Category: Weight Loss Exercise

There are many reasons that you might have decided to diet right now.  You may be preparing for a big event.  You may have made a big New Year’s resolution.  Or it may be that you’re just ready to lose some to improve your health.

Whatever your reasons, starting a diet can be an exciting and invigorating idea.  But after a few weeks, or even days, dieting isn’t quite so appealing.  You may be missing some of your old food choices, you may feel hungrier, or you may just feel deprived and angry.

But there are success strategies that will help you stick to your diet and reach your goals without stalling out.   When you understand diet basics and tips for maintaining your progress, you’ll reach your goal in no time.

20 Tips How To Stick To Your Diet

Sticking to your diet actually starts with choosing your diet in the first place.  There are thousands of diets you could try and it’s important that you do your homework before you start one.

A diet needs to fit in with your lifestyle and be something that you can do realistically.  For example, eating a diet of raw foods may be extremely healthy and help you lose weight.  But it’s not for everyone.

If you work 2 jobs it’s probably not the best because of all the time-consuming food prep.  If you don’t have time to prepare the appropriate foods, it’s not likely that you’ll stick to this diet for very long.

And there are hundreds more diets that have components that may not work for you while some diets will be perfect for you.  So you must choose a diet that will not defeat you in the very beginning.

Here are a few things you should ask about a diet before beginning it

• How much food preparation will be involved?
• Will you have to buy special products?
• Do you need specific tools that you don’t already own?
• Is the food something you already like?
• Does this diet work with your current work schedule and lifestyle?
• Will you have to diet alone, or can your family also practice this way of eating?
• Will you be able to eat out?  Or will all food have to come from home?
• How much money will you need spend each month for this diet?
• Will you have to attend meetings for it?
• Will the diet interfere with any health conditions or medications?
• Have you tried this diet before?

You want to choose a diet that fits within your budget and fits within your schedule.  If you have a lot of free time, a diet that requires a lot of food preparation may be appropriate.

However, if you’re very busy, you’ll want to find a diet that you can fit into your erratic schedule.  If you don’t have time for a lot of food prep or you eat out a lot, you need to make sure your diet is compatible with these requirements.

This is the first step in sticking to your diet.  If you choose a diet that fits well into your existing lifestyle, you’ll have a better chance of continuing.  If you choose something that is difficult to fit into your lifestyle, you’ll have more of a struggle ahead of you.

1. Be Mindful of Your Budget

In today’s economy, many people are working to make sure they don’t overspend.  Dieting is one of the places where people spend the most money.  But it is possible to diet without overspending.

There are two routes you can take to dieting success when it comes to your budget.  You can join a program that has costs attached to it or you can do it on your own and use a program from a book or other source.

Diet programs that offer fee-based services have benefits and drawbacks

• Often program fees are high and don’t cover the cost of food
• Even a diet that comes with prepackaged food must be supplemented with more food
• You may get personal one-on-one service
• You may get support group meetings
• You have accountability and regular weigh-ins
• You have someone to coach you when you’re struggling and celebrate your successes
• You must make time in your schedule for any regular appointments or classes
• You may have to pay for meetings or appointments even if you don’t attend them

Alternatively, if you choose the option of going on your own, you’ll find that there are also benefits and drawbacks

• You can use information from books, magazines, or online resources to tailor a plan for you – many of these sources are inexpensive or free
• You won’t have as much accountability
• You won’t have to buy expensive prepackaged food, but you will have to spend more time preparing food
• Support can be encouraged by working with friends, but you won’t have a built-in coach
• You won’t have to schedule regular appointments or meetings

Ultimately, you need to choose a diet you can stick with in the first place.  If you’re choosing something that’s way out of your budget, you won’t be able to afford it long-term.  It’s important that you make wise financial decisions early on in the process.

2. Understand Your Motivation

When it comes to dieting, it also helps to understand what’s driving your decision to lose weight.  Sometimes it’s not enough to be motivated to fit into a new dress. Likewise the general desire to get healthy isn’t always enough to keep you going.

You need to spell out exactly what it is you want to accomplish and why.  Here are a few sample items that may motivate you

• Reduce risk for heart disease
• Get off of medication for diabetes
• Live longer for your children
• Have fun shopping for clothes
• Less pain in your joints
• Be able to move more easily
• Enjoy more activities such as gardening and walking

Once you understand what’s motivating you to diet, you can write it down and place reminders around you.  This will help you to focus on what you want to achieve whenever you’re tempted to stray from your plan.

You can be very simple about it, or you can get very creative.  Some people create vision boards to help remember goals and motivation.  You can create this by simply putting magazine cutouts, photos, and even just words on a small poster.

This poster can very simple or more elaborate. Then you’ll place the vision board somewhere that you will come across it every day.  Take a few moments each day to look at your vision board and reconnect to your purpose.

Other people create self-affirmations to place in prominent areas.  For example, you may want to put small notes on your bathroom mirror, inside your car, and even on your desk at work.

These notes will serve as regular reminders that you have a greater purpose for sticking to your diet.  Whenever you’re feeling a little like you want to stop following the plan or you want to give up, you can go to these messages of motivation for inspiration.

3. Get Prepared

When it’s time to begin your diet, it helps to make sure you have all the things you need to be successful.  For example, you’ll need to make sure you have the correct food items available.

Some diet plans have staple items that you’ll need over and over again.  You may find that it’s best to buy these items in bulk so that you get a better bargain. When you buy in bulk, you’ll also have more on hand.

You also want to be sure and stock supplies such as storage containers, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil that you’ll need if you’re cooking for yourself a lot.  Some diets also require supplements and you’ll need to have a large supply of them.

If you’re using prepackaged food, it’s important to have a good stock on hand so that you don’t have an emergency.  When you run out of your pre-packaged food you’ll have to make something different.

It’s a good idea to have at least a week’s worth of extra food so that you won’t run out.  There may be times that your regularly scheduled day to pick up your food supply will fall through.  Make sure you’re prepared.

There are some diets that require special equipment such as a blender or a microwave.  Make sure you have these items before you begin a diet that requires them.  Having supplies ahead of time will help you stick to your diet.

If you’re going to make exercise a part of your program, you’ll also want to make sure you’ve go the appropriate clothing and footwear.  You don’t want to find that you don’t have comfortable shoes when you’re a few days into the program.

Before you start your diet you need to make a checklist of the things you’ll need.  Keep this checklist handy so that you’ll always know what you need to buy – even if you have to make a quick run to the store after work.

Once you’ve got all the supplies you need, you’ll be prepared to stay with your diet for the long term.  When you’re not prepared, it makes it that much easier to slip up and miss your routine.

4. Get Support

When it comes to dieting, it’s often better not to go it alone.  It often helps to have someone to whom you can be accountable.  It’s also nice to have someone who shares your common goals and vision.

You may want to consider starting a diet group or even just having a diet buddy.  This person will help you to stay on track and you will do the same for him or her.

When you work together, you have several benefits

• You can share success stories
• You can share obstacles and brainstorm ideas to overcome them
• You’ll be able to swap recipes
• You’ll have accountability
• You can motivate one another
• Together you can focus when other areas of your life distract you from taking care of yourself

When it comes to finding the right type of support, there are a few things to keep in mind.  First, you’ll want to find someone who is positive about the process and who is committed.

If you work with someone who’s not really committed, you may find that you spend all of your energy trying to stay focused while they distract you.  You’ll want to talk before you partner up and find out how committed they are to the process.

You’ll also need to look for someone who has a similar schedule and will be available at about the same time you’re available.  This way you know that you’ll be able to meet consistently.

