Strategies To Lose Weight Fast

If you look at many of the ads and articles about weight loss, you will notice that a large percentage of them seem to imply that you can lose weight without having to exercise. They will promote some diet pill or simply a diet which is going to take the weight off.

The question is, can you really lose weight just by adjusting your diet? So many people feel that they do not have the time to exercise, or feel they lack the energy to exercise, or just plain don’t want to. It would be great if all they had to do was take some pill or eat some specific diet and the weight would go away, right?

Now, my problem is that when I think of, or advise someone on, weight loss, I automatically throw in adjectives like "healthy" and "permanent". I’m not really in touch with the concept of using a diet to lose a few pounds to get back into last year’s clothes or to look good at the high school reunion. I tend to think of losing weight as a step to the point where you achieve your weight loss goal and enter the realm of weight management. At this point, you are living a healthy lifestyle of combined physical activity and proper nutrition and are able to enjoy life to the max…for a good many years to come!

"Yeah, Don, that’s great, but I’m one of the first group of people you talked about. I just want to lose weight and don’t want to mess with exercise. Heck, man, I’m so overweight and pooped all the time that just thinking about exercise scares me. Just tell me what diet pill to take or diet to follow so that I can get my weight down, look good, feel good about myself, and enjoy life like you say!"

Well, there are people who want to be rich but who don’t want to "mess with" saving, or making wise purchasing decisions, or working hard, either. Whatever we really want in life usually has some sort of price tag attached, and, as the saying goes, we usually, "get what we paid for".

To throw in another old saying, anything worth doing is worth doing well.

To get back to the weight loss without exercise issue, let’s look at a couple of facts.

1. Diets do not work as far as permanent or healthy weight loss is concerned.

2. Permanent, healthy weight loss is commonly achieved through a combination of exercise and proper nutrition.

3. While there are diet products and supplements which can enhance the effects of any weight loss program, they very seldom do the trick by themselves for most people.

Let’s start with that last one.

Start by reading the labels or advertising literature of most diet pills and other weight loss supplements. Somewhere you will usually find a statement that will say something like "when used with regular exercise and a sensible nutrition program". In other words, taking that diet pill or supplement "might" help you lose weight IF it is taken as part of some other weight loss program.

Even the manufacturers of the Alli fat loss pill, which at the moment is the only federally approved weight loss pill, will let you know that you really need to be doing other things as well as taking their pill to experience effective weight loss. Testing of that pill, one of the most effective available, show that weight loss with the pill alone will be minimal unless it is used with a program of regular exercise and proper nutrition.

Let’s face it. If there WAS one diet pill that you could take and then sit around watching TV, eating ice cream, and drinking beer…AND still lose weight and be healthy, there would not be so many different diet pills claiming to do the trick!

Okay, I started with the last fact, so let’s jump around and deal with the first fact next.

Diets per se do not work for permanent, healthy weight loss.

When you suddenly decrease the calories you regularly have been feeding your body, it senses a starvation situation (built in survival trait) and lowers its basic metabolic rate. In other words, it adjusts itself to function with fewer calories. This might not be too bad, but, if you go back to your old eating habits, the same amount of calories will now produce more fat to be stored on your body.

This is why going on and off of diets is actually possibly likely to cause weight gain, rather than weight loss! It’s called yo-yo dieting.

Additionally, extreme reductions in nutrition can also mean extreme reductions in the vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats (needed for life), phytonutrients, and other nutritional factors required for health, energy, and long life. You might lose weight but actually endanger your health and lack the energy necessary to live your life with pleasure.

Just to make all this senseless as heck, once your body adapts to its new diet regimen and adjusts its basic metabolic rate, your weight loss will stop. This usually occurs after only a few pounds have been lost. To lose more weight, you will have to cut your nutritional intake even more, or simply decide to take a look at the second fact I listed.

Test after test and study after study has demonstrated beyond a doubt that the most effective weight loss program is one that includes regular, moderate exercise and healthy eating and living habits. The exercise does NOT have to be extreme, although overall results will usually be directly related to the amount of effort expended.

Most of us are NOT going to wind up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Cory Everson unless we exercise and eat like they do!

