Fast, Healthy and Achievable: Losing Weight the Right Way, Part 1 - Eat Less and Eat Healthy

If you're reading this, chances are that you've tried more than one way to lose weight. I've been there. I'm no doctor or dietitian; I'm just one of you. But, I know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't think that I had something of substance to share with the fitness community. I will warn you, however, that it isn't going to be a shocker revelation. In fact, you may even roll your eyes and sigh. But, it works! Plain and simple.

I'm going to start by saying that I've tried all sorts of dieting. You name it - I've tried it. From Lemon Cleanses to Raw Foods Only, from green juicing to Low Carb, from 'Fit for Life' to 'Atkins', I've tried them all. Maybe you've tried one of the above, and it worked for you. Kudos to you then! I'm not saying that they would never work, but they certainly didn't work for me.

For the past three years, I have been unhappy with my weight. - And it hasn't just been in my head either. I was certainly overweight. My friends were saying it. My family was saying it. You know it's getting bad when people stop asking you to borrow your clothes...ha!

A little under two months ago, I finally decided I had had enough. I wanted to get in control of my diet and exercise. I started following these three steps below, and I am happy to say that I have lost 20 pounds (around 9 kilos), and I am still shedding them. - All in less than two months!

There are essentially three steps to fast and healthy weight loss:

1. Eat Less and Eat Healthy!
2. Exercise!
3. Think Positively!

I'm going to take you through each of these three steps one by one, by writing a three-part series of hubs.

Let's start with the first one...

Making the choice to eat healthy food can seem a little scary at first. So, start small. Start cutting back on extra sugar, margarine, sweets, and other junk foods a little at a time, instead of completely cutting everything out at once. Going on extreme diets is not going to get you anywhere but depressed, and possibly even bigger and heavier than you were before.

Aim for being fit instead of being thin. Once you can get yourself on the right track to a healthier life, then your body will start to drop the excess fat on its own. Crash diets may help you look lighter on the scale, but unless you plan on staying on that crash diet for the rest of your life, your body will pick up weight as soon as you start to eat again.

So, when I say to 'eat less', I do not mean to starve yourself and skip your meals. What I mean is:

• Use smaller dishes to eat out of.
• Only eat one serving at mealtimes. No seconds! Give yourself ten minutes of sitting at the table after you have finished your plate. This will give your body time to start digesting and send your brain the signal that you are actually indeed full.
• No heavy snacking between meals.
• Only eat when you are hungry.
• If you serve yourself more than you can eat, it's okay to leave it on your plate. You're not going to help the starving African children by stuffing yourself.
• At the beginning of the day, if you know that you're going out to eat later on, and that there's a possibility you will have no control over what is put into your food, then shrink the meals you have at home that day. - Or go completely vegetarian for that day.

And again, when I say 'eat healthy', I do not mean to only eat raw foods, or vegetables. -Neither do I mean to never allow yourself to eat fun foods, and foods you enjoy. What I mean is:

• Always make the healthy choice when you can. For example, if you have a choice between potato chips or nuts and raisins for snack, choosing the latter.
• Choose fruits and low-carb foods for your snacks and desserts.
• Have a balanced diet.
• Keep a ratio on your plate of 60/40 between your vegetables and fruits/all other food.
• Sautee or steam your food, instead of frying it, or even boiling it. You can make your 'healthy' food a non-event inside your body by boiling it to death.
• Use the stove or oven, instead of the microwave.
• Prepare your food yourself as much as possible.
• If you eat out, ask the chef for the ingredients of the dishes on the menu, and choose the low-sugar, low-carb dishes.
• If you feel hungry before mealtime, eat a piece of fruit instead.
• Eat one slice of low GI bread instead of two slices of white, or even brown, bread.
• Drink red wine instead of beer or hard alcohol. if you do drink other forms of alcohol, limit yourself to one drink a week. I guarantee that if you would even only cut alcohol out of your diet, you would see an immediate drop in your weight.
• Drink reverse osmosis, ozone-treated water, with a PH of over 7.5. This is the only pure water plus minerals in existence. If your body isn't getting the minerals that it needs from the water you are drinking, it will start to tell you that you are hungry, as it tries to get the needed minerals from the food it hopes you will eat.
• Drink lots of water throughout your day. Your body is often dehydrated and sends the incorrect signal to your stomach that you are hungry, when you are actually only thirsty.
• Avoid any foods that have the following entries or labels on the package: 'saturated fats'; 'preservatives'; 'artificial coloring'; 'artificial sweetener'; 'artificial flavoring'; 'high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)'; 'MSG'; and 'hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil'. If you did a little research online, you could find a lot more you'd want to avoid, but this is just to get you started.

Something that may or may not be on your mind, when you start to think about losing weight is diet pills. However, the best advice you can ever receive is:

Stay away from diet pills!

Although you may have found "that perfect pill" for you and have noticed rapid results, most diet pills are designed to show those kinds of results right from the start, but as time goes on, you'll find that you are doing more damage to your body than good, not to mention the list of 100+ side effects that comes attached to every pill bottle. I would advise you to research any diet pills very carefully before deciding to pop them into your system.

In fact, medication in general can play a big part in weight-gain. Some women gain weight simply from using contraceptives. You should consult your doctor, of course, when deciding whether or not you should continue to take certain pills and medication. He could then direct you towards those with a lower rate of weight-gain.

I know I cannot tell you what to do, but I hope you will choose the right way to lose weight instead!

(Continued in Fast and Healthy: Losing Weight the Right Way, Part 2 - Exercise!)