It is resolution season. Many of us have “lose weight” right there at the top of our lists. Maybe you just have a few “holiday cookie” pounds to shed. Or maybe you have a little more work ahead of you. Regardless of your weight loss goals there is one rule we should all follow: don’t diet!
Yes, we are the TOP provider of CoolSculpting in New Jersey, but we also agree about few things on keeping fats away from the body. And depriving yourself of food isn’t a good idea.
It should seem like it is common knowledge that diets don’t work. Yet, fad diets are as popular as ever. I recently overheard a woman talking about how she was cutting out an entire list of foods as soon as she rang in the new year. I wonder how many of those foods she has managed to avoid.
The reason diets don’t work is that when you deprive yourself of something you find that you only want it more. Plus, most diets are designed to keep you hungry and we all know how that turns out. You wake up in the morning and allow yourself a sip of juice and a rice cake with just a smudge of cream cheese. Then you pray that you can hold off eating again until lunch. By lunch time you’re so hungry you find yourself huddled in a corner eating an entire bag of fun-size Kit Kats. Okay, maybe that is an extreme exampe but you know what I’m talking about. We’ve all been there.
Losing weight is possible and can even feel effortless. You think I’m selling something but I’m not. Trust me, I don’t think you should be shelling out any kind of money to drop pounds and that includes buying those ridiculous food systems that promise you’ll drop pounds by eating their food. Guess what? You can just as easily drop pounds by eating the food you buy at the grocery store.
So, what do you have to do to shed those pounds? Change a few habits. That is it. If you are used to drinking a six pack of soda a day then change that. I’m not saying give up soda completely. That probably won’t work if it is something you really enjoy having. But make a set of rules for yourself. Maybe you have one soda a day or even cut back to one a week. If a can of soda has 140 calories and you drink six a day that is 840 calories. If you cut down to just one soda per day you’ve just saved yourself 700 calories!
The soda is just an example. You know what your habits are. So, look at them and see what you can easily change without depriving yourself. Maybe you leave cheese off your burger or just drink one small glass of juice at breakfast and turn to water for the rest of the day. Don’t tell yourself you can’t have juice at all. Don’t say no to the burger. Do you want a cookie? Don’t we all! Have the cookie. Just don’t eat a four or five. Do you normally grab a handful of chocolate and curl up in the corner of the couch just before Monk comes on? Maybe figure out what a serving of chocolate is and have it ready ahead of time so you only grab one serving. I like to have ice cream at night before bed. Instead of ice cream I’ve decided to drink a glass of my favorite iced tea instead. I look forward to it all day. I still get my ice cream at night, but just one night a week rather than every night.
Try it! It really works. Don’t cut out your favorite foods just change the way in which you eat them. Eat smaller portions. Instead of three slices of pizza at dinner have one slice and salad. Make a few changes and see what happens. Now, I know you don’t want to hear this, but combining this with exercise will make a huge difference. Weight loss is all about expending more energy than you take in so you need to move. But that doesn’t mean you have to sweat it out on the treadmill for 40 minutes. Just move. Play Wii with the kids. Go for a walk. Kick everyone out of the house, turn up the radio and dance like you mean it!
Lastly, don’t set your goals too high. Doing this will set you up for failure. If you are hoping to lose 50 pounds then you might be discouraged by that big number. 50 pounds is possible but just thinking about that number can be daunting and discouraging. Instead, set a small goal. Tell yourself you’re going to lose 10 pounds. Once you reach that goal then decide what your next goal should be. It is much easier to shed 10 pounds than it is 50 and before you know it you’ll have discovered you’ve lost darn near 50 pounds.
You’re in control. You can lose the weight. Make a few changes, move a little more. See what works. If you have to, tweak your formula until the weight starts to come off. It will be a slow process; probably just a few pounds a week. But that is okay because that means you’re doing it right and this time next year you’ll be wondering what your New Year’s resolution is going to be because you’re already healthy and trim.
