How I Lost 20 Pounds By Walking

In this post, I will be discussing how I lost 20 pounds just by walking. I didn't do anything else such as changing my diet. All I did was add walking to my life. So let's get started.

Do You Need Special Equipment?

I didn't use any special equipment at all. Some people like to spruce up their walking by adding small dumbbells, a waist trainer, or doing lunges during their walk.

I didn't do any of that stuff. All I did was walk. I didn't even buy new shoes or exercise clothes, although it may benefit you to buy some new running shoes if your current ones are worn out.

I really invested no money in it at all. I wore clothing that I already had, shoes I already owned, and no extra equipment.

How Often Did You Walk?

Every single day of the week.

The only times I would skip a day is if it rained non-stop to the point where there was no way that I could walk, because I always walked outside. I didn't have a way to walk indoors.

For those who have a treadmill, rain shouldn't be an issue. You could easily walk every day.

I made time for walking, even on the busiest days. I made sure that even if I was tired, I still walked. You gotta commit to it if you want to get anything out of it.

Did You Change Your Diet?

My diet stayed the same as it was before. All I did was start walking. At one point, I began actually eating an extra snack during the day, but that didn't cause me to gain weight at all. I continued losing.

I didn't do any other exercises for the most part. There were a few times that I tried something different, but I didn't like it so I just went back to walking.

How Long Did You Walk?

I walked for 30 minutes every time, but 30 minutes is not a magic number. I just picked it because it felt right. You could walk for 45 minutes or an hour if you feel like you need a little more.

You can also start out with 20 minutes and work your way up if you want to. For some people, 30 minutes may be too hard especially if you are not used to any extra activity. Some people may only be able to do 10 minutes at first.

Go at your own pace and increase the time as you are able to.

How Long Did It Take To Lose The Weight?

The first 15 pounds came off pretty quickly, within 3 months. The other 5 pounds was a lot slower. It took about a year to lose that.

I believe the last 5 pounds took so long because I was already skinny as it was. As everyone says the last 5-10 pounds is hard to get off and that's very true.

The reason is because as you lose weight, your metabolism decreases because you weigh less. Smaller people need less food. So since your metabolism decreased, it takes longer to get the weight off unless you do something drastic.

In my case, I wasn't doing anything drastic at all. I was just walking for weight loss. It was simple, easy, and fit into my schedule.

I believe that anyone can lose weight with walking as long as they are doing it every day and staying consistent. I hope this article inspires you to get out there and start walking.

Bringing a friend can help you not be as bored. Walking can get boring without someone to talk to. You can also bring a dog, but bear in mind that some dogs can't handle all of that activity and it wears them down. High energy dogs are the best ones to take walking with you.

4 Weight Loss Mistakes To Avoid

It's easy to make mistakes when trying to lose weight. I've been there, done that, actually a few times. I'm going to be talking about common weight loss mistakes and how you can avoid them.

Condiments Have Calories

If you are counting calories, but you don't check the calories in condiments, you are making a huge mistake. Ranch dressing could easily put you over your daily limit. Ketchup has calories too, as well as mayonnaise. Start looking.

You should measure out your condiments and make sure that they fit into your daily calorie limit. You will start to notice that some condiments have a lot less calories than others. Checking the calories will teach you which ones have higher calories, so in the future you will know to limit those.

Hard Exercise

A pretty big mistake that many people make is starting an exercise routine that they absolutely hate. Why is this a mistake?

Well statistics show that when you hate your workout, you are more likely to quit doing it sooner rather than later. Why would you want to spend your free time doing something you hate?

Those that enjoy their exercise routine actually end up losing more weight. That is because they keep it up in the long term.

So try out salsa dancing, tennis, swimming, and walking the dog. Do something fun that you like doing at least 4 times per week. It's as simple as that.

Diet Coke

Look, there are arguments about diet coke on both sides. I'm not here to argue with anyone, but I just don't believe in diet coke for weight loss. Studies are mixed on the possible negative effects. My advice is to just stay away from it.

You don't need it. It perpetuates an addiction to caffeine, which you could knock out by eliminating it. Drink water instead, and dress up your water so that it tastes better. Then, maybe, you won't want that diet coke anymore.

Cutting diet coke could possibly get rid of some of your food cravings. How about that?

