HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LOSE WEIGHT?

Losing weight can sometimes be a long process. The more weight you want to lose, the longer it'll take to reach your goal. The problem is that no one wants to go through the whole process so they find shortcuts to try and make the ordeal of dieting and exercising as quick and easy as possible. Since shortcuts don't work, they lead the dieter to lose their motivation and prolong the weight loss process. The quickest way to lose weight is by combining a calorie restricted diet with a solid exercise routine. It also happens to be the healthiest.

healthy weight loss happens at about 1-2 pounds per week. If you want to lose 20 pounds, you should expect it to take anywhere from 10-20 weeks (~2-4 months). A good way to think about how long it'll take to lose weight is to try and remember how long it took you to gain it. If you gained 40 pounds over an entire year, don't expect to lose it within a few weeks.

The most important rule to follow when losing weight is simple: to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you eat. By creating a calorie deficit (burning more calories than you eat) your body is forced to use sources other than food (body fat) for energy which causes weight loss. This rule is what every successful weight loss strategy MUST be based on. Any program that claims you can eat anything with little exercise will not succeed.

Though the number of calories is the most important aspect of weight loss, the types of foods you eat can also have a huge impact on your weight loss goals. When you cut calories, you also inadvertently decrease your intake of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals that your body needs. This makes it very important to concentrate on eating nutrient dense foods to compensate for the drop. You should avoid foods that are high in empty calories. These foods contain a high amount of calories with very little in the way of nutritional value. Examples of empty calorie foods include candy, soda and baked goods - doughnuts, muffins, cookies. Examples of foods you should be eating to aid in your weight loss include 100% whole wheat products (bread and pasta), brown rice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, beans, seafood and lean meats.

Exercise helps create a larger calorie deficit by increasing the amount of calories you burn. Cardiovascular exercise (running, biking, rowing, swimming, most sports) should be done 3-5x per week and last 45-60 minutes per session. A commonly avoided aspect of fitness that most people skip over when trying to lose weight is strength training. Strength training generally builds muscle which most people wrongly assume will lead them to gain weight instead of losing it. Building muscle however, will help you lose weight faster.

Muscle tissue is very high maintenance. Muscle tissue is constantly sucking up energy to sustain itself. This means that two people who are the same weight but have different amounts of muscle will burn different amounts of calories throughout the day. The person with more muscle tissue will burn more calories before exercise is even factored in. The more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. This will increase the size of your calorie deficit making weight loss easier and faster. Keep in mind that you can't gain muscle at anywhere near the rate at which you can lose fat.

WHAT STARVING URSELF CAN DO TO YOUR BODY.

On a starvation diet, the body slows down its metabolism to conserve energy. This means the longer you go on not eating/eating too little ,the slower your weight loss will be.Without sufficient glucose (from food) for your brain's functioning, you will experience mental fatigue, inability to concentrate ,irritability, headaches, confusion. Because your muscles won't get enough fuel to work on, you'll feel faint, unstable and weak.

To lose weight you need to keep your energy up by keeping muscles strong and giving it fuel (food!) and eat small frequent meals but make healthy choice. If you starve yourself to lose weight, you will find rapid weight loss. If you eat right, you'll drop the weight right off, and you'll look great. Your body is smart. It knows that you starved it, so as soon as you start eating again, it stores anything and everything it can from the food you are eating, just in case you starve yourself again so that it has something to live off of.

When your body is storing all of these things, you'll find yourself gaining weight again rapidly, sometimes more than you initially lost. There's no way to stop this either(yes there is, if you increase your metabolism to make up for the increase in your intake)...unless you stop eating again, but then the next time you eat your body will again store anything it can take from the food you're eating. Starving yourself to lose weight sounds like an OK idea, but it ends up being harmful.

 Fat storage in itself is a body's survival mechanism. If over-used, just anything else, it can indeed be harmful. But starving and leading a normal life will prove to be quite difficult and harmful as explained below. Starvation is just that, starving, and your making your body go through hell to keep yourself alive. The smart way to lose weight and keep it off is not easy, but will give you the results you seek.

A well-balanced diet with all the correct serving sizes and a moderate exercise regiment are what is needed to be healthy and have a body that is lean. Please don't take the easy way out and end up harming yourself. What I would suggest for those who are overweight (30lbs or more) is go on a protein powder diet. It is much safer than starving but please do consult with your physician before attempting this.

When you deprive your body of sustenance it uses your fat and muscle for nutrients. If you are working every muscle group, your body will consume the excess fat in your body. If you are not exercising every major muscle group, your body will use a combination of fat and muscle to keep going. You will feel extremely tired and slow.

If prolonged starvation occurs, the weight loss will quickly begin to taper as your metabolism adjusts to not getting enough food. In the end, starving yourself could have serious consequences for your body. Healthy and fast weight loss can be achieved by consuming no less than 1000 calories a day and high intensity cardio for an hour five/six days a week.

WHY SLEEP IS IMPORTANT TO THE BODY?

