You are here: Home / Archives for Weight Loss / Lose Weight Naturally / Featured

Lose Weight Naturally For Long Term Weight Loss Success

October 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In our society of instant gratification nobody wants to hear that the healthiest way to lose weight is to lose it naturally, without popping a bunch of pills or drinking strange concoctions of herbs and who knows what else (“eye of newt”?)

What do I mean when I say it’s best to lose weight naturally?  I’m talking about losing it with diet and exercise, and to do it slowly.

Yeah, I know nobody wants to hear that.

But to have the best chance of keeping the weight off, diet and exercise are the way to go.

Why?

Let me give you an example.  You watch an infomercial that says you’ll lose weight quickly and easily just by taking their product.  They go on to say there is no need to change your diet or to exercise because their product will cause the weight to fall off without any pain, effort, or discipline on your part.

Wow!  It sounds too good to be true, but the part of you that is desperate to lose weight doesn’t listen so you order it.

Does it work?  It might.

Does it cause side effects?  It might but who cares if it helps you lose weight, right?

What happens when you quit taking it (or do you plan on taking it for the rest of your life)?

I can tell you what happens when you quit taking it.  The weight almost always piles right back on.

Why?

It’s because you never learned how to change the eating and exercise (or shall I say lack of exercise) habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place.

My “expertise” on this topic comes from the good old “school of hard knocks” called experience.  I’m not a doctor or scientific expert – just a normal person who has struggled with weight loss.

After getting married and having kids I looked in the mirror one day and realized I wasn’t exactly skinny anymore.  But instead of eating more fruits and vegetables, eating whole grains and lean protein, and exercising regularly (and to only eat when I was hungry instead of when I was bored, sad, angry, etc.), I fell prey to the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry and those slick and enticing marketing campaigns that made me believe I didn’t have to stop stuffing my face with pizza, chips and candy every day but instead could just take their pills or “natural” herbs and supplements to get back to a normal weight.

What did I get?  I got a lot poorer because none of that stuff is cheap, got fatter, and got more and more depressed with each failed attempt.

When I went to see a new doctor and she tried to convince me to give diet and exercise a try, I resisted.  Well, I didn’t really resist.  I just ignored her.  When she insisted on continuing to talk about it, I started to think about other things and waited for her to get done yapping.  Then I went home and continued with my same old bad habits.

Flash forward a couple of years.  I was getting fatter all the time but ignoring it.  But, all of a sudden my test results at my annual checkup weren’t so stellar.  My blood pressure was getting high and my blood sugar was in the pre-diabetic range.  Those things were pretty hard to ignore.  I was in real danger of losing my health.

My doctor insisted it didn’t mean I was going to get diabetes, but that I almost certainly would if I didn’t make changes in my life.  What kind of changes?  Changes to my diet and incorporating regular exercise into my life (ugh!  not that “song and dance” again!).

Until that point in time I had never really thought about the saying “you are what you eat.”  But when I finally did think about it I realized I was a walking talking junk food machine.  No wonder my body was rebelling.

So I decided to give that darn “lose weight with diet and exercise” thing a go and started eating fewer calories than I was burning.

Guess what?

It works.  It’s not “quick and easy” but I’m happy to say I’ve lost 50 pounds and am keeping it off because I’ve changed the way I eat and now exercise regularly.  Now when I think about “you are what you eat,” I know I’m a fruit, veggie, whole grain, and protein machine (with a little junk food tossed in here and there).  My health has improved too.  I have more energy, normal blood pressure, and normal blood sugar levels (no more pre-diabetic range for me!).

I used to think I wanted a quick and easy weight loss solution in the form of some pill or potion but I now know it’s not what I really wanted.  I really wanted to lose weight and have it stay lost for good instead of always finding me again.

I didn’t choose to go it alone though because I knew I needed help decoding all the information about weight loss out there so I joined Weight Watchers where I choose the food I’m going eat and have been taught how to make healthy choices.

If you know you want to start losing weight naturally for long term success but aren’t sure where to start here are a few tips to help you get going:

-          eat lots of fruits and vegetables

-          use spices and herbs to flavor food instead of massive quantities of butter and oil

-          drink lots of water instead of gallons of soda, high calorie energy drinks and calorie dense juices

-          eat lean protein

-          eat whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.)

-          talk to your health care provider about exercise.  Most recommend 30-60 minutes of physical activity 5-7 days a week.

-          Take care of yourself by taking time to relax and getting enough sleep

-          Don’t forbid any food because it’s not diet friendly because it will only make you want it more (remember when you were little and your Mom told you  not to touch something?  Did you want to touch it more than ever?  Of course you did.  It’s human nature.  It’s the same theory here – if you really want those nacho cheese Doritos have some; just not an entire family size bag in 1 sitting)

-          Try modeling.  No, not the walking down the runway type but the type where you model your habits after someone you know who is normal weight and healthy.  One of my favorite tips from a friend who has always been normal weight.  She says to have a little chocolate every day.  She says her favorite thing is to buy M&M’s from those 25 cent vending machines.  It’s enough to satisfy her and there are no worries about a partial giant sized bag sitting around calling her name.   Another friend says she always stops eating when she is satisfied no matter how tasty the food in front of her is.  She tells herself she can always get more when she’s hungry again and that helps her put down the fork and stop shoveling it in.

-          Eat when you are hungry; not when you are bored or upset and not when you are watching television and not paying attention to what you are stuffing in your mouth.

-          Be kind to yourself.  Nobody is perfect and there will be days when you make less than great food choices.  It happens.  Dust yourself off and keep going.  Perseverance pays off.

A friend told me several months ago that the power to lose weight was inside me.  She’s right.  Yes, it takes discipline but what’s wrong with having a little self-discipline?  It’s worth it.  And while I don’t agree the saying of “being thin is better than having a piece of cake” because some days I really want that cake and have learned I can have cake once in a while and still lose weight, I’m healthier, happier and more confident since I’ve gotten rid of some of those extra pounds.

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , ,

13 Tips For Losing Weight

September 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I asked one of my thin friends for her best weight loss tip.  She said “don’t eat.”  Ha, ha.  Wasn’t she funny? (not!) I told her that her advice would work all fine and great until I pass out from weakness, which, with my luck would happen right as I’m crossing the street while a bus is heading my way at full speed.

Since I obviously couldn’t count on my friend for helpful weight loss tips, I had to actually think about the tips I use in my everyday life to help me lose weight (wonder how many calories I burn while thinking).

Here are 13 of them (and unlike those superstitious elevator numbering people who will not make a 13th floor button although there is obviously a 13th floor in a 20 story building, I do not think the number 13 is unlucky).

1) Write Down What You Eat
Why?  Have you ever gone to the ATM machine, taken out $100 and then looked in your wallet the next day to find only a few singles left and then wondered what happened to the rest of the money?

Not writing down what you eat is kind of the same.  It’s hard to remember everything you ate.  Our brains only hold so much information plus sometimes our minds hardly register what we’ve eaten (those bites consumed while standing in front of the fridge door, the nuts and chips shoveled in while watching television, etc).

