Healthy Weight Loss Now

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I was poking around on the internet a few weeks ago and found a review for a deep chocolate muffin by Vitalicious that folks are just raving about. I am a certified chocoholic, so anything that is chocolate and good for you just doesn’t seem quite right. To begin with, I was wary of the name Vitalicious (anything with Vitamins in the name is probably nasty, right?).

However, my curiosity got the best of me and I convinced my husband to brave road construction and go 30 miles into St. Louis to a store that actually carried these Deep Chocolate Vitamuffins. And boy, was it worth it.

These muffins are not a bit vitaminy (is that a word?). They have enough chocolate chips chunks to satisfy my chocolate addition. Plus, the muffin itself is very moist and filling (6 grams of fiber in a 2 oz. muffin). I absolutely love, love, love them.

The downer is availability. They are hard to find in stores. You can visit the Vitalicious site to see where they are sold near you here. Some Whole Foods carry them, but in the St. Louis area, they were hard to find. I think the best way to get them (after you initially try them) is online and in bulk. They freeze well, so buying them in bulk is not a big deal.

If you are on Weight Watchers, or are just looking for a healthy alternative to Hostess Cupcakes, I would definitely pick up a pack of these and give them a try. Vitamuffins are only 100 calories for a 2 oz. serving, high in fiber, low in sodium, low in fat, contain no cholesterol and are baked with whole wheat. Not to mention the 15 vitamins and minerals!

What are you waiting for? Treat yourself. Vitalicious is Delicious!

There are many “diets” out there that promise extreme amounts of weight loss in ridiculously short amounts of time. The problem with these kinds of diets is that you may lose weight in the short term, but sustaining that loss when you go back to your original eating habits is impossible. Eating only grapefruit or cabbage soup is not a healthy way of eating long term. You will be missing out on crucial nutrients, vitamins, and minerals with a diet like this. There is no quick fix. No magic bullet when it comes to losing weight.

A realistic healthy amount of weight loss is between a half to two pounds a week. It may not sound like much, but could you be happy about losing 8 pounds in a month? What about 16 pounds in 2 months? Depending upon your build, that could be an entire size or 2 reduction in your clothing size. It adds up over time. There are more benefits to just fitting into smaller clothes. Studies show that losing even 10% of your body weight improves your cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Your energy will increase as well. Your motivation to lose more will increase as you start to see results.

So, what is the best way to achieve a healthy amount of weight loss? You must burn more calories than you take in to lose weight. This is the only way to lose weight in a healthy manner. Here are some ways to help you accomplish this:

Add more vegetables, fruits, and high fiber foods to your diet. They fill you up, thus leaving more room for the higher calorie foods.

Cut out soda. This will save you tons of calories. Try switching to tea or water. Flavor it with lemon or lime if you don’t like the taste of plain water.

Write everything down that you eat. Keep a journal. Once you start doing this on a regular basis, you will start to see where your problem areas are. Do you find yourself getting hungry late at night? Maybe you need to add another vegetable at dinner so you aren’t hungry later.

Keep junk food out of the house. If it isn’t there on your shelf, you can’t eat it. Stock your refrigerator and pantry with healthy food and snacks so you aren’t tempted.

Eat less, but don’t starve yourself either. Your body needs fuel to operate. Don’t make it try to operate on too little food.

Do some exercise every day. This can be a simple as walking. Start out slowly if you need to and build up. Take the elevator instead of the stairs. Park further from your office or the grocery store. Play with your kids. It won’t feel like exercising, but you’ll be getting the benefits.
Find a Weight Loss Buddy. Support is key to success and achieving your goals. Stay away from negative influences. If you have a friend who wants to go out for a huge meal every time you get together, suggest an alternative activity.
Get your family involved. It’s much easier to eat healthy when the rest of the family is doing it too.

Hopefully, these suggestions will provide a start in your desire for achieving a healthy amount of weight loss.

How can Weight Watchers help you achieve a maximum healthy weight loss? Why is it better than the other “diets” out there that you’ve tried time and time again only to lose a few pounds, but then gain them right back? Why is it easier to maintain the weight that you lose with Weight Watchers? Why is it a healthier diet than the others?
Well, first of all, Weight Watchers isn’t really a diet. It is a lifestyle change. You change the way you eat and drink by becoming more conscience of your dietary habits and by adopting some daily guidelines.

No counting calories. Or fat grams. Or fiber.
You count POINTS™ instead. Each food and drink is assigned a POINTS value based on the amount of calories, fat, and fiber it has. The math is done for you! If you stick to your daily POINTS, by default you will be under the required daily allowances of fat and calories. Don’t you think it is easier to do the math to count to 24 POINTS than it is to 1500 calories? They now have 2 plans to choose from offering the flexibility that fits your lifestyle.

You are encouraged to eat.
How many diets let you do that? Based upon your height, weight, and some other information, you establish the POINTS you are allowed to have per day. You must eat your minimum Points each day. You also can earn extra POINTS by exercising.

You don’t feel deprived.
You can eat whatever you want. If you want to eat a piece of cake, you can eat it. You just have to plan it into your week. So, if most days you eat well and stick to your daily Points, you can use your weekly Points to have that cake without any guilt whatsoever. If you know you have a big family barbeque coming up, you can plan that in. If you are the type of person that just has to have dessert every night, you can do that too. Whatever your eating habits, cravings, or special occasions, you can plan it out. This may come in the form of drinking more water, eating more vegetables, eating leaner meats, or switching to skim milk. You have to decide where your food priorities lie. If you just can’t stomach skim, work 2% milk into your daily food menu and cut out something else. It’s that easy.

