NBCs smash-hit reality weight loss show, The Biggest Loser, is broadcast in 75 countries around the world, has two New York Times bestselling books under its belt, and produced the #1-selling fitness videos of 2006 and 2007. Credit for this wild success is in part due to the irresistibility of the TV show also because the diet and exercise program promoted on The Biggest Loser really works for regular people like you and me! Now you can try it too, with the Biggest Loser Club.The site has more than just diet tips. It has menus and structured meal and exercise plans ready for you each and every day. The Biggest Loser Club does a lot of the thinking for you! The recipes are fast and easy to put together, with everyday ingredients that are healthy for you. And they provide all the nutritional information you’ll need to follow your diet. There’s even a weight loss tracker where you enter your weight, and the program graphs your successes to se how far you’ve come!Additionally, the Biggest Loser Club site has an amazingly supportive community of fellow members. It’s a great way to share stories and recipes, and you’ll make lots of friends, too, that will make your online experience an invaluable one. Plus, you can use the personal progress journal to share your experiences and successes with other club members. You can also connect to The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper and cast members through the sites message boards. How cool is that? The biggest loser club employs other trainers as well as Bob Harper. One of the more popular trainers Ð Jillian Michaels is back on the show this season after taking a hiatus for season 2. She is leading the black team – a team of men and women whom did not get picked in the initial round for the blue and read team. Jillian’s black team has surprised many of the other contestants with their resilient winning attitude and dedication to losing weight. They literally went from zero to hero in this competitive challenge shooting out the gates with 3 straight wins. Unlike the red team whose member counts was cut in half extremely early on. The best part of the Biggest Loser Club is that it’s not a diet it’s a lifestyle change. It coaches you to change your bad habits into healthy ones so that you can start enjoying life and stop feeling like a passive bystander.
Big Weight Loss Success From Little Steps
A lot of people think that you have to take big steps to achieve weight loss success. They believe that the big weight loss stories are all about men and women who have made a huge change to their diet or start working out every single day of the week. Obviously, these big lifestyle changes can work for some people but for most of us it does not work.
To instantly change your lifestyle and then try and stay with a new routine is not easy. If you really want to change your body, the best weight loss plan is about making small and steady steps to achieve the results you want.
Small Steps To A Healthy Diet.
You do not want to try and completely change your diet overnight. In fact, people who try quick and fast weight loss plans rarely manage to achieve any long term weight loss success because they cannot stick the sudden change. Try to modify what you eat one food at a time, one week at a time.
For example, this week to start your weight loss diet plan, aim to eat a salad with two of your meals each day. You don’t need to count calories and you don’t need to eat less. All you need to do is eat a salad.
Then next week, your objective is to avoid eating fried foods. Again, if that’s your intention, it should be your only one for the week. Don’t try to overdo it with too many changes at once. By modifying your diet slowly and gradually, it gives your brain time to adjust to your new habits. It also gives your body time to adapt to the changing calorie levels and nutrition.
Taking Small Steps To Exercise.
Just as you slowly change what you eat, your exercise routine should also be taken slowly. If you try to start an exercise routine that is too ambitious, there’s a very good chance your subconscious mind will start making up excuses for not exercising.
Start with just exercising one or two days a week, rather than trying to do something everyday. In the beginning it makes sense to take things a little bit slower. When you do your exercise routine, you do need to feel like you’ve pushed yourself, but not so much that your whole body aches for days afterwards. Once regular exercise becomes part of your weight loss plan, you can start to make your workouts more intense.
Get Slim With Atkins Diet Plan
The Atkins’ diet has been a craze for a couple of decades. Here’s how you can gain from it.
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All of you who are reading this article right now have definitely been on a diet at some point or the other of your lives. The battle of the bulge is an ongoing problem and we are always on the lookout for various means to win this war.
Along with exercise, our diet and nutrition also plays an important role in reducing our weight. Hence, this obsession persists in all of us to undertake some form of dieting. But going on a diet is definitely not an easy thing. What to eat and what to stay away from is always a perennial problem.
One of my friends told me that she ate the normal menu which she cooked for the family, but her weight loss recipe is “portion control.” This is a really simple diet plan. In this plan, you cut down on the portion of food you consume. For example, if you usually have two pieces of toast for breakfast, you should eat only one piece. If you normally eat two cups of rice for lunch, cut it down to one cup. In this way, you are automatically reducing your calorie intake by half.
