Weight Loss Products and Programs

Almost without doubt, you know, or have known, someone who can lose weight through will power alone. For them, they can apply the time and effort needed to do any needed independent research, and apply that knowledge.

However, there are those of us who need a helping hand and some guidance and support.

Most of those in this group have questions that need to be answered.

The first, and perhaps the most important, might be: Since there are so many fad diets (dozens, even?), exercise programs and equipment, and often misleading information, what are the facts about, weight loss, diet, and exercise?

It can be difficult for those without a background in science to tell fiction from fact – to separate the chaff from the wheat. But with persistence, and the application of simple common sense, it is possible to find reliable information from multiple sources. Remember, the studies you’ll come up with are not just isolated pieces of information. You’ll find that they either contradict or support other studies. When you find multiple, serious sources in agreement, you can reasonably give positive weight to them.

You will also want to find experienced and knowledgeable nutritionists and people at a gym you might join. Reasonable people can tell the difference between those that are offering genuine support and guidance, versus those just trying to sell a product or service. Certainly, people should be compensated for their services, but it should be for providing something of value.

When you do find the right nutritionist or gym, that will provide the needed guidance and support, you can also expect to receive additional, perhaps unexpected, benefits. When your progress becomes difficult, they can provide you with reminders of why you are on this path, offering encouragement. A long term program can become difficult when the progress isn’t as fast as one would like.

A wise exercise and diet program needs to one that involves lifestyle changes. This helps you both lose weight, and keep it off, and helps you achieve and keep a fit and healthy body. The counseling that can be provided by nutritional and fitness professionals can also be a great help. They can help you eliminate ingrained bad habits, replace them with good habits, and offer the needed encouragement to make them stick.

Since your progress will need to be monitored, you will need to discover what tools and tests will do that. Consider such things as food charts, calorie guides, nutritional guides, and a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator.

Some of these can be as inexpensive and simple as a mirror and tape measure, or a scale. Some may include pulse and heart rate monitors, a treadmill, and a body fat percentage measuring device.

Make your judgements regarding any program you may be considering by considering the success rate others have experienced. Be aware of hype. Consider the success of others, along with whether they experienced any negative side effects.

Making these considerations, and others you may think of on your own, are worth the effort in considering and selecting the right weight loss program for you.

As the science of weight loss has become more and more commercial (evidenced by all the weight loss and weight loss equipment ads seen on TV and in print media), several myths have become focused around the aspect of weight loss. It seems that we all want a safe and simple solution that involves no exercise of will-power. Well, maybe one day one will appear. But, at this time, there’s really no magic cure.

But, there are several weight loss myths that need to be examined.

Perhaps you’ve seen or read this: Lose weight by eating ice cream. The idea behind this is that your body requires energy to warm up the cold ice cream, so you’re using calories to do this.

Well, certainly, warming the ice cream requires energy. It even requires energy/calories to digest it. Energy is used in any activity the body undertakes. That’s just a physiological fact. Consider the actual facts regarding this myth. Since ice cream is normally high in both sugar and fat, you consume more calories in eating the ice cream than in warming and digesting it. Sorry, you still have to watch the desserts.

This same false theory is sometimes used with ice water. Since the water has no calories, it beats eating ice cream. But – the amount of energy required to bring the water up to the temperature of your body is considerably less than with ice cream. Thus, not much effect on weight loss.

There are times you may feel hungry, when, in fact, you may just be thirsty, due to slight dehydration. Consuming water can lessen the feeling of hunger. and you’ve consumed less calories than with other alternatives, such as orange juice or soda.

Maybe you’ve run across this myth: Adding one pound of muscle causes 50 more calories to be burned by the body. Besides not even being true, this doesn’t mean much. What is meant by ‘50 more calories’? Over what period of time? Your body burns approximately 70 calories in one hour, just by sitting. You’re consuming calories just to pump blood, maintain cells and temperature, etc.

What one pound of additional muscle will do is burn no more than 12 calories in an hour. Adding muscle can be good, because a high level of effort is required in vigorous activities like weight training or running. Even less rigorous exercise, like walking, is beneficial. However, this does more muscle toneing than muscle building. In a one hour workout, the average male will consume approximately 350 calories.

The body’s metabolic rate can be raised by about 250 calories a day through vigorous exercise over not exercising at all. Brisk walks will also raise the metabolic rate, but not as much. A good idea would be to have a workout every other day, and take a walk on the other days. The walking will keep muscles stretched and toned, and will help prevent the buildup of lactic acid, a cause of sore muscles.

Now for the reality. If you consume more calories than your body uses, the extra calories are stored by the body as fat. The stored fat is then used by the body when you need more energy than has been provided. This helps consume the stored fat in order to provide the additional energy. This causes less fat in the body, leading to weight loss.

That reality is most likely to be achieved through the time honored combination of exercise and the right diet.