Almost 108 million Americans were overweight or obese in 1999. Until now, obesity continues to be a serious problem and is predicted to reach epidemic levels by the year 2020.

One way to prevent this scenario is to make people aware of the risks of being overweight or obese.

Here are some diseases that you are putting yourself in risk of if you are carrying a lot of extra pounds:

1. heart disease

2. stroke

3. diabetes

4. cancer

5. arthritis

6. hypertension

Losing weight helps to prevent and control these diseases.

The quick weight loss methods which have spread like fire these days do not provide lasting results. More often than not, dieting methods which involve dietary drinks, avoiding food groups and supplement or pills do not work. If they do, the results are just temporary.

It is better to rely on a healthy weight loss option which will provide lifetime results. You have to set realistic goals and not expect to lose a lot of pounds in a short span of time.

Here are some tips on how you can lose those unwanted pounds the healthy way:

1. Do not starve your self.

The key to a healthier way of losing weight is: Do not diet.

You may seem happy and feel that you are losing those unwanted flabs on your belly and thighs by skipping meals. But remember that this would not last long. Your body cannot tolerate having insufficient food to fuel the energy that you use up everyday.

If you get used to skipping one or two meals a day, your stored calories will be used up instead of the energy that should have been provided by your meals. So if you just eat one huge sandwich in one day, it will end up straight to your problem area (i.e. highs, buttocks, hips).

2. Start your day right.

Mothers always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Have a healthy meal in the morning to jump-start your metabolism.

Your food intake after you wake up will be used to burn fat all day long.

3. Eat small, healthy meals frequently.

Five small-serving snacks per day is better than three hearty meals. Eating more frequently, and in small servings, can prevent over-eating. This will also increase your metabolism and make calories burn faster.

4. Decide on how much weight you want to lose.

Keep your goals realistic. In the long run, it is virtually impossible for you to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks. Have a mindset that you want to eat healthy to stay healthy for the rest of your life.

Once you have decided on a weight loss plan or program, stick to it and make sure that you follow your own set of dieting rules.

5. Drink lots of water.

Your body needs sufficient water to burn fat and keep your cells hydrated and healthy.

6. Avoid too much sugar.

Plan your meals around lots of fruits and vegetables, some whole grain bread, brown rice or whole grain pasta for that carbo fix that you need, plus lean meat and protein rich-foods. Sweets, sodas and pastries should be once-in-a-while indulgences only.

7. Watch your fat intake.

Fat is not the culprit to being overweight. You need this to keep your weight at the proper level.

There is such a thing as healthy fats. Olive, peanuts and canola oil have them. Tuna, salmon and mackerel have omega-3 fats which is good for the heart.

8. Exercise.

Leave your car if you are only going a few blocks from home, take the stairs instead of the elevator, jog, cycle or skate. Use these activites and other home chores if you are too lazy to go to the gym and take exercise classes. Make sure that you do this regularly and you will not even notice that you are already shedding pounds with these mundane activities.

It does not matter how much weight you plan or need to lose. What is important is that you set realistic goals for yourself.

Go slow. If you have already lost 5 or 6 pounds, give yourself a break then try to lose the next 5 pounds.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, have enough sleep and exercise. This will give you a higher chance of losing weight and improving your health, which would result to a new, healthier you.

QUOTE: Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.

- Erma Bombeck

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Gaining and maintaining your fitness can be fun and should be fun.

Anything that is seen as a chore is something that most people will try to avoid and it will make it difficult to maintain for any period of time.

Unlike a job where we get paid for doing something that we might not always enjoy, the rewards from fitness are something that are difficult to place a value on.

Obviously the value of good health is more important than most things in life but it is so easy to discount, that we need to look at the fitness program that we will be using to ensure it will be fun and we will continue to use it.

There are so many different ways of keeping fit and many of these can be as enjoyable as a walk in the park with your dog or a swim in the pool every day, a bike ride with your family.

If you are starting on a fitness program that you find difficult and unappealing from day one then there is a good possibility that you will not follow through and get the benefits that you expect from the program

You would be better off choosing a program that might not deliver the same results in the same time but one that you know you will follow through until the end.

