Going on a crash diet and exercising like crazy for a few days is not going to do a whole lot for you. You might lose weight initially but as soon as you go back to your old ways, the weight will pile right back on. That will only leave you feeling frustrated and disheartened.

The better and healthier way to lose weight is to choose a sensible lifelong diet plan that will have you losing weight and maintaining your ideal weight without fuss and struggle. Here are the five components of a successful weight loss plan.

1. Understand your energy and weight balance. The calories in food act as fuel that is burned off in energy. This energy is needed for basic survival and for bursts of exercise. If you are overweight, then you have been taking in more fuel, or calories, than you are burning off. Therefore, the most basic rule of losing weight is that you must decrease your calories and increase your physical activity.

2. Make changes gradually. If you make big changes overnight, chances are, they will fall by the wayside quickly. You will have better luck if you aim to make small and gradual changes and incorporate them into a new and permanent diet plan that you will adopt for the rest of your life.

3. Burn off more calories everyday. Exercise is most effective when you do it daily. Choose a form of exercise that is fun for you or vary it up to keep from getting bored. The type of exercise you do is not as important as the fact that you get your heart rate up and exercise for at least thirty minutes every day. Regular exercise is important for good physical and mental health and will make it much easier for you to reach you weight loss goals.

4. Eat less. You must consume fewer calories than you are used to if you want to lose weight. Eat foods that are lower in calories and reduce your portion sizes. Eat several small meals during the day rather than three large ones. That will help keep you full and prevent binging and will also keep your metabolism running.

5. Keep a journal. Write down your diet plan so you see it every day and know what your goal for the day is. Write down your exercise goals and chart your progress. When you see your diet plan in front of you in black and white it helps solidify it in your mind. When you see your progress it will spur you on to greater achievements.

5 Components Of A Successful Exercise And Diet Plan is a post from: NewdietFitness

Many women begin an exercise and diet program full of guts, inspiration and determination; but somewhere between day number two and day number 60, the motivation ceases to exist. Sadly, once the motivation is lost, all the guts, inspiration and determination in the world don’t seem enough to get you back into the groove.

If you need some help staying motivated, try following these 10 tips:

1. Prioritize your goals. Long term goal: up to 12 months for fitness, medium range goal should be at a 3 month marker and short term goal could be at 2 weeks. Post these somewhere that you will see them every day.
2. Confide your fitness goals to three positive minded people. This is not a time for nay-sayers so you want to announce your goals to people who believe in success.
3. Find a partner or friend to exercise with. If none of your friends are game, then hire a personal trainer or try to become friends with someone at the gym. Having someone to work out with makes it much more enjoyable and less boring.
4. Plan your meals ahead of time. Nothing throws off a diet more than not having easily accessible healthy foods to eat. Deny temptation by replacing sugar laden and fatty foods with healthy whole foods that are deliciously appetizing.
5. Create a journal to keep account of what you eat and drink each day. Be sure to record all of your physical activities too. Charting your progress helps to keep you motivated to keep improving.
6. Remember that everyone is unique and realize that it may take you longer to lose weight than someone else. Don’t let that discourage you from working towards your goal.
7. Start each day with a positive affirmation. Concentrate on what you are rather than what you are not.
8. Reward yourself for your achievements. A new blouse or new jeans can really make you feel special about the weight you have already lost, and will help to keep you motivated to continue your fitness regimen.
9. Make healthy eating a family affair. Enlist family members to help in food preparation and swap fatty, calorie-laden foods with healthier choices.
10. Mix up your exercise routine. Pick 3 days a week to participate in Fun activities. Swimming, bike riding, skating, running or even walking are all fun ways to get aerobic exercise.

It you have ever harnessed a horse; you know that you must be in control or the animal will have his way with you. That is because he outweighs you by hundreds of pounds and if you let him go, you may not be able to encourage him to come back. The same proves true for harnessing your inspiration. It is much bigger than you can even imagine and if you let it go, you might run the risk of having it desert you forever.

To harness the power to succeed, you need to capture your inspiration and develop a plan to make this spark of motivation work for you. Whatever your inspiration for women’s fitness, you will want to put it to the test. How far do you want to go? What results do you anticipate and how long will it take you to realize this goal?

Harnessing the power to succeed is not impossible. Successful people do it all of the time. They come up with an idea, run it around in their heads, write out a plan, check out the feasibility and act upon it as quickly as they can. This is the same attitude you can take when it comes to women’s fitness.

Fitness4Her makes it so easy with a diet that you can live by, an exercise program that is simple to follow and an online journal to show you the results. Get inspired and get moving with a fitness program that has been developed exclusively for women. Members have the ability to access all the tools they need to look and feel their very best and Empower the beauty within.

Daily affirmations are great tools for any women’s fitness program. When you want to lose weight or do just about any kind of self-improvement, affirmations set the direction and the pace for the mind to follow. A simple practice that doesn’t cost a penny, daily affirmations have the potential to deliver massive results.

