There is only one way to rid your body of fat. You have to change the way you live - you have to make your body work and you have to face up to the serious reality of what a diet really is. Changing your life in such a way is not easy, but, since chocolate can be part of it, it's not impossible, and just like sex, the longer you do it the easier it gets.
However you make that commitment, once you do, the following 10 tips will influence the most positive results.
1. Accept the facts. There’s no magic involved in getting your body to liberate stored fat. You must change the way you live and the way you eat. In other words, exercise your body and monitor and/or limit your intake of food. Only if your energy expenditure is greater than your caloric intake, will you burn bodyfat. You must have an unwavering commitment to this fact or you will fail.
2. Maintain or increase muscle mass. Specifically, do weight training. Muscle is metabolically active— it requires calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you need to sustain it, the more food you can eat and still bring down your level of bodyfat.
3. Do your cardio. Forty-five minutes on a stair climber or treadmill with your heart rate at 70 percent of VO2 max will not only burn about 500 calories, but it will also keep your metabolism elevated for up to six hours post exercise.
4. Know Your Stats. Unless you know from experience what works for you, hook up with one of the many specialized diet and nutrition councilors and get the computerized body assessment done so that you know precisely what to eat and when to eat it. Or, just call DavePalumbo.
5. Don't Cheat. Be conscious of your will power— you and only you are in control of what you eat. Exercise this power absolutely. Who’s going to know if you are a little heavy handed on the salad dressing? You are - don't lie to yourself - Only eat what your diet allows — NO CHEATING! Except Sundays……
6. Allow yourself a treat. All diet and no fun can make you nuts. No more than once a week, really indulge in those things you miss. I wouldn't recommend this if you are close to an event for which you are preparing, but your basic long-term "diet" will be unaffected by a weekly splurge at Godiva or eating at China Express and not getting the bourbon chicken.
7. Don’t punish yourself. If you do go off the deep end and really, really blow it big time, go right back to where you left off. You can’t compensate by starving yourself or over-aerobicising. No matter what you ate or however much, three days back on the program will erase any clue.
8. Picture the end result. Look in the mirror and ponder the future. Imagine what you’ll look like when you reach your goal. Use the image to make good decisions.
9. Be Realistic. You didn't gain all your weight in two weeks, so it's going to take more than two weeks to take it off. A half pound to a pound a week is all you should ever hope to lose - if that. A slow steady metamorphosis is underway.
10. Attach a photo of yourself in killer shape to the refrigerator door. Every time you open the door you’ll see it and it will motivate you to do the right thing. If you’ve never been in killer shape…
11. Attach a picture of someone else in killer shape to the refrigerator door. Pick someone who's got the body you want and stick it on the door to the fridge. Seeing that, there is less chance you’ll decide to do the wrong thing.
12. Don’t eat before bed. Sleep uses little fuel— those calories are going to get stored somewhere, since there isn’t much of a chance they’ll be burned. At least two hours should pass between eating and sleeping.
13. Eat Consistently throughout the day. No more than three to four hours should pass between meals. Spacing meals keeps your energy levels constant and prevents ravenous hunger.
14. If you eat carbs eat low-glycemic carbohydrates. Slow-burning carbs, such as beans, yams and whole grains, will keep your blood sugar stable. Sugars found in some fruits, fruit juices, refined and processed foods cause wild fluctuations in insulin. Insulin bursts enhance fat storage plus they can leave you feeling starved and foraging for more to eat.
15. Trust the System. Within a certain range, humans all follow the same metabolic pathways. No human has the ability to send a brownie straight to their thigh. We all pretty much work the same - we certainly all get fat the same way. We also lose fat the same way - every one of us. If someone else can do it, so can you. It happens all the time.
16. Take your fat burners. Studies prove thermogenic supplements help the body burn more fat and preserve lean body mass while suppressing appetite and elevating your energy level.
17. Eat foods high in fiber. Salads, leafy green vegetables, etc. fill you up with good colon-cleaning bulk with barely negligible calories. Just watch the dressing!
18. Eat foods low in fat. No more than 20 percent of the calories per serving should come from fat. How does one figure this out? (See 19.)
