Scott Lewis -- The Weight Loss Success Story Of A Regular Guy

Scott Lewis is a regular guy -- just like you or me. Except that he lost 126 pounds in a very simple way. Rather than give you the details, click the link below and read Scott's story in his own words.

Short, sweet, and to the point! This goes hand-in-hand with last month's post about low cost weight loss methods.

http://www.theweighwewere.com/index.php/weight_loss_success_stories/more/not_rocket_science_scott_lewis_reveals_secret_to_126_pound_weight_loss/

Has An L.A. Fitness Center Opened Near You?

They're everywhere lately! One just opened up near my house and I haven't had time to go check it out. But I'm wondering if there's a connection between LA Fitness and the LA Weight Loss program that's received so much publicity?

For example, this week's People Magazine cover story is about people that have lost at least 100 pounds. Reading the details, many of them lost their weight following the LA Weight Loss program which involves one-on-one counseling and a portion-controlled eating plan that costs $8 per week. Like Weight Watchers, there's also weekly weigh-ins. Are those weigh-ins done at the local LA Fitness location?

I'll be looking into this some more and posting soon with further details and a website link.

How Josh Peck Dropped 110 Pounds

My kids are big fans of Nickolodeon's hit show "Drake and Josh". It's a sitcom geared for kids under fourteen and is about two step-brothers and their various adventures and mis-adventures. The premise is that one of the brother is a heartthrob and ladies man while the other is overweight but lovable.

If you've watched the show lately however, you've noticed that Josh Peck (the fat lovable one) has lost a ton of weight and is really looking great! I was curious about his weight loss and found a People magazine article that explained how he lost 110 pounds during 2006. Apparently he decided that he could be a better role model for America's kids if he got into shape. He basically spent 18 months working out with a personal trainer and changing his eating habits. Simple yet effective!

Congratulations to Josh and to his improved health and appearance! Way to go!

Grab The Phone Instead of Grabbing The Ice Cream

People are prone to overeat or gorge themselves with comfort foods during times of crisis. A helpful tip for those dealing with an emotional crisis: Pick up the phone and call a friend, relative, or a diet counselor and find comfort and solutions there -- rather than picking up the chips and soda.

You'll feel better in both the short and long runs because taking care of yourself is the best way to handle emotional stress. Add something new to your exercise routine too and devote yourself to it. Maybe you've never tried an elliptical machine before (for example).

A Nutrisystem Success Story

I've been posting success stories here on the blog this week and want to share another one -- this time using Nutrisystem. Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino became a Nutrisystem pitchman after losing 22 pounds on the plan. He's now gotten his younger sister Debbie on the plan and she's gone from 165 to 130 pounds in only four months. She's limiting herself to 1,200 calories per day using Nutrisystem's pre-packaged foods, mixing in other fresh foods, and hitting the treadmill for thirty minutes a day.

She's a 39-year old married mother of two and the 130 pounds is optimal for her 5'2" frame. Big brother Dan helps keep her in check and helps with portion control and making the right food choices. Feel free to post a comment if you've had similar success with Nutrisystem.

Another Low Cost Weight Loss Example

Monday's post was about a person who lost 160 pounds for only $80. This post tells a similar tale about a 45-year old woman who lost 222 pounds and dropped from 342 lbs. to 120 pounds by paying just $120 for Michael Thurmond's "Six Week Body Makeover" program and following it religiously. That's a bit more than the guy that only spent eighty bucks…..but still not a bad investment!

The Six Week Body Makeover plan requires cutting out sugar and switching over to five small meals per day. Breakfast would typically be a two egg-white omelet with veggies followed by a midmorning snack of smoked turkey and strawberries. Lunch might be tuna with half a baked potato followed with a small piece of chicken with pineapple in the late afternoon. Dinner is typically a low-carb vegetable wrap and a salad. It took the 5'3" schoolteacher about three years to lose the 222 pounds following this low-cost diet kit.

Low Cost Weight Loss

Allow me to share a weight-loss success story that I recently came across. A 38-year old gentleman from Rochester, NY explains in a recent magazine article how he knew it was time to lose weight after ballooning up to 325 pounds over the years. His knees started hurting -- which was his sign that weight loss was in order. Rather than spend a lot of money on diet plans, he made a simple decision to cut back on calories and start walking.

After three months of this no-cost diet plan, he'd lost 20 pounds and decided to take things a bit further. To add running to his walking regimen required spending $80 on a pair of good Asics running shoes. The weight continued to drop as he increased his running from two to four days a week. After a year, he was down to 165 pounds (on a six foot medium frame) and the cost of this dramatic weight loss……was a mere eighty bucks!!

