Hello friends,
If you are reading this it
means you are curious about how to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle.
Let me begin by saying welcome! and also that losing weight is not easy. It
starts with determination that you do indeed need to lose weight. This is not
easy to come by, as it is very easy to live in denial of this fact.
Personally, I was ignorant
to the fact that I gained a lot of weight in college and just marked it down to
being a big, tall guy. For the most part this was good enough for me as I have
always been confident in myself and my body. My then girlfriend (now beautiful
wife) was attracted to me, I was good enough at sports, and my extra weight
didn't really change how I felt about myself.
I was also a very active
individual. I played ultimate frisbee whenever I could, and I was constantly
walking around campus. I worked out fairly often and weight lifted as well.
However, the college life of eating pizza and drinking soda every day was
catching up with me and I didn't even know it. I can't say for sure, but I
would guess that I gained over 40 pounds over the 4 years I was away from home.
It was a very slow and gradual process and I didn't even realize it happening!
It took a visit to my
doctor to change my perspective. I decided to go in for a general checkup a
little under a year after I graduated from college. I hadn't been to the doctor
in quite a while and I figured it would be a good idea. My doctor told me that
I needed to lose weight. She gave me some tips on how to lose weight, mainly a
high fiber diet, and sent me on my way. Little did she know I would be back a
year later with proof that I had taken her suggestion to heart! This suggestion
became the catalyst for my determination to lose weight and to live a healthier
lifestyle.
If you haven't yet found
your own personal catalyst keep searching! All it takes is that big push to
start you down the path of living a healthier life. Mine was having a doctor
tell me I needed to lose weight, but this could look different for each person.
It may take a push from your spouse, a medical concern such as diabetes or maybe
even a heart condition. WHATEVER your catalyst is, it is important to find it
and let it push you to success.
The Path -
As soon as I left the
doctor's office that day in January of 2013, I began to immediately research
the high fiber diet. I went to the grocery store and bought a few new food
items such as bran cereal, fiber bars, and apples. I made the first step to
admit that I did need to change my diet and that physical fitness was about all
of the choices I was making, not just being active and going to the gym.
Fast forward to almost 3
years later and I am in the best shape of my life (well that I remember!). I am
still extremely active and I have a much better diet than I did while I was in
college. I lost all of the weight that I gained and I have been able to keep it
off consistently.
As I have stated, this has not been easy. It has taken a
whole lot of discipline and determination. I have made a LOT of small changes
along the way that aided in my fitness goals. Listed below are some of those small
changes:
Water -
Water consumption is so
important to living a healthy lifestyle. It is the easiest change to make (as
of course water is free!) and it will make the most difference. It is true that
most Americans suffer from chronic dehydration without even realizing it. It is
almost unbelievable to think that over ¾ of the people of the US walk around
each day without enough water in their systems, but it is a hard truth. Don't
be part of this statistic! Make sure you drink enough water during the day to
keep yourself hydrated and your metabolism firing.
If you are convinced that
you should probably up your water intake, the next question might be by how
much? I have read several articles that suggest that you should drink up to
half your weight in ounces each day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds you
should make sure you are drinking 75 ounces of water during the day. I don't
think that it needs to be this complicated. My suggestion is to drink more than
you think you need, and then some. I realize this is not too scientific, but
the idea is to begin upping your water intake and not overcomplicate it. Be
sure to make this change part of your daily routine.
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