I have been doing this for the past week or so and it has done wonders for me. 5 straight days of running or weight training.

You know when it comes to losing weight, eating healthy or doing exercise sometimes it feels like I am 2 different people. There is morning Steve, always tired but very motivated and hopeful for having a good healthy day, no junk foods, lots of walking breaks at work, drinking lots of water and looking forward to working out at night/evening etc.. I like this Steve.

Then there is night Steve or more specifically after the kids are in bed Steve. He craves the junk food and does whatever he can to get it. Night Steve is also tired but only when it comes to exercise or meal planning or making lunches/snacks for the next day. For all other activities like working on the computer until 1am, watching movies or driving to the store to get junk food he has boundless energy.

Obviously these 2 personalities clash and for some reason at night after the kids are in bed and it’s Mommy and Daddy time I forget about all the good intentions I had started the day with.

So Simple it Seems Stupid

What I do is this, in the morning before I leave for work is I write myself a note, nothing too elaborate usually just a sentence or a word.

For example yesterday’s note said this “Before turning on the computer run for 30 minutes on the treadmill, you’ll feel great” . I left this on my computer monitor, sure enough last night I came down stairs ready to hop on the computer as usual. I saw the note and immediately it brought me back to when I wrote it that morning.

45 minutes later I had run for 35 minutes and burnt 365 calories. Best of all I did feel great afterwards and I was able to work on the computer guilt free.

The key for me was not to think too much about what else I had to do that night or what else I could have done. Basically not talking myself out of it. I was listening to my motivated self and did what I knew I really wanted to do.

I Don’t Have Short Term Memory Loss

Maybe “forgetting” is the wrong word for my not following through with my good intentions, as I do not have short term memory loss. It’s more like wilful ignorance and I know I’m not alone on this.

My wife thinks it’s funny that I do this and has posted notes around the house with things like “unload the dishwasher” and “change the laundry” mocking me it seems. (Doesn’t work like that honey )

Before you just blow this off as silly or stupid, give it a try first. When you’re motivated in the morning (or anytime you’re feeling motivated) write to yourself and leave the notes somewhere you’ll be most likely to read it or need to read it. (on your fridge,TV, bathroom mirror, in your car etc…). Hopefully this will help you stay motivated or at least remind you of what you really want to do, when your motivated that is.

The never ending task of losing weight is daunting to so many people. You can feel as though, in spite of your best efforts, you can’t seem to shed the unwanted pounds.

One key to losing weight is to boost your metabolism.

People search for ways to boost their metabolism and some of them are rather unnatural or undesired, so it’s important to focus on the healthiest ways to do so. In order to boost your metabolism, you need to focus on a few important factors.

1. Weight Training: We all know that exercise is an important way to lose weight. However if you are looking to boost your metabolism for a longer term method to lose weight, you need to focus on weight training. Lifting weights helps to boost your muscle mass and this in turn burns more calories. The more muscle that you product, the higher your metabolism will get and the more weight you can drop. It’s that simple!

2. Eat More Protein: Yet again we see how focusing on building up your lean muscle helps to increase your metabolism. This time it has everything to do with eating the right foods, this time in the form of lean proteins. Eating protein will help your body to burn calories faster, keep you full longer, and ultimately increase your metabolism overall.

3. Drinking Lots of Ice Cold Water: As your body temperature tries to accommodate the ice cold water, it is burning calories in the process. This helps to burn calories and ultimately will increase your metabolism. Not only is water good for your health and your weight loss efforts, but it can play an important role in boosting your metabolism.

4. Fluctuate Your Calorie Intake: Rather than sticking with a set or limited number of calories each and every day, fluctuate the levels a bit. If you eat more calories one day and less the next, your body has to work to adjust. You don’t want to go for dramatic differences, but this minor modification can help to boost your metabolism.

5. Eat More Often: Rather than sitting down to three square meals a day, space out your eating. Eating smaller meals more frequently helps to boost your metabolism in the most natural way possible. This also keeps your blood sugar level up and helps your body to operate more efficiently.

6. Eating After a Workout: Your body is still working and burning calories even after you finish a grueling workout. This means that your metabolism is rather high and therefore makes an excellent time to eat. This means that your body will still be burning calories and help to boost your metabolism, even as you eat.

7. Eat a Well Balanced Diet: Try not to ignore any one food group as a well balanced diet will help to boost your metabolism. It’s important to include food choices from each food group such as lean protein, low fat dairy, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables to properly boost your metabolism.

Boosting your metabolism is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. By doing that in a healthy way—ways that are relatively painless, as the above all are—you also set the stage for not only increased metabolism and higher rates of calorie burn, but also for a lasting, well-managed diet and nutrition routine that will continue to do you good.

Mary Ward writes about various health care career topics, including how to choose among surgical technician courses.

NOTE: This was originally posted in March 2008, the funny thing is that I have changed my mind a little on this I now believe that Diet is a bit more effective. Live and learn right?

When making the change to a healthy lifestyle it can all seem overwhelming. Many of us have been inactive for years and the thought of heavy sweating, muscle soreness and the time commitments associated with working out can be enough to turn anyone away from doing it.

On the diet side of the equation it doesn’t look any easier. You’ll need to stop eating the high fat, high sugar foods that have become a daily part of your life. Then replace them with fruit and veggies and lean cuts of meat. Blah.

The combination of the two will undoubtedly change your body and drastically improve your overall health. But that is not easy to do all at once. I think that it’s easier to concentrate on just one part in the beginning.

So which one is more effective?