Research shows that keeping a daily log of the food you consume is a must.
An online Weight Watchers subscription gives you their eTools which makes tracking a synch. You also get access to recipes and other health-related information as a subscriber. The online message boards are another great area of support and information. Millions of people just like you are there to provide support, answer questions, and help you along your journey.

Don’t expect to lose 15 pounds in a week or some other such nonsense.
If you follow the plan, you will lose an average rate of between a half and 2 pounds a week. Doesn’t sound like much? Add it up over time. 8 pounds in a month. 16 pounds in 2 months. Slow, but sure wins the race. And, the plus is that it is healthy for you.

Yes, you will have to change your habits a bit if you want to achieve the maximum healthy weight loss that is right for you. Weight Watchers will help you determine what that amount should be and will help you get there.

Some people are naturally thin, and never have to worry about what they eat, or how much. And then there the rest of us. Those that are forever on a diet, yo-yoing our way up and down the scale with minimal success. Let’s face it, losing weight is hard work. But through perseverance, and the right mindset, you can lose weight the healthy way. No pills, no diets, no starving. Start with these ten tips to be on your way to achieving healthy weight loss.

Change Your Lifestyle
Your first error in the past was probably your mindset. You were probably on a “diet.” Am I right? Well, repeat this….”Diets don’t work.” How many people do you know that have tried some fad diet, lost weight, and actually kept the weight off? Dieting only provided short-term weight loss followed by weight gain.

So, if you are not on a “diet,” what are you on?

A lifestyle change.

If you are one of those people who have suffered with being overweight, and you are truly ready to do something about it, the first thing you need to realize is you are in this for the rest of your life. There is no magic pill. No genie in a bottle. Sorry!

Instead, you have to put in the work. You have to make good choices about what you eat, and how you treat your body. You must change your habits, and your thinking about trying a healthy weight loss method instead of a quick fix that will not keep the weight off.

Keep a Food Diary
You probably do not realize how much food you can put away in a day. Keeping a food diary will help you track, organize, and plan what and how much you eat. You can do this online through free programs like fitday.com, or through paid programs like Weight Watchers® Online Etools. You need to count everything you put in your mouth. No matter how insignificant or little you think the serving was. A handful of M & M’s might not seem like much but probably punches in at 50 or more calories.

Find a Support Group
Going it alone is not how you want to do this. You need to find folks who are going through, or have been through the same experience. You can find these groups online as well in weight loss forums. Or you can attend your local Weight Loss support meeting like TOPS or Weight Watchers®. Whatever you do, it is important to share stories, recipes, frustrations and successes with those that truly understand what you are going through.

Read Your Labels
Instead of throwing just anything in your cart, become savvy to the nutrition labels. Especially the sodium, calorie, fat and fiber content. The lower the calorie, sodium and fat, and the higher the fiber, the better the food will be for you.

Are you thinking that foods like that probably don’t taste good? You would be surprised. Tons of low fat and low calorie substitutes are at your supermarket these days. And many have no loss in flavor.

Shop the Perimeter of the Supermarket
Fresh is best. Produce, lean meat, low fat dairy, and low fat grains are all found along the perimeter of a store. These are the best foods for you to eat in order to achieve healthy weight loss.

Those foods along the aisles on the inside are chalked full of sugar, sodium, and preservatives. Although they may be how the “old” you ate, they need to be kept out of your cart. Don’t tempt yourself. Stock your pantry with good things to eat.

Find an Exercise You Can Live With
Not everyone likes to exercise. If you do, that’s great. If you don’t, getting your body moving to burn up calories can be a huge deterrent.

So, what to do? Find something fun. Maybe it is walking your dog, or dancing to your favorite song for 10 minutes. For some, it might be playing Frisbee with your kids, or gardening. Anything that gets you up off the couch and moving is considered activity. Activity burns calories. You don’t necessarily have to log 60 minutes on the treadmill everyday, but you do need to do some kind of activity every day. Get moving!

Set Realistic Goals
When you are looking at the challenge ahead of you, it can seem pretty daunting. Whether it is 10 pounds or 100 pounds, the challenge might seem unobtainable. You might be tempted to quit before you start.

What can you do?

Break it up into smaller, more obtainable goals. Instead of 100 pounds to lose, think of the first five pounds, or the first two pounds. Say to yourself, “I’m gonna lose two pounds over the next two weeks.” Then when you achieve that goal, set a new one.

Each two pounds you lose is two pounds off your ultimate goal. Small successes bring big rewards in the long run.

Portion Control
Buy measuring cups and spoons and use them. Get a diet scale and use that. If the serving size is ½ cup, measure out ½ cup and that’s it.

If you are feeling like your serving sizes are skimpy and not enough to fill out your plate, buy smaller plates. You will be surprised that your brain will be tricked and you will feel better about eating less!

Take Your Measurements
Sometimes, you might not see success on the scale. But you probably will see success in inches lost. Measure your upper arms, chest, hips, waist, thighs and calves. Every 6 weeks, re-measure. You will be astounded at how many inches you have lost.

Plan Ahead when Dining Out
One of the biggest challenges to losing weight is what to do in a restaurant. Portions are huge. You don’t know what the ingredients are.

To overcome this obstacle, look up what you are going to eat before you get there. Sites like healthydiningfinder.com will allow you to plug in your address and give you restaurants and nutritional info so you can plan a healthy meal that fits into your healthy weight loss program.

Although these changes you are making to your lifestyle may seem difficult at first, in time, it will become your norm. You have to believe in yourself and know that your outcome is going to be worth it. Healthy weight loss versus yo-yo dieting, is definitely the way to reach your ultimate weight loss goal.