WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

 

The first thing I had to do was to get my mind straight and to educate myself on what nutritional food is and the best exercises for me. I spent many hours on the internet reading all of the articles that I could find. After many trial and errors of different foods and exercises I finally came up the following system.

 

MY WEIGHT LOSS PHILOSOPHY

  • Willpower Doesn't Work. Avoid Temptation.
    I believe NOBODY CAN RESIST their favorite food under the right circumstances. Example: If your alone, are bored with nothing to do and a "waive of depression" comes over you, that cheesecake sitting in the fridge isn't going to last long. Force of willpower isn't going to keep it their. If it's not there you won't eat it.

  • People Are Lazy
    If it's TOO HARD TO DO, your won' do it. The temptation to have "cheesecake" is balanced by the amount of effort you are willing to obtain it. Getting dressed and driving to the grocery store may be too much effort to put into obtaining that treat, so it goes "uneaten".

  • You Crave Things That Taste Good
    FOODS THAT TASTE GOOD ARE TEMPTING. Getting rid of all the "good tasting" junk foods in the house and replacing them with natural healthy foods will force you to change your eating habits. The cravings for sweets and junk foods will eventually go away and you will grow to enjoy the healthy foods. You really do learn to like them after a while.

  • Knowledge is Power
    GETTING SMART and learning as much as you can about good nutrition and exercise is the first step in "training yourself" into adapting a healthy lifestyle. With the healthy lifestyle come weight loss and fitness.

  • Tailoring Your Environment for a Healthy Lifestyle is Crucial
    Create a living condition that controls your eating and exercise habits (as shown below).

 

MY HEALTH & FITNESS SYSTEM

CONFIGURING YOUR HOUSE

  • Get Rid of Junk Food
    YOU HAVE TO get replace all the unhealthy junk foods in the house with healthy foods.

  • Clean the House
    Keeping the house clean, neat and organized puts you in a better frame of mind.

  • Accurate Weight Measurements
    Purchase an accurate digital weight scale and weigh your self every three days or so. Nothing is more disappointing than to step on the scale to see a gain in weight due to an inaccurate or inconsistent scale. It takes the wind out of you. Also, "go the bathroom" before weighing yourself and weigh yourself first thing in the morning for consistency.

  • Air Fresheners
    Add air fresheners to your house. A good smelling house makes you feel better.

  • Support System
    Tell your family and friends what you are doing and ask for their support.

 

WEIGHT LOSS FOOD TIPS

  • Healthy Foods Only (No more fast foods)
    For over three years I ate only the following healthy foods (well almost only). Fish (salmon and tuna), skinless chicken breast, broccoli, egg beaters with tofu omelet, onions, salad, carrots, Alba diet shake made with fat free dry milk, fat free Jello, 6 cups coffee, Coffeemate, Splenda/Equal sweeteners, fat free or low fat yogurt, oatmeal with vanilla flavored protein powder, grapefruit, apple.

  • Bonus from Healthy Eating and Exercise
    My Total Cholesterol = 115
    HDL = 52 LDL = 49
    The receptionist at the doctor's office said that my Cholesterol was the "Lowest She Had Seen".

  • Keep a written log of what you eat and count calories, proteins and fats.
    This will keep you aware and make your guilty conscience kick in when you fall of the diet.

  • Eat bland food only
    If it tastes good you will eat more. Don't want that. Eat for the nutrition, not the taste.

  • Eat a big breakfast
    Big breakfast in the morning and smaller meals spaced evenly throughout the day will give you the energy to keep going.

  • Don't feel full
    If you eat enough to "feel full" you will probably will just want to go take a nap.

  • Food shopping once a week
    Less trips to the market means less temptation to buy treats and goodies.

  • Keep only healthy bland food in the house
    Reduces temptation.

  • Educate yourself about health and nutrition
    Try to become an expert in health and nutrition. The more you know, the more your mind won't let you eat the bad stuff.

  • Eat Healthy food only
    If you eat enough of this, the craving for chocolate, pizza and fast food will eventually go away. Plus you will have a better mental attitude about your health.

  • Don't have an occasional treat
    If you buy that one candy bar or pizza it's like pulling your finger out of the dam.

  • 1500 calories per day
    For my body 1500 calories per day along with exercise will make me lose weight yet still provide me enough energy to feel strong for exercising.

  • 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, 20% fats
    That is suppose to be the proper ratio of foods for good nutrition to build muscle.

  • Daily Vitamins & Supplements
    Take the supplements throughout the day. By taking them in the morning, afternoon and evening with a large glass of water you are "reminding" yourself of good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Just another mind training exercise

  • I take the following
    - 1 Ecotrin (Safety Coated Enteric Aspirin)
    - Men's multiple vitamins
    - Fish oil supplements
    - Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM (I take this to delay the onset of arthritis that runs in my family)

  • Drinking Coffee
    This doesn't fall into the "healthy category", but for me drinking 3 cups of coffee at breakfast and lunch kills the appetite, perks me up and gives me the energy to exercise.

  • Drink Plenty of Water
    Just like you have heard all your life. It will help you feel full and is good for you.

  • Salads each day
    Eat leafy dark colored "mixture" salads. No iceberg lettuce. I buy the salads in the bags then add raw onion and broccoli. I used to use low fat Ranch style dressing (40 calories per serving). I have since changed to 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. A little more calories but a lot healthier for you. I have also changed to using spinach leafs for the salad mix. Taste good, is cheaper and sounds like it's good for you.

 

WEIGHT LOSS EXERCISE

  • Diet First, then Build Muscle
    The way I figured it, building big muscles wasn't going to happen while dieting. The most I could expect from exercising was to build up muscle tone and burn up calories. If I wanted to, I could concentrate on muscle building after the weight loss was over.

  • Do Easy and Enjoyable Exercises
    I have (like everybody else) tried all sorts of different types of exercise. None lasted throughout my lifetime. They all became boring or were too hard to keep on doing. The key for me was to find exercises that were easy and ones that I didn't mind doing. The phrase "no pain no gain" didn't work for me. For me when I pushed something too hard (the pain) I would simple stop doing it altogether.

  • Exercise to Loud Music
    I found that I needed music with exercise. And the louder the better. Music is a must have. Music makes you forget that you are exercising. Music videos are even better and are more distracting. Shania Twain videos work for me. If music videos aren't available I found that cranking up the music from the sound system while putting the TV on mute works just as well. Both the ears and the eyes are distracting you from the "work" being performed.

  • Eat Before Exercising
    Eating about an hour before exercising was necessary for me. I found that I needed the energy to keep me strong and get me through the workout without becoming drained. If I would have felt weak or tired I would have quit.

  • Good Smells
    I found that spraying the exercise mat and exercise area with an air freshener before you exercise gives a little "boost" to your mental attitude.

  • Be Cool
    Exercising while standing under an air conditioning vent and overhead fan keeps me cool and prevents excessive sweating. This makes it much more enjoyable and therefore I continue exercising longer.

  • Lifting Dumb Bells
    For lifting dumb bells I found that a little Pam or kitchen butter spray under the arms acts as a lubricant and prevents chaffing. It is kind of odd though.

  • Wear Gloves
    Wearing fingerless padded exercise gloves for lifting dumb bells does a couple of things for you. It makes it easier on the hands and gives you a mindset that you're ready to exercise.

  • My Daily Routine
    My daily routine boiled down to one hour of stretches in the morning and one hour of light weight (dumbbells) in the afternoon. (During the summer months I also swam and played with the dog in the pool for one hour.)
    - My "stretches" include a variety of arm twirls, body twists, neck turns, pushups, waist bend, knee bends, leg stretches and more. I would do one type of exercise per song. The average song length was 3-4 minutes.
    - I started being able to do 0 pushups. I do 25 a day now. I can do more but I don't want to push myself (make it hard)
    - I started with 8 lb. dumbbells. I use 25 lb. dumbbells now. Again, I don't want to make it too hard.

 

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