There are many people who try to lose weight, some succeed and some fail, but the biggest battle for people who are able to reduce their weight is often maintaining their ideal weight. Many people find that they soon return to their pre-diet weight, or even that they are actually fatter. This can of course be very depressing and can lead to them losing a lot of their self-esteem. What is needed is a permanent solution to their weight problems.
There are several obvious ways to fight weight loss. They would include increasing the amount we exercise and decreasing the amount we eat. It is this eating problem that can be the most difficult to control and reduce because our temptations often overwhelm us.
In my opinion, we need to make our house a fat free zone. If we get hungry and start looking through the cupboards and notice a packet of crisps, for example, it can often be very difficult not to eat them. Our cravings for instant food can be overwhelming and our inner demons try to convince us that one packet won't hurt. If that packet of crisps hadn't been in the cupboard, we wouldn't have been put in such a position of temptation, and of course we wouldn't have been able to eat them.
A few years ago, when I started to lose weight, I decided to remove from all the cupboards all the foods that I knew I had to stop eating. I have also eliminated certain beverages such as alcoholic beverages that also contributed to my weight problems. I put all the takeaways I had in the bin and basically tried to make it as difficult as possible for me to eat or drink anything I shouldn't have.
When I was out I had to be determined to stick to my diet and not be tempted to buy any of these items in stores etc. It wasn't easy as I am someone who loves all these fatty foods.
I bought a lot more fruit and veg in my weekly grocery shop and was surprised at how quickly my taste buds started to change. Soon I was looking forward to having an apple for example, and the weight started coming off slowly but surely.
After a few monthes I reached a weight I was happy with. My wife reported that I could now start eating things like dry roasted peanuts, which is a particular favorite of mine. That may have been true, but it could easily lead to a return to old bad habits and of course weight problems. I decided to stick with fruit and my cupboards are still empty of the foods I like to eat but are not good for my weight.
No matter what we would like to believe, there is simply no magic solution to losing weight. The body will shed excess fat when it needs more calories to function through the demands you place on it that day than the amount of calories you feed it. It's so simple. So if you want to lose weight, you need to decrease the number of calories you eat and also increase the amount you burn.
There are a variety of options to choose from when looking for a weight loss program. Everyone often spends a lot of time explaining what to eat, in what quantity and even at what time or in what combinations. But few emphasize the importance of exercise—not just for weight loss, but for your overall health and well-being. Exercise is vital when trying to lose weight for several reasons:
First, when you start eating less, your metabolism slows down somewhat. Exercise helps raise your metabolism back to an efficient level. Second, as mentioned before, you burn more calories with exercise, so you can lose weight faster and stay motivated in your efforts. Third, exercise actually releases endorphins, chemicals that keep your mood up.
Exercise doesn't have to mean spending hours in the gym or straining through grueling workouts. In fact, to stick with it long term, exercise should be something you enjoy. Start by increasing your activity level overall. Take the stairs when you can. When you go shopping, park further away from the mall door. Go for a walk in a park or in a neighborhood you like and take your dog or friend with you. Take dance or martial arts lessons.
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