The New and Improved Calorie-Count "Diet"

So much has changed in the year or so since I first published The Calorie-Count.com Diet. This is meant as an update, and an addendum. Some things I've since changed my mind on. Some things that should have been addressed never were. Hopefully you all find this post helpful as you struggle to figure out how to lose weight in a healthful manner.

Table Of Contents
Chapter 0: Are you really overweight? (BMI and Fat Percentages)

Chapter 1: The Mighty Calorie (Calories and You)

Chapter 2: Nutrition in a Nutshell (Nutrition)
Section 2.1: Carbs are Cool (Carbohydrates)
Section 2.1.1: Functional Fiber (Fiber)
Section 2.2: Powerful Proteins (Protein)
 Section 2.3: Fabulous Fats (Fat)
Section 2.3.1: Confusing Cholesterol (Cholesterol)
Section 2.4: Water You Talking About? (Water)
Section 2.5: They may be small, but they pack a huge whallop! (Micronutrients)
Section 2.5.1: Vital Vitamins (Vitamins)
Section 2.5.2: Mighty Minerals (Here they come to save the day!) (Minerals)
Section 2.5.3: Phreaky Phytochemicals (Phytochemicals)
Section 2.6: So, how much should I be eating then? (Percentages)

Chapter 3: Movin' Right Along - Exercise and Weight Loss (Fitness)
Section 3.1: Sweatin' off the Pounds - Aerobic Exercise (Aerobic Exercise)
Section 3.2: Bend Me, Shape Me, Any Way You Want Me (Flexibility Training)
Section 3.3: Govehnoh Ahnold Sent Me.. to PUMP YOU UP! (Strength Training)

Chapter 4: Putting It All Together - The Road to Fat Loss
Section 4.1: Deficit Spending (Deficits)
Section 4.2: Your Metabolism And You: A Love Story (Metabolism, BMR and AMR)
Section 4.3: Apples vs. Pears: I think you're all a little fruity (Body Shapes)
Section 4.4: Putting It All Together (Making a Weight Loss Plan)

Chapter 5: And If You've Got The Notion, I Second That Emotion (How emotions affect Weight Loss)
Section 5.1: I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends (Support System)
Section 5.2: Yes, I'm Positive (Maintaining Positivity)
Section 5.3: Don't Sweet the Small Stuff (Emotional Eating)
Section 5.4: Oh, Give Me A Break! (Taking a Break)
Section 5.5: The difference between Failure and a Lesson Learned

Chapter 6: Last Pieces of Advice
Section 6.1: Be Your Own Doctor - Get Some Patience (Being Patient With Yourself)
Section 6.2: Going for the Goal (How to Set Goals)

Chapter 7: Living with your lifestyle change
Section 7.1: A Man, A Plan, A Recipe Book and a pair of new shoes! (Planning)
Section 7.2: Eat to Live - How to begin to eat healthy (Further suggestions on how to lose weight)
Section 7.3: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can - Becoming more Active (How to make activity a part of your life)
Section 7.4: Why Must I Be A Teenager.. on a Diet? (Teenagers and Weight Loss)
Section 7.5: Yay! I did it! I did it! Now what? (Maintenance)

Chapter 8: HELP ME!!! Common Problems Associated with Dieting
Section 8.1: Gimme Gimme Gimme Some Food After Midnight (Binges)
Section 8.2: Killer Cravings (Cravings)
Section 8.3: The Perils of Plateaus (Plateaus)
Section 8.4: It's not Cheating if you get caught! (Cheat Meals)
Section 8.5: Eating Out (Dun Dun Dun) (Eating Out)
Section 8.6: Crash and Burn - Why Repetition is NOT always good good (Burn Out)
Section 8.7: Eating Disorders and other Mental Diseases (Eating Disorders)

Chapter 9: Useful Links

Introduction: Why the quotes
The problem with most Diets is that they give you a specific structured list of what to do and what to eat. Even the most well-meaning ones, the ones probably grounded in good science usually come with a certain structure that they say you must follow or else.
For some, the structure makes it easier. Having a list of things to do or not to do just feels easier to deal with than a whole universe of choices. For others, the order is just too confining, and they can't picture themselves giving up certain things.

