Phillips Health Care Newsletter

January;

The Beginning of  a New Year and the Time for Resolutions.

Weight Loss is one of the most common resolutions.

Shared Below are some

Weight Loss / Tips & Plans

From Shape Magazine

#1: Before you even begin to attack a weight-loss plan, it pays to remember this: You are not fat. You have fat. Losing weight isn't about blame or shame; it's simply another achievement to accomplish. 

#2: It's Not a Diet. It's a Lifestyle

Thinking of a diet as something you're on and suffering through only for the short term doesn't work. To shed weight and keep it off, you need to make permanent changes to the way you eat. It's OK to indulge occasionally, of course, but if you cut calories temporarily and then revert to your old way of eating, you'll gain back the weight quicker than you can say yo-yo.

#3: Use it to lose it. Research shows that one of the best predictors of long-term weight loss is how many pounds you drop in the first month. It makes sense: Immediate results are motivating. 

For that reason, nutritionists often suggest being stricter for the first two weeks of your new eating strategy to build momentum. Cut out added sugar and alcohol and avoid unrefined carbs.

 After that, ease small amounts of those foods back into your diet for a plan you can live with for the long term.

 #4: There's a Right Way to Exercise. Working out burns calories and fat and boosts your metabolism by building muscle. But those trying to lose weight are notorious for overestimating the number of calories they burn and underestimating the amount they take in. Unfortunately, your system is biologically programmed to hold on to extra pounds. That means when you start exercising, your body senses the deficit and ramps up its hunger signals, according to a review of weight-loss studies. If you're not diligent, you'll eat everything you burn and then some.     

Cardio gets all the exercise glory, but strength and interval training are the real heroes. They help you build lean muscle, which in turn increases your metabolism and calorie-burning ability. Current weight loss advice: Every week, strength-train two to three days. For the best results, also do three to five cardio sessions 

#5: Some people have a hard time losing weight because of hunger anxiety. To them, being hungry is bad—something to be avoided at all costs—so they carry snacks with them and eat when they don't need to.

Others eat because they're stressed out or bored. While you never want to get to the point of being ravenous (that's when bingeing is likely to happen), a hunger pang, a craving, or the fact that it's 3:00 p.m. should not send you racing for the vending machine or obsessing about the energy bar in your purse. Ideally, you should put off eating until your stomach is growling.

When you feel the urge to eat, ask yourself:   Am I angry or anxious, lonely or bored, or tired?

If you're still not certain, try the apple test. If you're truly hungry, an apple should seem delicious; if it doesn't, something else is going on," says Robin Frutchey, a behavioral therapist at Johns Hopkins University Weight Management Center. In that case, give yourself a pep talk instead of a snack. If hunger isn't the problem, food isn't the solution.