Weight loss do's and don'ts

There are several ideas that people have when losing weight and some of them
are proven to be successfully effective while some are simply catchy marketing lines.
While the latter might sound really interesting, we should be aware of weight loss myths and
marketing hypes. Here are some of weight loss ideas that you should think of
and decide which are truly effective.

Weight loss don't- Crash diet. Crushed diets, I mean crash diets are not diets that will crush your weight down or give quick weight loss but rather would make your body suffer. Crash diet refers to intentional food restriction causing your body to have reduced nutrition. The idea is based on the premise that doing crash diets would allow your body to burn fat stored in the body. However, what the body adapt is to use the lean muscle tissue instead and preserve stored fats.

Weight loss don't- Skipping breakfast. Most people think that skipping breakfast would do good on weight loss. Nonetheless, it should be remembered that breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it is the meal where the body get most of its energy for the day.

Weight loss do's- Exercise and balance diet. Therapeutic weight loss or natural weight loss could be achieve through enough exercise and balance diet. This is the traditional and yet most effective weight loss method. Physical activities help you burn more calories while a balance diet which includes fiber, would help you give the right nutrition and detoxify the body.

Weight loss do's- Make a weight loss diet plan. Weight loss programs are becoming popular nowadays whether a person's goal is to lose weight against obesity or weight problems or just to have a more attractive body. Yet, one should be careful on the weight loss plan. The best thing that you could do is to assess your health first, dictate your goal and know what weight loss program could be effective and adaptable to your lifestyle and make sure you measure up your efforts in the end. This way you can evaluate and see which part you might be missing.

However, starting up with the weight loss need assessment may be a hard thing to do at first because the moment of truth is there. Be honest with the evaluation to have an effective weight loss campaign. You may also use online assessment tools that can help you learn better about your health. Some websites charge an amount for the report, yet there are also free and effective weight loss assessment tools online.

How to Assess your weight?

Do you monitor your weight? How do you assess your weight needs?

Weight measurement is not only important to those who have bulging fats in their body. It is equally important even to those who seem to have no weight problems. One of the fastest means to assess your weight is to measure up with the weighing scale. The weighing scale quantify how much pounds did you lose or gain previously. However, there are still other ways to measure up. These are the percent body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and BMI.

Percent body fat. PBF is the total weight of the person's fat divided by the person's weight and reflects both essential fat and storage fat. Essential fat is that amount necessary for maintenance of life and reproductive functions. While storage fat consists of fat accumulation in adipose tissue, part of which protects internal organs in the chest and abdomen.

The percentage body fat is measured with a painless test called "caliper measurement". This test measures subcutaneous (under the skin) fat using a skinfold caliper.

Waist-to-hip ratio. The waist-to-hip ratio is considered a vital measurement in women as this is is the ratio of the circumference of the waist to that of the hips. It is calculated by measuring the waist circumference (located just above the upper hip bone) and dividing by the hip circumference at its widest part (waist/hip).

The WHR has been a significant factor in physical attractiveness judgment and in implying women's fertility.

Body Mass Index. BMI is a statistical measurement which compares a person's weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is. Using the BMI Chart or the formula, this can define the following:

• An individual is considered underweight if their BMI is less than 18.5.
• A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered a "normal" weight.
• A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight.
• Individuals who fall into the BMI range of 25 to 34.9 begin having some health risk concerns. Specifically those who have a waist size of more than 40 inches for men, or 35 inches for women, have a higher risk for obesity-related health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
• A BMI of 30 or more qualifies as individual as obese.
• A BMI over 40 indicates that a person is morbidly obese.

With these measurements, you can assess your weight properly and personalize your weight loss program.