The real truth is most Diets (with a capital D to separate them from diet, which is what you eat) don't work for everybody. Some people are so blessed that all they need to do is lay off the Cheetos and Beer and maybe go out running a bit like they used to and they can lose those 10 lbs. Some people struggle for every single pound lost, despite eating right and exercising. Most are somewhere in the middle, easily able to do some things but struggling with others.

Section 4.2: Your Metabolism And You: A Love Story

When discussing Weight Loss, we eventually need to dive into the mysterious world of metabolism.

In essence, a quick definition of metabolism is that it is the ability of your body to convert the food you eat into usable energy that its cells can use to do the things they do. It is one of those mysterious steps in that "Digestion" thing.

However, when dieters use the term metabolism, they're usually refering to the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the number of calories your body would use if it did nothing but stay in bed for the next 24 hours.  However, I should warn that this site does not calculate BMR at all, but does calculate Active Metabolism Rate (AMR), which is an estimate of the number of calories your body burns during the day, including estimates for calories burned through exercise or activity. AMR is calculated by multiplying your BMR by a multiplier. For example, if you assume you're sedentary, your AMR = your BMR x 1.2.

The thing to keep in mind is that the BMR and the AMR are only estimates. Your metabolism is individual to you and is a function of your height, age, percent muscle, weight, sex, and past eating habits, lineage and who knows what else. At this point, if you're looking for an estimate of how many calories you burn per day, I would suggest everyone use the site's internal Burn Meter, found under Tools.

If it turns out that, despite the fact that you're eating at a 750 calorie deficit, but aren't able to even lose 1 pound a week, it's possible that your actual metabolism may be somewhat different from what the site suggests it should be. In that case, a trip to the nutritionist may be in order. Or barring that, try changing something in your diet and seeing if something else will help the weight come off. Remember, no single diet will work for every person.

Metabolism can be changed, however I do want to warn against the use of diet pills. Those pills that DO work (Such as the drug Ephedra) may be dangerous and can lead to long-lasting issues that will definitely interfere with your ability to live healthfully. Luckily, most pills DON'T work.

If you're looking to truly speed up your metabolism and increase your BMR, the healthiest and easiest way to do so are aerobic exercise and weight lifting. Depending on the intensity of your aerobic exercise, you can speed up your body's metabolic rate for hours. As stated above, muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will naturally burn over the day.

On the other hand, if you eat fewer calories than your body needs to survive, your body will react by slowing your metabolism down, slowly, to match your intake. Again, Starvation Mode.

Actually, I should mention that, as we age, our BMR does decrease. This is natural and can't really be helped. Exercise can help speed up our BMR still, and adding more muscle still helps, but this change should be expected regardless.

Section 4.3: Apples vs. Pears: I think you're all a little fruity

Are you an apple or a pear? Do you know? What body type you have will affect how you lose weight. You are a pear if your hips are larger than your waist (most women tend to be pears), and an apple if your waist line is larger than your hipline (most men tend to be apples). There are advantages and disadvantages of both.

Several studies have shown that carrying excess weight around your waist (Apples) increases your chance of hypertension, type II diabetes and heart disease. The good thing, however, is that apples do tend to actually lose that fat around their upper body, lowering their chances of developing theses issues (and generally looking better) as they lose weight. Even a small reduction in actual weight can have a profound impact on your chances to suffer from these ailments.

There are no studies linking hypertension, diabetes or heart disease to carrying extra weight on your lower body, however studies show that Pears tend to actually lose weight around their upper body first, meaning your overall shape may not change much, but you'll carry around less weight.

Section 4.4: Putting It All Together

I've discussed some of the issues regarding weight loss. I've discussed making sure your deficit isn't too large and Starvation Mode, explained the metabolism, BMR and AMR, and delved into how your body shape affects your weight loss and health.

But really, the question is.. how do you lose weight?

The answer's all up there.

To lose weight in a healthy and consistent manner, all you need to do is work on eating a reasonable caloric deficit. Count your calories, know what's going in your mouth and how much you burn. Be active, as much to enrich your health, as to burn extra calories so that you don't have to eat an unreasonably small amount, and work to build your muscles so that you can burn more calories.

A successful diet starts with the recognition that Diets (Capital D here), in and of themselves, do not work. Fad Diets concentrate on denying you food that you love to eat for some momentary weight loss, and doesn't teach you how to maintain that weight loss.