Dr. Phil's "The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution"

I hadn't checked into Dr. Phil McGraw's weight loss books or programs because he didn't appear to be a very healthy, trim kind of guy (to me at least). But despite my skepticism, I've started looking into his program. Fortunately, he doesn't claim to have lost a lot of weight with his own program….so my concerns about exaggerated claims appear to be unfounded.

There's a lot of good, common sense suggestions in his book -- such as biking, strength-training, and eating low-fat, high-fiber foods such as brown rice with chicken and green beans. His book is also written for mature people who are able to start something and stick to it. I'll continue my fact-finding and share additional thoughts on the Dr. Phil plan in the near future.

Tips for Weight Loss in Your Forties & Fifties

1. Lift Weights. It's important to maintain your muscle mass and lifting weights counters the slowing metabolism that comes with midlife. Cardio alone won't do it for those of us over forty.

2. Do sit-ups. Having firm abdominal muscles help maintain the length of your spine so you don't dip forward or get a "hunch" at the top of your back.

3. Get started now -- regardless of your age! Now's the time to workout, even if you're in your 70's or 80's.

A resource to check out is Dr. Pamela Peeke's book, "Fight Fat After Forty" which can be found on her website at http://www.drpeeke.com/?FFAF. You can also be re-directed there by clicking on the title of this blog post.

More On The Reverse Diet

A quick note about Tricia Cunningham's diet plan. Tricia consumes just 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day on this plan. The benefit of eating "meatloaf in the morning" is that you'll possibly lose more weight since people tend to be the most active after breakfast. High-protein fish and poultry give you sustained energy and help you feel better physically during the early hours of the day.

Another benefit is the reduced cravings for junk food on this plan. There's simply no desire (or place) to squeeze in things like potato chips or ice cream. If you're already accustomed to eating junk food later in the evening, you can tweak the Reverse Diet a bit by having a sensible dinner in the evening instead of the suggested oatmeal and shredded wheat.

The Reverse Diet

Came across a new diet book by Tricia Cunningham who explains how she lost 115 pounds by eating dinner for breakfast. She follows what she calls a "backwards menu" in which the day's first meal is chicken. Yes….chicken for breakfast, followed by a banana for a morning snack.

Lunch is typically a 6 ounce portion of broiled grouper with asparagus….followed later with an afternoon snack of one rice cake with a tablespoon of low-fat peanut butter. Dinner of course, is actually breakfast and consists of a half-cup of shredded wheat cereal and a half cup of oatmeal with four ounces of no-sugar-added cranberry juice.

Rather than try to explain how Tricia stumbled on this unique diet plan, visit her blog for the details at http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2005/05/25/the_reverse_diet_solution.php. Or simply click the title of this blog post to be redirected there.

A Great Workout Routine

Came across this routine and thought it worth sharing. This is just a sample routine of course and may not fit your particular schedule. Feel free to modify or slightly alter parts of the following:

1. Ride the stationary bike while watching the morning news. 15 minutes into the ride, begin drinking 64 ounces of water.
2. After an hour on the bike, watch a workout DVD and do kicks, punches, and curls. After 20 minutes do stretches for 5 minutes to cool down.
3. Switch the DVD to a high-burn program such as cardio-kickboxing and do 20 minutes of an intensive workout. Start another 64 ounce bottle of water.
4. If you're watching a live workout show on TV instead of a DVD, do situps (or run in place) during the commercials to keep your heart rate up.

From start to finish, the above routine covers one hour and 50 minutes.

Working Out Also Reduces Osteoporosis

Yes...you read that headline correctly! It's been shown that working out (and doing resistance training in particular) helps maintain bone density. In fact, resistance training can even modestly increase bone density in women in many cases.

Increasing bone density therefore actually reduces the risk of osteoporosis! There are some amazing side benefits of exercise that we're still learning about. And these benefits are often inter-connected! So what are you waiting for? Dust off that BOWFLEX in your garage and get after it!

Aerobic Exercise

A few more mind vitamins for you from BodyWiseFitness.....I need to focus on these as much as anyone.

Aerobic exercise such as a half hour of rapid walking five days a week, has been shown to cut the risk of catching a cold nearly in half in postmenopausal women.

People who workout have more energy than nonexercisers, according to researchers at the University of Georgia, based on a review of 70 studies. That boost, on average, beats the effect of stimulant drugs.

Benefits of Doing Aerobics

According to Bodywisefitness, half-hour aerobic sessions three to five times a week have been shown to cut symptoms of mild to moderate depression nearly in half. One study suggests that exercise can be as effective as drugs in treating major depressive disorders.

Brisk walking for just an hour or two a week can reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women by nearly 20 percent. And for those who already have the disease, walking three to five hours a week may reduce the chance of dying from it by as much as 50 percent. So......anybody ready to do some aerobics?

Some Reasons To Get Off The Couch

Here's some true facts that you may already know....but swallow these little mind vitamins anyway! They're good for you!

