Is Your Goal Really Weight Loss ?

Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a goal weight that you want to reach through weight loss? I’d say so, it’s been pushed into our brains many times over and over again that “weight loss” is what we want to accomplish. There are weight loss guides, weight loss supplements, and many other things that push “weight loss”. Many people even set their goals to be at a certain weight. Additionally, the medical community has developed an “ideal weight” chart, which can further add to the confusion about weight loss.

Now, let me ask you a question. Is your goal really weight loss? Unless you are trying to make a weight class for wrestling or some other sport with weight classes, you may think that your goal is weight loss, but it really isn’t. You are trying to lose that flubbery stuff attached to your body called FAT. Correct?

So then, why do we measure our progress by how much we weigh? Why do we step on the bathroom scale and hope that those numbers will be lower than before? You see, our weight is affected by more than just how much fat is on our body. Some other factors include water, muscle, glycogen, and obviously if we have eaten anything earlier or used the bathroom lately.

Our water weight fluctuates constantly. For instance, when we exhale water vapor comes out. When we sweat, we are sweating out water. There are also many more factors that can affect the amount of water in our body. Water is what usually causes those random gains or losses of a pound or two in weight that can make you happy or sad. It is almost physiologically impossible to lose a pound of fat in one day.

One reason the low-carb or no-carb (also called ketogenic) diets are so attractive is because of the large initial loss of weight. However, this weight is not necessarily fat. When carbohydrates are restricted the body has a backup store of them located in the liver and muscles in the form of something called glycogen. The human body can store approximately 400 grams of glycogen. In larger individuals this number can increase. In addition to this, for each gram of glycogen stored in the human body, 3 grams of water are also stored. If you figure it out, this would equate to about 1600 grams (3.5 pounds) of glycogen and water.

When you stop or limit your consumption of carbohydrates, your body starts using its glycogen stores. After a couple of days that 1600 grams (3.5 pounds) of glycogen and water are gone. Also, as an adaptation to the restriction of carbohydrates, your body produces these things called ketones. Ketones also appear to have a diuretic effect, which would mean an even greater loss of water.

In addition to water, if you have been working out lately to speed along your “weight loss” (you mean fat loss, right?) progress you probably have gained some muscle doing so. This gain in muscle can also affect the numbers you see on the scale. Muscle is also more dense than fat.

You may be wondering how you are going to measure your progress now that the scale doesn’t mean as much as it used to. Well, there are several methods to measure your body fat percentage. None of these methods are 100% accurate, but they will be much more useful than the use of a scale.

One of the simplest ways is to use a caliper. You can usually find these at your local sporting goods/fitness shop. If you can’t find them locally, you can order them off the internet. Calipers measure the thickness of a skin fold on your triceps. Then there are directions that come with the caliper that show you how to use the number you get to derive your body fat %.

If you don’t want to go out and buy some calipers, there is a body fat % calculator on my website. The calculator uses the circumference of several parts of your body and then plugs them into a formula developed by the U.S. Navy to derive an approximation of your body fat %.

You can find this calculator here: http://www.weight-loss-resources.com/calculators/bodyfat.html

There are also much more accurate ways to measure your body fat % like buoyancy testing or the use of special lasers.

If you insist on knowing your progress by weight loss and want to use a scale, try to weigh yourself at the same time everyday. Probably the best time would be right when you wake up in the morning and before you do anything.

So, your new goal should be to shoot for fat loss and not weight loss. Don’t necessarily trust the scale all the time as it can be deceiving - your weight is affected by more than just how much fat you have gained or lost. In addition, it is almost physiologically impossible to gain or lose a pound of fat in one day.

Nathan Latvaitis runs a website at http://www.weight-loss-resources.com where you can find even more fitness/weight loss articles, product reviews, book reviews, calculators, a message board, and more.

