Healthy Weight

Healthy Weight - Important Need To Know Information

A healthy weight is one at which you feel good about yourself and have energy for work and play. It's also one that does not put you at risk for weight-related problems like heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and cancer.

Many people are not at a healthy weight but want to get there. Does that describe you? If it does, there are things you can do today to move toward your goal.

Here are the big ideas to keep in mind as you get started:

• Focus on health first.
• Choose healthier foods.
• Be careful about how much you eat.
• Decide not to gain any more weight.
• When you are ready, try to lose weight.

Focus on Health First

Eating healthier and being more active will probably help you lose weight. Even if you don't lose much weight, these changes can help you feel better, have more energy, and prevent disease.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables. A healthy diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. Nearly everyone could benefit from eating more of them. They are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and most are very low in fat and calories. They also have substances that my help prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, and some types of cancer. You can add fresh or frozen berries or a sliced banana to breakfast cereal or yogurt. Put apple slices in oatmeal. Another way to add fruit to your diet is have a glass of juice with breakfast. For a tasty treat you can make a fruit smoothie with bananas, berries or oranges with fat-free or low-fat yogurt or milk.
• Learn which fats are good for you and which ones to avoid. Except for some fruits and vegetables, almost everything you eat has some kind of fat. Your body needs some fat to work properly. But there are healthy "good" fats and unhealthy "bad" ones. For many people, the least healthy types of fats - saturated and trans fats - make up too much of their diet. A healthy eating plan can and should include good fats in reasonable amounts. They are high in calories, but they can help lower your cholesterol and may reduce your risk of some diseases.
• Add whole grains and fiber to your diet. Whole grains like whole wheat, oats, and brown rice are full of B vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are a great source of energy. They are also very filling. Refined grains, which include white flour, white rice, and pasta, have fewer vitamins and minerals. They are not as filling because they don't have much fiber. Eating plenty of fiber helps keep your digestive tract healthy. If you are often constipated, eating more fiber will help. A high fiber diet may also keep your blood sugar steady, lower your cholesterol, and reduce your chance of heart disease.
• Choose lean sources of protein. Protein is vital to your health. It keeps your muscles, bones, skin, hair, blood and internal organs healthy. But some forms of protein tend o have too much cholesterol and unhealthy fats. So it's best to choose lean sources of protein such as: Fish, skinless chicken, lean cuts of beef, beans, peas, lentils, tofu and other soy products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products.
• Be careful about how much sugar you eat. A little sugar is fine. It taste good, and it's not harmful to most people. But most sweets also have a lot of "empty" calories - that means they are high in calories but do not fill you up or have much nutritional value. If too many of your calories come from sugar, you may not be getting enough of the healthy foods you need. You may also gain weight. Drink fewer sugar sweetened drinks such as soft drinks, lemonade and fruit juices. Make it a habit to eat fruit instead of sugary desserts and snacks most of the time. Check labels on food packages and be careful with dried fruits because they have a lot of sugar.

Watch How Much You Eat

Many people eat more than their bodies need. Part of controlling your weight means learning how much food you really need from day to day and not eating more than that. Even with healthy foods, eating too much can lead to weight gain.

• Pay attention to how much food is on your plate.
• Read food labels to learn what a serving size is.
• Don't go back for seconds.
• If you eat out a lot, know that most restaurants serve much bigger portions than most

Start With Small Changes in Your Diet

Changing your diet is a big step. But you can break it into lots of small ones like these.

• Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Try whole-grain cereal with milk and fruit, or whole wheat toast with an egg and a small glass of juice.
• Use a smaller dinner plate.
• Avoid buffets. If you go to a buffet, make one trip only. Forget about "getting your money's worth."
• Make a healthy lunch instead of eating out.
• Save money and calories when you eat out. Split an entree with someone, or ask for half of it in a to-go-box. Order a lunch portion instead of a dinner one.
• Bring a healthy snack to work: fruit, carrot or celery sticks with low-fat dip, or whole-grain crackers with string cheese. A good snack may keep you from overeating.
• Drink water or nonfat milk with dinner instead of soda.