If you can find some form of fitness training that you really enjoy doing then you can make it a lifetime activity and enjoy improved health for as long as possible.

Your fitness program should be something that you look forward to when you wake each day.

The fitter you get, and the more benefits that you see from your fitness the more likely you are going to enjoy what you are doing.

Your perspective of training will change, as you get fitter, so you might find that you need to reassess the program you are on and change it as your fitness level increases.

I have been neglecting everything.  These past 6 weeks have been the worst of this year (life).  Not sure I even want to type out everything, as it is so hard to believe.   All I want to say now, is that its time to stop the pity party, find a new place to live, finish my personal training exam and MOVE FORWARD.

Fingers crossed that we manage to find a place that is close to where we live now, I have just got my both of my girls into the same school for the new school year, and I do not want to change that, also we need to live near to the Martial Art business that we run.  Mal has such little time at home at the moment that if we live further away he will not be able to come home to eat before leaving to teach, so that will suck.

I am sure in the next few months I will be able to understand why this happened, and realise that it was for the best, but at the moment I am having a hard time understanding it.

My weight has dropped to 129lbs, the lowest was 125lbs, but I have not been eating so once my appetite is back, im sure that I will be back to 131-133 again.  I have waited so long to break the 130lbs, and it being from this situation does not give me cause to celebrate.

I need to find my focus again, and someone to give me a kick up the butt!  I brought my kettlebells home from the Dojo so I will pick them up a few times a day.  I am planning on taking them to my daughters soccer practice and using the time that shes there to get some practice in.  I really want to get good at the hand to hand exercises.

This week I bought the gymboss timer, FINALLY ! LOL You can set it to run at different intervals, it will beep and/or vibrate so its perfect to clip onto your gym clothes when you are outside.  I have many different workouts that call for 1 minute sets and it is really hard to track the time when you are trying to do the exercises.  Plus think of all the tabatas you can do !!!

My goal for the next week is to make sure I get blogging again, my poor blog is neglected and I have some great material that I want to share.  I need to get back to eating my normal diet again, and not surviving on 3 coffees a day and little else. I will get back into my regular exercise routine.

Where did this last month go? Are you 1/12 of the way there for your 2009 goals?

I have finished the theory part of my course, now I am taking my CPR on the weekend and then ASAP after that I will be finishing up my Personal Training Certification.

Another goal of mine for this year is to also become certified to teach Kettlebells, well On Saturday I booked myself onto a course, so all being well if I pass I will be certified on the 15th February.

The start to this year has been crazy and also a little scary, Mal on the 1st week back to work after the Christmas break got laid off, we knew that It was coming due to the major slow down in the oil industry, but it still hits you as a shock. He lined up a job straight away but it took till now for him to start.

This past month has taught us that you need to live as if this is your last pay check, and treat your money wisely. We hardly eat out anymore anyway, but still on a Saturday its easy to go through a couple hundred dollars on nothing really.

This is also why we need to have more than one way of earning money, and instead of me taking my time procrastinating my ultimate plans, I have to get going and start moving forward. We want the health and fitness industry to be supporting us totally in the next 12-18 months.

I can relate my ultimate plans to my fitness journey, it is all about baby steps, just as I have my daily weekly monthly plans for my workouts and diet, I need to also use this to get my business going. As long as I keep taking my baby steps I will reach my ultimate goals, so it starts today, I am using an hour or so today to get myself sorted with what I need to do to get my bootcamp business going, then I will lay out the plan of what I need to do everyday to take me closer to this goal.

You have no idea how scared I am, I have been a stay at home mum for nearly 12 years now this is getting out of my comfort zone big time, I am scared of failing, but you know what, I have to remember that there are going to be obstacles just as there have been on my fitness journey, and how did I get around them, well I stepped back and took a moment and reset my plans and adjusted my course.

I say that I am scared but you know what I am excited too. 2009 is going to be a hard year, but it is also going to be what you make it, it you sit back and be negative and moan about life, that is what your life will be. If you choose to be positive and think outside the box then you are going to have a hugly successful year.

