DIET
Cravings
Feel you aren't eating enough?
How much should I eat?
Out of calories but still hungry?
Thirst or hunger?
This doesn't work for me
Water
What If I'm Not Hungry?
Yogurt
Loose Skin/Stretch Marks/Losing a lot of Weight/Tightening Skin
Weigh in and Measurements
Exercise
Walk
Personally I find walking the best and easiest form of exercise. Go to Google maps, find your home then create a path thats about 3 kms away. Try to do a round trip (about 6 kms) in 45 minutes. Leave your money at home. If you don't have a cell phone, take only enough for a pay phone in case of emergencies. This way you aren't tempted to stop and grab a bag of chips or a soda. Be sure to take a bottle of water, especially on hot days.
Wii Fit/Wii Fit+
Great to do if you want a fun workout that's more like a game or if you can't go out or to the gym. It'll deffinately work up a sweat.
Diet
Cravings
If you get cravings, listen to them! much of the time a craving is trying to let you know that you're lacking something in your diet. cravings for high fat/high sugar foods is your bodys way of telling you you aren't eating enough to get enough energy. either try upping your calorie intake or try changing what you eat so that you get more food for the same calories. You may have a craving for sweets. try cooked carrots, a sweet potato, or fruit. salty food cravings may mean you aren't getting enough of certain things such as iodine or potassium. Do some research into what your craving means and try to pick a healthier way to deal with it. Keep in mind that most cravings will subside after a few days. If you really need/want to succumb to your cravings, pick 1 day out of the week (the day of or after a weigh in is probably your best bet) and have something you wouldn't normally have on your diet. Don't completely ruin your diet in one day. If you want a burger, have ONE burger. If you want a burger and fries,get a kids meal or cook it yourself. Pizza? Get a personal size pizza or just 2 slices of an average size. Chocolate? Try have a bar of dark chocolate. Remember, it's all about control. Learn control. If you cannot control yourself, even if you get to your goal, you won't stay there.
Feel You Aren't Eating Enough?
It may be as simple as that - not eating enough. However you may not be eating the right things. Try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. look into negative calorie foods. They are normally low in cal but still quite feeling. Try to avoid high calorie foods. Attempt to eat more often. Try to eat 6 times a day. for example, lets say you get up at 7 am. breakfast should be eaten around 8 am, snack at 11, lunch at 2, snack at 5, dinner at 8, snack at 10 (or every 2-3 hours). for a 1200 calorie diet, divide calories as such: Breakfast lunch and dinner: 300 each with each snack being about 100 calories each.
How Much Should I Eat?
it's different for everyone. Try keeping a food diary for 1 or 2 weeks before you start a diet. Total the calories. divide by 7 (or 14, however many days you kept track of). for example: Mon-1500 cals, tues-2000, weds- 3450, thurs-2931 , fri-3947 , sat-4893 , sun-1000. During that week you have had 19721 calories. That is approximately 2817 claories a day. Try consuming 2317 calories a day. Once you get used to that, continue dropping your calories by 100 each week until you are only having 1200-1500 a day (if you feel you can handle it or if you aren't eating that much to begin with, try for 1000 calories a day). I find that once you get your calorie intake figured out, it's easier to figure out how much exercise to do. and like I said before, walking is a great one. try walking for even just half an hour before you turn in for the night at least 3 nights a week and ou should see an improvement.
Out Of Calories But Still Hungry?
Gum is only 2-10 calories per stick. it will give you flavour and a bit of chewing action that may cause your brain to think you're eating. try a mug of coffee. normally only about 0 calories. Too bitter? Try sweetener. 0-5 calories a packet. or try some tea. Comes in many flavours, most (if not all) are only 0 calories. Green tea, pomegranate, and blueberry teas are normally good for your body. again, add some sweetener if it's too bitter for you. If you need milk in your coffee, get fat-free skim milk. It's only 80 calories for 1 cup and I highly doubt most people will put much more than 1/4 of a cup of milk so it only adds about 20 calories.
Thirst or hunger?
Have a glass of water. wait about 10 minutes. If you're still hungry, get something to eat.
