Common Sense Weight Loss

Little Bite – Drink more water

loriinsj — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:16:01 +0000

Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard this one before. Drink 8 8 ounce glasses of plain water a day. Well guess what? The experts are right on this one. Not only does your body need water to flush out the toxins that accumulate through the day, but I can tell you first hand, you’ll slow your weight loss if you’re not drinking enough water. No, other liquids are not the same!

The benefits:

You will lose weight faster
It can help clear your skin
It can help with your energy level
Dehydration can lead to headaches so drinking enough water helps prevent headaches
Flushing out your urinary tract helps prevent stones and infections
You’ll likely eat less

You don’t like the taste of water you say? Try these tips.

Get a sink mounted water filter. It’s a cheap way to get tastier water. Pur makes one that has refillable flavor packs. These add a sweet, fruity flavor with no calories. I’m not fond of the idea of artifical flavors and sweeteners but this is a good way to get you or your kids used to drinking more water.

Little Bites Defined

loriinsj — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:10:33 +0000

Little bites are little bits of knowledge that may be useful or simple things you can do as you further your path towards health and fitness.

Take them in as you see fit. Some you’ll love, some you’ll blow off. Just don’t try to do everything all at once or you may find you’ve set the bar too high to achieve success.

By gradually changing your habits you’ll comfortably change your life and your body.

Welcome!

loriinsj — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:54:40 +0000

Dieting is a multi-billon dollar industry and yet with all the books, programs, supplements and foods, the population of the United States and much of the western world is only getting fatter. In the US more than 60% of adults are overweight and a growing percentage are morbidly obese (more than 100lbs overweight) or super obese (you don’t want to know). 25% of our children are overweight. Experts now say this is the first generation of children with a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Clearly all this money spent is failing most.

The purpose of this blog will be to bring what should be common sense back to weight loss. Really this blog will be about getting healthy, not just weight loss. If you’re living a healthy lifestyle and eating right, your weight should settle where it belongs so “dieting” is not necessary.

Extra weight can lead to a host of life altering and threatening health issues including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. About a third of today’s children are expected to contract type II diabetes. Diabetes is a terrible disease that can destroy every organ in your body, make you go blind and screw with your nervous system. I’ve seen how this disease can ravage the body first hand. Both of my parents and my grandfather had it. After working hard, scrimping and saving so my folks could spend their retirement years traveling, they are instead in pain and home bound. My father is blind and in chronic pain. This scares me as I absolutely do not want this to be my future. It should scare you too. For most this type of future can be prevented.

But you can have you weight in check or even be thin and not really be healthy. Our bodies need a complex combination of nutrients in appropriate quantities to function well. Allergies, headaches, indigestion and constipation are just a few of the signs that your body is not working as well as it could. So even if you like your weight, this blog is good for you too.

There will be some tips that can get you off to a fast start, but it is impertive that you the reader understand that there are no quick fixes, and that anything that leads to rapid weight loss will not change the habits that made you fat in the first place.

There is nothing revolutionary in the suggestions that will be given here except that the goal here is to shift your mindset towards a more balanced and healthy relationship with food and your body. Shifting your mind and habits is the key to getting healthy and doing so without feeling deprived or starved. It’s also the hardest part of this program.

In summary, this blog is all about getting healthy, feeling good about yourself, breaking bad habits and establishing good ones. My recommendation is that you cruise this blog often (add an RSS feed or join the blog to be notified of updates and new content). Don’t try to do it all at once. For many, changes are easier to incorporate in “baby steps.” Allow yourself to set your own pace and remain in control after all this is your body and life, not mine. You hold the key and should own your own successes.