1. Physical activity helps you lose weight by burning calories, boosting resting metabolism, and buffering you from bone and muscle loss that can result if you diet alone.

2. High levels of physical activity can decrease your risk of colon cancer by 40 to 50 percent.

3. Exercise helps you get better sleep. In one study, people who walked more than six blocks a day had 1/3 fewer insomnia problems than their less active cohorts.

4. Walking 30 minutes five days a week can increase your life span by one and a half years. Running can add up to four years according to a 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It's never too late to increase longevity.

Starting An Exercise Club

I recently read about a great idea for not only losing weight.....but staying fit and keeping it off. A group of friends simply start (or join) a weight loss club. The idea is that 5 or 6 people agree to meet at a regularly scheduled time for an aerobic activity: swimming, ice skating, walking, etc.

The example I read about was an exercise club that called themselves the, "Vanilla Coffee Club". The six members meet every Satursday at 8:00 am at a local ice rink and take a 30-minute skating lesson together. Then they skate (aerobically) for another 35 to 45 minutes for the exercise. Afterwards, they all go to Starbucks and enjoy a "sugar-free vanilla coffee".

Could you and 6 of your friends agree to start such a club? What a great idea!!

Six Small Meals A Day

For those of you that are eating 5 or 6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism optimized to burn calories, here's some suggestions gleaned from various sources:

1. Load up on produce at the market -- especially spinach, broccoli, oranges, and grapes.
2. When purchasing meats, stick with lower-fat cuts of beef such as sirloin. Also look for organic chicken and turkey -- high in protein but low in fat.
3. When buying diary, go fat-free in your milk, yogurt, and string cheese. And don't be afraid of eggs.
4. Don't forget water-packed tuna instead of oil-packed…..and buy only fat-free salad dressings.

Sample Maintenance Routine

After dropping a lot of weight, how can you best maintain a proper weight? Here's a few good ideas pulled from various sources.

• Rise early in the morning and eat something (such as a hard-boiled egg) to kick-start your metabolism. Then ride your stationary bike for an hour or workout to Denise Austin's Fit & Lite early morning show on Lifetime.
  
• Eat fruit at lunch daily but vary the type of fruit to keep things interesting. This keeps your palate and your body intrigued.
  
• Bake or steam your dinner. Baked chicken and steamed squash (for example) is easy and can be prepared in thirty minutes or so.
  
• Purchase a food scale and place it on the kitchen counter near the stove and oven……and don't forget to use it regularly!
  

A Portion Controlled Diet

We’ve posted before about portion-control but the best way to enforce portion control is to write it into your written weight loss plan. You can join a gym (like Bally's or 24 Hour Fitness) where they'll help you with a customized plan -- but if portion sizes aren't chiseled in stone on the plan….you're likely to cheat.

Health-clubs also offer nutritional counseling which is helpful (and affordable) at only $10 per week. Also helpful is keeping a food diary (click the title of this post to redirect to a good food diary). Think of your written weight loss plan and your food diary as bookends. You can benefit tremendously from having BOTH in writing.

Unexpected Benefits of Losing Weight

After I dropped 55 pounds, I experienced several unexpected benefits of the weight loss. For example, my spring-time allergies and sinus problems weren't as severe. I think my body was better able to fight colds as well because I didn't get sick nearly as much either. And of course there were fewer back-aches as well.

And one that I'm a little embarrassed to admit……regularity! Yep and not just regularity….but clockwork regularity! My exercise regimen also helped with blood circulation and I received several comments about my improved skin-color. Before that, I had become pasty-white. Yuck!

Thoughts On Low Carb Dieting

Of all the low-carb diets, the Atkins plan is the most famous. While most people don't want to swap pasta and bread for a diet of all-meat and green vegetables, there's a sensible median in this equation. You don't want to eat bacon every day and get clogged arteries, but it's wise to eat more greens and green vegetables and avoid high-sugar veggies like beets and carrots.

Two low-carb plans that have good track records are the Kimkins diet and the Atkins-like plan advocated on www.lowcarbfriends.com

Medically Supervised Liquid Diets

If you live in a large city, chances are good that one (or more) of your local hospitals has a "Weight Management Center" which offers medically supervised diet assistance. Adults that have been clinically diagnosed as "obese" can often enter such a program and begin a liquid protein diet that may last for 8 to 18 weeks.

The goal of such hospital-based diet programs is safe (but rapid) weight loss. Patients are then counseled to transition to a 1,500 to 1,800 calorie daily diet. Cardiovascular training (or resistance training) is almost always a part of such a program. If this might work for you, contact your local hospital or health-care professional for more information.

Early Signs of Diabetes

Obesity almost always leads to diabetes, but if you're not yet diabetic (and still in your thirties) there's still time to turn things around. Ask your doctor to screen you for the "early signs of diabetes". If you're significantly overweight, chances are good that you have the early signs.

