1) Burn more calories than you eat. My plan is to burn 500 to 1000 calories more than I eat each day. For me, at my age and general state of being, this translates to a 1 to 2 pound weight loss per week. Your mileage may vary.
2) Eat right. Watch your portion size, eat smaller amounts throughout the day.
* More foods in their natural form like, fruits, vegetables, whole wheat, grains, lots of fiber.
* Less processed foods, sugar, cookies and crackers are the devil but I love them!
* Lean meat - fish, chicken, pork
Am I a food nazi? Not really. I pretty much eat what I want, just less and better. Like Captain Barbosa says "...the code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules..." (see post on Chino Bandido)
3) Exercise vigorously every day. I like riding my bike and walking, so that's what I do. I work it into my schedule, I ride my bike to work most days and go for a walk or run at lunch on days when I drive. For me it has to be a regular part of the day, I am prone to make excuses if it is just to work up a sweat, but I always go to work.
4) Keep track of everything you eat and all the physical activity you do. It is really easy to get into bad habits like eating too much, wrong food choices, not enough activity, etc. It helps to know exactly how much you put in vs how much you take out - takes the guess work out of it and forces you to be honest with yourself.
Will it work? So far so good, but the first 5 pounds are the easiest right? I have found that I feel better when I eat good food in moderation. I also feel better when I can move around comfortably in my body. At the end of the day don't we all want to enjoy our time here?
What does eating right and exercise mean to you?
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. But I think you have to admit that you are eating like a food Nazi. Take this as a compliment. You are good at limits and portions. Me? Not so much.
Exercise to me means making it hurt. I don't feel like I have worked out until I sweat or my muscles are sore the next day. FEEL THE BURN BABY!
I do admit that I am obsessive about recording everything, but I really don't feel deprived, except sometimes at night when I get the 'mad munchies'.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't record it, I end up fooling myself too easily and no amount of exercise seems to fix it.
It's weird but when I eat the bad stuff (salty/sugary things), I want more, but can't get enough to satisfy. When don't exercise, I have low energy and want more bad stuff again.
Check out this book:
ReplyDeleteIn Defense of Food
http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/1594201455/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi
I like a quote from the book Jackijo mentions:
ReplyDelete"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."