Simple and Easy Weight Loss Plan for Teenagers

Losing weight as a teen will depend a lot on your individual lifestyle and motivation. Being at a healthy weight is important as a teenager because not only will it make you feel better about yourself, it will also help you maintain your overall health throughout your lifetime. If you are concerned about your weight you should talk to your doctor or nutritionist to determine if weight loss is necessary.

Obesity amongst youth and teens is growing at epidemic proportions. Overweight teens are more likely to develop into overweight adults, carrying heightened risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, shortened lifespan and some forms of cancer. With the tremendous social pressure to be model-thin and physically attractive, being overweight is often associated with low self esteem, poor body image and depression.
Weight Loss Plan for Teens

Walk

Walking can be one of the most effective ways of losing that extra bulk and keeping healthy as well. Walking exercises the whole body and hence is a very good way to keep fit. If possible, buy a pedometer and attach it to your waist so that you can keep a track of how much you have walked. Start slow and then as days pass by, you can increase the distance you walk each day. For example, start by walking a mile and then as you get comfortable increase this to say 2, 3 and 4.

Take the Long Term Approach

Look at what you are about to undertake not as a short term, quick, weight loss, but rather a change in lifestyle to last a lifetime. You will begin to make more nutritious food choices, add exercise, and cut back somewhat on your eating. If you falter along the way, you don’t need to look at it as a failure because you know that you have a long time to make the changes.

For example, if you go with your friends to eat at a fast food restaurant, and you indulge in a large order of fries, there is no need to feel guilty because you know that eating them is not a regular habit, and that at the next meal you will eat more sensibly.

Healthy Eating is Best

Rather than focusing on dieting, emphasis should be placed on a healthy overall lifestyle. Parents should provide healthy food choices for the entire family, rather than ostracizing a teen while he or she is on a “special diet.” Stock up on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and modest amounts of healthy fats. Avoid fast food and keep tempting junk food such as processed chips, candy or other desserts out of the home. Lead by example–the healthier the family is, the healthier the teens will be.

Avoid Fast Food

Avoiding fast food can be quite a challenge, especially for the teens because these are simply addictive. The more fast food you eat, the more you want. Hence, it is very important to learn to eat healthy when you are young because once you get hooked onto fast food during your teens, it becomes really difficult to let go off this addiction. If you can muster up the courage to avoid having fast food, it will help you as an adult.

Many adult who are overweight started to eat these so called fast food when they were young. Probably, they did not know how to eat healthy, but this does not necessarily mean that you cannot change your habits. Always remember, life will be much easier if you learn to eat right when you are still young.

Add Daily Exercise

I suspect that you may be caught in a vicious cycle of not exercising, eating and not having energy. Exercising actually makes you feel more energetic once you have made a habit of it. If you don’t feel like you have energy to exercise now, start out with some physical activity that will get you moving, but won’t require a lot energy.

How about taking the dog for a walk? Or, if you don’t have a dog, take the neighbor’s dog for a walk. Once you have done some walking, every day for a couple of weeks, try running for a short distance. Get out on your bicycle, or roller blades, or shoot some baskets in the driveway. If you are at a loss for exercise ideas, speak to your gym teacher. I’ll bet they would love to help you out. Most teachers are thrilled with kids that are self-motivated to improve.

Sweets

If stopping sweets altogether is not possible, limit the intake because sweets can surely put on some weight in your body. If you do crave for something sweet, munch on some sugar free candy or fruit instead of having something which has heaps of sugar in it.

Healthy Food

Having fresh, green vegetables is a good way of staying healthy, getting all the required vitamins and calories and losing weight in the process. But make sure you don’t go on an all out vegetarian diet. Having fish, eggs, meat is also necessary because these provide various important minerals and proteins to the body which will ultimately help you to be fit and lose the extra weight.

So, you see the most healthy way to reduce weight is to eat healthy and regular exercise. It doesn’t matter how attractive the instant methods of losing weight might look, instead of using them, follow the tried and tested method and you will see the results.

