SavFaire Health and Fitness

If you’re like me then you have surely seen all of the advertisements for the weight loss product Medifast on most of the fitness sites you’ve visited. Maybe you have even considered using one of the many Medifast coupons that knock off $50 on your order, but what you may not know is whether Medifast actually works or not.

Medifast was originally invented in a lab to help morbidly obese people lose weight quickly in order to save their lives, rather than just some weight loss product invented for the sake of vanity. Once people saw the results that the obese were having with the product though they wanted it for themselves so now you can buy it right there on the Medifast website like most other diet programs.

Medifast is a meal replacement diet, so you order a box full of freeze dried foods and eat them instead of what you would normally eat throughout the day, so right here if you can’t take pre-packaged foods for at least a few weeks then put your credit card away. If you can, then read on.

With the meal plan you eat five of these pre-packaged Medifast meals each day and then mix in one real food meal that they describe as “lean and green”, or in other words healthy and not pizza or cookies. You continue to do this until you reach your desired weight loss goal.

Now how much can you lose on Medifast? Well that depends, if you’re a 400 pound male you’ll lose weight faster than a 150 pound female would, but according to their website the average person was shown to lose between 2-5 pounds per week on the diet, which is way higher than most diets will give you.

As far as I can tell no exercise is required on the diet, but it doesn’t hurt to get exercise if you are planning on doing the diet. Exercise has many benefits on the body beyond weight loss, it’s good for muscle development and lung capacity so you should be exercising regardless of whether or not you need to lose weight.

So is Medifast worth it? Well yes if you need to lose a lot of weight and you have tried all other options, but if you haven’t tried a sensible regular diet then you might want to try that first before you spend a lot of money on Medifast.

There are many things in life that you must plan for and prepare yourself for such as pregnancy, surgery, etc. This doesn’t fall any shorter than from the truth when it comes to dieting, exercising and weight loss. You need to make a plan and you need to prepare yourself because it’s going to be a big lifestyle change.

Now, starting a new diet or your first diet can be a very daunting task and you seriously need to prepare yourself for the drastic change that is about to happen. When you have prepared yourself for a diet, you will be able to approach the diet much easier and with much more commitment.

Why Do You Want a Diet?

First things first – you need to understand and know why it is that you want to go on a diet or why you need to go on a diet. Make a list of the things in your life that you don’t like right now and then make another list of why you want or need to change those things.

Choosing the Right Diet

Before you ever start a diet, you need to ensure that it is a diet that you can actually follow. With the large number of diets out there today, surely you can find a diet that suits your personality, habits and preferences. For example, if you are a vegetarian or don’t care much for meat then a low-carb diet isn’t going to be ideal for you. Your diet needs to reflect your own individual lifestyle and eating habits. You aren’t going to stay on a diet if you don’t like the food that you have to eat to make that diet work.

Get Rid of Non-Healthy Foods

Before stepping foot in the right direction, you have to step back for a moment. Take a look around your fridge, freezer, cabinets, pantry, and anywhere else that food may be hiding in your home and get rid of the junk food. It’s hard but it’s got to be done. If nothing else, now is your time to splurge for the last time before embarking on a diet journey. You won’t be nearly as tempted when you start your diet if the food isn’t right in front of you and within reach.

Speak with Professionals

If you wish, but isn’t required, you can speak to a physician, nutritionist, health expert, etc. to gain some advice on a diet. You can find out the best foods for you that will meet your own tastes and can get some great inside information that will help you succeed in your diet. They will also help you find that motivation that you need to start off on the right track…it will definitely make the road a little less bumpy if you have a professional to go through the process with you.

Purchase a Diary or Journal

When dieting, it’s important to keep track of your daily eating habits. You’ll want to record everything that you eat and drink as well as your exercise. Be sure to include the calorie count of the foods and drinks as well as the fat count and carb count. For every exercise, write down how long and at what speed you performed.

If you are meeting with a fitness trainer or nutritionist, you can take this journal with you to your meetings and appointments so they can help you analyze your progress.

Reward Yourself

After you start and you are reaching goals that you have set for yourself, be sure to reward your success. It will help keep your motivation in line and consistently boosting.

Weight loss. Two words that many people hate to hear with the main reason being because they constantly struggle to lose weight and simply fail every time they try to do so. However, the thing with a lot of people is that they go about it the wrong way – many people strive for a quick fix rather than long-term results. Also, their mind isn’t set, no goals have been created, etc.

In order to find success in losing weight, you first need to identify the reasons you struggle to lose weight. Let’s take a look at a few of those reasons, which are likely the main reasons that you are constantly struggling in weight loss.

Your Overall State of Mind

Whenever you set goals for yourself, your mind is what ultimately makes your goals or doesn’t make your goals. You have to take the time and effort to program your mind to find success and succeed at whatever goals you may put in front of yourself. Don’t let negative crap get into your head. Believe that you can lose weight, imagine yourself at that ideal weight and most importantly, believe that you are beautiful no matter your size. Without these things, you won’t make it far and is more than likely one of the key reasons you’ve never succeeded in weight loss before.

Not Setting Goals

In order to achieve something, and I mean really achieve something, you have to set some goals and boundaries for yourself. You know you want to lose weight and you know what you would like to look like but getting there is a different story. Setting goals is the first step in getting there. By making a list of goals that you want to achieve through the weight loss process will help you in more ways than one. Not only will you see that you are achieving your goals but you’ll feel very empowered once you have checked one of your goals off your list. The feeling is indescribable.

