Most diets leave a person battling with hunger yet the most effective way to lose weight should not involve any struggle with hunger.

The body needs food to survive and one of the ways the body makes sure that it gets this fuel is through the feeling of hunger. For most people in developed countries, not having enough food is not a problem. Instead, people are more concerned with losing weight and controlling their eating. The body has a fine balance, however, and eating too little by ignoring hunger can lead to gaining weight rather than losing it. This is often what is behind the yo-yo pattern of weight loss and regaining typical of most dieters. Successful weight loss is not a matter of how little a person can eat, but how they balance their eating.

Not only does the body’s metabolism slow down if it’s not fed enough (leading to a body that stores fat readily and burns it more slowly), but ignoring hunger to the point of excess leads to out of control eating. Almost everyone has experienced the feeling of ravenous hunger at one time or another and its resulting feeding frenzy. A slower metabolism and overeating spell weight gain, not loss. Clearly, careful care of hunger is important in any plan for losing weight.

Being active and eating right are essential for losing weight successfully but there are also other simple things a person can do to make the job easier.
Losing weight successfully involves a lifestyle change. Getting on a diet that can’t be followed for the rest of one’s life is not only not going to do anything to change lifestyle, but because most diets fail, it wastes time that could be better used doing things that work.

There are hundreds of simple and easy things a person can do that add to weight loss success and that work at changing a person’s lifestyle to one that is fat burning.

Ten Easy Gems For a Fat-Burning Lifestyle

1. Make gradual changes – People who use a gradual approach to making weight and lifestyle changes tend to be more successful at making the changes permanent. Rapid weight loss as well as taking steps that are too big with other behaviors can set a person up for failure by making them feel overwhelmed.
2. Keep the big picture in mind - People who aim at making lifetime changes instead of just going on a “diet” have been shown to keep the weight off more permanently. Striving for a healthy way of life rather than just to lose weight insures consistent, progressive, fat-burning changes.
3. Don’t fall for unrealistic diet plans and aids – There are plenty of “diets” to choose from. Wise people learn to bypass those that promise things that are impossible or improbable. “Diets” that have quirky names and advertise large amounts of weight loss in short periods of time are the type of diets that are best passed up.
4. Make lifestyle changes a priority - People who consider their weight loss and exercise goals important and make the behaviors that will accomplish these goals a priority, achieve their goals more quickly.
5. Don’t take advice from yo-yo dieters, instead seek advice from experts – Taking advice from people that are frequently going on and off diets and losing and regaining weight, is not a good idea. It’s better to observe someone who has been thin and fit for many years and seek expert advice.
6. Strive to eat more nutritiously – Feeding the body what it needs is not only good for health but also prevents overeating.
7. Eat enough calories and eat frequently – Under-eating slows metabolism resulting in a body that stores fat easily. People tend to get hungry about every three hours. That’s because the body performs best when given fuel frequently throughout the day so it’s best to listen to the body. If the body is hungry it needs to be fed.
8. Don’t eliminate carbohydrates - The body needs carbohydrates to function effectively. Diets that eliminate carbohydrates usually end in compulsively eating the same carbohydrates that were eliminated and ultimately, regaining the lost weight.
9. Eat the last meal of the day at least 3-4 hours before bedtime - Metabolism slows down later in the day. By eating the last meal early more of the calories consumed are burned off.
10. Increase activity and exercise – The most fat-burning weight loss tool available to everyone is exercise and general movement. People who exercise on a regular basis and are active tend to be more successful with weight loss than those that don’t use exercise as part of their weight loss plan.

These are only a few of the many easy tips that help people be successful at losing weight. Since gradual progress is more effective than quick weight-loss goals, starting with the ten weight loss gems above is a good place to start. More weight loss gems follow.

Copyright Lavinia Rodriguez. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

There are effective and simple ways to make the body burn more fat and boost metabolism.

Burning fat effectively requires an efficient metabolism (the calories required for the body to perform all the bodily functions, including burning fat). Most people know that metabolism is something that varies among individuals, but they think there is nothing that can be done about changing it.

“I have a slow metabolism,” is a statement that some people make as an explanation for the difficulty they have managing their weight. However, everyone can boost their metabolism! Problem is few people know the simple steps they can take to achieve it.

