My Top 5 Tips For Long-Term Weight Loss

You lost the first 25 lbs and have another 25 lbs to go. Now, your mind is full of questions: How do I keep it off? Can I keep it off? How can I lose the next 5 lbs? How quickly can I lose the next 40 lbs? And how do I keep it off successfully, long-term?

I grew up in a little Austrian village with 20 houses and 3 farms in the Alps. So it’s natural that I look at weight loss from the Alpine prospective. Where I grew up, it was common for individuals in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s to move and  to live life as if they were in their late 30’s. To this background, I added multiple certifications in fitness, a culinary arts degree and a Masters in Nutrition. Here are my 5 tips for long-term weight loss success.

Motivation: How to Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

It is really difficult to motivate people to do something that they don’t want to do. Really! We all know we “should” maintain our weight, (or lose weight, if necessary) work out regularly and focus on nutrition. But why isn’t that so?

Health and time are really gifts that we need to appreciate. The rest of life is just an outcome of our productivity and our capability. When we feel energized, have confidence and feel secure in who we are, we push to new levels of personal achievement. The well-known check list as I refer to it: Financial success, a nice apartment, nice clothing and a special car. We all have our own lists.

But all too often, we take the gift of health for granted.  When we feel well, the last thing we focus on is health. Ironically, the only thing that really matters when you’ve lost health is to get it back.   Yet how many people do you know go beyond the basics and cherish the gift of health to reach an abundance of energy, a lean defined body and maintain this till older age? Look at the general population and you will have your answer.

Staying Turned On

Have you started a nutrition and/or a fitness program? Great! Your intention has moved you in the right direction. Yet once again, you are not staying turned on enough by the program and you are about to quit.
I will now tell you the truth as to why you don’t stay on the program in order to accomplish what you dreamed of.  And please accept my apologies upfront if I offend you.

Reason number 1: Talking about it sounds better then actually doing it.

Sometimes I hear: “I will do anything that you say when you accept me as a client.” I am saying to myself:”Let’s see.” Although I say from the beginning that my program has 99.7% success rate, participation is required. If you don’t participate, it won’t happen.

Solution: Talk about the actions you have actually done today instead of what you are going to do.

Reason number 2:  You are a quitter.

Confused about Protein Shakes?

There are so many reports coming out every day about what you should, could, or must eat.

Now, the latest scare is Protein Shakes. The Consumer Reports Magazine July 2010 tested protein powders for heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic and mercury. In summary, it was found that some of the protein powders contents exceeds the maximum limits for one or two of those contaminants in dietary supplements proposed by U.S. Pharmacopei, the federally recognized authority that sets voluntary standards for healthy products.

Should you be concerned?

Lets look at some facts:

How to know when enough calories are enough?

In a weight loss program calories are important. But a calorie is not a calorie. For example, let’s compare calories from white bread vs. oatmeal, both of which are starchy carbohydrates and contain 4 calories per gram respectively.

However, when you eat white bread, which is stripped of its nutrients such as fiber, minerals and vitamins, you are not taking in essential ingredients that help your body run its metabolic system efficiently.  Conversely, quality calories, from foods like oatmeal, that are not processed, and are not taxing to your system, help you to maintain your metabolism and to then lose excess weight. 

What prompted me to share an e-mail with you today was a question I recently received in my mailbox from Vikki, who has lost 20 pounds since starting the program January 2010.

Why are you gaining weight again?

Remember January when the motivation to lose weight was high? It is clear that you could succeed as you lost the first 10 to 15 lbs. Then you get comfortable and you start gaining slowly all back. Frustrating isn’t it? And the stats prove this phenomenon relapse and weight gain. Just consider:

80 percent of all individuals who lose weight gained the pounds lost and even a little more within 3 to 5 years, according to a study from Oxford University published in the International Journal of Obesity.

To all Cardio Kings and Queens- Is running enough?

 I had to use this wording. I couldn’t resist. Because this is really what it is.

This might be you. You are priding yourself on going running every single day. You love it. Yet, you meet me and you ask me how you can lose weight. That has happened so many times that I want to share with you the basics of what I explain to those individuals like you.

Don’t know where to begin? Tip’s to get started!

Today I have tips for you. Tips that you can use right now to get started in moving in the direction of better health, less weight, a toned and in-shape body, and a positive attitude.

Tip one:
Create an

Make your abs pop

Bring your six-pack to the surface. Does it need a crunch? A plank? A lateral twist? Perhaps none of this.  An evident six-pack or not, you do need abdominal strength for stability of the upper and lower extremities. 

What is the right body fat percentage to see six pack abs?

Inspiration for motivation

The going can get rough. You have gone through the holidays, the New Year’s celebrations and suddenly, when you look in the mirror, you see a new you.

One pound, the second pound and suddenly twenty pounds have been gained. How did it happen? From one day to the next?

Individuals have various acceptance levels