Lose Weight and Stay Well

How to carry out My Free Weight Loss Program the Healthy Way

When you embark on a Weight Loss Program, you have a slimming goal. At first that goal may be simply to lose weight fast, perhaps to look good in a bikini or to fit into your summer clothes.

If you stick with any dieting plan and combine it with exercises to burn calories and tone your body, you will lose weight. When you have that slim, toned figure you will feel good about yourself. If you eat sensibly and make sure you get regular exercise, you will be able to stay slim and fit for life.

But sometimes, with all that enthusiasm over losing weight and getting fit, you can get carried away.

I want everyone who follows My Free Weight Loss Program to do well and lose weight and keep that weight off. But I also want you to be strong and healthy.

Which is why I am posting a few 'things to watch out for', so that you recognize any signs of taking a diet and exercise plan too far.

Questions To Ask Yourself When On A Weight Loss Program:

• How much weight do I need to lose? Is this realistic?
• Look at your body shape. If you have large bones and broad shoulders, you will never be able to slim your body down to the same shape as Kate Moss. You will be slim and fit, but all the dieting and calorie counting in the world will not change your body's bone structure. So don't get carried away with your dieting.
  

• What type of slimming diet am I following?
• You may want to lose weight fast, but you still want to eat sufficient vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and even fats to maintain your health. Don't cut out any of these completely to lose weight fast. If you do, you will be doing your body no favours.
  

• Am I getting obsessed with exercising?
• There are many different exercises you can use to keep fit and tone up your body. Most of them work if done correctly (although some, as I mentioned in my post on exercise to get rid of the tummy flab safely, must be done with great care if you are a woman). But exercising hard every day is not good for your body. It needs time to rest and recuperate. Even keep fit instructors and athletes take one or even two days off each week. This is important, our muscles need time to rest and for all that toning to take full effect.
  
• Over exercising will be counter-productive. Always remember that it takes more than a couple of days for muscles to lose their tone and those newly strengthened muscles will be burning up extra calories for us than before, and helping us to stay slim and fit, even when they are having a rest. So don't get carried away with over exercising.
  

Ok, you have reached your ideal weight loss goal. The diet has worked well and your sensible exercise plan has given you a new, slimmer, toned body. And you feel great! You can fit into those summer clothes and you can flaunt your flat tummy on the beach for all to see. You know you have reached your ideal weight. The slimming scales will tell you so.

• Look in the mirror and see a new, slim you. If you still see a fat person looking back at you, that is an illusion; a hangover from the days before you lost all your excess weight. Ignore it.
  

• Don't carry on dieting to lose more weight. There is nothing to fear about putting weight on again if you eat sensibly from now on. And don't carry on with a gruelling exercise plan. Good, healthy moderate exercise is what you need now.
  

• Don't carry on dieting and exercising to try to change your body's structural shape. It won't work. It could just make you ill.
  

• Love the shape you have been given and the one all that dieting and exercise has revealed. You are slim and fit now. Don't get carried away.

In other words, it is great to lose weight. It is fantastic to be slim, toned and full of energy. But don't take your new slim figure to extremes and go on dieting and exercising when you know, deep down, you have already achieved your weight loss goals.

Lose weight and tone up the healthy way. That is what My Free Weight Loss Program is about.

How to lose weight and exercise when the weather is hot

Maintaining your weight loss program when the temperatures soar:

I don't know what it is like where you live, but here the temperature is soaring. Some would say this is not the best time to work hard on a diet and exercise program. And it is true that doing keep fit exercises in the heat can make you feel exhausted.

High temperatures can also make you feel lethargic. All you want to do is sit back in the shade and sip a high calorie beer (or is that just me? :) ). Doing a regular weight loss and body toning exercise program at a time like this can appear hard to achieve.

Our metabolism can slow down in summer also. We no longer need the calories to keep us warm and we move slowly to conserve our flagging energy levels. Not good for anyone trying to stick to a slimming diet and exercise plan.

However, with a little bit of 'tweaking' of our weight loss program, we can still lose weight and tone up our bodies, so that we can have those flat stomachs and toned bottoms we all admire!

To follow a weight loss program when the weather is hot we need to:

• Drink lots of water. Low calorie squash and even diet sodas are fine in moderation, but what our bodies need the most is plenty of water.
  

• Do our keep fit and body toning exercises in the morning or late evening, to take advantage of lower temperatures.
  

• Take advantage of all the low calorie food available in the shops at this time of year. These can really help our slimming plans. A low calorie lettuce, cucumber or celery may not seem that great to eat in winter, but come summer, when all these slimming foods look fresh and appetising and you do not have to slave over a hot stove to cook them, well, what more could you ask for?
  

• Warming up before doing our slimming and toning exercises is still important, but at this time of the year it does not take as long, and stretching after an exercise workout can seem extra luxurious when it is hot.
  