This doesn't work for me
Something to keep in mind: everbodys body is different. What works for one person may not work for another. Eating multiple times a day may work for someone but then eating once a day may work for another. Maybe restriction alone works better than diet and exercise, maybe it doesn't. Be sure to listen to you body. If you feel ill a lot after breakfasy, don't eat breakfast. You know your body better than random people online or even a nutritionalist. Give any diet or lifestyle change at least a month before you write it off as a failure, but listen to your body. Do you feel good if you eat multiple times a day? Or do you feel better eating only once? What about snacking? What kinds of foods make you feel sluggish or ill? What ones make you energetic? You can try every diet out there but if you don't know your own body none of them will work. Listen to your body while on a diet and eventually the diet won't be just something you're doing to lose weight, it'll be something you continue to do because it makes you feel good about yourself.
Water
Try to drink at least 2 liters a day. More if you're working out or sweating. I'd suggest getting a 2 or 3 liter soda bottle. If you don't have one on hand, get a bottle of diet soda or water. 2 or 3 bottles is probably your best bet. fill them with tap water and stick them in your fridge. I find the easiest ways for me to drink it is to get a small glass that holds about a cup (preferably plastic so you can carry it around with you) and have a glass when you feel you're hungry. Give it about 10 minutes. If you're still hungry then, try eating something light. Have a glass before you eat, try to have a glass while you're eating, then have one when you're done. It'll be done before you know it. Especially you try to only drink water.
What if I'm not hungry?
If you're not hungry, don't eat? Eating regularly can help give a boost to your metabolism. But just save the calories for when you are actually hungry.
Yogurt
check the calories on yogurt. a lot of yogurts will be 100+ calories per serving. Try Yoplait Source. 1 yogurt cup is a 100 g serving, only 35 calories and can come in many different flavours. Like vanilla but want a bit of a kick to it? try Vanilla Tango Selection. Each yogurt cup will be 1/2 vanilla, and 1/2 another flavour including apple crumble, blueberry, strawberry, etc. You can also get Source in desert and tropical flavours (including pineapple and coconut).
Other
Loose Skin/Stretch Marks/Losing a lot of Weight/Tightening Skin
Do you have loose skin? Stretch Marks? Just want to tighten up? Moisturize. Try these few simple steps:
1) Drink plenty of water. It's recommended that you drink 2-3 liters everyday, more if you work out and/or sweat. This is the most important thing you can do.
2) Use baby wash instead of soap. It keeps you just as clean but with less chemicals that can dry out your skin (not to mention you can use it on your more sensitive lady parts without burning or irritation).
3) Baby oil in your bath or shower. It can help keep your skin moisturized.
4) Use moisturizer every night before bed and after you get out of the shower. Moisturize EVERYTHING from the top of your head to your toes. This is one of the most important things you can do
5) Lose weight slowly. If you lose it quickly not only are the chances of keeping it off reduced, but your skin will also have less time to keep/catch up with your shrinking body.
Weigh in and Measurements
If you need to see a change on the scale to keep motivated, DO NOT weigh yourself everyday. Only weigh yourself once a week or once every 2 weeks. pick a day (saturday for instance) and weight yourself around the same time each time (for example, 8 am) after you walk up and go to the washroom. for accurate results, weigh yourself in the nude and dry. even a bra can add half a lb, as can wet hair.To measure yourself, try keeping track of at least your bust, waist and hips. you measure your bust at the largest part (normally around you nipples). Measure your NATURAL waist. For most people thats your belly button or an inch or so above. However since everyone has different body shapes, your waist my be higher. an easy way to find this is to measure the smallest part of your waist. As for hips, DO NOT measure around the top of your hip bone. Measure around the top of your pelvic area.
DO NOT DO ANY DIET OR EXERCISE REGIMEN WITHOUT DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND SPEAKING TO YOUR DOCTOR. IF EVER YOU FEEL LIGHT HEADED OR QUEASY, EAT SOMETHING OR STOP EXERCISING. IF IT PERSISTS BE SURE TO SPEAK TO YOUR DOCTOR. IF YOU DON'T LOSE ANY WEIGHT OR FEEL HEALTHIER, DO NOT COME CRYING TO ME. Everything mentioned here I have found works for me, works for other people or that I find on website and in books as guides to being healthy and/or losing weight. I try to be sure that everything I put in this section is healthy and will not harm you in any way. If you have any concerns or tips, please feel free to email me at bloodytearsonarose@live.ca