A successful diet is more of a slow lifestyle change. A slow giving up of unhealthful ways to learn how to eat what you need to live, and how to improve your health, as a whole. You need to learn to, as the expression goes "Eat to Live, not Live to Eat."

A successful diet does not concentrate on the negative, such as what foods you are no longer allowed to consume, but on the positives, about how you can better your life and your health. A successful diet is a true lifestyle change towards fitness and health.

One myth that I'd like to discuss, is the myth of spot reducing. That there's some exercise or stretch that will allow you to lose weight on some part or portion of your body. This is just a myth. You eat less calories and exercise and your body decides, for itself, where the fat is removed from. Working on toning specfic areas of the body will help tone those muscles and may help lift your body so that you look, in total, better, but won't necessarily force your body to lose fat there.

Chapter 5: And If You've Got The Notion, I Second That Emotion
So, things are going well. You've lost 20 lbs., found your groove and know you can do it. Then, one Friday morning, you get called into the Boss's Office, and he says "I'm sorry, but we have to let you go."

*CRASHBANGSPLAT* That is the sound of your diet falling to pieces.

Dieting can be hard work. It can be emotionally draining to always keep your eye on what you eat, to keep exercising, to have to make the right choices, even when those around you may tempt you.

To really succeed, you don't just have to know what you're doing, but you have to be mentally capable of doing it. That means taking care of yourself emotionally. Don't underestimate the connection between your state of mind, and the state of your life, and your ability to make this diet work, or have it fall to pieces around you.

Section 5.1: I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
I can not say enough about the positive effects of having a support system in place. Having people who care about you, who want you to succeed, can often help keep you on the wagon when things get tough. I suggest a mixture of real life and online support, if that's possible. Having a friend cheer on your successes and help you move on and learn from the hard lessons can help you strive to new heights, or at least help you get back on the wagon. Talk to friends, family members, people who you know love you and want to see you succeed, and tell them what your plans are. 

Here on Calorie-Count, we have a marvelous online support system where thousands of people, just like you, who have struggled or are struggling with the same issues you are. Try to meet some of them. Introduce yourself in the New Members forum. Post in the other forums, about questions you have, things you're interested in, things you're curious about.  Perhaps join one of the Challenges in the Games and Challenges forum. Whatever tickles your fancy. There is no question too stupid and no issue that someone probably hasn't dealt with.

Avoid unsupportive people, if you can, or at least try to not let them get you down. There are a number of people who, purposely or no, act unsupportive to you. Hubbies who bring you chocolate, family members who make cruel comments, or utter strangers you meet who have nothing nice to say.  It's important to remember that many people react to weight loss out of jealousy and insecurity and their own guilt that they should be doing what you're doing. Some people you may be able to talk things out with, and find peace. Some people you'll need to learn to actively ignore, and not let them get in between your health and you. Always remember, this IS the right thing for you to be doing. Health is always a good goal.

Section 5.2: Yes, I'm Positive
The next part is a little trickier, but it's still so very important. For many, the difference between a successful attempt to lose weight and a lesson learned is about your own attitude.

I'm going to be honest and say that somewhere along the way, you're going to fall off the wagon. You're going to give in to that delicious-looking donut with the pink frosting and the multicolored sprinkles and you are going to feel guilty because while the donut WAS good and you enjoyed it, you've blown your calories for the day. Perhaps you'll consider something rash, like not eating for the next two days. Hopefully, though, you'll acknowledge and accept your actions and move on.

Each day is a new day, a new chance to eat well, to exercise, to do well by yourselves. Acknowledge you didn't do as well as you'd like, try to learn from it and move on and do better tomorrow. Try to keep a positive approach to this lifestyle change you're trying to accomplish.

Whatever happens, don't get caught up in "I Can't" and negativity. If you believe that you can't stick to the diet, then eventually and inevitably, you're going to prove yourself right. It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy and the only one to suffer will be your peace of mind.

Success is a choice. You choose to succeed, or not to succeed, every day, with the decisions you make. Whether you beat up on yourself for not being perfect or accept that you, too, are human and try to move on. Remember, there are many of us who've been there. We understand the frustration, the anger, the guilt, but.. you can't let these emotions control your lifestyle.