Weight Loss with Jump Rope: Easy Workout for Girls

When it comes to losing weight, you need to create a caloric deficit where you are burning more calories than you are taking in. This can be done by reducing your intake of food and added more cardiovascular exercise into your daily regime. A jump rope is a handy and convenient tool that can be used to get the cardiovascular exercise you need. This can in turn burn calories and make your body leaner. The jump rope can be used in more ways than meets the eye. Other than weight loss, you can also reap other benefits, such as improved coordination, agility, quickness, aerobic capacity and leaping ability.

The Benefits

Jumping rope is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise you can burn off the calories from a candy bar in one 15-minute workout. It is wonderful not only for its phenomenal fat- and calorie-burning abilities, but also for toning and strengthening the upper and lower muscles of the body. You would have to run a mile in eight minutes to burn more calories than you would in one session of jumping rope.
Jump Rope for Weight Loss

    * When you first start using this workout, you should start jumping 30 seconds to a minute at a time (a one-minute “round”). Beginners can also try double-jumping to start: swing the rope slowly do two bounces for every turn of the rope. If you are semi fit, use two minute rounds. Rest one minute between rounds. Try performing 2-4 rounds.
    * Make sure you are jumping the correct way. While you’re jumping rope, you want to jump close to the ground. Jumping too high is bad for your joints. Just stay relaxed and build up a nice rhythm.
    * Mixing up your workout can make it more enjoyable. You can mix up the workout by shuffling your feet while jumping. Place one foot a little farther forward and one back as you land, then switch feet at the next jump. Be patient, as this takes a lot of coordination to do.
    * See your results. If you can stick with the above guidelines, you will see that your waist line shrinks. You will gain confidence, along with improved coordination. This is a really easy workout. Along with the low cost of the jump rope, it takes little space to perform.

Tips

    * To pick a jump rope, stand on its center and stretch the handles up towards your armpits. With the handles bent over, the rope should reach a few inches below your armpits.
    * Variations for a better workout include jumping on one foot, alternating feet as though you are running over the rope, and passing the rope under twice (double-under) on one jump.

Lose Weight By Chewing Your Food at Least 40 Times

According to a new study, chewing and weight loss are somehow related. The more you chew, the less you weigh. The researchers claimed that people who chew their food longer weigh less than those who chew quickly. Chewing food 40 times instead of a typical 15 times caused study participants to eat nearly 12 percent fewer calories, according to results published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Chewing is a vital part of the digestion process. If you chew your food properly, you will be able to absorb the nutrients properly and make the digestion process much easier. Aside from that, chewing food slower and longer will cause the brain to release histamine, making you eat less. Hence, if you eat less, this will eventually lead to weight loss.
Function

Chewing food well is one step toward changing certain eating patterns and behaviors to be more mindful of, or pay more attention to, eating habits. Other behavioral changes associated with mindful eating and weight control may include establishing regular mealtimes, eating only in one place, such as at the dining room table, using smaller plates, eating slowly, taking small bites, taking a sip of water between bites and chewing food a predetermined number of times before swallowing. Another behavioral step that helps facilitate careful chewing is doing nothing else while eating. Watching television and reading interfere with mindful eating by causing distractions.
Types

All types of foods should be chewed well before swallowing, but those that actually require careful chewing can be some of the best foods to include in a diet to lose weight. These foods include hard, crunchy fruits such as apples and raw and lightly steamed hard vegetables, such as celery, carrot sticks, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower.

Examples of other foods that require careful chewing and fit into a plan to lose weight include chunky foods such a fruit salads and hearty vegetable and dried bean salads, chewy foods such as dried fruits and whole-grain breads and low-fat, high-fiber snacks such as air-popped popcorn.
Chewing Food Properly

If you’re convinced and you’d like to know how to chew your food properly, here are a few tips to help you lose weight by chewing food.

    * Chew your food 35 to 50 times per mouthful. The average person chews their food maybe 10 times before swallowing. Instead, chew your food until it’s soft, mushy and unrecognizable. At that point, you’re ready to swallow and let the food continue with the rest of the digestive process.
    * As you are chewing food, set your utensil down. Holding your spoon or fork while you eat is just a way to temp yourself into taking another bite–a bite that you might not need to take. Stop for a moment and pay attention to what you’re doing. Enjoy all the flavors as your tongue discovers them.

If you make no other changes in your life except for chewing food slowly, you’ll be surprised how much weight you can lose. By slowing down and chewing food, you can help to keep yourself from overeating. You can also discover a new enjoyment when eating that you may not have experienced before because of worrying about your weight. Chew your food slowly and let the body do what it does best.