That is if you truly believe in your affirmation. Think about that sentiment before you choose the affirmations that you want to say. It’s not enough to just recite an affirmation, you must believe completely in the power to make it happen. You must be committed to making the declaration a reality.

This week, concentrate on eating healthy. If there is a food that you want to abolish from your diet, use your affirmations to rid yourself of the desire for that food.

Affirmations for healthy eating:

• I enjoy eating healthy food.

• I stop eating when I am satisfied.

• I am careful when salting my food.

• I eat protein at every meal.

• I watch my sugar intake.

• I don’t eat fried foods.

• Fried foods taste greasy to me.

• Soft drinks taste too sweet for me.

• I limit my servings of bread, rice and other starches.

If you tend to eat too many and too much of the wrong kinds of foods, start eliminating them from your diet. Use affirmations to help you curb the desire for these temptations.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s the cornerstone of a successful women’s fitness program and the key to losing weight while keeping a nice sexy shape.

Find a place where you won’t be interrupted. Some people like to say their affirmations in front of a mirror, while others choose a place of solitude like their bedroom or even their car. It’s best to be somewhere you can give over complete concentration, and that probably shouldn’t be while you are driving.

Take inventory of what is in your cupboards and pantry. What foods are you feeding your body? Write down everything that you are presently eating as a regular part of your diet.

1. Begin replacing high calorie foods with ones that are lower in calories. For example, drink fat-free milk instead of whole milk and water with a twist of lemon rather than high calorie, high sugar content, soft drinks. Eat an extra spoonful of vegetables at dinner instead of another slice of meat. Choose sliced fresh fruit for snacks instead of chips. Little changes like these make a big difference in your caloric intake.

2. Serve smaller portions. Resist the urge to fill your plate from rim to rim. Serve up slightly less than what you think you’ll eat. You can always have seconds, if you are still hungry.

3. Never eat from a container or bag. You need to see what you are eating in order to get a sense of how much you’re eating. Seeing food on a plate or in a bowl is much more appetizing and easier for you to realize when you’re full and satisfied.

4. Be sure to check food labels for the serving size and number of calories per serving.

5. Stop eating as soon as you feel full. Don’t take another bit past that full feeling. Remember, your next meal is only a few hours away.
If you enjoy counting calories, a fitness journal is a great place to calculate the number of calories that you eat at each meal. Be sure to include all the condiments, snacks and drinks that you have throughout the day, too. Stay tuned for additional posts about how keeping a journal can be your key to successful weight loss. Fitness4Her, a diet and exercise program developed exclusively for women shares all the secrets of losing weight, gaining weight and looking your very best.

If you are beginning a new exercise, visualize the muscle groups that will be used for this new move. Imagine the muscle stretching and working. As you exercise, your brain will send these messages to the muscles and they will react accordingly. The secret is to be honest during visualization. Imagine the moves as applied with your abilities and strengths. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t reach for the higher level when it comes to visualization.

The great news is that visualizing a good performance can help you achieve good results. For the brain, this act of visualization is almost the same as if you had actually done this task before. You imagine the exercise and the muscles being used and you imagine yourself doing all of the reps and sets suggested. If you visualize each step before actually executing these moves, your success rate will soar.

Visualization also works for sticking to your diet. Go deep into your imagination and uncover your reasons for changing your diet. Really visualize the transformation that you will make in your health, appearance, strength and happiness. Practice this regularly and dieting should not be a problem. You’ll convince your brain to adapt to the diet and that’s half the battle when it comes to dieting.

The art of visualization, along with daily affirmations are instrumental in my strife for the next level in women’s fitness. I use it regularly and I can say it really does work. I always imagine and visualize each new move and have found it makes it much easier and far more effective.

After the first of the year, women like to start the New Year off by promising to get in shape. The overindulgence of the holidays usually has us feeling like we need to pay special attention to our ever-increasing waistline. Although some women may not have the tendency to gain weight during this time, they may have taken a short break from fitness just to get through the holidays. The move from one calendar year to another is a great motivator to the mind to make healthy lifestyle changes.

However, many New Year’s resolutions end before they even begin. We find ourselves inundated with responsibilities and habits that haven’t changed from the year before and whatever was keeping us from meeting our fitness goals from the previous year are still with us the following year. It takes more than a calendar to keep us motivated to stick to our fitness goals.

There’s certainly a type of madness behind the fitness craze. Sometimes the madness works to our advantage, but many times it fails us because it is not plausible in our everyday lives. Choosing a fitness plan that you can live by is one of the best ways to ensure you stick to your plan and are able to meet your goals.

Fitness4Her offers a diet that you can live by, an exercise program that is easy to follow and a journal to show you the results. This trilogy of fitness is a fantastic way to help you lose weight and get in shape. Along with the diet, exercise and journal, Fitness4Her offers support with helpful tips, blogs and interesting articles that share the fitness craze to motivate all women to make intelligent changes for a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Journaling can provide huge advantages to your fitness program. When you write down your goals, both short- and long-term, you free your mind from the worry and guilt that comes from knowing you need to do something healthy for yourself. Journaling helps us to take control of our lives and puts an end to any nagging thoughts that might be rambling around our heads. It helps us to organize our thoughts so that they become part of the goal-setting phase.

