As someone who had weight loss surgery, I can tell you the decision did not come easily. For years, I tried fad diets and never actually lost weight. Or I’d lose a little then stop and gain it all back. Dieting for weight loss is not always easy because you have one goal. And thats to lose weight.
If you gather anything from this post today I hope that it is to love yourself. Inside and out. Dieting isn’t always the answer. Diet because you want to live longer and be healthier. Not because you want a models body or you think no one likes you.
Please seek treatment from your doctor before starting any crazy diets or restricting foods. Restriction is never the key which is why I follow @Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers is a non-restrictive diet that values everything you eat with a point. The healthier options have zero points but you are required to eat most of your points every day. When you eat your points every day you stay in the green. The app then rewards you for good habits. Such as walking and working out.
When you earn these rewards through weight watchers they add more weekly points to your bank. Weekly points are points you can use when you go over your allotted points for the day. It’s kind of like a game which is why I like it. Find something you like and that you can actually stick to and remember lifestyle changes are better then fad fast diets. For long term weight loss success select something you can stick with. If you would like to check out weight watchers click this link and get a month for free when you join.
(this post may contain affiliate links, check out my affiliate link policy here. at no extra cost to you I may receive a commission and/or product if you choose to buy directly from this blog.)
Dieting for Weight Loss
The most common reason that people cite for dieting today is weight loss. While most of us would love to claim the noble mantle of dieting for health the vast majority of us are doing so for vanity. This, however, is a perfectly acceptable reason for making the lifestyle changes. These changes are necessary in order to maintain a healthy diet. In fact, this reason might prove to be a far greater motivator than many of the other commonly stated reasons for dieting.
Staying Fuller Longer
When dieting for weight loss one of the most common complaints is constantly feeling hungry. In order to help combat this, you might want to incorporate some of the following strategies into your dieting program. First of all, eat more high fiber foods. Whole grains, apples, pears, and lima beans are a great source of fiber as are many breakfast cereals. Easy does it however when it comes to fiber as it may be filling but there are some unpleasant side effects that may accompany heavy fiber eating (remember that beans are a good source of fiber). Try using a product such as Bean-o when consuming larger amounts of fiber. You might also try spreading your fiber intake throughout the day rather than consuming all your daily fiber at once.
Another method for feeling fuller when dieting is to drink plenty of water. Water provides an important service to the body and is very necessary when it comes to delivering all the nutrients where they need to go. Water also helps regulate your metabolism, which is very important to the dieting and weight loss process. Additionally, water will help you skin retain its elasticity so that your skin can go more easily back into place once the serious weight loss begins. If you need help with increasing your water intake check out my blog post here about five ways to increase your water intake.
Control Portion Sizes
Learn to control your portions. We live in a world where portions are over inflated and super sized so often that we no longer know what an appropriate portion looks like. Restaurant meals are quite often more than adequate for at least two full meals. And that is before salads, soups, appetizers, or desserts have been ordered.
Learning to portion correctly can save you from over loading your calorie intake for the day massively. It can also help you get extra helpings of the lower calorie foods such as lettuce and other vegetables rather than taking such large portions of calorie rich starches or fried foods.
The way I’ve learned to control portion sizes is by eating what all can fit in one hand. Which my hands are pretty small, but our stomachs are smaller. For me, this is about 3 oz of meat and maybe a cup of vegetables. I do small portion sizes on purpose and drink a lot of water. This helps me feel fuller for longer.
Start Slow
Do not go “Gung Ho”. There are limits to what the body and the mind can handle. When you go on a diet you are making a drastic change to your bodies caloric intake. If you go overboard you can lead to health risks along the way. Begin cutting calories a little at a time and incorporate changes as you go rather than going in with an all or nothing attitude. If you go overboard with your dieting plans chances are that you are dooming your diet to failure.
I remember prior to surgery I always started a diet and went all in. Instead of maybe starting one meal a day I would change all three meals at once and cut out all soda. All at once, I thought it was a good idea but it wasn’t. Even now on weight watchers, I don’t have 100% all natural days. I eat ice cream every now and then. Sometimes I have a soda, but now that I drink so much water I hate soda. Honestly.
Start slow, remember the turtle always wins the race.
Add Exercise Slowly
Take your diet one step at a time for the best results and be sure to incorporate extra physical activity into the mix. Even gardening when done on a regular basis can burn calories, so can cleaning the house, and playing with the little ones. Take a walk to the park or the corner store rather than getting in the car. And pull a wagon or push a stroller while you’re at it. The added weight will be just enough resistance to burn a few extra calories.
I walk my son to school back and forth every day. That’s about one mile all together, and throughout the day I make sure to move a lot. After dinner I also walk around my apartments for 20-30 minutes just to make sure I get those final steps in.
Walking has helped my weight loss so much, I want to say walking and drinking more water are 100% the winning factor for me. On days I don’t walk as much I’ll notice I won’t loose much weight. That’s why I am sure to make sure to keep my body in motion throughout the day.
Dieting for Weight Loss
Dieting for weight loss does not necessarily have to be a major sacrifice on your part but in order to be successful it will be a radical change in lifestyle, particularly if you need to lose more than a few vanity pounds. The health implications of loosing the weight are well worth the required effort and should not be taken lightly no matter how excited you are about your new body that is hiding inside your old one.
Remember in order for you to be successful in the long run you must love yourself and who you are today.
I really hope this helped you in some shape or form. If it did leave me a quick comment. I always respond, or you can email me at taylor@iamtaylormicheal.com.
thank you 🙂
