If you have been trying to lose weight, but, haven’t been succeeding

If you have been trying to lose weight for an extended period of time and have not been succeeding; what could be wrong? It is important to know why you have not been successful with losing weight, so, you can adjust your weight loss program appropriately so you will start seeing positive results. Many different things can cause a weight loss program to not be successful or appear to not be successful. How many calories you have been consuming every day, what was your diet like during your formative years, how old you are now, whether or not you are a heavy sweater, how much exercise you have been doing, what types of exercises you have been doing, the timing of when you eat various types of foods, gaining muscle as fast as or faster than you are losing fat, thyroid issues and medicines you have been taking can all be legitimate reasons why your weight loss efforts may fail or your weight loss efforts may be slow.

CALORIES CONSUMED EACH DAY: If you are serious about losing weight you should be recording all of the calories you have been consuming each day in a journal. Most adult females need to consume between 1800 calories per day and 2200 calories per day; to maintain their weight. Most adult males need to consume between 2200 and 3000 calories per day; to maintain their weight. If you are not recording the calories you eat each day chances are very good that you are consuming more calories than you think you are. Some people get full quickly when they eat and can’t eat large quantities of food. Some people, however, don’t feel full until they have eaten large quantities of food. If you are one of those people who is hungry all of the time and needs to eat a lot in order to feel full. You will need to be especially careful about what types of foods you eat. Some foods make people feel much fuller than other foods. Some foods are very difficult to stop eating. If you don’t feel full easily; you should consume some low calorie foods every day that help you feel full to prevent overeating the foods that are dense sources of calories. One strategy is to eat a lot of low calorie vegetables each day, and/or salads with a low calorie dressing. The foods that help you feel full are the ones that are high in fiber, have plenty of protein, and have fat. Some fats are bad for you to consume, however, some fats are very good for you. The fats found in seafoods are very good. If you eliminate too much fat from your diet; you may not feel full often enough. You may need to be extra careful about staying away from foods that are high in calories, but, low in nutrients. Also, if you have a huge appetite; you will be much more likely to be able to keep your total calorie intake lower if you eat 6 small meals each day instead of 3 large meals each day. If you let yourself become overly hungry before you eat; you will probably consume more total calories. How many calories you consume each day is an extremely important part of any weight loss program If you are doing an enormous amount of exercise and you are doing an excellent combination of cardio-vascular exercises and strength training exercises; you may still struggle with losing weight; if you are consuming too many calories each day.

WHAT WAS YOUR DIET LIKE DURING YOUR FORMATIVE YEARS? Babies, toddlers, children and teenagers burn a lot of calories because they are growing quickly. Many people who are not adults yet, can get away with eating a bad diet and not gaining excess weight; because they are growing quickly and their bodies need the calories. If a young person is extremely active, they may be able to eat an unbelievable amount of excess calories without gaining excess weight. The developmental years, however, are still an important time to make sure the proper nutrients are consumed for many reasons. The proper nutrients need to be available in order for the human body to develop to its full potential, keep the immune system strong and keep the individual healthy. Also, when people are infants and going through puberty; those are the times when that person’s body is determining how many fat cells they will have for the rest of their life. During the person’s lifetime; new fat cells will only be created during infancy and puberty unless extreme circumstances occur. A person’s fat cell’s can become larger or smaller much more easily than they can change in number. Fat cells won’t disappear, but, new ones can appear. Consequenlty, a bad diet during the formative years can create extra challenges for a person to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight; once they have become an adult.

