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You’re Not To Blame For Being Fat! First things first though: That doesn’t mean we’re saying you can’t do something about it. Just that the truth about weight loss has been kept from you.

Our article is not meant to upset or confuse you even more; that would be wrong. We’d like you to have access to some life-changing material. That way you can get back to really living again.

Many of the reasons we’ve grown so large are not down to us. Let’s break the chain though and take control. We can learn new and enjoyable habits that will lose the weight. Life doesn’t have to be such a struggle.

Look at it this way – Imagine you have a Nissan car that needs some work doing. The car mechanic has been given some Ford tools to repair it – completely wrong for a Nissan! He’s got no chance of succeeding. However can a vehicle repairer deal with the issues correctly if his tools aren’t equipped for the job?

Naturally being issued with the right tools is the key to success. The wrong technology will just lead to poor results and frustration – despite some prior knowledge on the mechanic’s part.

This probably all sounds a bit obvious, but we’re dealing with the same ‘obvious’ challenge trying to lose weight. Hence we’re looking to provide you with specially designed tools for fat prevention. If we’re honest, we all relate to different things. (It would be dull if we were all the same.) Just because a program works for some, it doesn’t mean it will work for all.

A number of choices are necessary to find the perfect one to fit the way you live. Our experiences have probably told us that sometimes we find dieting hard, and sometimes effortless. If we have a lot of things to do, we’re not usually thinking too much about eating; whereas when we’re just sitting it can absorb our attention.

Thus we can see that our long established habits are very relevant to our ability to lose weight. Powerful programs are what we need – to gently but firmly help us to create a new way of living life to the full.

Losing weight can be a very confusing procedure. In reality, most pills and slimming products do not work, and most companies are just out to take our money! We’d like to cut to the chase and pass on some worthwhile discoveries that we unearthed in our quest to reduce weight.

It was important to us to find real experts who’d tested a long-term program. We wanted people that could show us life-changing solutions that we could grab hold of and use. An awareness of the facts is what we need. We didn’t want to have to purchase costly diet products week on week. Our approach was to find a re-education program that we could happily live with.

The systems we chose supply us with tried and tested knowledge – not miracle weight loss pills. (Does anyone really believe they work?)

Our chosen programs have been written by insightful individuals that comprehend the issues associated with obesity. They offer practical guidance and workable instructions on banishing the fat for good. The truths you’ll read about may surprise you. They’ll certainly have a beneficial effect on your health. People will start asking how you manage to look so well, once you get into the swing of things.

There Is A Way Forward Then? You have our word – disguised as it was under all the hype from the diet industry. But real answers do exist.

Struggling with weight issues is a common problem for so many. We know how demoralising failed slimming attempts are. Sometimes we’re successful for a while, then it all just becomes too much. So many attempts at losing weight end up failing – usually because the diets are not workable for more than a couple of weeks.

Sports men and women at the top of their game pay close attention to what they eat. Sports industry research has produced very clear evidence of the most favorable foods for our bodies. The research results can be adapted for regular people as well.

So we have to make the decision to get on with it. It’s very rewarding to see visible changes occurring so quickly. Yet we can’t achieve anything if we don’t start. Once you’re on your way, you’re in the game! And be happy you’ve taken the first step.

A good weight loss programme can be put in place simply by keeping a food diary. You’ll need to keep to your normal habits for seven days prior to starting to slim. Each day, enter everything that’s passed your lips, however small. A week on, you’ll have a record of what’s keeping you at the weight you are now.

Patently if your record shows a higher consumption of alcohol or fatty foods than you’d realised, you might begin by reducing those initially. If what you’re eating is mainly healthy, then maybe you’re just eating too much of it. Whichever one is closest to your situation, what’s in the diary will reveal a lot.

Produce a programme that you will follow for the next week. Put everything down relating to exercise, food and drink. As far as food is concerned, make sure you note down what you’re not allowed, or maybe what you’ll restrict to the weekend. Also write down the alternative food that you do plan to eat.

Under your drink heading, restrict alcohol to limited amounts on special days only. Rule out all sweet carbonated drinks. You’ll need to commit to a fitness regime, so next write in your diary which days you plan to exercise and how.

Get on the scales just before you’re about to start your program. Assess your progress each week, and adjust where necessary. Don’t be tempted to weigh yourself too often – once every week at the same time is sufficient.

