by the year 2020.

One way to prevent this scenario is to make people aware of the risks of being overweight or obese.

Here are some diseases that you are putting yourself in risk of if you are carrying a lot of extra pounds:

1. heart disease
2. stroke
3. diabetes
4. cancer
5. arthritis
6. hypertension

Losing weight helps to prevent and control these diseases.

The quick weight loss methods which have spread like fire these days do not provide lasting results. More often than not, dieting methods which involve dietary drinks, foods and supplement or pills do not work. If they do, the results are just temporary.

It is better to rely on a healthy weight loss option which will provide lifetime results. You have to set realistic goals and not expect to lose a lot of pounds in a short span of time.

Here are some tips on how you can lose those unwanted pounds the healthy way:

1. Do not starve your self.

The key to a healthier way of losing weight is: Do not diet.

You may seem happy and feel that you are losing those unwanted flabs on your belly and thighs by skipping meals. But remember that this would not last long. Your body cannot tolerate having insufficient food to fuel the energy that you use up everyday.

If you get used to skipping one or two meals a day, your stored calories will be used up instead of the energy that should have been provided by your meals. So if you just eat one huge sandwich in one day, it will end up straight to your problem area (i.e. highs, buttocks, hips).

2. Start your day right.

Mothers always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Have a healthy meal in the morning to jump-start your metabolism.

Your food intake after you wake up will be used to burn fat all day long.

3. Eat small, healthy meals frequently.

Five small-serving snacks per day is better than three hearty meals. Eating more frequently, and in small servings, can prevent over-eating. This will also increase your metabolism and make calories burn faster.

4. Decide on how much weight you want to lose.

Keep your goals realistic. In the long run, it is virtually impossible for you to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks. Have a mindset that you want to eat healthy to stay healthy for the rest of your life.

Once you have decided on a weight loss plan or program, stick to it and make sure that you follow your own set of dieting rules.

5. Drink lots of water.

Your body needs sufficient water to burn fat and keep your cells hydrated and healthy.

6. Avoid too much sugar.

Plan your meals around lots of fruits and vegetables, some bread, rice or pasta for that carbo fix that you need, plus lean meat and protein rich-foods. Sweets, sodas and pastries should be once-in-a-while indulgences only.

7. Watch your fat intake.

Fat is not the culprit to being overweight. You need this to keep your weight at the proper level.

There is such a thing as healthy fats. Olive, peanuts and canola oil have them. Tuna, salmon and mackerel have omega-3 fats which is good for the heart.

8. Exercise.

Leave your car if you are only going a few blocks from home, take the stairs instead of the elevator, jog, cycle or skate. Use these activites and other home chores if you are too lazy to go to the gym and take exercise classes. Make sure that you do this regularly and you will not even notice that you are already shedding pounds with these mundane activities.

It does not matter how much weight you plan or need to lose. What is important is that you set realistic goals for yourself.

Go slow. If you have already lost 5 or 6 pounds, give yourself a break then try to lose the next 5 pounds.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, have enough sleep and exercise. This will give you a higher chance of losing weight and improving your health, which would result to a new, healthier you.

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Being fit and healthy is the in thing. Actually, it really never goes out of style. That body is the most valuable asset you could have in your lifetime. Thus it is important that you take good care of it. Give it the proper attention it needs.

When it comes to ensuring and maintaining the health, the best option is to do cardio training.

What Is Cardio Training?

Cardio training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle groups of the body in a regular and uninterrupted manner. It elevates the heart rate between 60 to 85 percent of the fastest heart rate you could get.

Some of the usual cardio training activities are walking, jogging, running, aerobics, cycling, tae bo, swimming and rowing. Cardio training is considered an aerobic exercise as one is required to move from one exercise to another.

What Are the Benefits of Training?

1. Gives Energy to the Body
You can expect more energy and higher endurance after some time of regular cardio training.

2. Prevents Diseases
One could prevent heart diseases with regular cardio training. It is also helpful in preventing other variety of diseases like diabetes, obesity and even high cholesterol. The cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and the lungs. The low to moderated type of cardio exercises are required for people seeking to prevent diseases. Examples of these are walking, brisk walking or jogging.

3. Control Your Weight
With cardio training, you are able to burn more calories. This will help one who needs to lose weight. While those who already achieved their ideal body mass, the training will make it easier to control the weight.

Cardio training helps burn calories. However this generally depends on your current weight and the kind of cardio training you are undergoing. Better consult this matter with your physician or trainer, to know the proper type of training for your needs.

4. Lose Body Fats
Some people do not have problem with their weights. However, there may be some excess fats that keep bothering. Cardio training will help in getting rid of those. The activities involve the movements of large muscle groups. Regularly doing the training will make you leaner.

5. Get Rid of Boredom
Cardio training is fun. It pumps up your system. You will definitely feel more energized and on the go.

Recommendations to Better Enjoy the Benefits of Cardio Training

Cardio training is essential when you need to make health improvements. For starters, it is best to do the 30 to 45 minutes of exercises, 3 to 5 days a week. If you are aiming for weight loss, the training must be done 5 days a week. The more frequent you do it; the more likely it is that you will lose weight. However, avoid exhausting yourself too much in exercise. Avoid going beyond 45 minutes. Remember, it has to be done in a regular basis.

Start now. Walk or ride the bike around the neighborhood now. Follow that aerobics video you purchased. Set a goal and follow that goal. At the same time, modify your diet too. Eat healthy food.

As you increase in the fitness level, the intensity of the training must also increase. This is to have an area of variation and there should always be room for improvement. Implement this by intensifying some parts of the training. If you are into jogging or running, increase speed every 5 minutes for at least a minute or two. It is important that you challenge yourself, so as not to be stuck in a stump.

Avoid doing the cardio exercises before bedtime. You will have a difficult time sleeping if you do so as the energy level of the body will stay high for sometime.

If you are undergoing weight training too, do the cardio exercises right after, not before.

It is best to take a snack 30 minutes before doing the cardio exercises. Do not start with training in an empty stomach. This will not help in achieving the proper momentum when you train. At the same time, avoid indulging in large meals too before exercise. Just give your body the proper supply it will need to sustain exhausting movements.

It is good to do the cardio exercises outdoors. This way you can easily interact with nature and breathe fresh air. You can also simply enjoy going around the neighborhood as you get your system healthier by the minute. It is possible to make some friends among the people who also do their exercises.

Be consistent and stick with the training once you have started it. This is the only way that cardio training will benefit your body and your health in the long run.

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