Top 5 Award Winning Weight Loss Strategies

1.  PLAN to go to the Gym Every Single Day

The key word here is plan.  By planning a trip to the gym or structured exercise such as jogging, walking , biking outside every day will help you establish the most important routine for your health.  We all know the path to hell was paved with good intentions but exercise is a blaring exception.

Most people don't want to spend every waning moment of their spare time in the gym and they shouldn't.  If the daily plan calls for exercise you will be far more likely to exercise than if you didn't plan on it.

Since physical activity triggers the release of endorphins which give you a "runner's high" your body will become physically addicted to the great feeling you get after you exercise.  If you plan to exercise every single day you will feel guilty every day you don't exercise.

This is good since life happens and a trip to the gym is not possible every single day.  You will find that once you have the daily gym routine set in your schedule and miss a day, you will exercise much more vigorously the following day.

Once you get to this point, exercise is a part of your life and you are on your way to achieving your weight loss goals slowly and effectively without regaining the weight.  The goal here is to lead a fitness lifestyle which will help you stay in shape all year round and lead you to a long healthy life. 

Follow the next 4 award winning weight loss strategies and you will slowly mold your lifestyle to an optimally healthy one.

2.  Everything in Moderation...Even Exercise... Create a Balanced Lifestyle

"Everything in moderation" has been said so many times you're probably sick of hearing it.  There is a reason why it is said so often, and that is because it is very true.

Planning to exercise is one thing and exercising every day is another.  If you actually exercise every day and continue without rest, you will develop overtraining syndrome.  Overtraining syndrome is bad for your health and will derail your exercise program for some time.

Proper rest, recovery and nutrition as well as exercise is necessary for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle in general.

Crash diets are not the solution.  They may be a temporary solution but life is a marathon not a sprint.  Take a slow approach to your nutrition and cut excess fats out of your diet.

The demonization of carbohydrates in the past 10 years is completely unwarranted.  Fat has over twice the amount of calories per gram than carbs or protein and requires the least amount of calories to metabolize.

Your diet should contain fibrous grains along with fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.  The less fat the better.  Still you must balance your diet with some dietary fat.  It is best to obtain this fat from healthy fats such as seeds, nuts and fish oils.

There are countless books, experts and philosophies which deal with this subject.  The best method is to find out which works best for you through trial and error.  Once you find balance in your exercise, nutrition, rest, work, and social life you will slowly, steadily and naturally begin to improve you health, lose weight, tone up and feel like a million bucks.

3.  CONSUME A Lot More Water

We may sound a little hypocritical when we stress balance and moderation and now tell you to consume a lot more water but it is water and the key word this time is consume.

You have been probably head dozens of times to drink 8 cups of water a day.  This is an okay general guideline but it means little in the grand scheme of things.

Do you eat when you are hungry or do you eat when you are thirsty?  Think about this one for a second.

It is common today for people to be chronically dehydrated.  We often confuse our dehydration with hunger which is the reason some of us eat so much.

If you were thirsty and only had potato chips to quench your thirst, how many chips do you think it would take?  What about a hamburger and fries?

The point is, we do not get enough water through our food.  This is usually true even if we consume the USDA recommended 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  The other food and fluid choices such as caffeine and salty foods dehydrate our bodies.

Since our body is over 60% water, a dehydrated body does not function well which can lead to a slow metabolism, fatigue, headaches among other problems and annoyances.

What to do about it?  Eat and drink more water and avoid excess caffeine.  Eat more water by consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables.  Drink more than 8 glasses of water a day.  It is helpful to get in the habit of carrying around a water bottle everywhere you go.

A common response to the whole drinking more water thing is.  "I can't drink more water, I'd have to use the restroom every 10 minutes."  If this is the case you have just proved yourself chronically dehydrated.

If you start to consume more water, your body will get used to it and within about a week, your bathroom frequency will be back to normal even though you consume far more water.

4.  Save Eating Out for Social Gatherings

If you eat out at any restaurant you can be rest assured one thing.  There will be significantly more calories in your meal than if you prepared food at home.

Restaurants stay in business because their food tastes great not because it is low in calories or healthy.  Restaurant food usually tastes so good because of added calories.

Unfortunately, the added calories usually come in the forms of sugars and fats.  Possibly the greatest cause of the obesity epidemic in this country is the over consumption of the combination of sugars and fat.

Meals with a combination of sugar and fat and a disproportionately low protein content is the poster child of weight gain in the United States.

When fat and carbohydrate is consumed together without protein the body enters the high blood sugar, high insulin fat storing mode.  Rather than go to your local lunch spot to get your high calorie excess meal why not make something at home and bring it to work/school.

If you have the habit of eating out alone, you will be highly likely to constantly eat excess calories and gain weight.  It will become second nature and you will not enjoy the food you prepare at home any more.

This will cause you to rely on the high calorie restaurant food.  You may currently find yourself in this predicament.  It simply takes knowledge, motivation and will to change your eating habits for the better.

Since eating out is part of our social culture it should not be avoided.  If you save your trips to the restaurant for social gatherings you will find you will get more satisfaction when you eat out, enjoy your home cooked food more, and eat less calories and lose weight in the process.

5.  Reward Yourself

A crash diet usually means depriving yourself of what you are used to.  The reward strategy is opposite of the deprivation of crash diets.

If you have adapted the previous four strategies you should be at the point where everything is running smoothly.  You crave less bad foods, you have tons more energy and feel great.

At this point you need something to keep you going and to make your new healthy, fitness lifestyle fun.  Here is where rewards come in.

Make it routine to treat yourself every so often.  You just worked out 7 days in a row for the first time in years?  Treat yourself to a massage.  You just ran 5 miles in less than 30 minutes for the first time?  Go get some of the dessert you've been craving for months.

It doesn't have to be something big.  You know the little things which you try to avoid which may be as simple as Jamba Juice.  If you treat yourself once in a while to the forbidden pleasures of a healthy lifestyle you will be less likely to make a 180 and form unhealthy habits out of the forbidden pleasures.

If you follow these 5 easy strategies you will not to make any drastic, uncomfortable changes to lose weight only to gain it back and repeat the cycle.  Implement these simple strategies and without trying you will begin losing those unwanted pounds over time and in the process become more healthy and have more strength, energy and stamina.

We promised award winning weight loss strategies and we meant it.  The award is YOU will never have to deal with gimmicky fad diets or weight loss programs again and you will get in the best shape of your life without even trying.

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