I'm a big believer in being "scared straight" as a healthy motivation to lose weight. That's what got me to a drop 55 pounds -- a scary report from my doctor about my future. Diabetes is a terrible condition, but fortunately it's preventable. Schedule a screening today with your doctor if you've been unable to motivate yourself to lose weight any other way.

Diet Tips For Busy Moms

People Magazine did a special double issue in January with the cover story, "Half Their Size". It was very inspiring to see and read about average people who'd been successful in their weight loss efforts. The story of Janene Campbell (who lost 317 pounds) was especially inspiring. She shared her best diet tips for busy moms in the article. They were:

1. Buy healthy versions of junk-food (such as no-sugar-added fat free ice cream). Kids can't tell the difference.

2. Sneak in exercise whenever you can. Examples: play with the kids on the slide, chase the cat around the house, take the stairs, park far away from the front of stores and walk the distance.

3. Share meals. When dining out, share food with your kids -- especially when eating at a restaurant that serves large portions.

An Incredible Weight Loss Blog

Sometimes you come across something so amazing that words don't do it justice. So I'm not going to try.

Please click the title of this post to be redirected to the blog of a 36-year old married mother of two in Virginia named Carla. She's lost 115 pounds using Weight Watchers and The FIRM.

There are loads of photos....please page down all the way to see them all!

Burn The Fat -- Feed The Muscle

Lose body fat without wrecking your metabolism?

If you've ever started a diet, then smashed into the dreaded "plateau," it's probably because you cannibalized your own muscle and slowed down your metabolism. There's a system that can teach you the only way to prevent your metabolism from crashing. You will also learn more than a dozen ways to fire up your "metabolic engine" and accelerate your body's natural rate of calorie-burning.

Check out Burn The Fat -- Feed The Muscle by clicking on the title of this post. Feel free to leave your feedback here and comment on this post.

Losing The Baby Weight

Although I'm not a woman and can't personally relate, I know this is a struggle for many recent mothers. What makes it extra tricky is that there's a resulting change in metabolism that must also be factored-in to any post-partum weight loss plan.

In my wife's case, she managed to lose 55 pounds after having our last child because she and a buddy religiously worked at it using Weight Watchers. Even afterwards however, there was still the remaining weight from the extra skin around her tummy that could only be removed by surgery (abdominoplasty). She doesn't count that little extra weight loss however. She only counts the 55 pounds lost doing Weight Watchers.

I'm reading a couple of blogs right now that deal with losing your "baby" weight. I'll post links to them here in the near future.

Know Your Body Mass Index (BMI)

As a gauge of your overall health, the BMI is a great tool. It's calculated by taking your weight and dividing by the square of your height. This includes your body fat percentage -- which makes it a better calculation than just using your height and weight alone.

Once you've calculated your body mass index (BMI), you need to know how to read the number. There are BMI calculators available on the internet and they all work pretty much the same. Just do a Google search for "Body Mass Index Calculator" or click the title of this post for a link to a free BMI calculator courtesy of Fitness Magazine.

Nabisco's 100 Calorie Snack Packs

Smart snacking….or just a gimmick? You can make up your own mind, but here at my house, we've become big fans of those little individual "!00 Calorie Packs" that Nabisco has come out with. Especially the Lorna Doones!! A box contains eight individually wrapped packages of bite-size shortbread cookies and the entire package contains no more than 100 calories! What a cool idea!

If you're an avid calorie counter, you can now snarf a bag of these with the knowledge that a walk around the block will also be necessary to burn off the calories. For me, it works better to reverse the process and walk first so the snack pack is a reward after the fact. I'm putting the cart ahead of the horse, but hey….you do whatever works!

Junk Food Survey / Men versus Women

According to a Fitness Magazine poll, eighty-nine percent of all adults say they nibble at least once a day; nearly a third do it two or three times a day. Men snack more than women -- sixty percent of them claim king snack status; while a majority of women (54 percent) agree. The #1 trigger for a snack attack is boredom. Slightly more women (63 percent) than men (58 percent) placed it first.. In second and third place for both sexes -- tiredness and being mentally fried.

The survey also showed twice as many men as women snack four or more times a day. Nearly three-quarters of men and almost two-thirds of women, say the couch is the primo place for between-meal eating. Maybe the coffee table should be renamed.

Have You Heard About Flavonoids?

Red wine, purple grape juice, tea (black and green), apples, herbs (like oregano and parsley), raisins, prunes, berries, chocolate, even beer are all brimming with flavonoids-a term used for a family of antioxidants that may be even more potent than vitamin C or E. For example, the combination of flavonoid compounds in oregano packs 12 times the antioxi-dant punch of oranges, according to a study from the USDA.