• Go for a walk in the sunshine. Power walking to lose weight and tone our legs may be difficult in the heat and is certainly not to be recommended during the hottest part of the day. Power walking or jogging in the beating sun is not good for you - you do not want to get heat stroke. But walking in the shade in the early morning or evening is still a great way to get some fresh air and keep in shape. Just remember to take a bottle of water with you and rest whenever you feel tired.
  

• Go for a swim. Swimming is one of the best keep fit exercises and one of the best calorie burners, so you will lose weight as well as keep fit. Not only does it use up a large number of calories, it tones the muscles in your arms, legs and back and is great for toning up that flabby stomach too. Swimming is also a low impact exercise, so it is not hard on our bones. So swimming in cool water is fantastic exercise to cool you down as you lose weight and tone up on a hot day.
  

• If you do most of your weight loss and toning exercises indoors, this can be a problem when it is hot. If you have air conditioning then please turn it up a little before you start your exercise routine. If you do not, then either do your exercises early in the morning or later at night when the temperatures are a little cooler.
  

You could also alter your exercise routine:

At this time of the year, Yoga and Pilates could be the answer to both your weight loss and body toning needs. Both provide great exercises for toning all parts of your body, including toning up that belly fat and firming your bottom.

You can find books and videos on Yoga and Pilates at most local libraries, so this can still be part of a free weight loss program.

Yoga in particular was developed as a series of body toning exercises (and of course a spiritual practice) in countries where the temperatures can soar, so it adapts very well to exercising and toning your muscles in western countries during the summer months.

Power Yoga is particularly good for weight loss as well as toning your muscles and, despite its name, it is usually much less demanding on your body when the weather is hot than a full on intense aerobics routine.

The above are just a few suggestions on how you can adapt your weight loss and exercise program when the weather is hot. I'm sure, with a little thought, you can now think of several more.

Enjoy your diet and exercise and the good weather. And I'll see you again soon on My Free Weight Loss Program.

Losing Weight For Life

If you are newly arrived here at My Free Weight Loss Program than let me tell you a little about me.

I set up this slimming plan as a way to encourage myself to lose the weight I had put on with a sloppy diet and inactivity. I didn't have too many pounds to lose, but I knew that if I shared my diet and exercise plan online for anyone to see, then I would have to stick with it. And it worked. I have lost my excess fat. Admittedly I still have a way to go before I have a completely flat stomach, but I'm getting there too.

Nevertheless, I decided to keep My Free Weightloss Program going, because I have a load more dieting and exercising tips and tricks to share with you and the first one concerns:

Losing Weight For Life

Just think about it a moment. You have probably arrived here because you want to lose weight and you want to do it for free. You don't want to spend money on an expensive diet and exercise program, but you still want to lost weight and then stay slim and fit. Because once you lose weight, you never want to be fat again.

I would suggest that there are ways you can lose weight without having to spend out on expensive diet food or employing a keep fit coach or investing in gym membership.

It's simply about making small but effective changes to your lifestyle.

Here are a few things you can do to begin that slimming plan:

1. Cut out the sugar in your coffee (either with sweeteners or just cut it out)

2. Drink skimmed or semi-skimmed milk rather than full fat.

3. If you like cheese (which is high in calories) and don't want to cut it out, either buy packs of slim 'sandwich cheese' or packs of Edam or Gouda - both are much lower in calories than most other cheeses. You could also go for the 'low fat' alternative... but that's up to you.

4. Use low fat spread or no spread at all on sandwiches (you often don't need it).

5. Eat white meat rather than red meat (white is much lower in fat) and have a smaller portion.

6. If you must drink sodas, drink the diet alternative. Neither are great for your health, but at least with the no calorie ones you won't be adding to your weight.

7. Cut down on alchohol, but when you do have a drink keep to half pints and drink lagers, rather than heavy beers, and drink them slowly - they have to last or you will not lose weight!

8. Spirits are lower in calories than beer or wine, especially if you top them up with low calorie lemonada or diet coke, but again, make them last!

9. If you cannot do without something sweet then consider eating a small ice cream instead of a chocolate bar (ice lollies are even lower in calories, especially if you make them yourself with low calorie squash). But again, do this in moderation - one a day should be adequate to fulfill any sugar cravings you have while dieting.

10. Eat 'little and often' rather than having three meals a day. It will boost your metabolism so that you lose weight faster and also stop you wanting to snack between meals.

11. Only eat when you are hungry and even then ask yourself "Am I really hungry, or is this something else?" It could be that you just need a break in the fresh air or just a walk to stretch your legs. Tiredness can also make you feel hungry, so check all these things out before you eat. This is one way you can lose pounds and keep slim very easily.

