Sunday, August 9, 2009

7 Basic Steps to Take to Put you on the Road to Weight Loss

1. Exercise Every Day. Just do it. Schedule it in, and have a fall back exercise plan. It doesn't matter if you can't do a full out, sweat inducing mega work-out. Take a brisk 30 minute walk at lunch. Instead of taking the car walk to do an errand. You still want to make time for those full out work-outs, but what is more critical is that you find some way to exercise each and every day, some how, some way.


2. Cut Out Processed Foods. Work to get out as much processed foods from your diet as you can, particularly if they're processed to the point of being completely devoid of any kind of nutritional value.


3. Make the Bulk of your Diet consist of Raw Fruits and Vegetables. Over time, aim so that the majority of what you eat over the course of a week are raw fruits and vegetables. Have fruit for breakfast, a salad consisting of only raw ingredients for lunch, and try to have a raw salad every night for dinner. For snacks, stick to raw fruits and vegetables, like grapes, cherries, or carrot sticks.



4. Cut out Sugars. In particular, banish high fructose corn syrup and all artificial sweeteners. If the box says that an ingredient is high fructose corn syrup or an artificial sweetener, then just walk away. Reduce your intake of processed sugars, although an occasional dessert or cookie is OK (as long as the sweetness doesn't come from high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners). If you must have sweet, then try dried fruits such as apricots (but be careful because they contain a lot of calories), or replace white sugar with more natural sugars such as honey, real maple syrup or stevia.

5. Learn to Prepare your Own Food. Learn your way around your own kitchen. Reduce or diminish take out food and food ordered in. If you go to a restaurant, particularly a chain restaurant, educate yourself on the calorie contact and ingredients in menu items. You have more control over your diet if you prepare your own food (and you burn more calories preparing it). Seek out healthy, low calorie, easy to prepare recipes and make them.

6. Cut out White Grains. Substitute brown rice for white rice, whole grain breads and pastas for those made with refined flour.

7. Don't Go Hungry. Eat enough to keep yourself from starving. Just make sure that what you are eating isn't processed or contains sugars or processed grains. If you get hungry, you're more likely to fall off the wagon. Learn to carry fruit, carrot sticks, a big of raw nuts and dried fruits, etc. with you so that if you do become hungry out, you won't be tempted by the petite vanilla scones at Starbucks.

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