Cutting Out Fat

So, we see this a lot in the diet community. They want to go on these low fat diets. I don't believe fat is the biggest problem to look at when it comes to the food we eat. The real problem is sugar.

Sugar is in everything. If you really want to cut some weight, then cut out sugar from your diet completely.

There are certain kinds of fats that you should avoid, but there are also many good fats. When you go on a low fat diet, you cut out both the good and bad fats. We need certain fats in order to have a good functioning body. That's why they are called "essential fatty acids".

These are healthy fats like omega 3, which can reduce inflammation in the body.

So these are the weight loss mistakes that I encourage you to avoid. I hope this article has helped someone out there.

How Fast Are You Supposed To Lose Weight

In this post, I will be discussing how much weight you can expect to lose on a weight loss plan. I will go in depth about different diets and how much the average person can expect to lose. I will also be talking about how the weight will generally come off. If you are beginning a weight loss journey, you won't want to miss what I have to say.

How Much Weight Per Week?

Experts often say that you should lose 1-2 lbs per week if you are on a diet. They say that losing more than that is unhealthy. This is standard advice and it could be different depending on your situation. We will explore this statement in depth a little bit more and talk about how much weight you lose on various diets.

The First Week

The first week of a weight loss plan is usually the exception to the "1-2 lbs" rule. Don't be surprised if you lose 5 to 10 lbs in your first week of dieting and exercising, depending on how much you weigh at the start. This is because your body is shedding water weight. But don't worry! Some of that weight is fat and your body will begin burning more fat as you go throughout the weeks.

It's important to stick to your weight loss plan beyond that first week so that you can really get into the fat burning and develop good habits. You don't want to fall into a cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Yo-Yo Dieting

Over time, yo-yo dieting actually causes steady weight gain. You do not want to keep hopping on and off weight loss plans over and over. This will be horrible for your health if you continue. You will always gain back the weight you lose and then some. This will repeat over and over until you finally decide to stick with something.

Weight Loss Is Not Linear

One reason people quit their weight loss plan is because weight may fluctuate and this causes them to lose motivation. They don't see a point in depriving themselves if they aren't getting the results they were wanting.

What you have to remember is that weight loss isn't linear. What this means is that some weeks you will lose less weight than others. Some weeks you'll lose more weight than others. Some weeks you won't lose any, and some weeks you may even gain weight. This will happen all through your weight loss plan.

It's very easy to get discouraged when this happens. What you need to do is try to weigh yourself only once per month. It will help you realize that you are losing weight over all, even if there are weekly fluctuations. The monthly weigh-in should always show a loss as long as you are following your weight loss plan.

If you are following your weight loss plan religiously, but stop losing weight for weeks, we call that a weight loss plateau.

Weight Loss Plateaus

Weight loss plateaus typically happen after you've lost a bit of weight. You may lose 15-20 lbs at first and then get stuck, even though you are doing everything right. Depending on how long your weight loss journey is, you could run into more than one plateau. This can be frustrating, but it's not a reason to stop.

Listen, if I had stopped the very first time I hit a plateau, I would have been stuck at 165 lbs forever. But instead I found a way to break the plateau and got myself down to 115 lbs. You don't have to give up and there are ways out of it. Read my article on how to break a weight loss plateau.

Your Period Matters

You have to remember that weight will fluctuate week by week and your period does make a difference. This is one reason I stress only weighing once per month. You don't want to get discouraged because your weight went up around your period. That may cause you to stop your diet.

Pick a day of the month to weigh and try to hide the scale for the rest of the month so that you aren't tempted to get on it. I know I get tempted if the scale is just sitting right there on the floor. It's so easy to weigh yourself without even thinking much about it. Weighing yourself too often can lead to discouragement.

Loose Skin

Let's revisit the "1-2 lbs per week" rule that I mentioned before. Most experts will tell you that you should be losing weight at a rate of 1-2 lbs per week.

One reason experts say you don't want to lose weight too fast is because you may develop loose skin. Those who weigh more and those who have less skin elasticity (such as the elderly) are more prone to having loose skin from weight loss. It's generally not something you should worry about unless you are morbidly obese or losing weight much too rapidly.