And to help that weight loss along and to get (and keep) your body toned and slim, you need to:

1. Walk rather than drive.

2. Walk fast, don't dawdle.

3. Be the one who jumps up to answer the door or the telephone.

4. Be the one who exercises the dog.

5. Put on your favourite CD and dance to it!

6. In fact, in order to be fit and slim you need to move quickly not slowly and be a mover rather than a couch potato.

It also helps to have a weight loss goal. And here I don't mean things like sticking 'slim stickers' on your fridge or buying a dress for the 'new slimmer you'. These things will only upset you if you think that your weight loss plan is not moving along quickly enough.

What I mean are things like working towards being able to run for the bus without puffing, climbing loads of stairs without stopping to catch your breath. Little things like this when they are achieved will show you just how far you have got in your slimming and keep fit plan and will give you the enthusiasm to try out some more.

You will need to quicken up the way you move so that you use up more calories and it certainly helps to do some form of exercise. But do something you like. Losing weight and toning up doesn't have to be a chore. It should be an enjoyable part of your life.

That way, you will get slim and stay slim for life.

More soon from My Free Weight Loss Program

Weight Loss Achieved Now On To The Tummy Flab

I have actually lost the weight I wanted to lose (10 pounds) and the reason why is that, instead of sitting at my pc writing about my free weight loss program, I have actually gone out and exercised!

I found that once I got over the 'hump' when I felt a little run down and didn't feel like dieting or exercise, when I began keep fit and power walking again, it gave me the energy I needed to continue with the healthy diet (plus the choc ice, lol!) and I felt ok.

And now I have lost the weight I feel great! No more struggling to do up the zip on my jeans and no more puffing and panting when I run. I can look in the mirror now and see a slim person again (I had to breath in to do that before).

Nevertheless, although my weight loss program has worked well in terms of losing the fat, I am still a little flabby around my tummy. I said all along that the belly fat would be the hardest to shift (because of the damaged muscles) and I was certainly right!

So I have been doing my special exercises to try to tone up my stomach muscles. I'll tell you about them now.

Tummy Toning Exercises For Women:

When you are female, some of the exercises that work well for men when they are looking to tone their muscles, do not work as well for you and they can actually be harmful. In particular, 'stomach crunchies' can actually harm us if we are not very careful.

The reason for this is that we have wombs and our pelvic muscles are designed to keep them in place. If we do exercises to flatten our stomachs, like 'stomach crunchies' and we do them without a lot of care, we could end up damaging our pelvic floor muscles and could even end up, in middle age, with a prolapsed womb or other prolapses of our pelvic floor muscles.

The way around this when you want a flat tummy is to either do these exercises with great care or do another form of stomach exercise instead.

If you do decide to do 'stomach crunchies' (and I'll admit, these are very effective exercises for toning up a flabby tummy), then first make sure you have your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Then, take a deep breath before you begin, then pull in all of your pelvic floor muscles an dyour lower tummy muscles as you breath out and bring the upper part of your body forward into the 'crunchie'; breath in again while you are 'up there' and then breath out and make sure those muscles are still pulled in tight as you let your body back down. (In other words, keep that pelvic floor and lower stomach muscles pulled in tight all through the exercise but begin each movement on the out breath).

This may sound like the opposite of what you think about breathing and exercise, but if you do it this way, not only will you be adding benefit to the tummy flattening exercise, you will also be exercising your pelvic floor muscles too and protecting all those bits you want to keep in good repair!

If you feel you would rather not do stomach crunchies, but still want to exercise to get a flat stomach, then I would recommend first of all, getting to grips with the Pilates idea of 'zip up' before you do any exercise. This is basically the same idea, and strengthens your pelvic floor muscles as well as flattening that flabby tummy.

You can stand with your knees relaxed (not pushed back or rigid in other words) and then 'zip up'. You do this by imagining the inside of your body as an elevator. You take a breath and then breath out and pull up your pelvic muscles, feeling every one pull in and tighten as you go and then pull in the muscles of your lower stomach, followed by the rest of your abdomen - always in that order. The idea is that you feel all these muscles rising up as if they were inside an elevator. You can then take a breath, but try to maintain that 'zip' - the elevator is still at the top floor.

You can do this tummy exercise while you undertake most forms of aerobic exercise. You will forget now and again, but that's okay, just 'zip up' those muscles as soon as you remember and. most importantly, begin with the lower muscles first.

This may seem like a lot to remember, but after a while it does become second nature and it will do you, your flabby (now flat) tummy and your pelvic floor a whole lot of good. Honestly it does work!

Anyway, although I have lost the weight I was aiming for, I am still going to continue writing here at My Free Weight Loss Program as, now I have got rid of the fat, I can talk about more of the ways to lose weight, more dieting tips, and the exercises I do to help lose weight and keep slim and toned.

So I'll a see you again soon on my weight loss plan with some more tips for losing weight, keeping slim and keeping fit.

