What approach works best in losing weight?
I’ve heard several bits of advice concerning weight loss and I’m finding it hard to decifer which is correct. I guess I’m a little confused because they say you can’t lose weight by dieting but how are you supposed to lose weight if you don’t? Isn’t changing your habits dieting? After having three kids, I have about forty pounds I desperately want to shed and would like to do it over the summer but whenever I focus on losing weight, I seem to gain….HELP!
No spam please =)
November 14th, 2010 at 6:07 am
I completely understand where you are coming from. Truthfully, it depends on what diet one is choosing to follow. Is one following a liquid diet or that acai berry crap(aka spam ads) or is one using a low calorie or any other more i suppose tried and true diets? So, to answer your question, by dieting and adding in more foods that are healthy such as oatmeal(the less sugar the better), fruits and vegetables, egg whites, soups(the lower the sodium the better as well), salads, chicken breasts(no skin), lots of water(why waste calories on soda and other sugar drinks when they do nothing for anyone) and i mean lots of water, then yes one can lose weight by changing their habits aka dieting And yes i suppose that one can label as changing their habits as dieting, considering that that is the most important thing.
Okay, so now that we have established that, you want to know what else will help you lose weight. I am currently on my own weight loss journey at the moment and I will tell you what I have been doing and what things have been working for me.
First of all, one really has to be DEDICATED to their diet. I used to just workout thinking that that would be enough, but all I would do was gain weight and work my *** off for nothing. So, you really have to find the motivation somehow whether it be through a strong support system of family/friends or self-motivation because the diet is probably about 70% of the battle. But, 3 weeks ago I began to eat nearly flawless(no cheats or binging) and I’m not sure how much weight I have lost because I havent weighed myself yet..probably somewhere between 5 and 8 lbs, but it is mainly from incorporating healthy foods that I listed above. I know a lot of people hate fruits and vegetables, but that is all that I have mainly been eating. Oh and before every meal, I make sure to drink 2 glasses of water so that way I won’t eat as much and this helps tremendously. Plus, it helps flush out your system, aiding in digestion and so forth.
And for the other 30% of the battle, good ole exercise. I personally do cardio 6 days a week for 2 hours a week, pretty intense the whole time. I am drenched in sweat at the end of the two hours. Since you are a mother, I’m assuming that your time will probably be a lot more limited than my time. But, just try finding some time during the day to work out like 30 minutes(the more intense the better, but don’t kill yourself if you don’t work out a lot) or break it up into 15 minute increments if you do not have a lot of time.
Okay, I feel as if I should add this little tidbit on here too. The best combination for weight loss that i have been researching is to combine a healthy diet + cardio+ weight lifting. I personally do not weight lift bc im trying to lose a little muscle. But, I’m assuming that you are not a recently retired softball player with extra muscle like me…so doing a combination of these three is the best and fastest way to acheive weight loss and keep it off as well.
Sorry about the novel that I wrote, I just hope that I helped you in some way. :] and I am more than willing to help you out in any other questions you may have. Good Luck!