Many of you who are reading this are wondering how to lose weight. Some of you have lost weight in the past but you were unable to keep it off. Others of you have given up. You've heard the horror stories about what it takes, or is supposed to take, to lose weight. Torture and starvation, you've wisely decided, just aren't for you. You have "unlucky genes" or you're getting older, and you just can't help it that you're not an athletic beauty like Jillian Michaels or her male equivalent.
The reality is that you don't need to starve nor do you need to torture yourself in order to permanently lose weight. You need focus, you need discipline, and you need certain intelligence, yes; but nothing too extreme. In fact, trying to lose weight permanently through extreme means doesn't even work. It's true that torture and weight loss don't go together. Trying to get too extreme in weight loss efforts actually makes you weak and unhealthy, anyway. Not to mention miserable.
What are some basic, elemental things that you can do to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way?
1. Change what you're drinking. Deliberately replace all soda pop with filtered or mineral water. Add flavor to the water with a slice of lemon or lime. If you really must have a sweeter drink, make some tea (black, green, or herbal) and sweeten it with honey or stevia. Replace lactic-acid producing cow's milk with the far more nutritious almond milk. Stop putting sugar or creamer in your coffee and learn to like it black. (It could help in your efforts to buy some more expensive, more flavorful coffee.) If you drink alcohol, stay strictly with red wine until your weight is under control. (Incidentally, if you're overweight you should not drink alcohol because being fat and drinking at the same time puts tremendous pressure on your liver.
2. Make your own meals. This not only saves you a lot of money, it puts you in control of all ingredients. Store-bought and processed meals are all too often loaded with unhealthy ingredients. If need to travel a lot for work purposes this means you'll have some advanced planning and preparation to do. Don't be lazy! This doesn't mean that you can't go out to eat-just make doing so a luxurious treat, not a habit. And stay out of the fast food joints.
3. Eat more often but eat smaller portions. These two things go hand in hand, since when you eat more often you'll feel fuller and stop gorging yourself every time you sit down to eat. Eating more often also means you fire up the metabolic fires more.
4. Get rid of the empty carb snacks and the usual dessert fare. Some things to eat as snacks and desserts: unsweetened yogurt with fruit and nuts thrown in; fresh or dried fruits; mixed nuts; pieces of cheese; roasted sunflower seeds; celery sticks or baby carrots dipped in bleu cheese. Smoothies also make for supreme desserts.
These are basic things that anyone can do to lose weight and keep it off, all without torture.
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