How to lose weight properly
April 20, 2003 | 12:00am
Last week, I discussed the proper way to lose weight based on the book If I Really Wanted To Lose Weight I Would... Here is the second part:
• Refuse to give up if you slip and binge. Managing your weight takes practice to make perfect. Every person who wants to lose weight has slipped at least once, twice, or even many times.The secret is not to let a misstep become a landslide. Resist the urge to berate yourself or get discouraged and throw in the towel. Don’t make more of the error than it deserves.
Start again – right away. Don’t wait until the next day to get back on track. Remind yourself that the healthy weight-loss plan you have selected will work over time. Then learn from your mistake and move on. The only way to fail is to quit.
• Plan meals in advance. Spur-of-the-moment meals generally mean fast food or deli takeout – both of which generally contain excess calories and fat grams. Plan meals in advance. Having a one-week plan helps in several ways: grocery shopping lists can be very specific, menus can be checked readily for nutritional balance, food treats can be sprinkled throughout the week to avert impulse binges, and the plan can serve as a checklist. Marking off items on such a list can be motivating.
As you plan menus, also plan your schedule to allow sufficient time both to prepare and consume nutritious meals. When planning to cook a special low-cal, low-fat dish, invite a friend to share the meal with you.
• Eat small meals often. Eating frequently is a good rule for several reasons: hunger is never allowed to build to the binge point, blood sugar levels are maintained at an even level (which eliminates hunger signals and produces a more steady level of energy), nutrition to the brain is more constant, and a person tends to think more clearly and make food decisions more rationally.
Many dieticians recommend five or six small meals a day, including afternoon and before-bedtime snacks and a mid-morning snack. Each meal should include protein since protein creates sustained energy over a longer period. Make sure that the total calorie and fat content of all the meals does not exceed your daily quota. Eating smaller meals creates a pattern of eating less at each sitting.
• Identify responses to stress. For many people, anxiety triggers a desire for food. That’s because eating soothes tension by releasing endorphins that encourage relaxation. However, there are other more productive ways to release those endorphins.
Exercise, for example, is an excellent way to relieve stress. Get on the treadmill, take a walk around the block, or get busy with some housework. Or, if you prefer, try the opposite approach – put on your favorite music, pour a cold glass of water with lemon, and take a hot sudsy bath. If you tend to pig out when you "stress out," build up your defenses by finding healthier alternatives to tension-induced uncontrolled eating.
• Refuse to deprive yourself of all your favorite foods. It’s easy to feel deprived when your friends are packing away the pizza, cheeseburgers, and fries while you stick to the salad bar. That’s why a weight-loss program that deprives you of all your favorite food will not succeed.
Make wise compromises; an effective weight-loss plan is not all of one type of food and none of the other. Try sharing that cheeseburger with someone, and exchange the fries for a small salad or a scoop of cottage cheese and a pineapple slice. Enjoy the half of the cheeseburger you are eating than bemoan the half you aren’t eating. You can enjoy all foods... just not all at once. There is no forbidden food, just problem foods in small quantities.
• Don’t eat on the run or while in your car. Do you find yourself picking up a snack here or a burger there because you’re pressed for time? Unfortunately, you may be paying a higher price for the convenience than you imagine.
Realistically, your options for healthier fare are slim to none in a fast-food restaurant. Going home and sitting down to eat will help you eat slower. Light some candles, turn off the TV and put on some music. Make mealtime an experience that satisfies the eyes, ears, and taste buds.You will feed both body and soul – and many times, the more adequately the soul is fed, the less food the body seems to require.
• Don’t take diet pills. Please, please, please, do not take diet pills! They, along with various other diet products, have far more potential for harm than for good. What good is a skinny body if your organs or body systems are damaged?
Furthermore, the person who relies upon a pill or potion is likely avoiding the real issues associated with weight management and health – a need for information about good nutrition, to make wiser choices, or to exert will power. Good results can always be achieved without pills and potions. It’s also important to note that tobacco products should never be used as weight-loss aids – they always produce more harm than benefit to the body. Develop a plan for losing weight that does not sabotage your future health.
I believe that we all have the power in us to be successful in losing the weight we want, in being healthier. Always be positive. Trust in your strength. Believe you can challenge your body to reach a better, stronger level.
Just equip yourself with all the information you can, ask the experts, solicit support of family and friends as you embark on a healthier lifestyle.