Two recent studies found that flavonoids in apples, tea and chocolate can protect against heart disease. Those in tea, called catechins, are also believed to fight cancer and prevent bone loss that leads to osteo-porosis. Polyphenols, another type of flavonoid found in red wine, helps keep blood vessels open, ensuring adequate blood flow to the heart.

Thoughts On Permanent Weight Loss

Breaking the yo-yo dieting cycle is difficult because consistency is everything! Here's some tips gleaned from success stories of those who are no longer "yoyo-ing". You'll never get control of your weight without exercising. Join a gym and take an aerobics class twice a week. A surge in your energy level will be the first benefit. Weight loss should quickly follow. Strength training added-on to your plan will help sculpt your muscles and change your body shape.

You might have a few lapses though. Christmas binges for example, could lead to weight gain. You should start weighing and measuring your food. Once you decide to recommit to your exercise / aerobics / strength training / measuring portions strategy, and your weight loss will become permanent. For those no longer on the weight-loss yo-yo, those are the pieces to the puzzle.

For those doing Weight Watchers, simple replace the "measuring portions" piece with a "counting points" piece. Either way, you should have the puzzle solved!

The Correct Mental Attitude for Weight Loss

Obviously, you gotta get your mind right! But you've also got to organize your actions and follow a mental checklist. Here's 8 good ideas for focusing your mind on weight loss:

1. Define Your Motivation
2. Get Your Priorities Straight
3. Choose an Attainable Goal
4. Uncover Emotional Obstacles
5. Design Your Own Plan
6. Celebrate EveryAchievement
7. Visualize the New You
8. Forgive Yourself
   

Sneak More Fruits and Veggies Into Your Diet

In theory it sounds pretty easy. You eat more fruits and vegetables by "sneaking" them into your daily diet without being obvious. But it takes work. One idea is to buy more veggies than usual and leave them out on the kitchen counter so you'll be more likely to include them in your cooking (or snacking).

A better idea is to combine them with other foods. Cauliflower can be pureed in a blender and mixed into your mashed potatoes without a noticeable change in texture or taste. Grated carrots and/or chopped spinach can also be added to your spaghetti sauce (in the skillet) with much the same effect. A registered dietician wrote a book last year called, Stealth Health to guide people in this process. It should still be available on amazon.com.

Another Great Weight Loss Website

I've seen a lot written lately about the many good things available at Diet.com (www.diet.com). It's a great site with a lot of useful and fun information. The "Latest Diet News" section is lively and entertaining and their Message Boards and Recipes pages are fantastic.

The editors don't take themselves too seriously either and have fun with the content. Here's another tip when visiting Diet.com. Visit their "Celebrities and Diet" blog. They regularly bash brainless celebs that are pushing worthless weight loss and workout plans. It's great! We're only interested in real weight loss ideas here -- not worthless stuff from those Hollywood halfwits.

The Five Minute Diet

The Five Minute Diet. A weight loss plan that utilizes only five ingredients and only takes five minutes to prepare. It's pretty amazing and yet so simple you'll ask yourself why you didn't think of it first! Click the title of this post to see the details from the original article in Fitness Magazine (www.fitnessmagazine.com).

There's a lot of great information on the magazine's website. To view an index of all their weight loss articles follow this link: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/fitness/category.jhtml?categoryid=/templatedata/fitness/category/data/1130440496640.xml. There was a great article in their October 2006 issue about an easy way to burn 800 calories with a short workout routine. It may have been archived however. I'll find it again and link to it from a future blog post.

Weight Loss Without Exercise?

Weight loss without exercise is the holy grail for most people -- especially those who are handicapped or mobility impaired. Nutritionists claim that it can be done with a very specific diet tailored for a non-ambulatory person. Liquid supplements are also used by dieticians to aid in the process. I'm not aware however of a popular diet product currently on the market that promotes weight loss without exercise.

That "take a teaspoon at bedtime" stuff a few years ago was proven to be worthless, and Metabolife 356 no longer advertises weight loss without exercise. I'll be researching the current marketplace for such products and comment on them in a future post.

Thoughts On Food Addiction

Battling food addiction is a difficult, life-long process similar to battling any addiction. Unlike smoking though, there's no patch or Nicorette to help you "get off" of food. That's why recovery programs for food addiction concentrate on the psychological aspects of the behavior more than the physiological.

Getting to the root of a psychological behavior is likened to following an electrical extension cord back to the spot on the wall where it's plugged in. In order to deal with food addiction, you've got to first "follow the cord" back to where it's plugged-in. Professional counselors are trained to do just that. Once you've found out where the addiction is "plugged-in", you can work to unplug the source of the food addiction. Your recovery begins once it's unplugged.

I wish this was an easy process (or one that could be easily fixed), but unfortunately it's a day-by-day thing at first. Feel free to comment or share a thought.

