Tag dieting

So, you’ve lost the pounds or are only days from achieving your goal. Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and you must feel great (if not, you should!). That said, there are certain rules after weight loss that you should observe if you want to make sure those lost pounds don’t come creeping back again.

The Rules After Weight Loss Aren’t All That Difficult After All

Fortunately, the rules after weight loss aren’t necessarily as challenging as the ones you were following while you were dieting. In fact, if your strategy was to live a healthy lifestyle of eating reasonable portions of nutritious foods while being active most days, then you likely won’t notice too much of a difference in your regular daily life.

Still, just because you’ve reached your goal, it doesn’t mean that you can go back to the old habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place. You do still need to remain mindful of the rules after weight loss to keep up the body you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Rules After Weight Loss to Follow

1. Make a Promise to Yourself

To start, the very first rule that you need to apply to yourself is the most vital. It is a promise that you need to make to yourself for the rest of your life. This promise is to understand that you aren’t fat and you never were. You may have had excess fat on your body, but that doesn’t make you fat. You are a person who lives within your body but your body doesn’t define who you are. By understanding this, you don’t think of your weight as something associated with guilt or shame. It is a part of your health and something over which you do have control should you choose to apply that control.

2. Focus on Daily Habits and Lifestyle

Next, since your goal is to keep your weight managed over the long term, you need to see things as a part of an overall lifestyle and not a single weight-related program. Nobody wants to be a part of a restrictive diet for the rest of their lives. As a result, that would work out for very few people. Therefore, start building the right habits that you can work into your daily life to take good care of your body and of yourself, instead of trying to focus on calorie counting for the next several decades.

3. Stay Active

Finally, stay active. Don’t let your workouts slide. If you find that you’re not motivated to do them, change them instead of stopping altogether.

According to WebMD, can try the following strategies to avoid gaining weight:

• Strength train – Do this at least a few times each week. It will help you not only retain the muscles you gained in the past, but also continue to build more muscle that can help you keep the weight off.
• Get more steps in – If you use a fitness tracker to keep track of how many steps you take every day, that’s great! Experts recommend adding an additional 2,000 steps to your daily goal if you hope to keep the excess weight off.

Look for the Best Diet Pills to Maintain a Healthy Weight

If you do end up gaining a few pounds, you can take weight loss tablets that work fast to support increased workout intensity and necessary modifications to your diet. This combination can help you drop back to your ideal weight zone quickly.

It’s wise to search for the best diet pills to maintain a healthy weight, such as those that are manufactured in the U.S. using high-quality ingredients. That way, you can take something that will support your efforts, and will help you achieve your goals efficiently.

Get Help from your Doctor

Finally, always remember that, whenever you’re in doubt, consulting with your doctor can give you the answers you need, even when it comes to the rules after weight loss that you should follow.

When we are losing weight, we are also letting go of some stiff cravings. This includes the chocolate or the sugar and bad carbs we used to eat. But that doesn’t mean we can’t snack anymore and in fact, snacking is encouraged when dieting. Here we will touch a little on why and provide you with some healthy and tasty ways to snack all day without the guilt. There are some healthy finger foods for weight loss that are yummy and won’t sabotage your dieting efforts.

Finger foods, in particular, can be a great addition to your diet while you are trying hard to slim down to your target weight. This type of food is designed to be eaten with — you guessed it — your fingers. So, you don’t need to worry about using any utensils! However, you do still need to be careful about controlling your portions, of course, as you don’t want to overdo it and end up eating too many finger foods.

Want to learn more about finger foods for weight loss? We cover some helpful information below. If you need additional tips and extra support on your weight loss journey, particularly when it comes to what foods you should be eating, as well as which ones you should be avoiding, don’t hesitate to consult with a nutritionist or your doctor for help.

Why Should We Eat More When Trying to Lose Weight?

The reason for this is important and two-fold. The reasons are glucose levels and metabolism. It is essential that your blood glucose levels are raised to a normal and functional level. If it fluctuates too often you will end up with glucose issues such as diabetes. You will also throw off your metabolism and not lose weight—in fact, you will get the cravings you don’t need.

The Benefits of Eating Finger Foods for Weight Loss

You might be wondering why we are recommending finger foods for weight loss. How can these foods help you achieve your weight loss goals?

As long as you are choosing to eat healthy finger foods, you can certainly incorporate these into your diet while you are working on slimming down. In fact, according to Cooking Light, there are many healthy finger foods that you can enjoy even while you are throwing a party for guests to have a great time. So, there really is no reason to let go of your plans for eating right even when you are celebrating.