Average Keto Weight Loss

Keto is a popular diet that many people follow for weight loss. I searched the internet and compiled some data to figure out the average weekly weight loss for those on a keto diet. The average weight loss for keto is 2.74 lbs per week. As you can see that is above the standard 1-2 lbs that is preached by the professionals.

Average Intermittent Fasting Weight Loss

The average person who intermittent fasts loses 2.23 lbs per week. But as I said previously, some lost more and some lost less. The lowest recorded weight loss per week was 0.5 lb. The highest recorded weight loss per week was 3.5 lbs. Your weight loss could be anywhere within this range.

Half a pound of weight loss per week is not a lot. But if you keep at it, you will have lost a ton of weight by the end. These averages come from all kinds of intermittent fasting schedules.

Remember that these averages also varied throughout that person's weight loss journey. For example, they may have lost a total of 20 lbs, but they lost different amounts each week. They may have lost 5 lbs one week, 3 lbs another week, 0.75 lbs another week, and so on. This goes back to the saying that "weight loss is not linear." You will lose different amounts each week.

Your Average Weight Loss

Remember that I'm sharing averages here. While the average person's weight loss is around 2-3 lbs per week, some people were losing more and some were losing less. It changes from person to person. You should stick to a weight loss plan for at least a month to get past any weight fluctuations and find out if it's truly working for you or not.

If you give up too soon, you may never see the results you were looking for, and you might gain the weight back and then some. It's best to just stick it out. If you haven't lost much weight after a month, tweak your weight loss plan slightly until you feel like it's working for you.

Weight Loss Maintenance

Persistence is key. The reason people say weight loss is a "lifestyle change" is because if you lose a bunch of weight and then go back to old habits, you will gain it all back. You have to watch yourself even in maintenance. I promise it's not as hard as it sounds though, because once you lose the weight you can be a little more relaxed with everything. The problems only happen when you get too relaxed or completely go off the rails.

It's definitely easier to maintain weight loss than it is to lose the weight all over again. So make sure you do what you need to do to maintain your weight once it's lost.

3 Ways Having a Dog Can Help You Lose Weight

Did you know the simple act of getting a pet dog can help you lose weight? I'm going to show you 3 ways that you can lose weight just by owning a dog.

Serotonin Boost

Studies show that petting and cuddling a dog boost serotonin levels in humans. This boost of serotonin leads to many benefits, one of those is decreased appetite. You see, your brain releases chemicals that can make you feel either more hungry or less hungry.

Serotonin makes you feel less hungry. A serotonin boost would also reduce pain, depression, and anxiety. If you have trouble with emotional eating, owning a dog would also help with that by reducing your sadness. So all in all, you would end up consuming less calories if you owned a pet dog.

Dog Walks

If you own a dog, you should be walking your dog daily. This could result in weight loss. Not many people equate walking with significant weight loss, but I can tell you from experience I personally lost 20 lbs just by adding walking into my daily life.

Anything you do burns calories, and walking is no exception. You can actually burn a substantial amount of calories each week by adding walking to your daily routine. Walking reduces the circumference of your waist, essentially burning off belly fat. You may even meet your soulmate while out on a walk with your dog.

Playing With Your Dog

It's important that dogs get a lot of quality time with their owner. One way is to play with your dog. But did you know that playing catch with your dog also helps you burn more calories each day? Playing catch or Frisbee with your dog not only makes them happy, but it makes you thinner.

Plan to play a game of catch each day for at least 30 minutes. Use a Frisbee, a ball, or a chew/squeak toy.

Adopting Your Dog

If you are going to get a dog to enrich your life, consider adopting a dog that is currently in a shelter. There are many dogs without a home and these dogs need love. You can be their second chance at a happy life. So please visit your local shelter to see what type of dogs they have available for adoption. Know the dog's age, breed, health condition, and their past. If you don't happen to find one you like, try again at another shelter or at a later time.

Skinny Gal Thermogenic Diet Pill Review

This is a Skinny Gal Thermogenic diet pill review. My friend tried skinny gal thermogenic for 1 month and these are her results.

