4 Points To Remember When Trying To Lose Weight

by Paul Simpson
(UK)

Get to know the foods you eat.
By this I mean it is important to understand what effect each food has on your body and the benefits or consequences it offers.

For instance, green vegetables such as kale, chard, collard greens, bok choy, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, etc. are packed with vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. They are very filling, high in fiber and low in calories. They can be eaten cooked or raw but a happy medium between the two can often be found by stir-frying them in a non-stick pan. However, it is absolutely fine to eat them raw if you’d prefer so go ahead and toss them into your salad to get all of the nutritional benefits they offer.

In terms of weight loss, greens have a further advantage in that they maintain healthy digestive transit. This means that they pass through the intestinal tract in a relatively short period of time and results mainly from their fiber content.

When is the best time for you to exercise?
We are all individuals and as such we have different circadian rhythms otherwise known as a body clock. Some of us are ‘morning people’ and don’t feel like we can face the world until we have been up for a couple of hours and have plied ourselves with half a dozen coffees! In short we all have different needs and expectations.

You should therefore pick a time to exercise that is your best time of the day. If you’re a morning person, then the best time for you to do your workout is probably going to be in the morning. If you’re an evening person, then try to fit in your workout some time in the evening.

It is worth baring in mind that our body rhythms can be affected by various things such as environmental and seasonal changes so be prepared to adapt should the need arise. For example, for you would consider yourself a ‘morning person’ but when winter really hits you find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning to go to the gym! On the other hand, perhaps during summer time the evenings are still quite warm and this makes you less inclined to want to go to the gym.

How do you deal with stress?
Learning to control and maintain your stress levels is one of the best ways you can prevent weight gain. There are many reasons for this but the main one is that when stressed we often take short-cut measures to remedy it. For many people this leads to the phenomenon of comfort eating.

Ask yourself where and when are you most likely to feel stressed. Do you feel tense at work, at home, or during social commitments? For many, the stress of certain situations is remedied by turning to food or drink. After all, having something to drink or eat takes your mind off why you're feeling stressed. The problem is that it also adds calories to your diet and extra inches on your waistline.

Stress is part of everyday life. What we must learn is how to cope with it. Through maintaining self awareness in all situations you will ask yourself the right questions even at times of stress. Plan ahead for stress and reap the benefits of responsible engagement with it.

Are you keeping a weight-loss diary or journal?
You should consider starting a diary to record your day to day engagement with your weight loss plan.

An essential component of sticking with any weight loss program is the feeling that progress and success are occurring on a day to day basis. A diary gives you a record of achievement. From it you can track the small changes that are happening to your body and see how they all add up. Keep in mind though that even if you don’t get immediate results on the scales every week, you can still celebrate the fact that you’ve done the right things and can feel confident that the results will follow eventually.

A diary can also provide a record of the odd bad day you may have and therefore also highlight areas of concern and improvement.

There is lots of fun to be had with a diary. You can use it to set goals and weekly targets - Or to muse on different exercise strategies and diet information. Use it to plan ahead for rewards as well. To give you that extra bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Remember that we are people not robots. Unless we get the odd treat or reward every now and again it's highly unlikely that you will stick to your weight-loss program long term.

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