Like anything else, it is up to you to make the right decisions when it comes to the ingredients you use when preparing your own finger foods at home, and when it comes to ordering these foods from restaurants. You want it all to be low-calorie, high in nutrients, and low in unhealthy fats, sugar, and sodium.

Yummy Finger Foods for Weight Loss

Regardless of what diet you are following, you can find a variety of finger food recipes that you can try right away using ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. This includes a wide range of plant-based recipes that are going to be low in calories yet high in fiber, making the finger foods even more filling so you can more easily cut back on calories.

There are so many wonderful foods in nature that give you flavor and all the natural sugar you need. This type of sugar from vegetables and fruits are something your body can use to burn fat and provide an endless supply of energy to work out and feel great without the cravings! Best of all, they are finger foods for weight loss that can be eaten conveniently.

• Low fat dips for flavor is a must if you aren’t a vegetable person. You can do this with onion soup mix and low fat sour cream. You can use hummus and for a lighter touch or you can use raw honey.
• Carrot sticks or baby carrots.
• Celery sticks and natural peanut butter.
• Cucumber slices and tomato slices with some torn basil and balsamic vinegar.
• Baked chicken wings with balsamic vinegar and honey or sweet and sour dipping sauce. This is a great snack you can pick on all day while you do your veggies to get a little protein in your system. Chicken wings are only fattening when they are deep fried and covered with “stuff” but they are a great source of protein.
• Cheese and whole wheat crackers. Buying nine grain crackers and blocks of a light cheese—no oily cheeses like sharp cheddar. Muenster or Gouda is the tastiest when you want to have a saltier taste.
• Cheese and sliced apples with natural peanut butter.

Other tasty options include:

• Spicy cauliflower bites
• Chickpea salad on an endive leaf
• Irish potato cakes
• Pretzel bites and mustard
• Sweet potato fries

Note: In order to maintain a good and lasting snacking habit that is good for you, you must cover all tastes so you aren’t craving anything. There is salty, sweet, and a little sour here that will satisfy your palate. Finger foods for weight loss are a great way to enjoy your diet.

Enjoy these delicious and nutritious finger foods for weight loss often, keeping in mind that, when done right, they can help you along your path to a slimmer and healthier body.

Even though Phentermine is one of the most popular prescription weight loss pills and one of the most commonly prescribed weight loss products, it isn’t perfect. In fact, in addition to some potentially serious side effects, these pills will only work for a short time before you need to take a break from them.

Side note: Consider talking to your doctor about the pros and cons of Phentermine if you are thinking about giving it a try, even though Phentermine only works for a short time. You might discover that you are not the right candidate for this type of prescription diet pill, or you might determine that you are not willing to risk the side effects. No matter what, don’t worry, as there are plenty of other options out there, including other prescription diet pills, along with weight management supplements that you can purchase over the counter.

Now, let’s tackle some important details about Phentermine, shall we? Keep reading to learn more about why Phentermine only works for a little while.

Phentermine Only Works for a Short Time Because Side Effects Are Possible

One of the biggest reasons why Phentermine should not be taken long-term is because its side effects include increased blood pressure and heart rate. All of this pressure that is placed upon your cardiovascular system could possibly lead to serious problems, so you should not take this product for longer than your doctor advises.

In addition to side effects that can harm your heart, according to Healthline, there are other side effects that are possible when taking Phentermine. They include:

• Dizziness
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Dry mouth
• Constipation
• Trouble sleeping

Phentermine Only Works for a Short Time Because You Might Become Addicted to It

Another reason why Phentermine is only a short-term fix for weight loss is because you can become addicted to taking these pills. Much like amphetamine, this product will stimulate your central nervous system and cause you to feel energetic and alert, as well as less hungry. But it is classified as a controlled substance, which is why you can only get it with a prescription.

Phentermine Only Works for a Short Time Because It Might Become Less Effective Over Time

The longer you take Phentermine pills for weight loss, the more accustomed your body will become to its effects. This, in turn, leads to a reduction in its effectiveness. A lot of people who take Phentermine find that the prescription stops working as well as it did when they first starting taking it. And, this is why some people take a break from Phentermine for a while before taking it again.

There Are Other Weight Loss Methods and Products! 

By now, you might be second-guessing whether or not you should take Phentermine to begin with. Rest assured that there are many options when it comes to weight loss products, and there are several that are available over-the-counter without a prescription.

For example, there are some alternatives to Phentermine online available that you don’t need a prescription for. They can be taken for much longer than prescriptions, but they should still be taken carefully, according to the instructions on their label.