You have absolute control when you record everything you do. Useful observations jotted in the diary will help to make the following weeks more enjoyable. Also enter the exercise you’re doing, to make sure this isn’t getting left out. Monitoring your weight and health is so much more manageable with a personal record.

It won’t happen overnight though. Changes may be hard to detect in the early stages, but clothes will start to become less tight, and your energy level will increase after a few short weeks. Just be patient and have faith! Keeping up your motivation is sometimes tough, so try to dwell on the end result and the joy it will bring!

If you do get demoralised with your results, analyse what’s been happening. It’s possible your programme needs some adjusting. Additional physical activity can help you catch up. A brisk walk several times a week can be done at any time of day.

Feel good about every pound you lose. Your efforts will be much more sustainable if you do. A whole new wardrobe isn’t a good idea until your desired weight is achieved. But you could spoil yourself with a pamper session when you reach a mini-goal.

Doctors talk about our body mass index when they refer to weight issues. If our index shows we come in above 18.5 and below 25 then our body mass is appropriate. An index greater than that reveals we have weight issues that could need dealing with. What’s more if we take that figure over thirty we’re defined as obese – over forty and the definition is morbidly obese.

You can work out your own figure by doing the following: Using metric readings, take your current weight and height. Start with a multiplication sum – your height times itself. Then take that answer and divide it by how much you weigh.

For example if your height is 1.6 metres and your weight is 78 kilos, your BMI is 30.47 (1.6 x 1.6 = 2.56 then 78 / 2.56 = 30.47). These figures state categorically that you fall into the obesity category. Medical advice would definitely suggest a change of diet and activity is needed.

We can’t lose weight if we continue to consume foods highly saturated in fats and sugars (save for the odd treat now and again!). We can lose weight by eating more healthily, and eating less. Then the fat that’s previously entered our system will be converted into energy.

You should avoid crash diets which usually end up with you either feeling ill or giving up in desperation. Dietary regimes that propose a calorific consumption of no more than 1,200 a day are what we consider crash or ‘miracle’ diets. These ‘quick fix’ options are not real solutions. Weight that comes off quickly usually goes back on quickly as well.

It takes re-education and time to achieve lasting results. Losing up to two pounds a week can be achieved if you simply cut out five hundred calories or so a day. Not quick-fix, but much more likely to show a result in a year’s time.

Meals loaded with fat cause the most challenges for would-be dieters. It makes sense therefore to drastically reduce that type of food. Replace fatty food with more fibre, from wholegrains, fruit and veg. Making these changes will help to prevent any re-entry into the obesity category.

It’s not worth saving calories up for two meals a day. Over the day as a whole, you’re likely to consume more in snacks to compensate for your hunger. A number of lighter meals throughout the day is better in reality. It’s more difficult to get the weight off when you feel half-starved. But eating frequent nutritious small amounts is the best way to fuel an efficient weight loss process.

If we could change our lifestyle to get some extra sleep, and decrease the amount of stress we endure, we might just find we lose weight as well. We find it hard to say no, and so end up rushing around doing far too many tasks – often skimping things instead of taking the time to do them well. Tension increases as one thing after another piles up. And that’s when we develop an overwhelming desire for food.

But now it seems there’s a scientific reason why we reach for the most fattening foods at times high stress and exhaustion. This is the thinking behind weight gain that is stress related: When the human body undergoes enduring tension, it exudes the stress-hormone cortisol.

As a result, this stimulates the release of insulin in an effort to make our blood-sugar level stable. Insulin ups our appetite, and particularly makes us crave fats and carbohydrates. As we satisfy that need with high fats and carbs, we enjoy the energy high that we were craving so badly.

Temporarily the stress goes away, and all is well. But very soon afterwards, our energy boost plummets! This is because the insulin that was released extracts the glucose from our blood and dumps it into our fat storage areas (which are mostly round the waist!)

It makes sense therefore if we want to lose weight; we also need to lose the stress! A decent night’s sleep may also be of benefit regarding weight reduction. Typically these days we only sleep for at most 7 hours a night – whereas we used to get around 8.

In conjunction with less sleep, we now have more obese people. Hormonal challenges are thought to relate the two things. If we’re run-down through lack of sleep, hormonal changes create hunger. As we have more waking hours, we become programmed to think we need to spend more time eating.

Obviously, when we’re tired, we feel the need for more fuel to energise ourselves, and once again we crave high fats and carbs. Sleeping for an additional hour a night could well re-program our appetite.

