Jun 23, 2005 05:15 AM
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(Updated Jun 23, 2005 05:15 AM)
PLEASE CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE FOLLOWING WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN. I DO NOT WISH TO BE SUED FOR MY OPINION! THE FOLLOWING IS MY OPINION, AND NOT AN EXPERT'S ADVICE.
I would like to start a discussion here and share my weight loss plan. I wish to lose weight and need company, and was wondering if we could write our diet and exercise habits here. I would like to write what I eat and how I work out everyday, and would like you to share your routine with me. We can set a target, have weigh-ins on scale, and see how much we have lost! And we can follow our own plan. The following is just what I would like to do. Hope it helps!
I have tried Atkins, my hubby tried South Beach diet, and I also tried things like Naturopathy and what not! I even paid a dietician for weight loss in India. I did achieve my goals in all cases, but each time I got back the weight, and each time it gets harder to lose weight! Most of the fad diets that state that you can lose upto 8 kgs a week, are lying! You can, but most of the weight loss is water loss! So you lose no fat, you just lose water, and maybe muscle! The best way to weight loss is slow. I know its hard, but it is the best and only way to permanent weight loss. So let the fad diets go to hell!
Finally, after reading lots and lots, I have my own regime. So here goes. My Ten Commandments
1) Think of your body as a machine. You can make it do whatever you wish. You know how your body's mind works and you can manipulate it to do what you want it to do. So set your mind in tune, step on the scale and weigh yourself, and follow the following, and you will well be on your way to permanent weight loss!
2) DO NOT STARVE! If you starve or stop fat intake completely, your body will store fat and burn muscle because it will think that in future it will need the fat since it is starving already! So you actually end up storing fat and losing muscle. Eat fat but in moderate intakes. Now a lot of people say, 'I will start dieting tomorrow. So let me eat as much as I can today.' When tomorrow comes, they say, 'Well, one more day won't hurt, I mean, as it is from tomorrow I won't be able to eat good things.' And that way, months pass, and next summer, you are where you began! PERSONAL EXPERIENCE! So think of it this way - I will eat healthy. I am not going to stop eating food I love. Rather, I am going to start taking care of my body, of myself. My body deserves that much! I love my body, and will care for it religiously. Maybe once a week I will reward myself with a chocolate(mini version), and then work it out by increasing my sessions by 15 minutes each day! And eventually, the craving will disappear because you feel great.
3) Stop sugar completely. Sugar is a'bad carbohydrate', in the sense that it gives you a temporary'high', but soon leaves you craving for more sugar, which starts a vicious cycle! Beware of low carb or low fat things, and read the nutrition label for hiddin sugars. Sugar substitues are not very good either, but I guess they are better than sugar. I take Splenda, because that is one substitute that has no'hidden sugars'. Cutting sugar makes one cranky, but it will last only for a few days. Remember, if you can do something for 3 days at a stretch, the craving goes away, and after 3 days it is not hard anymore, and you can do it for a week. If you can continue a regime for 21 days at a stretch with full commitment, you will NEVER go back, and you have taken control of your life. Trust me, you just need 21 days to get into a habit!
4) Have 4-5 meals a day, instead of cutting down on the # of meals. It is always better to have more # of meals. For example, if you eat 5 meals, your body will burn carbs/fat 5 times to digest that food, so your metabolism increases. When you eat twice, your body burns only twice! Now here is the thing. Say you are hungry at 4pm after lunch. Well, have a carrot! The carrot will fill you, and so you won't binge. The amazing thing is that energy required to digest the carrot may equal the energy you get from eating the carrot. In other words, you feel full, and yet, you don't gain a single pound/kg from eating that carrot! Of course it all depends on your body weight and metabolism and how big the carrot is!
5) Have heavy meals earlier in the day, and low carb meals at night. Try to avoid high carb foods at night, and try not to eat within 2 hours of bedtime. If you are very hungry, have a light low carb snack. When you eat carbs during the day, they are burnt for energy for daytime activities. Since people sleep at night, if you have more carbs then the extra carbs are stored as fat since you are not as active at night.
To be Continued in Comments on this Review.