Try to be positive. It can make a real difference.

Section 5.3: Don't Sweet the Small Stuff
Man, sometimes life just kinda stinks! Your boss yelled at you, your dog left you a surprise when you got home, and you just stubbed your toe. Before you know it, you've just downed a pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Phood and are looking sorely at the bag of Hershey's Kisses.

Woah! Hold on, there! Do you really think downing down a quart of Ben and Jerry's will help you? Or your bad day?

The fact of the matter is that food makes us feel good. No, really! Certain foods, such as chocolate, release endorphins, which make you feel good, for a little bit. These are the same endorphins, by the way, that your body produces when you exercise that creates the "Runner's High". Endorphins are spiffy, but they.. and that food won't help you deal with your actual emotions and they probably won't help you lose the weight, either!

When starting off your new lifestyle change, grab a piece of paper and start writing down how you feel when you eat certain foods. Are you cheerful? Angry? Bored? Achy? Bleh? See if there are any connections. If you find that you tend to overeat when you're achy and bleh, than you're probably an emotional eater. Once you're aware of that problem, you can start to find a solution to deal with it.

The next time you feel the emotions that lead to bad eating habits, try to be aware of them a little. Recognize "I feel crummy and I want something sweet to eat." Then try to deal with the emotion without overeating.

There are many different strategies that can work to help you deal with emotion-based cravings. The first is to keep yourself busy for a few minutes: call up a friend, put on your favorite music, go out for a walk. After a few minutes, the craving should go away and hopefully your mood with it. Another alternative is substitution. Recognize that you're feeling blah and want something sweet, but instead of reaching for the Oreos, try some chocolate skim milk or a couple of Hershey's kisses instead. Something sweet and enjoyable that won't make you blow your calories for the day.  Really, the best approach may be simply to learn new strategies to deal with the emotion. Try to reprogram yourself to go out for a walk, or call a friend when you feel depressed, or to pull out a book when you're bored.

The biggest step is that first one. Self-awareness. Once you become aware of the connection in your brain between certain emotional states and your "need" for certain types of food, you can actively start trying to deal with it.

Section 5.4: Oh, Give Me A Break!

Sometimes life hands you something a bit bigger than a bad day at the office. Sometimes life gets so badly shaken up, you feel like you're barely hanging onto your sanity as it is.  Things happen: People die, relationships go sour, life can suddenly go south and take you with it.

When these things happen, when your life is shaken up that badly, the first thing you need to do is take care of yourself. That might mean you HAVE to take a break from the Diet and Exercise, that you just can't deal with it, then.

If the time comes and you just can't deal, then acknowledge it, do the best you can, and get back on the wagon when you finally can. Whatever damage you do to your waistline and weight can be dealt with once you're in a better frame of mind. Don't get yourself all in a tizzy because you know you SHOULD, and you just can't and you're feeling all sorts of guilty about it. This way lies madness and you end up making yourself more upset over something you can't really control. Trust me on this. I've been there and it sucks.

Sometimes, you just have to take a break. Come back when you can, recommit to making yourself healthier, and know that this site will support you, no matter what.

Section 5.5: The difference between Failure and a Lesson Learned
My final words on the emotional aspect of weight loss come down to the following, learned the hard way after a year of not being able to lose weight...

The only way to fail, to truly fail, is to stop trying.

Things will happen along the way to you, small and large. You'll fall off the wagon and have to get back on, or end up having to take a break and recommitting.

Remember the immortal words of Thomas Edison, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.". We are each individuals and what may work for one user, may not work for you. Keep trying, never give up. Just acknowledge that whatever that was... is one more way to NOT make you lose weight.

Chapter 6: Last Pieces of Advice
So we've discussed both the basics of what you need to start your new lifestyle change, and how emotions can work for or against you. Before letting you loose, here's some last pieces of advice to help you actually succeed.

Section 6.1: Be Your Own Doctor - Get Some Patience
One of the first things you need to keep in mind when it comes to lifestyle changes and learning how to live healthily is that, for many of us, we have years and years of bad experiences and bad habits that we want to change, and every so often, we find ourselves feeding back into the cycle of negativity.

The first rule of weight loss (unlike the first LAW of weight loss above) is: Be Patient with yourself. For most of us, it took us months or years to get in the sad shape we're in now. A long history of bad choices and bad eating. You CAN fix that, you can go from someone who's made bad choices to someone who makes good choices, but it takes time to do it.