Low Fat Salad Dressings

If you really need to gain weight, it's hard to beat bottled salad dressings for high calories and high fat. However since most of us aren't looking to pack on pounds, we need alternatives to fatty salad dressings. People kid themselves by eating a daily salad -- but not also reading the fat content on the dressing bottle. Typically the fat in the dressing offsets the benefits of the healthy greens.

The salad dressing makers fortunately now offer low-fat (or fat-free) dressings in squirt bottles. A simple spritz from the spray bottle applies salad dressing much more sensibly than a big glob from an old-fashioned bottle. This is a huge step in the right direction!

In the same way that spray-on butter substitutes have made it easy to reduce your butter intake, spray-on salad dressings are the latest wave. So let's be thankful for this wave and ride it!

A Pocket Weight Loss Planner

Came across a really neat "Weight Loss Planner" in the supermarket checkout line today. About 5" by 8" and sized to fit in a woman's purse and priced at $1.99.

The one I saw was created by (or for) "The Biggest Loser" television show and was very detailed and organized. You've got to have a plan if you're serious about weight loss -- and a weight loss planner is a great idea.

Fans of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" would especially enjoy this because the planner referred to past contestants on the program. Keep an eye out for this the next time you're at the market....I think you'll like it!

Clinical Weight Loss Programs

Weight loss programs can be broadly placed into two categories: Clinical programs and Non-clinical programs. Clinical programs are those conducted in a medical center, doctor's office or clinic. Non-clinical programs are "do it yourself" programs of various types that may or may not include regular group meetings.

A good explanation of the pros and cons of the two types of weight loss programs is provided at http://goldiesgirl.tripod.com/index.html. This blog also contains other useful information -- including the USDA food pyramid that most of us have committed to memory.

I'll Pass On The Gastric Bypass

Thought I'd clarify a point about this blog and our thoughts on surgical methods such as gastric bypass or lap-band surgery.

We intend to stick with non-surgical methods in this forum and leave discussions on gastric bypass to others with a medical background. Because any surgery contains risks, gastric bypass is really a "last resort" method of weight loss. As such, we'll stick to non-surgical methods that include (but aren't limited to) diet, fitness, and lifestyle.

If I come across a good gastric bypass blog, I'll link to it from a future post here on Weight Loss Forum.

Walking or Jogging -- Any Difference?

Many of us with bad knees who can't run are avid walkers (or power walkers) instead. The question always arises whether fast walking (with ankle weights) has the same calorie burning power as jogging or running.

The good news is that although there's a slight cardiovascular advantage to jogging, brisk walkers typically burn as many calories as the average jogger. The only real exception to this would be marathoner runners who "carb-load" for a couple of days ahead of a race.

As long as the typical healthy walker doesn't eat nothing but pasta for two straight days, we can burn as many calories as a jogger can! Now go take a brisk walk....and smile!

Don't Skip Breakfast

Not only from a nutritional standpoint, but having breakfast every day is a necessity from a weight loss standpoint. You can't lose weight unless you jump start your metabolism -- and having breakfast does just that!

Once your metabolism is engaged, it's also a good idea to eat 5-6 small meals per day rather than two large meals (lunch and dinner). It's like stoking an old-fashioned furnace. You feed it 6 times during a 24 hour period to get an even consistent burn. If not, the furnace overheats then underheats.

Weight Watchers Success Without Meetings

I've explained how I lost 55 pounds, but my wife also lost 55 pounds (coincidentally) using a totally different method than I. She joined Weight Watchers and bought their hand-held "Points Calculator".

She and a friend then committed themselves to getting good at using the calculator and knowing the points of everything they ate. Neither of them ever attended a single meeting! They kept each other motivated at first, which later developed into competition. The "competition" kept my wife focused and she lost 55 pounds in 6 months.

Her friend also lost 50-60 pounds in the process. Weight Watchers works folks -- even without going to meetings.....

Old Fashioned Weight Loss

When I first lost 55 pounds six years ago, I did it the old-fashioned way with diet and exercise because that's all I knew. My cardiologist simply told me:

1. Walk 30-45 minutes a day
2. Quit eating greasy, fried foods

Later, I fine-tuned my diet and exercise routine, but my weight-loss journey has been done all on my own. No meetings, no buddies, no forums, no websites or blogs. I'd describe my weight-loss method as the "Scared Straight" plan. My cardiologist showed me my angiogram and I freaked out! I've been a good boy ever since.

There has to be others out there whose weight loss journey started the same way. Feel free to post a comment or response.

Keeping A Weight Loss Diary

Of course it's a good idea, but the tendency is to start and stop, start and stop. Especially when we begin to see results from all that effort.

There's many sites that provide suggestions on keeping a daily food diary. I've linked this post to a good one that you can see by clicking the title above. It's actually a blog detailing one person's struggles and success stories. I think you'll like "Tracey's Diary".