HOW OLD ARE YOU NOW? DOES AGE EFFECT A PERSON’S ABLILTY TO LOSE WEIGHT? Once a person is no longer growing, females tend to stop growing at around 18 years and males tend to stop growing at around 21 years; they will suddenly need fewer calories When people are in their late teens and early 20’s however, they still have an advantage over most people who are older than they are. Their bodies will likely have a large percentage of muscle mass. One pound of muscle needs 35 calories per day to be maintained. One pound of fat needs 2 calories per day to be maintained. Once people are done growing and are not exercising regularly; they, will be extremely likely to lose muscle. The more muscle their bodies lose; the fewer calories their bodies will need. Most people will have a natural tendency to start gaining weight slowly; once they have stopped growing. People who have Diabetes, Hypo-Glycemia, Celiac Disease, Thyroid issues or other medical issues that keep their bodies from being able to proplerly process the calories they consume are in a different category. Most of us, however, will gain weight after we stop growing unless we actively combat the weight gain. Yes, it is more difficult for most people to lose weight as they age. It is definitley more difficult for someone who is 40 years old to lose weight; than it was for that person to lose weight; when they were 20 years old. The 40 year old person may need to put significantly more time and effort into losing weight, than they did when they were younger. Forty year old people are certainly capable of losing weight successfully, however, they should expect to realize successful weight loss at a much slower pace. As a person continues to age; their appetite will eventually slow down as their hormones change. When a person’s hunger level is still operating at full-throttle, however, hunger can be a big obstacle when it comes to losing weight.

ARE YOU A HEAVY SWEATER? When your body is forced to produce sweat, it burns calories. People who don’t sweat profusely when they exercise will not burn as many calories when they exercise as someone who does sweat profusely. Just sitting in a sauna or hot-tub helps burn calories. People who have Diabetes or trouble with dizziness should not be in a sauna or hot-tub for prolonged periods of time.

HOW MUCH EXERCISE HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? If you haven’t been doing any exercise and are expecting to lose weight by dieting alone; you will not be likely to be able to keep the weight off if you lose it and your chances of gaining back even more weight than you lost are a definite threat. Your metabolism is higher when you weigh more. If you lose weight with diet alone, all of a sudden, your metabolism will slow down. It is easiest to lose weight; on a diet at the beginning of the diet when your metabolism is still high. Once you have lost some weight and your metabolism has slowed down. All of a sudden your body will need fewer calories each day. If you return to your old eating habits; you will be consuming the same amount of calories you used to consume, but, your metabolism will be slower. You will instantly be back in weight gain mode. If you have been trying to lose weight with diet and exercise, excellent. There is a big difference in how quickly you will realize successful weight loss results, however, depending on what type of exercises you do, how much intensity your exercise programs have and how often you change your exercise programs.

WHAT TYPES OF EXERCISES HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? If you have been doing all low-intensity exercises; for example, walking at a slow pace for 30 minutes for 6 months, 3 days per week. That’s great!!! You are giving your body lots of benefits it wouldn’t have if your weren’t exercising at all. One benefit would be increased oxygen to all of your cells which dramatically helps your overall health. Your body, however, has a tendency to adapt to what you have been doing. If you start eating less, your body suddenly needs fewer calories. If you start walking 3 days per week; your body gets used to that new routine and doesn’t suddenly need lots more calories to feed the extra activity you are doing. Losing weight is much more likely to happen if you change your exercise routines frequently. Try an entire new workout program every 30 days is what is commonly recommended by people who have spent enourmous amounts of time and effort trying to figure out what creates the fastest weight loss. Weight Loss Experts have also determined that intense exercise is much more likely to create weight loss than non-intense workouts. If you can incorporate some exercise in the middle of your workout routines that makes you breathe so heavily that you can’t talk at the same time you are doing that exercise, you are doing exactly what you need to do to burn your excess fat and jump-start your bodies ability to burn fat If your workout routine is longer than 45 minutes; it is probably not intense enough. It has also been determined by weight loss experts that weight loss is likely to occur much more quickly if you reduce your calorie intake to 10% to 30% below your calorie maintenance level depending on how much weight you have to lose, do aerobic exercise and strength training exercises all in the same time period. Building the percentage of muscle you have in your body can dramatically increase your metabolism and your bodies daily calorie intake needs.