For me, writing down what I eat during the day is especially helpful when it comes to dinnertime because I can easily see if I have enough calories left for a nice plate of pasta or if I’ve already indulged enough during the day and should stick to some lean protein and vegetables.

2) Drink Before You Chew
I’m talking about drinking water.  Why?  Because that’s what a large portion of our bodies consist of (about 60-70 percent although it varies somewhat with each individual person), and that liquid needs to be replenished.

Many people (me for instance) tend to mistake thirst for hunger and eat something instead of drinking water.  I now take a drink of water before I eat something to make sure that I’m actually hungry and not just thirsty.  I often find the water is what my body really wanted and that I don’t need to eat anything right that second.

3) Pop Some Popcorn
Many of us love our crunchy, salty snacks.  If you’re not convinced of this take a stroll through your local grocery store.  Mine has two  entire aisles full of the stuff.

To help with my weight loss efforts, I’ve swapped the greasy potato chips and cheese snacks for popcorn whether it’s microwave or air popped (but not the butter drenched movie theater stuff).

It’s a lot lower in calories, satisfies my craving for crunchy and salty food, and it’s a good source of fiber.

Try it air popped with a drizzle of good quality olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese (yum!).

4) Eat What You Really Want
Have you ever really wanted a chocolate candy bar or piece of cake (or whatever your favorite indulgences are) but didn’t have them because you were (sigh) dieting and didn’t want to ruin your diet?

But instead you drank some sugar free cocoa, then had a high fiber granola bar, then ate some low fat chips, and then a handful of almonds because they are supposed to help fill you up; but still weren’t satisfied and ended up eating more calories than if you would have just let yourself have the food you really wanted but in a reasonable portion instead of a piece large enough to feed a family of six?  Yep, I’ve done this too many times to count.

Now I no longer make any food forbidden or deny myself something I really want.  But, I work it into my weight loss plan and make sure my other food choices that day are a little lighter to make up for it or get in some extra exercise.

5) Make A List of Your Favorite Fast Foods
No matter how diligent we are about planning our meals and snacks to make sure they are healthy and within the weight loss plan we’re on, almost all of us are going to have times where we are really hungry but don’t have any food with us and need to have a quick bite.

Hello, fast food drive-through.  Yes, almost everything you’ve heard about the high-fat and high calorie choices at fast food restaurants is probably true.  But not everything is completely horrible.  There are some decent choices at most places and some are even downright healthy.

I’ve made a list of the foods I enjoy most at my favorite fast food places (some are fairly healthy choices and others “not so much”).    Next to each item I’ve written how many Weight Watchers points that item will cost me because that’s the weight loss plan I’m on (you may be just counting calories so you’d just write down how many calories each of your favorite items are).

That way when I need to stop for a quick bite, I can look at my list and decide how many points (or calories) I’m willing to spend on the fast food meal.  It helps keep me from overeating.

6) Stop Acting Like It’s Your Last Meal
For most of us, we know that we can easily find more food for our next meal so it’s not necessary to eat the current meal like it’s the last one we are going to have, and as a result stuff ourselves to the point of it being painful (yep, I’ve done that too which is why I used to have a bottle of Tums with me at all times).

Slow down, enjoy your food, and eat to the point of satisfaction – not to the point of busting out the seams on your pants!

Then, in a couple of hours, when you’re hungry again, have a little more to eat.

7) Go To The Bathroom In The Middle Of Your Meal
Sounds kind of crazy, but a couple months ago someone told me they always stop halfway through their meal at a restaurant (a place where it’s so easy to overeat) and go to the bathroom.

Besides using that time for the obvious, this person takes an extra minute or two to think about how she feels; as in she purposely thinks about whether or not she is still hungry or if her tummy is happy and satisfied.

She said she usually finds she is satisfied and doesn’t need more to eat so she goes back to her table and asks the server to box up the rest of her food.

This tip works really well for me.  When I’m at a restaurant it’s usually with other people so I’m not always paying attention to what I’m eating.  I’m just shoveling the food in my mouth in between snippets of conversation and not paying attention to how much I’m eating or whether I’m getting full.  Stopping midway to go to the bathroom is now a reminder to myself to gauge how my tummy is feeling because I want to keep losing weight and don’t want to have to go back to carrying antacid pills with me everywhere I go because I’ve overly stuffed myself.

An extra little tip: if you are seated in a booth, position yourself at the end so you don’t disrupt other people’s meals when you take your “break.”

8) Take Up An Activity To Keep Your Hands Busy While Watching Television
Mindless eating and watching television are deadly to weight loss and I used to be a huge offender.  I’m one of those people that needs to keep my hands busy doing something and shoving food in my mouth has always been a handy and easy thing to do while watching television.
I could give up tv, but I don’t want to so I’ve taken up knitting and crocheting.  I stink at it but it keeps my hands busy and helps me keep the food I don’t need and am not hungry for out of my mouth.

9) Think About Food More Often
Seems crazy for me to say to think about food more often when you are trying to lose weight and probably want to think about it as little as possible.
But when I don’t plan what I’m going to eat or when I eat mindlessly, that’s when I have problems staying on my weight loss plan and when I tend to pack the pounds back on.
I usually take a couple minutes every evening to plan what I’m going to eat the next day.  It’s especially helpful if I’m going to be eating at a restaurant.  Then I can hopefully find their menu online and pre-plan what I’m going to have and then plan the rest of my food choices for the day around it.

10)  Act Like A Squirrel and Keep A Stash of Food
This tip seems counterproductive to losing weight just like the tip recommending that you think about food more often.  But keeping a stash of “safe to eat” food handy can help you resist the fast food restaurant signs calling out your name, the dish of candy bars sitting on your co-workers desk, and the donuts in the break room.
I almost always have single serve packs of almonds (Emerald dry roasted almonds are super delicious), and an apple or banana with me.  I also sometimes carry mini candy bars to help satisfy my chocolate cravings and 100 calorie packs of Cheetos or Sun Chips.
A friend of mine keeps Soup at Hand and a couple pieces of Dove chocolate in her desk drawer.
The trick is to not keep too much on hand though because then it can get too tempting to eat it all on the same day.  Two or three things is plenty.

11) Find a Skinny Picture
If you have a picture from when you were thinner, put it where you can look at it every day to help keep you motivated.  If you’re an avid Facebook or Twitter user, make it your profile picture so you can look at it every day; or make it the profile picture in your instant messaging program.
Don’t have a skinny picture?  Find a picture of someone you’d like to look like, but be realistic.  Those gorgeous pictures of supermodels and celebrities on the covers of magazines have been airbrushed and Photo-shopped like crazy!

