It seems that most of us are
concerned about our weight and fitness. And, most of the people who make
resolutions want to make changes in the way they look and feel. If the recent
spate of commercials and ads are an indication, there is a lot of help to
achieve weight loss and fitness goals.
The problem is not with you. The problem is that effective and permanent weight loss and
fitness requires a lifestyle change. There is only one way to lose weight. It
is absolutely essential that your body use more calories than you take in. And
there are only two ways to do that. You have to reduce the amount of calories
you eat and drink or become more active. Doing both at the same time will
result in faster weight loss and greater fitness.
Losing weight and getting fit is not exactly rocket science, but it does take more than
just a new year's resolution to get the job done. It takes personal desire,
will and commitment. We have to be willing to learn how to safely and
naturally drop the pounds and increase our activity to increase our level of
fitness. That is the real challenge. If you truly want to downsize, you have to
be willing to make some lifestyle changes.
The changes I refer to are not
dramatic. They can be very small, but have a significant impact on your
success. Here are a few:
1. Forget about the diet. It
is not what you eat as much as how much of it you eat that makes the
difference. Just be aware of what you are eating and drinking and cut out a
little bit. Learn which foods are higher in protein and eat more of those.
Protein has the benefit of increasing your metabolism to make your body use
more calories and helps keep you from feeling hungry.
2. Watch what you drink. Most
people will get a large proportion of their daily calorie intake from sugary
drinks without a second thought about what is in them. The average 20 ounce
bottle of pop has about 300 calories. That works out to more than 2100 calories
a week. Replace it with water or unsweetened tea and you could lose more than
half a pound a week.
3. Find some way to become more
active. Muscles need to work to become stronger. Activities can be
different for different people. I prefer resistance training and my wife would
rather walk for exercise. But, physical activity and exercise are the only
things that will help get chiseled abs and toned muscles. Pills, supplements
and eating less may change the way you look, but that will not give you a toned
body.
4. Throw your scales away.
Concentrate on how you feel, your energy level and whether or not your clothes
are as tight as they were. The number of pounds you lose will change on a
weekly basis, but your energy level, strength in your muscles should go up and
the amount of fat on your body should go down as you progress.
