Monday, May 8, 2006

Weight Loss Tips and Tools

Weight Loss Tips and Tools

"She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms."  Proverbs 31:17

The Lord has shown me how important taking care of my physical body is. He wants me to have energy to take care of the needs of my family and home. Here are some tips that have helped me.

"We are the Temple of the Holy Ghost." Micah 6:8

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."  I Corinthians 10:31


Accountability
I highly recommend you become accountable to someone. Your spouse or parent,  weightloss group online, friend, neighbor are all great choices. Also a IRL friend is a great help. You can talk on the phone or email how your doing frequently. Also if you can find a workout buddy you are probably going to stick with it because you know "Sally" is waiting for you!

How Many Calories do you Really Need
You should NEVER go below 1200 calories!  Here is a formula to figure out how many calories you need.

655 +
4.26 X weight (lbs.) +
3.42 x height (inches.) -
4.7 X age

The number that you get from doing that is your Resting Metabolic Rate. That is the amount of calories that your body will burn automatically each day. These are the amount of calories you need to maintain where you currently are.

Then, if you add in moderate exercise you can take your RMR x 1.37. And, if you add in vigorous exercise you can take that RMR x 1.55. This will give you your caloric allotment with exercise to MAINTAIN where you currently are.

So, if you'de like to lose weight, then work at lowering your calories from that amount.

Also a faster version...
You take your weight and multiply it by 10. I am 156 lbs. so my cal needs would be 1560.  This version is from Covert Bailey book.

Counting Calories
If you want to do this the following sites are helpful. Also a journal like www.fitday.com  would work for you. Also a paperback book that is very good and helpful is...
The Complete Book of Food Counts by Corinne T. Netzer

http://www.calorieking.com
http://www.fitwatch.com/caloriecounter.html
For dining out  you can usually find the nutrition information online or in the store.

Exercise

I have begun to realize that it doesn't matter how you exercise as long as you do it! So see what you have available. The easiest to afford, is walking. And your children can be involved also. Only bad thing is the weather can really make things difficult. DO you have any old equipment around? Dust it off and try it again. Dig out those videos! I have found not doing the same thing everyday really helps me to stick to it. And I'm learning that  weight lifting will help sculpt you to the shape you want. With just cardio you will lose weight, but if you started out a pear shape you will just become a smaller pear.

"Do what gets you moving regularly."

I have found the following links to be very helpful and lifting weights with proper form. (For those of us who can't afford that trainer!)

http://www.bodyforlife.com/exercise/animations.asp
http://www.bodyforlife.com/exercise/video.asp

Also the library tends to be an excellernt source of exercise books and videos. So you can try them out before you buy. And you can change your routine frequently so you don't get bored.

Here are some links on specific target areas!
Looking good magazine article

Don't have time to Exercise
Can you give yourself 10 minutes today, to feel better?!?!
Here is a link that shows a weeks worth of exercise with only 10 minutes each session!
10 Minutes a Day

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