And by the way, I'm still researching the pros and cons of Hoodia. Honestly, the cons are hard to find. This is a supplement with a lot of fans out there. Stay tuned.

Fat Free Pizza

Came across what looks like a great product -- Pizza Fit n' Free's Fat Free, Cholesterol Free, Sugar Free pizza! I'm going to order online at www.pizzafree.com and have some shipped to my door in the next few days. Will report back here on the blog once we've tried them.

I've added them to my link list as shown in the left sidebar of the blog's main page. Click the link to visit and be sure to click the "Weight Loss Success Stories" button on their site while you're there. Lot of good testimonials on there as well.

Weight Loss Supplement Of The Day -- Hoodia

Have been researching the current "fad" weight loss supplement (Hoodia) and looking into both its pros and cons. There's a lot of information to sort through before I post what will hopefully be a balanced review of Hoodia and its claims. Stay tuned however.

In the meantime, hit the comment button below and post whatever you'd like about Hoodia. Thanks!

Weight Loss Articles In Prevention Magazine

I don't read Prevention magazine as often as I should but visited their website today and noticed that their articles on weight loss are indexed to make them easy to find and locate.

What a deep archive of weight loss articles!! Wow! Click the title of this post to be re-directed to the weight loss index page at www.prevention.com.

Lock Up Your Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream!

Read a review of a great product offered by Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. It's designed to keep you from opening a tub of their ice cream until AFTER your craving subsides.

Rather than try to explain it here, click the title of this post and you'll be re-directed to www.theweighwewere.com where you can read the product description and review firsthand.

If it works as advertised -- it's ingenious!! If you've seen this before, please come back here and comment.

Losing Belly Fat

Of course we know that men primarily carry extra fat around their belly while women carry it around their hips. We also know that losing belly fat requires abdominal exercise and a very focused "ab-specific" diet.

Came across a blog with a very good article on belly fat that I want to share. Rather than link this post directly to that article, I'll link to the blog's main page because there's a lot of good diet, fitness, and weight loss info posted there. Click on the title of this post to redirect to "The Daily Ongoings" or go to http://daily-ongoings.blogspot.com.

Come back here and comment and we'll continue the discussion....

A Slowing Metabolism?

Unfortunately, a slowing metabolism is a fact of life as we get older. I could eat anything I wanted until about age 28, then my metabolism began to slow...and the pounds began to show. I dealt with it (sort of) until the advent of "Fast Food Dollar Menus"!!

First one fast food chain, then aonther and another began to offer 99 cent items. It was so easy! And for a cheapskate like me, it allowed me to double or triple my intake of fat and calories for a measly three bucks a day!

By age 37, my doctor ordered me to lose weight and reduce my fat intake. I was too heavy and bloated. And after a "scary visit" to a cardiologist, I turned things around and dropped 55 pounds in six months. I'll share details in a future post, but for now I want to share a fantastic website.

If you've ever tried Weight Watchers, then you already know about Dotti's Weight Loss Zone (www.dwlz.com). Check out Dotti's wonderful site, then stop back here and comment!!

Hypnosis As A Tool For Weight Loss

In the early 1990s I worked for a commercial property management company. As part of the accounting team (that also collected the rent), I got to know a local hypnotist who did a brisk business performing hypnosis for both weight loss and smoking.

He advertized his results and sold "packages" of 7, 10, and 14 sessions that also came with a money-back guarantee. In the four years of our acquaintance, I watched his practice grow and expand. This hypnotist is still in business today and advertises heavily in our local paper.

Although I was never a client, the idea of being alone with a potential "creep" kept me from trying hypnosis. Which brings me to hypnosis via audio CDs. This post links to a well-known home hypnosis weight loss program.

Click the title of this post to link to the "testimonials" page at www.hypnosisnetwork.com. If you have personal experience with this (or other similar products), please post a comment -- good or bad. As always, we're looking for new ideas. This blog is devoted to discussion and fact-finding.

An Inspiring Weight Loss Example

Weight Loss—A Roller Coaster Ride
by: Dr. Leslie Van Romer

I can describe Jean Finman in a word — gorgeous. Well, actually that doesn’t quite do it. She’s not just gorgeous — she’s drop-dead gorgeous. The best part about Jean is that her outer beauty also exactly reflects her inner beauty, even in the middle of raising five small children. Other than her movie-star looks, Jean is like so many of us. She grew up struggling with weight.

As a child, she was always surrounded by sweets — they were just a part of her everyday life. Special Tupperware containers filled with cookies and goodies sat in the cupboard. Jean helped herself anytime she wanted. And her weight showed it. It wasn’t like Jean hadn’t tried to get her weight under control before. She had done the diet thing many times over in her lifetime but without permanent success. Pounds disappeared; pounds reappeared. Sound like a familiar ride that all of us want to hop off? When we first met, Jean told me that she felt “fat, ugly, and tired.”

