If Not Now, When?

THIS ISSUE: Easy Weight Loss Tips

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: Easy Weight Loss Tips
4) Teleclasses
5) Question & Answer
6) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

Happy New Year!

Wow, we have finished the first decade of the new century. I hope that things are heading the way that you want them to be going.

We made our annual Christmas trip back to Chicago to visit friends and family. The grand kids are getting bigger. My daughter's son and daughter are now 15 and 13 respectively. My granddaughter is absolutely gorgeous! And my grandson already has a steady girlfriend. As any of us that have taken our children through the teen years know, my daughter is in for a challenging next few years. My son's two sons are 5 ½ and 9. He has a little while before they really become challenging, but they already hold their own.

The weather was typical for Chicago in December - wet, cold, snowy, rainy – take your pick. At least we didn't have sub zero temps, and the snow accumulation was only a few inches.

As happens to most of us during the holidays, I put on a few extra pounds that I want to get rid of. That has given me the incentive to write my main article on some useful weight loss tips. I hope you find them helpful.

And don't forget, if you feel you need more help, Nutrisystem can be very helpful in getting you to your goals.

Here's to a happy and healthy new year.

Good luck, keep exercising, and remember – "If not now, when?".

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - Easy Weight Loss Tips

After the holidays, almost everyone can stand to lose a few pounds. If you've been reading my newsletter for any length of time you know that I recommend a combination of healthy eating along with both strength and aerobic exercise to give a person the best overall, sustainable weight control. In this article I am going to focus on some weight control issues by giving you some tips that will help you both lose and then maintain a healthy weight.

I find it interesting that one of the simplest weight loss tips is often the most difficult one for people to do. It has to do with portion control. It isn't just what we eat, but how often. Most of us think that in order to effectively “diet”, we have to eat less often. That really isn't true. One of the best ways to help control weight is to eat at least 5 times a day. You might say, “great, I can do that”. Ah, but there is another part to this tip. That is, eat smaller portions. For someone trying to maintain a caloric intake of 1,800 calories a day, this would translate into 3 main meals of no more than 500 calories each, and 2 snacks of 150 calories or less each.

What we eat is also important. If you have a lite yogurt instead of a low fat yogurt you can save up to 110 calories. Drinking a diet cola instead of a regular cola can save about 150 calories. Having popcorn for a snack is very low in calories and yet filling.

Make sure you eat protein at each meal. This helps build muscle and also fills you up better.

Try to eat a variety of foods, including more fruits and vegetables. This will help to keep your eating plan from getting too boring.

Be more careful about the kind of fats you eat as well as the amount. As most of us have heard, saturated fats are not really very good for us to eat. Eating unsaturated fats or mono unsaturated fats is better. But, keep in mind that all fats have 9 calories per gram, while proteins and carbohydrates are around 5 calories per gram. Simple math tells us that fats are almost twice as high in calories as proteins and carbohydrates. Don't try to stop eating any fats, it's both unhealthy and almost impossible to do.

Weigh yourself once a week. This helps to keep you aware of changes in your weight, and can help you get back on track if things aren't going well. Weighing yourself more than once a week can be self defeating. If you don't see a daily reduction in your weight, you may want to give up. Remember that a reasonable weight loss goal is to lose 1 ½ to 2 pounds per week. That means that you won't see changes every day.

We've all heard that drinking enough water is important, and it is. What I suggest is that in your attempt to drink at least 64 ounces of water per day, try to drink a large glass of water about 10 minutes before each meal. This will help you feel full sooner and help keep you on track with your portion control. One trick I use to keep track of how much water I'm drinking is to fill a half gallon bottle with water and keep it in the fridge. By finishing this each day I am sure to get my minimum of eight 8 ounce glasses of water daily.

These are not the only things you can do to control or lose weight, but they will give you some great methods to be more successful.

(c)2005 - 2009 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Answer - Walking will burn about 50% more calories than weight lifting. A 175 pound person will burn about 204 calories while walking for 30 minutes versus 136 calories weight lifting for the same amount of time. Remember, we need both types of exercise to maintain overall fitness and health.

To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – www.fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com

Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

On line fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to www.fitness-after-50.com



Tom Manfredi, 1218 Easy St., Ste 101, Wickenburg, AZ 85390

Other Services and Information

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Well, a woman I know here in Arizona recently sent me some info about a company that offers $1,ooo,ooo coverage to help take care of the problem if someone steals your identity. The company is called LifeLock. You can get to their site by clicking on the banner below if it's visable, or by copying the following code into your browser –

They charge a very reasonable monthly fee and offer a number of included services (they also give discounts for paying annually). Go take a look and see what you think. I signed up. I think my peace of mind is worth that kind of money.

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If you want (or need) an eating plan that can help you be successful in learning to eat properly and attain your weight loss goal, I suggest you take a look at Nutrisystem.

Nutrisystem's mission is to provide a weight loss program based on quality foods and a nutritionally balanced meal plan. There's no counting calories, carbs or points. You will learn portion control, and eat often throughout the day to help prevent cravings.