Five Tips to Lose the Weight

I recently gained back some "stress weight" upon the beginning of the school year. I have always been in great shape and very active. I grew up playing basketball for 15 years, then went into personal training and boxing for some time. I have also taken part in dance, but let's be honest ... sometimes you get tied up or things happen, and before you know it - your jeans don't fit like they used to. These are the FIVE main steps that I stick to during my current weight loss journey, and I have successfully lost 5 pounds in two weeks!

1. MAKE A GOAL: Set a realistic time frame for losing the weight, as well as acknowledge the amount of weight that you want to lose in that time. For example: "I want to lose 20 pounds in 3 months," is reasonable. "I want to lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks," is NOT reasonable OR healthy.

2.KNOW YOUR CALORIC INTAKE: The second step to losing weight is to know your expected caloric intake per day. Using you're height + age + weight, you can easily determine how many calories you need to maintain your weight AND to lose the weight. Try using the calorie calculator located at this site:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

OKAY! Now, you have the information needed to begin you're transformation. Keep In Mind - In order to lose 1 pound a week, you will need to cut 500 calories out of your diet a day; for 2 pounds, you will need to cut 1,000 calories out - and so on.

3. CALORIE COUNT & PORTION CONTROL: It may seem like a lot of work, but my best piece of advice is to CALORIE COUNT! You can easily Google the amount of calories in the foods that you eat, if you do not know the amount your food contains. This relates back to tip one. How will you know if you are sticking to the designated caloric intake per day if you don't count? You should be consuming 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. By dividing the amount of meals you will consume, by the number of calories you need to intake a day - you can determine how many calories per meal you will need to eat. Usually it comes out to about 200-300 Calories per meal, give or take.

* Eating 5-6 times a day will keep your metabolism moving, therefore, helping you burn fat consistently.

DO NOT over eat. A second reason it is best to eat 5-6 smaller meals a day is to prevent you from over eating at the end of the day. If you are constantly nourishing your body throughout the day, you will always feel satisfied and full. Think about it. How many times do you get home from a long day of work or school and think: "Wow, I'm so hungry - I haven't eaten all day. Guess I can eat everything in sight now to make up for it!" BIG MISTAKE. The great thing about calorie counting and portion control is that you can still indulge in your favorite things, just while keeping in mind the guidelines to your meals. BUT also considering these guidelines, it will automatically eliminate certain foods that you should stay clear of. For instance, I shouldn't have to say it - but you will not find any meal on McDonald's menu for 200-300 calories.

4. KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL: Keeping track of everything you eat + the calories + the time of day will help keep you on that weight loss journey. Also, keep track of the amount of weight you lose every week. If you lose or gain more weight than you expected in a week's time, you can always resort back to the journal to see where you went right or wrong. This way you know which eating patterns to maintain and which ones to chuck away!

5. WORK OUT! Face it -yourweight loss will soon come to a plateau without working out. Cardio + Strength training will certainly help you succeed in reaching your goal. Cardio alone will only do so much; You need to build muscle to burn fat . Try to work out 3 days a week MINIMUM; however, don't over work yourself with 7 days a week, because you need to allow your body and muscles resting time.

So, there you have it! Follow these 5 Steps and the weight should begin dropping off in no time! Remember to make REALISTIC GOALS , otherwise you will discourage yourself and give up if you don't reach your unrealistic goal. Avoid temptation and stay focused - but most importantly, believe that you can commit and succeed!

Be Healthy . Be Confident . Be Fit!