Diet Pills, Including Phentermine, Should Be Taken While Following Other Strategies 

If your doctor has told you to give a prescription diet pill a try, always remember that Phentermine only works for a short time. Therefore, you need to establish other healthy, daily habits, as well as changes to your lifestyle, while you are taking these pills. That way, when you are done taking the pills and you’re no longer experiencing their weight loss effects, you will still be able to maintain that weight loss, as well as continue to lose more pounds if you need to keep slimming down to meet your target weight.

A few of the strategies that you should implement while taking Phentermine include following a lower-calorie diet that is packed with foods that are high in nutrients and fiber. You should also make it a point to become more active. Taking the stairs, walking more, and exercising a few times a week are all great ways to incorporate more physical activity into your daily life.

Is Phentermine Right for You? Your Doctor Can Help!

For several reasons, Phentermine is not a product that should be taken over the course of a long period of time. Short-term use to help you shed those extra pounds more quickly and easily is the name of the game. Anything more could cause damage to your body and cause you to become addicted to these pills. Also, because this is a strong prescription diet pill, taking it according to your doctor’s instructions will be absolutely necessary to reduce the odds of side effects and dependency.

Ultimately, your doctor will be able to evaluate your health, current weight, weight loss needs, medical history, medications, supplements, and more to determine if you’re the right type of patient for Phentermine in the first place.

Good ol’ plain water is the best way to hydrate your body, especially during the summer season when the sun is strong and the temperature is high. Unfortunately, drinking plain water can get boring pretty quickly. That being the case, what are some weight loss friendly summer thirst quenchers that aren’t plain water, and that won’t get in the way of your beach bod? Keep reading for a few fun and tasty options you can try.

Coconut Water

When it comes to summer thirst quenchers, definitely give coconut water a try. The tropical flavor alone will pair perfectly with summer vibes, but there are plenty of other great reasons that experts recommend this drink. Compared to sports drinks, coconut water is rich in potassium, yet low in carbs. When you have an unsweetened version, you can avoid excess sugar while hydrating your body if you’re spending time in the sun or getting in a solid workout.

Iced Coffee

Need an energy boost? Reach for some iced coffee, which does act as a diuretic, but actually won’t dehydrate you, as previously thought. According to a study in PLOS ONE, moderate daily consumption of coffee will not lead to dehydration. Woohoo! You can drink your favorite cup o’ joe with some ice to get a boost in your physical and mental performance, while also hydrating your body and quenching your thirst.

Smoothies

No list of summer thirst quenchers would be complete without mentioning smoothies. Have these in moderation, as they might be high in sugar, depending upon the ingredients used. Sticking with green smoothies that combine fruits and vegetables is also a wonderful way to quench your thirst, while also giving your body a nice dose of antioxidants.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Drinking is one way to hydrate your body; eating is another. With the right foods on your place, you can quench your thirst, hydrate your body, and stick to your weight loss plan all at the same time. Try adding more lettuce, watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers, and celery to your summer recipes in order to ensure your body remains properly hydrated and ready for action.

With these summer thirst quenchers, you can rest assured that your body will remain hydrated even in the hottest and driest conditions, and you won’t have to worry about undoing any of your weight loss efforts either. So, go ahead and indulge!

Are you the type of person who just really loves food? Do you find yourself willing to try a variety of different foods from cultures from around the world because you just want to try out all of the flavors that are out there? Then you might be wondering about how to lose weight when you love food and you love to eat so much. Well, there’s hope, and a few tips are found below to help you get started.

Master Portion Control

When it comes to how to lose weight when you love food, it is all about mastering portion control. You could start by calculating your ideal calorie intake for the day, and then creating your meal plans and setting your portions around that calorie count. In this way, you can eat all of the foods that you love without going overboard.

Let Yourself Indulge

You don’t need to give up your favorite flavors and foods just because you are trying to lose weight. In addition to controlling your portions, you can also give yourself a treat here and there so that you can let yourself indulge. After all, many dieters end up struggling the most when they cut out entire food groups or eliminate specific foods from their diet altogether.

Stick to Healthier Cooking Methods

Finally, the way that you cook your food can also have an impact upon your ability to slim down. Swapping deep fried foods for baked foods is just one example of how you can lose weight even when you love food. You can still enjoy all of the flavors and textures that you have grown to love, and you can still experiment with new recipes, but just be sure to cook in a way that reduces your intake of fat and calories. Be sure to organize your kitchen for weight loss to make cooking healthy meals more doable.

With a better understanding of how to lose weight when you love food, you can still indulge in all of the foods and flavors that you crave without undoing your progress.

If you have a certain number of pounds that you want to lose, you might be wondering just how many calories you will need to cut in order to reach your goal. So how many calories do you have to burn off in order to lose just one pound of fat? We give you all the information that you need below.