Another popular method of dieting is to stop all intake of fatty foods and sugar. In this diet, you cut down on your oil, butter and ghee intake which automatically reduces your fat deposits.
While I was leafing through a magazine, I read about one of our Hollywood celebrities following the Atkins’ diet. This immediately aroused my curiosity about the diet. Though I have heard about the diet many times, I had no inside knowledge about it. So, I immediately set to work on it and found out certain basic facts’ about the Atkins diet which I want to share with my readers.
The Atkins’ diet made its first appearance in 1972 and was invented by its namesake, Dr Atkins. According to him, this method enables us to lose weight by inducing a change in metabolism. Our body burns both fat and carbohydrates to provide energy. If we reduce the intake of carbohydrates significantly, our body starts burning only fat to provide energy. This method is called “lipolysis”, which in turn induces ketosis. In ketosis, our body burns fat as fuel. Atkins also felt that ketosis will affect insulin production which will result in less fat being formed. And, once your body enters ketosis, your cravings for carbohydrates will reduce significantly which, in turn, will reduce your body weight.
The major difference between Atkins’ diet and other types of diet is that, while most diets restrict calorie, intake, the Atkins’ plan encourages us to eat more. While most of the diets recommend low fat, high carbohydrate intake, Atkins’ does just the opposite. Instead of carbohydrate and sugar, this diet wants us to consume plenty of fat and protein.
The core principle of the Atkins’ diet is that, by limiting carbohydrates, our body is forced to burn its stored fat, rather than carbs for fuel.
The Atkins’ diet has a four carbohydrates stage plan induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. With the help of these four stages, you can reduce as well as maintain your weight throughout your life.
Induction – phase 1: This phase lasts for two weeks, by the end of which you can obtain significant results. Another point is that, in this diet plan you can begin at any of the phase. But it is recommended to start with induction. As you cut back on your carbohydrates significantly in this phase, you will jump start your weight loss programme. In this phase, only 20 gm of carbohydrates are allowed and hence your weight loss is significant. As you drastically cut down on carbohydrates your body shifts into high gear and starts burning fat. This takes about 48 hours to occur and you may feel hungry and irritated for the first three-four days. But don’t worry, as soon as your fat starts getting converted to fuel, you will feel fit as a fiddle. Induction will strengthen your immune system and also improve our long-term health.
Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase 2: In this phase, the weight loss pace slows down as you add nutrient-rich carbohydrates to your diet. During this period, you will boost your body’s ability to burn fats as well as understand your body better. You will find the right amount of carbohydrates which you can consume and still lose weight. Your body will also prepare itself for permanent weight management. The amount of carbohydrates which you can eat is increased to 25 gm per day for the first week and increased in five gm instalment for the next few weeks. If your weight loss is significant, you can increase your carbohydrate intake. A person has to be on OWL till he or she is within three-five kg of their goal weight.
Pre-maintenance – (phase 3): Pre-maintenance is a practice run for lifetime maintenance. In this phase, you are fast approaching your target. As long as you continue to lose weight, you can increase your weekly allotment of carbohydrates by another 10 gm. You will be in this phase till you reach your goal and stay on it for one month. The ultimate goal here is to achieve a state of balance called Atkins’ Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE). The ACE is your individual level of carbohydrate intake wherein you neither gain nor lose weight.
Lifetime maintenance phase 4: In this phase, you have to focus on your individual ACE and strive to stay within two kg of your ideal weight for the rest of your life. By following a sensible eating plan, you gain energy, better health and confidence in yourself.
By following these four phases, you not only achieve your dream weight but are also able to maintain it throughout your life. You can learn more about this diet by reading the book, Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. But, as with any other diet, this plan also has its pros and cons. The good point is that this diet recommends exercise as a vital part of the weight loss programme. Another point to be noted is that you cannot start on carbohydrates after you lose weight as this will result in your gaining back all that you have lost.
Medical experts advise that people who have gout, kidney problems, diabetes or are pregnant women should not follow this diet plan. As this diet is very stringent, do consult your doctor/dietician for proper advice.
Your dietician will provide you with a proper menu chart as to what should be eaten, in what quantities, etc, based on your eating habits and general lifestyle.
Happy dieting and hoping to see slimmer and fitter readers.