A Simple Guide For a Fast Weight Loss Resolution

I first began trying to lose weight as a teenager. Back then, I thought I was fatter than I actually was. Then, as I got older and had children, my weight steadily crept up. I gained about 20 pounds from each of three pregnancies that I was never quite able to shake off. Add another five pounds or so a year over the course of ten years, and you can imagine where I was at.

My other symptoms crept up as well. My blood pressure was high. I was pre-diabetic. It wasn’t a good situation. Then I noticed a disturbing symptom. At the end of the day, my feet would be swollen…Not just a little puffy! I mean alarmingly swollen with taut skin. Long story short, that was a warning sign that my heart was struggling.

Three kids at  home, the lack of physical activity while working as a writer in the Ok Dissertations writing company – all this was a sign that my habits needed to change. I’d dieted and lost 20 pounds or so here and there. The problem is that I would just gain it back again. I couldn’t afford that this time. I also had more than 20 pounds to lose. I’m happy to say that I found the formula that worked for me. Keep reading! Hopefully my story will help others struggling with weight as well.

First Things First: Defining Fast

As you read this, keep one thing in mind. I had a lot of weight to lose. Based on my experience with my own past weight loss efforts as well as listening to others, pounds tend to slip off heavier people at the start. At least it does in the beginning. I lost 40 pounds in my first two months. After that, things slowed down a bit. Still I was at my goal weight within nine months. I had also met seven out of my ten fitness goals (more on that later).

Consider this a disclaimer. Nobody’s body is the same. The pace at which you lose weight may not be the same as mine. Stay healthy. Be patient. Please consider seeing a doctor before you get started. Still, I can say this. The plan I followed led to me losing weight faster than I ever had previously.

Mindfulness And Eating Are an Absolute Must

Before I started making any changes I wanted to learn more about my eating habits. I started by writing down everything I at, and tracking calories I consumed. It was horrifying and enlightening. There were days when I was consuming close to 10K calories. Worse, a large percentage of my daily calorie intake came from food I was eating without a thought. That includes:

The extra slice of birthday cake at work
A couple of slices of salami and a bit of cheese out of the fridge in the middle of the night
That third beer at happy hour
The couple of bites of ice cream in front of the fridge
The impulse candy bar in line at the gas station

This led me to two decisions. First, I had to get rid of absent minded eating. This meant planning all meals and snacks, then sticking to that plan. I also decided I needed to change how and when I ate. Basically, I took the ‘and’ out of eating.

No eating and driving
No eating and working
No eating and watching television

Instead, I would fix a plate and sit at the dining room table. On a happy side note, before long I nearly always had someone joining me to eat and chat as well. Okay, so I guess eating and chatting is okay.

I share this because I think this is something that is missed in weight loss advice. As busy people, we tend to eat without thinking or truly enjoying. I believe that by setting these constraints, food becomes more satisfying. As a result, we aren’t vacantly eating while never getting joy out of our food.

Researching Diets Led me to Great Insights

Research any trending diet and you will find people who love that diet and those who hate it. I looked into several of them. These included low carb, low fat, paleo, keto, DASH, and more. There were a few things that I noticed were common among all of them. When followed correctly, each reduced daily caloric intake. This made me realize that this was truly the baseline for all weight loss, simply consume fewer calories. Another thing I noticed was that successful diets tended to emphasize  healthy fats over carbs. That doesn’t mean they eliminated carbs entirely.

I believe the rest is a combination of sustainability and what works for your body. In my case, I opted for a pretty steep calorie reduction. Then I followed that up with eating high protein, moderate fat, and somewhat low carb. I also added a morning workout supplement that was both high protein and contained caffeine. About halfway through my weight loss, I began intermittent fasting. That helped me to overcome a bit of a wall that I had hit to start losing pounds again.

I truly believe that we are pressured by so much dogmatic thought regarding what is the right or wrong diet. As a result, when the one we choose doesn’t work, we feel like failures. It took several adjustments before something truly worked for me. I truly empathize with people who experience this and feel frustrated or defeated.

Bottom Line: Calories in calories out is key, and you will never stick to a diet that you hate.

Putting The Scale Into Perspective

I bought a scale, then I started weighing myself every day. The second part was a huge mistake. Now don’t get me wrong. Waking up one morning eight pounds lighter is great, until the next morning when that plus an extra two pounds has returned. Eventually, I settled on a weekly weigh in before breakfast.

Keep this in mind.  Yes, losing pounds matters. Still, the scale doesn’t measure inches. It doesn’t know you can bench press 80 pounds when you could barely lift 40 three weeks ago. It doesn’t check blood pressure or notice that the persistent nagging back pain you’ve had is almost gone.

Yes, you should keep your scale. But, you should have other metrics that you use as well. Without these, the scale just becomes an instrument of shame, and none of us needs that in our lives.

Cooking Ingredients Not Buying Food

In order to stick with my eating plan, and change my approach to food overall, I decided to commit to cooking ingredients not buying food. For me, this meant buying meat, produce, beans, grains, flours, and other ingredients and making dishes from them. For example, instead of dumping a jar of sauce over ground beef, I would diced tomatoes, garlic, and onion to slow cook with links of chicken sausage. This left me in control of what I was eating, and made me appreciate it a bit more.

When it came to treating myself, I applied this rule vigorously. If I wanted a pie, I made it from scratch. Then, I would have a piece and share the rest. It was so much more satisfying that way. It also made me forego making or eating the pie like 80% of the time.

You Can’t Outrun Your Fork But You Should Still Try

That’s an old phrase, but it really is true. Losing weight is largely about the types and amount of food that we eat. Still, exercise should always play a part. Eating right can lead to weight loss, but it’s exercise that makes bones and muscles strong, and restores flexibility. Do something to move. Walk the dog. Get on the treadmill. Finally, a bit of advice for everyone (but mostly for women) start lifting heavy things. You won’t get big and bulky  unless your really want to. You will get fit and strong.

Conclusion: Goals Goals And More Goals

Weight loss should be just one of your goals. I began setting fitness goals right from the beginning. I wanted to be able to walk around the lake in our subdivision without needing to rest. I wanted to go horseback riding. Later, I wanted to do an unassisted pull up. Next year, it will be a half marathon. Having goals keeps me motivated, and stops me from falling back into unhealty habits. What are your goals?

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