The Basic Formula

There is a basic formula that you can use to figure out how many calories you need to cut in order to lose a pound of fat each week. Put simply, in order to lose a pound of fat, you need to burn off a total of 3,500 calories.

This is a pretty well known formula that has been around for a while, so people have been using it in order to calculate how many calories they would need to cut over the course of a week so that they could lose a pound per week. But you could also try another strategy to lose more weight in the same amount of time.

The Latest Information on How to Lose Weight More Quickly

Unfortunately, if you want to lose more than just one pound per week, you need to burn more than 3,500 calories—a lot more. As you might have guessed, in order to burn off two pounds of body fat, you need to burn double the amount of calories than you previously thought: 7,000 calories! But this typically works for most people over a longer period of time than just one week. After all, it could be difficult to burn off 1,000 calories every day.

Finding the Right Balance

For the average dieter, it is a lot easier to aim to cut 3,500 calories per week, which translates to about 500 calories per day. If you want to lose a pound of fat per week, you need to stick to this strict formula. If you want to lose two pounds per week to get faster results, though, you need to aim to burn 7,000 calories over the course of that week.

Whether you choose to go with the basic 3,500 calorie formula or you aim higher with 7,000 calories per week, you should be able to start seeing results with these weight-loss plans. The key is to eat right and be active every day so that you can restrict the number of calories that you eat while also burning excess calories with your workout routine.

When you are trying to lose weight, and when you are having a lot of difficulty shedding those excess pounds, you might be tempted to start following some of the many extreme weight loss methods that are out there. But this is dangerous, and there are many reasons why you should not try losing weight by following those methods. Continue reading to learn more so you can make the appropriate choices for your overall health when you need to slim down.

Your Body Doesn’t Get the Nutrition That It Needs

Dramatically cutting back on what you eat every day is one of the most common extreme weight loss methods, but cutting all of those calories also means that you will be cutting out a lot of the nutrition that your body needs every day to be energized and to stay healthy. Also, when you cut too many calories, you could adversely affect your metabolism, and your body will basically move into starvation mode and prevent weight loss. And if you think that you can just take supplements, think again, as your body requires nutrition from food in order to function at its best.

You Will Not Have Enough Energy

Another common consequence of extreme weight loss methods is a lack of energy. Not only will you feel fatigued and moody, but you will also be unable to get through your workouts, which are important if you want to burn more calories and fat while building more muscle. Basically, if you don’t have the right amount of calories to burn and the right nutrients to use for energy, you won’t be able to go to the gym or even do yoga.

You’ll Likely Gain the Weight Back Right Away

When you lose weight too quickly, it is more likely that you will end up gaining it back just as quickly. You can’t really expect long-term weight loss when you are yo-yo dieting and when you are using extreme tactics to shock your body into slimming down. Instead, you need to consistently eat well and exercise to keep the weight off.

Following extreme weight loss methods might seem like a good idea at first, but doing so will only cause more harm than good. Instead, it really is best to be gentle with your body and to work with it so that you can slim down safely. Eat right, exercise, follow a healthy and active lifestyle, and consider getting extra weight loss support from an over-the-counter weight management product like Phentramin-D.

Whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, the irresistible urge to eat the wrong foods can be bad for you. By understanding intense craving causes you can help yourself to stop them from happening in the first place, or at least overcome them in the healthiest possible way.

Getting to know the biggest intense craving causes arms you against them in a very powerful way. It helps you to narrow down the culprit and to shut it down before it can do any damage to your current waistline or your attempt to lose more weight.

Consider the following top intense craving causes so you can know how to make them stop:

• Low serotonin levels – Serotonin is a neurotransmitter – that is, a brain chemical – which is primarily produced within the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, it has a direct link to the mood, digestion and even the appetite. Consuming carbohydrates like sugar can give our serotonin levels a temporary boost. Therefore, when serotonins are low, our brains can send us huge carb cravings to overcome it. Unfortunately, that’s not the best idea for weight management. If you’re craving something sweet, skip the candy bar. Instead, grab a handful or two of your favorite berries or even a square or two of very dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa). This will give your body the boost in needs without overloading your calories.

• Emotional triggers – This cause is huge and can occur regularly throughout the day if you’re not careful. Because it can be caused by anything from boredom to excitement and from sadness to low self esteem or even poor body image, you can find yourself starving for foods you don’t want or need virtually all the time. Overcoming this one can be a challenge, but consider some positive self talk, regular hydration, meditation and yoga. Don’t forget to try to get a good sleep at night, too, as that can go a long way toward emotional control.

