A major new clinical research study, involving more than 14,000 people and spanning some 16 years, has allowed us to identify what does–and what definitely does not–lead to safe, struggle-free, lasting weight loss. As a result, we now know “The 10 Commandments Of Weight Loss Success.
“Commandment #1: Get The Facts Before You Act!Be certain that whatever you do is based on real data, not on hype and wild claims. Recent research has revealed a wealth of new insights into what works–and what doesn’t. Some prime examples:

- An astonishing 96% of weight loss attempts fail.

- We gain back a tragic 95% of all the pounds we lose.

- Dieting is worse than useless. It’s counterproductive.

- Relying on will power often leads to weight gain.

- Most of the reasons we’re overweight have nothing to do with food or diet.

- But, not being aware of these simple truths, people turn to food-based approaches like dieting–and fail by the millions.

Commandment #2. Set Realistic Weight Loss Goals.

Your “target weight” must be based in reality, not fantasy. If you’re trying to look like Barbie or Ken (or Pamela Anderson or “Arnold,”) you are in Fantasyland–and in danger as well. Make your goal to be healthy…not “perfect.

“Commandment #3. Beware Diet Industry “Solutions.

“Failed diets cause tremendous amounts of unnecessary suffering. Yet we still turn to dieting and other heavily-promoted “solutions” because the Diet Industry still pushes them relentlessly. Climbing out from under their avalanche of misinformation is “Weight Loss Job #1.

“Commandment #4. Understand That Weight Loss Success Is NOT About FoodBeing overweight is actually not “the problem,” but a physical symptom of a non-physical problem. In other words, the excess weight you can see is only a symptom of a problem you can’t see. We fail because we can’t solve problems by attacking symptoms, but only by dealing with the real, root causes of obesity.

Commandment #5. Know Who You Are Losing Weight ForWho are you really trying to please or impress by losing weight? The only acceptable person to lose weight for is you. If your goal is to please or impress anyone else, you are already in trouble. Getting to your healthiest weight is one thing in life that really should be “all about you.

“Commandment #6. Get Your Whole Being Involved”Body-only” or “food-oriented” weight loss approaches are doomed from the start. For lasting weight loss, you must involve your “whole” being — your body, mind, and spirit. See weight loss success as a 3-legged stool. If even one leg is missing, the stool will collapse–no matter how sturdy the other two legs are. To succeed, you must involve and align all three aspects of yourself toward your weight loss goals.

Commandment #7. Be Very Careful What You Put In Your MouthDiet drugs, pills, and “metabolizers” are, at best short-term fixes. At worst, they can be deadly. Weight loss pills not only breed dependency, but the minute you stop, you “Yo-Yo” back to your original weight–or higher.

And just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Nature is full of things that can kill humans and other animals. (Amazon tribes count on it!)Commandment #8. Have A Realistic Time FrameTrying to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week sets you up to get sick, to fail, to be miserable, and probably all of the above. “Losing 10 pounds in 2 days” is very unlikely and very unhealthy. You didn’t put on your unwanted pounds in a hurry. Don’t try to take them off that way.

Commandment #9. You MUST “Tune Up” Your Colon For Long-Term HealthPoor colon function is epidemic, dangerous, and is a primary factor in excess weight. Too little exercise, too much protein, fat, sugar, salt, alcohol, nicotine, and not much fiber adds up to lousy colon function–causing discomfort, sluggish digestion, poor nutrient assimilation, heartburn, gas, allergies, even cancer.

Fortunately, colon function is easy, inexpensive (and very rewarding) to correct. (For more details about the crucial importance of colon health, please read the article here, or send an e mail to frank@coachfranksmoot.com)Commandment #10. See Effort and Struggle As “Red Flags”Fact: Nearly everyone who stays at their target weight year after year uses a proven “success recipe” that makes success struggle-free and virtually effortless. Only a few researchers are aware of this. And you can be sure you won’t hear it from the Diet Industry.

Working out regularly can become difficult for a working mom, especially with the pressures of daily life. I know it only too well as my wife is a working mother. She has always worked, even before we were married. Stress related to work as well as taking care of the family makes it extremely difficult for her to stick to a weight loss plan.

That being said, she is an expert at finding time to exercise, I don’t know how she does it! She always says that if we can find time to brush our teeth and take a shower every day we should be able to find time to exercise. My reply to that is that they are things you have to do each day to avoid things like tooth decay and skin infections.

OK, she would say, what about obesity, heart disease and any number of countless problems you may suffer from because you haven’t found time to exercise daily. Two points to note here; 1. Never argue with my wife, you will always lose and 2. We should all make sure that exercise is given the same priority as brushing teeth and showering and become part of our daily routine.

Never use lack of time as an excuse to not exercise, you would be right though if you think it may be because you have a fear of exercise, lets face it, it isn’t very pleasant when you start doing it; we’ve all heard the saying ‘no pain no gain’ haven’t we! Or it maybe because you do not know where to start so hopefully the advice we outline below will be of help to you in achieving your fitness goals.

1.Don’t workout alone, find a workout buddy:
Working out on your own is not always pleasurable! Working out at the gym with someone else will improve your motivation. greatly making your exercise routine more enjoyable and easier! Have you ever noticed how quickly time flies when you are chatting, God knows my wife can talk! Sometimes she doesn’t even realize she’s been to the gym!

2. Listen to music whilst working out:
Not exactly a new idea but one that works extremely well as it eliminates the boredom , sometimes encountered when carrying out a particularly boring exercise routine.

