Weight Loss: A Program for Women
My Program: It Works!
Diets are hard work. It's very discouraging when all that hard work doesn't work for the purpose of losing weight. With careful research, I found an individualized program that is working for me. Because it works, I'm working hard to achieve my guaranteed results. This hub is to specifically share with women my program.
Here's the program. It's important to eat the right balance of protein, carbohydrates, fiber and fats each and every day. Cutting out any of the food groups can ultimately mess up your metabolism. To lose just one pound of fat, we must reduce our caloric intake by 500 calories per day. That's 3,500 calories per week. To lose two pounds per week, we need to burn/reduce our caloric intake by 1,000 calories per day, or 7,000 calories per week. How do we do this? Each person normally eats 2,000 calories per day. That's 14,000 per week. We need to cut this in half!
There are reasons why both cutting calories (dieting) and burning calories (exercise) are best together. Cutting calories causes weight loss. Burning calories by exercising (cardio and weights) not only burns calories, but builds muscle that has been lost over the years. Since muscle burns fat, lost muscle mass is not burning as much fat as it used to. Build muscle, burn fat.
How many calories, grams of protein, carbohydrates, fiber and fats should we consume each day to be healthy while losing weight and eventually maintaining our weight? According to my research for women: 1500 daily calories, 80 g protein, 322 g carbs, 35 g fiber, and 58 g fat. My attached eating plan is actually 1500 calories, 80 g protein, 201 g carbs, 39 g fiber, and 40 g fat. I use this log to keep track of what I'm eating each day. There will be slight variations in these figures depending on which Lean Cuisine® entree is selected each day.
The products I buy and consume are shown on this worksheet because they not only taste great, but they fit the requirements. I recommend Fiber One® bars, Balance® bars, Oroweat Double Fiber® bread, Acai berry juice shot***, Green Envy® daily detox shot, Land O' Lakes Spreadable butter® (Lite), Hoodia® (all natural appetite suppressant capsules), and Lean Cuisine® frozen dinners (choose those highest in protein grams). If you must use salt, go light on it. Iodized salt is recommended, but using too much salt can retain water you want to flush off your body! You'll notice I've recommended pineapple as my personal fruit choice, but you can choose whatever fruit you enjoy most, but keep within the caloric allowance (i.e. a large banana has 200 calories!).
You'll notice I have the food portions spread out every two hours. The purpose for this is to 1) shrink the stomach and 2) feed the body fuel throughout the day, which helps with blood sugar fluctuations and managing hunger. This is the healthiest way to eat.
Because my life is relatively sedentary (desk job), I work out daily on an olyptical machine (treadmill) with the weight loss pre-programmed setting. This lasts about 30-35 minutes. I then work on weights for upper body and waist one day, then lower body and waist the following day. My goal is to be able to do 15 reps of each machine. If your weight selection is too high, reduce the weights so you can do 15 reps. As you master those 15 reps, don't increase the weight; increase your reps. This will tone instead of build bulk in your muscles. Because I tend to have most of my fat in my waist area, I wear an insulated wrap around my waist to increase sweating while I do my workouts (found at Wal-Mart for under $15).
I also make sure to drink 64 oz. of water throughout each day. This is equivalent to eight cups of water. If you don't drink this much water, your body won't necessarily flush out all the fat and toxins (toxins cause celluite) you've been burning! Also, the benefit of drinking this much water actually improves the hydration of the skin, making wrinkles less prominent! Yes, indeed!
In my first week (7 days), I've lost four pounds (always more the first week due to water loss), 1% body fat, and an inch off my waist and hips. I am excited to keep going. It requires discipline, and because it's hard work and it's WORKING, I don't have the desire to break my routine and blow it for a 2,000 calorie meal at any restaurant or fast food place! What takes me a half hour to enjoy takes me several days to exercise and diet away! If I eat out, I just remember my caloric allowances. For instance, for dinner at a restaurant I'll order a lower-calorie soup like minestrone (rather than clam chowder) and a side of steamed vegetables (starchy vegetables such as peas, corn or potatoes must be avoided) with butter. You might prefer a salad with lite dressing instead of steamed veggies. If I know I'll also have a glass of wine, I'll know to skip my afternoon bread and peanut butter snack. If I'm going out at night, I'll skip my 100-calorie dessert and have a vodka w/cranberry drink. I read that vodka is the best alcohol to have when dieting. However, if you're losing more than two pounds a week, it's probably fine to treat yourself to a Friday night dinner of your choice :-)
As I said, this is working for me ~ and I've written this hub to give you this information to help you enjoy reaching your weight loss goals, at least two pounds a week (the healthiest rate to keep the weight off!)
*I am not promoting any particular acai berry product or diet as is flooding the internet today. I drink two ounces of the acai berry juice each day for its health benefits, not for weight loss. It actually helps my psoriasis (see my Psoriasis hub for more information).