In addition, you probably want to find someone who is following the same diet that you’re following.  This way you can truly share stories and you can brainstorm ways to get through stumbling blocks.

Having that support you need can be critical to your success.  It’s possible to do it on your own, but it’s so much easier when you have someone to share the burden of this major lifestyle change.

Once you’ve found someone to work with you, make sure that you are also committed to the process.  Be his or her cheerleader and follow through will all of your promises when it comes to meeting and working together.

5. Avoid Saboteurs

It’s a well known fact that when you’re trying to lose and improve your health, someone will come along to sabotage your efforts.  Whether it’s jealousy, misunderstanding, or just plain being mean this is something you should expect.

There are several ways you can handle a saboteur in your life:

• If possible, avoid them altogether – this is difficult if it’s a close friend or family member
• Steer clear of the subject of dieting and loss – don’t let them in on your diet plan
• Confront the saboteur and let them know you won’t be discussing your diet with them and you would like them to please stop any behaviors that are getting in your way
• Ignore their efforts – don’t engage them when they try to stop your progress

Efforts of other people to get in the way of your success are a sad truth when it comes to dieting.  There will always be people who – consciously or unconsciously – will try to keep you from having it all.

Sometimes it’s enough to just recognize that this is happening so you can avoid them or confront them on the issue.  While having positive support can lead to your success, allowing negative people to get in your way will be detrimental.

It’s best to nip the problem in the bud.  The first time someone does or says something that makes your diet more difficult, make sure to let them know what you want from them.

Change is a hard pill to swallow.  Some people – even people who care about you – will have a hard time if your new lifestyle interferes with theirs.  Remember that we don’t live in a bubble.  Our actions always affect others.

For example, if they’re used to going out to dinner or dessert, it may be difficult when you either turn them down or don’t eat that brownie a la mode anymore.  This is especially true if he or she needs to lose as well.

But most people will get over their problems and turn into supporters if you make it clear that you’re committed to your new plan.  And eventually as you succeed, they’ll cheer you on.

6. Keep a Journal

Study after study has found that the most successful dieters are those who keep a journal.  This journal can work in a number of ways and you can tailor the process to the particular diet you’ve chosen.

For some people, keeping a journal will mean writing down calories and fat grams.  For other people it will mean writing down the specific foods and portions you enjoy at each meal.

Still for others, it will mean keeping track of when you ate and how you felt at the time.  Some journals are for keeping track of emotions and hunger.  But no matter what you do, it helps to keep a journal to record the process.

In addition to keeping track of your diet in your journal, you can also use it to track the amount of exercise you complete.  You can also track your and inches in the journal to have all the important information in one place.

Your journal can be something you purchase directly from your diet program.  It may also be something that you simply purchase at the office supply store.  A spiral notebook often works very well and is an inexpensive choice.

If you need to keep your journal with you on the go, then you’ll want to purchase a very small book that can fit in your pocket, briefcase, glove box, or purse.  In that case you may also want something that has a sturdy cover to handle wear and tear.

Journals can be very versatile and fit your personal style.  But the main thing you need to remember is that once you’ve bought the perfect book, you need to actually write in it.  A journal that you don’t use is worthless.

Here are a few tips for using your journal consistently

• Keep your journal on the kitchen counter where you normally prepare and eat food
• If you eat out or travel a lot, keep a small journal that you can take with you
• Journal your food in the morning when you plan your meals.  At night you can back and change anything that you did differently
• Keep a pen or pencil attached to your journal
• Write down what you ate – whether it was on your diet or not
• Look back at your journal to find what weeks you were most successful, then simply repeat them
• Use your journal to make a grocery list

A journal will make a huge impact on how well you stick to your diet.  It offers built-in motivation for your journey.  You’ll have it to write in when you’re not so happy about dieting and also when you have successes.

7. Set Realistic Goals

Another stumbling block that many people face when dieting is setting unrealistic goals.  This creates a cycle that makes it difficult to stay on your diet.  What often happens is that people become discouraged when they don’t reach their goals.

This discouragement eventually leads to giving up on the diet.  But instead of giving up, most people would benefit more from actually being more realistic about their expectations.

From the beginning you need to make sure you set goals you can actually achieve.  This helps to build success and motivate you to continue further.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Here are a few things to consider when setting goals:

• Weight goals should be reasonable – 1-2 pounds per week
• Goals having to do with behavior are also successful.  For example, set a goal to drink 8 glasses of water each day for a week.
• You shouldn’t try to change more than one or two behaviors at a time.
• Don’t compete with others when setting goals.

As you go about setting goals, you’ll find that the more small successes you have, the more likely you’ll be to keep going.  Many people who try to lose five pounds a week find that they can’t do it and it only makes it harder to keep going.

Your goals need to be very specific and very measurable.  To have the goal to “lose ” isn’t enough.  You must set smaller goals such as losing 1 pound per week for 52 weeks.  This is very specific and each week you can check in to see if you met your goal.

When you make goals that are too large or too vague, you set yourself up for failure.  You’ll have a problem before you even begin your work.  Don’t set yourself up for failure by being to broad with your goal setting.

8. Chart Your Progress

Keeping a journal and making goals are great first steps for getting your diet in gear.  But you also want to make sure you chart your progress as you diet so that you can see both your successes and your failures.

Charts and graphs offer visual representations of your progress.  You can make a line graph of your loss in pounds and in inches.  You can also make graphs that show your goals and your achievements.

When you see your success visually, it can be a huge motivator to keep going.  And when you see the line on your graph start to dip, you can head off further declines by kicking things back into gear.

Many people who have achieved dieting success have found charts and graphs to be critical to that achievement.  You’ll likely find that you have the same results when you begin to make graphic representations.
You can make charts by hand.  And if you’re comfortable with spreadsheets, you can plug the numbers in and let the computer do all the designing.  Then you’ll have it stored and you can manipulate the data to make the kind of graph you want.

9. Reevaluate Your Overall Diet

You’ve been plugging along and your diet started out okay, but now you’re finding that it doesn’t fit your lifestyle or your budget well.  Don’t let this be a reason to give up or quit.  This is just a time to reevaluate.

Sometimes you need to make changes in order to continue with your success.  You may find that one diet may not work very well, but you can try a new program to keep going with your progress.

Every month or so, you’ll want to ask a few questions about your diet

• Am I having success?
• Can I afford this program?
• Do I have enough time to follow this diet?
• Do I enjoy the food I am eating?
• Do I have more energy than I had before?
• Am I happy on this diet?
• Can this diet work for me long-term?
• Is there another diet that would work better for me?

If you’re finding that you don’t have energy, you’re always hungry, and/or you hate what you’re eating, it may be time for a change.  Even if you’re losing , you don’t want to be miserable all the time.

Likewise, you may be feeling okay with the diet, but not losing any .  If this is happening, you may need to find something that’s more appropriate for you.  However, if you’re losing 1-2 pounds per week you’re on target.

Sometimes people get discouraged because they want to lose 5 pounds every time they step on the scale.  But you need to go back and remember to set realistic goals.  A diet that causes more rapid loss may not be healthy.

If you find it’s time for a change, don’t hesitate to do what will make you more successful.  Look for another program that works for you.  Maybe one that fits your budget, schedule, or food preferences better.

There are hundreds of diets on the market and there’s no reason to stick with something that isn’t working for you.  It may take five or six tries to discover what really works for you.  The key here is to not give up.

10. Add Exercise to your Lifestyle

Exercise.  The dreaded activity that every doctor and health professional asks you to consider.  If you’re looking for a way to boost the effects of your diet, you can’t find anything better than exercise.