12) Try New Fruits and Vegetables
I’m a Weight Watchers follower and go to weekly meetings.  At those meetings I hear people say over and over again how they know they should eat more vegetables but just don’t like them.
They then go on to say that they either have carrots and celery every day (boring!) or that they’ve tried the old standbys of broccoli and cauliflower but can’t stand them.  I’m not sure why almost every dieter tries to force themselves to eat broccoli and cauliflower.  They are two very strong tasting vegetables so it’s no wonder that some people turn their nose up at them and then declare that they hate vegetables in general or are so sick of carrot and celery sticks that they would rather not eat at all.
Vegetables can be really tasty but not every person is going to like every one and not everyone likes them raw or likes them cooked and prepared the same way.
If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables, then make a pact with yourself to try one new one a week or to try one prepared a new way every week.
I used to hate broccoli but after I tried it roasted I found I love it (turn your oven to 400 degrees, toss the broccoli in a little olive oil or spray both the pan and the broccoli liberally with cooking spray, sprinkle on salt and pepper and then cook until it starts to brown around the edges).  Roasting vegetables gives them a really different taste – kind of nutty.
Another way to get more vegetables in your meals is to use them to bulk up your main course.  Single serve frozen meals can be really handy but the portion sizes tend to look snack size rather than meal size.  Buy bags of single serve frozen vegetables to heat up with those frozen meals and use them like you would lettuce (place the vegetables on a plate first and top them with the single serve meal if it’s one that has sauce such as a frozen pasta meal).

13) Get Rid of Your “Fat” Clothes
When you move down a size (yeah for you!) don’t keep those too big “fat clothes” in your closet “just in case.”  That’s a mistake I made for many years.  Because I was keeping those fat clothes “just in case,” I always knew that I could just slip on a bigger pair of jeans “temporarily of course” if I overindulged for a week or two.
But when I decided that I had no intention of ever gaining the weight back, and as a result decided to get rid of my fat clothes, the weight has been staying off (for the most part).  When I do start to gain a little and my jeans aren’t so comfortable anymore I know it’s time to pay attention to what I’m eating and to exercise more because I don’t have backup “fat clothes” in my closet.
For me, my fat clothes were a security blanket that I used to give myself permission to go off my weight loss plan.
The day it came time to take them to Goodwill though, I resisted.  I suddenly lost my resolve to get rid of them because I was losing that security blanket.  It took the prodding of my husband (meaning he told me about 100 times that I didn’t need them anymore – to the point of me wanting to tell him to “take a flying leap”) to get me to part with them.  Then I rewarded myself the next day with some new, smaller sized clothes!

These 13 tips for losing weight are working for me.  I hope you’ll give them a try and see if they help you too!

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: ,

9 Healthy Ways To Lose Weight

September 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Trying to lose weight can be a challenge under the best of circumstances.  So, is it any surprise that many of us fall under the spell of slick marketing campaigns that lure us into popping pills that may not be safe or banning entire food groups all in the name of losing weight?

Personally I don’t know why I ever thought eating several pounds of bacon and cheese a week (yes, literally) while giving up fruits and grains was healthy.  Yes, I lost weight on that low-carb diet craze that was popular a few years ago, but the second I weakened and took a bite of bread the weight came right back.

I also don’t know why I thought I could lose weight in a healthy and safe way by just popping a couple “weight loss” pills into my mouth every day.  Some of them worked for a while. Some of them didn’t.  And some of them were pulled from the market while I was taking them because they were found to cause serious health problems, and in some cases, death.

It can make a person wonder if there are any healthy and safe ways to lose weight.  Along the way, I finally got smart and learned some.  Here are 9 that work for me:

1) Think green – as in lots of green foods and no, I’m not talking about green jelly beans.  Dark leafy green vegetables are filled with nutrients and fiber.  Lighter green veggies don’t usually have as many nutrients but they have fiber, are low in calories, and offer that “crunch” factor that many of us crave.
My favorite green goodies are: spinach, romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, green peppers, broccoli (love it roasted), cucumbers, kohlrabi, and avocados.
One warning about avocados though (there’s always something to spoil the fun isn’t there): they are healthy and delicious but are high in calories.  Enjoy them in moderation.

2) Eat foods that are as close to nature as possible – and no matter what those slick marketing campaigns say, I don’t think high fructose corn syrup is a food close to nature because it’s so highly processed.  I’ve eaten tons of foods whose ingredient labels read more like a science textbook than a food label and have packed on the pounds.  When I eat highly processed crappy food with lots of hard-to-pronounce ingredients in it my body probably thinks “What the @#$& is this stuff you are feeding me? I don’t recognize it and don’t know what to do with it so I guess I’ll just turn it into fat and store it until later when I figure out what to do with it.” I don’t think my body ever figures out what to do with it because it’s not a fuel source it understands so it permanently attaches to my hips.  Plus I don’t feel that great when I eat foods that are highly processed or that contain ingredients I can’t pronounce.
When I eat fresh fruits and vegetables (or frozen), lean protein, whole grains, and lean dairy I feel great and have lots of energy.  I think that’s because my body knows exactly what to do with those foods so it uses them to fuel me instead of storing them as fat.

3) Chew your calories – instead of drinking them.  We all know soda contains tons of calories.  But do you know juice, sports drinks, energy drinks, smoothies, coffee blends and health drinks can contain a ton of calories?
Not to pick on Starbucks because I love their nonfat lattes and have one a couple times a week, but did you know their 16 ounce “Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha” made in a seemingly healthy way with nonfat milk and without whipped cream has 430 calories?  That’s not a beverage – it’s a meal!

4) Make water your best friend – and take it with you wherever you go.  I used to treat water like a beverage that only needed to be consumed when I was out of diet Coke, diet Sunkist, diet root beer, regular Pepsi and regular Coca-Cola.  There were times when I literally only drank a couple ounces of plain water a week.  Is it any wonder I was having a hard time losing weight?  Now I drink lots of water and take it with me wherever I go so that I can sip it all day long.
Not only do I feel better when I’m hydrated but it helps me avoid overeating.  I’ve realized that I used to eat food when I was thirsty, mistaking thirst for hunger.  Now, before I eat something I try to drink some water first to be sure that I’m really hungry and not just thirsty.

5) Have breakfast, lunch, and dinner – and quit skipping meals.  I used to hardly ever eat breakfast and would also often skip lunch as well in an effort to lose weight. By the middle of the afternoon I was not only starving and ready to chew my arm off, I was also feeling pretty smug and happy about how I had “stayed on my diet.”  By dinnertime I was so hungry I practically inhaled my food and didn’t bother counting calories or making a healthy meal because I thought I absolutely would lose weight by only eating one meal a day.  Plus, because I had been so good earlier in the day I always allowed myself one or two treats at night.  What a disaster!  I probably ate more calories in the last 5 hours of the day than most other people were eating in 2 days (people who hadn’t skipped meals)!
Now I almost always (sometimes slip up and fall back into my old bad habits) eat a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks.  It helps prevent me from getting so overly hungry that I lose control, and eating every couple of hours helps keep my metabolism up.

6) Lose weight slowly – I know this is probably not what you want to hear.  I didn’t want to hear it either and refused to try and do it the “slow and steady” way for many years.  As a result I spent those “many years” losing a few pounds quickly, putting them back on quickly, and gaining a couple extra pounds after every diet gimmick I tried because I had messed up my metabolism.  Most experts say it’s not healthy to lose more than 1 to 2 pounds a week (insert big sigh) so that’s what I aim for.  Since I’ve taken “slow and steady” approach to weight loss I’ve lost 50 pounds and kept them off, which is 50 pounds more than I kept off after every “quick and easy” weight plan I tried.

