Jeni's Health Spot

Real Weight Loss For Real People

Written by Jennifer M. Gennrich 02/29/2008

            Weight loss is an issue that most of us have to deal with everyday. Personally, I have been struggling with it since I was about nine years old. It has been and still is an everyday struggle with my weight; that rises and falls like a roller coaster. In this article, I am going to share information that I have learned through trying and reading for a very long time. I am going to discuss how I think you should go about losing weight (without killing you or starving you) and I will expand from there.

            I have tried several ways of losing weight, as I am sure many of you have. I have tried Slim-fast, which leaves me hungry. I have tried numerous pills, which make me feel like I am having a heart attack. I tried LA Weight Loss, which worked until I went home on vacation where I couldn’t weigh and regulate my food. I also tried Weight Watchers, which also would work, but seems to take a lot of work and money. I am going to share with you the secret to weight loss. I have discovered this secret over years of trying several different methods of losing weight. This secret you can do in your home without spending lots of time and money in meetings and on “weight loss remedies”. Are you ready? This is my first time sharing my secret! It is. . . . . .eat sensibly and exercise. Wow! What a revelation! The world has gotten so sucked into losing weight quickly, that they are willing to do it unhealthily. The reason I chose to write this article is so that real people can lose weight.

            The most important thing you need to remember is to take it slow! Don’t rush it or you probably won’t stick to it. Some people can jump right into eating healthful foods and an exercise routine, but I’m not one of them. First, start with food moderation. Work on that for a while, before you incorporate exercise. It will allow your body to adjust to one thing at a time and little changes will help it to be a change that you can live with.

            The most important thing that you need to know about dealing with food is don’t tell yourself that you can’t have something or that you have to eat other things. To start, just eat normally and count your calories. This will allow you to be able to assess how many calories per day you are getting, and will also show you how many calories are in what you are eating. Once you have figured out how many calories you are eating, reduce it. I am not talking about cutting down to 1200 calories, like the movie stars. Cut down to a calorie amount that is comfortable with you. You may only want to reduce it by 100 calories a day to start. Make sure that your changes are small, so that you can live with them. Stick with that calorie amount for a couple weeks, and then reduce it again. Continue this until you reach 1600 calories. Stay put at 1600 calories. If you need to reduce a little more when you get closer to your goal you can do that, but don’t go too low. I suggest discussing how many calories you should be consuming with your doctor. As you become comfortable with your calories, you can start to incorporate healthier meat and a fruit here and a vegetable there. Try substituting ground beef with ground turkey and add a chicken or fish meal during the week. You may also want to have a fruit with your lunch and add a vegetable with your dinner, but keep an eye on your calories. As you continue on, you will create a taste for healthier food and will tend to incorporate more. However, your craving and love for certain foods that may not be healthy will probably still nag at you once in a while. Eat it, just moderate how much you eat and add a veggie or fruit. For example, we love pizza. When we order pizza, we order one large. That allows for each of us to have only two slices, leaving no leftovers, and we add a salad. Try new recipes and experiment with spices, you’ll be surprised what new favorite meals you may create.

            The next step would be to add exercise. This is really at your leisure. If you feel comfortable with your diet and are ready to start exercising after two weeks, do it then, if you need six months to work on your diet, then wait six months. You don’t have to wait until your menu is perfected before you start exercising, just take it one day at a time and when you’re ready, start exercising. I’m not saying that one day you will just wake up and love exercise, it will take motivation and you will probably have to talk yourself into it, but you will get to the point where you are ready to add exercise to your lifestyle. I recommend you start easy. Start with something you enjoy for about 20 minutes, three times a week. As you continue to exercise, you may choose to increase your time and intensity. Maybe you would like to go for a nice leisurely stroll around your neighborhood. You may have a pool and would rather swim. Do something you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every time. Don’t jump right into a high intensity exercise and weights, you’ll burn out fast and it will be harder to get back into it. If you prefer not to be outside or the weather isn’t cooperating, you can find a video with a low intensity workout to do at home. I really enjoy the dancing ones, they are fun! I wish I could tell you that you will love exercise and you won’t be able to wait until you can do it again, but you probably won’t. It will take either you or someone else to get your butt up and get a little exercise in for the day. I suffer from constant back spasms, so I tend to have a lot of back pain, but if I exercise between four to six times a week I sleep much better.

            It is much easier to continue eating our comfort foods and curling up on the couch with a good movie or book, but the hard truth is that it’s not good for you. Eating sensibly and exercise are very important (which I’m sure you’ve heard before). Like I said, start slowly by continuing eating your normal foods, but cutting back and when you are ready, add some low intensity exercise. Trust me, I know what it is like to want the weight off now, but slow and steady is better. It allows you to adjust to the small changes, so that it will be something that will be easy for you to stick with. If you have a bad day, just brush it off and try again the next day. Take it day by day. Just keep going and don’t give up, perseverance will get you to your goal weight!

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