Skinny Gal Thermogenic is a diet pill that has ingredients that supposedly help you burn fat and curb appetite. It also helps with suppressing appetite and it has a carb blocker as well. The ingredients list includes the following:

Ingredients List:

• garcinia cambogia fruit
• african mango seed
• conjugated linoleic acid
• white kidney bean
• caffeine anhydrous
• raspberry ketones
• green coffee bean
• hoodia gordonii
• 5-HTP
• turmeric
• guarana
• rhodiola
• cayenne pepper
• apple cider vinegar
• L-arginine

The claimed benefits of these pills are:

• fat burner
• appetite suppressant
• carb blocker
• detox
• all natural
• specifically designed for women

First off, she did notice that it helped control her cravings. She felt less hungry over all since day 1. One great aspect is that she did not feel jittery as she has in the past on some other weight loss pills. There is some caffeine in this one, but it didn't seem to be over-powering. She has less bloating than before so I can tell that it helps with blocking carbs. She definitely felt a little more energy. Over the one month of taking Skinny Gal Thermogenic, she lost 8 lbs which averages out to 2 lbs per week. That is a pretty good rate to lose weight at so I believe this product will work for some people who try it.

The white kidney bean blocks your body from absorbing some of the carbs you eat. The apple cider vinegar and garcinia cambogia also help with lowering the amount of carbs your body absorbs. There are also fat burning ingredients such as guarana and green coffee bean. Apple cider vinegar and hoodia gordonii help a lot with appetite suppressant effects.

I hope this diet pill review helps you on your decision if you were considering purchasing Skinny Gal Thermogenic.

Burn XT diet pill review

This is a Burn XT diet pill review. I've been taking Burn XT for a couple of weeks now and want to give my full review of what I think about this diet supplement and if it works or not.

Ingredients List:

• Acetyl L-Carnitine HCL
• Green Tea Leaf extract 
• Caffeine Anhydrous
• Capsimax Cayenne Pepper Fruit extract
• Bioperine Black Pepper Fruit extract

As you can see, it has some ingredients there that are proven to boost the immune system and help you burn more fat.

Personally, I experienced a lot less hunger. It was a very good appetite suppressant. I did not feel hungry for most of the time, and usually I am pretty hungry throughout the day. I could tell that the diet pills were working because I also felt like my metabolism were higher as I was sweating more. I did not change my diet or exercise while on these diet supplements.

What I also noticed while taking these fat burners is that it came with side effects. If you are used to having a lot of caffeine, you will probably be just fine. There are two forms of caffeine here: one from the green tea, and then there is just extra caffeine added to it. Caffeine is known to raise metabolism but it is a stimulant so it may cause nausea, jitters, fast heart rate, and trouble sleeping in some sensitive people. 

While taking this product, you should be able to avoid side effects if you are either used to lots of caffeine, or burn off the extra energy somehow. You could exercise to help you burn off the excess energy that is caused by the caffeine and that would help lessen the side effects. Don't take these pills in the evening when you are 4 to 6 hours from bedtime as they may cause trouble sleeping.

In 2 weeks, I lost 5 lbs using Burn XT. I am sensitive to caffeine though, so I would not continue using the product in the future for that reason. But if you are used to caffeine and want to try it, it may be worth a try.

I hope this Burn XT diet pill review helps you if you were considering taking it and needed more information.

10 Best Diet Pills 2018

In this post, I want to let you know what are the top 10 diet pills 2018. I give a short review, including some of the main ingredients and what kind of results can be expected with each one.

1. Burn XT: This diet pill has 2,626 customer reviews on Amazon with an average of 4.5 stars. It contains green tea extract, cayenne pepper, and caffeine among other ingredients. Green tea extract has proven fat burning qualities, but it also has many other health benefits such as cancer prevention and anti-aging effects. Cayenne pepper is known to boost metabolism and increase circulation. In the customer reviews, 86% of people have rated this diet pill at 4 stars or better. One of the top reviewers claimed to have lost 8-10 lbs within 3 weeks using this product.

2. Skinny Gal Thermogenic: This diet pill has 3,708 customer reviews on Amazon with an average of 4 stars. It contains garcinia cambogia, african mango, sunflower oil, white kidney bean, raspberry ketones, green coffee bean extract, among other ingredients. All of these ingredients have been proven in studies to be effective at aiding in weight loss. In the customer reviews, at least 81% of people rated this diet pill with 4 or more stars. One top reviewers claimed to have lost 14 lbs in a month with the help of this supplement.