7) Move your butt – and not just from the sofa to the recliner so you have a better view of the television.  Yes, I’m talking about exercise (such an icky word).  Our bodies were made to move but I’ve always hated exercise, mostly because I thought the only way to do it effectively was in a gym.  I don’t like gyms (way too many mirrors that I don’t want to see myself in) and I absolutely hate walking on a treadmill.  But now I’ve found activities (a word I like much better than “exercise”) that I like, namely bike riding, walking outdoors, swimming, and doing short sessions (30 minutes) of strength training.  Exercise has become much easier for me since I’ve found types I enjoy.  Plus it’s been a boost my weight loss and is good for my heart.

8) Be a pig – when it comes to fruits and vegetables.  Do you know of anyone who got fat eating fruits and vegetables?  I don’t.  Every vegan person I’ve seen is skinny and vegans make fruits and vegetables the staples of their every day diet.  It’s recommended that we get 5 servings a day of them.  I treat the “5 a day” as the minimum and instead do my best to eat at least 8 servings of fruits and veggies every day with an emphasis on crunchy raw veggies.

9) Go to bed – and sleep! There has been quite a bit of research showing how important it is to get enough sleep and that not getting enough of it contributes to weight gain and difficulty losing weight.  Our bodies need that rest time to recover from the day and to recharge.  Most experts recommend 7-8 hours a night.  Isn’t it great to know that going to bed and getting 8 hours of sleep a night is actually better for weight loss than skimping on sleep?

There you have it – 9 ways that I’m losing weight in a healthy way and strategies I’m using to help me get rid of those extra pounds that have been hanging around for far too long.

Filed Under: Featured, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , ,

The Best Exercise To Lose Weight… Is The One You’ll Do!

September 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I am not trying to be a “smarty pants” by saying that the best exercise to lose weight is the one that you’ll do. The best type of exercise in the world won’t help you at all if you don’t do it. An expensive gym membership is worthless if the only time you ever set foot in the door is the day you signed up. The fanciest treadmill in the sporting goods store is nothing more than a dust collector if you never do more than “think” about getting on it and using it.

I’ve been there. I’ve purchased several gym memberships that have gone to waste because I stopped going after a couple of times. I owned a treadmill that sat unused for 5 years before I finally realized that I wasn’t going to use it and got rid of it because I was sick of dusting it.

Any exercise that gets your heart rate up and gets you sweating will help you lose weight. And strength training has double the positive benefits because you’ll burn calories while doing it and you’ll continue to burn more calories while resting as you build more muscle because muscle burns more calories than fat.

After many years of finding excuses to not exercise (too tired, too hard, too busy, too poor, too fat) I finally realized I was sick of making excuses.

I still hated the thought of exercising. But after reading a story about someone who lost 150 pounds by riding her bicycle I got inspired. The lady in the story talked about how she was only able to ride a couple of blocks the first time she got on a bike but was now riding in 50 mile events. She said that finding an activity she liked to do was key to her weight loss and well-being.

That got me to thinking back to when I was a kid and spent every minute I could outside riding bike, swimming in our pond, building forts in the backyard, batting a tennis ball against the garage, running around with our dog, and exploring along the stream by our house. I literally exercised for hours every summer day when I was a kid but never once did I say to myself “hey, I’m exercising!” Nope, I was just having fun.

So I went out and bought myself a “wide butt” seat for my bicycle and started riding it. My first bike ride was about 1 mile long and I thought it was going to kill me! I was so tired afterward. Now, I can ride 35 miles! Yes, I get tired but I can do it. And the best thing is that I like doing it.

I’m also walking regularly but not on a treadmill. My dog and I walk together but instead of putting her on a leash and walking on the sidewalk we walk on a gravel trail where she can be off the leash to sniff and smell to her heart’s content and do the one doggy thing I hate – roll in dead animals (I will never understand why a dog wants to smell like a dead animal –it’s revolting!). While she’s doing her “doggy thing” I’m enjoying the fresh air and the scenery. My husband and I or my sister-in-law and I also go for hikes on trails in area parks.

Of course the weather isn’t always conducive to outdoor exercise so I have a gym membership again. But it’s now at an all-female gym where I don’t feel self conscious or out of place and where they don’t have any dreaded treadmills but instead have a 30 minute workout routine with music that I don’t mind doing and that is helping me get stronger.

The mall is my friend on inclement weather days. The time and miles go by pretty fast while I’m window shopping and people watching.

I’m not saying that I now love to exercise because I don’t. I do love what regular exercise does for me though. Because of it I’m losing weight faster than with a diet alone, have more energy and sleep better.

Even though I don’t love to exercise and probably never will I no longer hate it either. I don’t mind doing it and only have to remind myself of the good things it’s doing for me or remind myself how I like to get out in the fresh air to get myself up and moving.

So do that for yourself. Find activities you used to enjoy or try some new ones. When cold weather and snow show up where I live I plan to swim at the local YMCA and also plan to take a dance class because I’ve wanted to learn line dancing for a long time.

But don’t think you have to go from doing nothing at all to “super exerciser” in two weeks. Take it slow so you don’t injure yourself. It took me almost a year to build up to 35 mile bike rides.

If you’re not sure what type of exercise to try, here’s some fun exercise ideas:
Bike riding
Tennis
Golf (no golf cart)
Swimming
Tubing
Walking: along the beach, in the woods, with your dog, with your family.
Ice skating
Rollerblading
Skiing
Snowboarding
Dance class (jazz, belly dancing, line dancing, salsa
Wii Fit
Dance Dance Revolution
Jump Rope
Hula Hoop

Also, don’t underestimate the power of music to help you through an exercise routine. Many experts say music helps people exercise better and longer. For me, listening to music while I work out at the gym makes the time go by faster and if I didn’t have a horrible singing voice I’d probably sing along to the songs once in a while too!

Get yourself the proper gear for whatever type of exercising you’re doing as well. I invested in a comfortable seat for my bicycle, bought bike shorts and a pair of biking gloves and they’ve made my bike riding a lot more comfortable. I also have a pair of shoes that are made for walking which my feet appreciate every time I slip them on.

It may take a couple of tries to find the types of exercise you don’t mind doing but don’t give up. It’s worth the effort. It will help you with your weight loss efforts and help you feel better overall.

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips

5 Ways To Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes it seems the hardest part of losing weight is mustering up the motivation to start, especially if a person has been an unsuccessful lifelong dieter.

So what do you do if your brain says you’re willing to give it a go but your heart says “forget it, I’m sick of trying.”?

Here’s 5 ways to help you fire yourself up and find the motivation to lose weight.

1) Write It Down
Why do you want to lose weight?
Is it because of a health issue; because you want to be around for your children; because of an upcoming special event; because you’re sick and tired of being fat; or some other reason?

My motivating factor was my annual checkup where my doctor told me I had to get my body mass down if I wanted to live longer and avoid serious diseases. My blood sugar was in the pre-diabetic range; my blood pressure was borderline high; and I needed a stress test for my heart.

