Weight loss is a necessary evil for many people. Obesity and related complications are responsible for more than 300,000 deaths every year and well over 50 percent of the population is overweight.
These are grim statistics for a modern nation like the U.S. and something people really need to get to work on. If you are one of those people, read on for helpful advice.
1. Keep it healthy. In doing so, weight management becomes the priority, but you are not turning to fads and fasting to drop the pounds. Think not just about losing weight, but about gaining strength and adding years to your life by providing your body with the essentials.
Add things like green tea and echinacea to your daily diet and plenty of plain old water. These will all boost your immune system, flush out the accumulative junk in you and as an added bonus, help control your appetite.
2. Examine your life. Do you eat out of boredom or heartache? Is food an obsession in your family? Are you always adding a candy bar at the end of every purchase in the check-out line? Do you press the ‘snooze’ button over and over?
Take a long hard look at everything you do and how it influences weight gain or denies you the possibility of weight loss. Then, commit to changing it all.
3. Start a weight loss journal. Studies show that regular entries into a food and exercise journal more than doubles your chances of successful weight loss. Go online and print a free 16 week weight loss journal template, or buy something similar in a store.
This will be one of your most powerful tools in losing weight, provided you fill it up every single day with what you ate, how many calories it had, your exercises and even any cheating that may have gone on. This book will guide you out of your old ways and onto a new life.
4. Clean out your cupboards. Empty the refrigerator, cabinets, the drawers in your office desk, your car–anywhere you have junk stashed and ready for consumption.
Throw away every single item you know will be counterproductive to your weight loss efforts and banish them from your future. Diet soda is especially misleading to people, because there is nothing “diet” about it, yet they take small comforts in the word on the label.
It doesn’t take an expert to distinguish between the good and bad foods you have at your finger tips: you know what to get rid of.
5. Shop with a vengeance. Read every label, including the ingredients themselves and all calories, sodium, fat, etc. they contain.
While you want to avoid excess calories, consider the benefits of reducing salts, sugar and unhealthy fats from your diet as well. Look for ingredients made by nature that will be easy for your body to process and that offer more benefits to you.
Plan on spending much more time shopping for groceries than you used to, but consider your efforts well worth it and a huge step in the right direction. Remember that preparation is a big part of food health, so plan on steaming and baking, rather than frying with oils and butter.
6. Physical fitness. As you begin to lose weight, you begin to gain energy. Put it all towards working your body into better shape. Find a workout routine that will keep you interested and on the right path.
Don’t be too lofty or set yourself up for failure. Have a smart plan that includes cardio and low-impact exercises. Incorporate it into your schedule permanently.
Losing weight is much more than pure aesthetics; dropping those extra pounds could actually save your life in the long run. Adopt better habits and learn healthier ways of living, starting with the tips you have just read and continuing on to every aspect of your life. The changes you make will be well worth the effort and sacrifices.