3. Eliminate those exercises that bore you:
You will inevitably have exercise that you dislike, replace these with exercises you enjoy doing as persisting with them will result in you getting bored and eventually stopping your exercise.

4. Don’t go crazy:
Take your time; if you have never exercised before you can do yourself considerable damage by not allowing your body time to adapt and strengthen. Although it will be beneficial to exercise daily you should ignore people who say that you should do right from the start if you want to lose weight.

You should begin with say fifteen to twenty minutes per day, on two or three days a week and as your body becomes accustomed to exercise and your new workout routine, you can increase the number of days you work out and the length of time you work out for!

The Atkins’ diet has been a craze for a couple of decades. Here’s how you can gain from it.

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All of you who are reading this article right now have definitely been on a diet at some point or the other of your lives. The battle of the bulge is an ongoing problem and we are always on the lookout for various means to win this war.

Along with exercise, our diet and nutrition also plays an important role in reducing our weight. Hence, this obsession persists in all of us to undertake some form of dieting. But going on a diet is definitely not an easy thing. What to eat and what to stay away from is always a perennial problem.

One of my friends told me that she ate the normal menu which she cooked for the family, but her weight loss recipe is “portion control.” This is a really simple diet plan. In this plan, you cut down on the portion of food you consume. For example, if you usually have two pieces of toast for breakfast, you should eat only one piece. If you normally eat two cups of rice for lunch, cut it down to one cup. In this way, you are automatically reducing your calorie intake by half.

Another popular method of dieting is to stop all intake of fatty foods and sugar. In this diet, you cut down on your oil, butter and ghee intake which automatically reduces your fat deposits.

While I was leafing through a magazine, I read about one of our Hollywood celebrities following the Atkins’ diet. This immediately aroused my curiosity about the diet. Though I have heard about the diet many times, I had no inside knowledge about it. So, I immediately set to work on it and found out certain basic facts’ about the Atkins diet which I want to share with my readers.

The Atkins’ diet made its first appearance in 1972 and was invented by its namesake, Dr Atkins. According to him, this method enables us to lose weight by inducing a change in metabolism. Our body burns both fat and carbohydrates to provide energy. If we reduce the intake of carbohydrates significantly, our body starts burning only fat to provide energy. This method is called “lipolysis”, which in turn induces ketosis. In ketosis, our body burns fat as fuel. Atkins also felt that ketosis will affect insulin production which will result in less fat being formed. And, once your body enters ketosis, your cravings for carbohydrates will reduce significantly which, in turn, will reduce your body weight.

The major difference between Atkins’ diet and other types of diet is that, while most diets restrict calorie, intake, the Atkins’ plan encourages us to eat more. While most of the diets recommend low fat, high carbohydrate intake, Atkins’ does just the opposite. Instead of carbohydrate and sugar, this diet wants us to consume plenty of fat and protein.

The core principle of the Atkins’ diet is that, by limiting carbohydrates, our body is forced to burn its stored fat, rather than carbs for fuel.

The Atkins’ diet has a four carbohydrates stage plan induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. With the help of these four stages, you can reduce as well as maintain your weight throughout your life.

Induction – phase 1: This phase lasts for two weeks, by the end of which you can obtain significant results. Another point is that, in this diet plan you can begin at any of the phase. But it is recommended to start with induction. As you cut back on your carbohydrates significantly in this phase, you will jump start your weight loss programme. In this phase, only 20 gm of carbohydrates are allowed and hence your weight loss is significant. As you drastically cut down on carbohydrates your body shifts into high gear and starts burning fat. This takes about 48 hours to occur and you may feel hungry and irritated for the first three-four days. But don’t worry, as soon as your fat starts getting converted to fuel, you will feel fit as a fiddle. Induction will strengthen your immune system and also improve our long-term health.

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase 2: In this phase, the weight loss pace slows down as you add nutrient-rich carbohydrates to your diet. During this period, you will boost your body’s ability to burn fats as well as understand your body better. You will find the right amount of carbohydrates which you can consume and still lose weight. Your body will also prepare itself for permanent weight management. The amount of carbohydrates which you can eat is increased to 25 gm per day for the first week and increased in five gm instalment for the next few weeks. If your weight loss is significant, you can increase your carbohydrate intake. A person has to be on OWL till he or she is within three-five kg of their goal weight.

Pre-maintenance – (phase 3): Pre-maintenance is a practice run for lifetime maintenance. In this phase, you are fast approaching your target. As long as you continue to lose weight, you can increase your weekly allotment of carbohydrates by another 10 gm. You will be in this phase till you reach your goal and stay on it for one month. The ultimate goal here is to achieve a state of balance called Atkins’ Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE). The ACE is your individual level of carbohydrate intake wherein you neither gain nor lose weight.

Lifetime maintenance phase 4: In this phase, you have to focus on your individual ACE and strive to stay within two kg of your ideal weight for the rest of your life. By following a sensible eating plan, you gain energy, better health and confidence in yourself.

By following these four phases, you not only achieve your dream weight but are also able to maintain it throughout your life. You can learn more about this diet by reading the book, Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. But, as with any other diet, this plan also has its pros and cons. The good point is that this diet recommends exercise as a vital part of the weight loss programme. Another point to be noted is that you cannot start on carbohydrates after you lose weight as this will result in your gaining back all that you have lost.

Medical experts advise that people who have gout, kidney problems, diabetes or are pregnant women should not follow this diet plan. As this diet is very stringent, do consult your doctor/dietician for proper advice.

Your dietician will provide you with a proper menu chart as to what should be eaten, in what quantities, etc, based on your eating habits and general lifestyle.

Happy dieting and hoping to see slimmer and fitter readers.