Weight Watchers Weight Loss That Lasts

Weight Watchers Weight Loss That Lasts Break through the 10 big diet myths! "In Weight Loss That Lasts, James M. Rippe and Weight Watchers show common sense and good science in a field characterized by chaos and confusion. They expose a series of 10 myths pervasive in the weight-loss industry, revealing both the kernels of truth they contain and how they have been misinterpreted and distorted. This book is incisive and refreshing." Claude Bouchard, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, and President of the International Association for the Study of Obesity Believers Beware! Discover how common myths may be holding you back from your weight-loss goals: -MYTH #1 You can't lose weight and keep it off -MYTH #2 A few extra pounds don't matter -MYTH #3 Willpower is the key to successful weight loss -MYTH #4 You can lose weight with exercise alone -MYTH #5 Calories don't matter-avoid fats or carbs to lose weight successfully -MYTH #6 You can't lose weight if you have the wrong metabolism or genes -MYTH #7 You can boost your metabolism by what, how, and when you eat -MYTH #8 It doesn't matter how you take the weight off; you can think about keeping it off later -MYTH #9 There is only one right approach to losing weight -MYTH #10 Your weight is your problem and you need to solve it on your own In this book, renowned expert Dr. James M. Rippe and Weight Watchers give you the scientific knowledge you need to break through the myths, get off the dieting roller coaster, and shed those pounds for keeps.
Customer Review: Weight Watcher
Excellent book that will tell how to lose weight and dispel big diet myths. Learn how to lose weight and keep it off and read about some of the people that did. If you need motivation, then this is the book for you.
Customer Review: Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get going...
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get going loosing weight is the prevailing message of this quick moving, easy to read book. It is NOT a diet guide. Instead, it provides medical information and inspirational stories that let you know you're not out there fighting with your weight alone.

The goal of the book is to take 10 diet myths, or 10 things that people tell themselves about dieting, and gently peel away the fallacies to reveal the truth. It refreshing, comforting, and motivational.

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 was it is not a Weight Watchers guide. It leaves you at the end with just the loosest information of what Weight Watchers is, and doesn't tell you how to get started, just to join.

Well, it worked on me. I'm waiting for my In Home kit, but this book isn't a sales tool, it's just a nice guide to get you started on whatever path you decide to take.

Recommended for those who are trying to loose weight, or those who have already lost and are looking for motivation on staying healthy.

The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman : Relief at last for PMS, mood swings, fatigue, hair loss, adult acne, unwanted hair, female pain, migraine, weight gain, ... all the problems of perimenopause

The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman : Relief at last for PMS, mood swings, fatigue, hair loss, adult acne, unwanted hair, female pain, migraine, weight gain, ... all the problems of perimenopause According to Geoffrey Redmond, M.D., a majority of the 42 million American women between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five suffer from vulnerability to their own hormones. Appearance, emotions -- and even sex drive -- may be affected. Symptoms include thinning hair, persistent acne, mood swings, low energy, loss of pleasure in sex, weight gain, irregular periods, and pain. While the media has emphasized the problems of menopause, Dr. Redmond explains that all too many women experience hormonal miseries even in their thirties. Lab tests are often normal because the problem is not the hormones themselves but how a woman's body reacts to them. Healthy, active women suddenly find that once quiescent hormones have taken over control of their lives. Because their problems are often dismissed as trivial, women who are hormonally vulnerable are frequently thwarted in their quest for help. Too often they are brushed off with remarks such as, "Your tests are normal; there's nothing wrong with you." This is tragic because, as Dr. Redmond demonstrates, hormonal balance can nearly always be restored with the treatments he details, which include individualized use of prescription medications, herbal supplements, lifestyle changes, and even spiritual practices. Many women have heard that testosterone can help sex drive, but most have not been warned about the damage that careless testosterone therapy can cause on skin and hair.

In this book, Dr. Redmond, an internationally recognized authority on testosterone in women, explains the only safe ways to use testosterone. With informative sidebars, quizzes, and personal stories of women who have overcome hormone vulnerability, this helpful book will empower you to find treatments for your hormone problems that are tailored to fit your own body, biochemistry, symptoms, and lifestyle.
Customer Review: every woman MUST read this book!!
Having read the book, Hormonally Vulnerable Women, and a number of other lesser, yet respected books, it quickly becomes clear who has the upper hand of insight and education when it comes to hair loss.

I met with Dr. Redmond, an endocrinologist, in NYC for my hair loss. I am glad that I did. He is easy to talk with, caring, concerned, responsive and dedicated to treating female
hair loss. I never once felt demeaned, ignored nor rushed. All of this counts to a great extent in todays world of medicine where the disease becomes the patient.

Not only was this my direct experience, I followed his plan and within a few short weeks my hair loss subsided.

For anyone who is unable to successfully treat their HL, has been to too many doctors to mention, spent countless dollars on topical treatments, tired out loved ones with constant complaining and is tired of the madness - you should buy this book!

Customer Review: A book that really gives good info about hormones
Dr. Redmond's book is one of the best I've read on the subject of women's hormones. Especially at menopause, women's hormones go haywire and cause all kinds of health problems. Dr. Redmond's knowledge gave me new resourses to try and I can't recommend this book enough for women going through the change and for all women who want to learn more about how they can help themselves feel better by understanding what their hormones are doing to them and why.

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