The Best Formula to Boost Metabolism

* Engage in Aerobic Exercise-Aerobic exercise is any exercise that uses oxygen efficiently and lasts for about 30 minutes. A person is exercising aerobically if they are breathing deeply during the exercise but able to have a comfortable conversation with someone at the same time. There should not be any gasping for air. While this type of exercise uses calories, the real benefit of aerobic exercise is what it does to boost metabolism after the exercise is over. Metabolism is increased above a person’s baseline after they have finished exercising and it gradually slows back down to baseline hours later. By exercising aerobically every day or most days during the week, metabolism is boosted time after time creating an average level of metabolism higher than the original baseline. The end result is a net boost in metabolism rate.
* Build Muscle-The more muscle a person has, the more calories it takes to maintain that muscle. Therefore, a person can achieve an increase in metabolism by building muscle. Muscle resistance exercise such as lifting weights is effective in building muscle.
* Eat Frequently-Each time a person eats, their metabolism is boosted temporarily. If a person eats 2000 calories in two meals one day and 2000 calories in 5 meals another day, all other things being equal, they will have burned more calories on the day they ate the 2000 calories in 5 meals. This is one reason why skipping meals is counterproductive to losing fat.
* Move Around-The more a person moves around generally in their lives – aside from formal exercise – the higher their metabolism. Two people may be watching a television show together but one is getting up during commercials to do something or is performing a task while watching while the other is just sitting the entire time. The active person is burning more. When it comes to boosting metabolism saving steps is not the smartest strategy.

Just as there are things people can do to boost their metabolism, there are things that can slow it down. Some of these things are usually done with the intent of becoming leaner but, in the long-run, have the opposite effect.

Things That Can Slow Metabolism

* Stringent Dieting-Typical diets that are too restrictive with calories can cause metabolism to slow down.
* Being Sedentary-If the body isn’t doing much it won’t take many calories to maintain the inactive lifestyle. This results in a slower metabolism.
* Losing muscle mass-This can happen because of strict dieting, a lack of exercise and/or inactivity.
* Skipping meals, fasting, or going long periods without eating-When the body isn’t fed properly it has to do whatever it takes to survive. One of the things it can do is to lower its metabolism to save calories for more important functions until the danger is over.
* Yo-yo dieting-This type of “feast-to-famine” approach to managing weight is also counterproductive and can lower metabolism.

A person could inadvertently lower their metabolism instead of increasing it based on the choices they make. The best formula for boosting metabolism involves exercising and eating in the right ways.

Copyright Lavinia Rodriguez. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

What are the Most Effective Cellulite Control Methods?

It’s a fact – there is no cure for cellulite. However, there are proven ways of cellulite control that are realistic and won’t break the bank.

Cellulite is nothing more than fat under the skin which tends to look like cottage cheese primarily on the thighs and butt. There is no other substance feared and hated more by women. The desire to get rid of it is so strong that women will go to great financial and risk-taking lengths to be free of it. Billions are spent on products and treatment methods promising to make it disappear. Some of these products sound logical and others are down-right silly, but none of these get rid of cellulite. That’s the sad truth.

Since there is so much money to be made from products promising to get rid of cellulite, Americans will continue to be bombarded by advertisements pushing ineffective products and treatments. It’s up to the consumer to educate herself and not be vulnerable to such scams. The good news, however, is that by becoming an educated consumer there will no longer be wasted time trying things that don’t work. The time will be spent using effective methods of controlling the appearance of cellulite.

If Cellulite is Just Fat Why Does It Look Lumpy in Some Places and Not in Others?

Areas of the body where more fat tends to be deposited and where skin is thinner are where the fat will take on the appearance of cottage cheese. That is why it tends to appear mainly on thighs, butt, and stomach.

There are several factors that influence whether you will get cellulite or not. They are:

• Gender-More women than men get cellulite.
• Genetics-It tends to run in families.
• Fat-The more fat on the body overall, the more likely cellulite will show.
• Skin Thickness-The thinner the skin the more cellulite will show. Women and certain ethnic groups, in general, have thinner skin than others and are more prone to showing cellulite.
• Age-The older you get the more likely that cellulite will appear. This has to do with changes in the thickness of the skin as we age.

What are Some Ineffective Products and Treatments for Cellulite?

The numbers of products that are sold as cellulite treatments are numerous but here are a few:

• Massage-the argument is that cellulite is caused by poor circulation and massage will improve circulation.
• Topical creams-meant to “dissolve” cellulite.
• Vitamins, minerals and herbs
• Body wraps
• Spa treatments

Some products may give a temporary appearance of improvement due to plumping of the skin rather than an actual decrease in cellulite.

