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Sorting the wheat from the chaff in weight loss information: what’s credible?

With the holidays upon us, there are millions of people looking to skinny down before loading up on all the goodies to be had at this time of year. You tell yourself if you can lose ten pounds, you can appear more suave or sexy as you make the rounds of parties and holiday events. There are more weight loss programs, pills and advice available than you could possibly try in a lifetime. When you go looking for weight loss information, how do you know what’s hype and what works? Weight loss forums get real busy this time of year. After the holidays, you’re back to bemoan the fact that the weight’s back and now what?? Everybody has their two cents to contribute.

Some of the more institution-like websites that deal with weight loss information are a bit stodgy and dry. This information, while for the most part credible, is plenteous, to the point where you begin to feel like digesting it all might take months. You’ll also find caveats galore. “Don’t do this if you’re on a salt restricted diet” or, “if you’re genetically disposed to …”, leaving you thinking you need a battery of tests performed to distinguish the do’s from the do not’s. Unless you can and want to spend a few months figuring out your own custom weight loss program, this type of weight loss information may not be news you can use right now. Credible, but maybe TMI for your immediate needs.

There’s no shortage of weight loss information books, from chic and trendy programs to scholastic tomes. The academic books, written by people with degrees in nutrition, contain accurate information. The trendy books – ones that read, ‘The (insert now-household name) Diet’ would not have become household names if they didn’t work for some people. Therein lies the rub. What if you’re not one of those people? You might even have tried one of these in the past and found it did not work, even though your neighbor lost 20 pounds with that method. This type of weight loss information carries its own caveat, that being that it might not work, although the theory and science is credible.

Then there are the so-called ‘miracle’ diets and pills. Some are plain snake oil remedies, which don’t work for anyone. Others employ herbs like ephedra or hoodia, which, while they work, can be super dangerous to your health, used improperly. Ephedra is a powerful stimulant and is best avoided, except in very narrow circumstances and under strict medical supervision. Hoodia is a plant native to the Australian outback. The aboriginal tribes make use of it when making long treks through the desert, in search of food. It suppresses the appetite, for sure, but is not a recommended lifestyle. Any qualified herbalist will tell you that both herbs should be used with caution, if at all.

So, where do you find practical, accurate weight loss information?

What’s not often mentioned in any of these venues is that losing weight has a largely psychological component. This is why your neighbor lost 20 pounds on the X diet, while you gave it up after a month of fruitless effort. The psychological factor is key to your success. The bottom line is your motivation and counting calories. That’s all there is to it.

So here’s my two cents. Allow a week to prep up for the effort. Just like quitting smoking, you’ve got to mentally prepare yourself. List every reason you can think of that motivates you to lose weight. Nothing’s too silly. Stick your list on the frig or hide it in your purse. During this week, make a food diary which details every bit of food you ingest. No cheating. Add up the calories for each day and divide by seven. That’s your average current caloric intake. If your weight loss goal is one pound per week, deduct 500 calories from your average and plan your menus accordingly. Weigh yourself on the morning of day one. Exercise will naturally enhance reaching your objective. Be hard on yourself and stick with the program. Fewer calories equals weight loss. This is the common sense approach to weight loss information that works for you.

Now, where’s that LBD?

In this world of outward appearance being so important, when you get fit, you will naturally feel better about yourself. In feeling better, you will portray an outward glow that will draw others to you and they will be helpless but to feel happy after they’ve been in your presence.

As we all know, when someone says that they are going to get fit, they mean that they are going to lose weight. No one would oppose this. There are very few people, especially in the United States, that couldn’t afford to lose a few pounds. A trimmer figure will result in more heads being turned your way. Whether or not you’re in a committed relationship doesn’t matter, everyone enjoys being appreciated. It makes a person feel good and happy about themselves. That happiness is catching and makes others feel happy.
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If you have been successful at devising and sticking to a weight loss plan then you should share your plan and success with others who are striving to have the same success as you. There is nothing like motivation to encourage others to stick to it and succeed and if they see it working then they are more likely to be want to stick with a plan too and gain the same success in their life. Sharing and motivating each other is the number one reason why weight loss clubs such as weight watchers have such a high success rate, knowing you are not the only one out there who is struggling and needs to shed a pounds can make a huge difference just by giving the confidence a boost. So if you have been successful in your weight loss plan then what can you do to get it out there and share it with others, here are ideas to get you started.

Write a blog
The Internet is an excellent place to write a blog and it enables you to get your thoughts and ideas out there to millions of people throughout the world, there are many websites that now offer free blog space and this is ideal for getting your information out. A blog space can be thought of like an online diary, your space to share thoughts, feelings and ideas and you spread it by word of mouth all over the world. Use your blog space to share your successful weight loss plan and write down all that it took to get you where you are today in detail. You can include the plan you used along with exercise routines and menus that you followed along as well as your thoughts and feelings as you went through the plan to encourage people that dieting can work. Read the rest of this entry »