With a modern, sedentary lifestyle it is very easy to put on weight. Here are some practical tips to fight the flab and get your weight down. It took you a long time to put on weight so you need to take a long view about losing it. Quick diets tend not to work. You need a change in lifestyle. This is the regime that worked for me.
1. Eliminate the Enemy.
The enemy are high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. The single most important thing you can do is to remove these from your diet. Specifically, make sure that you do not have the following in your home; bread, potatoes, pasta, chips, savory snacks, cakes, cookies, sweets, candies, chocolates and sugary drinks. This sounds severe but if you can remove these items you remove the temptation and opportunity to consume them. So what do you eat instead?
2. Eat Plenty.
Eat plenty of vegetables, fruit, chicken, fish, cheese and eggs. You can eat as much of your favorite fruits and vegetables as you want. Make soups from a mix of vegetables or buy low-fat soups. Eat red meat maybe once or twice a week. If you want a snack then eat some almonds or other nuts, a banana, apple or pear or a low-fat cereal or fruit bar.
3. Eat out Less.
It is possible to choose the low-fat items on the menu but generally it is much harder to resist temptation when eating out so eat at home more. The occasional big meal out is fine provided your regular regime at home is disciplined. You also save money by eating in.
4. Leave the Car on the Driveway.
Try to walk or cycle for local outings. You are helping the planet and reducing your waistline by leaving the car at home for short journeys.
5. Play Tennis.
Any vigorous exercise will do. Tennis is particularly good because you can play at 17 or 70 and it is fun, competitive and sociable.
6. Do it with your Partner.
It is much easier to change your lifestyle and remove tempting bad foods from the home if your family are all involved. Try to make it a joint effort with your wife, husband or partner and you will find it easier to keep going. Breaking the rules with the occasional treat is allowed as is alcohol in moderation.
These are the key items that have helped me lose 14 pounds in three months. The initial change takes some effort but then you get into new and better habits. The result is that you look better and feel fitter.
I lost about 30 pounds in the last year using the South Beach Diet. It’s not hard, but it does require some discipline. The main thing is to avoid highly processed foods (such as white breads) and anything with a lot of processed or natural sugars. Tend toward white meats (chicken, pork and fish) vs. beef. I found I can eat some fast food, if I do so judiciously (such as McDonald’s snack wraps and Taco Bell’s quesadillas and taquitos). And if I go out to a restaurant, I’m careful what I order (example: I may order an omelette, but ask for a side of fruit instead of breakfast potatos). Exercise helps, too – I like to walk. SBD is a way of “tricking” your body into utilizing its stored energy (in the form of fatty tissue). It’s also heart healthy, which is important when you’re middle aged like I am. :-)
It’s amazing but one very accurate sign that you will have difficulty losing weight and/or keeping it off is something most people rarely think about: the ability to throw away perfectly good food still left on your plate.
Psychologically (perhaps from too many years of our parents reminding us of the “poor starving children in China” — though in my house it was my parents’ own war stories of their own childhoods) we cannot bear to throw out food that we otherwise would love if we weren’t already full.
Some people call this issue “portion control” but calling it that doesn’t speak to the fact that we experience anxiety that we aren’t going to have enough if we put too little on our plate so we tend to err on too much (or order too much in restaurants). Then, when we realize that, in fact, it was too much, we can’t stop eating it either because of our anxiety about scarcity (in the world and in our own future possibly — possibly as soon as a few hours from now when we fear we’ll regret throwing out the rest of this yummy meal if we don’t gobble it all up right now!), and, hence, fear of future regrets (for throwing out perfectly good food that we wish we didn’t after all).
What’s the answer? Recognize that this is happening. Question your habitual thoughts/feelings/fears/anxieties about scarcity and regret when it comes to your food. It’s just a meal, right? Good! That kind of thinking is going to help you lose the weight to begin with and keep it off for the rest of your life. Also, to help adjust to any new major lifestyle changes or shifts in mindset, nothing beats a water fast. I wrote all about how to do that in a “Fasting Log” at http://shanelyang.com/2008/07/03/fasting-log-day-1/
I first thought you meant something else by “Do it with your partner.” Good sex can help you lose weight by burning calories and making you feel good about yourself – which is actually more important than losing weight, isn’t it? Admittedly, other forms of exercise will do too.
Regarding diet, if you adopt a vegan lifestyle, and stay away from processed food, you’ll be healthy and thin, and do a big favor to the animals and to the environment.
I’m confused. You first say to avoid high carbohydrates, but then you go on to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, which are very high in carbohydrates.
