Weight Loss - Become a Successful Loser!

Some people eat to live while others simply live to eat. Eating can be real fun but there are few lucky ones who can simply get away with it. Whatever we eat is utilized by the body as required and the extra amount is stored in deposits for later use. This is a natural process but the problem starts when our expanding energy deposits turn into fat layers that encircle our body and engulf our personality. Eating more than required or burning fewer calories than required might be the real problem. But is losing weight really a big deal? Some people who are either skinny or are definitely well-figured think that all it needs to shed those extra pounds is to eat less and that's it. But that's not as easy as it seems. Burning the body fuel (read as FATS) can be a huge problem. But the real problem starts when obese people stop eating almost anything and everything and go on a starvation plan.

A survey showed that six out of ten people who make New Year resolutions include weight loss plan in their list. The rest four are either underweight or are quite satisfied with their body looks or they just simply lie about it! You must have gone through the comic strip in which a fat lady steps over a weighing machine and the machine shouts "one at a time please!" Though this is taken just as a joke, still many people find it a cruel reality and the scales are their worst enemy. I am definitely not going to give a lecture on obesity causing a lot of serious diseases like high blood pressure, heart attack etc etc., nor am I going to convince you to eat healthy and look after your body. The actual target of this article is the group of people who actually do know where they stand and really want help to get out of their state.

As silly as it may sound, the body we have is the one in which we have to live all our life; why not make it a nice thing to live in? Weight gain not only brings in a lot of physical diseases as mentioned above but also mental ones too. No one likes to be called fat. I remember that in my school days we had a couple of fat girls in our class and rest of the students called them names like baby-elephant, Jumbo, potato, humpty-dumpty or simply fat! It sounded so harsh to me that I thought how the actual listener did have to cope with it. Ever gone through a phase when your dress that you bought 3 years ago suddenly became so tight that you feel every movement of your each and every body organ! No silly, the cloth has not shrunk, you have expanded! Or have you been in a situation when you went to a party thinking that you look like Catherine Zeta Jones and instead of appraisal you heard the torturing sentence, "Have you gained weight or what?"

So all those people out there who really want to start with a weight loss plan (or else they would have to include this resolution again in the next year list!), here is a treat for you. No need to surf the net or ask people to know where to start from. All you need is motivation, determination, devotion and belief in yourself (along with this article, of course!), and see the results coming in a month! Many people would really love to get rid of some weight to have a close-to-perfect figure. But the question is that are we really ready for that? Being ready does not mean simply starve to death or exercise till your body drops on the floor; it means making your mind to stick to the goal. Remember, you didn't gain all that weight in a couple of days or weeks, then how on earth can you loose it in such a short time.

1. Make your mind:

Our mind controls our body. Convince yourself that you can do it. Start with small goals. Don't expect a miracle to happen on the 3rd day. Just make a way for yourself to reach your goal. Weight loss is a gradual process and it takes some time. Don't try to shed 20 pounds in a week. Your goals must be achievable, like shedding three pounds per month. Just take the example of a mountain. If you want to climb up, you can't simply jump up, you have to make your way slowly to the top. Similarly if you want to achieve your weight loss goal, you will do this slowly..... Remember slow and steady wins the race! Your ideal is the turtle here!

2. Start with little changes:

Even little things matter a lot. Avoid cold drinks and use water instead. You won't die if you don't have a pack of chips. If you take one teaspoon of sugar in your tea, reduce it a little. A nicer way is to reduce the quantity of tea to half a mug, so that you have to put just half the amount of sugar in it. Don't just eat because there is a chocolate cake in the fridge or because you are afraid your little sister will eat more cookies than you. Use stairs instead of elevators. If mom wants you to buy bread from a near market, don't go to your dad to ask for the car keys; simply walk.

3. Workouts are always recommended:

Though one can always loose weight without vigorously burning one's calories through workouts, yet, it is always recommended to have some sort of activity going on in the weight loss plan. Start with a little exercise. Just five minutes a day; or how about half an hour walk everyday. You can always watch television while exercising; this takes your mind off the clock and you end up exercising for more time than you allocated at the start. If the walk is brisk, it's even better but always have slow paced walks after meals. Jogging, hiking and trekking burns calories really fast and effectively. If you are looking for an indoor activity, skipping is the best one. Weight training and cardio are normally recommended. A more practical approach is to share household work like dusting or ironing or washing or gardening etc.