And wish me luck with those tummy exercises. With my flabby stomach muscles I am going to need it!

Weight Loss Diets - How To Deal With Dieting Cravings

When I put myself on my free weight loss program, I knew my stumbling block would not be eating a healthy diet and would not be about doing keep fit exercises to get slim and trim. Those things would not worry me at all. My nemesis, when it comes to slimming and staying slim, is chocolate. I love it!

Before I began this weight loss diet, I used to eat a bar of chocolate every day. Only ever one, but it was part of my routine. I used to eat it around tea time every day - long after lunch and long before dinner time - and it always tasted good, because I was hungry enough to enjoy every mouthfull.

And that has been the hardest thing about slimming this time around - cutting out that high calorie chocolate bar.

I know that any sensible eating plan will tell you that eating something which is high calorie and high in 'useless carbohydrates' can do all sorts of bad things to your blood sugar levels and that this cannot help you in your attempts to lose weight and keep slim.

But I am also of the opinion, that even when you are on a weight loss program, a little bit of what you fancy does you good.

You see, I know my limitations when it comes to dieting. I know that if I feel really deprived while slimming, I will get a craving for something high calorie that I really miss. I will look for things to 'compensate' for the unhealthy snack I am craving. So, I will 'forget' about the calorie limits I have impossed on myself in order to lose the excess fat, and I will first of all raid the fridge for some low calorie snacks, then I will move on to higher calorie snacks (but still food I see as 'slimming food'), all the time eating extra calories I could certainly do without in order to keep to my dieting plan.

And at the end of all that, I know I am going to succumb and eat that high calorie, unhealthy snack I am craving in any case!

And then I will feel guilty and fat, not because I am (as I still will not have eaten enough to have done any lasting damage to my weight loss plan), but because, in my attempts to avoid the one thing I was craving, I have eaten a lot of things I didn't really want!

So, how do I keep to my weight loss program and cope with this craving?

I eat a choc ice instead of a chocolate bar.

A small choc ice is less than half the calories of the chocolate bar. It tastes good and satisfys the 'dieting craving' and I can easily fit it into my slimming plans and still leave room for the essential 'good for me' calories I need. So I can still lose weight.

What I would say here is that this works for me, as part of my free weight loss program. It may not work for everyone, as we are not all the same when it comes to trying to slim down and get rid of our excess fat.

But if you think something similar would work for you when you are dieting, why not give it a try? If you have a craving for a particular food item which you cannot fit into your weight loss plan, then why not look for an alternative which is lower in calories, but is nice enough to satisfy that need?

Of course, this suggestin is nothing earth shattering. there is no real 'secret' in this about dieting and weight loss; just a bit of common sense.

On that note, I must end this post, as it is quite long enough already! And I have yet to tell you about the exercises I am using to get rid of my flabby belly fat. I'll post those in the next few days.

And I'll see you again soon on my free weight loss program!

My Free Weight Loss Program is Working

Well, I've started my slimming by eating healthy and exercising plan again after taking a break when I felt run down. Over the last few days, I have been taking daily walks with our dogs in the mountains near my home. I am feeling fitter and slimmer. The exercise is helping my free weight loss program a lot.

I am back on watching the calories. When I was feeling a little tired, I still ate a healthy diet, but I didn't watch my calorie intake and, with not doing much exercise at that time, I didn't lose any weight. But at least I didn't put any weight on.

Now, a few days back into the exercise plan, my legs are much more toned from all the walking (plus the dance to keep fit exercises I do regularly). The first day I started power walking again, my legs ached a little - my muscles had got out of the habit - but now they are okay.

My jeans feel much looser around my bum too, which is a good sign that I have lost weight as well as toning my muscles.

Eating more healthily and getting exercise in the fresh air and sunshine seems to be good for my skin as well as for getting to a slimmer, fitter me and of course I am getting a nice tan.

All in all, I am looking and feeling slimmer, fitter and more toned.

So how much weight have I actually lost?

Another 2 pounds. So I have lost about 5 or 6 pounds of body fat since I began my free weight loss program. In the grand scheme of things I guess this is not a lot, but I didn't have that much weight to lose - about 10 to 12 pounds at most, so I am half way there. A lot of my problem was having a flabby body and the exercise has helped a lot here as well.

When you think about it, I have probably lost more actual body fat than shows on the scales, because my muscles are stronger now and they may weigh heavier. And if that's true, as I know it should be, then they will begin to burn more calories, so I'll lose more body fat as long as I keep exercising. All good news.

The one thing I do now need to concentrate on, now my weight loss program is well under way, is toning up my flabby tummy.

A while ago, I had an operation which left me with flabby muscles on my stomach, which before that had always been flat.