Yes, this does take work and it isn’t always easy.  But if you add even a little exercise to your diet program you’ll find that you exponentially increase your success.

Here are a few tips for adding exercise into your day.

• Start slow – don’t begin exercising and expect to win a marathon
• Add 10 minutes of exercise into your day at first, then work up from there
• Find a workout buddy who will go with you to exercise
• Choose exercises you like
• Change your routine – do different types of exercise regularly
• Incorporate strength training, aerobic activity, and stretching into your routine
• Add exercise into every day activities such as taking the stairs and parking further away from stores entrances

Many people start incorporating exercise and try to go way too fast at first.  They may add an hour of activity a day – but after a few days that turns out to be too much.  Instead, you’ll want to start out slow.

Just adding 10 minutes a day will allow you to have improvement.  And if you do 10 minutes for a week or two, you can add five more at a time.  You want to be in this for the long run.

Also, think about the kinds of exercises you like to do.  For some people there’s no such thing as good exercise.  But you may find that there are activities that will get your body moving without making you miserable.

Here are a few examples of Fun exercise!

No matter what activity you try, exercise can be fun and make you feel better than just about anything.  It helps you to produce natural hormones called endorphins that lift depression and give you huge amounts of energy.

If you’re charting your progress, pay attention to what happens when you add even a tiny amount of exercise.  You’ll find that you have much greater success than you were having before.

One thing you need to know, though, is that you might actually see a small increase on the scale when you begin exercising – this is actually a good thing.  If you’ve been extremely sedentary you’re going to begin adding muscle mass to your body.

This muscle mass is lean tissue that’s very compact.  It will make you look leaner and you’ll see your inches decreasing even if your goes up a pound or two.  Eventually, the muscle tissue will help to raise your metabolism.

When that happens, you’ll find that you lose faster, can eat more calories, and have more energy than you’ve had in the past.

The benefits of exercise also extend to your health.  Exercise will help you to enjoy

• Lower risk of heart disease
• Lower risk of diabetes (and in some cases a reversal of it)
• Lower risk of cancer
• Lower risk of stroke
• Lower risk of arthritis
• Increased focus
• Increased energy
• Ability to move easily
• Decreased aches and pains

No pill on the market can give you all of these benefits.  And while you’ll have to get disciplined and into a new routine, you’ll find that you never made a better decision in your life.

11. Celebrate Success

When you get a new job, win a competition, or finish an important project, you probably reward yourself.  When it comes to dieting, you’ll want to do the same.  If you’ve done something well, you’ll want to pat yourself on the back.

If you’re dieting in the first place, you may have once used food as a reward.  This is no longer the best way to reward your achievement.  Instead, you’ll want to look at non-food rewards to celebrate.

Here are some non food celebrations you can enjoy

• Get a massage
• Enjoy a manicure and pedicure
• Buy a new outfit
• Go on a mini-vacation
• Take a bubble bath
• Go dancing
• Play a round of golf
• Go to a concert or other type of performance
• Have a movie night
• Buy flowers for yourself

These are little treats that you can enjoy that help to make success a little sweeter.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy something special.  Sometimes locking yourself in your bedroom and letting your husband take care of the kids is treat enough.

But when you allow yourself to celebrate successes, you’ll feel renewed.  That will help you to stick to your diet and get to your next celebration.  You may want to celebrate at a specific milestone.

But you may also want to celebrate successes in changing your behavior.  For example, celebrate the first week you drank 8 glasses of water every day.  That’s something totally within your control – while the numbers on the scale are not.

12. Don’t Quit When You Go Off Track

From time to time, you’re going to go off of your plan.  You may have an extra slice of cake, go carb crazy, or simply throw out all the rules for a vacation.  It’s okay when this happens.

The danger is when you beat yourself up, decide that you can’t do it, and then throw out the diet completely.  No one is perfect.  Accepting that sometimes you’ll make mistakes is a healthy way to stick to your diet in the long run.

Just regroup and keep going.  The very next day you can pick up where you left off and pretend that you never went off course.  Don’t let a little setback actually throw you completely off of your diet.

Don’t beat yourself up when you make mistakes with your diet.  When you get discouraged, you may turn to food for comfort.  This will cause you to stay off of your diet longer, gain , and feel even more discouraged.

This cycle is what causes people to gain quickly when they quit a diet program.  You don’t have to quit just because you made some mistakes.  You just need to get back into the program.

You can also try to determine what caused you to go off track in the first place.  This can help you to prevent future problems.  Make your mistakes learning experiences and you’ll have even more success.

13. Change Your Relationship with Food

Often people become over because they use food as a way to relax, celebrate, deal with sadness, enjoy happiness, and get through stressful situations.  But food is really innocent in all of this.  It’s just there to give you the energy you need to get through life.

And while food should taste good and be enjoyable, it shouldn’t be the answer to all of your mental and emotional dilemmas.  Instead, you need to find other outlets for dealing with your emotions.

Here are several things you can do instead of finding comfort in food

• Take a hot bath
• Take a nap or just go to bed for the night
• Read
• Keep a diary
• Knit or crochet
• Learn a new hobby
• Call a friend
• Get a massage
• Drink a glass of water
• Have a good cry
• Hit a punching bag
• Take a walk
• Meditate
• Count to 10 – or 100 if necessary

When you learn some new activities to replace your dependence on food, you may find that you lose without even trying.  You can still enjoy the food you eat, but you won’t be dependent on it for your every need.

14. Look to the Past

Chances are that this isn’t your first time to go on a diet.  You may have tried over and over again only to experience failure.  But this time you’re ready to stick to your diet and achieve your goals.

It sometimes helps to look back at what caused you to get off course in the first place.  You could have allowed discouragement to allow you to quit.  You may have had a major life changing event that took you off the diet.

You may have chosen diets that didn’t work for you financially or fit into your schedule.  It’s possible that your diet left you feeling so deprived that you would binge every few days.

Think back on all of your past experiences and determine what it is that caused you to fail.  Then try not to repeat those same mistakes.  This is one of the easiest ways to stick to your diet.

If you continue to do the things that didn’t work for you in the past, you’ll continue to have the same disappointments.  Make this time different. Make this the time that you find a diet that’s realistic for you and achieve success.

15. Get Your Whole Family Involved

It’s really difficult to stick to a diet plan when you’re the only one in your household doing it.  If your family sits down to a big meal every night and you’re the only one eating a “diet” meal, you’ll fee very isolated.

By getting the whole family involved, you’ll find that you achieve more success.  You’ll also be helping your whole family to improve their eating habits and their health.  If you’ve had trouble with your , they may have the same problem.

While you may not call it a “diet” you’ll find that your family probably needs to improve their eating habits as well.  And it’s extremely beneficial for your children to develop healthy eating habits that will follow them into adulthood.

Here are a few tips for getting the whole family involved in healthy eating

• Prepare nutritious meals every night
• Eat together as a family
• Allow your children to help plan menus and cook food
• Serve at least 2 vegetables with every meal
• Only serve 1 starch at any meal
• Make sure you have protein with every meal
• Work with your children to pack healthy lunches instead of eating cafeteria food
• Don’t make your child clean his or her plate – let them stop eating when they’re satisfied
• Have fruit with meals as a substitute for sugary desserts
• Have a family activity night – go to the park, play in the yard, or take a walk together
• Limit video games to 1 hour a day
• Turn off the TV and play games with your family
• Eat breakfast together in the mornings

It would definitely be easier to hit the drive thru every night and then veg out in front of the TV.  But when you take the extra time to make your whole family a part of it, you’ll improve everyone’s health.

