Being a Health and Fitness Professional, it is my job to understand terms and definitions which are commonplace to this industry, as well to keep abreast of evolving trends. Through my experience, I have found that a number of terms deserve a little more clarification than that which they are granted.

Aside from clarifying the definition of Health Related Fitness, this article intends to shed some light on a few of the associated terms, and to show their respective distinctions.

Is it simply all in a name?

The fitness world seems to use the concept Health Related Fitness like a generic fitness principle - interchangeable with others like "Physical Fitness", "Health and Fitness" or simply "Fitness."

While all of these terms can be included under the broad term Health and Physical Fitness, they individually refer to different aspects - both generic and specific. Unfortunately, references to these and other fitness-related terms are often vague, while consistency in their intended use is meager at best; there is a kind of "generally accepted" use for them, but individuals often rely on own interpretation, and this can lead to confusion.

With that said, does Health Related Fitness simply infer fitness by means of good health? Not quite. That is why we need to understand a little more behind these words before digesting the definition.

How did the term Health Related Physical Fitness come about?

That is a good question. One could probably ask what is this concept all about - can we not simply use the terms "Fitness" or "Physical Fitness" instead?" Why Health "Related"?

The main reason stems from the fact that most health and fitness terms are used inconsistently and often refer to different concepts or notions. Subsequent to the 1996 report from the US Surgeon General (Physical Activity and Health; a report of the Surgeon General), there was a move to try and address the alarming rise in obesity levels among the general American public. Studies and initiatives required standardization among clinicians, health practitioners and fitness trainers to grapple with the task at hand. Enter "Health Related Physical Fitness", a working term to address the general state of health among the public.

The definition of Health Related Fitness

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the main authority in this field, ineffective definitions with unclear and subjective wordings, as well as definitions containing terms which themselves require defining, have contributed to confusing the term "Physical Fitness."

There exists no reliable guide for Health and Fitness Professionals to measure "Physical Fitness", because the term has been so loosely and inconsistently defined. It is therefore that one should consider the concept of Health Related Fitness. The definition therefore centers on the 5 Components of Physical Fitness which relate to "good health." These Components are: 

Cardiorespiratory Fitness

Body Composition

Flexibility

Muscular Strength

Muscular Endurance

On the other hand, Skill Related Fitness Components are: 

Balance

Reaction Time

Coordination

Agility

Speed

Power

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the definition of Physical Fitness emphasizes the difference between Health Related Physical Fitness and Athletic Ability Physical Fitness. Its point-of-departure is the "health" of the US nation, which is often referred to as the "public health perspective." In that respect, the 5 Health Related Fitness Components are more important than those related to Athletic Ability (or Skill Related Components).

Although the concept of Health Related Fitness has an integral association with "good health", the 5 Components are addressed individually by health professionals to allow for their measurement.

Weight loss is one of the hottest topics ever. Everyone seems to be trying to lose weight nowadays. Most diet programs are about weight loss and body weight is often used as an indicator of fitness progress. But, this is an incorrect approach.

Your ultimate goal should always be to lose fat and reducing excess body fat is what you should be concerned about. Weight loss and Fat loss is NOT the same thing! Many people confuse the two terms, often believing that they mean the same, when in fact weight loss and fat loss are very different from one another. This article will help you understand how weight loss is different than fat loss and how fat loss is far superior to weight loss in almost all ways.

What Is Weight Loss?

(Weight Loss = Muscle Loss + Fat Loss + Water Loss)

Weight loss is attempting to lower your total body weight. It simply refers to a lower number on a scale.

Your body weight is composed of all the parts of your body such as muscles, fat, bones, water, organs, tissues, blood, water etc. When you lose weight, you lose a little bit of... fat, muscle and water.

You lose fat but very little and along with the fat you lose muscle and some amount of water. The higher you reduce your calorie intake, the faster you drop weight and the more muscle mass you lose.

