Hello Everybody,
Are you overweight and unfit? You think you really must do something about it, but cannot get the motivation to start? You are not alone, go to any superstore and you will see dozens of obese people waddling along the aisles. A good number of them would like to lose weight, just like you. But they never do. They can’t get motivated. You are different, you are reading about it. That’s a beginning.
So how do people get fat? They are not born that way. People often get fat through stress. Stress leads to depression and depression leads to comfort eating. Start comfort eating and before you know it you are overweight. There are other ways of getting fat. It may be your peer group. Everybody else is fat so what’s wrong with being fat yourself? There is even such a thing as greed, although we no longer use the word.
It is not easy for a depressed person, or someone in a fat peer group or maybe with other difficulties, to start weight loss programs. So look at what is causing your problem. Perhaps you can get help solving it.
But how to get motivated to lose weight. Have you tried to lose weight before and failed? That is often caused by expecting too much and this is fuelled by extravagant claims online and in the press. You want to lose 30 pounds in 3 weeks to look good on holiday. There are people out there who will tell you that it is possible. It has probably been done, but for most people it won’t work. So they fail and think they can’t lose weight and it’s no good trying any more. There goes the motivation.
What you need to do is get organised and set realistic goals.
You can lose 2 pounds in a week. ‘But that’s not much and slimming will take for ever’ you may say. Well, try for a week and prove you can do it. Lose that 2 pounds, then aim to lose another 6 pounds in the next 3 weeks. That’s over half a stone in a month. Not bad. Aim for another 6 pounds in the next 3 weeks. Do that and you have lost a stone. Is that good news or isn’t it?
Don’t put it off. It is easy to say you will start next week, or after your holiday or whenever. Start today. Just do it and you are on your way.
Now you know your first aim - lose 2 pounds in a week. When to start - today.
But how to lose weight? Through diet and exercise. You can’t do it with just the one or the other. That is where crash diets let you down.
So go to the fridge and throw out high sugar and high fat products. Fizzy drinks, pizzas, fat meat, white bread, pastry, that sort of thing. Yes it is costing you money, and you may need agreement with your family, but just do it. Then restock with lean meat, oily fish such as mackerel, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, granary bread and a bottle of red wine. This is known as the Mediterranean diet and is about as healthy and good tasting as diets come. Have a glass of red wine with your meal - not the bottle, wine does contain sugar and calories but is fine in moderation. So that’s the diet, try it and see what you think. There are plenty of recipes available based on these ingredients. ‘The Mediterranean Diet’ by Marissa Cloutier is a good book to read.
For your exercise you will need to walk up to a mile a day. It is not as hard as it sounds. Start slow, just wander round the block, next day walk a little further. As soon as you can walk for ten minutes, then turn round and walk back. You have just walked a mile. When you can do this easily, walk a mile briskly. That’s your diet and walking for weight loss program. Not much to it really. In a week you will be 2 pounds lighter - and you started today.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
Photo. Carl Neufelder
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