Despite what the weight loss industry and countless informational commercials may tell you, pills are not necessary to lose weight. In fact, most of the small print on those bottles and boxes says that the miracle pills are most effective with changes in diet and exercise, the essential components for weight loss to begin with. Skip the pills, save the money and start making achievable, healthy changes to meet your weight loss goals.
Add to and Take Away from Your Current Diet
You may fear that you have to give up all the foods you love and make drastic changes to lose weight. The truth is that small changes you can comfortably incorporate into your daily lifestyle make a big difference. Evaluate your current eating patterns and make substitutions with healthier foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, nuts, seeds and whole grains should all make a daily appearance in your diet. Eat a piece of fruit as a mid-morning snack, add a salad sprinkled with seeds or nuts to your dinner, have oatmeal for breakfast or make your lunch sandwich with whole grain bread.
Slowly reduce those foods that offer a lot of calories, but have little to no nutritional value to your diet. The best way to do this without feeling deprived is to cut your serving sizes in half. Eat only half of what you would normally consume when it comes to fried foods or fast foods. Order a small or medium instead of a large. Cut out one soda per day. Eat only a half of a piece of cake or 1 oz. of dark chocolate to satisfy a craving.
Cook Your Own Food
Cooking your own food is one of the best ways to cut calories that may be hidden in restaurant foods due to the preparation of menu items. By preparing food yourself you can control the amount of calories, fat, salt and sugar your meals contain. Cooking may feel overwhelming at first, but start slowly as your schedule will allow. It may simply include making oatmeal in the morning and topping it with fresh fruit. Find cookbooks that incorporate healthy ingredients and quick meals. Plan ahead on the weekend and make large portions of healthy soups or casseroles that you can take in your lunch or eat for dinner throughout the week.
Start Moving
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 150 to 250 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise such as walking six days per week for moderate weight loss. As little as a 30 minute walk, five days a week, can jump start your weight loss effort. Choose activities that you enjoy---it doesn't always have to be structured exercise. A basketball game in the park, a squash match at the gym, hiking, yard work or water sports at the beach are all forms exercise that feel more like fun than work and commitment, and will all benefit your weight loss efforts.
Seek Support
Our environments can make it challenging to lose weight. High calorie convenience foods are around every corner and appear in every form of media from radio to television to magazines. Family and work stresses can cause you to eat emotionally and take away from your exercise time. Seek the support of likeminded individuals to stay motivated and keep you on track with your program. Join an exercise class at the gym that meets regularly. Get involved with weight loss websites that provide forum discussions where you can discuss challenges and successes. Join a group at your local community center or church that offers weight loss support. Tell your family and friends about your goals and why it is critical to you and to them. Ask them to help support you by respecting your exercise time, and to avoid offering you unhealthy foods to eat.
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