However; regular, moderate exercise can burn calories and build lean muscle tissue which will continue to use up excess calories and burn fat even when we are not exercising. It will raise energy levels, make daily life easier, help elevate mood and fight depression, and will help protect us against a host of degenerative diseases. It has been shown to delay and mitigate the effects of aging, and has been shown a potent protector against many conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.

Healthy eating does not necessarily mean "dieting". Healthy eating involves such things as proper selection of foods, paying attention to portion sizes, and changing a few eating habits…including that great American pastime…snacking!

I used the term "healthy eating and living" because such things as getting the proper amount of sleep, having fun, and having friends can also contribute to health in general and weight loss in particular.

Is weight loss without exercise possible?

Sure! Millions of people throughout history have gotten very thin before they starved to death!

Millions more have simply combined exercise with healthy eating and living habits to experience permanent, healthy weight loss and have enjoyed a long and happy life as a result.

Your choice?

Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer. He is a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. His interests include nature, animals, the environment, global warming, health, fitness, yoga, and weight loss. He has posted several of his articles on health and weight loss at http://nodiet4me.com/articledirectory/

Article Source: Weight Loss Without Exercise

Copyright (c) 2010 George Plaza

If you’ve got an underactive thyroid, you know that constant fatigue and weight gain are your constant companions, or least something you worry about. You feel drained of energy and life, unable to do the activities you once loved. You may be too overweight to the activities you once enjoyed, too, or you’re just too tired to get out and do them. Can an underactive thyroid diet help you regain the energy and lose the weight, so that you can get back to living?

The answer is pretty complicated, because an underactive thyroid diet can never actually "cure" you of hypothyroidism. However, if you follow a well balanced diet and have proper nutrition, including nutrients that can increase your energy and help you lose weight, you can absolutely take back at least some control.

When you feel better, you can also be more active, and when you exercise more, you can say goodbye to exhaustion and start feeling even better. Your ultimate objective should be to do 45 minutes to an hour of physical activity and exercise a day, and you don’t have to exceed your abilities to it. Simply start slow, such as taking a walk every day, and then do more as you feel like it.

The underactive thyroid diet isn’t difficult to follow, either. Really, it’s just a healthy diet that you put together yourself; it’s comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables, new proteins like skinless chicken or ground turkey, and some healthy fats such as olive oil. You should also include some low-fat dairy.

A supplement called Active Fiber can complete your diet and help you retain good health, as can soy protein drinks.

Carbohydrates should be used sparingly in an underactive thyroid diet, with most of them coming from fruits and vegetables. For example, leafy green vegetables such as spinach are a good carbohydrate source. Whole grains, too, should be included, things like brown rice and oatmeal. Don’t make even complex carbohydrates a mainstay of your diet, though. Instead, eat them moderately; extra fiber is important especially if you suffer from constipation due to your hypothyroidism.

If you’re vegetarian, you can also follow an underactive thyroid diet, but you have to pay special attention to getting enough protein. Protein can come from good sources like peanut butter and other nut butters, or from nuts directly. You can also utilize meat replacement products and vegetables, which also contain protein. Soy protein is an especially good protein source, since it contains the 20 essential amino acids. A naturally based good-quality protein drink can give you the recommended amounts of what you need every day.

Be careful if you’re following an underactive thyroid diet to avoid foods that have a lot of preservatives. Although preservatives do indeed extend packaged foods’ shelf life, your body doesn’t find them healthy at all. Most of them also have an abundance of chemicals like synthetic flavors and colors, so use natural alternatives instead.

An underactive thyroid diet isn’t really special — it’s just a healthy, well-balanced meal plan that delivers the nutrition you need for health, energy, and well being.

George Plaza has been a Gourmet Chef for over 15 years and has written a very useful course to lose weight and improve your health while eating delicious meals. Get tips about http://www.howincreasemetabolism.com/underactive-thyroid-die t . For a limited period you can get it free. How to Increase Metabolism mini-course from an ex-overweight Chef, Fitness coach. http://www.HowIncreaseMetabolism.com

Article Source: The Underactive Thyroid Diet Can Help You Regain Energy and Lose Weight, Too