I finally realized how my excess weight was negatively affecting my health and how I was literally eating myself to death.

If you’re having a hard time finding motivation to get started on losing weight even though you know you should, sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and write down the reasons why you want to lose weight.

Then keep that piece of paper handy and look at it as often as you need to in order to stay motivated.

2) Give Yourself Rewards
Rewards are a lot of fun to look forward to. Plan rewards for yourself as you reach each of your weight loss goals. For example, treat yourself to a pedicure or to tickets to a game for losing 5 pounds, 5 percent of your body weight, or whatever goal you want to set. Plan a bigger reward or two as well for when you reach the halfway point or when you reach your goal weight or size.

Avoid food rewards though! Yeah, you might be thinking “duh,” of course I won’t reward my weight loss with food but it’s likely to be the first thing that pops into your mind because our society seems to celebrate everything with food! (Is there anything we don’t celebrate with cake?)

Is your budget tight? There’s lots of rewards you can give yourself that don’t cost anything such as a day hanging out at the park and relaxing, spending time at the library catching up on reading your favorite magazines, or just being a couch potato and catching up on your favorite television shows. Giving yourself the gift of free time is probably the best reward you can give yourself (as long as you make it guilt free – no thinking about things you’re not getting done.)

3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words
Many of us don’t see how we really look when we stare at ourselves in the mirror but pictures don’t lie.

Three things you can do:
A: Take a picture of yourself today and put it where you’ll look at it every day. The refrigerator door is a good place because it might motivate you to leave the door closed and not stuff your face with what’s inside.

B: Find a picture of yourself before you gained weight and put it where you’ll look at it every day to remind yourself of how you want to look.

C: Find a picture of somebody you don’t want to look like. It could be a family member or a complete stranger. Use that picture to remind yourself why you want to lose weight.

4) Think About What Will Happen If You Don’t Lose Weight
Overweight people have more health issues than normal weight people and excess weight can shorten a life and make the years you do have less enjoyable.

For example, Type II diabetes is related to obesity and can have severe adverse effects on a person’s life. I see what it does to people every week when I take my mom to kidney dialysis. At least half the people are there are on dialysis because of complications of their diabetes and a few of them have lost at least a portion of one of their limbs because of their diabetes. Having to spend several hours a day, three times a week hooked up to a dialysis machine completely changes a person’s life.

I’m not saying you’ll get Type II diabetes if you don’t lose weight. You may be lucky enough to never experience adverse physical ailments because of it.

But even if it doesn’t cause physical problems it may cause other ones. Does it make it difficult to play with your children? Do you avoid certain activities you once enjoyed such as golf or skiing or hiking because the excess weight makes it too hard? Do you hate going to movies, concerts, or to fly because the seats are too small and uncomfortable? If you don’t lose weight will you continue to miss out on things in life that you think are fun?

5) Start Your Day By Doing One Thing To Help With Weight Loss
Every day goes better if you can start it out on a positive note. Try to start your day out by doing something to help with your weight loss because it can help motivate you to stay on track for the rest of the day. Here are some examples:

- Exercise first thing in the morning. If you can get out for a morning walk or can get to the gym that’s great. If not, get a workout video and do it for 5 or 10 minutes in the morning, get a mini trampoline and start your day by bouncing on it 10 minutes, get a weighted hula hoop and use it while watching the early morning news, or go online and find a workout routine.

- Eat a healthy breakfast (include lean protein and whole grains).

- Drink a glass of water.

- Eat a piece of fruit.

- Pack your lunch (a healthy one). Include mid-morning and afternoon snacks so you’re not tempted to have fast food or hit the vending machines.

- Plan your day. Plan healthy meals, time for exercise, and some down time to relax.

Keep these 5 tips on motivating yourself to lose weight in a handy place. Then any time your motivation starts to go away you can look at them and help yourself get your motivation back.

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , ,

Help! I Cannot Lose Weight! Three Effective Ways to Start Weight Loss

September 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Trying to lose weight can be one of the most maddening and frustrating things to do because our bodies seem to fight us at every step.  After a couple of days of eating less in an effort to pare off extra pounds our bodies start to think “hey – where’s my food?” and then go into “conservation mode” because it’s not sure when it’s going to get more food.  Metabolism slows and it becomes even harder to lose weight.  It’s enough to make a person want to smack their head against a wall!

But, even when it might seem impossible there are ways to effectively start losing weight that don’t involve living on plain lettuce leaves or that require massive amounts of daily exercise like we see contestants on “The Biggest Loser” doing.

First, a little about me.  Here’s what I’m not.  I’m not a scientist who is going to spout “scientific findings.”  I’m not a doctor or a dietician that’s going to tell you what some book says on how to effectively start losing weight.  I’m also not a skinny person who has never had to worry about losing an ounce of weight.

What I am is this – someone who has spent years yo-yo dieting to the point of practically being a professional dieter. I’ve finally been successful at losing weight and keeping it off, and want to share three ways to start getting that extra weight off that have worked for me.

1) EAT BREAKFAST BUT DON’T PIG OUT
You’ve probably heard experts say over and over again that skipping breakfast is a bad idea because it leads to overeating later in the day; and that it can contribute to a slower metabolism.  It makes sense that our bodies want food shortly after we wake up because it’s just gone without any food for fuel for several hours.

I never used to believe that eating breakfast was important mostly because I was never hungry when I woke up.  Then, because I was usually feeling like I was really in control of my eating I would often skip lunch as well and feel really proud for avoiding food.

But by the time evening came around I couldn’t stop eating and ended up eating way too much.  It was like I couldn’t get full at night.  I think my poor body was trying to get all the food it could because it knew it was going to have to wait until the next afternoon to get more.  But the next morning I would start the same no breakfast and usually no lunch routine all over again partly because I wasn’t hungry and partly because I was still remembering how I had overeaten the night before.

When I finally decided to give eating breakfast a chance it was really hard.  I had to force myself to eat in the morning which went against everything I believed.  I mean, come on, here I am trying to lose weight and yet I’m forcing myself to eat?  But it worked.  Once I started to eat breakfast, and to also eat a little something every couple of hours to keep my metabolism working, I wasn’t starving at night and was able to eat sensibly and stay on my weight loss plan.

But, and it’s a big “but” to me, I’ve found that eating a really big breakfast has the same effect on me as eating no breakfast.  If I eat a large heavy breakfast such as one of those breakfast platters at restaurants that include eggs, bacon, hash browns, and a large muffin, I tend to continue eating heavily the rest of the day.

If I eat a healthy and sensible breakfast (my favorite: 1 whole egg and 2 eggs whites scrambled; with a side of mushrooms sautéed in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder and black pepper, and salt; and fresh fruit or yogurt) and then a mid-morning snack, it’s much easier for me to stay on track with my weight loss efforts plus I have more energy and feel a lot more clearheaded than I did when I was skipping breakfast.

2) DRINK WATER NOT SODA
I used to be terrible about drinking water and never got in the recommended 6-8 glasses a day and usually didn’t even manage to drink that much in a week.  My go-to beverage was soda, usually diet soda.