• Leptin resistance – Leptin is a hormone naturally produced by your body. Its main job is to tell your brain when you are full so you don’t feel hungry anymore. However, when your body has stored too much fat, the leptin hormone may not function as it should. This can cause you to feel hungry much more than you should. Overcome leptin resistance by drinking lots of water and eating regularly. Have a mid morning and mid afternoon snack, as well as an evening one if you feel you need it. Just make sure you’re choosing foods that are high in fiber, nutrient dense, low in calories and that possibly contain protein, too.

As you learn about the 80/20 Diet, the first thing you’ll discover is that it began in the form of a book written by Teresa Cutter. It was created to provide dieters with an eating strategy to which they’ll adhere for six days per week. This means that 80 percent of the time, you’ll be eating according to the plan. The remaining 20 percent of the time – that is, one day per week – you’re allowed to eat pretty much whatever you want, within reason.

That said, what you should know about the 80/20 Diet day off is that you have freedom and flexibility but not as much as you want of anything at all. To help guide dieters to eat the right foods according to the rules of this strategy, the book provides more than 130 recipes. Dieters aren’t required to eat all those meals, but the recipes can help them to learn how and what they should be eating.

Another important point about the 80/20 Diet is that the author herself is a known chef and nutritionist, is considered to be among the leading healthy cooking authorities and is an Australian personal trainer. That said, just because the author knows what she’s doing in terms of nutrition, it doesn’t necessarily equate to a program that will motivate a dieter to take action and stick to it.

It is in that area that this diet falls short for many dieters, according to the customer reviews posted on sites such as Amazon where the book is sold. They suggest that despite the considerable amount of information provided within the book, it doesn’t offer the user the drive to adopt it into his or her life.

Moreover, while the book does provide information and recipes, it does not translate that information into usable step-by-step guidance that would provide dieters with the method they need to follow to use it. Without turning the information in the book into lessons and instructions for the dieter, most dieters won’t have the motivation or ability to apply it properly.

Furthermore, a closer look at the recipes provided in the book, it’s clear that this diet is based on the use of nutrient dense, whole foods. This suggests that the focus is on balanced nutrition, not just weight loss, but it also doesn’t take into account that the ingredients may be more expensive than many families are used to spending on their weekly grocery bills. This was a common complaint among the reviews left by customers who had purchased and read the book.

There are a number of things that can happen to your body as you lose weight, but many people don’t talk about them. Among the most common is that you can become gassy after starting a diet. It’s unpleasant, uncomfortable and can even be embarrassing, but it happens.

Usually, a normal amount of gas doesn’t cause much harm. However, when you’re exceptionally gassy after starting a diet you can suffer from stomach pains and cramping, humiliating public gas releases, and bloating that can make you appear larger than you actually are in terms of your body fat levels.

So what is it that is causing you to become gassy after starting a diet? After all, you’re likely eating more healthfully and are treating yourself far better. Believe it or not, it could be a shift toward becoming healthier that is causing the gas in the first place. The good news is that it won’t last. As your body adapts to appropriate fiber levels, a change in balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and even improves the natural good intestinal flora, the gas will occur but will subside. Just keep up the good work and stay the course to get through it faster and easier.

That said, there are some additional things you can do to decrease gassiness and overcome the discomforts and potential embarrassment. These include the following:

Drink water properly

Stay hydrated. It’s good for appetite suppression, weight loss, your complexion and your overall wellness. That said, it’s also good for digestion and can help you to speed up your progress through gassier times. Equally, you need to drink it properly. Don’t chug down large amounts at once in order to try to hydrate. Sip steadily throughout the day. You may also want to skip using a straw as that only encourages you to swallow more air, which can lead to bloating and gassiness.

Increase fiber gradually

It’s true that you should likely be eating more fruits and veggies than you already are, but if you suddenly swap a low fiber diet for a healthier one much higher in fiber, your body might not be ready for it and gas, abdominal pain and even diarrhea could be the outcome. Instead, increase your fiber levels gradually.

Reduce added sugar intake

As much as you possibly can, limit the amount of added sugar in your diet. This is not naturally occurring sugar like that in fruit, but sugar, fructose, sucrose and other sweeteners added to an ingredients list. Bacteria – not necessarily the good kind – love sugar and consume tons of it. Then they produce waste which includes gasses which then fill up your intestines, causing bloating and your own gassiness.

Exercise

Get moving because it’s one of the best ways to, well, get things moving. The lower your risk of constipation, the lower your risk of gassiness. If you need more energy and greater support while exercising, try taking a energizing diet pill like Phentramin-d for an extra boost toward your goal.