How do you plan to lose weight

How do you plan to lose weight?

Losing weight, gaining weight, or maintaining a healthy weight

can be a difficult task. However, if you learn to eat healthy and exercise

regularly, and you train your body to accept that as

a daily task, it can become a "way of life."

Here is a simple 5-step plan that can help you learn how to live a

healthier life:

1. Get into a Healthy Eating Mindset:
  
  If you are going to lose weight or gain weight, you must believe that you can
  do it. If you are discouraged, you will not be able
  to do it. You must think, "I can lose weight." I will lose weight
  . I WILL GET HEALTHY, STARTING RIGHT NOW!
  This may seem a little over the top, but it's not.
  You need to get yourself into a healthy mindset. You need to
  give yourself positive reinforcement and pump yourself up.
  You may need some help to get into a healthy mindset.
  It is not a weakness to admit that you need help
  . In order to be a healthy person, you have to admit that
  sometimes you just can't do it by yourself. You may need
  the help of a trained professional (a doctor, a dietician,
  a personal trainer) or simply a support network of friendly people
  . If you have tried to do it on your own and have failed,
  then it is time to get the help that you need-start with your family physician.
  
  Your support network can be composed of people that are
  available for you to talk to. They should be positive people and
  believe in you.
  If you don't want to count on your friends and family, you may need
  to go out and pay for a diet plan. Weight Watchers,
  Jenny Craig, and NutriSystem are a few of the programmes that also provide
  a support network of actual people you can talk to
  and find encouragement from.
2. Motivate Yourself, Set Goals, and Reward Yourself:
  
  Motivation to lose weight or get healthier is going to be completely
  up to you! Whether you are just trying to
  lose a few pounds to go to your high school class reunion, or
  you are trying to lose fifty pounds so that you can be
  a healthy person and play with your children, You need to
  find some motivation.
  Once you have motivation, set attainable goals.
  Set goals that you know you can achieve.
  In other words, don't try to lose five pounds in one week.
  One or two pounds per week is a small, attainable goal.
  Also, plan to reward yourself when you've reached your goal.
  For instance, if your motivation is to shed ten pounds before going
  to your class reunion, then reward yourself with a new outfit to
  wear to the reunion. Or, if your motivation is to lose 50
  pounds so that you will feel healthier, plan one fun day going to
  an amusement park when you've reached your goal weight.
  Take little steps. Motivate yourself using rewards every step of
  the way. Set goals and rewards. For instance,
  "When I lose 5 pounds, I will reward myself with a new pair of shoes."
  
  Set your own rewards based on what you really, really want.
  Follow through-don't just say you will reward yourself and then
  conveniently forget because there are more important things to
  buy or do-GO THROUGH WITH YOUR REWARD PLAN.
3. Plan to Eat Healthier Foods and Use Proper Serving Sizes:
  
  The US government has provided us with a healthy "food pyramid."
  This plan works! So don't be afraid to use it.
  It's simple, too. If you are an adult, each day you should have the
  following allotment:
  1. Fats, oils, and sweets—use sparingly.
  2. Milk, yoghurt, cheese, 2 to 3 servings.
  3. Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, nuts, eggs — 2 to 3 servings.
  4. Vegetables—3 to 5 servings. Fruits:
  5. 2 to 3 servings.
  6. Grains, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, 6 to 11 servings.
  6 to 11 servings is a wide range.
  The number of servings you require per day will be determined by your daily activity and special needs:
  
  A breast-feeding mother will need the highest amounts of everything:
  3 servings of milk and cheese, and 3 servings of meat.
  A middle-aged woman who has a desk job will
  probably need the lower servings suggested:
  6 servings of the grain/bread group and 2 servings of meat.
  6 servings of grains may seem like a lot of food, but
  you must be careful about the serving size. A pasta meal at a restaurant may
  equal six servings of pasta. Watching the amount of food is
  as important as the kind of food.
  Serving sizes follow.
  - 1 cup 2%, 1 cup yogurt, 1 1/2 oz cheesemeat group -- 2-3 oz. meat, 1/2 cup cooked dry beans, vegetable group---1/2 cup cooked or raw cut up, 1 cup raw leafyfruit group---medium sized piece of fruit or 1/2 cup cut up, 3/4 cup juiceA
  - serving is 1/2 cup of cooked pasta or rice, 1 slice of bread, and 1 ounce of
    dry cereal.
  Do not assume that the serving sizes on packaged products are
  the same as the above. Use common sense. Be honest with
  yourself about serving sizes.
  Here is a cool visual chart that makes for great printing. Print it
  out and tack it up on your refrigerator! Another great motivator is tacking up a picture of yourself
  on the fridge—as you are now or as you would like to be.
4. Plan to Exercise:
  
  You don't need to run a marathon every day in order to get exercise.
  There are little ways that you can get the exercise you need every day.
  Here are some suggestions: choose at least one of these and do it every day,
  or at least once a week. I guarantee that after a couple of months,
  if you don't get your exercise, you will MISS it!

1. 1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
  2. Every time you go, park the farthest spot from the store.
  3. Take a 30 minute walk every day. I love
    my walk. If I don't get my walk, I really feel at a loss. I
    am definitely not an exercise fanatic, but I never miss my walk, even
    on vacation, and I feel GREAT because of it.)
  4. Take an aerobics class or a dance class. Do you have a partner?
    Take ballroom dancing! Not only will you get some exercise, you will also
    learn a useful, fun skill.
  5. Get off the subway or bus stop one stop before where you normally get
    off and walk the rest of the way home.
  6. Decide to take up a sport like tennis, racquetball, or even join a softball
    team. Check out your community athletic centre or the YMCA for
    sports that you think you might like to participate in.
  7. Buy a workout video and commit to working out for 20 minutes a day.
  8. There are some awesome workout programmes for free on the internet
    . Here's one at In six weeks, you can drop a dress size.
    (I like the free ones you can do at home, because if you're like me,
    you're a clutz and are embarrassed to be seen doing any of those exercises
    in public!)
2. The Right Tools:

1. Support Network-
  
  In the first part of the plan, we discussed a support network. This network
  may be made up of health professionals or simply a
  group of family or friends that you can talk to. They are positive people
  that will help you over the rough spots.
2. Healthy Eating Guide-
  
  You need to know the right balance of foods to eat.
  Use this cool food pyramid.
  This pyramid is taken from the US Government's Recommended Daily Allowances.
  If you join any type of diet plan, they all have their own individual ways
  of keeping track of your calories or nutritional intake. However,
  they are all similar to the Food Pyramid.
3. Make your healthy diet enjoyable!
  
  The NutriCounter can help you keep track
  of your daily eating habits. It's a wonderful way to get into a
  routine and stay healthy.