NEW YEAR! NEW YOU! WEIGHT LOSS & EXERCISE MADE EASY!
This is your journey. Comparing yourself to others will not work. Focus on being a better you every day. This maybe eliminating that midnight snack or getting more exercise, but think about what you want to change that would bring you closer to becoming a “better you”. Now keep that vision forefront in your mind. Picture daily, hourly and slowly you will move towards your “Personal Best.”
Any change is difficult. Try not to think about in “forever” terms. Have a “just for today” approach and it will seem easier. “Just for today” I am not going to eat sugary foods. “Just for today” I am going to exercise. If you still find yourself fighting the change, break down it further. “Just for tonight” I am not going to have seconds. “Just for 10 minutes” I am going to exercise.
Be patient. You did not gain the extra weight in a week and it will not come off in a week either. Slow and steady will get you to your goal. Along the way you will stumble, but keep that vision of the “better you” to get you back on track and though those difficult times.
Adopt things that will work for you in the long term. If smoothies aren’t going to work for you in the long term, then don’t go that route. There are other ways to eat healthy.
I see two things happen when people follow a specific plan. One they abuse some of the “allowed” foods on the plan, like nuts and meats. Or two they lose the weight on the program only to regain it once they try to go back to regular food, like the smoothie or prepackaged diets.
A reduction in food will lead to a reduction on the scale. One follows the other. In my article “Two Things You Need to Know About Weight Loss,” I spoke of decreasing sugar and increasing fiber in your diet. Cutting back on the amount of sugar is a good start. An other good place is fat, especially saturated fat. All fat from meat are saturated including dairy.
While salt contains no calories, it the average American diet gets way too much and it is a health concern in our country. Many of the same foods that are high in sugar and fat are also high in salt, so it is a double win.
It is fairly easy to shave 250 calories from your diet daily. A tablespoon of butter, mayonnaise and oil all have about 117. An ounce of nuts has about 172 calories (healthy yes, but so easy to over consume). The typical cream dressing has about 80 calories per tablespoon. So basically, this could mean putting one less creamer in your coffee, having one less slice of cheese in your sandwich and one less pat of butter on your toast. Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?
Next you need to move a little or decrease the time you are sedentary. 30 minutes a day is well within your reach. You don’t even have to do it all at once. Do you have 10 minutes? That’s about 2.5 songs on your iPod or an average news segment. You can walk (in place is fine), march…what even you want, just do it briskly and daily to accumulate 30 minutes. 30 minutes of continuous movement done at a brisk pace will burn about 250 calories.
The sum of these two changes results in a 500 calorie decrease a day, which adds up to 3500 calories a week. 3500 calories is one pound. Research shows that healthy weight loss is about 1 to 2 lbs a week. In three months you should lose about 15lbs just by making these small changes.
Yes, it is that simple. Slow and steady will always win the race.