Effective Yoga Diet for Fitness: Weight Loss Tips

Yoga is one way to stay fit that is completely at par with all the other ancient forms of workout. The majority of the celebrities as well as common folks who are concerned about their health prefer yoga to any other form of fitness exercise. Let\’s take a look at how yoga could help you overcome excessive weight.

Yoga practice, combined with the “green,” organic diet followed by many yogis, seems to burn off weight faster than almost any other weight-loss approach. Unfortunately, busy modern people often find it difficult to follow this “green” diet  which is why many modern yogis use supplements. (You can get a FREE bottle of a wonderful organic “green” diet supplement by clicking on the link below.)
Avoid Alcohol

Yogis don’t tend to drink much – which is a good thing, because nothing stands in your way when you want to lose weight like the empty calories found in alcohol. In the West, of course, many people enjoy a glass or two of wine with their meals – and only the most strict of yogis would forbid that. However, if you’re trying to lose weight quickly and easily, try limiting your consumption of alcohol to the weekends. You’ll be amazed how quickly the excess pounds fall away.
Yogic Diet

The yogic diet is based on the principle of ahimsa, or non-harm. According to this yogic philosophy, eating meat violates this teaching. While milk, cheese and yogurt are permitted, eggs, fish and other animal products are to be avoided. However, it is important to consume adequate amounts of protein and fats, as well as carbohydrates. The main source of protein in the yogic diet comes from dairy, nuts and seeds, and legumes, or dried beans. Beans are especially high in fiber and are filling, while providing adequate protein and calories. Nuts and seeds are also high in protein, as well as healthy fats and oils.
Constitutional Types

Ayurveda teaches there are three main constitutional types, referred to as doshas. The doshas are kapha, or water; vata, or air; and pitta, or fire. While most individuals have one dosha that tends to be more dominant than the others, excessive weight gain represents an imbalance of the doshas. To achieve permanent weight loss, it is important to first determine your dominant dosha, and follow a diet that is designed specifically for that type. Yoga Journal explains that vata types need more grounding foods, such as whole grains. Kapha types need energizing foods, such as dishes prepared with spices like ginger and cayenne. Pitta types require cooling foods, such as raw salads and sweet fruits.
Considerations

Following a dosha-balanced diet will generally not provide immediate weight loss, as some fad diets may. It will take time for the body to come back into balance and find a healthy weight. However, weight loss can be accelerated in any regimen by including regular moderate to vigorous exercise each day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily simply to maintain weight. For weight loss, they further recommend 60 to 90 minutes per day.
Expert Insight

Although a vegetarian yogic diet can be challenging to follow, and may not be right for everyone, there is scientific research that supports its health benefits. MayoClinic.com notes that a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet the nutritional needs of most people. The foundation of the vegetarian food pyramid is whole grains, followed by nuts, seeds and legumes. Additionally, according to Dr. Andrew Nicholson of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a vegetarian diet may also help prevent or reverse chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, which often results from obesity and poor diet.
Fast Regularly

Fasting is an ancient health and spiritual regimen practiced both in ancient India and throughout Christendom. It is also a very effective way to “jump start” a weight loss program. Western Christians are used to fasting, often on Fridays, because of the Roman Catholic custom of observing Lent. Originally, Catholics gave up all meat products during the 40 days of Lent. The word “carnival,” for example, which refers to the day or week preceding the start of Lent, literally means “goodbye” (vale) to meat (carne). When beginning fasting, always check with your doctor first.

Using Internet To Lose Weight

Using Internet To Lose Weight


People tend to lose a little more weight with online help than with traditional weight loss programs, a Japanese study said but combining the Internet with in-person contact appears to be the most effective in keeping extra kilograms at bay. With obesity on the rise, there have been many attempts to take advantage of the Internet to help people lose weight, mainly because it’s thought to be easier and less expensive.

But combining the Internet with in-person contact appears to be the most effective in keeping extra kilograms at bay. As obesity on the rise, there have been many attempts to take advantage of the Internet to help people lose weight, mainly because it’s thought to be easier and less expensive.

But while the study, which involved a review of 23 previous studies and was published in the International Journal of Obesity, did find a positive impact from online involvement, the overall effect was small.

