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.