With the abundance of diet fads advertised daily, it's difficult to sort them all out. The options are overwhelming: counting calories, counting carbohydrates, determining glycemic indexes, finding the food for your blood type and so on. When all else fails, turn to the tried and true. With these simple tools, you will achieve the success you want without all the fuss.
Food Journal
In one of the largest and longest studies on weight loss, lasting 6 months with 1,700 participants, researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research found that those who kept a food journal lost twice the amount of weight than those who did not. The results were published in the August 2008 issue of the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine." A journal can be as technical as a computer program or smart-phone application or as simple as a pocket notebook. Keeping track of what you eat will make you more aware of what kind and how much food you consume. Over time, keeping a journal will become second nature.
Calories In
Food is energy. You consume food so your body is able to fuel its many processes and activities. If you consume too much food, you must burn more to keep from gaining weight. If you expend more energy than you consume, you will lose weight. Keeping your food journal will also help you gauge the number of calories your body needs.
Calories Out
To lose weight, you must use calories in the form of exercise. Not only are you burning energy but you're also building muscle, the body's only metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn every minute of the day, even when you sleep. The exercise will also improve circulation, the removal of waste products in every cell of your body and more efficient use of your heart.
Water
Drink some water, and then drink some more. Every process in your body requires water to function properly, from brain function to digestion. The old adage is 8 glasses a day, with more before during and after exercise. This simple tool will help you stay hydrated and avoid the uncomfortable symptoms of dehydration: headache, constipation, fatigue and even confusion.
Goal Map
As Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "A goal without a plan is just a wish." Set a goal and map the steps to get you there. Update and monitor your goal regularly, marking any landmark events such as pounds lost, completing a full set of push-ups or just foregoing the double mocha cappuccino for the skinny latte no whip. The record of your progress and tangible evidence of your successes will provide encouragement to keep it up. Although there is no panacea for weight loss, these simple tools will get you to your goal feeling great.
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