4. Eat five times a day:

This may seem strange to many a people but those who have taken some professional help may find it very true. Instead of three large meals everyday, eat five to six meals a day but the proportion should be small. Instead of eating a plate of full rice in the afternoon, eat half a plate and then have something after 3-4 hours. This will eventually reduce the size of your stomach from a size of football to that of a tennis ball. But never starve.

5. Stop eating for wrong reasons:

We all know what these wrong reasons are, don't we? Most of us eat due to boredom or simply for fun. Many of us eat while feeling depressed. Simply don't eat in such conditions. Just know what condition your body is in at the moment.

6. Avoid danger foods:

I don't need to write much under this topic. The most ironic part is that everyone knows what such foods are but still we simply ignore the fact. Ice-cream, chocolate bars, chips, donuts, all greasy foods, soft drinks, and the list goes on and on.

7. Learn to say NO

It is not necessary that you take a bite every time your friend offers you a sandwich. Or you don't have to order French-fries when you go to the café with your friends. Don't think that since your friend is paying for the Pepsi you should have one. Learn to say no. It will help you in the long run.

8. Think twice before eating:

While eating something simply ask yourself two questions; what are you eating and why are you eating? If it is your eating time and you are eating the right food, it's okay. However if you are just eating because you feel like eating, think again. In the start of your diet program, you will feel a lot of resistance from your body. It will protest in the form of hunger pangs, stomach grumbling, mind feeling low and sad. But remember, you have to resist all processions and temptations. It will be worth it.

9. Reduce Carbs and Fat intake:

Carbohydrate (generally referred to as carbs) is an important part of our meal. Bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and cereals that are high in carbs must be reduced if not avoided. Atkins (a well known diet program that has thousands of followers around the world) ask for a total ban on carbohydrates to loose weight. Whether this should be done or not is under argument for many a years, some are in favor while others are against this fact. Still you can minimize your carbohydrate intake and make sure you have a lot of veggies. Also reduce fats (oil, ghee, butter, cheese, etc) because this is what you want to burn, remember!

10. Drink a lot of water:

Many people who are in a process to loose weight complain of having a dull skin due to lack of fats that cause it to shine. The solution to their problem is rather very simple. Drink lots and lots of water. Pure water has no calories, so what are you waiting for?

11. Enjoy your eating time:

Many people who are on a diet feel as if they are having a torture with so much less and selective food to eat. Don't torture yourself, enjoy what you eat. While eating, give full concentration to your food. Don't hold sports page or TV remote in your hand while eating. You can phone your friend, read the newspaper or watch TV later. Reserve this time to eating only and enjoy it to the fullest.

12. Read labels carefully:

If something is labeled as "low fat", it does not mean that you can eat large quantities of it without gaining weight. Read food labels carefully. Some low fat items are very high in calories.

13. Give yourself a second chance:

Sometimes under friends' pressure or even our own mind's pressure we tend to eat something that we are not supposed to. Later don't repent over it. Give yourself a second chance. What is eaten is eaten and it can not (and MUST NOT) be vomited out! Do not go blaming yourself over it. Instead think that it was nice to have the pizza or ice-cream for a change and now I am going to stick to my original diet.

14. Be patient:

At least take one month to notice the difference. Don't just start living on your weighing machine, i.e., don't weigh everyday as you may sometimes get upset by the result and you may even lose hope. Our body mass is not just fat; it's a combination of fat along with water, muscle, organ tissue and most importantly bones. The weighing machine shows the combined weight regardless of the actual fat percentage. Sometimes if we weigh right after having our meal or a glass or two of water, we may notice the rise in the scale. But this is just temporary. Many people don't understand this fact and they just give up their program. So simply give yourself as well as the machine some break and don't step on it for 30 days if you are a beginner and for 10 days if you are in the mid of the process.

