The battle of the bulge is probably the most prevalent one of this millennium. No matter where you are, you cannot help but be bombarded by messages pertaining to weight loss. Switch on the telly after you’ve slogged it out in the office all day long and before you know it, along come an ad informing you about the benefits of a new ice cream brand obviously sugar free. Chances are that if you are indulging in some idle surfing you are likely to come across tele-shopping commercials or tele-malls in more than one channel. Chances then are - one in ten - that at least some of them would be extolling the virtues of a sauna belt or something similar. Some commercials even have the cheek to suggest that you can burn those stubborn calories while rocking in your chair as you nod off to sleep in front of the fire!

Sauna Belts and Sweat Suits

To begin with, sauna belts and sweat suits made popular by athletes and wrestlers are the biggest humbugs going around. No matter what the ads tell you or how convincing they appear on their slim seemingly relaxed and cheerful protagonists, they serve no better purpose than to burn a hole in your purse. Take the ‘ease’ of wearing a sauna belt. Ease, my foot is what you’ll end up saying once you’ve splattered that gooey gel around your bulging middle and switched on the belt battery. Not only will the twitching motions make you uncomfortable, it will also restrict your movements. As for that gel, it will mess up your clothes so bad that you will not want to use it again. At the end of the day, does it work? Well the sauna belt or the jacket can make you lose weight in terms of sweat which actually comprises electrolytes and water. But that’s all. As soon as you ingest anything solid - or liquid, for that matter - you get it all back. Plus, excessive sweating has been known to lead to heart attacks, heat strokes and the like.

Pills

What about pills that promise to trim that extra bulge around your tummy, thighs, arms etc while you sit on your rocking-chair watching TV? Well, these diet (so-called) pills are nothing but appetite-suppressants. They do precious little to speed up your metabolism levels. You are probably better off drinking gallons of water instead and ridding your body of harmful toxins in the bargain. You are also well-advised to be wary of crash diets promising quick weight loss because all they do is make you tired and lose out on important muscle tissue.

Eating Healthy

Losing weight effectively requires time and patience. Most important of all- it requires dedication. First of all, start eating healthy. Start your day with cereals; add fruits to your diet wherever you can. For instance, instead of reaching out for that extra slice of bread cut an apple. Fruit juice is certainly better than aerated drinks but eating the fruit with fiber and skin is even better.

Yoga and Aerobics

Some people prefer to start their day with yoga and others with aerobics. Finding out what works best for you can take a while. Go for a walk in the nearby park- set aside a routine on a daily basis. Writing or ‘journaling’ about your exercise regime also helps. Says one enthusiastic practitioner,

“Daily journaling engages us to self-monitor, but more importantly check in, which is essentially a conversation we have with ourselves. It also provides an opportunity to repeat the best practices in our new healthy lifestyle choices until they become more intrinsic and natural to us.”

Healthy Weight Loss Blog

Going to the gym and regular exercising can also cut that fat in just a week as another weight-loss enthusiast found out. Check out what she has to say:

“I exercised every day last week. 6 days in a row. I went to the gym when I was tired, feeling lazy, or just simply didn’t want to go… And I did it!”

All Natural Weight Loss Blog

Believe it or not, the tried and tested method works, truly.