In the first part of the study, all the participants had a 6-month initial weight loss program focusing on reducing calories and increasing exercise. The authors note that a 4 kg weight loss is considered clinically significant for a health benefit. In the next phase, those who had lost 4 kg or greater were randomized to different treatment arms. One arm was an Internet maintenance program.

These participants used an interactive website to self-monitor weight and enter information about their diet, level of physical activity, setting goals, making action plans and getting on line support. The website was designed to provide unlimited access., so users sould sign on when it was convenient at any time of the night or day.

At the 28-month mark, 65% of the initial group of 348 people were still actively logging on to the web site. Over the 28 months, about half the participants logged on at least 107 time and sessions lasted about 3 to 5 minutes.

A good Internet program enables participants to communicate in groups, monitor their eating and exercise habits, and get regular feedback from peers and supervisors, while focusing on behavior change.

Helpful Ways for Weight Loss During Ramadan

Helpful Ways for Weight Loss During Ramadan

Weight gain could be seen as one of these diseases. However, to lose weight during Ramadan fasting must be done in a very careful manner. There are many ahadith that give us advice on how to eat healthy while fasting during Ramadan. However, people often forget these healthy eating habits during Ramadan. Ironically, as well, there are more “eating traps” during Ramadan than any other month. So, as we struggle to be good Muslims and fast, we may inadvertently be straying from the path of the Prophet by breaking all rules of good health. The most common “Ramadan pitfalls” are: Eating a large iftar (meal at breaking of fast) right after the Maghrib azhan (sunset call to prayer), eating unusual or new foods, too many salty foods, too many sweet foods, increasing consumption of tea or coffee, not sleeping enough, skipping meals, eating too much bread or other foods, changing lifestyle habits, and reducing exercise.

Weight Loss During Ramadan

Eat Balanced Meals

As always, fast or no fast – your meals should be balanced. This means complex carbs, protein, and healthy dietary fats in every meal. Ask yourself at every meal – where is my protein? Where is my complex carbs? And where are my healthy dietary fats? By all means, NEVER have a meal that is predominantly carbohydrates – a very common mistake we all make. This is also a good time to actually cook your own healthy meals, rather than to rely on buying outside food all the time – when you cook, you can control exactly what goes into it.

Water

Drink more water during the non-fasting period – less of the sugary drinks (I’d cut them out altogether). Drink even when you aren’t feeling thirsty. Your body needs to rehydrate, so give it what it needs – MINUS the excess sugars (which equals to calories) tagging along. That means walking past the cendol, cincau, and multi-coloured drink stalls at the Ramadan bazaar. If you are diabetic, all the more you should be avoiding these. Your body will thank you for this.

Eat Healthy During The Periods you are Allowed to

This one’s quite obvious right? But surprisingly, it is the most difficult to follow. Why? Because when you are hungry, thirsty, and demotivated in the evenings, moments before you break your fast, it is so easy to make poor food choices and opt for the greasiest and most sugary options you can find. Moreover, it doesn’t help at all when the Ramadan bazaars make these foods very accessible and affordable.

Eat Multiple Smaller Meals – Spread Your Meals

Just like how I advise on eating smaller meals throughout the day during non-fasting times, the same applies even during the fasting month. Don’t settle for one or two ridiculously large meals because there is only so much your body can absorb at one-go. Instead, have smaller meals – you can easily have one when you break fast, another a few hours later, and one more before the fast starts again (at 4am) – so that’s 3 well spread out meals, so yes, you need to wake up to eat a meal (or perhaps a meal replacement or protein shake can be convenient).

Keep Your Exercise Routine Simple, Yet Effective.

This simply means ‘not overdoing it’. Don’t spend long hours at the gym. This is not the time for back-to-back group exercise classes, or high intensity exercise (especially if you are working out during the fasting hours of the day, which I don’t recommend – see below). This is also not the time to achieve a new personal best – save it for next month. So this means that you will be performing sufficiently challenging strength training exercises (working on all muscle groups), and moderately intense cardiovascular exercise.

Liquid Diet Plans for Weight Loss: Fast Weight Loss Diet

Liquid Diet Plans for Weight Loss: Fast Weight Loss Diet


Are you on a quest to find an easy and convenient way to lose weight? Are you one of those people who have tried every other diet regimen in the market but still fail to see some desirable results? Then this article might help you find the solution that you have been looking for.

