Printable Weight Loss Chart

A printable weight loss chart in many cases is simply a means of printing off a chart so you can record you weight. This allows you to track how much weight you are losing and see your progress. A good printable weight loss tracker however will give you a bit more. After all, losing weight is only one way to measure your progress.

When trying to lose weight a person goes through many ups and downs. During these times you may see no progress (or very little progress) in terms of pounds lost. However, what you may not know is that you may be losing inches or body fat. Often times when this happens a person does not know that even though the scale is not budging, they are in fact making progress towards their goal.

Therefore, to stay motivated and to see the full progress you are making, you want a printable weight loss chart that tracks it all – weight loss, inches lost and body fat lost. Although tracking every measurement is not needed, you will want to track more than just how much you lose in terms of weight. You should also track inches in a few areas of the body like the waist, arms and thighs. You can also track the hips and chest areas.

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Additionally, using a weight loss chart to track your body fat percent is a great way to see the progress you are making. Losing excess body fat is important not only for weight loss but for your overall health. Excess body fat, especially belly fat, can lead to several medical risks such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes just to name a few. So your goal should not only be in terms of weight loss but also in a reduction of body fat percent.

When tracking your progress, you should weigh and measure at least once a week. More than this is not necessary as you can fluctuate by 2 to 4 pounds in a given day due to water weight. You will get a more accurate reading if you weight and measure yourself on the same day of each week at the same time of day. So pick a time when you can easily measure and record your progress.

Measuring body fat percentage is a bit more difficult than simply weighing yourself. You can purchase specialized equipment to measure skin folds in order to calculate your body fat percent. If you belong to a gym, have an instructor help you measure for body fat or ask your doctor. Another method is to use an online body fat calculator. Although these are not as exact as a skin fold measurement, it will give you a good basis to help measure your progress.

Of course tracking your progress is only one step towards reaching your goals. A printable weight loss chart is simply a tool to measure progress – it is up to you to do the work to reach your goal. Eating healthy and exercising are the two best methods to losing weight, reducing body fat and losing inches. So set up a meal plan and workout routine so that you can start to track and measure your progress and reach your goal.

Pregnancy Diet: Are You Getting Enough Calories?

The first thing you must understand is that pregnancy is not the time to be counting calories. If you are on a diet that involves severely restricting your caloric intake get off it. Right now. For the next nine months you have permission to not suffer for beauty. Not only is restricting calories not going to result in weight loss (you're going to gain some as the baby grows whether you like it or not) it could potentially harm your baby.

Not getting enough calories during pregnancy can lead to the baby not having what it needs to develop properly. Low birth weight is a common complication, as is poor fetal development. The baby may have any number of deficiency-associated birth defects. In short, it is vitally important that when you are pregnant you get enough to eat. You can burn it all off after the baby is born, although to be honest if you have time to worry about your weight you will be handling new motherhood much better than most!

The first thing you want to do is calculate your pre-pregnancy Recommended Daily Caloric Intake. If you are a health buff or have been living on a terminal diet you may already know this number. If you do not you can visit one of the following sites to figure it out, or consult with your physician.

www.globalrph.com/dieting_calc.htm
www.yeraze.com/scripts/calories.php
pregnancychildbirth.suite101.com/article.cfm/eating_for_two

(this site will also provide practical advice about estimating caloric intake for the rest of your pregnancy, although it doesn't take into account weight gain or loss.)

For the first three months of your pregnancy you actually do not need to consume any extra calories. Your pre-pregnancy calorie consumption will be perfectly adequate for your baby's growth and development as long as you are not dieting. If you are dieting, stop! This is the number of calories (roughly) that you want to eat in a day.

As you go into your second and third trimester you should increase your daily caloric intake by 300 calories. This will help to compensate for the increasing rate of your baby's growth. If your pre-pregnancy caloric intake was 1800 calories you should consume 2100 calories a day. If it was 1400 calories you should consume 1700 calories, and so on and so forth. Again, this is not the time to try and lose weight. Do not omit these extra calories in favor of allowing your body to burn them instead. This is not healthy for you or your baby, and if you are breastfeeding you will quickly work these calories back off.

1600 Calorie Meal Plan - The Best For Fat Loss

The number of calories you need during pregnancy is going to vary if you were not a healthy weight when you became pregnant. Women who were obese may be told to consume fewer calories to prevent excessive weight gain, which would place extra strain on the heart and lungs and increase the likelihood of blood pressure related problems during pregnancy. In this case this is a fine time to diet, as long as you are following your doctor's advice. The healthier you are, the healthier your baby is going to be.

On the flip side of that coin, if you were underweight at the beginning of your pregnancy or have not gained what the doctor considers to be an adequate amount of weight since becoming pregnant you may be told to increase your caloric intake by more than 300. The baby needs to be able to take enough calories away from your body to grow, and if you don't have any to spare either because you aren't eating enough or your body is burning everything that you eat they are going to suffer.