I do not mean just with your business life, this all applies to your personal life too.

I was wondering how long I would get away with not getting tagged, but today 2 people tagged me. I wonder how long this is going to take me to think up 25 things ….

1. As Im writing it on my blog 1st rather than facebook Ill tell you my real name Kelly Anne Swindell.

2. I am 35 but feel like I am 20, I am In better shape now than I was in my 20s though.

3. I have 2 girls they are aged 11 and 10. Oh and their dad is a bigger kid than them, so I guess he is the little boy that I always wanted.

4. Im originally from England, moved to Calgary, Canada in 2001.

5. Im not married but have been with the same guy since I was 18. ( scared of commitment !!!!! LOL)

6. I represented my County (Warwickshire) in cross country and race walking when I was 12.

7. I come from the town of Rugby, yes that is where the game was invented.

8. Yes, I played Rugby for 2 seasons.

9. i am addicted to twitter and facebook ( OK I finally admitted it)

10. I will finish my personal training certification in the next few weeks.

11. I am also going to be certified to teach Kettlebells

12. I met my man at the Rugby Club, it was news years eve and he was dressed up as a Zulu warrior. Never have said thanks to my cousin Paul for letting me tag along with him to the party :0)

13. I was with my Nan when she died, I was on my way to college and something told me that I HAD to go to the hospital, she died a couple of minutes after I got there, I’m so thankful that she did not die alone in a hospital bed.

14. I am always reading books on either exercise or nutrition, only on my Summer holiday do I read novels.

15.My Mum was 19 when she had me, and then 40 when she had my youngest sister, so there is a bigger age gap between my sister and I than my Mum and I.

16. I still have to watch Coronation Street and Eastenders (British Soaps) even though they are so far behind here. sad i know !

17. Over the last 2 years, I have met so many people over the internet through social sites who have proven to be closer friends than some of the other people in my life. It was not even strange or weird when I got to meet 2 of them, it was like 3 girls that have known each other for years. When I go back to the UK there is one person that I have to go and visit, we have so much in common and both feel that we were destined to know each other, we talk nearly everyday and are really supporting each other with growing our business.

18. I can talk your ear off about fitness and nutrition.

19. I get really grumpy and down when I havent exercised for a few days.

20. If you think Im grumpy when I havent exercised, see what Im like if I havent eaten for a few hours, this is why I carry food around everywhere.

21. I used to hate water, now its pretty much all I drink. Gone are the days of neat vodka, and flaming zambukas.

22. Oh, another addiction, its Tim Hortons Coffee :0) Its so bad I know, I guess we all have our little vice.

23. My goal for the next 2 months is to get my bootcamps running. People are already asking me for times, hold on, i need to sort out insurance etc …..

24. It looks like we are getting the whole of my immediate family visiting us this summer (9 of them). Im so excited as we are planning on a tour from Vancouver to Calgary, so a week of camping with the people that we miss ALOT. I cant wait to show them this beautiful country, and maybe my Mum and little Sis will get to see a bear, they have been out 3 times and think that bears are a myth here.

25. Feels really sad that her kids do not know all of their cousins, they know the ones on my side of the family, but not as close to them as you should be, and they have at least 30 more that they have not seen either at all or for 6 years. (Malcolm is one of 11 siblings!!!) Im loving the way that facebook brings a family that is apart by distance closer together, a couple of weeks ago I made contact with my Dad again, we hadnt spoken or saw each other for 4 years, now we talk on skype every week :0)

This actually was not as bad as I thought, I could have carried on !!! LOL

So yesterdays meal planning went well, and it really did make a difference to how I am feeling.

One of my most favorite saying is “Failing to plan, is planning to fail” so why did I let myself stop planning????

My workout this morning was amazing, I’m still doing the Kettlebellebody challenge and I am onto week 4 of that, I am seeing big improvements with my strength but not much in size, I know its because I lost focus with my diet.

