In a previous article (post) I mentioned the importance of finding happiness during a weight loss journey.  In this article, I am going to tell you that the journey itself can bring you happiness if you just view it the right way.

A weight loss journey is something special.  Many people embark on one at some point in there lives.  Few people complete one.  Why is it that few people complete one?  Is it that people do not know how to lose weight in a healthy manner?

Well, yes, this is part of it.  There is indeed a great deal of misinformation circulating around the weight loss community.  However, this is not the biggest reason why people often fail to complete a weight loss mission…not by a long shot.

The biggest reason most people are unable to see their weight loss efforts through to the end is simply that it is difficult.  It is difficult for people to lose weight mainly because they have made weight loss unnatural.  In fact, weight loss is always unnatural.  Our bodies want to maintain a certain weight.  They do not want to keep going up and down.  They do not want to undergo drastic changes.  Once you’ve put on the weight and made your body accustomed to that weight, it becomes very difficult to lose that weight.

Think about it.  When most people start out a weight loss program, they have been eating about the same way for a long period of time.  This period of unhealthy eating has become natural for them.  Making a change to a healthy diet would then be unnatural and uncomfortable.  As a result, in order to make changes to their physique through healthy eating principles, these people must break out of their comfort zone.  This is never easy.

The same is true for exercise.  Few people who begin a weight loss program have been exercising at the necessary intensity to lose weight in the past. Thus, making a shift to higher intensity exercise (or for some people to any exercise at all) is quite difficult.  Therefore, making changes to one’s physique through exercise is naturally difficult.

There is an exercise principle known as the overload principle that basically says (in simple terms) that in order for the body to make any changes in response to exercise, it must be stressed in a way in which it is not accustomed.  As a result, by definition, it is necessary to break out of your comfort zone if you want to make changes to your body.  So, a simple stroll in the park everyday is likely not going to do much for your weight loss efforts.

This brings up a very interesting argument.  Many people claim that housework and yard work are great exercise.  Many people like to take the stairs instead of the elevator.  To this I say “great!”.  Sure, these things will help you stay healthy and will not hurt your weight loss efforts, but the truth of the matter is that your body will get used to these things very quickly.  As a result, it is difficult to overload your body to make any changes.

This issue is not near complete, so I will continue it tomorrow…

I preach on this site about the importance of healthy weight loss.  At times I think I come across as having a no-nonsense simple approach.  It may seem that there is only one way that works and if you don’t like that way, then the only way you can lose weight is to make yourself miserable for a while.  Fortunately, that is not true at all.

Today I took a trip around the internet and looked at some of the other weight loss blogs.  I paid particular attention to blogs that preached healthy weight loss principles.  What I found, surprised me.  A select few blogs had posts that really got me thinking about taking weight loss beyond the nutrition and exercise principles that produce the best results.  I found that there is something even more important.

Actually there are two things more important: health and happiness.  We must focus our weight loss efforts on these two things because these are the things that are most important in life.  Sure, now, it is true that simply achieving weight loss success will make most people happy to a certain degree.  But there must be a way that we can actually make the weight loss process enjoyable.  Indeed, there is.

While I am in agreeance with the idea that you want to do things that are enjoyable for you that could help in your weight loss efforts, I also strongly believe that it can be even more enjoyable to set up challenges to yourself.  One major area of my own life that I have been working on a lot lately is breaking out of my comfort zone and trying new things.  This, in itself, opens up new possibilities and opportunities for greater happiness.

The same can be done with a weight loss program.  Within your program, try setting up a few goals to try new things.  Maybe you want to run a mile.  Perhaps you want to do a real pull-up or 10 push-ups without any help.  Or maybe you simply want to go a whole month without drinking soda.  Whatever you can think of, set up a few smaller goals within your weight loss program.  This will keep you interesting in the program and increase the enjoyment factor.  Instead of only having the opportunity to celebrate after losing x pounds, you can now celebrate several instances along the journey.

So there is one idea to make a weight loss program more enjoyable.  I’ll be back with another one tomorrow.  If you have any ideas of your own, feel free to post a comment and let me know.