Getting rid of my belly fat is going to be the hardest part of my slimming and exercise plan. It will take specific exercises to ever get anywhere near having my flat stomach back again. And I will have to be very careful what exercises I do as this can affect my body badly if I choose the wrong exercise routine (stomach crunches are out for one thing), but I do know a few tummy toning exercises which will work and I'll share these with you next time, after I have tried them out again myself.

That's the problem. All the weight loss in the world will not help me get a flat tummy unless I concentrate my exercise on this specific problem as I keep on with the slimming plan.

So that's the next part of my free weight loss program - the flab around my stomach has to go!

And that is not going to be that easy, so please wish me luck!

Weight loss when you do not feel like dieting

I've had a slight setback in my free weight loss program in the last few days. I've been feeling a bit headachy and lethargic and when I feel this way, doing any strenuous exercise to shift the fat does not help.

I do not think the headachy feeling was caused by dieting. I drink lots of fluids and eat a healthy diet. It's much more likely to be the stress of having to do a lot of extra computer work.

Either way, I've been sat around not losing any weight instead of doing my power walking and dancing keep fit exercise. But I am a great believer that it is not the right time to push yourself on any weight loss plan when you feel a little unwell.

In fact, trying to diet and exercise when you are feeling rough is more likely to rebound on you. You could end up 'treating yourself' with high calorie foods in an attempt to boost your flagging energy levels. And if you eat too many high calorie foods at this time, you could well end up feeling as if you have sabotaged your whole weight loss program and give up. And that oculd mean piling on the pounds.

Of course you will not really have damaged your slimming plan. You will simply have delayed it for a while. You can always resume the dieting and exercising when you are feeling well again, but so many people think that 'cheating', or even stopping their exercise program for a day or two sounds the death knell to their weight loss plan and that's a shame, because if they stopped to think logically about it, they would realise that the fat can still come off another day.

Having said all that, the way I have always found it best to cope at times like this is to not get stressed that I cannot lose the extra pounds right now. I rest as much as I can and try not to think about sticking rigidly to the weight loss plan and only do keep fit exercises if I really feel like doing them. I know that I will begin losing weight again as soon as I resume, so what's to worry about?

Anyway, I am feeling quite a lot fitter again now, so it's back on my free weight loss program with earnest. I started back today with some walking through the mountains to get some fresh air and exercise. It was a lovely day, so it felt good.

At the moment, I have no further weight loss to report, but I haven't put on any weight either, so that's okay.

And I'm back on plan now and will be reporting my next weight loss in the next few days. So I know the program is still working and that can't be bad.

Losing Weight To Music as Part Of a Free Weight Loss Program

I trained as a keep fit instructor, specialising in exercise to music and nutrition. Although I do all forms of exercise, I must admit that, the nicest part of My Free Weight Loss Program is being able to do the exercise I like best - dancing.

I love music. It can raise my mood when I feel low and it always makes me want to get up on my feet and dance. So what better way to help myself lose the excess weight and give my body a good workout than by dancing?

When I trained as an exercise instructor, I spent many an hour perfecting my moves, to see if they coordinated and were easy for beginners to follow. I set up tape after tape, mixing them all so that they provided an exercise low impact warm up, then a build up to a real aerobic workout and then slowly back down to the cool down and some stretching at the end.

It's surprising how much work it takes the keep fit instructor to get their classes just right and to have a variety of exercise moves to fit for beginners and the more advanced. In actual fact, taking a keep fit instructor's course is a really good way to keep slim and fit, because you have to try out all the moves yourself first and you have to eat a healthy diet in order to be able to keep on at this, day after day, unti l you get it right!

Nevertheless, I cannot recommend it as part of my free weight loss program, because you have to pay to take a course, but never mind, for anyone adventurous it's definitely worth a thought and I could almost guarantee that you would lose weight and be a whole lot fitter for doing it!

But anyway, the reason I am writing here about losing weight and keeping fit by dancing is because I have been resorting to this form of exercise more and more over the last few days. The weather here has been rainy - not the time to go mountain climbing to keep fit! So I got out some of my old CDs and exercise tapes and bopped around the living room.

And, do you know, not only have I lost another pound or two (I'll weigh myself tomorrow - it could be more), but I actually feel happy about exercising this way and that's always a bonus to any weight loss plan.

It's all very well that you naturally feel good once the pounds start to fall off and you are on your way to a slimmer you, with a flatter stomach and sleeker muscles, but sometimes dieting and exercise can get a little tedious; there's no two ways about it.

But when you do something you actually enjoy, and you know it's doing you good, it's a great bonus to any dieting plan wouldn't you say?

I also find I put much more effort into the exercise if I enjoy it. If you peeked into my living room while I'm dancing you would see me going at it like a woman possessed! I can work up a real sweat this way, but just think of the calories I am burning. Yay!

The forecast here is for sunshine again soon, so I guess I will have no excuse not to get out in more fresh air to get my exercise, but I will still do some dancing to keep the aerobic part of the weight loss plan going. And, in any case, I have loads of CDs I haven't bothered to listen to in months just waiting to be played, so why not?