19. Read the labels! Loads of fat and sugar are innocently consumed, hidden under label claims of “fat free,” "lean," “light,” “low fat,” etc. FDA labeling claims are based on net weight, not calories. So do the math! Multiply the fat grams by 9 to get the number of calories from fat there are per serving and you will have a much different picture than the label claims. Sugars are also listed separate of total carbohydrates. While the number of carbs may be low, most of them could be coming from sugar (refer back to number 14 for why that's bad).
20. Keep a diet journal. Writing down everything you eat and drink, as well as computing the calories of each macro nutrient, is the only way to be absolutely sure you stay within your calorie guidelines.
21. Rid the house of junk. Junk food can be defined as anything that’s not included in your diet. If you share your home with other non-dieters who balk at the idea of a cupboard bare of munchies, refer back to number one!
22. Don’t shop hungry. All kinds of things can end up in your shopping cart because they look interesting. Prepare a list and stick to it.
23. Don’t shop in stores that have bulk food sections. Just one of those innocent-looking chocolate covered peanut clusters is loaded with sugar and fat. And who eats just one?
24. Don’t pick. If you’re cooking for more than one, you can “taste yourself” right out of the ball park calorically. Adjust questionable seasoning at the table once your portion is measured.
25. Don’t’ guess. Weigh or measure everything first. How many calories are in that bowl of low-fat granola? I asked an old girlfriend as she was about to pour on the milk. She thought her portion was okay. I weighed it for her and shocked her with the information that she was about to consume 800 calories worth of granola - before the milk! Definitely NOT okay.
26. Stay out of the kitchen. Fix your meal, eat, put the dish in the dishwasher and leave. Go hang out someplace else.
27. Don’t watch the commercials. Leave the room; go get a drink of water; make a phone call; check your e-mail, etc. For some reason, food manufacturers come out with scrumptious new products and market the daylights out of them just when you happen to be trying to stick to your diet. This phenomenon is particularly more prevalent at night.
28. Make the news of your diet public. Hopefully, friends and family will show some compassion and not invite you out for pizza and ice cream.
29. Never stray too far from a mirror. When all else fails and your willpower is failing, peel off, stand under a good light, and check yourself out in the mirror. You are your own best critic. Regardless of how good or bad you look, a trip to the fridge will be unlikely after you assess your body.
30. Compliment yourself. Positive reinforcement, even if it's self generated, can do wonders for your attitude as well as your willpower.
31. Bring your food. Don’t count on being able to find a restaurant willing to weigh and measure your food and cook it without lard. Make your meals ahead of time and bring them along with you.
32. Avoid fad diets. If they actually do work, they won’t work for long. The only way to lose fat is as easy as 1, 2 and 3.
33. Spice up your food and drink green tea. Cayenne pepper, ginger, chili powder and picante sauce not only make meals interesting without adding significant calories, but studies have shown that these spices as well as green tea have a thermogenic effect that helps burn more fat.
34. Don’t carry cash. If your purse is empty, so, too, will be your stomach, regardless of how many vending machines, Starbucks or golden arches you may pass.
35. Don’t spend too much time alone. A good conversation can carry you straight through to your next meal without even the thought of assorted chocolates.
36. Associate with other dieters. Misery loves company. Even if you end up obsessing over the foods you miss most, your egos will keep you honest.
37. Weigh yourself and get your body fat checked just once a week. Fluctuations of a pound or two, or a percent or so, are common day to day. Weekly readings should show your true progress as well as indicate if the diet you have mapped out is really working.
38. Take a “before” picture. No matter how bad you look, you can look forward to looking better. Showing off your progress is a sweet reward.
39. Make an effort to look your best. If you look as though a perfect fashion accessory would be a shopping cart filled with aluminum cans, forget it. To quote Fernando Lamas, “If you look good, you feel good”— and if you feel good about yourself, chances are less you’ll sabotage the diet.
40. Make soup. The main ingredient in soup is water. Water has no calories. The calorie allotment for one meal can be stretched quite far by making soup out of it. A pile of veggies, a chicken breast combined with three or four cups of de-fatted chicken broth, make a huge, satisfying, low calorie meal that takes a long time to eat.