The general rule I've heard is that it takes 21 days of doing something for it to become a new habit. Often, from experience, if you can even get past the first week, you've overcome the biggest obstacle.

Should you find that you've fallen into old habits, then instead of feeling like you've failed, which you haven't, stop, and get yourself back on the habit. Just recognize the mistakes you've made, try to learn from them, and then go back to trying to do the very best you can.

Also, remember, that it takes 3,500 calories to make a pound of fat. Unless you've downed an extra 3,500 calories more than you burned, than any fluctuations in your scale is probably due to other things such as the amount of water in you, and is not indicative of your having just screwed up so badly you've gained that much fat.

Just as you need to learn patience as you struggle to make new habits for yourself, you need to have patience in how fast the weight leaves you. When you first start, you often lose a couple to a few pounds immediately, which is probably extra water leaving your system. From there, you may lose a comfortable 1-2 lbs. a week, possibly more. For reasons I can not fully explain to you, very overweight people and men can typically lose more than 1-2 lbs. a week in a healthful manner. As you get closer and closer to goal, though, your weight loss slows up and you find that maybe you can no longer lose a pound or two a week, but maybe three quarters of a pound or half a pound. Some weeks, you simply don't seem to lose weight at all.

I'll be discussing goals in the next section, but it needs to be said here that there will be weeks when you simply don't seem to lose weight at all, or even when you seem to put on weight. It is important that you have patience with yourself and faith in your ability to be doing the right things. If you're doing the right things, the weight will come back off eventually and you'll be headed back in the right direction, towards your goal weight.

Section 6.2: Going for the Goal
The goals of this site are to help you learn to manage weight healthfully. The goal of this post is to help you learn to eat healthier, become fitter AND to lose weight. How do we achieve these goals?

Your goals can and should be both short-term and long-term. Long term goals can include everything from... losing 50 pounds, being able to jog a 5K, or being able to keep up with your children when they play, etc. These are goals that, with time and effort, you can eventually achieve. Short-term goals could include everything from.. eating five servings of vegetables every day for a week, going to the gym four times during a week, and staying away from candy for a day. These are goals you can achieve now, today, this week.

Meeting your short-term goals will help you meet your long-term goals. Another aphorism I've come to love is: Success breeds Success. The small successes of meeting short-term goals can build up like a head of steam, filling you with the knowledge that you CAN do this and help keep you on track when things get tough. Meeting short-term goals gives you the ability to keep going, to keep trying, to know that you CAN do this!

I suggest a goal and reward system. Just as your parents did for you, when you were younger, if you do what they asked of you, you got some small reward, whether it was a gift from the grab-bag or a trip to the zoo, this sort of positive reinforcement (Do something good, get a reward) works and works well, and it can work for you too.

Now as far as rewards go, it is my strong suggestion that you give yourself non-edible rewards. I've seen rewards that range from CDs and Videos, new gadgets, tattoos, trips to the massage parlor, trips to the spa, new clothing. and my personal favorite, breast enhancement surgery!  If you like the idea of rewarding yourself for hitting your short term goals as well, some suggestions I've seen range from putting 25 cents in the bank every time you go to the gym, to giving yourself a sticker (who doesn't love stickers?) when you eat well, to "banking" points for a larger prize. Whatever you choose, you should reward yourself with something meaningful and enjoyable to you. And enjoy every moment of it. Once you've reached your goal, whatever that goal is, you SHOULD be proud.

If you haven't done so already, I suggest you sit down with a piece of paper and write up some reasonable goals, short-term AND long-term, and some rewards to attach to them. And remember, you can do this, one reasonable goal after another!

Chapter 7: Living with your lifestyle change

So, I've now talked to you about what a calorie is, and how to make sure you're getting the right amount of calories from good, healthy foods. I've touched upon diet, exercise and health! I've walked you through some of the ins and outs of metabolism and offered some last advice.

Let's talk the nitty gritty about how to make this all work for you, in a manageable way!

Section 7.1: A Man, A Plan, A Recipe Book and a pair of new shoes!
You want to lose weight. Where do you start? How do you do it?

You need... a plan.

