Summer Slim Down Tips

Summer is mere weeks away and my swimsuit is burning a hole in my dresser drawer daring me to try it on. The fact that summer is closing in on those of us who ate too many Christmas cookies and splurged on treats too many times to count during the spring is enough to scare away our midsections from ever wanting to see the light of the sun—or the inside of a poorly lit dressing room. I have never been one to try fad diets or buy a scale to keep track of my weight, but every summer that little itch to have washboard abs, a supermodel figure, and sun-kissed skin shows up and I get nervous. If you are like me, or if you just want a bikini-ready body in the next three weeks, follow these no-fuss tips to make yourself more confident in that unforgiving dressing room so you can lose the towel on the beach this summer. A new program called WeightView is a free service that helps you lose weight virtually in an attempt to motivate you offline.

Why do you need motivation online? A high percentage of most of our daily lives is spent online. Whether you like it or not, those little keys most likely get more mileage out of most of your day than your feet do on the pavement. With that in mind, why not take advantage of a little virtual encouragement—free of charge—in order to get those feet moving and your heart racing towards a better you.

The first step to a better you is to upload a photo of yourself in tight-fitting clothes to the WeightView website along with your personal information including weight and height (only you have access to this information) and within 72 hours your ideal “after” picture will show your body minus the weight you would like to lose. Just like trying on virtual hairstyles when you are ready for a cut change, this is a way to try on a healthier you, without the added guilt of paying for an online weight loss group membership you rarely use. According to testimonials and news videos boasting the results of this mind-over-matter technology, members like to print this picture and affix it to their treadmill, computer desktop, refrigerator door, or any other place where they will be able to look at it for support. The after picture reminds members that they are striving for an attainable goal. With access to weight loss articles and motivational tips along with the community of like-minded weight-loss hopefuls, success through WeightView is only a testament to your active participation.

A doctor consulting for WeightView says that motivation is the first place to start because continuing patterns of bad behavior lead to dangerous and deadly health problems later in life, the biggest one being early-onset diabetes. Heart problems caused by obesity are not too far behind and the fear of those alone should be enough motivation to get people off the couch. He continues by saying that exercise and the correct diet are better than being prescribing medicines to counteract the sugar intakes, pre-diabetes, and metabolic conditions, because they will soon lead to more medicines for full blown diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol problems.

With over 22,000 gyms nationwide in their database, most of these offer free gym passes in order to find which fitness program is right for you. Whether you would rather take Pilates to lengthen your form and boost flexibility, strength training with weights, or enroll in swimming to achieve overall cardio, you can search your area for the best place to suit your needs.

If a gym membership is out of your price range in this economy, don’t sweat, try any number of great ideas at home or even on the playground to keep your weight down and your confidence up.

After motivation, confidence and commitment are needed in order to sustain a weight loss regimen. By tracking your progress on WeightView, you are not only using part of those online hours to gain a better perspective but to urge you to continued success. Over 200,000 users have lost over 1 million “virtual pounds” by downloading this tool (it’s easy on Facebook) and charting their goals. You can blog your progress and connect with other users as a social networking community all looking for the same thing: confidence in their bodies.

WeightView isn’t striving to be a “miracle” cure or get-slim-quick scheme aimed at making bad nutritious decisions in order to wreak havoc on your body. The program is motivational only and hopes to provide a place where people like me can set a goal, exercise and eat correctly in order to successfully get through a swimsuit season without the guilt of Christmas past.