I did 35lb Kettlebell single arm rows today, now these were supersetted in with walking lunges where I pass the kettlebell under my leg as I walk, I forgot that I needed to do the single arm row when I picked up the big kettlebell and when I was done the lunges on the track I remembered the exercise, I did not want to walk the rest of the track to get the lighter KB so I just sucked it up. Just shows me that sometimes my own mind is the thing holding me back.

My diet is A+ today :0)

Oatmeal and shake (1/3 cup uncooked oatmeal, then with boiling water added)

Banana bread, apple

Almonds 1 apple 1/2 cup carrots

Smoothie ( banana, 1/2 cup mango and 1/2 cup raspberries 3 table spoons of hemp protein podwer) water added to make it drinkable

Bison chili ( 1 ladle- need to see what this measures out to be. 1/2 cup cucumber 1/2 cup tomato

Just my last meal to fit in, it will be 1/2 cup cucumber and 1/2 cup tomato and 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Water is back on track and don’t I know it !!!!! LOL 50 million trips to the loo, well the benefit is getting in a few extra steps !!!!!!!!!

IM BACK AND IT FEELS GOOD

Need to start getting myself accountable again with my food. If my goals are written out here for you all to see I know that I will kick butt again. Its when I stop blogging that I start to be bad.

1. Veggie intake. I will eat at least 2 cups everyday. (4 portions)

2. Fruit intake. I will eat at least 2 cups every day. (4 portions)

3. WATER, I will drink 8 glasses every day (my glasses are 12oz)

4. No chocolate, chips etc ….

5. I WILL post what i’ve eaten for the day every day.

If you are unsure what to do, or maybe need someone to motivate you, it might be time to consider hiring a trainer.

If you have hit a plateau in your training it may be time to consider hiring a personal fitness trainer.

If you go to the gym without a plan, if you wonder around the gym not knowing which exercises you should be performing then you should consider hiring a personal fitness trainer.

A personal trainer can give you attention that you wouldn’t get with just your membership from a gym.

Personal attention will ensure that you follow through and perform all the exercises that are set for your fitness program, they will also ensure that you perform each exercise with the correct form.

As with anything in life, having an experienced teacher can reduce the time it takes to reach your goals considerably.

If you have your own home gym they can work with you to devise a program that is best suited to your body type and the improvements that you want to make. Thus enabling you to follow a plan without a gym membership.

Knowing that the trainer will turn up at a certain time each week, or you have pre booked sessions in a gym will also ensure that you are ready for a workout and more likely to continue with any program that you have started.

To find the best trainer in your area you should try to get recommendations from others as this will be the only way you will know whether they will be worthwhile investing your money in their instruction.

When hiring a trainer, do your homework please ensure that they hold a current personal training certification, I am completely astounded by the amount of personal trainers out there who do not hold any sort of qualification, yet they are training people every day, you run the risk of becoming injured, you would not go to a dentist who is not qualified.

I would interview the trainer, and see what sort of experience they have training people, and also see what kind of results their way of training has given people. If you are an older person starting out training for the 1st time, then a trainer who specializes in training athletes may not be what you are looking for.

Before paying for many training sessions, just pay for one or 2 and see if you are a good match together. If you pay for 100 sessions upfront and you find that you are not a good fit, you may not be able to get out of the contract and you will loose a huge amount of money.

When signing the contract, make sure that you understand all the terms and conditions, such as their cancellation policy, most trainers will ask for 48 hours notice to cancel and you will be able to reschedule the appointment, but less notice than that and you will loose that session. Bear in mind that when you cancel, the trainer needs to find someone to fill your spot, if you call them on a Sunday evening and the session is on a Monday morning there just is not enough time for the trainer to refill your spot. Ensure that this works both ways!!

Make sure that the trainer is focused on you whilst you are training, you have paid a lot of money for their time, if they are talking to friends or co workers it is not acceptable, they need to be focused on you and making sure that you are working out with correct form and posture.

You might only need them short term to learn what you need to know and ensure you are doing the exercises correctly and then you can continue under your own motivation.

You can always call them back from time to time to go over the program and make adjustments based on your progress. Many clients see their trainer once or twice a month, to receive a new programme and to also learn new exercises. You will get bored and also hit a plateau if you do the same routine for weeks on end.