And, as Mr. G says, “NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP!!!”
Original thread can be found here
However you make that commitment, once you do, the following 10 tips will influence the most positive results.
1. Accept the facts. There’s no magic involved in getting your body to liberate stored fat. You must change the way you live and the way you eat. In other words, exercise your body and monitor and/or limit your intake of food. Only if your energy expenditure is greater than your caloric intake, will you burn bodyfat. You must have an unwavering commitment to this fact or you will fail.
2. Maintain or increase muscle mass. Specifically, do weight training. Muscle is metabolically active— it requires calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you need to sustain it, the more food you can eat and still bring down your level of bodyfat.
3. Do your cardio. Forty-five minutes on a stair climber or treadmill with your heart rate at 70 percent of VO2 max will not only burn about 500 calories, but it will also keep your metabolism elevated for up to six hours post exercise.
4. Know Your Stats. Unless you know from experience what works for you, hook up with one of the many specialized diet and nutrition councilors and get the computerized body assessment done so that you know precisely what to eat and when to eat it. Or, just call DavePalumbo.
5. Don't Cheat. Be conscious of your will power— you and only you are in control of what you eat. Exercise this power absolutely. Who’s going to know if you are a little heavy handed on the salad dressing? You are - don't lie to yourself - Only eat what your diet allows — NO CHEATING! Except Sundays……
6. Allow yourself a treat. All diet and no fun can make you nuts. No more than once a week, really indulge in those things you miss. I wouldn't recommend this if you are close to an event for which you are preparing, but your basic long-term "diet" will be unaffected by a weekly splurge at Godiva or eating at China Express and not getting the bourbon chicken.
7. Don’t punish yourself. If you do go off the deep end and really, really blow it big time, go right back to where you left off. You can’t compensate by starving yourself or over-aerobicising. No matter what you ate or however much, three days back on the program will erase any clue.
8. Picture the end result. Look in the mirror and ponder the future. Imagine what you’ll look like when you reach your goal. Use the image to make good decisions.
9. Be Realistic. You didn't gain all your weight in two weeks, so it's going to take more than two weeks to take it off. A half pound to a pound a week is all you should ever hope to lose - if that. A slow steady metamorphosis is underway.
10. Attach a photo of yourself in killer shape to the refrigerator door. Every time you open the door you’ll see it and it will motivate you to do the right thing. If you’ve never been in killer shape…
11. Attach a picture of someone else in killer shape to the refrigerator door. Pick someone who's got the body you want and stick it on the door to the fridge. Seeing that, there is less chance you’ll decide to do the wrong thing.
12. Don’t eat before bed. Sleep uses little fuel— those calories are going to get stored somewhere, since there isn’t much of a chance they’ll be burned. At least two hours should pass between eating and sleeping.
13. Eat Consistently throughout the day. No more than three to four hours should pass between meals. Spacing meals keeps your energy levels constant and prevents ravenous hunger.
14. If you eat carbs eat low-glycemic carbohydrates. Slow-burning carbs, such as beans, yams and whole grains, will keep your blood sugar stable. Sugars found in some fruits, fruit juices, refined and processed foods cause wild fluctuations in insulin. Insulin bursts enhance fat storage plus they can leave you feeling starved and foraging for more to eat.
15. Trust the System. Within a certain range, humans all follow the same metabolic pathways. No human has the ability to send a brownie straight to their thigh. We all pretty much work the same - we certainly all get fat the same way. We also lose fat the same way - every one of us. If someone else can do it, so can you. It happens all the time.
16. Take your fat burners. Studies prove thermogenic supplements help the body burn more fat and preserve lean body mass while suppressing appetite and elevating your energy level.
17. Eat foods high in fiber. Salads, leafy green vegetables, etc. fill you up with good colon-cleaning bulk with barely negligible calories. Just watch the dressing!
18. Eat foods low in fat. No more than 20 percent of the calories per serving should come from fat. How does one figure this out? (See 19.)