First you need to set goals then begin to think of ways to achieve it. Next make a commitment to record everything you eat and drink each day. Finally, you must write down all of your fitness activities and chart your progress and achievements. This will give your brain a clear view of what is working and what is not. If you continue this each day, you can make any changes needed in your diet or the amount of activity in order to increase your results or to keep things coming along as they are.

Journaling helps to keep your mind excited about your goals. Your brain needs constant stimulation and keeping a record of your goals, daily activities and achievements will reinforce positive thinking and mental well being.

In addition to your women’s fitness program, journaling really is the key to realizing the goals for your entire life. Take part in it everyday to solve problems, to gain clarity and to verify your progress in everything that you do.

When the latter is the case, when your loved ones stand in the way of your fitness program, communication can be your ultimate weapon to diffuse their negative vibes. Because fitness is so important to your overall health and your family is an essential part of your life, get to the bottom of their negativity and find out why they are against your efforts for success.

It could be that they think you are spending too much time at the gym or are working too hard. First off, make sure that you are taking care of your obligations like caring for your children and going to work. Assure them that you are aware of your responsibilities and that fitness will help to make you stronger physically, mentally and spiritually so that you can handle all of your obligations not only today but also well into the future.

If their concerns are of a more personal aspect, like they fear you are growing apart from them, it may be time to invite them to share in your workout efforts. Ask them to take long walks with you, play a sport with you or visit the gym the next time that you go. Even if they don’t take you up on it, your gesture of inviting them will go a long way to getting them on board to support your efforts.

Mustering the motivation to stick to a fitness program is not easy. You will find that you need constant support and much of that support can be found within your own family. The more you share your enthusiasm for fitness with them, the more likely they will stand behind your efforts for fitness success.

There is something magical about dancing and it has transformed many lives. Much like an exercise program, it can change your body, mind and soul. An awakening of the spirit, dancing is a great way to express the inner you. Dancing can help you lose weight and get in shape, too.

As a personal trainer who specializes in women’s fitness, I encourage ladies to dance as a form of aerobic exercise. Just 30 minutes of exercise each day will help any woman lose weight and stay in shape. Dancing your way to health is just another way to ensure you get the most from your workout routine.

There are many dances that help you get in shape but no matter which dances you choose to learn, remember to engage your core with every move that you make. This means to keep your spine straight, your navel drawn in towards your spine, and your shoulders held down your back. Much like holding your stomach in, but you must stay mentally aware of your posture at all times. Keeping your core engaged helps to protect your back from injury. A Pilates’ principle developed with dancers in mind that helps to tone and strengthen your torso and give it that lovely, long lean look reminiscent of a dancer’s body.

There are many dances that will work as part of your aerobic program. You can choose Zumba, Salsa, Line Dancing, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pole Dancing, Belly Dancing, or Creative Dancing. Keep in mind that whichever one you choose, it should elevate your heartbeat and keep it accelerated for at least 30 minutes. Cardio exercises need to elevate your heart rate for at least 20 minutes in order to have any beneficial effect.

Fitness4Her is a diet, exercise program and online journal developed exclusively for women. My easy-to-follow exercise program includes cardio exercises like dancing, walking, jogging, cycling and playing sports. Combined with strength training exercises designed for a woman’s body, adding dancing to your workout is a great way to fuel your fitness fever.

The single most important factor to losing weight through daily affirmations is to believe in yourself. Make a commitment to diet and exercise and know that you have the power to make it happen. Keep a positive attitude and focus on the positive aspects of your life and your goals.

Choose affirmations that empower your spirit and instill a positive command to your mind and soul. Concentrate on a few affirmations each day and experience the energy that comes with gaining complete self control in your women’s fitness program.

I’m feeling thinner today.
I know that I am losing weight.
I feel lighter than I did yesterday.
The extra weight is falling off of me.
I am progressing daily.
I love the way I feel.
I will fit into a smaller size any day now.
I am losing weight.
I love exercising.
I feel fit and trim.

To help you stick to your weight loss plan, find the best affirmation for you and write it down on a card. You can find some pretty cards at office supply stores or department stores. Stick it to your mirror and repeat the affirmation to yourself every morning and every night. Try this for 40 days to make it a habit. Concentrate on losing weight and set your mind in action so that it can think to shrink. Repeat with the next affirmation and so on.

Along with affirmations, visualization is another excellent tool to help you lose weight. Take time as you repeat your affirmations to see yourself at your ideal weight. Visualize how you will look in a swimsuit, a cute black dress or completely naked.

Affirmations are a great way to start and end the day. When you start the day with these positive words you set your mind to task, when you end the day with affirmations you cleanse your mind with positive words that heal and strengthen.