So, basically, my free weight loss program is going to plan. I am feeling fitter. I know I have lost at least 3 pounds of fat. And I am feeling much better about myself already.

All in all, that can't be bad, can it?

How Is My Free Weight Loss Program Going?

I haven't posted here at My Free Weight Loss Program for a couple of days because I have been actually putting into practice some of the things I have been talking about, one of which was to get off my backside and go and get some real healthy exercise.

So how is my weight loss plan actually going?

Well, so far I have only lost 2 pounds, but as I only really put this program into action a few days ago, that isn't too bad. And the best thing is that I am pretty sure I have lost actual body fat because I have been exercising and trying to tone my muscles as well as dieting.

There is also one thing to bear in mind when exercising to lose weight. If you build up your muscles they will become a little heavier, so, even though you are losing body fat, you may not notice such a difference on the scales as you had been hoping for.

This fact never bothers me, as I know that, at the end of the day, I will have lost real weight and my stronger muscles will be helping me to keep slim, as they will be burning more energy than the excess fat cells used to do.

However, I am not into 'body building'. I just want strong, toned muscles, particularly a nice flat tummy. Getting rid of the flab on my bum would be great too, so I have been exercising my 'gluts' with some up hill walking. This is very easy to do where we live, as we are surrounded by mountains, but walking up and down stairs or using a 'step exerciser' also works very well.

One thing which I always have to consider when beginning a weight loss program is my blood sugar levels. Despite all my best efforts to watch my diet, I do suffer easily from low blood sugar, which can make me feel faint and exhausted and tell my stomach that I should eat to put things right.

I try to handle this by having a low calorie yoghurt or a small banana before I begin any form of exercise. This way, I am not overloading my digestive system before I begin an exercise routine.

If you eat a heavy meal (or anything high calorie) you will find that when you exercise, a lot of that fat burning exercise will use up calories from the food you have just eaten, rather than from your body fat. It is also the case that your body needs time to digest a large meal and giving it other energy burning things to do at the same time is not to be recommended for your general health.

This is why, to counteract my low blood sugar problems, I always have something to eat about 15 minutes before I exercise, but that 'something' is very low calorie and very easy to digest.

Many people will tell you that after an exercise session you do not want to eat. This is not always the case. I am one of those people who likes to eat and I have this very bad habit (from a dieting sense anyway) of wanting to 'reward myself' with food. When I have completed an uphill walk or an aerobics session, I am not immediately hungry (a shower is my first thought :) ), but once I have cooled down a little, I do feel like rewarding myself. I have to find other ways to do this than with food, or else all that fat burning effort will have gone to waste and I will not lose an ounce of weight.

One way I have found in the past is to try on those clothes that were a little too tight a few weeks ago, or just have a good look at myself in the mirror and see that I have lost some weight. Feeling my ribs helps too. If I can feel them quite well, then that makes me feel good too and reminds me that I don't want to lose that feeling!

All of these methods are, of course free. It would be nice to go out and buy yourself something as a reward (as long as it isn't food of course), but as this is a free weight loss program, that is not my intention. After all, why spend money when you don't have to?

As to my diet, I have been trying to eat healthily, but to eat things I like. Despite all the diet sheets and recommendations you can find out there, this isn't always easy, especially if you have got into the habit of eating and enjoying unhealthy foods. If you have gotten used to eating chips, then that diet meal of salad and low calorie protein probably isn't going to taste that good!

I follow what some see as an 'old fashioned' method. I count calories. I make sure I eat enough healthy food (5 portions of veg/fruit plus protein in 2 meals etc), but I also allow myself a daily 'dieting treat'. It could be an ice cream, a small chocolate mouse, or even a small chocolate bar or a small glass of wine. None of these things (and there are many more like them) come to much more than 150 calories if you are careful and check the labels.

This is the method I use. Others find different weight loss programs succesful. For me, I know that if I 'deprive myself' (or think I am doing this), then all that 'dieting stoicism' will only work for a short while and I want this weight loss to be long term and the fat to stay off. When you begin a diet you can usually get away very easily with a calorie count of 1250 to 1500 calories (more if you are a man or a woman with a lot of weight to lose), so using up 150 or even 200 calories a day will not effect the healthy balance of your diet too much at all and I reckon it's well worth it.

As time goes on, you may reach a 'dieting plateau' and your weight loss could stop or slow down and some people (but not everyone) will have to adjust their calorie intake a little to continue to lose the pounds, but by that time you should be so happy with your newer, slimmer figure that losing out on the odd 'dieting treat' will seem a small price to pay for a fitter, thinner you.

Well, that's my thoughts on this matter anyway. As I said, I do have qualificatins in exercise and nutrition, but I am not an 'expert' on dieting. I only know what is best for me and can pass on these tips to you in case they help you too.