19. Read the labels! Loads of fat and sugar are innocently consumed, hidden under label claims of “fat free,” "lean," “light,” “low fat,” etc. FDA labeling claims are based on net weight, not calories. So do the math! Multiply the fat grams by 9 to get the number of calories from fat there are per serving and you will have a much different picture than the label claims. Sugars are also listed separate of total carbohydrates. While the number of carbs may be low, most of them could be coming from sugar (refer back to number 14 for why that's bad).
20. Keep a diet journal. Writing down everything you eat and drink, as well as computing the calories of each macro nutrient, is the only way to be absolutely sure you stay within your calorie guidelines.
21. Rid the house of junk. Junk food can be defined as anything that’s not included in your diet. If you share your home with other non-dieters who balk at the idea of a cupboard bare of munchies, refer back to number one!
22. Don’t shop hungry. All kinds of things can end up in your shopping cart because they look interesting. Prepare a list and stick to it.
23. Don’t shop in stores that have bulk food sections. Just one of those innocent-looking chocolate covered peanut clusters is loaded with sugar and fat. And who eats just one?
24. Don’t pick. If you’re cooking for more than one, you can “taste yourself” right out of the ball park calorically. Adjust questionable seasoning at the table once your portion is measured.
25. Don’t’ guess. Weigh or measure everything first. How many calories are in that bowl of low-fat granola? I asked an old girlfriend as she was about to pour on the milk. She thought her portion was okay. I weighed it for her and shocked her with the information that she was about to consume 800 calories worth of granola - before the milk! Definitely NOT okay.
26. Stay out of the kitchen. Fix your meal, eat, put the dish in the dishwasher and leave. Go hang out someplace else.
27. Don’t watch the commercials. Leave the room; go get a drink of water; make a phone call; check your e-mail, etc. For some reason, food manufacturers come out with scrumptious new products and market the daylights out of them just when you happen to be trying to stick to your diet. This phenomenon is particularly more prevalent at night.
28. Make the news of your diet public. Hopefully, friends and family will show some compassion and not invite you out for pizza and ice cream.
29. Never stray too far from a mirror. When all else fails and your willpower is failing, peel off, stand under a good light, and check yourself out in the mirror. You are your own best critic. Regardless of how good or bad you look, a trip to the fridge will be unlikely after you assess your body.
30. Compliment yourself. Positive reinforcement, even if it's self generated, can do wonders for your attitude as well as your willpower.
31. Bring your food. Don’t count on being able to find a restaurant willing to weigh and measure your food and cook it without lard. Make your meals ahead of time and bring them along with you.
32. Avoid fad diets. If they actually do work, they won’t work for long. The only way to lose fat is as easy as 1, 2 and 3.
33. Spice up your food and drink green tea. Cayenne pepper, ginger, chili powder and picante sauce not only make meals interesting without adding significant calories, but studies have shown that these spices as well as green tea have a thermogenic effect that helps burn more fat.
34. Don’t carry cash. If your purse is empty, so, too, will be your stomach, regardless of how many vending machines, Starbucks or golden arches you may pass.
35. Don’t spend too much time alone. A good conversation can carry you straight through to your next meal without even the thought of assorted chocolates.
36. Associate with other dieters. Misery loves company. Even if you end up obsessing over the foods you miss most, your egos will keep you honest.
37. Weigh yourself and get your body fat checked just once a week. Fluctuations of a pound or two, or a percent or so, are common day to day. Weekly readings should show your true progress as well as indicate if the diet you have mapped out is really working.
38. Take a “before” picture. No matter how bad you look, you can look forward to looking better. Showing off your progress is a sweet reward.
39. Make an effort to look your best. If you look as though a perfect fashion accessory would be a shopping cart filled with aluminum cans, forget it. To quote Fernando Lamas, “If you look good, you feel good”— and if you feel good about yourself, chances are less you’ll sabotage the diet.
40. Make soup. The main ingredient in soup is water. Water has no calories. The calorie allotment for one meal can be stretched quite far by making soup out of it. A pile of veggies, a chicken breast combined with three or four cups of de-fatted chicken broth, make a huge, satisfying, low calorie meal that takes a long time to eat.
And, as Mr. G says, “NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP!!!”
Original thread can be found here
Last edited by a moderator:
