Tips and Tricks on How to Lose Weight

These are few tips and tricks I have learned over the years between anatomy/physiology classes and health classes. These tips have helped me to maintain a balanced weight.

Diet Soda v.s. Regular Soda v.s. Water: This used to be my biggest problem. I don't like diet drinks, but I love regular soda. However, soda can make people look bloated, and the amount of calories are around 600 depending on the brand. As for diet drinks, check the labels. Most of them are sweetened with aspartame to cut back on calories. There are many controversial issues on this sweetener, but as far as helping to lose weight the best bet is to just drink water. I will not recommend diet drinks because some people believe that aspartame can cause cancer. Google aspartame dangers and 28 pages of relative websites will pop up (I stopped reading after 28). So drink diet soda at your own risk. I believe in water or tea with just plain sugar. It has much less calories and it benefits skin clarity. The skin is the largest organ in the body so anything taken internally that makes the skin healthier is going to have that same effect on the rest of the body.

Eat more snacks during the day. Eating small but frequent snacks keeps the body's metabolism up. Women need to eat these snacks more frequently than men because on average a woman's metabolism starts to decrease about an 1-2 hours after the time she last ate. Believe me I hate this too. However, a man's metabolism starts to gradually decrease 2-3 hours after the time he last ate. Frequently eating snacks throughout the day will also help decrease the appetite at mealtime.

Exercise: In my health classes I learned some very interesting points about losing weight without much effort. Many women don't consider lifting weights to actually lose weight. I've heard it said time and time again when I suggest lifting weights, "Muscle weighs more than fat." That I don't know for sure, I never tested it, but there is a reason to lift weights. By building muscle you boost your metabolism because muscles burn more calories. All you have to do is lift a few weights every three days or so. Becoming a professional body builder is not necessary. Make sure you lift them properly, and start off with smaller weights and work your way up.

Cardiovascular workouts: Here is the key...no running... I mean it. One of my teachers explained this to my class and had us practice it. We went for a brisk walk. The trick is top get your heart rate up to a the fat burning zone then keep it there for 15, 30, or 45 minutes max. It varies for some people, but for most people this is a brisk walk. It should not be too vigorous, faster than normal walking pace, but not so fast that you can't carry on a conversation with someone because your breathing too hard. It is a good idea to do this twice a week. When many people think of losing weight they think that they lose the most by running. That is not true. Here is a great website to check out that tells you more about heart rates and what the benefits of each zone is.

The biggest thing to remember with cardiovascular workouts is not to overdo it. The easiest way to start a workout routine is to grab a friend who also wants to lose a few pounds, and together make a commitment to workout together. It is a great way to stay motivated and chat with friends. It is a good idea to get a heart rate monitor to do the cardiovascular workout, or grab a watch and count your heart rate for six seconds then multiply that number by ten to check your heart rate during your workout.It is a good idea to set goals and then reward yourself when you reach them. This along with getting a workout partner is a good idea to stay motivated. Good luck, and I hope you make this something that you enjoy doing.