Anyway, I have rambled on far too long here. I suppose I just wanted to tell you that my free weight loss program is going according to plan. Now it's onwards and upwards (maybe up more hills :) ).

Wish me luck!

My Free Weight Loss Program - Am I Really Hungry?

As part of my free weight loss program, I am going over the tips and tricks I used to use to get slim and stay slim. One thing which has always worked for me in the past is, when I get the urge to eat something, I ask myself, "Am I really hungry?"

Sounds simple, I know and anyone who has a rumbling tummy just thinking about high calorie food will know this trick isn't always quick to achieve or easy, but it does work as part of a healthy eating diet plan. Now is the time for me to get into this mindset again as part of my weight loss program, because right now I need to shift some excess fat!

This is how it works for me:

For instance, when I have been slogging away at the pc for hours, I often think, "I must have something to eat right now." But sitting around for hours, however hard you work, isn't using that many calories and snacking will make you put on excess pounds, so what do I do when I am being good about maintaining my weight and keeping a slim figure?

I ask myself whether I am hungry, or is it something else I need right now? Because, if I get the answer wrong, I am not going to lose weight, or, if I am already slim, I could put on pounds.

So I ask myself whether I am simply tired. Perhaps I need to relax for a while. Or perhaps I need to take a walk and get some fresh air. It would certainly be more healthy to do this and, if it's sunny, the vitamin D would be good for my bones and I would be exercising and burning up a few extra calories too.

So, in order to lose this excess weight, I really need to start thinking like this again, or else I will never get back to my slim former self.

The only problem I have found with always stopping to ask yourself whether you really need that high calorie snack, or even that healthy meal, right now, is that you have to fit in with other people's plans. Not always easy, but fitting in with them without taking care of your own dieting needs is likely to make you fat, so you have to find a program which works its way around this.

What I have done in the past and will do again is this:

If I have an appointment to meet someone for a meal, I can hardly say "Sorry, could you wait until later in the day as I am not hungry right now and I'm watching my weight," can I?

So I find ways around this. First, if this is planned in advance I try not to eat for a few hours before. Second, I order the healthy diet meal. I may not like it, but, with this program, I don't intend to eat it all anyway. Then, I eat real slow and try to savor every mouthful. It's surprising how soon your stomach feels full when you eat slow. I bet you could even get away with eating high calorie meals and not putting on weight if you ate them slow enough, because you would never finish them, but if you want to lose weight, that is not such a great idea.

There is a trick to eating slow which works well as part of a free weightloss program. This is how to do it:

Get involved in the conversation and put down your knife and fork while you are talking.

Take one mouthful and really savor it. Put down your knife and fork while you are eating this mouthful. Do not get the next bite ready; have this one first.

It works, I promise. And, if you have chosen the low calorie healthy option, you will lose weight with this method yet your tummy will still feel satisfied. It takes a bit of practice, but so does any weight loss program, and this tip is for free, so that can't be bad.

Now, of course, I have to practice what I preach and get back on the diet and exercise plan, but there are a lot worse ways than this for losing excess pounds and keeping them off.

And at the end of all this I will be back to my former slim self, which again, can't be bad.

Okay, so I have found two things so far which have always been part of a diet and weight loss program for me until recently. All I need now is the motivation to carry them out.

So wish me luck! :)

My Free Weight Loss Program - Move Quick Lose Weight Fast

Have you ever looked at someone slim and wondered how they managed to stay that way while eating loads? The answer seems to be that the people who do not have to diet and exercise as much as the rest of us do everything fast. This is going to be one of the keys to My Free Weight Loss Program: keep fit and lose weight by being a speedy person.

My sister has always been slim. She eats more than me, but never has to watch her weight. I have watched her and have come to this conclusion: she is a thin person because she is always in a rush. Don't get me wrong, she isn't always late (that could often be me I'm afraid). It is more that she always finds extra things to do and she does them at speed. She doesn't need to exercise to burn calories, she has a hard time eating enough calories to keep her healthy with all that energy she is burning constantly.

So the first item on my list at My Free Weight Loss Program is to use my sister's way of dealing with life - with more energy and fast!

Let's think about ways to do this for a moment. When I am working on my pc, my husband (another thin person) will often get up and make me a coffee 'to keep me going'. He knows that I lose energy when I write and thinks this is the answer (of course, it isn't). But he is the one getting the exercise, not me, and he is slim as a result. If I just got up and made that drink myself, I would be doing my body much more good. I would be stretching my muscles, keeping my circulation healthy and I would be burning up a few extra calories - not many I'll admit, but more than remaining seated at the pc getting fat.