In addition to the physical health benefit, you’ll also grow closer as a family when you work together to create meals and have fun playing together.  Your family will be both healthier and happier.

16. Plan Ahead for Eating Out

One of the biggest difficulties people have with dieting is figuring out what to do when eating out.  Some people quit their diet altogether because they can’t stick to it with their busy schedule.

But you can eat out and stick to your diet – if you choose the right diet in the first place.  It just take a little planning ahead to make sure you get the food you need to stay on your plan.

Here are a few tips for eating out at a sit-down restaurant

• Call ahead and have a menu faxed to you
• Decide what you’ll eat before you get to the restaurant
• Look on the menu for healthier selections – many restaurants have special diet menus
• Choose grilled food over fried food
• Ask for steamed vegetables
• Skip the bread basket
• Resist the urge to eat everything on your plate – stop when you’re satisfied
• Split a meal with someone else
• Opt for water to drink with your meal
• If you have dessert, choose a small serving if on the menu or split it
• Choose whole grain pasta and bread if available

People are more health-conscious when it comes to eating out these days.   Most major restaurant chains have developed menus for lighter fare.  You can use these to help you make choices without having to think too much.

If you’re on the go and you spend a lot of time eating fast food, you’ll need to be prepared to choose healthy options.

Here are some tips for fast food restaurants when you’re on a diet

• Get grilled food instead of fried food
• Drink diet sodas or water with your meal
• Ask for a side salad or fruit instead of fries
• Ask for food to be prepared without dressings, you can add your own instead
• Choose smaller portions – don’t super size
• Try getting a kids meal

When you plan ahead for fast food, you can eat on the go and still stick to your diet.  Most fast food restaurants now have choices for people who are trying to watch their or health.

Another situation you may encounter is attending a party.  Many people fear that they won’t be able to attend parties that are focused on food.

There are ways to survive when you attend a party.

• Offer to bring a dish that is on your diet
• Eat before you go to the party so that you’re not starving when you get there
• Look for items such as fresh veggies and fruits
• Eat small portions of higher calorie foods
• Drink water instead of sodas or mixed drinks
• Skip the cake – or have half a slice
• Don’t fast all day and then binge at the party – eat your regular meals so that you don’t overindulge
• Focus on friendships and socializing rather than food

Parties don’t have to be miserable experiences where you feel deprived and unable to participate.  And you don’t have to skip them altogether.  Just plan ahead so that you can make healthy choices.

17. Dealing with the Office

Work lunches and break rooms can also be places where you can struggle with your diet.  It helps to pack your lunch every day. Not only will you save money, but you won’t be tempted to eat high calorie foods that aren’t on your plan.

When it comes to the break room, you can’t blame others for your problems with food.  Instead of complaining about the lunch goodies that are brought, bring healthy alternatives.

You can also keep plenty of health snacks at your desk to get through times of hunger.  This will help you to resist the cakes, cookies, and breads that often are brought to the workplace.

18. Be Flexible

When you’re on a diet, sometimes things won’t go your way.  You may plan ahead but find that a restaurant or party simply doesn’t have what you need to stick to your plan.  You may go to a friend’s for dinner and not find any healthy selections on the menu.

If you’re too rigid about your diet, you’ll isolate yourself and alienate your friends.  There will be times that you have to just go with the flow and be a little bit more flexible.  If you do, you’ll find that your diet will be more successful.

When you find yourself in a situation where you can’t find diet-friendly foods, just use your common sense.  Eat smaller portions, make the best choices you can, and get back on track when you return to a situation you can control.

When you’re too rigid, it causes you to become discouraged.  And when life throws something unexpected at you, you get completely off track.  By staying flexible, you’ll always be able to deal with changes.

19. Look At Your Diet as a Lifestyle Change

If you look at going on a diet as a temporary situation, you may have harder time sticking to it.  Instead, you need to look at your diet as a lifestyle change. Instead of “going on a diet” you’re changing your diet.

When you think of a diet as something that has an end, you set yourself up for gain and discouragement.  You’ll have to maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to enjoy the success you’ve achieved.

Sometimes just making this simple change in the way you view your situation will help you to have more short-term success.  It can also help you to have long-term success and the results you really want.

20. You Can Stick to Your Diet

Whether this is the first time you’ve ever tried a diet or the 100^th time, this can be your last time.  When you plan ahead and set realistic goals, you’ll find that sticking to your diet and maintaining a lifestyle change will be possible.

It starts by selecting a way of eating that will work to fit your lifestyle.  What works for one person may not be appropriate for another.  Don’t compare yourself to anyone else – you only need to focus on your needs and your successes.

Instead of yo-yoing up and down, it’s time to stick to a program that will give you what you really want. Now you know how to stick to your diet and improve your health. The tortoise had it right – slow and steady wins the race.  If you’re in this for the long haul, you’ll achieve all you imagined.

Related Blogs

• Related Blogs on Fitness

I have had lists of how to lose weight fast tips before but this is by far the largest list of 101 weight loss tips that I have ever done. I have also linked to other pages on this site to give you even more info.

It is one thing to look at this list of tips for how to lose weight quickly and marvel at its size but, in fact, to make the biggest changes in your life you just have to make a couple small changes at a time in your life until life is where you want it to be.

So peruse this list, sure, but more importantly just pick a couple of things that you can do now and then come back in a couple of days to pick another couple.

Great luck to you!

How To Lose Weight Fast – 101 Simple And Easy Tips

1. Drink plenty of water. Our body needs a lot of water so give in to water. Water is not just way to flush out toxin but if you have more water in your body you will generally feel healthier and fitter. This itself will discourage any tendency to gorge. The best thing about water is that it has no calories at all.

2. Start your day with a glass of water. As soon as you wake up, gulp down a glass of cool water. It’s a wonderful way to start you day and you only need a lesser quantity of your breakfast drink after that.

A glass of water lets out all your digestive juices and sort of lubricates the insides of your body. You may have your morning cup of tea but have it after a glass of water. It is good for you.

3. Drink a glass of water before you start the meal. Water naturally needs some space so that you feel fuller without actually having to stuff yourself.

4. Have another glass of water while you are having the meal. Again this is another way of making yourself full so that you can actually rise from the table eating less but feeling full just the same. Instead of drinking it one gulp, take sips after each morsel. It will help the food to settle faster so that you get that feeling that you are full faster.

SIDENOTE: Water is such a remarkable thing, but seldom do we give it the credit that it deserves. Did you know that over 66% of your body weight is nothing but water’ It’s amazing! Water also plays a vital role in weight control, which is why I donated so much space to it, above.

5. Stay away from sweetened bottle drinks, especially sodas. Hey, all those colas and fizzy drinks are sweetened with sugar and sugar means calories. The more you can cut out on these sweetened bottle drinks, the better for you. So if you must drink sodas, then stick to diet sodas.

6. Include in your diet things that contain more water like tomatoes and watermelons. These things contain 90 to 95 % water so that there is nothing that you have to lose weight by feasting on them. They fill you up without adding to the pounds.

7. Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice is often sweetened, but fresh fruits have natural sugars. When you eat fruit, you are taking in a lot of fiber, which is needed by the body, and fruits, of course, are an excellent source of vitamins.

8. If you do have a craving for fruit juice then go for fresh fruit juice instead of these that contain artificial flavors and colors. Or even better, try making your own fruit juice taking care not to sweeten it with too many calories.

9. Choose fresh fruit to processed fruits. Processed and canned fruits do not have as much fiber as fresh fruit and processed and canned fruits are nearly always sweetened.

10. Increase your fiber intake. Like I mentioned, the body needs a lot of fiber. So try to include in your diet as many fruits and vegetables as you can.

