Weight loss tips
and hints
Slow and steady is the best strategy for weight
loss.
Make list of " bad foods" that you can give up
and make a list of "bad foods" that you
will reduce your consumption of.
Make a list of healthy foods that you really
like and keep your fridge and pantry well
stocked with these items.
Make a list of healthy foods that are normally
too expensive for your budget and have a couple
of these available as rewards for improving your
diet. This could be something such as
imported, out-of-season fruit.
Take a "before" photograph so you can look back
on what you have achieved with your new
lifestyle.
Don't eat between meals.
Buy yourself some decent scales. If you
feel you must weigh yourself every day then do
it at the same time each day. If you find
you gained weight after eating especially
healthy the day before then don't scold yourself
or be miserable over it. Just blame mother
nature. It will happen.
Consider the type(s) of exercise that you would
be willing to participate in. Aim for
exercise that you will enjoy. Don't punish
yourself doing sport/exercise that you hate.
Most of us can manage walking. Is there
some other form of exercise you are willing to
participate in as well as walking?
Remove more "bad foods" from your diet on a
weekly basis. For example in week one you
could try omitting just cakes from your diet.
Week two might involve removing cake and
biscuits. Week three might be cakes,
biscuits and muesli bars. You might
chose different foods according to your
likes/dislikes. Keep decreasing the
variety of problem foods so that after a few
weeks you rarely eat "bad foods".
Teach yourself to eat only when you are
hungry and to stop eating when you are no longer
hungry. There is no need to finish every
morsel on the plate. This is difficult to
do because we have been programmed to eat
everything put in front of us since we were
children.
When you are reading magazines that show
pictures of rich, creamy desserts (and other bad
foods) remind yourself that these foods are
revolting and so unhealthy. Psyche
yourself into believing that these unhealthy
foods are not for you. If you see a
picture of a large plate of fish and chips tell
yourself that you could not possibly eat it.
Give yourself enough of these "bad food"
messages and you will start to believe what you
are thinking. Initially this is hard to do
especially if you are craving
that type
of food but, believe me, it does get easier.
Have a reward each week when you have tried
hard. This does not have to involve a
great deal of expense. It could be a walk
along the beach with your partner or maybe a
foot massage. It could be one of the
family taking turn to cook dinner instead
of you doing it every night.
Try new recipes using healthy ingredients. Now
is the time to try cuisines from other
countries.
Keep a diary listing your goals at the front,
but make sure these goals are realistic.
If you make unrealistic goals you will be
setting yourself up for failure right from the
word go. Each day write down your progress
and the problems you had. Don't be too
hard on yourself. There will be days when
you go backwards but keep pushing onwards to
achieve your goals. Small, achievable
goals are far more effective than big,
unrealistic goals
Walk every day for at least 30 minutes. If
you are particularly unfit then you may have to
start with 10 minutes per day. Even if it is
pouring with rain or quite hot you can still
walk. Maybe you just walk a little less on
those impossible weather days. After a few
weeks you will not want to miss your daily walk.
You will feel that it is doing your health so
much good that you will not want to miss even
one day. If possible find someone to walk
with as it is more fun that way.
Keep a positive attitude. If friends ask
how your diet is going then tell them it is
progressing really well and believe that you can
achieve your goals. Don't wallow in misery
because you miss chocolate mud cake. Just
think how privileged you are to be eating a
dozen cherries that you would never normally buy
in the middle of winter.
Visualize the slimmer you. Visualize
yourself walking faster, swimming more laps,
gaining confidence because you believe in your
new lifestyle.
Don't stop your new lifestyle when you stumble.
Get back up and start again. It is worth
the effort. You know it is.
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