If you are serious about losing weight forget the diet pills forget the fad diets, even if you drop the pounds you will gain them back. And yes Genetics plays a big part but weight loss is achievable by everyone without starving yourself genetics just determines the rate at which you will metabolize the calories.
The simple math of weight loss is use more calories than you take in.
The simplest way to up your calorie usage is by upping your metabolism. So let's discuss metabolism. The metabolic rate is based upon heat, the more you heat up your body the more calories are used. Do you remember the science class in high school when you figured out the calories in different things based upon temperature? Exactly. Calories are energy and therefore just like a car engine you need to expel that energy to make it disappear and not get stored in your body. For ladies the storage points start in your hips and move to other points from there so your hips will be the last place you lose fat. For guys the storage points are in your tummy and so it works in the same way with your tummy being last to lose.
So, knowing how your metabolic rate is used let's discuss intake. Throughout the day every thing you do burns calories, down to breathing. So the best way to metabolize your fat and avoid your body deciding to store it is to offer fuel in smaller quantities but more often. For example my diet daily:
7am Oatmeal, Milk, piece of fruit
9am Granola bar and Water
11am Fruit or veggie
1pm Sandwich and chips & Diet Pepsi
3pm Either Starkist Tuna pack, fruit or granola bar
5pm Either Starkist Tuna pack, fruit or granola bar Plus water
7pm Dinner = 4 -6 oz of meat, carbs for the next day and lots of veggies Plus water
I always stop eating 3 hours before I go to bed. But I will occasionally have candy or a snack after dinner. I drink a water before bed too.
You don't have to have the same diet as me, The point is that I eat a lot, but I eat it all day long. In the beginning if you have a high BMI and exercise will help you metabolize faster than I ever could because it takes more energy to move your mass. As you get thinner you need to cut back on your intake because you need less fuel.
For example, let's say you have a 30% Body mass index (fat ratio) you can take in 3000 calories in a day and still lose weight. But if you have a BMI like me at 17% your body needs much less calories to perform at optimum levels. It really is a myth that if you eat less you will lose weight (unless of course you eat an ENORMOUS amount of food.) Eat reasonably. Think about the portions when you were in school or in a hospital, those are health portions for your big 3 meals, your other 3 meals are small healthy snacks. Save one day per week to splurge, go out have a big juicy steak and a chuck of chocolate cake and all of that. If you don't reward your work through out the week you will end up going off your diet and then all was for naught.
Now... Diet pills.
NO NO NO NO! Don't do them, they are bad for your liver and your heart and if you hurt your vital organs what is the point of losing weight? The only supplements I take is a multi vitamin (One-A-Day for Women) and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) CLA is the complex proteins and isomers which are found in free range meats. Most Americans do not get it because our animals are not allowed to roam freely. CLA will assist you in losing weight by converting proteins you take in into muscle more quickly. The one other supplement I suggest is this one:
GNC Preventive Nutrition® Complete Body Cleansing Program - GNC - GNC Take it once per year. I know it sounds hokie to "cleanse" you body but it really does work. Just make sure that when you decide to do this you have a bathroom handy at all times. This will remove the undigested matter that your body cannot metabolize and that is just stuck in you with nowhere to go.
Okay now the subject that everyone hates. Exercise. As we discussed before everything you do burns calories. And there is no reason for you start out running marathons. If you live a sedintary lifestyle don't try to jump into an active lifestyle you will neverachieve your goals and you will quit. Take it easy. My first suggestion is to buy a pedometer. This is the one I use and it works VERY VERY well...
Amazon.com: Prevention Activity Monitor/Pedometer: Health & Personal Care It records your daily and weekly steps and calculates calorie usage based upon the aggresiveness of your steps against your height and weight. I try to beat my weekly "score" every week. Optimum levels of activity are 10,000 steps per day. Don't worry if it is too much for you just try to get more steps every day. If yesterday you did 3,000 steps try to 3,010 today. It is easy exercise and will really help you.
For the advanced exerciser you obviously have been at it for a while but the biggest mistakes I see people make is leaning one way or the other. Some guys only life weights and some girls only do cardio, you need to balance both to get healthy and lose weight.
Here is my exercise plan:
Monday: Morning: Cardio on Eliptical Night: Light dumbbells at home
Tuesday: Morning: Cardio on Treadmill Night: Calistenics at home
Wednesday: Morning: Cardio on staionary bike Night: Yoga class
Thursday: Morning: Cardio at Pilates class
Friday: Morning: Weight training at circuit station
Saturday or Sunday: Morning: Yoga Night: Spinning class or Day off
Now my schedule is rdiculous but it works for me. You don't need to have my activity level for it to work for you. Just kick it up a small knotch.
So in summation: It is not about eating less, it is not about exercising like crazy, it is all about understanding that food is fuel and using it as such. You can lose weight without starving or giving yourself a heart attack.
Hope I helped.
