In my last weight loss blog, I found myself 46, a good 30 pounds overweight, with high cholesterol and teetering on the borderline of being diabetic. My problem is I know what to do, it is just implementing it, but then I am sure some of you have the same problem.
I know everyone has different opinions about weigh loss, but I thought I would share with you my own personal philosophy. Mind you, some of you may disagree with my opinion, so just remember, this is just the way I feel about weight loss.
Number one, fad diets and pills won’t work. Oh sure, they might be okay if you are trying to lose 5 pounds to fit into that dress, but to me, weight loss should be a change of life. Not a horribly drastic one, but just a gradual change to healthier living over time. I remember when my father and grandmother went on a diet where every other day, they could eat all the eggs and green beans they wanted, but nothing else. That is no way to live! When I went on Atkins, I remember reading that during the first two weeks, I might feel a brain fog. Again, that just doesn’t seem right.
Number two, I cannot separate weight loss and exercise. I feel the good Lord gave 99% of us all the natural tools we need to lose weight; we just need to find the right combination to make it work. My husband, on the other hand, feels that if you exercise enough, you can eat whatever you want. I might agree with that in the case of a 20 year old, but not a 46 year old. I have to exercise period.
Number three, I cannot separate my weight from my health. It seems that when my weight is higher, my cholesterol and blood sugar are higher. And, as I get older, I fear that losing weight won’t be as easy as it has been in the past and I don’t want to continue doing damage to my bodily organs with the weight.
And finally, my new biggest weight loss rule is one that is very important when on the diabetic diet – portion control. Did you know that over the years, the size of the average dinner plate has increased? What we use today as a salad plate used to be the normal size for a dinner plate! And what was considered a Big Gulp drink in the ‘70s is now an average medium drink. I will go into how you can easily judge portion control in another blog, but just remember, I consider that a very, very important rule for weight loss.
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