Do know your muscle matters? Loss of muscle affects your health and your overall appearance.

When you lose weight too quickly, your body cannot maintain its muscle. Because muscle requires more calories to sustain itself, your body begins to metabolize it so that it can reserve the incoming calories for its survival. It protects it fat stores as a defense mechanism to ensure your survival in case of future famine and instead use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with calories it needs to keep its vital organs such as your brain, heart, kidneys and liver functioning. If you reach a point where you have very little fat or muscle, your body will metabolize your organs to keep your brain functioning leading to heart attack, stroke and liver and kidney failure.

As the body loses more muscle mass, the body's overall metabolic rate decreases. The metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns calories and is partly determined by the amount of muscle you have.

So the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate; the less muscle you have, the lower your metabolic rate and fewer calories you burn. This explains why it is crucial to protect your metabolic rate and not have muscle loss.

Loss of muscle also leads to loss of tone underneath the skin leaving you soft and unshapely with no form or contour. If you lose weight too rapidly, your skin won't have time to adjust either. Also muscle is what gives you strength and loss of it means a weak body.

With weight loss you shrink in size and become a smaller version of yourself with a fragile frame with saggy skin.

Weight loss works in the short run to make you smaller but is temporary, almost everyone rebounds and regains the weight. This forces you to find another diet. And then another one, and another one - because eventually they'll all fail.

What Is Fat Loss?

(Fat Loss = Loss Of Stored Body Fat)

Fat loss is attempting to lower your total body fat - i.e. the percentage of your total body weight that is made up of fat.

The right approach for fat loss is to exercise smartly and eat intelligently in a way that maintains muscle and focuses on fat loss exclusively.

The muscle you have is not there forever. If you don't feed it and don't use it - you lose it. A proper plan with right combination of resistance and cardiovascular training with adequate progression and a right nutrition plan to support it can help you achieve this. Exercise only boosts the burning process but doesn't just melt the fat away on its own - if you do not create a deficit and feed the body too much - it won't touch the stored fuel reserves. On the hand if you drastically cut your calories and do not feed your muscle properly or don't exercise and use your muscle, you will lose it. Fat loss is about finding that right balance.

With fat loss you maintain the muscle and keep the metabolic rate running high. You also develop stronger connective tissue, tighter skin and stronger bones and joints. With fat loss you transform your body.

Fat loss is a lifestyle approach where you give your body what it needs without depriving and shocking it with threat of starvation. You get to see slow but permanent steady progress.

It may sound odd, but it's possible to get thinner without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight stays the same, even as you lose inches.

Lets see how this happens.

Fat tissue is very loose and not dense. It occupies a lot of space in your body. Whereas muscle is more dense and takes up less space. When you lose fat, this space is freed and you can notice inch loss. If you are following a consistent strength training program then gain in lean muscle tissue will balance out this loss of fat and weight stays the same. Since muscle takes less space than fat, you lose inches and start to look more toned, lean and shapely.

consistent strength training program then gain in lean muscle tissue will balance out this loss of fat and weight stays the same. Since muscle takes less space than fat, you lose inches and start to look more toned, lean and shapely.

Myth: "Getting fit" means "Losing weight."

We left off with my last article of "Discover How a Quick Weight Loss Can Be a Healthy Weight Loss - Phase I". As a recap, you learned how you should adjust your diet to ensure that your healthy weight loss is also a quick weight loss. Now, we are on to Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. So, what is the next fitness tuning path that I must pursue after you have adopted a complete and healthy diet?

Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey is exercise. Now that you have adopted a complete and healthy diet, and your body has all of the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins that it is supposed to, it is time to put all of that good work to use! Exercise is the next key ingredient to the amazing recipe of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss. Not only must you exercise, but you must do so intelligently. There is no need for you to try to kill yourself in the beginning. Instead, it is better for you to take baby steps and to work yourself up to advanced workout routines. The road to a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss will only be as bumpy as you choose to make it!