Then I started watching people who are “normal sized” and noticed most of them were constantly sipping water.  More than one of those “normal sized” people told me they sincerely believed that drinking plenty of water was key to their ability to maintain a sensible weight.

Once I started to consistently drink 8 glasses of water a day my body finally stopped hoarding liquid and got less puffy.

When I drink plenty of water weight loss is a whole lot easier because I’m drinking liquid when I’m thirsty instead of mistakenly thinking I’m hungry and eating something instead.  It’s also helping flush out toxins and helping me avoid feeling bloated when I indulge in a lot of salty food.

When I fall back in my old habits and drink diet soda instead of water my weight loss slows and sometimes stops completely.  When I get back on track and drink lots of water, my weight loss always starts again.

3) BE ACTIVE
Exercise – sometimes I feel like it’s a nasty four letter word in disguise.  When someone mentions exercise to me I instantly want to sit on the sofa and eat a bag of chips.  Why?  Because exercise is NO FUN!

I have spent thousands of dollars on exercise equipment and gym memberships that have gone to waste because I absolutely hate walking on a treadmill, riding a stationary bicycle, and using weight machines; especially in a gym where it seems everyone else is fit and toned and where there is always too many mirrors to remind me that I am not nearly as fit and toned.

But our bodies were made to move and regular activity is a really important component to weight loss.  Besides the obvious benefit of burning calories while being active, building muscle helps increase overall metabolism so our bodies will burn more calories even when we’re not exercising.

The key for me has been to find “exercise” I enjoy.  The first thing I did was stop thinking of it as “exercise” and started thinking of ways to be more active.

So I thought back to when I was a kid.  I loved spending my days riding bike, swimming, and exploring outside.

So now, instead of refusing to “exercise” or trying to force myself to go to the gym every day I get in regular activity by riding my bicycle 3-4 times a week (it’s summer where I live right now and is perfect weather for bike riding) and by going for walks on scenic hiking trails.  When the weather gets cold I’ll head to the local YMCA and swim in the pool.  It’s a lot easier for me to “exercise” these days because I no longer hate it.

Also, because I know how important strength training is, I do go to a gym.  But it’s a women’s only gym where I don’t feel intimidated and where the only place a mirror can be found is over the sink in the bathroom.  And I only need to go there 3 times a week for 30 minutes which I find doable.

What were your favorite things to do when you were a kid?  Make those activities something you do regularly as an adult.

Also look into activities you may not have done as a child but are interested in trying such as playing tennis, golfing, or even bowling.

One caveat though: going for a 10 mile bike ride doesn’t make it okay to then sit on the sofa and eat an entire bag of chips – not if you want to lose weight.

If your weight loss is at a standstill try these three things: eat a healthy and sensible breakfast, drink plenty of water, and get in regular activity.

In addition, get seven to eight hours of sleep every night.  You deserve it and your body needs it so that it can rebuild lean muscle that was strained and broken down during the day’s activities.

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Plateaus, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , ,

How To Lose 100 lbs – The Essential Mindset You Must Adopt

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The thought of losing 100 pounds is so daunting and seems so impossible why bother even trying, right?  After all, losing just 10 pounds is no walk in the park, never mind trying to multiply that by 10 and lose 100!

That is how I felt for a long time even though I felt like I was always “trying” to lose weight.   I worked hard at first but always got discouraged because my weight loss goal was so far away it felt like trying to walk to the moon.  And what happened when I got discouraged?  You guessed it.  I quit the diet and gained back whatever weight I had lost.

Then I learned a really important lesson that is helping turn that 100 pounds I need to lose into (actually 120 pounds if I’m being completely honest – yes I’m a “big girl”) into a very possible reality (I’m already halfway there!).

It’s the mindset that makes the task of losing 100 pounds, or any large amount of weight, seem possible instead of impossible.

It’s to stop focusing on the “big picture” of the total amount of weight that a person wants to lose and breaking it down into smaller, more manageable increments.

You’ve probably heard the joke, “How do you eat an elephant?” and the answer or punch line of “One bite at a time!”

Well that’s how you lose weight, one pound at a time and one bite at a time (not exactly earth shattering news but something many of us trying to lose weight forget).

Think about it.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, skyscrapers don’t go up overnight; a person doesn’t become a doctor in one day (at least not any doctor I want diagnosing my health issues), etc.  The building of Rome, construction of skyscrapers, and becoming a doctor are all wonderful accomplishments that require (or required) a lot of work.    How proud does someone feel after going to school for years and being handed a doctorate degree?  It has to be a feeling of incredible achievement.

Losing a large amount of weight isn’t any different.  It’s a hard task that won’t happen overnight and just like a potential doctor doesn’t try to learn everything at once or just like a skyscraper has to be built in sections and not all at once, losing a lot of weight has to be done one day, one bite, and one pound at a time.

Break it down into management segments or goals and focus only on that immediate goal whether it’s to lose 5 pounds, go down one size, or lose 5 percent of total body weight.

Then when that goal is reached, it’s time for a big pat on the back for a job well done.  Then it’s time to set a new goal; the next 5 pounds, the next clothing size down, the next 5 percent of body weight off, etc. and to then work towards it.

Eventually, the attainment of all those small goals will add up and will turn into the big “mother lode” goal of losing that 100 pounds or whatever the big goal is.

For me, changing the way I think about weight loss has made losing weight possible instead of impossible.

The hardest part is keeping the focus on the small goal, which I admit can be really hard at times but it’s worth the effort.  Otherwise discouragement sets in which usually leads to giving up and ending up back at square one with all the weight back on.

I know this isn’t a “magic” pill and believe me there are times I wish there was a magic weight loss pill that would make all my excess weight fall off.  But there isn’t.

For me successful weight loss is no longer about taking the newest diet pill, diet supplement, replacing solid food with liquid meals or banning entire food groups.  It’s been first and foremost about changing the way I think.

My old mindset was, “Losing all this weight is too hard and will take too long.”

My new (and successful mindset) is, “I can lose 5 pounds.”

And I have lost 5 pounds, twelve times and am working on losing 5 pounds for the 13th time.  That elephant is getting smaller every day!

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , ,

3 Commandments For Losing Weight and Keeping It Off

August 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

If only there was a magic weight loss wand that would instantly remove all our extra weight without the hassle of watching what we ate or having to exercise.

But as much as I wish there was one, wishing never made anything happen (unless you were lucky enough to have found Aladdin’s lamp and got your three wishes).

And even if there were a magic weight loss wand, one of the big companies who make billions of dollars a year selling their diet products would have bought it, locked it away in a closet, and thrown away the key.

The cold hard truth is that if you want to lose weight you have to eat less calories than you burn. Sounds simple, but for most of us (myself included) it’s not that easy.

I learned that, for me, successful weight loss boils down to three important things – what I call the “3 commandments for losing weight and keeping it off.”

1) Stop wishing and start doing
I spent a lot of years wishing I could lose weight. If I had a nickel for every time I uttered the phrase “I wish I could lose weight,” (usually said while I was shoveling candy, chips or cake into my mouth), I’d have a whole lot of nickels!