The first thing you need to do is to make a list of what habits you need to change to be healthy. Perhaps you aren't very active right now, and feel you should be. Perhaps you don't eat as well as you can. Perhaps you should tone your muscles.

Whatever it is, write it down. Then, once you've written it all down, rank it by it's importance... what's the most important thing you should be doing right now to improve your health and lower your fat percentage? Once you've determined what's most important to you, create a reasonable list of short-tem goals to help you meet this long-term goal: Perhaps making sure to walk for 15 minutes a day, or to start cooking home-cooked meals or to lower the amount of fat you eat per day.

Remember, it's very easy to get caught up trying to fix all of your faults at once. That sort of effort will drive you crazy and probably leave you sitting down, somewhere, wondering why you're trying to do it all for anyways? It will take a long time to make new, healthy habits, but you can start right now, if you work towards reasonable, manageable goals!

Section 7.2: Eat to Live - How to begin to eat healthy
No matter where you start from, there's always room for improvement. Most Americans eat far too much protein and far too much fat, don't get many micronutrients through their food, and underestimate exactly how much food they eat.

Your first set of weapons in your battle towards eating for health is a good kitchen scale, and a good set of measuring cups and spoons. The next weapon you'll need is a good calorie counter *coughcoughcough* such as.. this site!.

What you'll want to do is begin to understand exactly how much food you eat per day. Log in everything you eat, from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep. Every piece of fruit, every topping on your burger, everything. Make sure you get close to exact amounts... actually measure out 1 tbsp of salad dressing and put it on your salad. Make sure to read the nutritional labels on everything you eat, as it will give you an idea of exactly how good it is, compared to the other food you eat.

Count your calories for a week or two, making sure to get an average of how many calories you tend to eat during the week, and how many you eat during the weekend. Remember, most of us tend to eat differently on weekends than weekdays.

Planning food can become a useful tactic towards making sure you eat well. Planning out about a week's worth of meals, all at once, can assure that you're getting a wide variety of different foods, as suggested by the FDA, but also assures that you aren't eating the same salad over and over and over and over again, which can lead to burnout.

Once you've got your numbers, you've got a starting place. Chances are, you're eating more than you realize, and certain foods you love are perhaps not the healthiest choices for you. The next thing to begin to work on is portion control. Most Americans eat more than one reasonable portion of food. Especially when you go out. Restaurants tend to offer you a huge amount of food, and it's up to you, the consumer, to make sure you don't overeat.

A good rule of thumb, to begin with, is to eat slowly, instead of devouring your food and keep listening to your body to see if it signals it's full. When you're full, stop eating. Period.

I strongly suggest that you consider beginning to cook your own food. Home cooking gives you total control over the food you eat. Many boxed foods contain hidden fats and salts. And while salt may not directly interfere with your ability to lose fat, ingesting large amounts of salt does lead to water retention, which does lead to seeing a higher weight on your scale.

You will probably want to continue logging your calories as you go. Your caloric needs change as you lose weight, and the tendency to lose track of how much food we're actually eating is always a danger. Logging your calories keeps you honest about how much you're eating, and what sorts of foods you're eating.

With time, I would like to suggest that you move towards eating more whole foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, lean cuts of meat, whole grains and skim or part-skim milk and milk products, as these foods offer great nutritional "Bang" for relatively low calorie "buck".

The important thing to remember, and the entire summary of this subject is: Make sure you log in everything, especially as you just start. Logging in your food keeps you honest and helps you understand what your personal problem areas are.

Section 7.3: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can - Becoming more Active
I can not stress enough the benefits of fitness. People who are fit are sick less, suffer from less middle-age illnesses and just live a higher quality of life than people who are not fit. They're capable of doing what they want with their bodies when they want to, whether that's playing in the company softball league, keeping up with their kids or *cough* marital activities. :D

The important thing about becoming more active, especially when you've been barely active at all, is to start slow and be patient. It does take time to build up your endurance and strength, but it will happen, with time.

Pick an activity that interests you, something that will keep you interested and that you'd enjoy, and just do it, but slowly. It seems alot of people feel that the only way to get fit is to go to a gym and to use the various machines. If you're OK with doing that, that's great, but if not, remember ANY activity that raises your heart rate for extended periods of time counts. Dancing, team sports, bicycling outside, mall walking, all of these can count. The important thing to do is pick something and just do it.