As I looked at that face, I sort of got the fat and tired part, but ugly? How could a face like that ever feel ugly? I wondered if she ever looked in the mirror – no kidding! That was 9 months and 16 pounds ago. I would love to say it’s been easy for Jean. Quite the contrary, she lost 10 pounds the first month — yeah; gained back 10 pounds by the third month – ouch!

Can you feel Jean’s pain when those pounds boomeranged back? By the 5th month, she had gained another pound and the 7th month, she was down 2 pounds—a grand total of 2 pounds down from her original weight. Big sigh. Seven months, two pounds down. Who wouldn’t just give up after all that effort without any results? Most anyone, but not Jean. She just kept putting one foot in front of the other, even when it felt like slogging through quick sand with no end in sight. Such a lonely and demoralizing haul this weight loss struggle. Then something happened.

Only Jean could describe it well. I guess you could say something clicked in Jean’s brain. What is it that makes that magical switch flip in our brains, the light go on, and somehow we get on track? Who knows. At night, sometimes Jean would get this real sense that if she didn’t lose weight she was going to die of a heart attack. Her weight had crept back up, and she felt bloated, fat, and miserable.

Her pattern was the same most of her life — she would slip back to eating sweets, especially when stressed, hating herself with every bite. She asked herself, “Why am I doing this to myself? I don’t want to die. I want to be here for my kids.” Something clicked for Jean. Recharged and refocused, Jean lost 14 pounds in the last two months. She eats fruit for breakfast, salad or a veggie wrap for lunch with hummus, avocado, red pepper, lettuce, and tomato.

For dinner she starts with a salad first (fill-up on the best-for-you foods first) and eats cooked vegetables and sometimes beans. She makes sure she is full and satisfied. For snacks, she eats nuts and seeds. Mochas, an almost daily treat and extra calories for Jean, are now pleasant memories. She no longer eats any animal products, dairy products, sugar, or salty snacks — another temptation for her. Jean says she doesn’t feel hungry or deprived. In fact, she feels great.

Amazingly enough, her cravings for sugar are gone, even though the sugar stuff is still in the house. She loves the feeling of sugar not having power over her. Now when Jean is stressed, rather than over eating the bad stuff, she over eats the good stuff—like a veggie wrap! (Remember, eating vegetables is like eating air when it comes to calories.) Way better choice, don’t you think? As well as Jean is doing right now, do you think that Jean thinks she is home-free from the trap of conditioned taste buds and lifelong habits? Not at all. In fact, Jean just wrote me and “confessed” a slip-up. Big deal! So Jean “slipped-up.”

If you are a human being, you slip-up—it’s just part of being human. Just expect that to happen and go on from there. The only real slip-up is to give-up, and I know that is something that beautiful Jean would never do. Her body, her life, and her children mean too much to her. I don’t know about you, but it is not the rich, famous, and powerful people in the world that I find inspiring.

I draw inspiration from the Jean Finmans in the world—extraordinary, ordinary (yet not ordinary at all) individuals, who are perfectly themselves, with all their strengths, struggles, complexities and layers of being a human being. Jean’s inner strength, courage, and commitment, as well as her willingness and openness to share her heart, her soul, her victories, and her frustrations, give you and me the inner strength and courage to be perfectly ourselves in our own journeys through life.

Aren’t we so blessed to have one another to give a helping hand along the way?

Thank you, Jean, for your helping hand. Your beauty, inside and out, graces our lives with light and hope.

About The Author
Dr. Leslie Van Romer is a motivational health speaker, writer and lifestyle coach. Visit Dr. Leslie at Http://DrLeslieVanRomer.com for practical direction, hope and inspiration.

Trim Spa In The News

TrimSpa is back in the news due to the recent passing of Anna Nicole Smith. A few other weight loss bloggers are wondering if Smith's passing will negatively affect Trim Spa and its public acceptance.

Although there's no current link between the product and Anna Nicole (other than her losing 70 pounds on the product in 2005-2006), what do you think? Any TrimSpa users that would care to comment one way or the other?

Feel free to post a reply......

Welcome To The Weight Loss Forum

Welcome To The Weight Loss Forum!

My name is Michael and my wife and I have each lost over fifty pounds over the last couple of years using different methods. My blog will be an open forum to discuss good (and not so good) weight loss ideas and help separate fact from fiction based on real results from real people.

We're just normal everyday people (I'm 43 and she's 35) interested in sharing good ideas and good information with others via this weblog.

Bear with us as we get this up and running and check back often! We hope to keep it lively and entertaining. And....we're not selling any particular diet plan or weight loss program. We know what's worked for us, but we're open-minded to hear other ideas also.

Thanks for reading this far. More to come soon!