How do I lose weight fast?
A better question would be, “How do I lose weight forever?” Because the two goals are not the same. Crash dieting will take water weight, muscle and a little fat off you quickly. A month or two later, your starving body will eat it back on with a vengeance. If you want permanent weight loss, you must plan to lose about two pounds a week. If you are 100 pounds overweight—and completely committed to the process—you can expect to take one year to lose the weight forever.
“Yeah, but how do I do that?”
Number one: Write down what you eat. Count those calories. It’s not fun, but it works. Tracking your food has been shown to be the main key to successful weight loss. If you don’t face what you’re eating, then you will sit on it instead.
Number two: Control what you are eating. Once you know how much food you eat, you can actively and intelligently choose NOT to eat more than you need. Most diets for weight loss limit calorie intake to 1200-1800 calories per day based on gender, age, size and health factors. They may have other gimmicks (low-carb, low-fat, no “white” foods, etc), but they all end up reducing your daily calorie intake.
Number three: Exercise (I wish this were number one, but for weight loss purposes, it is number three). If you will not walk, will not dance, will not go bowling, will not ride your bike, you will not lose weight and keep it off. Cardiovascular exercise burns the calories. Strength training speeds up the metabolism. Flexibility work reduces the stress that drives you to eat too much.
“What do you think of Hoodia/Alli®/Killyoutrim?
Some supplements are garbage and some are crutches. Hoodia is so rare, that most of what is marketed as hoodia in the US is fake. Alli® does what it promises--IF you follow steps one through three above. Caffeine-filled amphetamine-like drugs may provide a sense of false energy and brief appetite reduction, but at the end of the day, you still have to choose less and move more. You won’t take these pills all your life, so make changes you can sustain instead.
“Do belly dancers use a pole?”
Heavens no. Oriental (or “Belly”) dance is a collective term for the folk and stage dances of the Middle East and Central Asia over the last 5,000 years or so. The best dancers in the world today are revered artists in their 60s and 70s who lecture and teach at universities and dance schools worldwide. They wouldn’t be caught dead near a pole.
“Are you going to eat that?”
No. That package of Oreos in my shopping cart is for demonstration purposes only. Pardon me while I tuck it under the bag of spinach.
By the way, Clint has nothing to do with this post. He just makes me happy.
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2 comments:
Hi,
I have been counting calories for 14 months and lost 82 pounds.
You are so right, everybody should know how many calories they are using and eating in a day.
Marjie,
That's wonderful! At about 6 pounds a month, that's exactly the slow and steady weight loss that will add life to your years and years to your life. Congratulations--you're an inspiration.
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