Simple Things You Can Do To Lose Weight
- Drink at least 8 8 oz. servings of water a day (8 oz. is a small glass—4 tall glasses of water a day is plenty, although you can never drink too much).
- Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Remember that peas, corn and potatoes are starches more than vegetables, so go easy on those. Try to eat more vegetables than fruits. If it’s difficult to keep fresh vegetables handy—get frozen. They’re just as healthy, and they come pre-chopped and are easy to prepare. Munch on baby carrots during the day.
- Do some sort of exercise every day that gets your heart rate elevated and makes you break a sweat for at least thirty minutes. Work up to it. Start with ten minutes (or whatever you can do) and increase your time by a minute or two a day. But you must sweat and have an elevated heart rate for a continuous amount of time. Your warm-up and cool-down times don’t count (but don’t skip them). Walking fast is the best exercise to start with. Try to get it out of the way in the morning every day—that way you’re more likely to stick with it.
- Don’t eat after dinner in the evenings, except for chopped vegetables, or fruit.
- Drink water or herbal tea.
- Eat two three-ounce servings of lean protein a day. Low-fat Cottage cheese, chicken or turkey (no skin), water-packed tuna, lean beef, etc. A three ounce serving of meat or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards.
- Keep starch or grain servings to one per day, and make them whole grain.
- Starches: corn, peas, potatoes, beans and other legumes, etc.
- Grains: oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat bread, etc.
- If the word WHOLE is not in the first ingredient listed on the label, then the food is not a
whole-grain food. Keep serving size moderate. - Minimize the use of fats to one or two tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil per day, for stir-frying vegetables or making salad dressing.
- Don’t eat any candy, baked goods, deep-fried foods, fatty meats or sauces, etc.
- Once you’ve reached your goal weight, you can have these things in moderation—one or two moderate-sized servings a week.
- If you use milk, use skim. If you don’t like skim, work down to it. Use 2%, then 1%, then skim.
- Keep a food diary and write down everything you eat and drink. This is very helpful diet tool, and is something that will really help with maintenance too. Get a calorie counter book. Keep track of your calorie consumption. Try to keep your calorie consumption below 1500 per day (this number can increase once you reach your goal weight, and/or increase you exercise). Don’t forget to count everything you eat and drink.
A lot of these tasks will seem really tedious and time-consuming at first. But if you stick with it for several weeks, they will become habits. You really need to establish habits for a lifetime of healthy eating and maintenance. It will make you feel good, and feel good about yourself!
*Another key issue is physical activity. Try increasing your physical movement. Get your body going. Weight loss is a combination of food consumption and physical exertion.
Following the above simple things you can do to lose weight - does not work for everyone. If you find yourself struggling, or able to do it, but consumed with thoughts about food help is available. You may be on the path towards an unhealthy relationship with food. Center for Growth / Therapy in Philadelphia 267-324-9564