Crash diets often work…for a very short period of time.  After that short period of time, they hurt…bad.  Cutting calories down to extremely low levels, i.e. under 1200/day, can be very dangerous.  First of all, cutting calories down to this level means that your body will be missing out on key nutrients.  There is no way that you can sustain a crash diet and still get the necessary amount of vitamins and minerals that you need to keep your body healthy.  That is, you can’t get the necessary amount unless you take about 50 supplements each day.

Crash diets are a waste of time.  They may work for a few days, but after a while the damage you’ve done to your body is going to catch up to you.  What happens when you go on a crash diet is your body goes into starvation mode.  This means that it slows down all of its processes in order to conserve energy.  Thus, your body’s metabolic rate must slow down in order to accomadate this reduction in calories.

So what happens when you inevitably go back to eating more calories?  Well, you gain weight of course.  The worst problem then becomes that your metabolic rate will be so low that it will take a long time and a great deal of effort to get it back to where it was.  That will mean that you will likely not only put back on the weight that you lost, but you will also put on even more weight on top of that!  What’s worse is that it will then become harder to lose the weight because you are starting from a lower metabolic rate.

This is truly bad news for those on a crash diet.  If you’ve been on one in the past, you’ve probably experienced those problems.  If you’re thinking of going on a crash diet, hopefully this article will be enough to make you think again.  You may make bigger weight loss gains short-term, but it will not last and you will only make actually healthy weight loss more difficult.

One more point about crash diets is that a lot of the weight that you lose will be muscle and water weight.  As a result, you may not actually look the way you want even if you drop the weight that you want.  You may actually end up looking physically ill.  I’ve seen it many times before and it’s not a pretty site.

So take the time out now and get started on a healthy weight loss program.  Be patient and be consistent.  Make those necessary lifestyle changes now so that everything becomes much easier later.

Half of weight loss is 200% mental.  In all honesty, once you learn the stuff it takes to achieve weight loss success, the rest is simple.  In all brutal honesty, simple does not alway mean easy and it certainly does not in the case of weight loss.

Healthy weight loss is not achieved easily.  Healthy weight loss requires a great deal of hard work.  It requires time, effort, and sacrifice.  But then again, doesn’t everything worth achieving require these things.  As I’ve told many people many times, do not look for the easy way out when it comes to weight loss because you will never find it.  Looking for the easy way out is a waste of time and effort that could be applied to doing the things that actually will bring about weight loss success.

This commitment of time and effort requires discipline and mental fortitude.  Few people ever find this mental fortitude, which is why most people fail at their weight loss attempts.  Furthermore, few people even acknowledge the need for mental fortitude to reach their weight loss goals.  Most people think they can just show up at the gym and eat a salad every now and then and they will be alright.  Most people think they will have no problem committing to their program long term…this time.

How often do you hear “this time will be different”?  How often do you say this?  Well, what’s different about this time?  Have you worked on your mindset so that you will conquer all obstacles in your way?  Have you worked on your mental toughness to get through those days when you feel like taking a break from your weight loss program?

These are all things you must think about.  You must plan ahead and you must take the time out to develop a strong mental approach.  If you don’t, it will eventually come back to haunt you.  So toughen your mind and make this the time you really do achieve long-term success from your weight loss efforts.

When it comes to healthy weight loss, it is not nearly enough to just exercise.  You must also eat properly to have a chance at success.  This is not meant to scare you, nor is it meant to overwhelm you, rather this is a simple fact that most people completely ignore.

It amazes me how many people work out hard for an hour or so everyday and then hit up McDonald’s for lunch.  The philosophy “I worked it off in the gym” just does not work in the real world.  You can burn some extra calories through exercise, but you are throwing all that away if you continue to eat garbage.  Sorry, but that’s the reality.  Working out does not earn you the right to eat however you want, that is unless you want to stay in your current physical condition and put your health at risk.

Similarly, you can not expect to achieve healthy weight loss if you simply eat right and do not exercise.  How do you expect to build muscle and improve you metabolism if you do not exercise?  How do you expect to improve your physical condition if you do not exercise?  You can’t expect either of these things because they simply cannot happen without exercise.