Start you healthy weight loss and quick weight loss workouts slowly. That means that you should work yourself up to doing advanced workouts. My working out started with cardiovascular activity, and body training. I would suggest that you do the same. Body training will consist of using your own body weight to train your muscles. This means that you do push-ups, sit-ups & crunches, pull-ups, squats, lunges, dips, reverse crunches, calf-raises, and flutter kicks. These are excellent exercises to start Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss, and builds up your muscles' endurance. Do as many minutes of cardiovascular exercise that you can, following the completion of your body training exercises. Start yourself at ten minutes and work your way up to thirty minutes. This is the preparation step necessary for a successful Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss.

The next step of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss is to move your fitness tuning efforts into the gym. Once you are able to pump out your body training exercises like a professional, then you are ready for weight and resistance training. Depending upon your body type and desire for body type, the method of gym training for your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey differs. To plainly put it, if you want to put on muscle size and increase strength, you will use more weight with fewer repetitions; if you are solely concerned about core strength and toning your body, then you will use less weight and more repetitions. Deciding upon what body type you want is the easiest part of a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. With either method, use the pyramid set structure. This means to increase your weight with each set of the exercise, and complete 3 sets per exercise. Refer to my fitness tuning website, listed below, if further information is needed regarding healthy weight loss and quick weight loss exercises or exercise techniques.

During Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey, remember to use your head. When you are starting a new exercise for the first time, use an extremely light weight. Not only will this ensure that you don't injure yourself doing the exercise, but it will also allow you to use proper form for the exercise from the very beginning. Achieving a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss is impossible if you injure yourself in the gym. In fact, a gym injury can set your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss exercise program back weeks, even months. Remember, if you can't do ten repetitions of your third set of an exercise, that's OK as well. As long as you can do ten repetitions of the first two sets of the exercise, then eventually your strength will build enough for you to do ten repetitions of the third exercise. This is the fitness tuning method of Phase II of your healthy weight loss and a quick weight loss, and has been working for fitness enthusiasts for years.

The gym portion of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss is simple. You do three exercises per muscle group, and do two muscle groups per day. This means you can do chest and triceps the first day, back and biceps the second day, and legs and shoulders the third day. Finish your exercise routines off on those three days with twenty or thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercise. On the fourth day, do only abdominal exercises, unless you are working your abdominal muscles on the other three days along with the other muscle groups. If this is the case, then the fourth day is a complete day of rest. In order to be completely successful in your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey, you must give your body time to recuperate. You are giving your body the nutrients that it needs to recuperate from your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss efforts, but the last ingredient is rest.

By utilizing these exercise methods and techniques, you will ensure success in Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. Once you have mastered the gym routines listed above, then you are ready for more advanced training methods. You are able to find out more information on all of the fitness tuning training techniques for a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss program listed in this article, as well as more advanced training methods, by clicking on my website's link below. You can join my free membership website, and gain access to all of the nutrition, dieting, and fitness information that I send to all of my members. You will also be able to build the workout routine that is best for you, and ensure your success in Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey today!

How can a quick weight loss also be a healthy weight loss? Truthfully, if this is the thought on your mind, you are miles ahead of the majority of people interested in weight loss today. In fact, the true thought that the majority of weight loss seeker are having is, "How can I have a quick weight loss?" There is no mention of a healthy weight loss at all! The problem is that everyone wants the results, but doesn't care about what they have to do to get there. More importantly, they don't care about the long term negative affects that will follow their quick weight loss. In order to achieve your healthy weight loss and for it to also be a quick weight loss, you must make some fitness tuning changes to your body.

Now that we've identified that your mind should be on how a quick weight loss must also be a healthy weight loss, let's get you there! We are going to address several things regarding your life and how you live it. I will give you the paths that you need to take in order for you to get to a healthy weight loss. Then you will need to go down those paths, one at a time. How well and how dedicated you are to accomplishing the completion of those paths will determine whether or not you have a quick weight loss. I will give you the tools to make a healthy weight loss also be a quick weight loss, but you must use them, and use them properly, for your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss to occur.