The newest diet fad in town is called the liquid diet weight loss program. This program is especially designed to help people like you lose weight in a quick and easy manner. From the name itself, you can guess that this diet involves a lot of liquid.

Liquid diet plan primarily aims at replacing two meals and snack with a carefully planned milk shake. This shake is made from eight ounces of skimmed milk and a powdered drink mix and it contains about 200 calories. Read further to explore information about liquid diet for weight loss.

The liquid diet plan gives you the liberty to have one meal of your choice, but you need to ensure that it doesn’t contain more than 600 calories and consists of food items, rich in nutrients that the body requires. The best part about this milk shake is that, it is prepared using a formulated mix; therefore it is very well balanced.
Liquid Diet Plan For Weight Loss

Most liquid diets are very low in total calories. People who go on a liquid diet will consume 400 – 800 calories each day. A caloric deficit of 3500 calories leads to the loss of one pound of fat: this is why people following a liquid diet plan lose so much weight so quickly. However, people who follow a juice diet also enjoy additional weight loss due to the detox effect of the juice, as scientists have found.

A Stanford University study concludes that major benefit of liquid diets is the dieter’s removal from the “food environment”. Basically this means that the person does not have an option of eating foods, and so the chance of overeating, or eating unhealthy foods is completely removed. I tend to agree that intermittent fasting, like the kind I practice in my Eat Stop Eat diet and juice diets do have the major advantage that you simply don’t have to worry about food! These are really the most stressfree kind of diet out there.

Moreover, when the body relies on liquid for its nutrition, there are several changes that take place. For one, the stomach starts to shrink as it begins getting used to a minimal amount of food in it. This change will then require the dieter to take in less amounts of food to still feel saturated.

The liquid in this program also acts as a diuretic, which can help flush toxins and other wastes in the digestive system. The body is also forced to eliminate waste regularly, which means extra water weight can be flushed out, too. This makes it possible to experience a sudden drop in weight. The following are the liquid diet foods that form the liquid diet plan.

    * Vegetable broths and soups
    * Fruit juices with/without pulp
    * Fruit punch and purees
    * Milk and milk shakes
    * Lemonade, lemon water and honey
    * Sports drinks and protein shakes
    * Jellies, clear ice pops and candies
    * Tea, coffee without cream, soda
    * Smooth and clear ice cream

In case you prefer to go for a full liquid diet you can include healthy foods like lean fish or fruits and vegetables to reduce food cravings. This constitutes a healthy diet because it restricts the calorie consumption. There are additional fads or crash liquid diets which are outlined below.

The Lemonade Diet or Master Cleanse:

This is one of the most famous and most extreme liquid diet for weight loss programs these days. The lemonade mixture is a combination of lemon juice, water, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. This program involves 10 days of drinking only this mixture. In line with this, the dieter is also required for a salt water flush and caffeine-free laxative tea every morning. However, this program can be dangerous as it can cause nutritional deficiencies, headaches, and fainting.

The Meal Replacement Diet:

The market offers a lot of meal replacement shakes such as Medifast, Slimfast, and Optifast. These shakes contain important vitamins and minerals. They are high in calcium and protein, but they are low in simple sugars. This makes this meal replacement diet program a more balanced one as compared to the other two options. These shakes are aimed to replace two important meals such as lunch and dinner. A glass of shake usually contains 200 calories.

The Low Calorie Liquid Diet:

This is advisable for obese people needing to lose weight as fast as possible. This involves the intake of high protein shakes all throughout the day. However, this diet must be done under strict medical supervision.

The Juice Diet:

Here, you are allowed to consume only fresh fruit and vegetable juices as well as herbal teas and water. This diet provides the body with a high daily dose of necessary minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants that other diets can offer. Though seen effective, there are certain side effects and deficiencies associated with this program. Hence, it is always recommended to talk to a professional about this program.

This article provided just a brief summary of liquid diet plans and there is far more that can be said about these diets. It is always important to remember that before you attempt any major alteration of your diet you must seek advice from your physician. This is particularly important for people who are afflicted by chronic conditions because the side effects can further damage ones health.