It took me a long time to realize that I actually had to be willing to work at getting the weight off instead of wishing, hoping, and waiting for that “magic skinny pill” to arrive.

One day my husband (who, like me, would never be accused of starving himself), said to me while he was shoveling chocolate cake (with chocolate frosting – my favorite!) into his mouth, “I wish I could lose weight.”

I suddenly saw myself and realized I had been doing the same thing – wishing I could lose weight but literally shoving loads of fattening food into my mouth while saying it.

I’m not going to get all “high and mighty” on you and say that seeing my husband act the same way about “wishing I could lose weight” as I had been motivated me to instantly go on a diet and start exercising 2 hours a day (as if I plan on ever exercising 2 hours a day).

But I have changed in one important way. I’m now actively working on losing weight (successfully!) and am no longer wishing it will happen.

2) It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change
I can’t even count how many times I’ve gone on a “diet,” only to get so bored or so hungry or so frustrated by the deprivation of it, that I quit and then gained back all the weight I had worked so hard to lose (plus usually a couple extra pounds just to make things more insulting).

My old mentality was “if I can just stick to 1,000 calories a day (or eat 9 grapefruit a day, or purge all carbs from my life or whatever current diet craze I was trying), then I’ll lose all the weight I need to. Then I can stop dieting and start eating normally!”

What was the problem with that mentality? It was that I didn’t know what eating “normally” was. I could do 2 things really well – lose weight and gain weight. But maintain my weight? Never.

It wasn’t until I realized that I had to change my lifestyle for good (and that’s a scary thing to accept) that I finally was able to lose more than 20 or 25 pounds before quitting my “diet” and gaining the weight back.

I’m not successful with healthy eating and maintaining the lifestyle change I’ve adopted every day. I spent a lot of years honing those bad habits and they don’t go away overnight.

But I’ve finally accepted that if I want to be “normal” sized for the rest of my life then I have to adopt a healthier lifestyle for the rest of my life.

3) Become a food snob
Have you ever caught yourself eating something you didn’t like or eating after you were full just to get rid of the food?

Personally, I can’t even begin to count the number of times I finished a donut or a huge restaurant meal or an ice cream sundae just to get rid of it and not waste it even though I was well past the point of being full.

Nor could I begin to guess the number of times I ate something I didn’t like just because I had paid for it or because I didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings (like a favorite Aunt who is a wonderful person but a terrible cook).

One day my daughter asked me, as I was complaining about how the candy bar I was eating tasted stale, why I was eating it if it didn’t taste good? I literally didn’t say anything for 30 seconds because I had no idea why I was eating food I didn’t like (and it was fattening food too!).

Then I started to see past events in my head such as the one where my daughter pushed away a $4 cinnamon after two bites saying it wasn’t that good and wasn’t worth the calories; and seeing a dinner companion push away a $6 creme brulee after one tiny bite; and having my boss push aside her deep fried chicken meal after a few bites because it “wasn’t worth the calories.”

At the time those things happened, I thought they were all being wasteful and too picky, but then I thought about how they were thin and I wasn’t. Yes, they were being picky and yes they were throwing away food but I realized those options were better for them than eating something they didn’t like and possibly having it permanently attach to their hips (or stomach or wherever they were most prone to show excess weight).

That’s when I made the decision to become a food snob and it’s also when my weight loss efforts because a little easier.

Seriously, it’s a whole lot easier to deal with eating less calories in a day when every calorie being ingested is one that is tasty.

If I don’t like something, I no longer eat it. I either throw it away or feed it to my dog (yes my dog eats people food). If I’m at a restaurant I’ll cover the unwanted food with a napkin so I don’t pick at it without thinking (yes, mindless eating is another one of my many food issues).

My husband has a hard time with me doing this and he will often finish my food so it doesn’t go to waste but that’s okay. If he wants to continue to eat food that he doesn’t like and continue getting fatter, that’s his business.

Become a food snob and stop being a garbage disposal! If you are going to have bread dipped in olive oil, then have good artisan bread and good olive oil. If you are going to have dessert, have a dessert you really love. You’ll be more likely to be satisfied by a smaller amount of it than of something that you don’t really like. And you’ll be less likely to go looking in fridge or pantry for something later on because the craving you had wasn’t satisfied.

But, and this is a big but (and could save you from having a big butt), just because something is super tasty and delicious doesn’t mean you should keep eating it after you are full. If you love the food but you are full, then get a doggy bag. Tomorrow is another day! You can eat it then.

So, that’s the three commandments I am following to help myself lose weight and keep it off: “doing” not “wishing;” “lifestyle” change instead of “dieting;” and being a “food snob” instead of a “garbage disposal.”

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss Articles Tagged With: , , , ,

The Best Diet To Lose Weight

August 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The best diet to lose weight?

It is the one that works for you.

That sounds like a load of bull, right?  It is true, though.

Here’s why: just like people are different and aren’t cut from the same “cookie cutter” mold, no one diet will work for everyone.  But, keep in mind that every diet boils down to the same basic principle of “less calories in than burned equals weight loss.”  The various diet plans, programs, surgeries, and pills just have a different way of getting there.

For me, after more than 25 years of trying practically every diet out there, along with several different “miracle weight loss pills” (the end result of which I became fatter than ever), I finally walked through the doors of a Weight Watchers meeting on the advice of my nurse practitioner.  I’ve now kissed 57 pounds good-bye, which is more than twice as much weight as I ever managed to lose at one time in the past (although I would now weight a negative number if I had kept off every pound I’ve lost over the years).

Why is Weight Watchers working for me?

1) No food is off limits. The food choices are completely mine.  There are no teeny portions of cardboard tasting foods or specific meal plans containing foods I hate (say the words “cottage cheese” and I’ll say the word “icky!).  Nothing makes me want a food more than when someone says I can’t have it.

2) Support via weekly meetings. It’s where I can ask any question I want and get all the help I need to stay motivated.  Plus for me, seeing other people losing weight makes me competitive which makes me work even harder to keep going.

3) Accountability on the scale. Believe me, that darn thing doesn’t lie (If I choose to eat 3 pieces of wedding cake, eat a huge plate of pasta, and have 5 margaritas the scale is completely willing to let me know!   And yes, I may have chosen to do this on at least one occasion…and the results weren’t pretty)

But Weight Watchers didn’t work for a friend of mine because she couldn’t handle making all her own food choices which resulted in her eating candy, chips and any unhealthy carb she could get her hands on every day.

She switched to the Curves weight loss plan because it limits carbs and has less food choices overall.  She found it easier to follow at first, but now she’s getting bored because she says “there’s only 5 menus I really like, so I keep rotating them and now I’m getting really sick of them.  I used to like chicken.  Now I almost want to run away screaming when I see it.”  It looks like she hasn’t found the right plan yet, but hopefully she will.