15. Reduce your restaurants visits:

Try enjoying the food cooked at home because it has relatively less fat. How many people go to restaurants and order sauteed vegetables? Furthermore, if you do go to a restaurant, you don't have to eat all what is in the plate. Many of us think that since we have paid for it or it is a rarely given treat by a friend, we should engulf everything that has been ordered. How about making a doggy-bag and eat it later (remember the small proportion point!). You can even give the doggy-bad to your little brother or sister and he/she will be happy on your considerate nature. Furthermore, go for diet drinks (if you really want to take one) and sugar free food. Salads may sound nice for a diet program but those with cream and mayonnaise won't be a good idea at all.

16. Spice up your life:

Since during the healthy diet plan your life starts rotating around the meal timings, spice up your life by spicing up your food. You don't have to eat boiled tasteless veggies. You can add a lot of spices and make your food tasty. Remember that most of the spices that we commonly use at home have either almost none or very low calorie level. Take advantage from it and add flavor to your food. Remember you are not in a prison, so don't just feel that the tasteless food is your fate. Make your own meal and you will enjoy the cooking time as well as the eating time, and will know exactly what you are eating.

17. Don't forget to reward yourself:

After a month of weight watch, you need some celebration too and you rightly deserve it. You can have a low fat chocolate bar or a couple of cookies or any other yummy thing you really dreamt all this month. Don't over eat. Take your time to celebrate your achievement. This will help as a great motivational tool and will help you get on with your plan the next month.

18. Consider other attributes:

Don't rely too much on your machine. Although it may give you a fair enough idea of your actual condition, yet always note other attributes like judge your progress by the way your clothes fit. Furthermore, you can have tape measurements every month to see how far you have reduced your fat factor because it is actually the inches not pounds that really matter the most.

19. Keep it off:

This is the hardest and most important part. From our early school days we have been hearing this phrase that it is relatively easy to get the top position but very difficult to maintain it. Similar is the case here. Once you start burning those calories and eating a proper diet, you can eventually reach your desired goal but to maintain it is the key point here. Losing weight and then keeping it off are two vital steps of a perfect weight loss program. If you have lost some weight, don't be over excited in such a way that you start eating again. In other words, don't reward yourself too much that it balances out by bringing back all the weight that you actually lost. Consider your achievement as a motivational factor to loose more or at least maintain this level.

20. Come on start up!!

How many points do you need to motivate yourself, hmm? Simply put the magazine down and get started. Don't be a couch potato and get moving....! If you do exactly what has been just explained, you will reach your goal, that's for sure.

One very important point that I must mention here is that not all exercises or diets are suitable for everyone. Sarah may have lost 5 kg in 2 months by exercising for an hour everyday but Amy may find this plan not working for her. Different people have different body structure and different nutritional requirements as well. The general weight charts that tell the age of a person and the ideal weight he/she should be having is not necessarily precise. This is due to the fact that both men and women of different ages have different activity levels that range from sedentary to extremely active. One point that often works for others is that if the goal is to lose weight, 1 pound per week, subtract 500 calories per day from this result. If the goal is to gain weight, 1 pound per week, add 500 calories per day to this result. By subtracting calories per day I mean either eating 500 calories less in your daily diet or burning those 500 calories by some activity.

We have many a times seen charts that show daily life activities or exercises and the amount of calories they burn. But one important thing they normally miss out is that the amount of calories burned is less if your weight is lower and higher if your weight is higher than the standard average weighed person. For example, jogging continuously for an hour may burn around 600 to 700 calories in a normal person but the burning rate may increase for a relatively obese person or vise versa.

Now some last words which are really very important at this point to some up everything. Never go on a starvation program. Always eat when you feel hungry. Never eat for comfort. Enjoy what you eat and feel happy and satisfied after eating it. Never go on fad diets that people generally talk about. Loose your weight in your own natural way. Never eliminate any food group from your diet, though reduce some. Don't weigh yourself too often, give your body some time (remember the turtle!). Always be optimistic about your goal but don't over do it by building high expectations. Everything takes some time to happen. Remember small things do matter and a small cookie does matter too! Make up your mind and stick to it and never give up. Loss in weight results in gain in confidence and by sticking to the above points you can definitely be a successful loser!

My name is Tahira Sahar Siddiqui and I am a freelance writer specializing in creative/ content writing. I have been contributing my write-ups in various English newspapers for the past 10 years. I have written serious as well as humourous articles on different topics including health, jewelry, baby items, women issues, relationships, and social issues, etc.

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