Eventually, you'll realize you aren't working as hard as you used to. You'll find you're not really breathing as hard or sweating as much. When that happens, kick it up a notch, but only a notch. Remember you don't have to just increase your intensity. You can also increase the duration of the workout, making your heart work out for longer. This choice is perfectly valid as well (though doctors and nutritionists suggests you exercise for no more than 3 hours a day, lest you risk injuring yourself.)

With time, you can find yourself running a 5K race or being a triathlete, and you will feel sooo goood doing that!

Remember, as you become more active, that aerobic exercise, flexibility training and strength training are all important and have their place in creating a healthy, fit you who can be comfortable in your own body. Do not neglect any of them.

Section 7.4: Why Must I Be A Teenager.. on a Diet?
Dieting is especially tricky for teenagers, for a couple of reasons. The first is that most tools, including the tools on this site, just aren't built for you. The BMI measurement isn't meant for you and because you're still growing, you need more calories than our site tools would tell you.

In general, the suggestions I've laid out above about eating well and exercising STILL apply to teens. What's different is how many calories they need. To get a better idea about how many calories you need, check out this site, which can calculate a more accurate BMI for you as well as a better estimate of your caloric needs.

Section 7.5: Yay! I did it! I did it! Now what?
You've worked hard, you kept with it, and now.. you've done what you've set out to do and lost the weight you want to lose. Now what?

Maintenance should be a breeze, relatively speaking, for those people who have worked on changing their lifestyle to include eating good foods, counting calories, and staying active and fit. Really, the only difference between what you were doing to lose weight and what you need to do now to maintain that weight is now you get to eat more calories!  A good maintenance plan will still include eating healthy foods, and exercising. It will still include counting calories, at least occasionally, to make sure you're not undereating or overeating. It will still include weighing in, to make sure you haven't lost or gained too much.

The important thing to keep in mind is, just because you're done losing weight, you can't just stop what you've done. Once you stop eating right, exercising and such, you'll start gaining the weight again. This is typically called yo-yo dieting and it can be brutal, both on your metabolism, and on your self-esteem.

If you're considering trying a diet you've read about, or heard about, skip to the part where they tell you how to maintain. Most Fad Diets fail because they can't help you learn how to maintain the weight you've lost. If the diet is more concerned with how to get the weight off and fast, and doesn't offer good, sound maintenance strategies that you can live with for the rest of your life, don't get involved with that diet!

Chapter 8: HELP ME!!! Common Problems Associated with Dieting
Dieting is no walk in the park. Nobody ever said dieting is easy, because it's not, period. Below I list some of the numerous issues that come with dieting, and some words of wisdom on how to weather them out.

Section 8.1 - Gimme Gimme Gimme Some Food After Midnight - Binges
Everything's doing spiffy. Come home from work, look in the fridge and before you know it you "Wake up" and realize you've just consumed a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a package of M&Ms and are currently chewing on the plastic bag. And you realize "OMG, I just binged!! What do I do?!?"

The first thing you do, when you realize you've binge, is relax a little, and try to absolve yourself of the guilt you probably feel associated with "blowing your diet". As I said, above, you need to be patient with yourself and realize that it takes time to change old habits.

When you've relaxed, think back a little, how did you feel? Was this a bad response to a particular emotion? Perhaps you've had a really bad day and desperately needed something sweet to "make it better"? Again, sometimes just being aware of your issues can help you figure out how to self-correct.

Also, what else have you eaten during the day? Have you been sure to eat a reasonable amount of calories (are you eating at a reasonable deficit, or sticking to the minimums or less.)  If not, the binge may have been your body desperately trying to make sure you get the nutrition and calories you need. If this is the case, please change your diet to make sure you're getting enough calories. If you don't feel capable of doing that, please seek professional help.

There are some people who find that the compulsively binge, that they have no control over themselves and can't stop a binge before or while it happens.  If this sounds like you, you may have Binge Eating Disorder. Please see your doctor immediately, as Binge Eating Disorder is considered an eating disorder.

It's important to remember, one way or the other, that if you did binge the night before, not to attempt to compensate by eating less today. What you did yesterday is over. Book closed. Just do your best today, and make sure to eat a reasonable number of calories.