Learn From Weight Loss Experts

Despite the fact that Americans spend $50 billion per year on weight
loss, the rate of obesity continues upward at an epidemic pace.

But there are people that have bucked the trend, trading in their obesity
for a lifetime of fitness. How do they do it? What can we learn from
these successful dieters?

Researchers at the National Weight Loss Registry monitor over 4000
dieters who had kept off the weight for years. Here are their top five
keys to success.

#5. Avoid temptation - Successful dieters have learned not to rely
on will power alone. We all tend to overestimate our ability to resist
temptations. So they developed routines to avoid situations that would
challenge their willpower, such as never shopping without a list and
always taking a healthy lunch to work.

#4. Follow a consistent eating pattern – Compared with unsuccessful
dieters, those that succeed always ate a healthy breakfast. They also
kept the same eating habits not only Monday through Friday, but also on
the weekends.

#3. Monitor weight at least once per week – Just as important is to
have a specific plan of action when the weight goes up.

#2. Exercise – Physical activity is a priority in 9 out of 10 successful
dieters. Walking was by far the most frequent exercise, although
anything aerobic on a regular basis works. Adding muscle-building
exercises also helps, increasing the calories one burns 24/7.

So, what was the most common characteristic of successful dieters?

#1. They changed what they ate. 98% of successful dieters said they
switched to healthier, more nutritious foods - eating less sugar and
loads of fruits, veggies, and beans.

If you want to be successful, follow these five tips from the weight-loss
pros.

Be a giver to get healthy

When researchers looked at older adults who had volunteered in a program
to help inner-city schools, they discovered a key to healthy living.

By helping children, the volunteers dramatically improved their energy level
and memory, and decreased their level of chronic pain. Even their sense of
balance had improved. The findings documented - by helping others we help
ourselves.

In his book “ Why Good Things Happen to Good People,” Stephen Post
documents other examples of the benefits giving. He describes the feeling of
a “ giver’ s high” as well as other boons – not only physical, but also mental
and financial - received by givers.

But this also works in reverse – ‘ Get Healthy to be a Giver’ . The
Framingham Study showed that if someone recently gained weight, the
odds of their friends and family gaining weight in the next twelve months
increased significantly. So, when people maintain a normal weight, they
help both friends and family stay fit as well. We are all part of a tightly
integrated community, which works either to promote health, or, as in the
case of the obesity epidemic, to decrease it.

We have an exciting opportunity with Healthy Yuma 2011 to become part
of a community network to give the gift of health. Whether helping others
reach their exercise goals or doing volunteer work, the benefits
accrue to the entire community. Resolve to become more of a giver in 2011,
and the universe will raise its glass and proclaim, “ Here’ s to your health!
For more info about Healthy Yuma 2011 click here

Want to succeed? Write down your goals.

Success gurus all agree on the importance of writing down goals. They
also stress the importance of daily review, each day visualizing how
good it will feel when success is achieved.

What is so compelling about written goals? The answer is best
understood by examining the way our brains work. The majority of
the brain’s function happens at a subconscious level. Our subconscious
constantly reworks our neural networks, integrating “high priority”
items into what we think and what we do. Unfortunately, “high priority”
to our subconscious is often not what we truly value.

The input that gets stamped “high priority” depends on three things
– repetition, emotions, and our senses. Advertisers are masters of the
subconscious. That is why we hear ads over and over, see so many
suggestive models, and have jingles jangling in our heads. Repetition,
emotion, and an appeal to our senses – the next thing we know we
are buying the product. We are not even conscious that we have been
Hoodwinked … that’s the point!

We should be just as careful in orienting our own subconscious as
the advertisers who want us to buy their products. By writing down
goals, reading them daily, and imagining what success will feel like, one
stamps “high priority” in the subconscious, and our mind will work 24/
7 to reach our goals. It’s that simple.

You can add your own healthy lifestyle goals at Healthyyuma2011.com
or on the Healthy Yuma 2011 Facebook page and then visualize a new
you!