4 Steps To A New Lifestyle For A Slimmer, Healthier, Happier YOU

So you want to lose weight to look better and feel better. You
are not alone. You have the same desire and need as millions of
others out there want to look better, feel better, live longer
and in general have a better lifestyle once you take off the
extra weight.

That said, if you are one of those who have lost weight, then
put it back on, perhaps a more important question is how to you
keep the weight off once you've lost it. You've tried all the
different diets. You've read all the books about losing 10
pounds before the big graduation, wedding or other big event
coming up this weekend. If you've been through that insanity
before, isn't it time for a change of your lifestyle rather than
another stretch of suffering through another diet and feeling
worse than you did when you started?

So, what are the keys to losing weight?

There are four main elements to losing weight and keeping it off.

1. Following an exercise program. 2. Increasing your metabolism
3. Changing your eating habits 4. Changing your lifestyle


1. Following an exercise program.


Starting a good exercise program is a great idea and one of the
best ways to start changing your health and the way you look.
You will gain three benefits from exercise.

1. You will burn calories during your work out. 2. You will
increase your metabolism to burn more calories even when you are
not working out. 3. You will build muscle that will make you
look taller, leaner and healthier. 4. You will build muscles
that will burn more calories than fat.

Your very first step should be to talk to your doctor about your
health and your goals. It might save your life. Your next step
should be to find a partner who will help you be more
responsible to show up for a work out and to complete the work
out. A work out partner should also make the work out more
enjoyable. If you are not able to find a partner and do not feel
you have the discipline to work out regularly, you may want to
start your exercise program by paying a person personal coach
for training and discipline. Most people need 21 days to make
working out a habit, so hire them for at least the first 21
days. Check with your local YMCA or other gym for partners and
coaches.

However, if you cannot afford to join a gym, don't let that slow
you down. You can still walk or run outside, or workout inside
using video tapes or walk on a treadmill. If you don't have
money for work out tapes, you can rent them from the library.
The bottom line is if you want to work out, you will find a way.
Finally, once you have your workout schedule working for you,
offer to help someone else become disciplined to work out.

Helping others always helps you feel better as well. Give it a
try!

2. Increasing your metabolism.

Plain and simple, exercising will increase your metabolism and
will help you lose weight at all hours of the day, even at night
when you are sleeping! Your metabolism is the amount of calories
you burn during the day. Conversely, your body also has a built
in system for self-survival in case of famine. If you don't eat
enough food, you can also reduce your metabolism and make it
harder to lose weight. We will talk more about that in just a
moment.

3. Changing your eating habits.

You're doing better now, but working out and increasing your
metabolism is only a part of the solution. You still must change
your eating habits. Have you found yourself doing this crazy?
Are you eating a Granola bar for breakfast, a salad for lunch
and then eating chocolate shakes and hamburgers from the drive
through late at night on the way home from the gym? That won't
work! You are starving yourself and lowering your metabolism in
the long run, and eating food late at night that will not get
burned off and only makes you feel more miserable the next day
when you look in the mirror or step on the scale.

Do you know that you are setting up yourself for failure? Your
body is smart... so smart that it knows if you are not giving it
enough food, that there may be a problem, and you start to burn
fewer calories. That will not help you look or feel better in
the long run, so don't try it in the short run.

4. Changing your lifestyle and your mindset.

The final way to change your body and the way you look and feel
is to become more active. Walk the stairs to your office instead
of taking the elevator. Park your car way from the rest of the
cars at the mall so you walk a few extra steps. Go for a walk
when you get home from school or work instead of turning on the
TV or the computer. Ask your friends to join you for a game of
horse in basketball. If that is not an option, take your
basketball to a local park, be brave and ask someone to play a
game of one on one there. They might have been feeling just like
you and will be thankful to have the opportunity to exercise and
perhaps make a new friend.

It's all about changing your attitude one-step and one day at a
time. Just remember you did not gain the weight in one day and
you cannot take it off in one day. It is a series of steps that
will lead to success. Another analogy is that it would be nice
to make one large jump over a mountain, but in reality it takes
many steps to get over the mountain, and it is possible. Most
importantly, you just have to take that first step, starting
right now, by reading this article again and then deciding to
"Just do it!"

Article Source: 4 Steps To A New Lifestyle For A Slimmer, Healthier, Happier
YOU!