Weight Loss eBook
Updated Kindle Version
I’ve been running this blog for more than 3 years now and I have learned a lot about losing weight and keeping it off. Yes, I’ve had my share of ups and downs as well as a few injuries along the way, but overall I’ve managed to shed most of my excess fat.
It all started when I lost my first 30 lbs over a 2 month period. The weight came off quickly because I was doing what I knew would work. It wasn’t glamorous and didn’t have a catchy diet name like “The South Beach Diet” or anything like that.
There are 7 important things that I understood which helped me lose the weight quickly. I call these the 7 Pillars To Weight Loss Success and I’ve written an ebook about them. This isn’t a novel and is only about 25 pages cover to cover, but I think it’s filled with quality information that you’ll be able to use right away.
This is available for Kindle
7 Pillars of Weight Loss Success
I want to help people lose weight and that’s it. I know what it’s like to be overweight and it sucks. I also know how great it feels to be successful at losing weight and what a difference it can make to your life.
Once you’re finished it leave a comment and let me know what you think 
Steve
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Iphone Weight Loss
iPhones are known for their numerous uses, but can they really help you lose weight?
According to countless testimonials and reviews, they can. So, I decided to give it a try. And guess what? It worked! The apps helped me keep track of what I was eating and how to exercise. It was like having my own personal trainer. I lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks. And, as an added bonus, all of the apps I used were free.
This probably sounds like an infomercial, but, here is a summary of the free iPhone applications I would recommend using to lose weight.
First, I needed a basic iphone weight loss application that would help me keep track of calories in vs. calorie burned.
Lose It! (Rated: 4 stars)
Lose It! is similar to other diet tracking apps. It has a vast database of nutritional information and a large food bank that allows you to find your food item for purposes of determining caloric intake. But, what I liked about Lose It! was its “Friends” feature. This feature allowed me to connect with my friends and view their goals and accomplishments. We were able to encourage each other to stick to our diets and reach our goals. I really liked this personal touch.
Next, to help me insure that I lost weight in a healthy way, and not through starvation, I needed an application to help me workout.
Six Pack App (Rated: 3.5 stars)
The Six Pack App has exercises to work out my abs, chest, back, arms, shoulders, and legs. I liked the fact that the app had pictures of all exercises so that I could have a visual of what the exercise should entail. This iphone weight loss app gives general information, steps, tips, specific rules and muscle location for each exercise. My favorite part of this app is that I could incorporate a customized workout, including stretches and yoga.
Finally, I needed medical advice from time to time regarding the aches and pains I was feeling as I began working out.
WebMD Mobile (Rated: 3.5 stars)
WebMD is a unique app that allows those, like me, who are often worried about their health to save a trip to the doctor’s office. You can check your symptoms, access drug & treatment information, get first aid tips, and even check local health listings. For the symptom checker, you don’t even need to know what your symptom is called- there is a visual of a human body that you can use to locate your symptoms. The app provides warnings, uses, side effects, precautions, overdose information, and images for drugs and treatments so you can learn more about your prescriptions. In case you have a medical emergency, you can use this app to find local health listings.
If you want to lose weight, try these apps. And if they aren’t a good fit, there are many other weight loss apps available for your iPhone.
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Author Bio: Drake MacDonald is an educator. He is currently on staff at Online Schools, where he researches areas of higher learning, how to pick schools online, and education. In his spare time, he enjoys staying fit, watching football, and spending time in the outdoors.
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Simple Trick for Exercise Motivation
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.
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7 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism
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.
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Exercise or Diet
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?
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Stop Counting Calories
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.
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