In conclusion – a simpler life could be just the spur our weight loss program needs. Remember everything doesn’t have to be done yesterday! And then at the close of the day, instead of grabbing another bite to eat, simply play some relaxing music and snuggle up in bed…

For change to happen, a plan of action has to be made, targets have to be set and a commitment to see it through has to be adopted. This applies to everything – including a weight loss regime. Nobody realises their ambitions without commitment to a strategy.

Take some time to work out what you want to achieve from losing weight, and put your goals in place. Even if the end result falls short of the planned criteria, it’s a likely bet that you’ll be much closer to success than you’d have been without them. Achievable goals tend to be measurable, specific, realistic and targeted.

Use the following five D’s to help you get emotionally involved with the result of your efforts. Write your five D’s down in a contract to yourself. First of all define what it is that you wish to get from successful weight reduction. Have a clear-cut picture of who you will be and the lifestyle you’ll enjoy when the excess weight has gone.

Desire – explore your emotions for this one and dig deep to discover why your weight is important. Pin point whether it’s the admiration of others, the challenge, or the fitness etc. that drives you.

Next comes Dedication (the commitment)… Plan your time each week so you know exactly when you’re dedicated to exercising. Have it written on a calendar planner that you can cross off once you’ve completed it.

Let the people in your life know when that is, so they won’t expect you to do other things at that time (just as they don’t when you go to your job). Having a routine prevents you feeling stressed. You’ll exercise all the better for it.

Determination – the will to stick to the plan until completion and see it through. This is your contract to ensure that you won’t let yourself down. Having a plan and targets to work towards gives you a Discipline that helps you to power through the tough times that will occasionally strike you.

Your written document is the beginning of your new life – refer to it often. Plan your work, and then work your plan with commitment. This has been proven by the world’s most successful people.

We all know people who appear to sail through life, happily moving from one success to the next. By contrast, there are others who never quite make it, and always have a reason why life has dealt them a hard blow. Society is made up of victors and victims, and the difference can very often be boiled down to one key factor – attitude.

When embarking on a slimming regime, it’s critical to take on the outlook of the victor to get your result. Victims attempt actions over-cautiously, hoping for good things, but never really feeling they’re worthy of great results. However a victor has already visualised his or her success mentally before the reality catches up.

Picture two sportsmen preparing for the final match: The first says “It’s my final chance – I’ll give it what I can,” but the second says “It is my Destiny to WIN.” Guess who’ll win the tournament?

The definition of a victor is someone who has taken ownership of their undertaking, and is accountable and responsible for carrying it out – ‘O-A-R’. The definition of a victim on the other hand is a person who always blames others, makes excuses and denies any responsibility ‘B-E-D’.

The victor ‘owns’ his own tasks, and doesn’t hope for someone else to take the lead. A victor likes to be accountable for everything he does – a problem solver not a problem maker. And finally he assumes responsibility for everything he does, and doesn’t make excuses about anything.

The victim can always come up with a reason for not accomplishing something, and it’s hardly ever to do with him. It’s always someone else’s fault – he feels out of control so justifies it by blaming someone else. So he can always find an excuse for his lack of accomplishment. With this continual pattern of blame and excuses, the victim lives a life of complete denial, certain that he’s completely unable to do anything about where he is in life.

A person about to start a new slimming program should stack the odds of success in their favour by giving themselves a mental check-over. Anyone who’s a fully paid up member of the victim society will have to address their issues before they start, to truly embrace the concept of losing weight.

Attitudes (both good and bad) are simply habits, and with constant repetition they can be altered. Take note of what you’re saying to yourself. If your internal voice sounds like a victim – cut it short immediately and change the tone. It’s not true that it’s much easier for some than others. Those who’ve achieved have just worked on their attitude.

“There is no such thing as a hero, only those who rise to the occasion”. Those were the words of Winston Churchill, and they’re just as valid today. To achieve the weight and health we want, we must adopt the right frame of mind. Then we become capable of anything!

You’ll see a mass of autobiographies of the rich & famous if you look at any best seller list today. The one thing they all say is they didn’t focus on negatives – despite many coming their way. Only when we encourage a ‘can do’ mental attitude will we rise above the crowd.

Adopting this focus whilst working on a slimming regime will make all the difference. You’ll reach your goal so much sooner with the right attitude. An optimistic outlook introduces all sorts of achievement-oriented circumstances. But being down-beat and uncertain won’t reap the rewards.

