Just like so many others, I struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. I tried every fly-by-night diet on the market, but never found one that gave me the long-term results I wanted. Sure, I would lose some weight, but then I’d gain it all back again. Sometimes I would even end up bigger than I was before I started dieting. After years of disappointment, I finally realized that fad diets don’t work. If I was going to go from fat to fab, I had to figure out what worked for me.
Eliminate Junk Foods Slowly
When you are trying to lose weight, it’s tempting to get rid of all the bad foods in one swoop but developing a healthy diet over time is what is required to lose weight. While this method may work for some people, it doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes this can make the process feel overwhelming. So instead of doing it all at once, get rid of junk foods slowly.
For instance, if you usually have a doughnut for breakfast, make a vow to only eat the doughnut three days a week instead of seven. Once you get used to this, reduce it to twice a week. Follow this pattern until you eliminate the doughnuts for good. Weaning yourself off of junk food allows you to easily adapt to new changes.
Find Healthier Ways to Prepare Meals
You don’t have to ditch everything you love in the name of dieting; you just have to come up with creative ways to make your favorite foods healthier. For instance, fried chicken doesn’t need to be rolled in flour and drenched in grease to taste good. Oven fried chicken can be just as delicious as deep fried chicken, but with fewer calories.
Instead of using butter and vegetable oil to sauté your foods, use coconut or olive oil instead. These oils are healthier and they provide more benefits to the body than other types of oils. You can also do things like substitute whole wheat pasta for white pasta, use low-fat milk instead of whole milk and add more veggies to recipes.
These changes may seem small, but they can have a big impact on your caloric intake and your ability to get rid of the flab. Also, when you prepare your meals this way, you won’t feel guilty every time you eat.
Get Up and Exercise
While it is possible to lose weight without exercise, your best results will come when you workout regularly. Try to get about an hour of exercise at least five days a week. Both cardiovascular exercise and weight training work synonymously to boost your body’s ability to burn fat.
Choose types of exercises that you enjoy. This way, you will be more likely to stick with your program. Dancing, running, hula hooping, kickboxing, spinning, yoga, push ups and Pilates are all good ways to get the exercise you need to get rid of the jiggle.
Obviously, no magic pill is going to help you slim down. Losing weight for good is just not that simple. The only way to get rid of the flab and keep it off is to eat healthier and get enough exercise. The trick to accomplishing this is to find what works for you. If all your other efforts have failed, try weaning yourself off of junk foods, doing exercises you love and learning how to cook healthier.
