If your motivation to lose weight runs out long before the pounds fall off, then how about this as a motivation: youthing! Of course, it’s a generalization, but … generally … people who are thin and active are less likely to get sick or suffer with hideous diseases. The entire point of our health habits is preventing disease rather than trying to get well after the fact. Yes, sure, thin people get sick, too, but our risks of lots of the Big Killers in our culture are significantly less for folks whose weight is in that magical ideal range.
The Healthy Way To Lose Weight
There’s no point in losing weight if we do so in stupid, unhealthy ways. So, yes, I know you’ve heard it a bazillion times but you shouldn’t try to rush the process. Yeah, yeah, it annoys me, too. Once I’ve made up my mind to lose weight I want all of it gone in about seven minutes. But there is one consideration that might influence you to slow down (at least, if you’ve over the age of about 25) and that is that our skin can look drawn and wrinkled if we lose weight too fast! Now THAT gets my attention!
So, if you’re concerned about a healthy way to lose weight, then think lifestyle change, rather than looking like a model by this afternoon – not that there’s anything wrong with looking like a model!
Usually, we lose quite a bit at first – the first week or so – and then it slows down to a couple of pounds each week. Trying to starve yourself just doesn’t get it! It’s dumb and it damages your body. Most people grit their teeth and force themselves to stick with a tough diet regime – for a while. But, almost inevitably, stuff happens and we fall off the wagon and gain back the weight we lost – and likely more pounds because we’ve messed up our metabolism by unwise dieting.
News bulletin that you probably already know:
losing weight ==> gaining it back==> losing
==> gaining==> blah, blah, blah …
is worse than being overweight and remaining that one … unless you’re in the Guinness Book Of World Records for the fattest person in your state, of course.
Walking to Lose Weight
This is an easy way to lose weight safely: increase your exercise just a bit by walking 10-15 minutes a day. Anybody can do that! And reduce your calorie intake just a bit, at the same time. But don’t use your walk as an excuse: "Hey, I walked this morning, so it’s OK to have a gian cookie and a Starbucks mocha latte".
Walking also is a champion when it comes to dread osteoporosis because walking builds bones. Every time your foot hits the pavement, your bones are jarred or stressed just a bit. That’s the entire theory of exercise – stressing the joints, muscles and bones, actually tearing them down, so that they will rebuild at a higher fitness level.
Yoga and stretching are a great accompaniment to walking because we become more flexible. There is nothing attractive about a stiff person who can barely get around.
And stretching and movement reduce the acid in the joints, enabling us to relax and be less stressed. The less stress, tension and anxiety, the less likely we are to overeat, which is a Really Good Thing.
Healthy Eating Tips
Volume: it’s possible to eat just as much – or even more – than before and still lose weight. The excuse about being hungry doesn’t hold up if you’re eating lots of veggies, for instance. I love grated carrots and pumpkin seeds and can eat those until I’m stuffed beyond stuffed – and still not gain weight. Naturally, I don’t eat nearly that much – but I could. The point is that it’s not the same as eating a like amount of potato chips or fried appetizers with dips. Not only are the calories non-existent by comparison, but the huge amount of fiber means I will absorb a lot few calories.
Color is important. I love salads partly because they’re so colorful. Just about every color in the rainbow is represented, except blue – yuck, blue food!
Every vitamin and mineral we get makes us more healthy of course. And I’m sorry to break it to you – but there aren’t any vitamins in a bag of Doritos! Too bad.
Youthing? Important to many of us – including you? If so, then use it as a s-t-r-o-n-g motivation to lose weight safely and start now. Yes, now. What are you waiting for?
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