This is because we have a mechanism, called the Reticular Activation System. It tells the brain what to think about. It’s normal for things that were once pressing thoughts to move to the back of our minds – that’s because thoughts that are no longer pressing are moved to our sub conscious mind.

Our RAS (reticular activation system) brings any related data back into our conscious minds where and when it’s appropriate. That’s why when we’re out and about we pick up on things that have meaning to us, but ignore the rest.

As a result, when we’ve fed our sub conscious with buoyant, optimistic communications, we can expect those to be reciprocated. And yet the reverse is true when our sub conscious has been bombarded with negative.

It seems that achievers are able to manipulate the messages filtered through to their sub-conscious minds. By deliberately programming their RAS, they choose the exact messages the conscious mind sends. So as the sub-conscious doesn’t know what’s actually real, the RAS can be a great tool for realising ambitions.

As a result, we should build a precise illustration in our head of the results we want to achieve. This will then pass on to our subconscious via the RAS – and help us to achieve our goal. All because the positive, meaningful material is brought into focus, and not left ‘lost’ in the background.

According to the author Napoleon Hill, if we focus positively on any practical goal, we can achieve it. Conversely, our subconscious will help us not to achieve a goal if we keep having pessimistic thoughts about it.

Most of us can visualise the way we’d like to live as we progress through our lives. We might envision a bigger house, more holidays, a faster car and maybe a job with more status. It’s probable we’ll view our figure differently – with less body fat and a more toned physique.

Thinking of what we’d like to have can be the beginning of our goal-setting journey. If we don’t have an idea of how things will be when we’ve made it, the chances are we’ll never get there.

However, we have to be prepared to make some changes, prior to having all these brilliant things. The great Albert Einstein was quoted as saying that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect a different result! In other words if we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll continue to have what we’ve always had, and our life just goes round in circles getting no-where.

To have significantly more, we must change the way we think as well as the way we do things. No surprises then that a spot of effort will be needed to achieve the things we want to have. That we have to give in order to be given is a fundamental law of life. Interestingly though, the work itself isn’t the only criteria for achievement.

To realise the things we want in our lives, we have to behave in a manner that suggests our goals are a done deal! For example a person who hopes to be 25 lbs lighter nine months from now must meticulously follow a diet and exercise regime.

Hanging out with friends comes after the work-out’s been completed. A success-oriented person believes in delayed gratification, where the right effort will bring the right rewards. Adopting a good mental attitude to the things that have to be done will result in much faster weight loss.

Winning isn’t a matter of chance. Developing the mindset of an achiever is a powerful weapon against the knocks, criticisms and doubts that will inevitably come our way.

We can connect with positive achievers by watching films and reading biographies of others who’ve overcome challenges on their path to success. We come across the same story time after time; their attitude and self-image is what created the results. By focusing on becoming who we need to be, we’ll enjoy the exertions we have to do more and receive the things we want to have so much faster.

When I decided to lose weight, my wife did too. We talked together about why we wanted to be slimmer and what we actually wanted in life. Our aspirations turned out to be quite straightforward. Vitality was the top of Katie’s list, especially when the children are around. Equally, she aspired to feeling good about being un-dressed when we’re intimate together.

My main wish was to be able to purchase clothes that fit properly! Also, as our home is on 3 levels, I just longed to be able to reach the top floor and not feel my heart pounding violently!

Going through this process revealed that how we perceive ourselves is a key factor in how we actually look. We have much less respect for ourselves when we increase in weight. Lots of us see a happier life ahead if we can just lose weight. We wholeheartedly acknowledge these feelings, and want to share some findings with you.

Psychologists understand that we have a subconscious mind, which doesn’t recognise the difference between a real thing and an imaginary thing. This means it ‘tells’ our conscious mind anything that pre-dominates. Process that thought repeatedly, it emerges as its prevailing concept and thus it’s actual truth.

Consider your own prevailing thoughts – are you ruining your hopes of being slimmer by holding on to an ‘overweight’ self-image? Our subconscious needs to be fed a diet of what we actually want to be real.

We must always be focused on the prizes of losing weight, not the price. First off we wrote down the things we could start to enjoy when the excess weight had gone. We came up with – Going for walks in the country, flirting, great sex, going for a swim without embarrassment, playing with the kids, fun on the beach, dancing, cycling and greater happiness.

We imagined going on vacation, wearing shorts and tee-shirts and looking great. Others smiled and welcomed us where-ever we went. Life became a breeze.

Hence, we followed the process and reaped the rewards. Has it been worth it? You bet…