11. Go crazy on vegetables. Vegetables are your best bet when it comes to losing pounds. Nature has a terrific spread when it comes to choosing vegetables. And the leafy green vegetables are your best bet. Try to include a salad in you diet always.

12. Eat intelligently. The difference between man and beast is that we are driven by intelligence while beasts are driven by instinct. Don’t just eat something because you feel like eating it. Ask yourself whether your body really needs it

13. Watch what you eat. Keep a watchful eye on everything that goes in. Sometimes the garnishes can richer than the food itself. Accompaniments too can be very rich. Remember that it is the easiest thing in the world to eat something without realizing that it was something that you should not have eaten. Selective memory you know’

14. Control that sweet tooth. Remember that sweet things generally mean more calories. It is natural that we have cravings for sweet things especially chocolates and other confectionary. Go easy on theses things and each time you consume something sweet understand that it is going to add on somewhere.

15. Fix times to have meals and stick to it. Try to have food at fixed times of the day. You can stretch these times by half an hour, but anything more than that is going to affect your eating pattern, the result will either be a loss of appetite or that famished feeling which will make you stuff yourself with more than what is required the next time you eat.

16. Eat only when you are hungry. Some of us have the tendency to eat whenever we see food. We use parties as an excuse to stuff ourselves. Understand that the effect of a whole week of dieting can be wasted by just one day’s party food. Whenever you are offered something to eat do not decline it completely bit just break of a nibble so that you appear to mind your manners and at the same time can watch your diet.

17. Quit snacking in between meals. Do not fall for snacks in between meals. This is especially true for those who have to travel a lot. They feel that the only time they can get a bite to eat is snacks and junk food. The main problem with most snacks and junk food is that they are usually less filling and contain a lot of fat and calories. Just think about French fries tempting but terribly fattening.

18. Snack on vegetables if you must. You might get the pangs of hunger in between meals. It is something that you can very well control. Or even better, try munching on carrots. They are an excellent way to satisfy those hungry pangs and are good for your eyes and teeth. True, you might end up being called Bugs Bunny, but its miles better to be called Bugs Bunny than fatso.

19. Go easy on tea and coffee. Tea and coffee are harmless by themselves. It’s when you add the cream and sugar that they become fattening. Did you know that having a cup of tea or coffee that has cream and at least two cubes of sugar are as bad as having a big piece of rich chocolate cake’

20. Try to stick to black tea/coffee. Black tea or coffee can actually be good for you. But personally I would like to recommend tea rather than coffee. The caffeine in the coffee is not really good for you because it is an alkaloid and can affect other functions of your body like the metabolism. But again lots of liquids is a great thing in how to lose weight quickly.

21. Count the calories as you eat. It’s a good idea to have an idea of the calories that most food items have. If it is a packed thing then the label is sure to have the calories that the substance has.

22. be sure to burn out those extra calories by the end of the week. If you feel that you have consumed more calories than you should have during the week, it happens you know, and then make sure that you work off those extra calories by the end of the week.

23. Stay away from fried things. Fried things are an absolute no-no. The more fried things that you avoid, the lesser weight you will gain. Fried things are called so because they are fried in oil or fat. And even if the external oil is drained away, there is still a lot of hidden oil in it so stay away from it.

24. Do not skip meals. The worst thing you can do while watching you diet is skip a meal. It has just the opposite effect of what you want. You need to have at least four regular meals every day.

25. Fresh vegetables are better than cooked or canned vegetables. Try to eat your vegetables raw. When you cook them, you are in fact taking away nearly half the vitamins in them. And canned vegetables too are processed and are not nearly half as good as fresh vegetables. When you buy your vegetables it would be a good thing to see if the label says that it is pesticide free.

26. Nothing more than an egg a day. Eggs are not such a bright idea. It would be best to reduce your intake of eggs to maybe three in a week. But for those of you die hard egg fans, you may have up to one egg a day but nothing more than that.

27. Make chocolates a luxury and not a routine. Chocolates are not or at least they should not be a part of your diet. So do not indulge too much in them. Even the bitter chocolates are not good for you because though the sugar is less there is still the cream in them.

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28. Choose a variety of foods from all food groups every day. This is a fine way of keeping deficiency diseases at bay. Change the items included in your diet every day. This is an excellent way of keeping deficiency diseases at bay and it helps you to experiment with a variety of dishes and thereby you do not get bored of your diet.

29. If you can say no to alcoholic beverages please do. Alcoholic beverages too are not good for you. Beer can be fattening and the rest of the alcoholic drinks may not be fattening by themselves but after a couple of swigs you will be in no position to watch your diet and your appetite too will be something to battle with.

How to Lose Weight Quickly By Eating Right

30. Try to have breakfast within one hour of waking. It’s always best to have breakfast within an hour of waking so that your body can charge itself with the energy it needs for the day. The idea is not to wait for yourself to get really hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but that does not mean that it should be the most filling meal of the day. https://youtu.be/GSDvjEuYq3o

31. 50 to 55% of your diet should be carbohydrates. It is a myth that you should try and avoid carbohydrates when you are on a diet. Rather the other way round I should say. Carbohydrates are a ready source of energy and so 50 to 55% of your diet should be carbohydrates.

32. 25 to 30% of your diet should be proteins. Various processes and activities are going on in our bodies. Things are broken down and being built up again. Resistance has to be built up, recovery from disease too is needed and for all this the body needs plenty of proteins so see to it that 25 to 30% of your diet consists of proteins.

33. Fats should only be 15 to 20%. You need only this much of fat in your diet so keep it at that.

34. Try and adopt a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet is undoubtedly better for those of us watching our diet. There are a lot of advantages of keeping to a vegetarian diet but I don’t want to sing an ode to vegetarianism now.

What I would suggest is keep to a vegetarian diet as much as you can. Make a non- vegetarian diet a weekend event or something if you find it impossible to give up eating all those animals.

35. Choose white meat rather than red. White meat, which includes fish and fowl, is miles better than red meat, which includes beef and pork for those trying to lose weight.

36. High Fiber multigrain bread are better than white bread. Remember how I told you to increase the fiber content in your food; well this is the answer to that. It is not only better in terms of the fiber content but also in terms of the protein content as well.

37. Reduce your intake of pork. Pork is not something that can help you to lose weight. So the lesser pork you eat the better chances you have of losing weight. And remember that pork includes the pork products as well, things like bacon, ham, and sausages.

38. Limit your sugar intake. If you can’t have things unsweetened go for sugar substitutes. These things are just as sweetening but are certainly not fattening.

39. Graze 5 to 6 times a day. Instead of sticking to just three meals a day, try grazing. Grazing means try having 5 or 6 smaller meals instead of three king sized meals. It is an excellent way of having smaller quantities of food.

40. Go ahead eat cheat food, but only for flavor. There are many things which you have to avoid from your diet but which you may have an undying craving for. Do not avoid them altogether. You could call them cheat foods and indulge in them once in a while. But take care just to tingle your taste buds, don’t hog on them. Instead of that share them with others. In this way

41. Watch your fat intake. Each fat gram contains 9 calories so by reading the total calories on a food and knowing the quantity of fat, you can estimate the % of fat, which should in no way exceed 30% of the food.

42. Go easy on the salt, as too much salt is one of the causes of obesity. Make it a point to really cut down on salt. Try to bring down your salt intake to half of what it was last year.

43. Change from table butter to cholesterol free butter. If you have a choice why not go for it, anyway it is healthier for you and tastes just the same. Bear in mind that these small changes can go a long way towards weight reduction.

