Ten Realistic Tips for Losing Weight the Healthy Way

Sixty-five percent of America’s adult females are overweight or obese. Last month, this statistic made headlines. News networks and talk shows sometimes treat the subject of weight as if it were a raging epidemic, so much so that phrases like “West Nile Virus” and “Mad Cow Disease” have been all but forgotten. I have visions of people locking their doors and boarding up their windows. I see slim mothers gathering their families and rushing to the grocery store to buy bottled water. I can imagine the fear and bewilderment an overweight child must feel, knowing that he or she will soon die of “being fat”.

Yes, weight is an important health issue, but it is not the plague and it is not a lost cause. It is not something to panic about, and it should certainly not be a cause for shame. Everyone falls into unhealthy habits at some point in their lives. The world has many pleasant things to offer and sometimes strength eludes us. That said, it is also important to note that obesity often does lead to early death. It should be mentioned that fitness and health go hand in hand, and that healthiness almost invariably brings a greater degree of happiness. When a person is healthy, they are more energetic, more mentally acute, and often more confident. They experience fewer weight-related illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. As a general rule, they have fewer aches and pains. I’m getting happy just thinking about being healthy. Aren’t you?

Well, if you’re not already in good shape, it might not be quite as difficult to get there as you might think. Sure, you’ve seen the magical pills that guarantee “RESULTS! FAST!” You’re seen contraptions that look more like torture devices than fitness machines that promise “RESULTS! ALMOST AS FAST!” One problem, of course, is that torture devices and magical pills cost money–a lot, in some cases. Those of us that don’t necessarily find that to be a problem will quickly discover another problem: the results are temporary. Once the pills have run out and the abs have been sufficiently ripped, the empty bottles and gadgets are put aside. The fat returns. It doesn’t have to be such an unhappy ending, of course. You could continue with your exercise regimen if you have the willpower, and you could continue taking the pills if you’re not concerned about the health risks they can pose (like insomnia, high blood pressure, stroke, heart arrhythmia, and seizures).

Another recent trend in weight loss is the low-carb diet. This particular diet does seem to work well for many people, but if you’re concerned about long-term health, it might not be the way to go. The thought process behind low-carb weight loss is this: starve your body of one kind of energy (carbohydrates) so that it immediately burns another kind of energy (fat). This makes sense in an elementary sort of way, but your heart and kidneys and intestines don’t necessarily appreciate the simplicity of the logic. On a cellular level, your body only knows that it is getting lots and lots of fat to burn, but your body’s cells need fat, protein, and carbohydrates to function. Your organs need healthy cells to perform properly, and your intestinal tract needs fiber (mostly found in those forbidden grains) to pass waste. To be truly healthy, you need to consume foods from a large array of categories, and this includes the breads and pastas that are a big no-no for low-carb diets. The main goal of low-carb diets is to lose weight fast, and sometimes it works. As is the case with most quick fixes, though, the shortsightedness of it all makes it too good to be true. While your stomach feels full and your taste buds are dancing with boiled-chicken delight, you’re still essentially starving yourself.

So where do we stand now? Have we eliminated every possible method of weight loss? Of course not. Twenty years ago, if you said the word “carb” to someone, they would probably think you were referring to a carburetor. Not so long ago, diet pills were only for the medically-diagnosed obese, and only fitness centers had those workout machines with weights and pulleys and levers. So where do we stand? Well, we could always go back to the basics, couldn’t we? People were still healthy twenty years ago, weren’t they? Before miracle weight loss plans existed, before fast-food chains were being sued for serving hamburgers, and even before bathroom scales calculated your body-fat through your feet, millions of men and women managed to stay in good shape. How did they do that?

I don’t have a detailed diet plan for any of you. Instead, I’ll share some tips-things that have helped me stay in great shape for several years.

1. Nutrition Facts! Always, always check out what you’re eating. Even if you don’t have a strict diet plan in mind, being aware of what you’re putting in your body on a regular basis is the first step. Also, be mindful of the fact that most of those numbers represent a 2000-calorie diet, but most people need to stay somewhere between 1200 and 1700 calories a day to actually lose weight. There are websites that can give you a good estimate based on your height, age, current weight and other specifics.

2. Fiber is important. High fiber content in foods makes you feel more full, because it expands within your stomach. As a result, you’ll eat less, and foods will pass through the rest of your system more quickly, which is just healthier in general. Also, it keeps your lower stomach feeling flatter so you don’t get depressed about your progress (or lack thereof) and go hunt for the Ben and Jerry’s or the Sara Lee.

