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The media has been the dictator for the standards of beauty for women and men.

Women are only beautiful if they are between the sizes of zero and six, have curves, big breasts, and a big butt. While men are measured by their abs and muscles. These standards have been destructive to people’s physical health and mental health as people go on crazy celebrity diets and spend thousands of money on surgery to meet these media standards.

I have always been a big girl.

In my freshman year of high school, I was 6’0ft and 225lbs, and definitely in football shape. Despite my height, I was still overweight even though I was a two-sport athlete and got a scholarship to play NCAA Division I college sports for a nationally ranked program. Nonetheless, the issue was that I had a body fat percentage of 30%. For my age, I was at risk for many complications.

The following is a healthy, safe, not extreme, and cheap way to lose weight and keep the pounds off for good. According to celebrity trainer Simone De La Rue, your physical health and physical appearance is an 80% result of what you eat and drink. Hence, even though I could get through a workout and had scholarships to play NCAA Division I sports, I was still obese and had a high percentage of body fat because I ate and drank whatever I wanted.

Where To Start

Most Americans have sugar, salt, and/or butter with every piece of food they consume. The most popular drinks that Americans consume have sugar. Thus, the majority of what Americans eat and drink, have these deadly three ingredients. According to a report from the USDA and NPR, the average consumption of these deadly three ingredients was approximately one ton per person, per year.

The leading result of consuming this much sugar, salt, and butter is heart disease. According to a report from the CDC, the leading cause of death in America is heart disease. Therefore, cutting back on these deadly three ingredients will prolong your life. It is extremely vital to monitor what you put into your body. The first step to success is to look at the ingredients listed on everything before you eat or drink it.

Why People Fail To Lose Weight

The reason why people can never keep the weight off, is because their approach is all wrong. Consuming one ton of sugar, salt, and butter in one year makes the body reliant on these deadly three ingredients. Many diets call for an elimination of the deadly three, and that is why people fail to lose weight or keep off the weight.

According to a report by the APA, dieting is bad. Dieting is essentially cutting back on calories and eliminating sugar, salt, and butter. However, this cutting back of calories and elimination of the deadly three lead to physiological, neural, and attentional changes, which makes losing weight and keeping off weight less attainable. Thus, when people diet, they end up breaking their diet and end up gain weight back.

Solution

Do not diet. The way to lose weight and keep the weight off is to cut back on the deadly three and to eat more natural, unprocessed foods and drinks. As previously stated, the first step is to look at the ingredients on everything before you eat or drink it. Go straight to the ingredients label and look for any of the deadly three ingredients. High fructose corn syrup is essentially a synonym for sugar, so cut back on the high fructose corn syrup as well.

The key is to cut back rather than eliminating. Eat and drink more natural. Meaning, eating more things that come straight from a ground as opposed to things that are in a package. Also, eating more unprocessed meats as opposed to processed meats. And, drinking more natural like water, milk, and tea (not iced tea, herbal or green tea). Basically, any fluid that is low calorie and low sugar.

It Works

I thought that because I was an athlete and could get through a workout that I could eat whatever I wanted to because I would be able to burn it off. But, eating and drinking whatever I wanted, despite being so physically active with three hour practices every day and weight lifting twice a week, I was gaining weight.

When I resorted to drinking water, vitamin water, teas, anything low calorie, along with eating fewer things that came in a package, and less of the deadly three ingredients, I lost weight and got lean. At 17 years old, I lost weight for once and went from 225 lbs to 180 lbs in 6 months. I felt less sluggish, I felt lighter, and I felt more confident.

Years later, at the age of 25 years old, I weigh 165 lbs. I have been able to keep the weight off for years by continuing to eat foods low in salt, sugar, and butter and by continuing to drink low calorie drinks. I do not want to lose anymore weight, but my goal is to lose more fat. So, possibly, my weight might go up since muscle weighs more than fat.

Remember that the number on the scale is not necessarily a reflection of your health.

The best indicator of your current health status is the amount of fat you have, your ability to complete a workout, and how you feel. Cut back on the deadly three ingredients and look at the ingredients label before you eat or drink something. Cleaning out your pantry and refrigerator will help, and meal prepping will help you to stay on track.

This is the guaranteed recipe for success to keep the weight off.