All successful Fat loss or diet plan have two things in common. They slowly change your eating habits into better and healthy choices and don’t torture you in the process. You don’t have to eat what is commonly referred to as rabbit food, you don’t have to deny yourself any favorite foods, and you don’t have to do exercises that push you beyond your capabilities.
Like many people, I tried many different popular diets, fast weigh loss schemes, and instant success programs. Each one had its strong points but every time I stopped the program, back came the Fat. Sometimes slowly and other times with a vengeance. Habitual dieters fall into these on again off again diets with little long-term success.
I was blessed with a high metabolism and an interest in sports. I never had a Fat issue until I hit my 40’s. I started doing less physical activities, spent more time eating, and slowly defeated my internal calorie-burning machine. It was a slow but steady process of adding a couple of pounds a year. One day I woke up and I was about 15 pounds over what I had weighed all my adult life.
As usual with a new dieter, I went whole hog on many of the latest and greatest diets with some success but the same old story after I stopped the diet. The pounds crept back on and even added a few more for good measure. Every year I would vow to lose Fat and every year I would end up with a pound or two more regardless of the diets I used.
I finally figured out that there are 3 basic rules that can help you lose Fat and keep it off. If you want to use any of the popular or proven diet plans to kick off your Fat loss efforts, that’s good too. Some people need to see a little positive results in order to get motivated. Just don’t go to radical and cause any health issues or aggravate any current medical treatment or problems.
The first rule is to pay attention to what you eat. That sounds like a no brainer but many people don’t. It’s like the old adage of think before you start talking, but in this case its think before you start eating. I keep a very lose running list of food and calories that I consume every day in my head. I don’t write everything down or try and figure out the exact calorie count of everything I eat, just a running daily total. I have decided based on my own reckoning that I should keep my daily intake to about 2000 calories a day to maintain my current Fat. So that’s my daily limit. Most days I can easily do that with out any serious effort.
The second rule is to compensate for any slip-ups or running over my daily limit. From time to time I may go a little above the 2000 calories, so I try and do something to help compensate. I know that walking for about an hour at a medium pace will burn 300 calories. Or if I do some strength and Fat lifting I get the initial burst of burning calories but these types of exercises also have a longer burn rate and so they really help with a few extra calories to burn. These aren’t tough or even difficult to do and they are actually a little less time consuming than walking for an hour.
And the third rule is portion control, the unsung hero of Fat control. Restaurants give you too much food; your mom, wife, and girlfriend do too. Half of the restaurants I go to have servings so big that there is enough for two people, so split it or take half home for another meal. Don’t upsize that fast food order. If you have a dessert, split it with a friend. When you get salsa chips, don’t sit there and eat two baskets before dinner or lunch. Skip that third drink, it’ll save you a few dollars and some calories. Portion control is a huge factor in keeping those extra calories out of your daily intake. A great side benefit is you’ll spend less at restaurants.
A small side bar to all three rules above are to make good choices on what you eat. Don’t always get the fried version, get grilled or baked sometimes. Don’t always get blue cheese dressing, go with balsamic vinegar sometimes. Watch out for high fat and calorie sauces, condiments, or additional toppings. Don’t get the double latte, get a double shot of Espresso and add your own touch of cream sometimes.
The reason I keep a running calorie count is the small stuff can add up quick. And knowing that I will need to do some extra calorie burning exercises gives me some motivation to pay attention. I still get food items I like; I just don’t go overboard and use a little common sense in choices.
Give these three rules a test run for about a week. I’ll bet you’ll see some Fat loss and won’t experience any inconvenience or pain. It’s all in the details, take care of the little things and the big issues take care of themselves.
