As the old year comes to a close and everyone begins to look forward to the beginning of a New Year, many people are also anticipating the beginning of their New Year’s resolutions. For numerous individuals, New Year’s resolutions will involve vows to cut back on their food intake, get on a diet and exercise regimen and drop at least a few pounds. The question that hangs in the air for those who are anticipating the start of a new diet lies in exactly which diet might happen to be right for them and which diet holds the key to helping them lose the most weight.

Certainly, there are numerous diets available and it seems like every few months a new diet or eating plan has emerged to become the new successful diet rage. Is it possible that all the ‘popular’ diets can help you lose weight or are there certain diets that can help you lose more weight than others?

This is the question that a group of researchers set out to answer recently. Over a period of two months, 160 individuals were monitored closely as they followed a supervised program. The varying factor among all 160 program participants was that they were allowed to choose whichever diet suited their fancy. Researchers waited and watched in anticipation to learn which diet or diets would prove to be most successful.

What they learned at the conclusion of the study proved to be quite interesting. The data they collected not only helped them to learn more about which diet programs tend to be more successful in terms of total weight loss but also which diet programs more individuals were more likely to stick with for long term weight loss and maintenance.

While the study participants were allowed to choose their favorite diet plan, most participants opted for one of the following: Atkins, Weight Loss, Ornish and the Zone. Even though initial data was conducted after just two months, researchers continued to study the remaining participants. They discovered that after a period of time more than half of those participants who opted for diet plans that focused on low carbs and high fat, such as the Atkins plan, dropped out. Additionally, approximately the same percentage of individuals who chose the Ornish plan, which focuses on low fat and high carb vegetarian foods, also quit their diets. Weight Watchers participants fared moderately better, with about two-thirds of that group’s participants sticking with it. The Zone participants showed similar results.

So, which diet plans performed best overall in terms of total weight loss? Surprisingly, they all performed about the same. Those individuals participating in the Ornish plan who were able to stick with their diet for the entire year achieved a weight loss rate of about 6%; the highest of all groups. Atkins came in at about 4%, with Weight Watchers and the Zone performing at an average of 5% weight loss. Health risk factors related to obesity were an entirely different matter; however. In terms of heart disease risk, Weight Watchers participants decreased their risk by 15%, while other diet plans hovered in the 12% range. The Ornish diet plan participants, who showed a higher overall weight loss, showed a lower decrease in risk of heart disease, at just 7%.

Overall; however, researchers concluded that in the end, there is no one magic diet. If you’re planning to resolve to lose weight in the New Year, your best strategy is still the same regardless of which diet plan you ultimately choose. Eat sensibly, cut back on portions, drink plenty of water, participate in a moderate exercise routine and find a diet buddy to support you in your weight loss goals.

Want to find out more about Weight Loss Blog, then visit Donn Dovichi’s site on Quick Ways To Lose Weight for your needs.

There is a word that most overweight people dislike, it is a word that turns people off and makes their mind switch to another channel to avoid thinking about it.
Unfortunately it is a key part to weight reduction and something that when done correctly can be the cause of your success.

The word is……………..

Exercise!

Now stay with me here, switch your mind back on to what I am saying stay, in this same frame.

The reason most overweight people do not like the ‘E’ word is because they have set up in their mind that in equals pain and like most people they will do anything to avoid pain. There is a better way and you can find the better way when you begin to understand that there are different ‘types’ of exercise (hey, don’t disappear – stay with me now)

At the lowest level there are 2 forms of exercise, these are;

* Aerobic

and

* Anaerobic

Aerobic exercise causes your heart and muscles to work very hard, pumping blood round your body at a high rate to get the oxygen to the muscles in order for them to keep working.
A side effect of this is that it produces acid in your muscles, lactic acid to be precise. It is this lactic acid that causes you muscles to stiffen up after you have finished, causing you pain. Lactic acid also stays in your system for a long time as your body finds it hard to break it down. If your body cannot break the acid down it wraps it up and stores it as fat!

The main type of aerobic exercise that people do on a regular basis is running, yes this helps build fitness but if you want to reduce your weight you can only concentrate on building fitness once you get down to a sufficient weight.
What you should concentrate on to start with is reducing your weight and nothing else, fitness comes later.

This is where anaerobic exercise comes in.

Anaerobic exercise causes the heart to work harder than normal which still pushes the blood and oxygen around the body but does not work the muscles as hard and therefore does not create lactic acid.
Further more anaerobic exercise helps in releasing stored fat and acid and helps it into the waste system so that the body can get rid of it. Remember you cannot ‘burn’ off your weight. The phrase ‘burning off calories’ is a myth!

The weight you get rid of has to leave your body somehow and it is through your waste system that this happens.

So, what is the best form of anaerobic exercise? I hear you ask

Well, as the title of this article suggests it is walking.

My suggestion to you is that you walk for 1 hours at least 3 times per week and that should be broken down into the following;

* 15 minutes warm up walking at a pace slightly faster than your normal walking pace
* 60 minutes walking at a high pace that gets your heart pumping
* 15 minutes warm down walking at your normal walking pace.

If you cannot manage that to start with find your own level and start there and slowly build up to this level.

Remember the warm up and warm down though as this is vital.

Enjoy your walking.

Want to find out more about Weight Loss Blog, then visit Donn Dovichi’s site on Quick Ways To Lose Weight for your needs.