But while I like Weight Watchers and recommend it because it’s helping me get great results, I’m not going to wax poetic and say it’s the greatest thing in the world because I hate these things about it:

1) I absolutely loath writing down every bite of food I eat. It’s almost as bad as writing down every penny I spend, which I’m also doing in an attempt to get my spending under control (just think of any word that is the opposite of “fun,” multiply it by 10, and you’ll know how I feel about writing down what I eat and what I spend)

2) The weight loss is slow (like watching paint dry, but 20 times worse).  Yes, experts say people who lose weight slowly have the best chance of keeping it off (blah, blah, blah).  But, seriously, who wouldn’t want to take a magic pill before they go to bed one night and wake up the next morning skinny and looking great?

The good news is that there are a lot of weight loss books, plans, pills, and surgery options (if you are overweight enough to qualify) available to help a person lose weight.  The bad news is that there are a lot of options which can make the choice overwhelming.

Try to not get discouraged.  If one plan doesn’t work for you, try another one.

To help you, because we all have different needs and different lifestyles to take into consideration, ask yourself the following nine questions before choosing a diet for yourself:

1) How much time am I willing to spend preparing meals and snacks for myself?
- If you have zero time to shop or cook, consider a service that delivers meals to your door (Nutri-System and Jenny Craig are two popular programs)
- If you are willing to do at least some cooking and shopping then consider Weight Watchers – especially if you have a family and don’t want to have to prepare separate meals for yourself (just load your plate with more fruits and vegetables).

2) How much, if at all, am I willing to exercise?
- Exercise is a key part of health, but if you’re in poor health or extremely overweight, exercise can be difficult, at least at first.  I lost my first 20 pounds without doing any exercise at all (and I personally know someone who lost 50 pounds without exercising), but I started losing at a lot faster rate once I started exercising.
If exercise is really hard for you, don’t think you’re going to lose all your weight by signing up for a gym membership and working out for 2 hours every Start with a program that doesn’t require exercise, and then start exercising slowly once some of the weight comes off and you are feeling more energetic.   And, so exercise doesn’t seem so much like work, try to find something you enjoy doing (for example – did you like riding bike or going swimming when you were a kid?)

3) Do I have health issues, such as diabetes, which can make some diet plans dangerous?
- It is always recommended that a person consult their health care professional before starting a diet, and it is crucial to do so if you have health issues so that your diet isn’t further endangering your health (because losing weight is supposed to make you healthier, not sicker).

4) Do I have time to attend meetings or to meet regularly with a counselor?
- If not, then don’t choose a diet plan/program that requires it.  You’ll only be setting yourself up for failure. If you have a crazy busy schedule, consider a program that has online support.

5) Am I motivated enough to go it alone without the benefit of meetings and regular weigh-ins on the scale or do I need that accountability?
- If yes, then buy a weight loss book or join an online program.  If you need accountability then choose a program that provides it.  It’s not bad to need accountability.  It’s just how some of us are (I completely need accountability or I go off the deep end and eat all the junky food I can get my hands on.  There’s nothing like the thought of weighing in the next day to get me to pull my hand out of the chip bag).

6) How fast do I think I need to lose weight?
- If you think you have to lose 20 pounds in the next month so that you look great for your class reunion, stop and think about why you want to lose weight.  You’ll have the best chance of success if you do it for yourself, not for someone else and not because of a specific event.  Also, keep in mind that the faster you lose weight, the less likely you are to keep it off.
If you are determined to lose a lot of weight very quickly, consider a medically supervised program, such as Medifast

7) Am I willing to consider surgery or diet pills to help me achieve my weight loss goals? (Keep in mind that surgery and pills can have serious risks.  According to Web MD, 1.5 percent of people who undergo gastric bypass surgery die from the surgery itself or from complications of the surgery)
- Thousands of people have weight loss surgery every year with many people being able to lose the weight and keep it off.  It’s not a magic elixir though.  If you have your stomach made smaller, you will have to eat small meals.  If you don’t you’ll get sick and run the risk of complications.  I have a friend who had gastric bypass surgery several years ago.  She lost the extra weight and has kept it off, but she has to take a handful of supplements every day, cannot drink liquid at the same time she eats solid food (because her stomach fills up too fast) and has to eat very small meals.  She says it was really tough at first emotionally because she still wanted to eat for comfort and not only when she was truly hungry.
- Diet pills work for some people, but they are obviously not magic.  Otherwise everyone would have taken them by now and nobody would be overweight.

8 ) How motivated am I to stick to a diet to lose the weight? Hint: Wishing you could lose weight is not good enough.  You have to want to lose weight more than just about anything else in your life because it’s hard, especially if you have more than 20 pounds to lose.
- Don’t start any diet, NONE, unless you are 100 percent committed to losing weight.  If you don’t want it really bad then don’t start because you’ll only fail.  You have to be ready to undertake the task because it may very well be the hardest thing you ever do in your life (and no, I am not kidding).  I’m not trying to discourage you or be mean.  I’m talking from personal experience.

9) How much money do I have to spend on a diet plan?
- You can spend zero dollars on a diet plan and you can spend more than ten thousand dollars on a diet plan/program/surgery.  If you have no money to spend, check diet books out from the library or use online resources to help you.  Otherwise, tailor your plan to your budget.  Currently, it costs me about $40 a month for Weight Watchers, excluding the gas it costs me to drive to weekly meetings.  It’s well worth the cost to me.  You may have more or less than that to spend.
Keep in mind that the more services provided, the most the program is likely to cost.  Meal delivery services easily run into hundreds of dollars a month.  But, it might be just the thing you need to get that extra weight off which will likely save you thousands in medical costs down the road.

I wish I could make it easy for you and say that “X” is the best diet for everyone but unfortunately I can’t.  We all have different needs, different budgets, differing amounts of free time, and different levels of health that are factors.  Take the time to consider what yours are so that you can find the best diet for you, which is the one that helps you get rid of the extra pudge!

Filed Under: Featured, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Eggs and Weight Loss

August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Eggs seem to make the news a lot.  First they’re good for you; then they’re evil and cause heart disease; then experts decide they were a little hasty with the “eggs are bad for you” announcement.  It’s enough to make a girl dizzy trying to keep all the “facts” straight!

The truth is that eggs are a good source of protein.  Plus eggs contain a bunch of essential vitamins and minerals (read more about it here in an article written by Margaret Furtado and click here for the complete nutrition information on eggs) and they help a person feel full (music to the ears of a person trying to lose weight!)

But, eating only egg whites is boring.  And egg substitute?  I think it tastes nasty unless it’s hidden in a pastry!

I personally eat eggs several times a week and my doctor tells me my heart is fine (but…that it won’t stay that way if I don’t lose weight).  To make sure I’m not eating too much bad cholesterol but yet have flavor, I eat 1 whole egg with 2 egg whites.  That’s my rule of thumb whether I’m am making an omelette, frying eggs in olive oil, or making an egg salad sandwich.

Plus one large whole egg with 2 egg whites is low in calories (17 calories and .1 grams of fat for each egg white, plus 70 calories  and 4.5 grams of fat for the whole egg).  Add 2 slices of Canadian bacon and 2 slices of whole grain light bread and it’s a tasty, filling, low calorie meal that’s good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss News Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »