Let’s face it, diet and exercise programs just take too much time and
are always difficult to follow for the average person. You have
to be really committed to keep on top of some of these programs.
Perhaps you have tried different programs but simply lost your
motivation. I, like you had started all kinds of programs in the
past but just lost interest in them, for the most part because they
were really hard to become a part of my life. Some were probably great
programs, but my daily life situations combined with some hard to break
routines made me not as motivated or committed as I should have
been. Make no mistake, my intentions were good but my mind and
heart were not as committed as they should have been. With each
failed program, I slipped deeper and deeper into complacency that it
was alright to be a little overweight. If only I had at the very
least, a small victory, a pound or two lost, it could have been a
turning point that would have motivated me further and spurred a
greater commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Well, if you can
relate to what I have written, what I am going to tell you about is for
you.
Today, I do have a regular exercise and diet program that I follow but
this article isn’t about that. This article is about how I lost
weight by simply making a few small changes in my every day
choices. I put together this simple program mostly by trial,
error, accident and revised it with information I later obtained as a
result of a natural personal training regimen I follow. I have
followed the plan I am going to tell you about and have lost weight
with it. Believe it or not, just by changing what I ate for
breakfast and snacks, I lost five pounds! It worked for me and it
can really work for you as long as you stay with it for 4 weeks.
This is not a strict diet or exercise program but simply a list of
choices, options if you will, that you can choose on a daily
basis. Your mission is simply to choose a minimum of any three of
the options listed and stick to them for every day for at least 4 weeks
or preferably more. If you choose more options, the quicker and
the more weight you will lose. How much weight you actually lose
will depend on your own body and the options you choose.
No matter what you do to try to lose weight, it all comes down to two
things. What you put in your mouth and how much exercise you
get. If you reduce what you put in your mouth, but not exercise
you will lose weight. If you exercise but still eat the same, you
will lose weight. If you reduce what you put in your mouth and
exercise, you will not only lose weight but you will lose more of it,
faster and will be in better health to keep it off.
This method is really simple, but like anything you have to be willing
to really want to make a change in your life. All that you have
to do is select at least three of the options from the list of items
below, stick to them for at least four weeks and see the
difference. Of course, if you choose more options you will lose
more weight at a faster rate, but the success of the program rests on
how easy it will be for you to maintain the options for at least a four
week or more period. Some of the options may not apply to you or
you may already be doing them, so you cannot select these as an option
under the program.
Here are your options. Select at least three that you can live with for the next four weeks.
• Stop using or adding salt to your food.
• Stop using or adding sugar to your food (this includes adding sugar to your coffee, tea and cereal).
• Replace carbonated beverages (soda, pop) with water or low fat milk (skim or 1%).
• Start taking a multi-vitamin every day.
• Avoid fried foods (French fries, fried chicken, fried fish, etc.) replace with baked, grilled or BBQ.
• Avoid bagged potato, taco chips and chocolate candy, replace with fruit and rice cakes.
• Replace white bread with 100% whole wheat bread.
• Avoid creamy dressings or sauces, even if they say “light" or “reduced fat".
• Avoid pre-sweetened cereals, replace with an
unsweetened whole grain cereal or oatmeal (please don’t add sugar!).
• Just say no to donuts and pastry.
• Drink 4 glasses of water a day.
• Use 1% or skim milk instead of regular or 2% milk.
• Eat portions of food that are no larger than your
closed hand. (ie. A typical dinner might be a “handful" of salad, a
“handful" of vegetables, a piece of meat not larger than your closed
hand and for desert a “hand sized" helping of fruit.)
• Reduce wine, beer and liquor consumption by half.
• Eat more bananas, apples, pears and other fresh fruits.
• Do not snack or eat a meal less than one hour before you go to bed.
• Read the nutritional labels of the foods you buy,
consider the items with the lowest sugar or calorie content.
• Eat red meat only once a week, replace with chicken or fish on other days.
• Avoid pork, ham, bacon, pork sausage.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator daily (at least when going down to the ground floor).
• Run, walk, jog or bike for at least 20 minutes once a week.
As always is the case when considering any diet or exercise routine,
you should always consult your doctor before you begin. This is
especially true if you have any medical conditions or are on
medications. Give this a try for four weeks and see what results
you get. You can do it.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Ing is a forensic specialist with appearances on North
American news networks. He has provided security for celebrities and
dignitaries.
For more articles by Dr. Robert Ing please visit www.drroberting.com
Permission is granted to publish this article electronically or in
print, free of charge, as long as the article appears in its entirety,
full credit is given to the author and a link or reference to the
author's webpage www.drroberting.com is provided.
» left by Anonymous (1 year 202 days ago.)
Any tips for the person who basically does all of the above, has 20 lbs too much weight and has severe osteoarthritis in the hips, knees, feet and shoulders? I never had a weight problem, for over 40 years, until I became clinically depressed. Then I gained 20 lbs and lost fitness. Now I'm having trouble gaining fitness and losing the 20 lbs because of my arthritis. It's very frustrating and the extra weight adds to the problems with arthritis. I can't even walk very far anymore where once I used to walk everywhere, for miles, and run and cycle as well. I do pilates to strengthen my core but it doesn't help lose weight. I eat right so I'm not putting any on, and haven't for three years since I started feeling better emotionally. I need aerobic exercise but can't find anything I can really do.
» left by Anonymous (1 year 171 days ago.)
I would recommend trying a supplement for joints. I use one from Vitamin Shoppe and it has really helped. The best thing that has helped my hips is custom made inserts for your shoes. I would not workout without these, I feel a difference if I don't wear them after I'm done. Check with your doctor about these, if he agrees, get him to write a script for them, that way you'll get help from your insurance on coverage for them. They run around $200/$300. I would start very light on your walking, only so fast and not very long, then build in speed and time. That way it's not over kill on your joints. I would also check into some simple physical therapy exercises for your shoulder's using a exercise band. You may be able to get your MD to refer you to a Physical Therapist to help you with those areas. Consider taking motrin or aleve before a work out and make sure you drink plenty of water. These are just my personal thoughts.
» left by Anonymous (1 year 143 days ago.)
To the person with arthritis, the best and easiest way for you to start is by doing water aerobics, i tore both my acl's at the same time and the only way i made it through it was to do water workouts at first. This will also help with your joints, i would do this along with the person above's statements Respond to this comment
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