Weight Loss 051
Six Things You Can Do to Lose Weight Right Now
These six changes together will put you well on your weight to losing weight.Seven easy, do-them-right-now steps that can make a huge difference in your weight. Plus, we make it simple: See prime examples (how many are you doing right now), and how many pounds it is adding (or you could lose) by making each change.
#1: De-accessorize.
Stop having all of the accessories with your food and drinks. Some great, easy examples - including how many pounds it's adding (or that you could lose) are listed here.
- Lose the soda or juice with your meal. Have water instead. Result: over 1 pound per month (for each daily soda or juice you eliminate. Eliminating two sodas a day results in almost 1 pound per week!).
- Pass on the scone or muffin with your morning latte. Result: 1 pound per week.
- Skip the fries, chips, or other treat with your meal. Result: 1 pound per two weeks.
- Say no to the whip with your latte or mocha. Result: 1 pound per month.
- Bypass the appetizer with your dinner out. Even if you share one, you're getting an extra 500 calories or more. Result: 1 pound every seven times.
Combine them all together, and we're talking about over 100 pounds per year (not even counting the appetizers at dinner!).
#2: Downsize.
In this world of super-sized, venti, biggie, and mega-everything, have you considered the results on your body?
- Get a tall latte instead of a grande or venti. Result: Up to 1 pound per month.
- Put away the Big-Gulp. Have you counted the calories in one of those things? Get a small (12 ounce) instead. Result: At least 1 pound every two weeks.
- Save for later at least half or 2/3 of your steak, chicken, or any other meal that you get when you eat at a restaurant. Nobody - not even the biggest man - needs a 12 ounce or 16 ounce steak. Or better yet, split the meal with someone else. Results: At least 1 pound every 10 times.
- Skip on the popcorn at the theater. It's so light, you hardly realize how many calories you are getting. Result: 1 pound for every two tubs.
Combine the Downsize tips together, and we're talking about another 35 pounds per year. If you eat out once per week and go to one movie a month, that raises it to 46 pounds a year!
#3: Clean House.
Halloween candy. Treats for the kids. Quick snacks. Donuts. Cookies. Ice cream. Chips. How many of these are in your house? And how many of them do you fall victim to every week?
It is much, much easier to resist these items once at the grocery store than every minute of every waking day. They're right there when you're feeling weak, and they aren't doing you any good.
Clean house, and get rid of them. Throw them away. Which is more of a waste: To throw them out, or to eat them and have them around your waist? And we hear some of you right now - if you "have to have them for your kids/husband/wife", then you need to read this article on Healthy Relationships - because it's not love to keep these things. They aren't good for you, and they aren't good for your loved ones either.
When you're cleaning house, get rid of these things:
- Candy.
- Cookies.
- Chips.
- Crackers (yes, crackers).
- Donuts.
- Ice cream (if you are able to enjoy it once or twice a week, keep it. If you have it every day, get rid of it.)
- Soda.
- Juice. (Yes, juice. It's packed with calories, and has little nutritional value).
The results of this are immeasurable. If you barely nibble on these things, it will result in 1 pound a month. If you find yourself grazing throughout the day, it could easily result in 1 pound (or more) per week. That's 52 pounds - or more - a year.
#4: Care.
Somehow, some way, you need to care about your health. We don't know what will inspire you, what motivates you - only you know. But care enough to be healthy so that you can live a real life with your kids. You can go outside and play with them. Live long enough to enjoy - really enjoy - your grandchildren. Or maybe you need to care because you want to travel the world, go camping, or play sports. Whatever it is, find that thing that inspires you enough. Grab ahold of it. And care. This is what will give you the motivation to do steps 1-3. And if you did steps 1-3, we're talking a potential change of up to 200 pounds per year. Wait a second. Are you asking "how can anyone lose 200 pounds per year?"
#5: Learn.
Do you know how many calories you ate today? How about at breakfast? Or lunch? How much fat was in your last meal? How many grams of trans fat (terrible, terrible stuff) did you eat yesterday?
Look, it may seem overwhelming, but take it one meal, one bite at a time. You can do it. But if you don't learn what you're putting into your body (and what you should be putting into your body), you will not make any progress. Start small, but start: At your next meal, pick up the container and look at the calories. Check the fat. Check the trans-fat (if you have anything in your house with trans-fats, throw it out immediately). The first few times it may be confusing, but you'll get comfortable. And after a while, you'll be able to pick something up and quickly know whether it's good or bad, and how much you should eat. You'll understand what you're eating, and you'll feel good about that.
And understanding what you are eating will make a tremendous difference in what you choose to eat, and how much. With some people, this alone could be worth several pounds per week.
#6: Increase your Exercise.
Don't panic -you knew it was coming. And we're not talking drastic measures. We're talking little things that increase your exercise every day (without "working out"). Some ideas are:
- Park farther away wherever you go. Not miles away, but don't get that rock-star front-row parking. And, as you get stronger (and you will get stronger), you can park even farther away.
- Take the stairs. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs if it's just one or two stories. Yes, it's a lot of work. That's why it's so beneficial. Plus, you'll get there faster!
- Walk more. There's tons of walking opportunities each and every day. Can you walk your kids to school, or to the bus stop? Walk from one store to the next instead of driving? Find those opportunities and take them.
- Go out and play. Go out and run around with your kids. It's fun, and it's exercise.
- Do your own chores. Mow the lawn, rake the leaves, sweep, mop, pull weeds - they all burn calories, and are satisfying when you're all done anyway!
- Turn off the tv. Watching tv burns fewer calories than virtually anything you can do -