You can when you think you can! Enjoy your journey to your better body, to a healthier you.
Happy Easter!
E-mail the author at: babyjackster@yahoo.com
• Refuse to give up if you slip and binge. Managing your weight takes practice to make perfect. Every person who wants to lose weight has slipped at least once, twice, or even many times.The secret is not to let a misstep become a landslide. Resist the urge to berate yourself or get discouraged and throw in the towel. Don’t make more of the error than it deserves.
Start again – right away. Don’t wait until the next day to get back on track. Remind yourself that the healthy weight-loss plan you have selected will work over time. Then learn from your mistake and move on. The only way to fail is to quit.
• Plan meals in advance. Spur-of-the-moment meals generally mean fast food or deli takeout – both of which generally contain excess calories and fat grams. Plan meals in advance. Having a one-week plan helps in several ways: grocery shopping lists can be very specific, menus can be checked readily for nutritional balance, food treats can be sprinkled throughout the week to avert impulse binges, and the plan can serve as a checklist. Marking off items on such a list can be motivating.
As you plan menus, also plan your schedule to allow sufficient time both to prepare and consume nutritious meals. When planning to cook a special low-cal, low-fat dish, invite a friend to share the meal with you.
• Eat small meals often. Eating frequently is a good rule for several reasons: hunger is never allowed to build to the binge point, blood sugar levels are maintained at an even level (which eliminates hunger signals and produces a more steady level of energy), nutrition to the brain is more constant, and a person tends to think more clearly and make food decisions more rationally.
Many dieticians recommend five or six small meals a day, including afternoon and before-bedtime snacks and a mid-morning snack. Each meal should include protein since protein creates sustained energy over a longer period. Make sure that the total calorie and fat content of all the meals does not exceed your daily quota. Eating smaller meals creates a pattern of eating less at each sitting.
• Identify responses to stress. For many people, anxiety triggers a desire for food. That’s because eating soothes tension by releasing endorphins that encourage relaxation. However, there are other more productive ways to release those endorphins.
Exercise, for example, is an excellent way to relieve stress. Get on the treadmill, take a walk around the block, or get busy with some housework. Or, if you prefer, try the opposite approach – put on your favorite music, pour a cold glass of water with lemon, and take a hot sudsy bath. If you tend to pig out when you "stress out," build up your defenses by finding healthier alternatives to tension-induced uncontrolled eating.
• Refuse to deprive yourself of all your favorite foods. It’s easy to feel deprived when your friends are packing away the pizza, cheeseburgers, and fries while you stick to the salad bar. That’s why a weight-loss program that deprives you of all your favorite food will not succeed.
Make wise compromises; an effective weight-loss plan is not all of one type of food and none of the other. Try sharing that cheeseburger with someone, and exchange the fries for a small salad or a scoop of cottage cheese and a pineapple slice. Enjoy the half of the cheeseburger you are eating than bemoan the half you aren’t eating. You can enjoy all foods... just not all at once. There is no forbidden food, just problem foods in small quantities.
• Don’t eat on the run or while in your car. Do you find yourself picking up a snack here or a burger there because you’re pressed for time? Unfortunately, you may be paying a higher price for the convenience than you imagine.
Realistically, your options for healthier fare are slim to none in a fast-food restaurant. Going home and sitting down to eat will help you eat slower. Light some candles, turn off the TV and put on some music. Make mealtime an experience that satisfies the eyes, ears, and taste buds.You will feed both body and soul – and many times, the more adequately the soul is fed, the less food the body seems to require.
• Don’t take diet pills. Please, please, please, do not take diet pills! They, along with various other diet products, have far more potential for harm than for good. What good is a skinny body if your organs or body systems are damaged?
Furthermore, the person who relies upon a pill or potion is likely avoiding the real issues associated with weight management and health – a need for information about good nutrition, to make wiser choices, or to exert will power. Good results can always be achieved without pills and potions. It’s also important to note that tobacco products should never be used as weight-loss aids – they always produce more harm than benefit to the body. Develop a plan for losing weight that does not sabotage your future health.
I believe that we all have the power in us to be successful in losing the weight we want, in being healthier. Always be positive. Trust in your strength. Believe you can challenge your body to reach a better, stronger level.
Just equip yourself with all the information you can, ask the experts, solicit support of family and friends as you embark on a healthier lifestyle.
You can when you think you can! Enjoy your journey to your better body, to a healthier you.
Happy Easter!
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