To achieve healthy weight loss, not only to you need to eat right and exercise right but you also need to exercise at both high and low intensities.  You must take advantage of high intensity resistance training and interval training; and also low intensity resistance training and aerobic cardio.  The combination is what ensures success and what makes sure your body does not adapt to exercise.  The combination is necessary for true healthy weight loss.

One final thing that you must implement into your healthy weight loss routine is rest.  You must properly periodize your workouts and rest appropriately to make sure your body recovers from the stress of exercise and responds optimally to your efforts.  Sleep 6-8 quality hours each night will also help with recovery and aid in your weight loss goal achievement.

Some people just do cardio to lose weight.  Others simply eat right.  However, the people who actually achieve lasting healthy weight loss success are the ones who exercise using different training methods, eat right, and rest properly.  The combination of all these factors is not an option if you want to be successful when it comes to healthy weight loss, it is necessary.  Don’t slack in any of these areas.  Focus all of your efforts on the ultimate prize.

I’m often asked by vegetarians about what they can eat in order to achieve healthy weight loss.  This is due to the fact that I generally recommend a large amount of protein in the diet and relatively low in carbohydrates.  Unfortunately, most quality protein foods are meats.  So, what can a vegetarian eat to get a good amount of protein with each meal?  Here are some options:

Fish and other seafood

Eggs

Dairy (don’t go overboard)

Plain yogurt

Nuts

Legumes (beans, peas, etc.)

Protein supplements

There you can see that there are a number of options available to you for protein intake if you are a vegetarian.  Be creative and plan ahead.  Once you get used to making certain meals, you will have no problem following a relatively high protein diet even if you don’t eat meat.  Yes, healthy weight loss is very possible for vegetarians (even Vegans).

The whole point in my starting the School of Weight Loss was to educate you on healthy weight loss principles.  Unfortunately, I’ve found that most people who try to achieve a significant amount of weight loss do not go about it in a healthy manner.

In order for one to achieve healthy weight loss, it is necessary to combine exercise, a healthy diet, and proper rest so that the body continues to function optimally throughout the process.  The goal of healthy weight loss is to clean the body of unwanted substances while improving overall physical condition.

Some things that can be achieved with healthy weight loss include a drop in body fat, a lowering of LDL (bad) cholesterol, a rise in HDL (good) cholesterol, a drop in blood pressure, strengthening of the heart, cleaning of the blood and arteries, improved function of all organs, cleaning and reparation of the colon and intestines, and much more.  Healthy weight loss is clearly not just about a drop in the number on the scale.  Rather, it is about an overall improvement in your life.

Therefore, no 30-day diet can achieve healthy weight loss.  No pill can do this.  No abdominal machine or any gimmick can bring about the changes needed.  Healthy weight loss can only be achieved through the development of a healthy lifestyle.  This is quite possibly the most important thing that anyone can tell you when it comes to helping you achieve your weight loss goals.

Do not look for the easy way out.  The easy way will not get you what you want.  The easy way will result in certain eventual failure.  The easy way may bring temporary change, but will end up a waste of time and may cause more harm than good.  Forget about the easy way.

The best way is lifestyle change.  Do not just settle for temporary weight loss.  Strive for healthy weight loss and a better life!

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of the relationship between your weight and your height.  The theory behind it is that if your weight is high relative to your height, that indicates a health risk.  However, it is largely regarded now in the fitness community that calculating BMI is mostly a waste of time.

The only usefulness of BMI is in extreme cases.  BMI is useful for identifying an obese individual who needs to lose weight immediately to avoid serious health risks.  In this instance, BMI can be used to show the severity of the person’s problem and indicate how much weight loss is needed to get down to a healthy level.

Other than that, for your average individual, I would throw BMI completely out the window.  As an example of its uselessness, when I was in my peak physical condition a little less than a year ago, I was 5′9″ and 183 pounds.  This results in a BMI of 27, which is right in the middle of the overweight category.  I believe I can even go up to 190 pounds by adding more muscle mass without increasing body fat and still look and feel in great shape.  This would raise my BMI to 28, while 30 is considered obese.

