lose weight synonyms

The study included 3,000 overweight people with impaired glucose tolerance — a pre-diabetic condition — who were shown how to change their behavior rather than being prescribed drugs.

The behavioral strategies used by the participants to help them lose weight included keeping track of everything they ate, reducing the amount of unhealthy food they kept in their home and increasing their amount of physical activity.

Dr Atkins Diet

Even a modest weight loss — an average of 14 pounds — reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. And the health benefits of this weight loss lasted up to 10 years, even if people regained the weight, said study author Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

Atkins Diets

The study was scheduled for presentation Thursday at the American Psychological Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

“Helping people find ways to change their eating and activity behaviors and developing interventions other than medication to reinforce a healthy lifestyle have made a huge difference in preventing one of the major health problems in this country,” Wing, who is also director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, said in an association news release.

“Weight losses of just 10 percent of a person’s body weight … have also been shown to have a long-term impact on sleep apnea, hypertension and quality of life, and to slow the decline in mobility that occurs as people age,” she noted.

I cannot help thinking that we are focusing upon the wrong thing when we spend so much time paying attention to being overweight, how to lose weight, which diet is best and so on. Surely our focus should be instead upon how we can as a nation become healthier? As you think in a healthy and balanced way, your habits will reflect this and so too will your body size and shape. Should the dog not wag the tail instead of the tail wagging the dog?

We all too easily get tied up in focusing upon symptoms instead of causes. We pay attention to what is on the surface instead of examining what lies beneath. As different trends come and go we invest in the paraphernalia which accompanies it; hair straighteners one month, curlers the next, particular makes of jeans or trainers, makeup or moisturizer, exercise videos or personal trainers. The list goes on and on, seemingly forever.

Nearly all of these things end up as “fads”. They provide a short term change of image or boost to ones self-esteem as you feel that you are fitting in with the crowd. But this lifting of one’s spirits is all too quickly forgotten. Different diets and dieting aids last for a similarly short period of time before being “mentally binned” in the “diets which don’t work” dumpster.

If you look for a “quick fix” that is what you will get – a quick fix and nothing more. It will not effect a permanent change, merely a transitory one. Until you dig deeper and uncover the foundations upon which your weighty symptoms are built you will not be able to change the size and shape of the structure which you are.

In this sense the weight loss issue is like a leaky dam. As cracks begin to appear you patch them up; then more and more cracks begin to surface and you keep doing what you can to smooth them over and fix them up. The ultimate result is inevitable as all of that “pent-up” water bursts its way through the dam. All of that time spent focusing upon the dam was spent in vein; it would have been far more useful to spend time looking at the source of the issue and finding a more workable and long term solution.

How many diets have you tried? How much time have you spent feeling dissatisfied with your weight? How many hours have you spent in shops or changing rooms trying to find something which you feel happy to wear? If you look back now over that period of time and you could change anything what would it be? What could you have done which would have provided a real solution with lasting benefits?

As a nation I think it is time to stop looking for quick fixes. We need to move together to look for long term workable solutions for many different problems, not just those of health and weight loss. Our self-esteem has become too heavily attached to how we look instead of how we feel and who we are. We need to get back to appreciating what we have instead of craving for things which we haven’t got.

In terms of weight loss the most important thing is to get your mind around the issue and identify the real problems which have caused you to put on weight in the first place. It is important to examine thoughts and habits, self-belief and self-confidence, dreams and expectations and not just the superficial details of calorie counting, fat content, supplements or gastric banding surgery.

As we revert to thinking in a healthy and balanced way our habits will align accordingly and our bodies will mirror this real and comfortable sense of self.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis downloads for weight loss and confidence issues.

P.S. Tap into the power of your inner mind and discover the real you; Grab a free hypnosis download from my website.

Probably the most simple strategy for successful weight loss and then to maintain your ideal weight, is to use more calories than you consume in your food and drink. Many people find this quite difficult to apply in their lives. Try changing your diet to cut down on foods which are high in fat or high sugar drinks. Many people live sedentary lives so take some simple exercise which you enjoy for thirty minutes each day. Try walking to the shops or supermarket instead of driving as this will have a beneficial effect on burning off the calories. Or take up a sport you enjoy – you could even try jogging or cycling! However, if you are in any doubt as to your current state of health, always check with your Doctor before starting on a specific exercise regime.

The second strategy is to get some professional advice. Seeing your Doctor or a practice nurse who specialises in nutrition can be extremely helpful. As a suggestion, keep a food diary for a couple of weeks prior to the visit. Make a note of everything you eat and drink as this will help you and the healthcare practitioner understand why you are finding it difficult to achieve or maintain your desired weight loss. They will often provide you with suggested menus to try. However, many people who try this strategy find themselves discouraged by a lack of variety in their diet, but there are many different healthy meal options which will help you lose weight. Getting advice from a healthcare professional can make the task of losing weight much easier and they will usually monitor your progress at regular intervals.

Another suggested strategy is to stop the three square meals a day approach. The idea of eating three meals a day was designed far more to fit in with our working habits than to fit in with the needs of our bodies. Many healthcare professionals now recommend eating more meals a day, with less food at each meal. This provides the body with a more balanced way to take food, spreading the load on the body over a longer period of time. When you eat less food more often, the body absorbs more of the nutrients in the food, so your body craves fewer calories. One meal you should not skip is breakfast. You may also consider eating lighter meals in the evening as the body digests food less easily when you are sleeping.

Becoming a member of a gym is an excellent strategy and is increasingly popular. Most gyms will discuss with you with an exercise regime which will enable you to achieve your goals. This will take into account your current level of fitness and can help tone up your body as well as burn off the calories. However, make sure that you drink plenty of water to keep your body correctly hydrated during periods of exercise. Again, if you are in any doubt as to your current state of health, always consult your Doctor before starting on a specific exercise regime.

Being on any weight loss programme can be a lonely business so why not find someone to exercise with. If you have a friend who is free at the same time of day, it can make sense to train or workout together. Having someone to help you through the times when you don’t seem to be getting anywhere can keep you focused until the desired weight loss beings to happen. Having a social aspect to your exercise will also ensure you look forward to it, and make you more likely to be persistent with your efforts. Above all, make it FUN!

The ideal and most effective method for weight loss depends entirely on the individual. It is often a combination of a number of the above strategies. If you follow these five, time-tested principles you will start to see results and soon find you have achieved your perfect weight. However it is important to focus your mind on what you really want your ideal or perfect weight to be. Unless you retrain your mind to remain focused on your perfect weight goals and are prepared to take persistent and consistent action, you may well find your weight begins to increase.