There’s really only one great way to loose weight, consume less calories than you burn. The rest are all hints on how to eat less calories or burn more.
This is the one and only trick to loosing weight.
Shahar – Vegan sounds great on paper but the truth is you should consult a doctor or dietitian before doing adopting such a lifestyle. It can be as dangerous as anorexia and bulimia. Iron deficiency is a common ailment to vegetarians/vegans. I agree, stay away from processed foods but you can also eat organic meats and still be environmentally friendly.
Going outside and not reading blogs all day helps too :-)
Brent,
On paper?! I have been vegan for a decade, I’m very healthy [e.g. I run marathons], I do not take any supplements, and I regularly donate blood [believe me, they wouldn't take it from you if you have low iron].
It is much more important to consult a doctor/dietitian if you are a carnivore. I would say that many more carnivores suffer from a variety of ailments [obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.] than vegetarians suffer from iron deficiency.
And although organic meats are certainly better for the Earth, abstaining from animal-based food altogether would solve so many environmental problems: water contamination, GHG pollution, energy, and more.
Back to the original topic, I do concede that whatever lifestyle you choose, it is important to eat a balanced diet [i.e. make sure you have enough of all nutrients] and pursue outdoor activities.
You have just prompted me to walk to the store instead of driving (20 minutes walk there and back). It’s such a nice afternoon and I’m having a hard time concentrating anyway (it’s Friday). I’ve been on a health kick and one of the dieting tricks I use is to write down the calories. I’m really learning how much an ingredient or snack here and there add up.
Eat less, move more. That sums it up for me.
I would only like to state, that while eating processed foods is obviously a bad thing. I am not sure I can say I agree with this one size fits all approach. Some people have body types and chemistries that demand lots of meats and fats – and they are actually healthier as a result. But almost nobody demands high grain (especially wheat). But this aversion to red meat is just not logical as people have different metabolic types that demand different diets.
smoke CRACK. You will loose weight for sure.
Who said anything about being healthy?
Eat food. Not a lot. Mostly plants.
Good article Paul.
Too many people are looking for instant gratification. If they don’t see results after a week or even 2 they convince themselves that it does not work.
Also far too many people try to adhere to a weight loss program that is just not possible in their particular situation.
It’s most important to find something you’re mentally ready to follow through with.
Eat more fruits -> remember that fruits contains sugar so you’ll not getting lose weight if you eat a lot of them.
Remember to burn more than you eat and you’ll be fine. And avoid junk food with E additives in it.
[...] Six Great Ways To Lose Weight – und wer wollte nicht ein wenig abnehmen? [...]
[...] Six Great Ways To Lose Weight – und wer wollte nicht ein wenig abnehmen? [...]
[...] Six Great Ways To Lose Weight – und wer wollte nicht ein wenig abnehmen? [...]
[...] Six Great Ways To Lose Weight – und wer wollte nicht ein wenig abnehmen? [...]
aha, different people might face different experience and get different results. there are at least 2 solutions/tips that i may suggest to people who are interested. you can get the tips from my website. just look at the sidebar under weight lose tips.
[...] * Lifehack.org October 3, 2008 [...]
[...] 6 great ways to lose weight. [...]
plz email me for easier ways to lose weight
“Eat plenty of…cheese and eggs”? are you serious? Enormous amounts of fat and cholesterol sound like a fantastic idea when trying to lose weight. Be sure to enjoy that heart attack you have coming up in the near future.
[...] * Lifehack.org October 3, 2008 [...]
Nice post, very interesting topic. In addition to that I do found a great site that will help you shed your fats in less time.if you are sick and tired of wearing fit jeans and shirts, this is the right time you visit this site waystoloseweightfast.co.uk and learn how to lose those pounds annoying you everytime you dressed up. As the saying goes why start tomorrow if you can start it NOW by visiting this site waystoloseweightfast.co.uk
nice post… simple and natural steps to lose weight. but my doctors have also put there everything is designing a weight loss regime. one best outcomes is the HCG diet. check out http://www.ladietclinic.com/ for the perfect weight loss with fat not coming back…so too with not much exercise and crash diet
Good sex can help you lose weight by burning calories and making you feel good about yourself – which is actually more important than losing weight, isn’t it? Admittedly, other forms of exercise will do too. And since you’re using much of your lower body, losing tummy fats is possible.
great post. after reading I found this great wieght loss product and wanted to share with you all.
loss wieght with the diet solution
Very easy and simple things to follow consistently to loose weight. I shall try it out. thanks for sharing.