10 weight loss tips that make you look slimmer, feel stronger!

Weight loss is more about getting fit and remaining healthy than about creating an hour-glass figure. Why? Because that's what will give you a long, disease-free life. It is pretty well known that extra pounds spell disaster in the long run.

Here is a list of 10 tips for losing weight. They focus more on diet than on exercise, although I'll be the first to say that you need a combination of both. Some of these tips may be familiar to you. Others may not be. Check them out. I hope you use some of them and see a slimmer, younger-looking you!

Tip 1:
Drink plenty of water. The body needs a lot of water. And water is not just a way to flush out toxins - it is needed for many other body processes as well. If you have more water in your body you will generally feel healthier and fitter. And it will reduce that tendency to stuff yourself full at mealtimes.

Tip 2:
Consume foods that contain more water like tomatoes and watermelons. They contain 90 to 95 % water so you don't gain unwanted calories by feasting on them. They fill you up without adding to the pounds.

Tip 3:
Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice is often sweetened while fresh fruits have natural sugars. Fruit gives you plenty of fiber, which is needed by the body. Plus, fruits are an excellent source of vitamins.

Tip 4:
Eat only when you are hungry. Some of us have the tendency to eat whenever we see food. We use parties as an excuse to stuff our selves. Keep in mind that the effect of a whole week of dieting can be wasted by just one day's party food. Whenever you are offered something to eat do not decline it completely bit just break off a nibble so that you can keep the hostess happy while watching your diet.

Tip 5:
Quit snacking in between meals. This is especially true for those who have to travel a lot. They feel that they only have time for snacks and junk food and not regular, healthy meals. Well, junk food is just empty calories, as you know. French fries are the classic example…very tasty, high on calories but low on nutrition.

Tip 6:
Do not skip meals. The worst thing you can do while watching you diet is to skip a meal. The effect may be just the opposite of what you want. You need to have at least three regular meals every day.

Tip 7:
Fresh vegetables are better than cooked or canned vegetables. Try to eat your vegetables raw. When you cook them, you are in fact taking away nearly half the vitamins in them. And canned vegetables too are processed and are not nearly half as good as fresh vegetables. When you buy your vegetables it would be a good thing to see if the label says that it is pesticide free.

Tip 8:
No more than an egg a day. Eggs are not such a bright idea. It would be best to reduce your intake of eggs to maybe three in a week. But for those of you die hard egg fans, you may have up to one egg a day but nothing more than that.

Tip 9:
Try to have breakfast within one hour of waking. It's always best to have breakfast within an hour of waking so that your body can charge itself with the energy it needs for the day. The idea is not to wait for your self to get really hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but that does not mean that it should be the most filling meal of the day.

Tip 10:
Graze 5 to 6 times a day. Instead of sticking to just three meals a day, try grazing. Grazing means try having 5 or 6 smaller meals instead of three king sized meals. It is an excellent way of having smaller quantities of food.

It's definitely not easy to judge the calorie content any specific food item has. Here's an example. Which do you think has more calories - a slice of cake or a can of soda? I would have said the cake has more calories, always. But it turns out that often, the can of soda has a higher calorie count than the cake! Strange, but true.

How many calories can you burn up when doing housework? Assuming a moderate level of physical activity, housework can get rid of approximately 300 calories per hour.

How many calories do you need to burn to get rid of one single pound of body fat? Get ready for a shocker - 3500! Now you know why its so hard to get rid of fat!

If you'd like to have more information on weight loss, here are three websites I recommend. My partner has been using the information / resources on these sites for a while now and is very satisfied with his progress so far.

The first site gives you access to some little-known facts about diets and other aspects of weight loss. That information has actually worked well for my partner - I've started using it myself based on his feedback. You can check out the site here

Second, here's a site that gives you information on the most effective workouts for weight loss. My partner absolutely swears by this site. The program has got a fancy name, but gives you solid advice nevertheless! Click here to go to the site

And lastly, here's a site that is my personal favorite. I'm a big fan of the philosophy that you need to get the mental part of the equation right if you want to achieve lasting success - in weight loss or in anything else. If your thinking, beliefs and attitudes about whatever you are trying to achieve is not up to the mark, your results will reflect that. This site can help you get the right mindset about weight loss. Here is the link to the site. Have fun!

Being overweight and being obese - are there any differences?

Actually, it's just a question of degree. Both terms refer to having a body weight that is in excess of what is considered healthy and normal.

You must have heard of something called the "Body Mass Index" or BMI. The terms overweight and obesity are applied to specific ranges of BMI, as far as adults are concerned.

In general, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal and healthy. When a person's BMI is in the 25 - 29.9 range, he is considered to be overweight. And if the BMI crosses 30, he is considered obese.

When someone is labeled overweight or obese, it can also mean that they have a greater-than-normal risk of developing many kinds of health problems, including heart problems.