When you’re scrambling to meet the demands of modern life, cutting back on sleep can seem like the only answer. How else are you going to get through your never-ending to-do list or make time for a little fun? Sure, a solid eight hours sounds great, but who can afford to spend so much time sleeping? The truth is you can’t afford not to.

Sleep consists of a series of distinct cycles and stages that restore and refresh your body and mind. Even minimal sleep loss takes a toll on your mood, energy, efficiency, and ability to handle stress. If you want to feel your best, stay healthy, and perform up to your potential, sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Learn what happens when you’re sleeping, how to determine your nightly sleep needs, and what you can do to bounce back from chronic sleep loss and get on a healthy sleep schedule.

Many of us want to sleep as little as possible—or feel like we have to. There are so many things that seem more interesting or important than getting a few more hours of sleep. But just as exercise and nutrition are essential for optimal health and happiness, so is sleep. The quality of your sleep directly affects the quality of your waking life, including your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and even your weight. No other activity delivers so many benefits with so little effort!

While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Children and teens need even more (see box at right). And despite the notion that our sleep needs decrease with age, older people still need at least 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep. Since older adults often have trouble sleeping this long at night, daytime naps can help fill in the gap. If you’re getting less than eight hours of sleep each night, chances are you’re sleep deprived.

 What’s more, you probably have no idea just how much lack of sleep is affecting you.
How is it possible to be sleep deprived without knowing it? Most of the signs of sleep deprivation are much more subtle than falling face first into your dinner plate. Furthermore, if you’ve made a habit of skimping on sleep, you may not even remember what it feels like to be wide-awake, fully alert, and firing on all cylinders. It feels normal to get sleepy when you’re in a boring meeting, struggle through the afternoon slump, or doze off after dinner. But the truth is that it’s only “normal” if you’re sleep deprived.

PATRICIA MCKINNEY AT PLANET FITNESS!

Pictured above is the CEO/President over The PMP Weight Loss Movement working it out on the Cybrex swing, and the Ab/Hip machine at Planet Fitness. She is almost at her goal weight beginning at 225lbs, and currently weighing in at 190lbs.

WHAT EXCERCISING TOO MUCH CAN DO TO YOUR BODY.

Regular exercise is a good thing. Regular physical activity reduces feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. Exercise and sports should be fun and keep you healthy. There are some people who exercise too much. Too much exercise can make you susceptible to injuries and illnesses.

You should exercise thirty to forty-five minutes a day, five days a week. It is sufficient to acquire health benefits. Your body needs activity but it also needs rest. Getting too much exercise is just as bad as getting too little exercise. Too much exercise can lead to long-term health problems and the disruptions in personal life that result from addiction and compulsive behavior.

The typical symptoms of too much exercise include: insomnia, achiness or pain in the muscles and/or joints, fatigue, headaches, sudden inability to complete workouts, loss in appetite, feeling unmotivated and lacking energy and elevated morning pulse. Exercising too much can cause some problems like: injuries such as stress fractures, strains and sprains, low body fat, fatigue, dehydration, osteoporosis and arthritis.  Too much exercise can cause a woman's period to stop and reproductive problems. 

It's very important that you pay attention to how you are feeling during your workouts.  This will help you to see whether or not you may be crossing the threshold into overtraining. Overtraining is just as common among ordinary people as it is among athletes. The most common symptom if you are overtraining is fatigue. If you are overtraining, the only way to help your body is to take some time off. You will need to take a week or more to rest. During recovery is important for you to drink lots of fluid and rest as much as possible. You should know that the best treatment is prevention. You can prevent overtraining by working out sensibly and allowing your body enough rest between workouts.

If you force yourself to exercise, even if you don't feel well you probably have problem with overtraining.You must know that compulsive exercise, can cause serious health problems, and in extreme cases, death. If you are taking time off from work, getting too little sleep, or missing social events to work out you are probably compulsive exerciser. If you you're doing the same exercise too much, that also could cause some serious health problems. Your body needs time to recover. Doing the same exercise too much every day could also lead to overtraining.

You should know that exercise can become a compulsive habit when it is done for the wrong reasons. Many people start exercising to lose weight. Healthy diet healthy and exercise are best way to lose weight. But, some people may have unrealistic goals. We are all under pressure to look good.  Some people may overexercise to speed up weight loss. You should know that if you use exercise to compensate for eating binges or just regular eating, you could be suffering from exercise bulimia. If you feel like your eating and exercise habits have taken over your life, see your doctor.  Some people who exercise too much may have a distorted body image and low self-esteem.

When you start exercising for excessively long periods of time to keep our weight or body shape under control, you may have exercise addiction. Signs of exercise addiction include no longer experiencing pleasure during exercise, an inability to take a day off from exercise, and exercising when sick or injured. In some cases exercise addiction may require professional help.
People who have problem with exercise bulimia see themselves as overweight even when they are actually a healthy weight. You should ask your doctor, dietitian, what a healthy body weight is for you and how to develop healthy eating and exercise habits. Some athletes may also think that repeated exercise will help them to win.  The pressure to succeed may also lead these people to exercise more than is healthy. Too much exercise can lead to injuries like fractures and muscle strains.