Step one, to achieve your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss, will be to make some changes to your diet. You must, and must want to, start with your diet. If you are a person that has a minimal or non-existent amount of exercise done each week, then trying to tackle that step first can be disastrous. If you run into the gym, before you correct your dieting deficiencies, you will feel a great deal of fatigue during exercise, and possibly faintness, dizziness, and extended muscle soreness and fatigue afterwards. To begin your stepping into a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss, you must first begin with giving your body the nutrients that it needs. Otherwise, your quest towards a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss will be that much more difficult, not to mention less enjoyable!

The dieting change to begin your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey is your daily food intake. You should have three meals a day, each containing a carbohydrate, a fruit or vegetable, and a protein. These items must also be evenly proportioned for each meal. You should get plenty of whole grains in your diet, so make sure that your carbohydrate sources are whole grain as often as possible. Ensure that you also get plenty of good cholesterol in order to keep your cholesterol level under control. This means that you should be eating a variety of nuts, eggs, and fish and including olive oil in your diet. In fact, I would recommend at least one meal a day which contains some kind of fish. Not only is it a good source of protein, but the Omega-3 oils that are contained in fattier fishes such as salmon and mackerel are essential for a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss, as well as healthy living.

Some fitness tuning suggestions for your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss diet.In the morning, I start my day with a fruit, a bowl of oatmeal and some bacon or sausage, followed by a multivitamin. For lunch you should also plan your lunch to contain a protein source, a carbohydrate, and a vegetable. I only have fruit with my meal in the morning, due to the fact that the sugar will help you to start your day by giving you the energy that you need. Vegetables contain more vitamins and minerals than fruit and therefore must be of higher concentration in your diet. My dinner always contains a meat, pasta or potatoes, and a steamed vegetable or salad. The fiber from the fruits and vegetables will slow down the absorption of the carbohydrates into your body, and will allow you to burn off absorbed carbohydrates before they can be stored as fat. By following these diet guidelines, your healthy weight loss will become a quick weight loss as well. Plus, you will have the energy to begin the next path towards your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey that will be found in Phase II.

Believe it or not, your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss plan involves snacks! In order to ensure that you are supporting your body's needs for Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey, you must have two between-meal snacks. I continually use protein bars and protein shakes as my between-meal snack. However, I have also been known to use trail-mix that contains more nuts than fruits. Your goal is to ensure that your body is getting all of the proteins that it needs to support Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss plan. If you should ever feel a craving for something sweet, then have a piece of fruit. Some fruits have more sugars than others, such as bananas, grapes, pineapples, raisins, and mangos, and should be eaten sparingly. These are the desserts that will help to lead to your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss, not to mention a healthier you.

You have now completed Phase I of your journey towards your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss. You have started your fitness tuning process by ensuring that the foods that you take into your body are healthy and contain all of the elements needed for your body's healthy lifestyle. I will be following this article with Phase II of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey, but you will be able to get more information regarding proper dieting and the benefits from doing so by clicking on my fitness tuning website's link below. You will be able to join my free membership website, and gain access to all of the nutrition, dieting, and fitness information that I share with all of my members from week to week. Begin Phase I of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey today, and you will soon lead yourself to the results that you desire.

We left off with my last article of "Discover How a Quick Weight Loss Can Be a Healthy Weight Loss - Phase II". In review, you learned how to exercise regularly in order to ensure that your healthy weight loss is also a quick weight loss. Now, we are on to Phase III of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. What is the third and final fitness tuning path that I must pursue after you have adopted a complete and healthy diet and a regular workout routine? What is the last and final path towards your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss?

