Weight Loss the Healthy way

posted March 21, 2008 - 12:53pm

Weight Loss the Healthy way

First off, always be happy with yourself...if you need to lose weight in order to be healthier and have more energy, then good for you. Don't try to lose for someone else or it won't work.
Losing weight can be difficult work and in most cases isn't quick when it is done in a healthy manner (unless you have had a baby, you don't gain it all that quickly either).
KEEP A FOOD DIARY: This will help you to keep track of all the food going into your mouth, when and why. It will show you if you are eating due to boredom, or if you are a comfort eater, as well as if you are just eating mindlessly in front of the tube. It really does help you to keep track of the junk food snacks.
DRINK WATER: eight 8oz glasses per day, two liters.
drinking water helps to flush your body of toxins and ensures that you aren't eating because of thirst, (sometimes we tend to eat when thirsty).
FRUIT AND VEGGIES: Adding these healthy snacks to your diet as a replacement to junk food will not only give you more energy, but help you feel better and lose weight. Grapes and berries are good "munchies" when you crave something sweet, Baby carrots are fulfilling when you desire something crunchie and low in calories.
SMALLER MORE FREQUENT MEALS: Eating five or six small meals keeps your blood sugar ratio level, and therefore your energy and hunger doesn't peak and fall, and you will be less prone to eating unhealthy snacks as well.
DON'T SKIP MEALS:
Eat your breakfast. This will give you the energy to start your day properly and will help you to maintain the energy throughout. Skipping meals will only make you hungrier and apt to overeat. Crash dieting puts your body into 'starvation mode', this will slow your metabolism, drain your resources, store fat, and is very dangerous because it puts extra strain on your vital organs.
CUT OUT THE CARBONATION: Sodas are unhealthy and do not quench the thirst. Even the diet ones are not great for you beacause when the gas goes down, the hunger comes up.
EXERCISE: Move your body, however you can. Walk, use the stairs, dance, turn off your television and go. Having a workout buddy to help motivate you too.
There is no "magic bullet" to cause weight loss, the slower you lose it the more likely you are to keep it off. If you make small changes to your lifestyle a bit at a time, you become accustomed to them and you will have a better chance to make them permanent.