Weight Loss Workbook
As I've written elsewhere, weight loss is not a complicated subject. It just seems to be that way because of the all the 'smoke and mirrors' used to sell the many and varied weight loss products that are on offer nowadays.
A successful weight loss program is successful because of its simplicity. The more complicated a plan, the less likely it is to work without a hitch. But any recipe needs to include the right ingredients.
So here's my 'shopping list' for successful weight loss:
1. REALISM Nobody ever got overweight overnight ? and the weight can seem to take forever to be shed. Remember though, that even when you can't get instant results, you can still enjoy the continuing improvement during the process.
2. A ROUTE MAP This is one of the most frequently omitted items from a slimming plan. First, it's necessary to know where you are right now. And 'I'm overweight' is not really accurate enough. If you can first establish your body fat percentage, then you're on route.
3. GOALS Think of these as place markers along that route map. You don't plan a big construction project by just starting work with an end date in mind ? and your fingers crossed in hope. Neither should you begin a slimming program that way. Plan some intermediate targets to achieve along the way.
4. SUSTAINABILITY It's absolutely pointless to set out on a regime that you know you can't stick to for the long term. Whatever program you choose should not be too far removed from a lifestyle that you could keep for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you finish the program (or quit it early) only to end up right back where you were. All that grief for nothing!
5. FEEDBACK The fact that most people who quit their diets relied only on the bathroom scale for feedback tells the story here. If you monitor your weight only, you're setting yourself up for failure. Try to visualise a 250 pound man. What do you see? Is it a rotund, inactive person whose doctor is giving him stern warnings at each check-up? Or is it a tall, muscular, active man that never gets sand kicked in his face? Either of those examples could weigh 250 pounds, so remember that weight alone tells you very little about your slimming progress.
6. PLANNED LAPSES There never was a slimming program that didn't include some lapses. The difference is, the successful ones usually have lapses that were planned. Take at least one day a week out of your program and plan to eat some of the foods you have been missing. That avoids those diet-busting cravings. Also, eat more calories on your lapse day. Eat as many as your maintenance level (the number of calories your body needs to stay at its present weight). Regular lapses help to fool your body and prevent it from recognizing that it's being subjected to a diet. And no, they don't 'slow things up', because they help guarantee that you finish the program. Surely you must agree that's a faster way to achieve your long-term aims than another failed cycle of diets?
7. BALANCE There's a popular misconception that lots and lots of exercise guarantees weight loss. Many committed people go from relatively inactive lifestyles to huffing and puffing for 7 days a week. Most are disappointed with the results. There are a number of reasons for that. Sometimes, it's because the exercise isn't enough to counteract the number of calories eaten. Often, it's because too much exercise is done on too few calories, so that muscle, not fat is burned. The ideal weight loss program ensures that you eat few enough calories to encourage your body to consume its excess fat. But it also enables the body to renew itself after the rigours of your exercise regime. Unless both of those requirements are met, you're sure of only one thing ? disappointment.
Remember; a successful recipe requires all of the necessary ingredients ? and in the correct amounts. If your slimming program includes all of the items listed above, you are much likelier to achieve your weight loss aims.
Neville Dodds is a writer and Internet aficionado who maintains that successful weight loss needs no special equipment or gym membership and requires much less time spent exercising than many people would believe possible. He is the author of 'Fat Loss For The Rest Of Us', which describes his own successful weight loss program, and contributes regularly to http://www.weight-loss-junction.com, a website owned by his wife, Jennifer.
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