Phase III of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey is your intake of fluids. Ok, stop the presses! You mean that what I drink actually matters when it comes to a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss? The answer is yes, big time! Everyone knows that you must hydrate yourself in order to survive. In fact, everyone knows that you can die of dehydration sooner than you can die of hunger. So, the fluids that you put into you body are extremely important when it comes to the success of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. In fact, fluid intake is critical upon the success or failure of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss endeavor.

Water is the first key liquid in your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey's success. Water is extremely important when it comes to your body. First of all, you body is 80% water. Without a constant intake of water, your body would eventually start shutting down until you died. So, we take water pretty seriously when it comes to a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss. Water hydrates your body, is used to flush toxins from your system, and keeps your lungs moist during cardiovascular activity. It is recommended to take in 8 - 10 8oz. glasses of water per day, and I recommend that you start doing so. Your body must have plenty of water to do its part in achieving a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss. Take a large water bottle and a cup with you to work. When the water bottle is empty, then refill it. Having the water present will encourage you to drink it more often. Your body will thank you for it by flushing out the toxins from your system that can actually impede upon the success of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey.

Coffee and soda must be eliminated from your diet to succeed in your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. Soda should only be had occasionally as a reward for your hard work. For me, I have a soda when I have pizza, and that is about it. Your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss is dependent upon a minimum amount of caffeine intake, and increased water intake when drinking caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic, and will actually pull the water from your body. This is extremely bad when it comes to your body operating at top efficiency while you're exercising. Believe me, you will feel the difference! I will treat myself to the occasional energy drink in replacement of my afternoon snack mentioned in Phase I. However, your journey towards a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss will be an unpleasant one with too much caffeine intake.

Green tea is the best and highest recommended caffeinated beverage that you can have for your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. Most of them are even decaffeinated! I would recommend that you have 3 - 4 cups of hot green tea per day. Studies have shown an increase in energy levels and metabolisms for subjects who took in certain quantities of green tea on a daily basis, which also resulted in reduction of body fat content. The study showed that for positive results, 3 cups per day were necessary for a 156 lb. subject. (More information on the health benefits of green tea will be made available to members of my website listed below.) However, in relation to your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey, you have just found your replacement for coffee!

For those of you that want something more to drink during your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey... When it comes to fitness tuning, you want to choose wisely about what you put into your body, and not base your decision upon taste alone. Unfortunately, the majority of people base their beverage choices on taste and usually upon it being a sweet taste, which means too much sugar. However, there are a few key beverages that can give you some flavor variety, as well as give you a healthy weight loss and quick weight loss boost as well!

POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice - Packed with cancer fighting anti-oxidants, and was rated as the top source of anti-oxidants of all beverages on the market.

Vitamin A & D Organic Milk & Organic Soymilk with Calcium - Fatty acids, calcium, Vitamin A & D, as well as isoflavones and protein with the soymilk, give you more health benefits than you can shake a stick at.

Tropicana Essentials Fiber, Heart, & Antioxidant Advantage - Packed with Vitamin C, the Essentials line of Tropicana orange juice offers a wide variety of health benefits tailored for your specific needs.

Sobe No Fear (Sugar Free) - I have found this to be the best of the energy drinks on the market for me. I don't drink them every day, but they serve well on a jam-packed day of 10+ hours of work followed by time at the gym. (Remember: drink extra water when drinking caffeine!)

Gatorade Performance Series & Propel Fitness Water - Jam packed with electrolytes, I try to drink the Performance Series an hour before my workout, and follow my workout with a Propel Fitness Water.

Changing the quality of fluids taken into your body each day is the final path toward your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. You now have at your disposal the three phases to your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss success. Ensure that you adhere to the promise that you have made to yourself, and ensure that you follow all three paths. Your success in your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey is dependent upon you and you alone. Further information will be distributed to members of my free membership site listed below. You will gain access to fitness tuning nutrition, dieting, and fitness information, including information relating to all three phases of your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss journey. So, embark on your journey and lead the way to your healthy weight loss and quick weight loss success!