With time, these small changes may become routine. Look at every step you take as a success.

Be More Active

When people think of losing weight, they most often think of food or diets. But a big part of weight control is exercise. When you change what you eat and you exercise, you increase your chances for success.

Exercise helps in three ways:

1. It burns calories. This makes it easier to lose weight and keep it off.
2. It reduces your risk of health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes.
3. It gives you more energy, makes you stronger, and lets you do more with less effort. For most people, the more active they are, the better they feel.
   

Just being a little more active can make a difference. You can do it. Lots of people have.

Avoid Weight Gain

You may not be ready to try to lose weight. But if you are like many people, you can take a great step toward better health by making sure your weight stays right where it is.

Unlike losing weight, most people can gain weight without thinking about it. They often do it so slowly they don%u2019t even notice. Most people tend to put on weight as they get older unless they are very careful. And as their weight creeps up, so does their risk for health problems.

How can you avoid this? Start by weighing yourself today. Use that as your weight limit and then make sure you stay within a few pounds of that number.

If you start to put on weight, cut back on calories a bit or get a little more exercise so you can get back under your weight limit.

Do not weigh yourself everyday. Weight can go up and down a little from day to day without meaning that you are gaining or losing weight.

Try to Lose Weight

Weight loss seems like it should be simple. Burn more calories than you eat, and you will lose weight. But for most people, it's not that simple.

There is good news though:

• You don't have to reach an "ideal" weight to be healthier.
• Losing as little as 5 to 10 percent of your weight can make a difference. For someone who weighs 200 pounds, that's only 10 to 20 pounds. You may want and need to lose more than that. But for most people, setting small goals and building on small successes is easier than trying to reach one big goal. Fell good about all your efforts, big and small, to take better care of yourself.

Plan to Succeed

1. Think about what stops you, and look for solutions. Do you feel too busy to exercise or cook healthier meals? Are you afraid you are too out of shape and will feel foolish or hurt yourself? Do you not have the support you need? There are ways to get around all these barriers.
2. Start small. For most people, it's easier to tackle a series of small changes than one or two big ones. Small successes add up. And if you don't succeed with a small change, it will be only a small setback - one that's easy to get past so you can try again.
3. Be specific. Simply planning to work out more and eat better is too general and too hard to follow. Instead, set specific goals you can measure (and reach). At the end of the day or week or the month, you should be able to say "Yes, I met my goal" or "No, I did not meet my goal."
   
4. For example: Make a plan to walk 2 days a week for 20 minutes each time. Replace your lunchtime soda with water or a low-calorie drink every day. Twice a week, bring a healthy lunch to work instead of eating out. Eat a piece of fruit in place of your regular dessert 3 nights each week. Set goals like these that are right for you. When you have met them, set new ones.
5. Track your progress. It may help to write down what you eat and when and how long you exercise, at least in the beginning. This helps you do two things: feel good when you reach your goal, and know where you went wrong when you don't. Be sure to reward yourself when you succeed - perhaps with new clothes or a new exercise gear.
6. Make new habits part of your daily life. Schedule exercise time on your calendar. Have your family eat the same healthy foods you do. It will be easier to stick to exercise and healthy eating when you think of them as part of a normal day rather than extras.

Controlling your weight takes daily effort. Some days you just won't feel like exercising. Some days you'll want a cheeseburger, not lean turkey on whole wheat. That's ok. Just don't let those days add up.

Healthy weight comes from healthy eating habits. Healthy eating habits are good for the whole family. If you are trying to eat healthier, it will be easier if the rest of the family eats healthier too. The same foods that are good for adults are good for children. A healthy diet can help you feel good, stay a healthy weight, and have lots of energy for work or play.

This information hopefully provides you with some insight regarding healthy weight. For more detailed and specific programs that can provide you with more valuable information take a look at Burn The Fat and Truth About Abs.