The fact is, the aesthetic benefits of exercise are an added bonus. Weight loss for women, men, or even children should focus on the health aspects

Weight loss for women has led to some very unhealthy trends in today's society.

for the individual above anything else. In a society where physical appearance is stressed anywhere and everywhere, it is scary to think what young women, especially (since this is the most highly-targeted group) are doing to lose weight. I have heard and seen some scary cases in which misinformation about weight loss and societal pressure led to devastating outcomes for once-healthy individuals who were led to think that they were “fat” or “chubby”.

So what can be done to prevent this trend from taking over the so-called “fitness” industry? Well for one, we need to teach young women that being “skinny” doesn’t necessarily mean being “healthy”-that exercise should add to quality of life and not be a form of torture in efforts to lose weight. We also need to correctly inform women of healthy ways of losing weight rather than encouraging “quick-fixes”.

And a major part of the battle can be won right at home. If you have a daughter, niece, or grand daughter, be sure to emphasize to her that being healthy rather than just losing weight is the way to go. Be an example to your kids by eating well and exercising yourself. Don’t obsess over physical appearance-this is easily picked up by your kids who look up to and admire you. Buy healthy foods and stay away from drive-thru meals. Encourage your kids to participate in sports at school or the local youth center rather than sitting in front of the television all afternoon.

Now on a last note, I am focusing in on women right now, just because, as I mentioned before, they are th most-highly targeted group of individuals for weight loss ads. But don’t forget that males also can-and many do-suffer from anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and body dysmorphia, among others. As a fitness trainer, it is devastating to see unhealthy trends pop-up in the fitness industry. Luckily, we can all do our part to help prevent these trends from negatively affecting both ourselves and our children.

Take Charge!

P.S. Want to: Learn the “Easy” way to get and stay in shape? Discover the secret to quick fat loss? How to exercise less and get better results? Discover the secret to ripped abs without doing endless crunches? Then be sure to get my “Amazing Fat Burning Formula” HERE.

P.P.S. If you like this post, and think it will help others, please help me help others by clicking on one of these “Share and Enjoy” links below.

Strategy #5: Take Your Photo

Most people have, in their mind, a view of themselves and their bodies that is totally and completely different from reality.  Looking in a mirror, some people tend to ignore the reality of what is there because the reality is painful.  We usually only look at the “good” things we see, not the “bad”. A photograph is objective and there is no denying what it shows.  With a photograph we can suddenly “see” the bad things the mirror so sneakily hid. So, regardless of what you see in the mirror each day, you WILL see yourself in a different light when looking at a photograph of yourself. This is a must-do.

Strategy #6: Create A Mission Statement

While preparing my program for the journey that eventually led me to the Physique Transformation contest championship, I created a mission statement. I used it as another tool that enabled me to focus on what was truly important. It empowered me to give it my all every day.  I read this mission statement at least once, and sometimes twice per day.  Along with my contract I would religiously read it once in the morning upon awakening, and again right before I went to bed, so it would be one of my final thoughts of the day.

Strategy #7: Measure Your Progress

One of the things I did to ensure success was to measure my progress.  I did this in many ways, from measuring body fat to noting the number of repetitions I could do for specific exercises to my diet.  I knew that if my body fat decreased, and the weights and repetitions in my exercise program increased, I was making progress.  If these measurements weren’t moving in the right direction, I knew something was wrong.

I also wrote everything down.  This way, I didn’t have to remember what I did yesterday or last week, and I could use the information to help plan workouts and goal weights and reps.

How many people do you know that tell you they work out, yet when you look at them they look the same as they did 2 years before, and they’re still overweight? These people are not practicing a fundamental principle of fitness and exercise: they are not measuring their progress (or lack of it).  If they did, they would realize the lack of progress and conclude that something was wrong with their diet and exercise program.  They would also realize that something needed to be changed in order to re-start their progress.  But, without measuring and tracking, there is no way to know.

Blueprint #8: Make Fast Progress

Achieving fast results is paramount to your future and continued success. With fast progress you are immediately rewarded for your hard efforts. I promise you, nobody likes to work hard at anything, regardless of what it may be, and not receive compensation for that effort.

If you make significant achievements in a short period of time this creates an impetus for you to continue forward. You become excited, and you say to others, “see, this works, I’m losing fat!” Your attitude becomes upbeat, cheerful, and you are super motivated about continuing on with eating right and exercising regularly. The small victories fuel future larger victories, and they all add up to a self-fulfilling prophecy of eventual success.

How, then, do you make fast progress a reality? By following scientifically proven principles of exercise and diet. When combined correctly, the result is a synergistic melding that produces greater results than the combined total of the individual components.

Take Charge!

P.S. Want to: Learn the “Easy” way to get and stay in shape? Discover the secret to quick fat loss? How to exercise less and get better results? Discover the secret to ripped abs without doing endless crunches? Then be sure to get my “Amazing Fat Burning Formula” HERE.

Weight Loss For Women

Their starting date was March 1 of this year. Each one was gung-ho about starting, each one was ready to make changes to their bodies, and each one said to themselves, “this time I’m going to do it, no matter what!”