For severely overweight individuals that have failed to see results from diet and exercise alone, weight-loss surgery has become the safest and most effective means of achieving significant weight loss. In fact, studies have shown that with diet and exercise alone, nearly 95% of obese patients will gain all the lost weight back within 5 years. On the other hand, long-term success rates for weight-loss surgery - including the LAP-BAND procedure - are remarkably high, allowing patients to maintain a loss of between 50-70% of their excess body weight. Though there are many factors that can impact an individual patient's weight-loss success, weight-loss surgery is simply the most effective long-term weight loss and healthy lifestyle solution for severely obese patients.

Studies show that most patients that undergo weight-loss surgery will lose between 50-70% of their excess body weight within the first three years following their procedure. Those that undergo gastric bypass surgery will lose excess body weight more rapidly in the first 12 months than those that choose LAP-BAND surgery. However, gastric bypass patients typically experience a greater number of complications and side effects than LAP-BAND patients, as the LAP-BAND procedure allows for more gradual and natural long-term weight loss.

From a clinical perspective, a weight-loss surgery is considered successful when the patient loses at least 50% of their excess body weight and keeps the weight off for at least five years. While important lifestyle changes need to be made to ensure that the weight loss is maintained in the long term, studies have shown that most weight loss surgery patients are able to maintain a 50-60% loss of excess body weight 10 years after the surgical procedure. However, it is important to note that a weight loss of just 10% of total body weight can begin to have positive health effects in resolution of obesity-related condition like asthma, gastric reflux (GERD), and diabetes. As weight-loss surgery is usually performed on patients that are at least 75-100 pounds overweight or have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 with a health condition, overall weight loss can range anywhere from 40 pounds to over 100 pounds. But the patient is really the leader behind achieving these results.

While patients will certainly look and feel better after weight-loss surgery, there are also numerous health benefits associated with successful weight loss. In most cases, health conditions that develop as a result of excessive body weight or are worsened by obesity can be improved upon or, in some cases, remedied by weight-loss surgery.

But there are other ways to measuring success with weight-loss surgery, like the LAP-BAND System. For instance, many weight loss surgery patients take great pride in being able to perform certain activities that may not have been possible for a number of years, like crossing their legs, bending over to tie a show, walking up stairs without being easily winded or sitting comfortably in an airplane seat.

While most patients that undergo weight-loss surgery experience incredibly positive results, there are many factors that can impact the overall success of an individual patient's procedure and follow-up treatment. Here are some important factors to consider as you try to determine whether weight loss surgery is right for you.

Pre-surgery Weight

Generally speaking, the higher a patient's pre-surgery weight or BMI, the more excess weight the patient can lose after surgery. However, recipients of weight-loss surgery with less excess body weight will eventually come closer to their ideal weight when committed to long-term diet and exercise. Also, resolution or improvement in obesity-related diseases can occur with even moderate amounts of weight. Often many diseases can become closer to cured than improved with earlier intervention at a lower weight.

Overall Health

While pre-existing health conditions can impact the overall success of weight-loss surgery (for instance, patients with type 2 Diabetes typically lose less excess body weight after surgery), studies have shown that many ailments linked to obesity are either improved upon or fall into remission after a successful procedure. For instance, a 2000 study performed on 500 weight loss surgery patients showed that nearly 96% of health conditions associated with obesity - such as high blood pressure, depression, sleep apnea, back pain and diabetes - improved greatly following loss of excess weight and long-term commitment to diet and exercise.

Surgical Procedure

As there are potential risks and complications associated with any surgical procedure, potential patients should always seek to have their weight-loss surgery performed by a trusted medical staff. Prospective patients should inquire about their surgeon's success rates with weight-loss surgery and listen to the experiences of former patients. Additionally, a patient's weight-loss success may also be impacted by the quality of post-surgery care and counseling provided by their bariatric outpatient facility.