Almost all the advice I’ve read or received on this say diet is the most important. Changing your diet can be amazingly effective but I’d have to say that focusing on exercise is the way to go.

Exercise is easier to start and stick with hands down. When you finish a workout you get a real sense of accomplishment and pride. Can you say that about finishing a salad?

The most amazing thing about setting up an exercise program first is that it will almost force you to want to eat healthier food. Your body will begin to crave water instead of sugary drinks and fruit instead of chips and chocolate. It sounds crazy but I’ve seen it happen to even the most hardened junk food addict.

On top of this you will notice changes in your energy levels good and bad which is a great motivator. If you’re not eating properly you’ll notice that your workouts will suffer and you’ll feel tired, all day. That will ultimately lead to you looking for ways to fuel yourself instead of just filling yourself.

I’ve found that healthy eating doesn’t necessarily encourage or motivate you to exercise.

Final Thought

To sum it up when you feel like a complete lifestyle change is too much to handle all at once, choose exercise first and add the diet after.

Let me know what you think. Which do you think is more effective?

I have been a calorie counter off and on for a while and it has always lead me to short term success. By that I mean I keep track of everything I eat religiously, From Breakfast to Bed every calorie is recorded and logged in my spreadsheet. The success comes by way of 5 to 10 pounds in about a month to 6 weeks or so.

That might sound Ideal but it comes at a cost. Counting calories is such a tedious task that I soon begin to resesnt it and stop it all together. Those 5 to 10 pounds come back quickly and I usually find myself in the same place I was in before.

Be Calorie Conscious

For the past few weeks now I have stopped counting calories or at least stopped recording them anyway. The approach I am taking is to be more calorie conscious with the foods I eat rather than worrying about writing down everything I eat.

Being calorie conscious is really nothing more than being informed about how many calories are in a number of given foods and then making the healthier choice.

Calorie Counting vs. Calorie Consciousness

It might sound a little confusing as to what the difference is between the 2 methods, the best I can describe it is in the example below.

When I was counting calories I would eat what I wanted and record every bite. Most times I would weigh my portions to get the most accurate number of calories.

The key was eating whatever I wanted. Yes I did make some healthier choices but for the most part I was still eating full fat versions of my favorite foods. That might sound nice but those calories add up quickly and soon I had reached my calorie limit for the day. Sometimes by 4 in the afternoon.

To me that was calorie counting.

Now that I am calorie conscious I am eating better, more healthier foods that are naturally lower in calories. I still enjoy my favorite foods but in smaller qtys and portions, I do a lot of substituing of ingredients in recipes and I’m cutting out the extras (i.e sauces).

Being aware of what adds extra unneeded calories and finding ways to reduce or replace them I think is a much more effective long term approach to weight loss than strictly counting calories.

A Calorie Conscious Choice

While counting calories I would eat something like this:

A Quarter Pounder Sandwich from McDonald’s
Calories:420
Fat:20 grams

Now I would change that to a just a regular cheeseburger
Calories:300
Fat: 12 grams

Or even better, this recipe from the biggest loser cookbook called the Almost Fast Food Burger

Anyway, I have officially stopped counting calories for good. I am finding that is it much easier and I’m not as stressed about what I am eating. The pounds are coming off at about the same rate as before, but I am in a position now where I will be able to maintain the losses. That is will be the the real measure of success.

For any website owner that uses Google analytics to track who and how people are coming to their site, it baffles me when I see that someone finds my site through a keyword phrase and spends 0:00 time on whatever page the entered on. Obviously that particular post didn’t meet their needs.

Here are the top 3 topics or phrases that have the highest number of people spending the least amount of time on that post.

Biggest Loser Sweet Potato Fries Recipe

This is one that really confuses me as their is only 1 recipe in the biggest loser cookbook for sweet potato fries. Here are five phrases that people have used to find my post.

biggest loser baked sweet potatoe fries
biggest loser cookbook sweet potato
biggest loser sweet potato fries
devin alexander sweet potato fries
baked sweet potato fries, recipe

All of them are pretty relevant to what the post was about. Parmesan-pepper sweet potato fries from the Biggest loser cookbook.

Here is the recipe read it, make it and enjoy.
Biggest Loser Sweet Potato Fries Recipe

How many times a week to exercise

This is a very subjective question and you might get a few different opinions on this depending on who you ask.

Here are five phrases that people have used to find my post on this.

how many day per week should you workout?
how many days a week can you work out
how many days a week must you exercise
how many days a week should i work out
how many days a week should you exercise?

Again all of these are relevant to the topic of the post and yet according to analytics no one stayed to read it.

How Many Days Should You Exercise per Week

Was it too long to read?

P90X

This one is all over the map. There are so many different aspects to this program, that people are finding my site through a wide variety of phrases. I have only talked about p90X a few times but I’m getting a lot of people looking for info on it.

Here are some of the recurring questions which I will attempt to answer here.

Can you buy p90x at Walmart?

No you can get it through Beachbody.com, or at an As seen on TV store.

Can you do p90x if you are out of shape or overweight?

Yes you can. P90X is intense and intended to take fit people and make them extremely fit. But if you are overweight and have 30 – 40 pounds to lose you can still do P90X. Just take the fit test and see if you meet the minimum fitness requirements to start: P90X fit test

How much weight can you lose on P90X?

This all depends on how much weight you have to lose to begin with but 10 to 30 pounds in 90 days is not uncommon. I’ve seen a few people lose 40. Keep in mind that you are going to be hopefully adding muscle so your total “weight loss” might not be the best indicator of success.

Take a look at those articles and let me know what you think. Do you have any suggestions or improvements that can be made to them?