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.

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

The Realities of Belly Fat and What can be Done About It

Many people buy into gimmicks for losing belly fat without understanding the basics of how belly fat can be eliminated.

Why is belly fat so difficult to get rid of? Can belly fat be spot-reduced? Can diet alone get rid of belly fat? Can abdominal exercises alone make fat around the belly go away? These are questions that are asked by millions wanting to be free of the unattractive fat around their middle. Belly fat can be gotten rid of but having a good understanding of what it is and how the body works can prevent a lot of frustration and failure when attempting to slim the gut.

What About All Those Products that Say They Eliminate Belly Fat?

One thing is abundantly clear. Products that claim to single out belly fat through a particular exercise or pill don’t work. An indication of this can be noted in the small print that recommends one go on a diet and general exercise program while being on the product. It’s the general exercise and diet that actually causes the fat loss. Unfortunately, people who continue ignoring their previous failures with these types of products and fool themselves into thinking that the next product will be the panacea, are wasting a lot of time when they could be doing what works even if it takes effort and time. It’s the tortoise and the hare story all over again. The tortoise always wins.

Is it True That I Can Get My Body to Spot Reduce Belly Fat?

There’s no such thing as spot reducing. The body burns fat all over and genetics has a lot to do with how an individual’s body burns fat. For some people it seems that their upper body loses weight faster than their lower body. Some women lose weight in their breasts more rapidly than around their waist. There are also some general gender differences in how fat is lost. Women tend to hang on to fat around their thighs and hips. Men tend to find the same problem with their guts. It’s a myth, however, that you can decide where you want to lose the fat and then come up with particular exercises that will do just that.

If I Can’t Spot Reduce, How Do I Lose the Gut?

Belly fat is most successfully reduced through consistent aerobic exercise, muscle resistance exercise and a balanced diet. No surprise there but it truly is what works. Of course, as previously mentioned, the belly fat is being lost along with other fat around the body. It’s general fat loss.

So How Do I Start to Lose Belly Fat?

It’s definitely possible to lose belly fat. What a person has to understand is that in order to lose it and do it permanently, you have to do the following:

1. Accept the reality of how the body works and how fat is burned.
2. Surrender to the fact that there is no such thing as spot reducing no matter what anyone tells you.
3. Look at your body as a whole – striving for overall fat reduction and muscle toning.
4. Start a frequent (at least five days per week) aerobic exercise plan of your choice to burn fat all over.
5. Start a muscle building and toning exercise program that you will do two to three days per week which will work on building muscle overall for more fat burning and to tone abdominal muscles.
6. Finally, you have to make your exercise program a priority and keep it fun.

By embracing the realities of belly fat and being willing to be the tortoise who consistently works even if it’s at a slower pace than everyone else, the race will be won but permanently.

Previously published in www.Suite101.com June 16, 2009

Why do men lose weight faster than women?

In general, men can lose fat faster than women because they have more muscle mass than women. The more muscle mass one has the higher the metabolism because muscle requires more calories to be maintain by the body than fat. Rather than saying, “That’s not fair,” however, it’s better to focus on what one has control over. A person can increase their muscle mass by being more active and doing specific exercises (such as weight resistance exercises) that will increase muscle mass and, therefore, metabolism. When a person has more muscle,  they can eat more without gaining fat and weight can be lost faster.

Instead of just asking why men lose weight faster than women it makes more sense to ask what you can do to start burning more fat.  It’s a more productive question.

If given the choice between weighing more but being leaner, or weighing less and being fatter, most people would choose the former.  It’s a wonder then, why so many people choose fat over muscle time and  again through the choices they make in losing weight.

The TV show, The Doctors, recently reported that a person’s metabolism doesn’t slow down naturally (as many people think). Instead, it slows down because people lose muscle mass due to decreased activity through the years.

Yet, the most common weight loss strategy for most dieters is that of a crash diet minus exercise.  If you want to make your body one that puts on fat easily and burns it slowly, that is the ticket for you.  Keep using that method and through the years you’ll have a perfect fat storing machine due to a slower metabolism.

When you don’t eat enough calories to perform the activities that your body naturally performs (e.g. breath, walk, yawn), as well as those that you require of it (e.g. knitting, running, cooking), your body will slow down it’s metabolism so that it can continue to do its job.  Ultimately, that means a general slowing down of the ability to burn fat the more one engages in drastic dieting and little exercise.

It doesn’t take much energy to maintain a nice, big storage of fat but it does take energy to maintain muscle mass.  This means that it takes calories to keep the muscle mass you have.  The more muscle you have, the more calories it takes to keep it and the more calories you can eat without storing fat. This is what metabolism is all about.

Fantastic quick weight loss promises may be hard to resist but resist you must if you want to have the leanest body you possibly can have.  Just let others continue down the road to more fat, less muscle, and less health through crash dieting.  Remember the saying, “If your friends jump off a bridge, would you jump, too?” Be an individual and use what works.  It may be slower, but you’ll win in the end while they will continue on the cycle of yo-yo dieting.  The tortoise usually wins over the hare.  Is making the decision of muscle vs. fat becoming easier?

Becoming the least fat person you can be starts with stopping the drastic dieting and focusing on an increase in muscle. Forget about the actual weight number on the scale.  It’s useless.  It tells you nothing about how much of the weight is due to firm muscle or flabby fat.

A lean, fit person weighs more than it appears they weigh.  That’s a good thing.  All that muscle has weight – what do we expect?  Do you want to be healthy and lean?  Dare to weigh more- increase muscle and increase metabolism. In the contest between muscle vs. fat, muscle should always be the winner.