I remember some time ago I looked at this idea about losing weight and keeping the weight off and tried to devise ways to keep fit doing the housework. I used to do things like leaving ironing upstairs until I needed it, so that I would have to climb the stairs and use up the extra calories getting it. I did rather strange things like putting pots and pans in cupboards out of reach of the kitchen sink, so that I would have to step a few places more to put them away, and carrying plates into the dining room one at a time so that I would get more walking exercise. Silly little things, I know, but they helped me burn a few extra calories and helped to keep the weight off.

One of the things I always used to do until recently was to make my own drinks and I would be the first to jump up at a tv break to get things for others. I was also the one who answered the door or ran to answer the telephone. These little things all add up to using more calories and keeping the weight off.

I haven't been doing any of these things lately and the weight has piled on and the muscles are flabby as a result. I need to get more active and get healthy in the process.

I have two children. One is like my husband, a 'naturally slim' person. She is also very energetic. It is hard to get her to sit down to do her homework. In fact, it is hard to get her to keep still at any time. She is so energetic. She wants to go outside and play or run about. She does everything quickly and of course she is getting exercise as a result.

My other daughter is a bookworm. She likes nothing better than sitting down and reading or watching tv. Basically, she prefers sitting down to doing any exercise. She moves slowly, while her elder sister moves quickly. As a result, although she eats less than her elder sister and eats a healthy diet, she is a little on the chubby side. Not much, but she could have problems when she is older unless she raises her metabolic rate by speeding up a little.

I am proud of both my children. One gets good marks for schoolwork, the other excels at sports and all forms of physical exercise. But I know which one of them will probably have health problems and could need to lose weight later on. Maybe I should get her moving about more too? I'll have to be very subtle in my approach though. One hint of dieting and exercise and I will get the cold shoulder (and incidentally, I do not believe in encouraging children to diet anyway - just be healthy). But it would be nice if we could work together on my free weight loss program.

It's definitely worth a shot.

Beginning My Free Weight Loss Program

I said my weight loss program was going to be free. So how do I intend to do that?

First of all, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm a woman in her thirties who has always struggled with her weight. I have followed many dieting programs over the years and have tried numerous exercise techniques. I like to get slim and keep slim, and I have studied nutrition and healthy eating as well as gaining qualifications in aerobics so that I can show others how to keep fit.

You could say I should be fit and healthy, but sometimes life gets in the way.

Most of the work I do nowadays is on the internet and, as we all know, this can make you very unhealthy. Sitting at a desk for hours on end can make you fat and flabby. I'm beginning to feel that way at the moment. So it's time to take action and lose the excess fat and do real healthy exercise.

But I do not want to spend money at all if I can help it. There are so many ways you can lose weight without spending your hard earned cash. I'll admit that sometimes, if you have the spare bucks, it can help if you get a dieting or keep fit expert to help you, especially if you want to lose weight fast and get trim and sleek as the result, but that's not what My Free Weight Loss Program is all about. I want to do it myself at no cost.

The only catch is... I want your help!

So here is my plan:

1. I will scour my notes, the internet, magazines and newpapers for articles on dieting and tips on getting slim and staying slim. I want to do this because I think it is important to keep up to date with the latest news about diet and health and I want to ensure that my nutrition and aerobics training notes are still useable today.

2. I will test out my exercise techniques to see if any in particular are best for losing weight fast. My training was about long term exercise programs, but at this point in time I want the pounds to fall off rapidly and for me to emerge slim and toned (fingers crossed!).

3. Out of all this, I will find a diet and exercise program that works and promise to stick to it.

4. I will exercise every day in a way which works out my metabolism and gets the weight moving. I will start at an easy pace (as I haven't exercised properly for a while) and move it up until the pounds begin to drop off and my muscles are toned again.

5. I will try to find ways to keep me on my weight loss program. Free ways which work for me. Perhaps some form of motivation would help? (That's where you come in by the way :) )

6. If I find a particular recipe or food which helps me diet, I will post information about that too. But have to warn you now, that I do not like cooking, so it will have to be easy and quick!

7. I will post my findings. How much weight I have lost in the past week and the diet and exercise program I am using, partly for my notes and partly so that you can follow if you are interested.

8. And the main thing is, although I want to lose weight fast, I want to do all this for free.

Will I make it? Yes, I think I will ... with your help, so please post your comments here and encourage me in my weight loss goal. I really would appreciate it. And when I see this post which lays out my free weight loss program in detail, it should help me stick to it too.

So, as I said in my short introduction, wish me luck!

Welcome to my Free Weight Loss Program

Welcome to My Free Weight Loss Program. This is where I am going to chart my weight loss and share it with you. I only intend to use free programs I find on the internet and tips and tricks on how to lose weight quickly which I find in newspapers and journal articles.
I intend to lose weight fast, so wish me luck!
If you would like to contact me about this program, please feel free to contact me at mirzania375@gmail.com and I will be pleased to discuss dieting tips with you.