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.
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