Weight Loss Wednesday

Successful Weight Loss: Top 10 Tips On What Works and Why
By Kathleen Goodwin, RD courtesy of The Diet Channel

For many people weight loss is a chronic endeavor. All too often the shedding of pounds is a temporary event followed by a steady regain of lost weight. Most popular diets are unsuccessful in the long run because they fail to address the multi-faceted nature of what successful, permanent weight loss entails. Luckily, research has revealed many invaluable strategies which can help increase your odds of permanent weight loss. While no single article can possibly cover this vast subject, we have provided links to excellent weight loss programs and books which are backed by clinical research, and can significantly help you in your quest. We also encourage you to browse through our hand-picked award links to learn more about the best strategies you can incorporate for long term weight loss success.

10 Strategies for permanent weight loss

1. Exercise is essential for weight loss
It's nothing new, but exercise is probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long term weight loss and weight loss maintenance. In order for exercise to be helpful in weight loss, you should strive for a minimum of five 30 minute sessions per week. The good news is that recent research has shown that three 10 minute sessions in a day are as good as one 30 minute session. This helps many in combating the old "no time for exercise" excuse. Be certain to find something you enjoy. You'll be more apt to stick with it. Try walking with a friend, joining an intramural sports league, participating in outings with a group like The Sierra Club, or trying some classes at your local gym. Once you give exercise a chance, you will begin to enjoy its positive benefits on your psyche as well; you will literally become "hooked."
Having trouble getting a workout in? Why not try one of these Diet Channel recommended programs:

15 minute boot camp workout
Power workout for busy executives
10 minute workout for busy moms

2. Weight loss and weight training
We chose to list this separately from the "exercise" category because of the significant weight loss benefits attached to weight training in and of itself. The basic equation is this: the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you will burn. This is why world class weight lifters must eat thousands of calories a day to maintain their weight. Muscle is active tissue, fat is not. Thus, muscle "burns" a significant number of calories each day for its own maintenance. In her book Strong Women Stay Slim, Miriam Nelson, a Tufts University researcher, showed that a group of women who followed a weight loss diet and did weight training exercises lost 44% more fat than those who only followed the diet. While aerobic activity can help burn calories, muscle's where it's at when it comes to giving your metabolism a significant daily boost even at rest.
Read Cardio and Strength Training: How do you create a balanced routine? to find out how best to pursue numbers 1 and 2 above in tandem.

3. Keep a diary for triggers that hinder weight loss
Keeping a food diary can be a huge asset in successful weight loss. Devote some time each day to record what you have eaten and how much, your hunger level prior to eating, and any feelings or emotions present at the time. A food diary can provide a large amount of self-awareness. It can identify emotions and behaviors that trigger overeating, foster greater awareness of portion sizes, and help you discover your personal food triggers. Study any patterns that emerge from your food diary and identify where you may be able to make more healthful changes. A food diary provides an added benefit of keeping you focused on and committed to your goals. Start keeping a food diary today by printing our food diary.

4. Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin
Many people become more successful at long term weight loss when their motivation changes from wanting to be thinner to wanting to be healthier. Change your mindset to think about selecting foods that will help your body's health rather than worrying about foods that will affect your body's weight. The Food Pyramid offers a basic outline of the types and amounts of food you should eat each day to give your body the nutrients it needs for optimal health.

5. Find out why you overeat
All too often overeating is triggered by stress, boredom, loneliness, anger, depression and other emotions. Learning to deal with emotions without food is a significant skill that will greatly serve long term weight control. The Solution, a book and national program developed by Laurel Mellin, RD, helps participants to identify their eating triggers and respond to them without food. A research study showed that the participants in this program demonstrated a better rate of long term weight loss maintenance than those who simply diet and/or exercise and don't address behavioral and emotional issues. Chronic over-eaters and "emotional eaters" can be significantly helped by learning new behavioral skills such as those Mellin presents. You can also seek help with behavioral and emotional eating issues from a licensed counselor or psychologist in your area.

6. Weight loss support: join a weight management group
A big key in long term weight control comes from receiving encouragement and support from others. You can check to see if groups such as Jenny Craig offer programs and resources in your areas. You may also wish to check with your local hospital to see if their registered dietitian conducts group weight loss programs.

7. Weight loss and portion control
With the advent of "super-size" meals and increasingly huge portions at restaurants, our concept of normal serving sizes is a distant memory. Be mindful of the amounts of food you consume at a sitting. When necessary, divide your food in half and ask for a take home bag. It is all too easy to be a "plate cleaner" even when served enormous portions. Learn to pay attention to your hunger level and stop eating when you feel comfortably full, not stuffed.

8: Lose weight slowly with small changes
Try to remember that "losing 15 pounds in two weeks" is nothing to celebrate. It is important to realize that the more quickly weight is lost, the more likely the loss is coming from water and muscle, not fat. Since muscle tissue is critical in keeping our metabolism elevated, losing it actually leads to a decrease in the amount of calories we can each day without gaining weight. Fat loss is best achieved when weight is lost slowly. Strive for a weight loss of no more than 1-2 pounds per week. One pound of weight is equivalent to 3500 calories. By making small changes like eliminating 250 calories a day from food and expending 250 calories a day from exercise, you can lose one pound (of mostly fat) per week. You can calculate how much time you need to exercise to burn 250 calories by clicking here. You can calculate your caloric needs by clicking here, and then subtract 250 from that number.

9. Eating slowly can lead to weight loss
Did you ever notice that thin people take an awfully long time to eat their food? Eating slowly is one method that can help take off pounds. That's because from the time you begin eating it takes the brain 20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. Fast eaters often eat beyond their true level of fullness before the 20 minute signal has had a chance to set in. The amount of calories consumed before you begin to feel full can vary significantly depending on how quickly you eat. So slow down, take smaller bites and enjoy and savor every tasty morsel.

10. Weight loss through eating less fat - but do it wisely
We've known for some time that limiting high fat foods in the diet can be helpful with weight loss. That's because fats pack in 9 calories per gram compared to only 4 calories per gram from proteins or carbohydrates. To many, the message to limit fats implied an endorsement to eat unlimited amounts of fat-free products. Just to clarify, fat-free foods have calories too. In some cases fat-free foods have as many calories as their fat laden counterparts. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Eating less fat will help you to lose weight. Eating less fat and replacing it with excessive amounts of fat-free products will not.

Pumps, Purses & Positivity,
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

Kitten Recommends......

As summer approaches, I’m finding myself thinking about my favorite things….books, books, books. I’m not a beach person, but like beach readers, I like to curl up with a good book. In my case though, it will be in a nice sunny air-conditioned room. An author that I met a few years ago has a new book coming out. Victoria Christopher Murray is the author of many books including the Jasmine Larson Bush and Divas series which is for teens. Her latest is entitled THE DEAL, THE DANCE, AND THE DEVIL. Here’s the synopsis:

Adam and Evia Langston had everything they ever wanted. They were in love, they had three wonderful children, and they'd worked hard and prospered financially such that they lived in a large home in a tony suburb, drove nice cars, wore designer clothes and enjoyed all the perks of their lucrative jobs. But Adam has lost his job, and the life they've been living now exists in dreams and empty wishes. Just as their life begins to crumble under the weight of financial pressures, Adam and Evia receive an offer valued at five million dollars which could be the answer to their prayers...if they are willing to meet its seemingly untenable terms.
A masterful storyteller, Victoria Christopher Murray weaves a tale that will ring just a little too true for many. Adam and Evia were living well. They did all the right things, even saving money for a rainy day. But when one rainy day leads to another and another, their savings dry up and the couple is faced a home mortgage bigger than they can handle, overdue bills, unpaid private school tuition and nursing home payments, family members with their hands out...financial scenarios all too common in today's recessionary environment.
How many people wish someone would drop five million dollars on them? Just what would they be willing to do to get that money? This is the pivotal question that Murray uses to explore spiritual truths about temptation, trusting God and most of all, the objectives of the Devourer, as described in many passages of the Bible but particularly John 10:10 and 1 Peter 5:8, which refer to the devil as one who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy as he walks about the earth. The story is reminiscent also of the age-old tale of Faust and its many retellings. Whether one subscribes to the Christian tenets or simply views it as a morality tale, THE DEAL, THE DANCE, AND THE DEVIL is a fast-paced page turner that will keep the reader guessing and wondering just how Adam and Evia could consider the deal, and then, after Murray twists the screws so tightly that they are nailed to a cross of their own, the reader will wonder how could they not.
THE DEAL, THE DANCE, AND THE DEVIL will leave many readers feeling unsettled and thinking of their own circumstances and just how much, or little, it would take for them to enter into their own devilish deal.

As I mentioned, I met this author a few years ago and she was very down to earth. She even runs online writing workshops for aspiring authors. I’ve enjoyed several of her other books like TEMPTATION, the first one that I read, JOY and THE EX-FILES. Her writing pulls you in and you care about the characters and wonder how would I handle that same situation. This new one sounds like excellent!

Kitten Heels
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

Unavailable?!!!!!

Ok, I have just had another birthday and I am feeling a bit more fierce than last year. My one dilemma is that I can’t find a guy to spend free time with.

Can someone answer me how is this possible in a city full of millions of people? Now I have guys in my life that are cool and I can hang out with but they are really unavailable to me. When I say this I mean that they come with a cost if things were moved in another direction pass the friend zone. They are either married, in situations, not mature enough, not looking for commitments and the biggest of all EMOTIONAL UNAVAILABLE.

What is a heterosexual woman to do? Now I don’t need a man, but dang I sure would like to have one around to provide that occasional ego boost and companionship for sure.

If it is true that you draw to you what you are…what does that mean for me? Or am I attracting these type of guys because unconsciously I really like being single? In all my heart of hearts I believe that I am ready to be in a relationship again but am I sending off other signals unconsciously. I meet more guys than women to befriend and yet I am only seen as the cool chick to hang out with.

What do you guys think? Provide some good feedback on this one. How can a women have many "good guys" in her life and none be available to her.

Chanel,
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women

I'm Inspired!!

At age 74, will you look as good as Ernestine Shepherd, the oldest competitive female bodybuilder?

PPP's Tip of the Week

Online Degrees - 5 Things to Consider by Chris Kale
courtesy of Yahoo!Education

Going back to school and considering your online education options? You're not alone. Over 5.6 million college students took at least one online course during the fall 2009 term, an increase of nearly one million over the previous year, according to the non-profit Sloan Consortium.

To put those numbers into context, nearly one out of three college students is currently enrolled in an online course or program, and those numbers are only expected to grow in coming years.

To help you make a decision about going to school online, we talked to college experts and compiled a list of 5 things to think about before you commit.

#1 - Accreditation

One of the most important factors to consider is whether a school that offers online programs is properly accredited, according to Brianna Bates, an information and accounts specialist at the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), a non-profit education association and accrediting agency in Washington, DC.

"We tell students to be very wary of accreditation claims," Bates says. "Just because a school says it is accredited doesn't mean it's true." Bates says it's not uncommon for so-called diploma mills to set up fake accrediting agencies with a phone number and voice mail message. She urges students to check with the Department of Education to see if the agency is approved by the U.S. government.

For a list of approved national and regional accrediting agencies, visit www.ed.gov.

#2 - Quality of Online Faculty

Every student knows that a good professor can mean the difference between a good and bad experience with a class.

Online programs are no different, so don't be shy about asking for a list of the working faculty and the classes they teach. Look up a faculty member's credentials and read testimonials from students on sites like RateMyProfessors.com.

"I am from the school of thought that any course or program with the right teacher can be conducted well online," says Sam Govea, executive dean of distance learning at Brookhaven College in Texas. "While some programs and courses that require hands-on clinicals or labs are more challenging to run 100 percent online, there are always solutions when a creative, engaging teacher gets involved."

#3 - Online Student Body

You can't get a real feel for an online school until you gain an understanding of its student body. Knowing who they are will help give you a sense for whether you and the school are a proper match.

Are you an older working adult who is thinking of returning to school? Knowing the average age of the student body may not make or break your decision but it could influence your thinking. After all, these students will become your peers and you will be interacting and networking with them.

Along those lines, be sure to ask schools for their average student's course load as well as graduation and job placement rates, says DETC's Bates. "By knowing those kinds of statistics you can get an idea for how many people write that first check and finish the program," she says.

#4 - Relevance of Curriculum

Some people go back to school online with the goal of furthering their careers. If that's the case for you, make sure any schools you're researching offer an online degree program in an area that matches your goals.

It's also important to make sure that it's a subject that's amenable to online learning, according to Govea, who oversees online learning at Brookhaven, a Dallas County Community College that offers 20 online programs and serves over 7,000 online students per year.

Govea says that Brookhaven's beginning computer classes, for example, are best taken in a face-to-face classroom setting, while more advanced computer classes can work well in an online environment.

#5 - Money Matters

It's never fun to discuss money but it's an important part of the college decision-making process.
Among online education's many selling points is that it sometimes comes with a cheaper tuition tag because the schools can operate more efficiently, with fewer buildings to maintain and utilities to pay. Plus, there are smaller charges, like an activities fee, that won't get added to your bill.

"If price is an issue for you, distance learning is a great alternative to a residential format," Bates says. But don't just assume that going to school online is cheaper. Compare various tuitions, and pay particular attention to extra charges like course fees that could come after you're enrolled.

Don't be afraid to ask these questions when it comes to your online education. Schools understand that every dollar counts when you're investing in your future.

To read the complete article click here.

Pumps, Purses & Positivity,
Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women