Just posting my tips that I have been following to lose weight. My hope that it will give you some ideas OR you can let me know something different that is helping you that I can add or modify.

  1. Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. This is a hard one for me but it seems that the miracle of weight loss happens during the night and the more I sleep the more it seems to show on the scale.
  2. Limit diet sodas. Switch from regular to diet or cut out completely. Drink no more than 3 per day. I do have plans to cut it out completely but again this is a hard one.
  3. Log everything: Every meal, snack, binge, exercise etc. I use the LoseIt App but MyFitnessPal seems to be a popular one as well. Believe me, when things go right you can just look back at your journal and repeat. When things go wrong - look back at your journal and try not to do those things.
  4. Stay within your Caloric Limit. I've done a lot of research on this one. It DOES NOT matter if you are doing Nutri-System, Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Jenny Craig or even gastric bypass surgery. A Calorie deficit is why we lose weight! I use to not believe this and say it was carbs that mattered. To some degree that is true but even on a Low Carb diet you can not eat 5 steaks and lose weight. CALORIES DO COUNT. Eat less exercise more. Cutting just 500 calories from your average caloric intake will result in a 1 lb per week weight loss.
  5. Take a multi-vitamin daily.
  6. Find a fitness partner. Studies show that people who have a workout buddy will lose more weight. Don't have a workout buddy? How about Diet Bet? This has been a game changer for me. The friendships and accountability. I need both and Diet Bet has been providing both.
  7. Increase Natural Food intake and limit processed foods: Natural foods such as vegetables and fruits are for the most part already low calorie choices. Processed foods add tons of sugar and other ingredients that you can't even pronounce. Do your body a favor a stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Processed foods are high calorie, non-nutrient foods for the most part.
  8. Make a list of the reasons why you want to lose weight. Write them down and review them often. Hang it on your refrigerator. Keep refering to it for motivation. See my previous blog post.
  9. Exercise 3-4 times per week. You don't have to cut your caloric intake by 500 calories per day. You could cut it by 250 and then incorporate a walking plan and burn the other 250 calories. I find that walking, jogging or running strengthens muscles and endurance. It's really started to work for me.
  10. Create a Plan and Stick with it. You don't have to use any of my advice except this one. Pick a proven weight loss strategy that works. Follow it to the letter and stick with it.

See you lighter later.

Barry