44. Instead of frying things try baking them without fat. Baking is by far a healthier method of preparing food than frying. Baking requires lesser oil or fat.

45. Use a nonstick frying pan for your cooking so that you do not have to add oil. The golden rule is to try and avoid as much oil as possible and a nonstick pan is a perfect solution to this problem.

46. Boil your vegetables instead of cooking them, or even better, eat them fresh. However, if you do not like eating your vegetables as it is, try steaming them without adding anything at all. This is probably the healthiest way to eat cabbages, cauliflowers and a host of other vegetables.

47. Carry parsley with you. Parsley is an excellent thing to munch on in between meals. Not just is it good for you in terms of vitamins, but it is also a perfect way of making your breath fresher.

48. Choose low fat substitutes or no fat substitutes. There are plenty of low fat or even no fat substitutes available in the market so why not choose wisely. It is much better for your heart too.

Many people just go shopping and pick up whatever they can. They do not bother to find out if there are nay substitutes for the thing they are looking for. In the markets of today, you will be astounded at the range of goods that manufacturers have to offer.

In fact with all the hue and cry that is being made about weight loss, low-fat substitutes and no fat substitutes are hitting the stands faster than mushrooms that sprout after the first rains. So the next time you head to the grocery store instead of picking up what you have always picked up, see if there are better substitutes.

Remember that our bodies need nutrients and not just calories. Fats give us nutrients but with more calories than what proteins or carbohydrates do.

49. Avoid crash diets. They are bad for health and you will gain what you have lost once you take a break. Crash diets are not a solution to weight loss. It might seem as if you have lost few pounds but the moment you give up on the crash diet everything will bounce back with a vengeance. Take a look at it in this way.

Do you think that it is possible for a person to survive on a crash diet for the rest of his or her life’ Certainly not! So at some time or the other, you will have to give up the crash diet and then you will see for yourself that a crash diet does more harm than good in the long run.

Crash diets may have a lot to promise, but very rarely do these promises ring true. Crash diets are things people go on in order to wear an old dress or suit for a particular occasion. That’s the only purpose that they serve as far as I can see.

50. God gave us teeth for a reason... Therefore, we should develop a habit of chewing all food including liquid food and soft foods like sweets, ice creams at least 8 to 12 times.

This is essential to add saliva to the food, as it is only in the saliva that sugar is digested. Often we find that whatever goes into our mouth goes down like lightning. We hardly give the saliva any time to act on the food. So does digestion take place like it should? Do we just stuff our tummies with food that doesn’t get digested or in other words that don’t yield the benefits that it should’

51. Dry wine is better than sweet wine. Sweet wines naturally contain a lot of sugar. But on the other hand, in dry wines most of this sugar has been fermented away so from the weight point of view dry wines are better than sweet wines.

How to Lose Weight Quickly by Exercising

52. When you decide it’s time to start working out, start slowly and don’t get discouraged if you don’t achieve your fitness goals after the first week. Many people make this mistake. They feel that if they really push their bodies they can lose more weight in a couple of workouts.

This is a very serious thing in fact. If you try to push your body too much in the first few goes, you are likely to end up with sprained joints, a sore back and even torn ligaments. The rule to be followed here is slow and steady wins the race.

53. Check your weight before you start the routine and keep checking for changes but do not expect a radical change immediately, it might be one or two weeks before you notice some change. However, it is crucial that you continue to monitor your weight. You may bear in mind the fact that even a few pounds loss is a big achievement.

54. When you do notice a change, reward yourself. When I say reward I do not mean to go for some goodies like chocolates or sweets. Maybe you could go to a movie or buy yourself something like a new dress or a trinket. This is something that can keep you going. It is a good idea to save the money that you wanted to spend on ice creams and chocolates and then treat yourself to something more substantial.

55. You can take a day off from exercise every week. This is not just a very good idea, but it is part of the exercise routine. Your body needs a day off from an exercise routine so do not hesitate to take a day off from whatever you have been doing.

56. Exercise outdoors as far as possible. There are two advantages of doing whatever you are doing outside. One advantage is that it gives your body a chance to get a lot of the much needed fresh air and sunshine. The second advantage is that the surroundings keep you perked up and it is a break from remaining cooped up all day long

57. Try to collect some information about exercise, there are a lot of things that you can do at home. Extensive research has been done on exercise and plenty of this information is easily available. You can try browsing the net or getting a book or two on how to exercise at home. This information will be useful to you to know how much you need to work out on each specific exercise in order to burn off the desired number of calories.

58. Try to get somebody to exercise along with you. But it should be somebody committed or else your interest might dwindle. This is indeed an excellent idea. One of the advantages of getting a committed person to exercise with you is that it keeps you going.

There may be days when you feel just too lazy to crawl out of bed in the mornings. On such days, the knowledge that somebody is waiting for you is enough to slide out of bed. Another advantage is that you can discuss your progress and fears with another person and be a sympathetic listener to the other person as well. This is a fine way of getting motivated yourself.

59. Stop when your body has had enough. There is no sense in pushing it. When you have worked out for a considerable time, your body will start giving you signals. Heed those signals. This is particularly true in the initial stages. Take one step at a time. Stop when you are out of breath or when a certain part of your body tells you that it has had enough.

60. If you want to increase your time of exercise or your workout routine, do it gradually and not in sudden steps. Well, easier said than done. Most of us have such hectic schedules that it is quite impossible to fit in time for exercise right’ Wrong. I want to say it once and for all, your body or anybody’s body for that matter needs proper exercise. If you make up your mind to do it, you just can.

61. Select an exercise pattern to suit your lifestyle. All of us have different lifestyles and professions so there is no sense in trying to follow the book strictly. Try and follow an exercise routine that is suitable for you. You have to understand that even more important than the exercise it is sticking to it. So unless you choose something that can suit your lifestyle, you are not going to stick on to it.

62. Don’t stand, walk. If you can walk about then do so. Do not stand in a fixed position. Pacing about is a good thing to do. If you are thinking deeply about something, try pacing about, it will aid in your thinking.

63. Don’t sit, stand. If you can stand, then do not sit. The golden rule is to choose a position that is less comfortable.

64. Don’t lie down, sit. The rule that we mentioned above rings true here as well.

65. Do not be a couch potato. It is the easiest thing in the world to become a couch potato. You know what we are talking about don’t you’ That shapeless thing that sits or reclines on a shapeless chair in front of the television and stupidly munches away at something fried!

If you are inclined to become a promising old couch potato, break the habit, cut at the very root of the vine. And you want to know what the best way is for that’ Take away that favorite chair of yours. In fact, it would be a very good idea if you could keep a chair that isn’t too comfortable in front of the TV. This will discourage any tendency to become a couch potato.

66. If you have a sitting job, stand up and stretch yourself every half an hour. Most of the jobs today are indeed sitting jobs that are in one word sedentary. This is especially true for those who sit and punch away at the keyboard or toy with the mouse all day long. So if you have such a job, make it a point to get up at least every half an hour and stretch yourself.

67. While making telephone calls try walking up and down. I hope you will agree with me that this is an excellent suggestion.

68. Use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you can. Elevators are one hell of a convenience particularly if you have to go up or down some twenty floors. But elevators also make us very lazy. There may be no sense in trudging up some twenty flights of stairs because by the time you get there you will be totally pooped.

But while coming down, if you have the time, you can easily come down the stairs instead of using the elevator. Coming down is not at all exhausting. And talking about the time factor, I don’t think that there is much of a difference. Sometimes waiting for an elevator door to open at your floor after you hit the button can take up all of eternity.

