I do believe there are some pills out there that help you lose weight, but I’m not sure at what cost? I worry about the affects some pills may have on overall health. I have a friend that is taking “diet” pills prescribed by her doctor and she is doing fantastic. She has lost about 35 lbs and looks great. I guess you have to take in consideration the reason you want to take the diet pills in the first place. As for my friend, she has had several heart attacks due to being obese, so the pills are probably worth the risks the pills may have. On the other hand, if you are heathly and want to take off the pounds to look better and want to feel better and are in overall good health, I would go with the good old fashioned way of losing weight. Here are a few tips that could help that cause:
- Stop all between meal snacking, especially late at night.
- For dinner, eat early and eat light. (An interesting study done in Tunisia with 160 obese women, aged 23-45, found that they lost 15% of their body weight by not eating between 5 pm and 6 am. During the day they could eat whatever they wanted to.)
- Stop drinking juice – it is loaded with calories.
- Save dessert for the weekend.
- Walk or exercise at least 45 minutes per day.
Portion control is so important when trying to lose weight. With all the fast food places and restaurants out there, everything is being supersized. A serving is not what you put on your plate. It’s a specific amount of food measured in ozs., cups, or pieces. If you can incorporate good portion control with healthy foods, you have a good start to losing the unwanted pounds. You can read more about portion control here
Workout DVD
One of the best ways to get a good workout when you think you don’t have time to go to the gym is to get a workout DVD you can do in your home. You may think that you don’t want to go to the gym because you feel too large, or perhaps it takes you too long to get there and back. If this is something you are thinking, make sure that is a real issue and not just a cop out. If you really want the workout but can’t get to the gym, a great workout DVD is just what you need.
When you are choosing a workout DVD, you have to consider what it is you like to do. If you choose something that you are going to get bored with rather quickly, you are going to end up stopping your workouts due to boredom. I once had a Body of Steel workout DVD and I stopped using it because I couldn’t stand it another moment. You really have to find something that works for you, and remember that perhaps you should change what DVD you use on occasion to stop yourself from getting bored of the same workout day after day.
If you have friends that are also using a workout DVD, you might want to work out together. If you don’t feel comfortable with this, you might have another option. You can still workout on your own, but you can take walks with each other a few times a week. You can add extra workout time to your weekly schedule this way, and you can find a way to spend time with each other while doing so. You may want to do a workout DVD swap with a few of these friends so you can all switch up your routines.
You should know that a workout DVD does not have to have the word ‘workout’ on it. You can use any sort of movement for a workout. I have a couple of “Walk Away the Pounds” videos..They have a 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile and 4 mile..I purchased the 2 mile and 3 mile. I like these workouts because there’s no jumping and running or “hardcore” workout movements. It’s simply walking in place, raising your knees, stepping from side to side..and some arm movements. I find these very easy to do, especially when you are starting out and haven’t “moved” in awhile. As time goes on, you can always move to the 3 or 4 mile workouts. Like I said before, you can mix these with other workout videos so as not to get bored with just one.
It might be my age, I don’t know, but I am now more worried about what I put in my body. It might be because I have children and want to instill good eating habits for them and and I don’t want them to grow up with bad ideas about food like I did. Whatever the case, I have tried my best to incorporate good health food into some of the things that we eat most often. It is actually harder than I thought to find what I consider to be healthy, and I wonder if many are mistaken because things are often misleading.
Most think that whole grain bread is a health food. In theory, this type of bread is better for the body in many ways. However, there are many things that people do to bread that makes the whole grain variety almost as bad as white bread. I can’t seem to find a loaf of whole grain bread that does not have added sugar. No matter how hard I try, I do not think of sugar in bread as a health food. It is better than white bread, which also has sugar, but it’s still not the ideal that I am looking for.
Most don’t think of peanut butter and jelly as a health food dish. However, it can be if you know what to look for. You can find some great brands of peanut butter that have no added sugar. They are simple peanuts and nothing more. You do have to stir them when you first open the jars, and you do have to keep in in the refrigerator, but it is much better and tastes great. You won’t miss the sugar. As for the jelly, you can find brands made with just the fruit. They also have no added sugar. They still taste wonderful and sweet, but the sweetness comes from the fruit, not from added sugars. It might not be an every day health food dish, but add it to whole grains, and it’s not all that bad.
You can find other ways to introduce health food into your family’s eating plan. You should look for organically grown fruits and vegetables, and products that do not have added sugar and a lot of preservatives. Some of these things will have to be stored in the refrigerator or used more quickly than what you are used to due to the lack of preservatives, but many feel that is much better than putting unknown chemicals into the body.
That, along with eating more fruits and vegetables should help me get back to a healthy way of eating. Once you’ve fallen into the depths of junk food, it’s hard to claw your way out, but I will do it and myself and my family will be the better for it. I just can’t wait to get started. Stay tuned!