THE TIMING OF WHEN YOU EAT VARIOUS TYPES OF FOODS: Does the timing of when you eat different types of foods matter? Yes, it does. When you eat. Your body must process the food you just ate one way or another. When your body needs energy or it needs to build muscle, it can either use the food you just ate as a source of fuel, it can use your glycogen storage as a source of fuel or it can use your fat as a source of fuel. In general. It is easy for your body to convert the food you just ate into a source of energy and it is easy for your body to use the food you just ate to build muscle. It is easier for your body to use what is stored in your glycogen storage when it needs fuel than it is for it to break down your fat cells and use your fat as fuel. It is a good idea to eat a little bit of sugary food before you exercise to help give your body some instant energy. It is a good idea to eat a little bit of sugary food within 15 minutes after you exercise to help your body build muscle. Also drink plenty of fluids before, during and after a workout. Don’t consume the sugary stuff in excess, of course, 50 to 100 calories worth before and after your workout should be plenty. If you consume sugary food right before you go to sleep. Your body will probably not need to use that fuel at that time; consequently, it will probably send it into your glycogen storage area and/or convert it into fat. It is a good idea to consume a little bit of lean protein almost every time you eat. Protein really helps stabilize blood sugar levels, helps keep you from having cravings and helps keep you from becoming excessively hungry.

ARE YOU GAINING MUSCLE AS FAST AS OR FASTER THAN YOU ARE LOSING FAT? If you have been doing excessive strenuous exercise for a long period of time during the same time frame you have been diligent about keeping your calorie intake low& and have not lost any weight. You may want to purchase and use some type of device that measures your body’s fat percentage. There are different types of fat measuring calipers that can be purchased on ebay. It is difficult to find the fat measuring calipers in retail stores. It is possible that you have been putting an enormous amount of time and effort into losing weight, yet are frustrated because your weight has stayed the same or has increased. Instead of feeling frustrated, you should be aware whether or not your weight has not decreased because you have gained muscle. If you are more aware of how your body has been responding to your efforts, you may be more likely to stay motivated and keep your diet and exercise efforts going. Also, having full body pictures taken of yourself before you start a diet and exercise program can really help. You may be several months into a diet and exercise program and be disappointed with the results you see on the scale; however, if you look at the pictures that were taken of yourself before you started the diet and exercise program and compare them with how you look now; you may be quite pleased.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOUR THYROID IS NOT FUNCTIONING OPTIMALLY? If you have been seriously trying to lose weight for an extended period time and are not having success; you may need to have your thyroid gland functioning analyzed by a General Practitioner. It is possible you need some medicine to correct that imbalance.

MEDICINES YOU HAVE BEEN TAKING MAY CAUSE YOUR WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS TO FAIL; THEY MAY EVEN CAUSE YOU TO GAIN WEIGHT Unfortunately, there are many medicines that people take that cause them to gain weight. Some medicines dramatically increase people’s appetite. Some medicines cause people to become sluggish. While you are taking those types of medicines; the best strategy is probably to do whatever it takes to be able to stop taking the medicine if that is possible. If you can’t stop taking the medicine, perhaps you can reduce the dosage. You may want to ask your doctor if there is an alternative medicine you could be taking that wouldn’t be causing you to gain weight. People aren’t always able to stop taking medicines that cause them to gain weight, however, if you can stop taking the medicine and start losing some of the weight you have gained you may reap some of the following benefits because losing weight tends to have some of the following effects: * blood pressure decreases * cholesterol decreases * blood sugar control for Dibetics improves * likelihood of major health problems like heart attack and stroke decreases * energy increases In other words, sometimes people feel overwhelmed because they have so many different health issues they think they should work on like, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar control and they need to lose weight. If a person is faced with all of those challenges at the same time; they, can improve all of the health problems by just concentrating on losing weight. Losing excess weight solves a multitude of health problems. Losing weight is not easy for most people. If you are faced with the challenge of needing to lose weight, equip yourself with as much knowledge as you can regarding how to lose the weight and keep it off The marketplace is filled with weight loss gimmicks that will waste your time and money. If you need to lose weight and keep it off you will probably need to exercise and sweat. The benefits are tremendous.

Written by: Dawn Perucca

http://www.thesoccerlockersite.com, www.dawnperucca.com

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