69. Smoking is bad for weight loss. smoking as such may not contribute to weight loss but smoking leads to other conditions like erratic eating habits and excessive dependence on things like coffee.

70. If you hate running, remember, you do not have to run a marathon to stay fit. 10 minutes of cardio each day is good enough for most.

71. And if you can’t run, try walking. 15 minutes of brisk walking a day is enough to keep most fit.

72. Any distance is walkable if you have the time, so consider walking to places that you would normally drive (such as work or the market if they’re not too far away). It may take you longer, but the health benefits will last you a lifetime.

73. It sounds strange, but some people have reported that they lost more weight when they drank black coffee before a workout. While there’s no hard data to support this, nutritionists speculate that the caffeine in coffee makes the body rely more on fat for fuel during the workout. It’s worth trying!

74. Here’s a corollary to the tip above: Avoid drinking coffee in excess, as it tends to desensitize your body to the fat burning effects of caffeine.

75. Stop using remote controls. Remote controls are the bane of a prospective weight loser. They may be remarkable gadgets by themselves but from the weight loss point of view, they just aren’t very helpful. They really encourage us to take a laid back kind of attitude towards life itself. In fact if remote controls were not there, the television would not have become so popular.

It is because of remote controls that people can remain where they are and switch from one channel to the other. And they only have to twitch a finger muscle to achieve this. Now, I have nothing against multi-channel television sets but what I strongly advocate is that you get up from where you are and change the channel of the TV each time you want to do so.

The same thing holds true for other remote controls as well. As it is we have remote controlled TVs, DVD players, A/Cs, garage doors, gateways and what not. The next thing we know is that we will have remote controlled people as well.

76. Do things like fetching, turning things off and on by you Often when we come back tired from work, we tend to get others to do simple chores for us. These things are no big deal. They are things that we can very well do for ourselves and is the core of how to lose weight quick and easy, but we don’t do them.

That is why we often ask our kids to fetch us this or take away that. Training your pet is a wonderful thing indeed. It is quite remarkable how some people get their dogs to fetch them something. But the fact is that while you may be making sure that your dog is getting a lot of exercise, you are neglecting your bit of the story.

77. Here’s a pop quiz. Escalators help us to: 1.Move up and down faster 2. Gain weight 3. Stand stupidly as they move up and down 4 Look down at other people when you are going down 5.

Look up to others when we are going up you have to pick the correct answer from the 5 alternatives given. You can see for yourself that all the options are in a way correct. So the next time you travel on an escalator, don’t just stand there…climb up or down along with it. (Or better yet, take the stairs.)

78. during commercial breaks walk about. If you want to sit all evening with your eyes glued to the tube, then do so. But at least spare your eyes the agony of a commercial break. When the next commercial flashes on the screen, instead of surfing, get up and take a walk. Reach over and try to touch your toes or do any such simple exercise that will at least get the blood flowing in your veins.

79. Wriggle your toes and your fingers whenever you can. This too is a stress buster and it gives you a chance to at least work your hand and leg joints. This will tell you how sore they are and if their condition is so bad, just think of the rest of your body.

80. Turn on music and dance like wild. Let your hair down once in a while. Go back to the days of wild childhood. Close the door of your room, turn on your sound system to the highest volume possible (but a little lower than the level at which your neighbors start to complain) and then do the wackiest dance that you can think of.

Jump on your bed and jump off it again. Roll all over the floor. Pretend that you are Michael Jackson or Madonna (you will never see them keeping still) and do ever boogie move that you know.

81. Carry a soft flying disc or Frisbee with you. Toss it around and get up to fetch it. This is also an excellent way to beat stress. It makes a person feel good to throw something away forcefully when the person is all worked up.

And the thing that you throw is something soft and can’t damage anything, and then what is stopping you’ It is not really the throwing part that we are interested in. It is the fetching part. Each time you get up to fetch it back; you are giving yourself a chance to stretch those muscles and joints

82. Get down at a block before your destination and walk the rest of the way. You might not have time to fit in long walks in your busy schedule so this is one way of ensuring that you at least get to walk for a little bit every day.

If you take the bus or the subway, get down at an earlier station and see if you can walk the rest of the way. If you drive to work, see if you can get space in a parking lot that is a little away from your office.

83. When nobody is watching try doing pelvic gyrations. If you take a moment to observe it you will see that it is the mid section of our body that gets the least bit of exercise and that is probably why the signs of weight gain are mostly seen there. It is the same reason why we find it very difficult to lose weight in that section.

So the best thing that you can do is consciously try to give that part a little bit of exercise. Stomach crunches might be too strenuous an exercise to start off with, but gyrations are relatively mild.

Pelvic gyrations make you thrust your midsection towards all directions and this is the best way of tightening every muscle in that midsection and that is of course what weight loss is all about.

84. Tuck in your tummy whenever you walk. Get that proper gait. And the best way for that is to tuck in your tummy and inflate your chest. Do not let your tummy hang above your belt line like some unruly layer of flesh. Bring it under the belt. Each time you tuck in your tummy, you will feel the pressure on the muscles of your stomach. This tightening and loosening of these muscles is even better than stomach crunches.

85. Try breathing exercises. You might be surprised to know that breathing exercises too can lead to weight loss.

If you are doing the breathing exercises properly, you will find that you can exert a lot of pressure on the muscles around the midsection. You can feel a tightening of these muscles each time you breathe in or breathe out. So go ahead and breathe properly, it is good for you.

86. Try yoga. Yoga is one of the best ways of losing weight. Of course, I can’t go into a full lecture about yoga over here but I can tell you that I have never seen people with better-toned bodies than those who practice yoga. One of the benefits of yoga is that you learn to control virtually every muscle and joint of your body so that the issue of weight gain will cease to exist.

87. Try massaging your partner. This is a fun way to lose weight. It is something that can give your partner a lot of pleasure and at the same time can give you a lot of exertion there by leading to weight loss. The attitude over here should of course be you scratch my back I will scratch yours.

It should not be a one-sided effort or else the interest will soon dwindle. In fact it is a good idea if the couple takes up weight loss routines together. They can keep watch over each other, help control those urges to eat and motivate each other to stick to the routine. There are a lot of things that couples can do together that can help them to keep physically active.

88. If you can’t think of anything else to do try punching your pillow. Now here’s another one of those weird ideas but believe me it works. Not too many of us have punching bags at home and if you have really fluffy pillow giving it a good punching routine is just as good as anything else. This is also a nice way of letting off steam so go for it. After all something is better than nothing.

But I would suggest that you do not hit it too violently or else the stuffing might come out. Do not bother too much about the force with which you hit the pillow. It is the number of hits that are important. Try to get at least fifty punches in one bout.

I would like to give you a little tip over here. If there is somebody that you particularly dislike like your boss or your neighbor, or may be your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, try fixing a picture of the persons head on the top of your pillow and then try punching it. I promise you, it will give you a lot of satisfaction.

89. Instead of waddling up and down the staircase, try taking them two at a time. Now this is something that you have to be careful about because we do not want you to trip. So when you do this make sure that your feet are well and truly planted on each step before you increase the beat and try two at a time.

90. If you have a dog, take it for a run and let the dog lead you on. You will be surprised as to how much exercise a dog can give you. Animals are sensible enough to know that they need a lot of exercise so let your animal lead you on. Take your pet dog out for as walk and before you know what hit you, it will turn out to be a run.

91. Join a dance class. Dancing is a wonderful way to burn off those extra calories. It is true. When you dance you are in fact burning away a lot of calories. Of course, we are not referring to the slow ballroom kind of dances in which one person actually leans on the other one for support. We are talking about fast dances.

