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Diet Room
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| The 5 Steps to weight loss by John O'Neill Having trouble sticking with your weight-loss regimen? You're not alone. But once you've made a commitment to lose weight, there are five easy steps you can take to maintain your enthusiasm and motivation. Step One: Describe Your Goal It's not enough to say that you want to lose weight. You must have a specific goal in mind. Whether it's a dress size or an ideal weight, you should write down what specifically you want to accomplish. I've found that people are better able to stay on the path toward their goal when they have clearly defined and described what it is. The goal becomes more real and more attainable. I also recommend that you put an old picture of what you looked like at that weight near the refrigerator, or on your computer monitor to keep the goal fixed in your mind. It's best to visualize, several times a day, exactly what it will be like when you do accomplish your weight-loss goal. What will you feel like? Will you be more energetic? More outgoing? How will you carry yourself? This exercise does wonders for maintaining motivation. You'll impress the image upon your subconscious, which will help you mobilize the energy to carry out your weight loss plan. Step Two: Define Your Motivation This sounds simple, but you need to accurately define and state what your motivations are for losing weight. I recommend that you write down at least five reasons why you want to achieve the goal that you described in step one. Do you want to lose weight to lower your risk for heart disease and hypertension? Is it to look better and feel better about yourself? Is your motivation to live a long, vibrant life, full of playing with kids or grandkids, traveling, dancing? Carry the list with you and think about it throughout the day. And when you're doing something that is part of your plan, like limiting your portion sizes, or choosing fruit over a candy bar, say to yourself: "I'm doing this for my..." and fill in the blank with one of the motivating factors you listed. When you find yourself slipping, it's particularly helpful to pull out the and remember all of the important health and personal reasons for losing weight. You'll feel so satisfied that you did! Step Three: Create a Plan Successful weight loss starts with a simple mathematical equation: you've got to BURN more than you consume. To lose 1 pound a week, you must consume 3,500 fewer calories than you expend. This amounts to decreasing your caloric balance by 500 calories/day. The most sensible approach to weight loss is to decrease caloric intake and increase energy expenditure through exercise. Most people will begin to lose weight if they decrease their caloric intake below 1,500 calories/day and do aerobic exercise for 15-20 minutes three to four times per week. Your weight loss plan should include a combination of the following: • Cardiovascular Exercise: Fat Burner Doing at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three to four times per week, like brisk walking, jogging, or even dancing, will help you burn calories to slim down. The trick is to choose an activity that you can do most days of the week, like walking up and down the stairs in your home or apartment, taking a brisk walk with neighbors around the block, or riding a stationary bike. Make sure to get your heart rate pumping. This means exercising with enough 'umph' to sweat lightly. • Weight Bearing Exercise: Calorie Burner By doing exercises that involve resistance training you'll build more muscle. This is important because muscle burns more calories than fat. So, even after you're done with your workout, your muscles will still be burning calories! Talk about working over time! Also, lifting weights or resisting against your own weight (like push-ups) will strengthen your bones (thereby preventing osteoporosis) and will help to sculpt your body. You do want to keep some curves as your lose weight, right? Remember, exercise is critical to looking good as you lose weight. Proper Nutrition: • Don't eat after 7 p.m. Your body is a factory. Clinical studies proved that the metabolic factory shuts down at sundown. After 7 p.m., the "workers" go home. So, you don't need to keep the 'energy' going into the factory only to be stored as fat. It's best to provide your body's metabolic factory with fuel when it needs it — during the daytime while you're active; not at night when the excess fuel will spill over to your hips, thighs, buttocks and arteries as fat! (If your work schedule is such that you work nights and sleep during the day, adjust accordingly.) • Limit portion size Americans have what the American Heart Association calls "portion distortion." We're so used to eating super-sized meals that we don't even know what a normal serving should be. It's important to eat small portions several times throughout the day, with healthy snacks in between to prevent hunger binges. • Limit saturated fats When shopping, choose foods low in saturated fat, opt for low-fat dairy products and cook with olive oil. Your fat bank is already full, so don't buy anymore! This is an easy way to cut calories from your diet. • Increase fruits and vegetables Try to incorporate at least one serving of fruits and vegetables in every meal and make your daily snacks fruit instead of potato chips or candy. Crunchy and chewy fruits and veggies are great choices because they send the signal to your brain to "turn off" the hunger message sooner than non-chewy foods. The increased fiber and nutrients you'll get will help you have more energy for work-outs and fewer burn-outs. • Increase whole grains and fiber Not only do these provide cancer-fighting nutrients, they help you feel satisfied sooner, thereby limiting overeating. Whole grains and fiber will keep food moving through your digestive tract. • Nutritional supplements Many clinical studies have shown that a variety of dietary supplements can help promote weight loss by boosting metabolism and burning fat. Some work, and others are hype. I recommend that you consult your healthcare provider about what may be appropriate for you. Step Four: Chart Your Progress If your goal is to lose several pounds or dress sizes, it may take you several weeks or months to get there. And, there may be pitfalls and "roadblocks" along the way. However, you don't want to lose your motivation, so keep a record of your progress in a notebook or on a calendar. When you start to feel discouraged because you're still not where you want to be, or because you've slipped up, look over your notes. When you see the progress that you've made, you'll feel more enthusiastic and confident to continue on your path toward weight-loss success — at all costs! It's very important not to neglect this step. Make little notes about how you made good choices at the grocery store, about how you ate only one Oreo instead of a whole bag, how you did your cardio exercises three times this week. Ignore the obstacles and continue with your journey. Remember, you didn't gain the excess weight overnight, so losing it will likely take more than one day. If you take note of the little steps you've successfully accomplished you'll reassure yourself that you can make it the rest of the way. Step Five: Celebrate Your Success As you chart your progress at the end of the day or week, or whenever you need a little boost, celebrate your success. Give yourself a mental pat on the back, do a little happy dance, spend a little quiet time in the den with a good book or movie, or get your nails done. Treating yourself feeds into your brain's reward system and keeps the mental and spiritual energy flowing to keep you moving toward your goal. Also, share your success stories with friends, coworkers and family members. As they share in your joy, it will stroke your enthusiasm and propel you further along. **Beware of saboteurs Some people may say that you're denying yourself too much, or that you're getting too thin. Sometimes even a spouse will get jealous because you're turning more heads now. Proceed with caution and don't fall for those tactics. Remember, it's where you want to be, not them! |
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