Four Things that Have Helped Me Lose 15 pounds
I wasn’t necessarily trying to lose weight, but just trying to eat in a healthier fashion. I guess these things just seemed like things I always knew I should do, but it wasn’t until recently that I actually did them.
1. Drink more water. I know, it doesn’t seem like it tastes as good as Pepsi or Gatorade, but — especially in the squelching summer — after awhile, nothing tastes better than seriously ice cold water. While the benefits of getting your 8 glasses a day has recently come up for debate, a definite benefit is the lack of consuming corn syrup-laden calories.
2. Eat less, more often. I’ve heard the “eat five small meals a day” spiel before and I’ve tried it multiple times in my life, only to gain more weight. What I hadn’t realized before was that what I — and I think this goes for most Americans — considered to be a regular sized meal was actually a small feast. To define a “small meal” would be something like a sandwich with no sides or a salad or a bowl of soup with some bread. While it seems a little boring, remember that you get to do it five times a day or more, depending on how small you keep each meal, so you end up just having great little snacks all day.
3. Put down your fork. I try and take it slow when eating, taking time to talk with the family or friends between bites, chewing very well and setting my fork down while I’m chewing in particular really puts my mind in a place to enjoy the food and think, rather than focusing on filling my fork again to then fill my face as soon as I’ve swallowed.
4. Two less ingredients: high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Neither are natural, and neither are necessary, but they’re both in just about anything you ever buy. High fructose corn syrup is the source of most sugar (and sugary taste) in sodas, sweetened iced teas and even “fruit juice”, but can even be found in seemingly healthy foods like wheat bread. Look for products sweetened with cane sugar or bees (preferably not sugar-fed bees). Partially hydrogenated soybean oil basically equals trans fat, which is hard to burn off and completely unnatural. It seems like most company’s are moving towards eliminating trans fats, thankfully.
Anyway, not trying to be a wise ass or know-it-all, just thought I’d share. Of course, everyone’s metabolism and body’s in general are different, so results may vary. This was also over about a 3 month period, where the first 5 lbs. took about a month and a half and the then it was about 2 lbs. a week until I leveled off at 160.
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