Just for kicks, I went and calculated the BMI of the top three running backs in the National Football League this season.  The results: Adrian Peterson 28.6 (overweight), Michael Turner 35 (obese), and DeAngelo Williams 32 (obese).  So, apparently two of the top three running backs in the NFL are obese, while the other is overweight.  See a problem with this?  These guys are some of the best athletes in all of sports.  In fact, I’d be willing to bet that there are a few world-class sprinters who are “obese”.

The reason for this absurdity is that BMI does not take body fat % into account.  The people I mention above have a very high amount of lean muscle mass with relatively little fat mass.  This gives them a high BMI, while they are actually in excellent physical condition.

So, do not waste too much time worrying about your BMI unless you are in poor shape and fall into the obese category.  Even so, just worry about dropping body fat in a healthy manner while preserving muscle mass.  Your BMI may not drop as quickly as your fat does, but you will be much happier and healthier.

Just for the sake of completeness, the formula for calculating BMI is as follows:

weigh in kg / height in m^2

or

weight in lbs * 703 / height in inches^2

After procrastination, the second biggest killer of weight loss programs is inconsistency.  So many people start off a weight loss program with great intentions, only to never realize those intentions due to a lack of consistent effort.  It is not enough to start out strong and then fade for a while and then pick back up again later.  Not with weight loss, anyway.  Your effort must be strong all the time if you want to reach your goals and achieve lasting success.

Taking one giant step forward and two small steps backward will never get you to your goal.  Keep an eye on what you want and make sure you are constantly progressing, even if all of your steps are baby steps.  I would rather see someone lose one pound of fat every week for six months than see someone lose two pounds of fat every week for two months and then gain one pound of fat every week for four months.  The first person will have lost 26 pounds of fat.  The second person will have lost nothing in the end.

It’s a shame, but it happens all the time.  Remember the old saying, “slow and steady wins the race”.  Too many people have the attitude that they just want to get the race over with.  That simply does not work when it comes to healthy weight loss.  You must take the steps necessary to change your body into a healthy fat-burning machine.  Once you do this with a consistent effort, everything becomes much easier and you will be much happier.

If you are starting a weight loss program today or are making some kind of reaffirmation toward your weight loss program today, then please make a commitment for the long run.  Do not allow yourself to stray off the path because, once you are off, it is much more difficult to get back on.  Take the straight path toward your goals, as the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  My mother, being a math teacher, would be proud of me for that line.  Now go make yourself proud and be consistent with your weight loss efforts.

Perhaps the biggest killer of weight loss progress is the evil giant known as procrastination.  Putting things off longer and longer is one way to delay progress.  Imagine you started you weight loss program one month ago and lost two pounds of fat per week.  Right now you would be eight pounds lighter.  I’m sure you would take that.

Now imagine you had started a year ago and had lost just one pound of fat per week.  It doesn’t sound like much, but right now you would be 52 pounds lighter.  Although you may not really need to lose that much weight right now, I’m sure you get my point.  When it comes to weight loss, procratination is deadly.

So, why wait?  Get started today.  Get started right now.  Do not wait for Monday.  Do not wait for the beginning of the month or after your birthday or any day but today.  The best time to start a weight loss program is always right now.  Tell your friends and/or family to start right now with you.  If you want to lose weight, do not wait for it to fall off by itself because that will not happen.  I know you probably do not want to put in all the hard work, but you are going to have to eventually, so why not get it over with.  The hardest part is getting started.  Break that mental barrier and get in the game.  Once you start seeing some results, you will build momentum and be thankful that you started when you did.

Even if you have already started a weight loss program, do not wait if you are thinking about taking it up a notch.  If you see an idea on my website or somewhere else (as long as it is a good idea), do not wait to put it into action.  If it is going to help your weight loss efforts, then it is worth doing right now.  The longer you put it off, the harder it will be and the less likely you will be to put it into action.  This means that the longer you put things off, the less likely you will be to achieve your weight loss goals.

Kill that evil procrastination demon and get started on whatever will help you lose weight right now.  Remember, you will be grateful that you did this once you start seeing results.