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With the rates of obesity and overweight soaring, weight control is a health concern for the majority of us. Everyone would like to find an easy way to shed the pounds and keep them off, but there is no magic pill or diet. The most effective way to lose weight has been shown to be a combination of more exercise and healthier food choices. This is not a short-term proposition, but a long-term change in lifestyle. Challenging as this may sound, those who have successfully maintained a significant weight loss will be the first to tell you how much better they feel and how livable their new and healthier lifestyle really is.
Studies of those who have succeeded to keep the weight off consistently come up with these common behaviors:
- Find enjoyable forms of exercise and plan on exercising an hour a day at least 6 days per week. If it helps you to exercise with other people, find a health club or weight loss group. Or take advantage of the motivational programs that Concept2 offers. In addition, look for ways to burn additional calories during your day, such as taking the stairs instead of using the elevator, walking between work areas, and walking to do errands.
- Replace calorie-filled beverages such as juice, soda and sports drinks with water, seltzer water, or unsweetened iced or herbal tea (add 1 tsp sugar or a splash of juice or lemon, etc if needed). Also watch the calories in those coffee drinks like Cappucinos and Lattes (get them with skim milk).
- Pack your meals with vegetables and some fruits to keep a satisfying volume with fewer calories. This means eating several different vegetables at both lunch and supper, and using fruit for snacks. Eating more fruits and vegetables requires planning ahead. First you need to buy more of them (fresh and/or frozen), then you need to cook more of them. Prepare extra vegetables or salad for supper, so there will be leftovers to take to work for lunch the next day.
- Make the most of your grain intake by choosing whole grains like whole wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, quinoa, oats/oatmeal, and whole grain cereals. If you make it a rule to only eat whole grains (at least most of the time!) it eliminates lots of those high calorie convenience foods/snacks like chips, pretzels, cookies and donuts that tempt you just because they are there! And it will be a much healthier diet with more fiber to protect you against cancer, heart disease and diverticulitis.
- Watch the portion size of your meats and fats. A healthy portion of meat is the size of a deck of cards-or just a bit bigger, and a healthy serving of nuts is about ¼ cup. A serving of salad dressing or peanut butter should be about 2 Tablespoons. Then round out the meal with your whole grains (for most people a 1 cup serving is reasonable) and several colorful vegetables-this is where you can be as generous as you want with the portion as long as you aren't calling French fries a vegetable - or baked potatoes topped with a high calorie cheese sauce or butter!!
- Keep a training log to record your exercise, and consider also keeping a journal to record everything you eat-at least for a few weeks. Be honest! This recording is one of the most commonly identified keys to losing weight and maintaining the weight loss, but it only works if you are honest with yourself and accurate with your portion estimates. So get out some measuring cups and spoons for a few days to really get to know what 2 Tablespoons of salad dressing or peanut butter looks like! A great free online resource for tracking your diet can be found at fitday.com.
Conclusion: Try this for 2-4 weeks. You'll notice a difference, and we think you'll like the way you feel.
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