Yet by March 15, a full 50% had already dropped out of the program! And by April 15, only 3 people were left, Jane, Jill, and Alexandra. By the time the official 12 week program was over, only 1, Alexandra, had completed the program all of the way through.

Did you know these are normal statistics for the weight loss industry? Only 1 in 10 people starting a weight loss for women program ever finishes? Pretty poor odds, right?

Weight Loss For Women

I have 20 different strategies that will help you (Woman or Man) dramatically increase the odds of your weight loss success.

I’ll give you four strategies for each blog post starting with this one:

Strategy #1:  Have a Powerful and Meaningful Reason to Change
Your reason to change must be strong.  It can’t be because you want to lose 20 lbs, or to fit into your bathing suit this summer.  Such reasons are not important enough to propel you forward, through thick and thin, and the obstacles that life always seems to throw at you.

You will experience hurdles during your transformation experience. It is just about inevitable. Life is far too busy and unpredictable for to completely avoid the obstacles that “get in the way” of achieving your body transformation goals.  This is why your reasons for wanting to change have to be strong – stronger than the obstacles and roadblocks you will encounter.  These barriers can stop you in your tracks unless your underlying motivation to change is stronger.

Strategy #2: Make A Decision To Change
You can have all of your goals neatly organized, but without making a conscious decision to change – without saying “That’s it, I’m making the decision right now, right here, today! I’m going to commit to changing my body and to do whatever it takes to get into the shape I want and have dreamed of forever” – you will not truly trigger your entire being to accept your decision to change.

The introspection associated with your decision to change triggers a cascade of psychological signals that can bring out tremendously powerful, and previously unrealized mental processes. New ways of thinking – ways that seemed totally foreign to you before, will now seem as if they were second nature.  Whereas before, you might have said, “I just can’t resist chocolate. I was born with a sweet tooth and there’s not much I can do to change that”, now you’ll say, “I still love chocolate, but I am doing something very important for myself, more important than the fleeting taste of chocolate in my mouth.  And this project is to create the body and person I knew I always could have and be, but never knew how.  Now I do. ”

Making the decision to change initiates a mindset transformation that completely realigns your goals, wants, needs, and desires.

Strategy #3: Create A Sense Of Urgency
I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of creating a sense of urgency, or positive pressure inside yourself. When you can attach some kind of deadline or date to your goal of getting in shape, your difference in attitude towards food – one of the major stumbling blocks for most people – is profound. Other roadblocks will also seem pretty small when you pair a meaningful goal with a limited time frame in which to accomplish it.

Strategy #4: Write Down Your Goals, Draft a Contract With Yourself, then Sign and Date it

To permanently succeed in your body transformation, you must find your “supreme objective” and make all other elements in your life conform around it. And, it’s not enough to merely say the reason(s) out loud: they must be written down.  As a contract between no one else but you and the good Lord, these words form a powerful force to not only propel you forward on your journey, but to keep you glued to the wheel of your ship through the worst of storms.

I know – this sounds a little corny.  In fact, I’ve had many people tell me that they read about this technique, but did not apply it because it seemed to be “mumbo-jumbo,” or feel-good, sound-good advice without much value.  It was only after failed attempts to change their body that they applied this method and realized how powerful it could be.

So whether it’s weight loss for women or men, get started today with Strategies 1-4, a little later today I’ll provide you with 5-8.

Take Charge!

P.S. Want to: Learn the “Easy” way to get and stay in shape? Discover the secret to quick fat loss? How to exercise less and get better results? Discover the secret to ripped abs without doing endless crunches? Then be sure to get my “Amazing Fat Burning Formula” HERE.

Here’s why…

1. Women have the SAME type of muscle as men… exactly! Composed of fast and slow twitch fibers.
2. Women have all the right hormones to build appreciable muscle, just not in the same amounts as men – don’t be afraid of building muscle because I’ll tell you why in a second.
3. Women only need to build a little bit of muscle to make a big difference in how their body looks. And since a little fat in “just the right places” makes a woman look, well, like a woman, women don’t need to get to ultra-low bodyfat levels like men do in order to look great.

Weight loss for women is easily accomplished by concentrating on only 3 things. [And when I say "weight loss for women" what I really mean is FAT LOSS... ok?]

1. Weight Training – this is the only type of exercise that can “transform” or “change” your body for the better. Cardio just makes you a smaller you.
2. Diet – concentrate on lean meat (lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp), fibrous vegetables, and good fat (olive oil) – MAKE SURE YOU TRACK YOUR CALORIES TOO (Very Important!). Go to http://www.livestrong.com and create your free account there.
3. Short Bursts of Cardio – called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – burns much more fat than traditional “slo-mo” cardio. Alternate periods of high-intensity aerobics with low intensity. i.e. 30 seconds of fast pedaling on a bike (about 80% of max you can do), followed by 30 seconds of very slow pedaling. This is 1 cycle. Start with 4 and work up to 12 cycles.

Take Charge!

p.s. Want to: Learn the “Easy” way to get and stay in shape? Discover the secret to quick fat loss? How to exercise less and get better results? Discover the secret to ripped abs without doing endless crunches? Then be sure to get my “Amazing Fat Burning Formula” HERE.