But for many a desire to lose weight or maintain weight loss doesn't necessarily dictate success. Weight loss and weight maintenance are tough work and successful strategies vary based on how much weight a person needs to lose. Some people can succeed with diet and exercise alone, others need more invasive interventions like surgery.
Weight loss: diet and exercise
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, people with BMI's between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered normal weight. People with BMI's between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight. Finally, people with BMI's greater than 40 are categorized as morbidly obese.
Medical intervention is best reserved for obese individuals or overweight people who have medical problems or have failed self-managed diets on numerous occasions. Although exercise is important in any weight loss or weight maintenance regimen, research shows that diet is the most effective means of weight loss. A successful diet is a diet which is both balanced and calorically-restricted.
The USDA has developed resources that help people determine a diet which best approximates their own individual BMR based on their height and weight. A balanced diet is a diet high in fiber (fresh fruits and vegetable) and low in saturated or animal fat. Few if any dieters can sustain the weight lost from such drastic dietary change. For overweight people intent on losing weight, exercise is also important. Exercise is the "yin" to diet's "yang." There's a certain psychology of weight loss. * Logs and contracts: All people intent on losing weight should keep logs of how much they eat and how much they exercise. Diet and exercise contracts also help people lose weight. * Altering the act of eating: Most people eat too fast. People often underestimate their caloric intake and strive for unattainable weight loss goals. Many people develop an unhealthy history of failed diets and chronic weight loss and weight gain ("yo-yo dieting"). For some failed dieters, more intensive methods of diet and weight loss are beneficial, like Weight Watchers or medical supervision by a physician or health care professional.
Weight loss: pills and "going under the knife"
Many people never achieve desired health and cosmetic effects from diet and exercise alone. Certain obese people with BMI's between 30 and 40 are eligible for drug (medication) therapy. Furthermore, all medications have side effects and weight loss pills are no different. Restrictive bariatric surgical procedures such as the gastric laparoscopic band (LAP-BAND) are becoming the most popular option for most morbidly obese patients. The band must be rigorously maintained after surgery. Nevertheless, the LAP-BAND is an excellent option for those interested in losing a large amount of weight gradually and maintaining this weight loss.
Weight maintenance: a most difficult path
As with weight loss, there's a psychology to weight maintenance:
* Visual cues: Health researchers, most notably Dr. Brian Wansink author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think," find that people eat with their eyes not their stomachs. People intent on maintaining their weight should eat a bowl of ice cream and a couple cookies every Sunday night after "The Simpsons" instead of eating a candy bar every other day.
With respect to weight loss and maintenance, everybody controls their own destiny. Determination is the key to proper weight loss and maintenance.
The Venus Factor - Workout Review
I came across The venus factor while searching for weight loss program. Being a full-time college student while working, it's really tough being able devote enough time to exercise.
While the results were good as far as weight loss goes, it was really hard for me to work my busy schedule around the set times for classes 3x a week. A little details on the Venus Factor: It's a body transformation program designed specifically for woman only. Instead of being focused around calorie restrictive diets and shedding pounds like crazy with frequent intense workouts, the goal of The Venus Factor is to help shape your natural figure into a more fit, curvy, feminine version of yourself. By focusing on burning fat where you visually need it most, The Venus Factor makes every 5 pounds you lose look like 10. Perhaps my favorite part of this program is the dieting guide, and I use the term dieting loosely. The Venus Factor teaches you about special techniques to increase a woman's metabolism. I love carbs! The Venus Factor is only $47. I canceled my Zumba class and spent the money on The Venus Factor. I didn't have the time for a gym membership, and other workouts I looked into like Brazil Butt Lift and the Insanity Workout ran upwards of $100. The downside is yes, the workouts are tough.
