This is not a diet. Despite that, I guarantee that if you follow these steps you will lose weight. The only exception is that if you have some underlying disease. So here goes. I challenge anyone to prove this wrong. Despite these truths, almost everyone wants to lose weight, and almost everyone really struggles. Join our community of people who are changing their habits and lives and we'll help you by incorporating all these principles into your daily activities.
The 10 golden rules for losing weight.
1. You Must want to lose weight. Man this sounds obvious, but when push comes to shove, many people actually don't really care enough. They say the right things, and toy with all the diets, but deep down, at heart, they aren't prepared to do the things that will allow them to drop the pounds (or Kilos).
2. You MUST Accept that you will have to change some of your habits. The old quote by Einstein about insanity never applies more than here. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Think about it. You've taken twenty years of eating a certain way, and this has resulted in a few extra love handles that weren't there before. You just cannot continue to follow those same patterns and expect to lose weight.
3. You Must accept that you will need to make some sacrifices (Give some things up). Sacrifice is a good thing, and doesn't need to be painful. At its core, it merely means that you are trading one thing for another. In other words, I sacrifice drinking 2 litres of that delicious fizzy soda every day, for a body that I am proud of, and that gives me much more energy. You have to forego the one if you want the other.
4. You MUST stop putting on weight. Huh? The first step to losing weight is to stop putting it on. You probably don't have to think very hard to know which of your lifestyle habits are causing you the most harm. If you are putting on weight, first focus on stopping that trend. Then you'll be on the right track and in the right frame of mind to go the next step which is to start losing the excess.
5. You MUST eat the right foods. There are thousands of diets out there, and I'm not going to insist that you Do the Dukan, Advocate the Atkins, Persevere at Paleo, Beat the Banting, or Greet the Grape diet. The point is that if you eat the right foods, in the right quantities, you will lose weight. Especially if you follow all the other pointers here. It goes without saying that you should cut out the wrong foods. Remember that healthy doesn't always mean weight reducing. Remember also that just because something is healthy doesn't mean you can consume vast quantities of it. For example, Chocolate and red wine are both said to have some healthy properties, but a diet of a liter of red wine and two kilograms of chocolate every day are a recipe for disaster. These are the habits of a healthy person.
6. You MUST reduce your consumption of the wrong foods. Closely related to rule number 5, there are a few things which don't feature in any diet. Cut them out, or reduce them drastically and it will make a difference. The immediate ones are:
- Refined sugar
- Pastries
- Sodas
- Processed foods
Follow our life habit principles to slowly cut these things out of your diet without even noticing you're doing it.
7. You MUST eat the right amount. As with rule number 5, eating the right foods is essential but that does not mean unlimited amounts. How much is the "Right amount"? If you are putting on weight then you're currently eating the wrong amount. Most people battle with counting calories, or selecting a fist-sized portion (as some people do have large hands of course), but let's be reasonable. Start by reducing the amount you put on your plate by 10%. That's all. Do that for a week, and then the following week reduce that by 10%. You'll very quickly lose weight, and the great thing about this approach is that you won't even notice that you are eating less.
8. You MUST move (Exercise). This doesn't mean that you have to start running marathons. If you are a middle-aged sedentary person, then your metabolism would have slowed down, yet you're probably eating the same way you did as a teenager. No wonder it's so hard to lose weight. Start by getting moving. Walk. Climb the stairs. Walk the dog. Buy a dog if you don't have one. Swim. What you do doesn't matter. Just do it! I am sure some famous sports company has a slogan like that. Not only will a combination of exercise with all the above rules help you lose weight, but you'll also feel fantastic. If you haven't exercised in years, no problem, Walk 100m. Yup. That's it. But next week increase it by 10%. Sound familiar? Small, gradual incremental changes and soon you'll be making a real difference.
9. You must build a bit of muscle. Hey Arnie! No, not you. Muscle speeds up your metabolism. You dont have to go to the gym every day or compete in body-building competitions. But your body is designed to have some muscle and that muscle burns fat all day, even while you are asleep. Pick things up. Do a few push ups. Carry your children. Sling your spouse over your shoulder. Do weight-bearing exercises. If yuou are fortunate enough to be able to go to a gym, add strength exercises into your routines. You'll also feel great.
10. You Must Mix with the right people. It is very hard to lose weight when all the people you hang out with are very overweight. Mix with people who are slimmer than you. It is no secret that it is VERY hard to stick to a healthy eating programme when everyone you mix with is wildy obese. This isn't being cruel. It's just a fact. If your circle of friends is very overweight, then you eed to spend at least some time with people with a different mindset. As you lose weight, maybe you can be a yardstick and an inspiration for your overweight friends. They'll want to mix with you because you're the slim one. Look for:
- People who also REALLY want to lose weight. There are millions of them out there, and they too want to find people who don't find it easy.
- Slimmer people. They don't have to be skeletal; just slimmer than you.
- Join a community. It is very hard to do it alone. This is such an important aspect of losing weight. Why not join our healthy eating community. This is a small community so don't be concerned that it isn't active yet. We have a team of people who would love to help you. Join up and we'll be there for you. And the best part; Its free.
- Get an accountability partner. Part of our community focus is using Accountability partners. We'll give you someone who will gently remind you every now and then that you have some goals, and they'll check if you're getting there. Why not become an accountability partner yourself to someone who'se struggling in another area of life. Get onto thecommunity
There is no better time to start than right now. You've probably already broken your New Year's resolutions, but that doesn't matter. Today's resolutions always work better.