Neither liposuction nor Smartlipo is approved by the FDA for getting rid of cellulite. Despite any advertising or anecdotal claims to the contrary, there is no good science demonstrating that these expensive procedures are effective with getting rid of cellulite. To date, most doctors (including plastic surgeons) still recommend getting fit as the most effective way to control cellulite.

What are the Most Effective Ways to Control Cellulite?

Get fit. Gradually reduce overall fat, increase muscle mass through strength training, drink plenty of water, and eat healthily. It’s an inexpensive method and it doesn’t waste your time. There’s no magical cure for cellulite but by doing what works, you’ll also achieve other health and appearance benefits.

The Psychological Approach to Dealing with Cellulite

• Accept that cellulite is just fat.
• Think about the factors such as age, gender, and heredity that may be involved in your problem with cellulite.
• Learn how to best lose overall fat and tone muscles so that you can reduce cellulite in a direct way.
• When you’ve done all you can do sensibly, move on with life. Keep working on getting fit and have fun. Don’t let cellulite get in your way.

© 2009 Lavinia Rodriguez

Obesity is officially an epidemic in the United States.  Today I viewed a webcast from Washington, D.C. about the obesity epidemic.  It looks like in the near future we will be experiencing many cultural changes in order to help rid our country of this dangerous and costly epidemic.  Some of these changes may include banning transfats from restaurants, taxing unhealthy foods such as sodas, making healthy foods more available to the public and making healthy foods cheaper than unhealthy foods.

None of this would be necessary, however,  if our lifestyles had not changed so drastically in the past 30 or more years.  Today the average American is 23 pounds overweight.  Americans are more dependent on their cars to do even the simplest chore outside of their houses.  People have become more dependent on other people and machines to do things for them that people used to do themselves such as housecleaning and car washing.  Preferred pastimes, hobbies and recreation have become more sedentary activities.

It’s only been 38 years since I was in high school.  Due to an upcoming reunion I was looking through old pictures of my classmates and noticed something interesting.  No one in my school was obese and I was hard pressed to find someone that would be considered overweight.

I’ve done many unscientific studies of the percentage of overweight people I find while going about my daily life  such as waiting in line for something.  In every instance in the past few years the majority of people I encounter are overweight or obese.  This is a drastic difference from when I was in high school.

What was different about my generation at high school age?  For one thing we were outside more than we were inside if we weren’t in school.  We walked a great deal.  We had no computers or computer games.  In addition, we had less fattening foods available to us.  It’s easy to manage weight with an environment like this.  We wouldn’t even need gyms and formal exercise anymore as life itself would take care of things.

What Can You Do About the Obesity Epidemic?

The government is going to institute changes in our society in order to combat the obesity epidemic but everyone can do something to start the ball rolling in their own lives.  Here are some tips for doing just that:

• Do chores around the house yourself.
• Walk as much as  possible.  Be creative.  You can probably walk to more places than you thought.
• Take the longest route when using foot power.
• Use a bike instead of the car whenever possible.
• If buying a house, buy a house with stairs if you’re able.
• Have more active get-togethers.
• Whenever possible, do it yourself.
• Wash your own car and do your own gardening.  It will take the same time that going to the gym will take, no more.
• Always choose the method that uses the most energy.
• Reduce consumption of processed foods.
• Shop primarily the outside aisle of grocery stores where the less processed foods are located.

These are just some suggestions.  With some thought and research many more can be discovered.  The government can help with the obesity epidemic but each individual has the most control over changing their lifestyle to one that is naturally fat burning.

Do you want to add more fat burning to your weight management plan?  Add more sex.  Sex and weight loss – that’s the ticket!

Here’s why sex and weight loss go together:

• Sex burns more calories or fat.
• Sex is calming which means less emotional eating and stress that leads to more eating.
• Sex uses muscles and strengthens them.  The more muscle you have the more you can eat without gaining fat and the more increase  metabolism.
• Sex is fun and pleasurable.  This reduces stress even more.
• Sex helps your relationship.  This indirectly helps you lose weight because relationship stress can easily lead to more eating.
• Sex takes time and distracts you from eating.

In and of itself sex will not make you thin for a lifetime but together with other fun and sensible fat burning tools, it can help you be more successful with your goals for a fit and healthy life.  Sex is great for many things and fat burning is one of its benefits.  Sex and weight loss-nice combo. Now go enjoy yourself.