What's The Right Time to Lose Weight?

OK, you're overweight. Weight loss is important, if you don't lose weight your life span will be drastically reduced, you'll be more prone to diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure, heart disease, stroke etc.

You will have heard this stuff many times from well meaning friends or your doctor, but just when is the right time to lose weight?

There is no magic formula "right time". This is an individual process that only you can know. You have to decide when the right is for you. However although you may well at some stage think "that's it, I'm fed up with carting all this lard around, I'm losing weight" you also need to bear in mind that timing is important. It can make or break your weightloss plan.

The best time to start your plan is when you feel that you're overweight. However if you have become morbidly obese then it's very likely that only surgical intervention will help. So you can see that timing is very important as you really don't want to let it get to that stage.

A well known fitness coach was friends with a man who was excessively overweight, suffering from sleep apnea and feeling dizzy and sleepy most of the time. Although it was obviously the weight causing these problems, the man never asked his friend the fitness coach for any help in the way of weightloss advice.

That is until he started to realise that people were no longer inviting him to social events, and pretty much ignoring him. Finally realising that his weight was the problem he asked the fitness coach to help him. A year later he has lost the excessive weight, sleeps properly, is more active, with an enviable social life.

The point here is that it was the right time for him to do something about it. The trigger will be different for everyone. Why do you want to lose weight? Can you not stand the sight of your belly any more? Do you think you've become lazy? Are you being passed over for promotion at work? Is your doctor nagging at you to lose weight?

Whatever the reason, when YOU decide that it's time to get rid of that extra luggage then take action, and you WILL succeed!

How to lose weight and still eat restaurant food!

It's a fact of life that if you're trying to lose weight (even if you're not) you will now and then get bored with the everyday meals you are preparing for yourself, and hanker after a nice meal out.

But then, your doctor has probably advised you not to eat restaurant foods as they will lead to excessive weight gain. Well, like all things connected with dieting and losing weight there is an answer, you just have to go about it the right way.

As a very rough, general guide to start with. If a food tastes really good, chances are it has been prepared richly and probably fried (we love fried foods don't we?). Unsurprisingly, raw fruits and vegetables, which usually don't have the same apeal for most of us, are some of the best foods for fast weight loss.

Here are a few tips to help you out:

1) Try to visit vegetarian restaurants for a change. This will help you avoid the foods that are really going to pile the pounds on. Doesn't mean that non-vegetarian places are necessarily bad for you, it's just more difficult to avoid high fat/calorie foods in those places.

2) The chicken served in most restaurants contains large amounts of fat, which makes it tasty to be sure, but is not good for losing weight. Lean chicken is an excellent diet food, and you are more likely to get this in salad bars.

3) Talking of salad bars, yes great choice for those of us wishing to lose those extra pounds. BUT, beware of the salad dressing. Better leave it altogether. Most of them are high fat, high calorie, completely negating the effect of eating salad in the first place. Tell your server no dressing.

4) Buffets, oh yes, marvellous, but the enemy of all dieters. Many of the foods available at buffets are high in fats and calories, often fried in oil. Avoid buffets at all costs, especially the all-you-can-eat kind. Do I really have to explain that one? If you really must go to a buffet place choose the healthier alternatives and salads.

5) Check and control your portion sizes. If you think the amount provided is in excess of your portion requirement then just eat your portion and take your leftovers home for the following day. Most places are happy to pack your leftovers for you. Another good tip is to order the childs meal.

It's really all about common sense and discretion. So go ahead, have that meal out. Just apply these tips and you won't put on weight or feel guilty.