3. For the sake of your heart and your arteries, be wary of fat content. The fact is, once food is in your system, your body breaks it all down until the only thing your waistline is concerned about is the amount of calories the food contained. You body is a fat-making machine, and it converts any and all excess forms of energy to fat unless you do enough strenuous activities to turn it into muscle instead. So while fat in food isn’t necessarily the only bad guy, it’s bad for your heart and it often contains less vitamins than protein or carbohydrates that contain the same number of calories. In short, calories are the real culprit, but fat doesn’t bring enough of the good (vitamins and nutrients) with the bad (its high calorie count) to warrant eating a lot of it.

4. Take your vitamins! Usually, when your body signals that you’re hungry, it’s saying, “I need this mineral and that vitamin right now, and I don’t care if you have to eat a whole turkey to give it to me!” Rude, isn’t it? Sometimes I want to slap myself. Seriously, though. Your body craves vitamins to function, and when it sends you signals like “must have ice-cream” you don’t really think about the fact that what you really need is calcium, or maybe just a sugar lift. Because you’ve accidentally deprived yourself of one or two essential elements, you sometimes get cravings for the most fattening kinds of foods. To solve this problem, take multi-vitamins every day. According to a friendly gentleman at my local fitness store, time-released vitamins are best, as the others can pass through your system too quickly.

5. Know thyself. While Socrates almost certainly wasn’t talking about fitness when he said this, there isn’t a reason in the world why we can’t steal this tidbit of wisdom. One of the problems people have with losing weight is that they set unrealistic goals. Consider your own tendencies. Think about your strengths and weaknesses and cater to them. Don’t set yourself up with a plan that will prove to be unworkable. What will very likely happen in that scenario is that the whole thing will seem overwhelming, and you’ll ditch the idea of fitness in its entirety and head for the fridge. Set reasonable goals for yourself. Start small. Think big, but start small.

6. Dare I say it? Exercise. No, it’s not easy, especially if you haven’t already developed the habit. Some of us would rather perform minor acts of self-mutilation than sweat in front of strangers. In keeping with the above tip, then-don’t. If you’re not going to go to the gym, don’t bother buying the membership. We all know what will happen then: you’ll feel like a dunce and go buy a pint of mint n’ chocolate chip to cheer yourself up. Bad. Very bad. Instead, get some exercise routines from the internet or buy yourself a mini-contraption to help you burn those extra calories. Just don’t expect results immediately, and don’t overwork yourself too soon. Whether you’re jogging, doing leg lifts, or using a treadmill, start with 100 calories per day and slowly increase your quota.

7. Small, frequent meals are great. When you eat, your metabolism raises, but it doesn’t necessarily raise just enough to digest the amount of food you’ve eaten. Because of this, it’s almost as if you’re tricking your own body. If you eat six half-meals a day instead of three whole ones, you’ll actually burn more calories, simply from the act of eating and digesting. This only works with half-meals, remember. Sometimes I forget.

8. Do what you can to boost your metabolism in the morning (eating and exercising), but not if it ends up doing more harm than good. It’s easier for me to fast to avoid overeating, though we all know this is not the best thing to do. Eating a few bites of something in the morning and exercising even briefly will raise your metabolism for the rest of the day. If you can do something fun with this information, great, but if a bowl of fiber cereal turns into a French Toast N’ Sausage Feast, uhâÂ?¦ no.

9. Remember that as you build muscle by exercising, your body’s metabolism will raise on its own. That means you’ll burn more calories per day simply by existing. You’ll also notice an increase in energy (to do more exercising, to build more muscle, to raise your metabolism, and so on and so forth). Initial success means more and more progress, and it slowly becomes easier.

10. Water, water, waterâÂ?¦ No, I don’t drink the suggested 6-8 glasses a day, but I make every effort in the world to consume at least 4. Bottled water is convenient because you can carry it around everywhere with you and down half a bottle when little food-tauntings enter your brain. Also, if you eat a small snack and drink a lot of water afterward, you’ll feel full for a longer period of time and be less inclined to think about eating. Another great thing about water is that it assists your system in eliminating toxins and waste, which can keep you feeling better all over. I buy it by the case, and it’s one of the only things I refuse to ever be without.

One last thing to consider:

The body is a complete, interconnected system. You can’t deprive one part of it and expect another part to go on functioning properly. You can easily lose weight without regard for your health, and you can probably even get “RESULTS! FAST!” if you take it to a far enough extreme. Remember, though, that most of those results are either temporary or damaging, and you might find yourself having to work to get yourself healthy again. In life, you can get things the quick, easy way, but you often end up paying a greater price for taking the shortcut. Weight loss is similar, and it’s your health that you’re putting at risk, and your health, in my opinion, is one of the most precious things you have.

Good luck to all of you.