Making Excuses

We are human and we all make excuses to get out of things we don’t want to do. We make excuses when it comes to losing weight. I just don’t have the time. I had the kids or had errands to run and couldn’t make it to the gym. Instead of making excuses, make a list of the things that you would like to do once you reach your ideal weight. Look at this list every time you start to come up with an excuse to avoid eating healthy or exercising. Turn your excuses into results today!

Not Being Fully Committed

And finally, the word commitment. It’s a strong word but is one that you really need to consider and understand. Most people try to lose weight, start dieting and exercising only to quit a couple of weeks later. If you are wanting to lose weight then you MUST commit to doing so. Treat diet and exercise just as you would a business meeting, a PTA meeting at your child’s school or even the care of your children. They are all things that have to be done and at certain times (usually). Don’t give up – that way you can say that you never failed.

Remember, keep trying at all times. You will eventually succeed but you just have to get your head wrapped around the above information first. Without understanding why you have failed previously, you’ll never be able to succeed. If you don’t put forth time, effort and commitment to losing weight, then you never will. Stop procrastinating and jump-start your new routine today!

Most people don’t want to exercise because it isn’t fun. But what if you could make it fun or exercise without even knowing you are doing it? The good thing about it is that it is possible and I’m here to give you a few ways that you can do this. There’s no reason that you can’t have fun exercising or burn some calories without even realizing you are doing so. Let’s take a look.

Shopping

Yes, I said shopping. You burn calories shopping because you are walking all over the place, trying on clothes, etc. Malls and strip malls cover a lot of ground and by the end of the day you’ve probably walked a mile or more if you were counting your steps. Best thing about it is that you have no idea you are exercising or burning calories because you are having so much fun shopping. Plus, you would never think about shopping as an exercise anyway.

Dancing

Whether you are dancing around the house doing your chores or heading out for a night of dancing on the town with your girlfriends (maybe that new club that just opened up downtown), you can burn a ton of calories dancing. Not only will you have fun doing it and burn calories in the process but you’ll get a boost of feel-good!

Get Intimate

There’s no workout better than the one you can do in bed with your significant other. You’ll get to romantically express your feelings for your partner while burning some calories at the very same time. In fact, did you know that you can burn around 85 or more calories for 30 minutes of sex? Depending on the position and if you have an orgasm or not, you can burn even more calories!

Play Games

There are a number of games that you can play with your friends and family that are great exercise. Remember when you were in elementary school and you were the pro hula-hooper? Well, get that hula-hoop out and see what you’ve still got because it’s a great way to exercise.

Apart from the hula-hoop challenge, you could also play a competitive game of Twister! You’ll be stretching, testing your flexibility strengths and having tons of fun!

Wash Your Car

If it’s summertime, or at least warm outside, get your butt out of the house, grab a sponge and a bucket with soapy water and start washing your car. Yes, do it yourself instead of driving through a car wash that does the dirty work for you.

As long as you keep your feet and body moving, you are going to burn some calories. Think of something that you enjoy doing and if it requires you to be on the move then have at it because it’s going to be a great exercise…and to think, you probably didn’t even know it!

The number of people that are overweight has increased over the years and only continues to increase as days go by – it has now reached more than 50% of Americans. Many think that they need to lose a large amount of weight in order to see any significant benefits but according to WebMD, individuals only need to lose about 10% of their body weight to see some great results in regards to their health.

While losing weight will help you feel better as a person, as a whole, you’ll also find that a number of health benefits come from losing weight – even a small amount of weight. It doesn’t take much to be well on your way to becoming health again. Let’s take a look at a few of the health benefits that you could experience should you start losing weight.

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) and Heart Disease

When you are obese or overweight, you are at an increased risk of high blood pressure as well as heart disease including but not limited to heart attacks, congestive heart failure, irregular heart rhythm, etc. In fact, the risk doubled for hypertension when you are overweight. Obesity also increases your chance of high cholesterol.

By losing even a few pounds, you will decrease your risk of heart diseases and strokes while improving your cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Decrease Your Risk of Cancer

Some studies show that obesity is linked to some forms of cancer – not all forms. A few of these cancers include gallbladder, colon, kidney, prostate and some breast cancers (mainly postmenopausal). In fact those that gain 20 pounds or more before they reach middle-age double their overall risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer when compared to those that do not gain any weight. Therefore, balancing a healthy lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight can improve your chances of developing some forms of cancer.

Lower Your Chance of Diabetes

Diabetes is a common problem in many individuals, overweight or not. However, you increase your risk of developing Type II Diabetes when you gain between 10 and 20 pounds. Did you know that more than 80% of individuals that have been diagnosed with diabetes are actually obese or overweight.

By lowering your weight to a healthy number AND exercising, you can lower that overall risk significantly of developing diabetes. In fact, an approximate weight loss percentage of about 5% is enough to help prevent the development of diabetes.

Increase Your Overall Energy

When you lose a few pounds, you won’t just feel good about yourself but you’ll also see an increase in your energy levels. You will be able to do more than you could – maybe not a whole lot, but you will see some improvement.

You’ll also be able to breathe easier, improve your overall mobility and reduce the aches and pains that you often feel.

As you can see, there are a number of health benefits to losing weight and the ones explained here are not all of them. It is amazing what a few pounds of weight taken off your body can do for your health.