Diet and Exercise

As diet and exercise are two of the most important factors in any weight loss plan, patients with the physical ability to exercise after weight-loss surgery have increased chances of meeting their goals. To maintain the weight loss achieved by surgery, both exercise and healthy eating habits must become integral parts of a patient's lifestyle.

Commitment

The ability to remain committed to suggested dietary guidelines, exercise regimens and any follow-up care recommended by the bariatric outpatient facility is important for both short-term weight loss and long-term weight management.

Motivation

Patients that are motivated to lose weight and willing to follow through with diet and exercise prior to receiving weight loss surgery may experience greater levels of success immediately following the procedure and in the long term. Most people did not find themselves severely obese overnight. It took years to reach that weight and therefore patients should be patient with the weight-loss process, which will also not occur overnight. Successful patients find small victories along the way to celebrate and stay motivated.

Once we have noticed a problem in our lives or maybe something just missing and we come to the decision that the problem is that we are not living our lives quite as well or as fully as we should be living it, many of us have to step back a second and come to the realization that we do not know where to start. What changes should we make? Should I just dive right in fully submerged in this new lifestyle? How often and long should I be working out? These are all questions I am going to answer and more with specific instructions along with experiences of my own.

The first thing that you must do is decide on a goal for yourself. Do you want to lose weight? Do you just want to be living better? Both will lead to the same lifestyle later but if you are trying to lose weight your diet and exercise will need to be stricter. You should, also, not shy away from setting specific goals; goals that include time frames and are measurable and most importantly realistic and possible to be done in a healthy manner.

Next comes the mental prep. You need to prepare yourself for what is to come. You must be mentally tough in order to make a real life change. It will be hard and you will have moments of weakness, but you must be strong in will. This is why setting specific goals is important. Without specific goals people often lack the proper motivation that changing their lifestyle requires.

Now for the actions to be taken; let's start with nutrition and diet. Firstly, you must remember that when grocery shopping never bring junk food into your home just because. Stop buying soda, chips, unhealthy crackers and snacks. Simply put, if they are not available you cannot have them. Limit or eliminate your intake of the obvious junk food. Now, I will not tell you that you must completely eliminate junk food right off the bat or even ever. I believe in balance. It is okay to indulge every once in a while. How I personally control my cravings and my indulgences is by only ever having those craving foods when I am eating out or on a special occasion. This is possible because I do not have these craving foods in my own home. That way I am consistently eating the things that I actually should be.

Next, you can never go wrong with vegetables. Eat as many as your heart desires and do not worry about calories when it comes to vegetables. Try to eat fresh produce or frozen and stay away from canned vegetables if possible as they are filled with preservatives and sodium. Of course you should be eating fruit as well, but make sure you are not just drinking fruit juices and smoothies as these contain no fiber. Do not overdo it on the fruits either as they do contain healthy nutrients and vitamins, but they are also high in sugar. Too much sugar in any form is bad.

When you are grocery shopping, be sure to look at nutrition labels. Know to watch out for high levels of sodium, fat, and sugar. Do not be fooled by non-fat items as they often include more sugar. Do not be too afraid of all fat as our body needs it to function. Just make sure your intake of fats is of unsaturated fats. One of my greatest fears in food is sugar. This is because I had no idea until the past few years how much sugar is in our foods. Women should only be taking in 25 grams of sugar per day and men should only be taking in 37 grams. Lastly, try to avoid the more middle aisles in the grocery store as the more you work your way towards the middle the more you are surrounded by highly processed foods. Stick the basics with real whole ingredients. I am not a registered nutritionist or dietician so I try not to give people advice that I personally have not experienced. So, I do recommend that you do some reading on your own from RELIABLE sources. I cannot stress that enough. Make sure all reading material you look towards is accurate information as so much of it out there, especially on the internet, is not.