3. Schwartz Garcinia Cambogia: This diet pill has 3,259 customer reviews on Amazon with an average of 4 star rating. The main active ingredient in this diet pill is 1500 mg of garcinia cambogia extract. In the customer reviews 80% of people have rated this diet pill at 4 stars or better. Some have claimed to lose 14 lbs in a month on this diet supplement. Garcinia cambogia is a proven appetite suppressant that helps with burning fat.

4. AtraFen Elite: AtraFen Elite has 1,865 customer reviews with an average of 4.5 stars rating. 83% of customers have rated this product with 4 or more stars. It contains raspberry ketones, african mango, acai fruit, green tea, resveratrol, apple cider vinegar, kelp, and grapefruit. One reviewers says they lost 11 lbs in one month on this supplement.

5. Naturewise CLA 1250: This product has 16,649 customer reviews with an average of 4 stars rating. 84% of customers have rated this product 4 stars or better. It contains mostly safflower seed oil at a dose of 1250 mg. Safflower seed oil has been studied at this dose to effectively provide weight loss results. One of the top reviewers says she lost a whopping 50 lbs in the 4 months she's been taking this product.

6. Alli: This diet pill has been around for years now. It's called alli. On amazon it has 2,931 customer reviews with an average of 3.5 star rating. 76% of customer have rated alli with 4 or more stars. The fact that it is FDA approved helps it gain credibility. The pills contain a patented fat blocker called orlistat. The one down side of alli is that you do need to watch your diet in addition to taking the pills, or you can expect to see very minimal weight loss and may suffer from some side effects. One of the top reviewers has lost 60 lbs on alli, but cautions everyone to "never trust a fart." This is because alli will flush dietary fat out of you, which may cause accidents if you are eating too much fat.

7. Lean PM: LeanPM is a fat burner that helps you lose weight in your sleep. It has 1,465 customer reviews with an average of 4.5 stars rating. It contains green tea extract, bioperine, and 5-HTP, among other ingredients. 84% of customers have rated this product with 4 or more stars. One top reviewer claims to have lost almost 15 lbs in 3 weeks with the help of this product.

8. VitaRaw Apple Cider Vinegar: This product is an all natural fat burner and contains apple cider vinegar, aloe vera leaf, astragalus root, cayenne pepper, and coconut milk powder. The main ingredient is the 1500 mg of apple cider vinegar. This product has 419 reviews with an average customer rating of 4.5 stars. 83% of customers rated this product at at least 4 stars. One reviewer lost 5 lbs in 10 days on the product.

9. Vintage Burn: Vintage burn claims to help you burn fat while also keeping your lean muscle. It contains green tea extract, green coffee bean extract, raspberry ketones, garcinia fruit, among other weight loss ingredients. It has 6,984 customer reviews with an average 4.5 star rating. 86% of customers have rated this product with 4 or more stars. One mom claims to have lost 7 lbs in 3 weeks on this product.

10. Nutratech Orlistol: This is the last product in our top 10 list of 2018. Orlistol by Nutratech has 2,374 customer reviews with an average of 4.5 star rating. 84% of customers have rated this product with 4 stars or more. It contains chitosan, apple cider vinegar, garcinia cambogia, among other weight loss ingredients. One of the reviewers claims to have lost 9 lbs in just a week on this product.

I hope this list of top 10 diet pills of 2018 was helpful for anyone who is comparing products and trying to find the best and most effective diet supplements out there.

Intermittent Fasting For Women: How To Intermittent Fast

Intermittent fasting is a popular and relatively easy way to lose weight that has caught on a lot more in recent years. In this post, I will discuss intermittent fasting for women and how you can pick out the ideal plan for yourself. Before beginning any fasting regimen, discuss it with your doctor, especially those that are on medications.

Photo by Jonathan Pielmayer on Unsplash

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

If you want to start intermittent fasting, it's a pretty easy thing to do. All you have to do is eat during specific times, and not eat during specific times. The part that takes a little bit of planning is the part where you figure out which hours you will fast/eat. This is all an individual choice, and you should take into consideration your work schedule, daily activities, and lifestyle.