The best way to do it is by joining a dance class because they will really work you out. But I would suggest that you wait for a couple more pounds to vanish before you think of becoming a ballerina.

92. Whenever you can, lean against a wall with your hands flattened against the wall and in such a way that your face is very close to the wall. Then use you hands to push your body away from the wall. Do these two or three times at a stretch.

93. If there is a pool nearby go for swims as often as you can, swimming is one of the best exercises. Water has a lot of advantages. And if nothing else, a cool dip in a pool is a wonderful stress reliever.

94. Try playing something like table tennis or basketball. Games are a fun way to lose weight. It is much more exciting to play a game than just work out by yourself. The best thing about games is that they are addictive.

Once you start playing, you will soon end up with a friends’ circle and then the playing goes on without even you knowing it. It is something that you can look forward to and there is no stress involved in this program. In fact the more you play the less you will consider this to be a part of your weight loss program. As you burn away those calories, you will also be able to expand your social circle.

95. Any workout should start with a 5 to 10 minute warm up and should end with a 5 to ten minute cool down session. Whatever physical exercise you are involved in, you must remember to warm up before the exercise really starts. Do not just plunge into the water and start thrashing about, to put it figuratively.

Your body needs to reach a certain level of readiness before it can actually start responding to exercise. And this readiness is achieved by the warming up process.

Some Miscellaneous Fast and Quick Weight Loss Tips

96. Do not carry your mobile phone around but leave it a place where you can hear it ringing. In this way, you make sure that you at least getup and walk towards it. This might sound silly but I really mean it. You need a reason to keep yourself going. Life today has become so easy that we have every thing at our fingertips.

All we have to do is push a button here and push a button there. The only things that get any exercise at all are our fingers. A cell phone may be convenient, but the same thing can turn out to simplify life just a little too bit. There are other arguments against the use of cell phones, but that is beside our topic.

What I would suggest is that at home or in your office, leave the cell phone lying about so that you can hear it ring, but can’t just reach into your pocket and answer it. See to it that you have to actually stand up and walk a few steps before you can pick it up.

97. While traveling in an elevator instead of just standing there and staring stupidly at the numbers going up or down, try raising yourself onto your toes and then back on your feet again. Do this several times. Also, try flexing your buttock muscles as well.

In fact, there are many muscles in our body that we can twitch and flex without inviting the attention of others. Even if others do notice you, it’s no big deal provided you are flexing a muscle in a decent part of the body. (Most of the other parts do not have muscles any way.) Others might brand you as a health freak, but it is miles better to be known as a health freak than as a sack of potatoes.

98. Undress and stare at yourself in front of your mirror. If what you see displeases you, then you have all the more reason to work out. Try tucking in the extra fat in all those wide areas, this will give you an idea of which part you need to be working on. Turn to you side and get a very good view of your side profile.

This is an excellent way of checking whether you have a tummy that is starting to bulge or has bulged already. Try pulling in air and then take a look at your tummy; if it has gone in even a little bit, there is hope for you. If you start now, you can control it where it is now and maybe if you really set your mind to it; you can lose a couple of inches in a just a few weeks. Weighing yourself on your bathroom scales is a good idea but personally I would recommend this mirror viewing.

To be very frank, a few pounds gain may shock you but does not really disgust you. But a flabby figure and extra fat certainly will.

99. If you have a banister rail or a balustrade that will support you, sit on it and pump your legs as if you are riding a bicycle, taking care not to fall off of course. This might sound like another crazy idea and I don’t want to argue with you about that.

I just want to tell you that by doing such crazy things, you are in fact not missing a single chance to lose those extra pounds. It is a way of keeping your mind alert all the time. Everything must look like an opportunity to you.

100. Do not slouch in your chair but try to maintain an erect posture with your tummy tucked in. Slouching is a very bad habit. Not only is it bad for your back but it also gives you a very flabby figure.

It is your way of saying yes to a comfortable, weight-gaining pose. Make it a point to always sit as erect as you can. It is also a terrific way to ward off back problems.

101. Psst. I would like to let you in on a secret. As it is I understand that most of us tend to put on weight particularly in the mid section, right. It is the tummy that seems to have a mind of its own. Well, I will tell you a sure shot method to reduce the flab around the waist line. Mind you this doesn’t hold true for post-pregnancy tummies.

This is what you have to do. Breathe in the air as strongly as you can and as you do so, tuck in your tummy as much as you can. Hold it like this for a few seconds and then slowly release your breath taking care not to let out your tummy. Try to keep breathing like this at least fifty or sixty times in a day. In fact, breathe like this whenever you can remember to do so.

After the first day, you should feel the muscles of your stomach tightening each time you do this. Then you know that you are on the right track. If you practice this without fail for 20 days, at the end of the twentieth day, you will have lost at least an inch.

What do you think of these how to lose weight fast tips? Will they work for you? Please share them with anyone you think they would help.

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Getting a big chest is a big deal. For most people lifting weights and getting ready for summer there are a few big priorities. One of the things that most guys want is a big chest.

There are a few exercises that are key to increasing chest size but also there are a couple of important facts to remember. I think that if you follow all of these you will have huge pecs in no time.

Getting a Big Chest – Don’t Overtrain

First of all you need to be aware that it is fairly easy to overtrain your chest so especially for someone that has been lifting for a yea or less it is very important to make sure that all of your chest exercises and related are done in the same workout, this includes chest as well as shoulder exercises.

First things first, make sure that your chest workout is hitting all three angles to his all of the muscle fibers of your chest but do not do to many exercises or sets as this is the easiest way to overtrain.

There are three parts of your chest pec muscles. Your pectoral muscles can be broken up into three parts, well kind of anyway, the top near your shoulders, the middle of your chest and the bottom of your chest.

Getting a Big Chest- Upper Chest Exercises

To his the upper chest you can do incline bench or incline flyes. Try switching each workout to doing one or the other and try to keep your reps are 6-10 reps for three sets, each set to failure.

Getting a big chest – Middle Chest Exercises

To hit the middles of your chest you can do flat bench bench presses or flat bench flyes. For your lower chest you can do flat bench flyes or cable crossovers. Make sure that you are changing your exercises each workout but try to always hit the upper and middle of your chest and every second or third workout do some decline bench for your lower pecs.

Getting a big chest – Lower Chest Exercises

Lower pec muscles will grow very quickly but really what people are looking for is a bigger upper chest as a bigger lower chest makes your chest look a little saggy. The difference between doing flyes and bench press are important to think about. When doing flyes you will get a very focused chest exercise but in doing bench press you will be heaving more and most people seem to agree that the increases to your chest size will be higher.

I know that I have glossed over the exercises for increasing your chest size but there are a couple of issues that are almost as important as the exercises and that is the shoulder influence as well as the frequency of the workouts for your chest.

Most of the time in magazines you are told to do 12 – 16 sets to work your chest muscles but no one really looks at the mechanics of how your shoulder muscles will really influence your chest workout and this is critical.

After you have finished your chest workout you should work your shoulders, I say this because a tough chest workout of nine sets or so is really going to burn your shoulders.

If you try to isolate your shoulders again in the next couple of days then you really do risk overtraining your deltoids.

Work Chest and Shoulders Together

Make sure that after your chest and shoulder workout that you rest at least two days before hitting pecs and delts again as you will really need the rest to let your chest and shoulders heal. I do not want to dwell on nutrition again but it is very important to eat lots of protein, 30 or so grams of high quality protein per meal.

There is always an urge to workout more often than this but I really believe that if you really nail all of the angles of your chest and do all of your sets to failure then you are going to have a good chance to getting a big chest.

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