If you want to be able to sit down and have a meal with your family at the end of the day, then choosing an eating window that includes dinner hours would be a good idea. If you don't mind skipping dinner, and lunch or breakfast are your big meals, then choosing those hours to eat would be beneficial.

Which Eating Window To Choose

The next step is to choose how big of an eating window you would like. There are a few popular styles of intermittent fasting and these include 16/8, 18/6, 20/4, and OMAD (one meal a day). Women need less calories than men on average, so if you are hoping to do intermittent fasting to lose weight and you do not want to end up counting calories, then a smaller eating window may be right for you. A shorter or more sedentary woman may only lose weight if her ratio is closer to 22/2 or 23/1, which is essentially enough time to only eat one meal and we call this One Meal a Day (OMAD).

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

OMAD

As stated, OMAD refers to when you consume one meal a day. This is one big meal that contains all of your daily calories to lose weight. It's very popular among those who have a hard time losing weight. If you are short or sedentary, this may be the intermittent fasting option for you.

This diet is a bit extreme and can be hard to handle for days on end. Some people will widen the eating window to be 2 or 3 hours per day instead of just 1 hour. I personally have a hard time eating a large amount of food in one sitting. A lot of people report feeling very tired after their one meal.

16/8

This is when you fast for 16 hours and have an 8 hour eating window. So you day may look like the following:
Day 1: 8 p.m. (stop eating)
Day 2: 12 p.m. (noon) (eat your first meal)
Day 2: 8 p.m. (stop eating)
and repeat.

This type of fasting is basically skipping breakfast and not snacking late at night. The rest of the day is pretty normal. That is why this is a really poplar form of intermittent fasting, because it's pretty easy to start and stick to this diet.

ADF

Alternate day fasting is where you fast for 24 hours and eat normally for 24 hours. This type of fasting goes by various names, but it's also a pretty popular one among weight lifters. It can be hard for a beginner to complete a 24 hour fast, so if you are just starting out, this may not be the right plan for you. If, however, you enjoy challenges then you may enjoy trying this.

5:2

The 5:2 diet is a diet based on fasting 2 non-consecutive days of the week and eating normally for the other 5 days of the week. It yields slow but steady weight loss for those who follow it. Don't expect to lose quickly. You have to be in it for the long haul. Be patient with this diet. It does work and has been proven to work in studies.

In some cases this diet was found to be easier to stick to long term than calorie restriction. That is because you are essentially only restricting or dieting for 2 days of the week. The other 5 days are lived normally, so people tend to be more satisfied with this diet over all.

19/5

I have the most personal experience with this eating window. I was able to maintain my weight at 115 lbs and eat whatever I wanted to while I was doing 19/5 intermittent fasting. This is what personally worked for me in the past. It may not be for everyone. That's why I suggest playing around with the schedule and trying different ones before settling into an intermittent fasting schedule.

Which Intermittent Fasting Schedule To Choose?

My suggestion is to play around with the larger eating windows for some weeks. If you aren't losing weight or just not losing as quickly as you deem necessary, then just play with tightening the eating window until you reach a good place where you are losing weight in a consistent manner.

A typical schedule for a woman who wants to eat dinner with her family might be fasting from 8pm to 4 pm the next day, and then having a 4 hour eating window from 4pm to 8pm where she may be able to fit in a meal and a couple of snacks, or 2 meals. If you work a night shift job, intermittent fasting can be even more confusing, but just figure out when's the time that you would most like to eat and then have your eating window during that time.

What Can You Eat/Drink While Fasting?

What can I eat/drink during the fasting window? People ask this all the time, and the simple answer is just water. Don't consume anything but pure water. Fasting is an exercise of will power. It's not supposed to be comfortable. We live in a society that is in the habit of ridding themselves of discomfort as soon as they feel it. Get used to the discomfort and soon enough it will not be so hard for you.

I will tell you this: Hunger pangs do come and go. They don't just continue to intensify. You may be ravenously hungry for 30 minutes to an hour at some point in your fast, but then the hunger subsides and you don't really feel hungry for the next few hours. It's typical for people to believe that once you feel hunger start up during a fast, that it will continue to get worse and hurt worse but that is not the case at all. Hunger is largely a mental game.

So I hope this article has inspired women out there and let you know that intermittent fasting isn't just for men trying to bulk up, but intermittent fasting for women can be a great way to slim down.