by West

Created on: April 05, 2009   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

You have heard it all before. Every diet fad, every way you can possibly starve yourself, every food you should avoid and everything you have been doing wrong. So why are you still overweight? It's like that old Cathy cartoon where she is looking inside her refrigerator and saying, "Why is everything in my house fat-free except for me?!" So, what are we missing?

The best way to lose weight is to do it very very slowly. A half a pound a week seems reasonable. This might take a lot of time depending on how much weight you want to lose... 2 pounds a month... 10 pounds in 5 months. Who has that kind of time. You have a vacation planned or a special date and you want results now. But today's bad decision to shed those pounds quickly will most likely backfire further down the road when you find you can't keep up with that diet as your hectic life continues. Whatever you do to lose weight must be something you can live with, do for a short period of time.

Our bodies are programed to help us survive even under the most extreme circumstances. If we don't eat all day our bodies think that there might be a sudden famine and prepare ourselves to preserve... so we're eating less and miraculously keeping the weight on. If we incorporate a bunch of exercise we get frustrated with the possible weight stabilization or even weight gain due to muscle weighing more than fat. If we had a really good week and made great choices and we didn't lose a single pound, we might feel like we're working so hard and for what?! The bottom line is that the only way to lose it is to stop expecting so much from ourselves. Let's give ourselves a break and ask ourselves what does work. We all have the answer right there in our bank of primal knowledge...

What does work? Realizing that you don't need to see results any time soon. Putting expectations aside and know that you will feel better as soon as you start eating well. Journal everything you eat and every time you exercise. At the end of the day have a quick look at how you did and see where you could have made some stronger choices. As time passes you'll probably find you don't really need to journal anymore because you have managed to start making some really sensible choices.

Don't drive yourself crazy with 5 fruits and veggies a day! Look over your list of foods at the end of the day and if you haven't had any yet try to fit more in the next day. Food is fuel for your body, start eating the premium stuff. If you're tight on cash get rid of soda & juices and drink that free water that comes out of your tap, or splurge and ask them for a complimentary cup of the filtered stuff in the restaurant or store you're in. Choose the stuff that isn't fried as often as you can without feeling really sad. Try to limit your sweets to one a day at first and then go from there. You are making a life change that will make your life so much better.

If you don't have time to journal your food intake, you're like the most of us, who has time for anything really...? Make the time, you are worth it.

If you don't have the money to buy the food that is really good for you, try to at least substitute one or two of the not so good stuff for a simple banana or apple.

Take a moment and look at yourself in the mirror and find your beauty. The more you like yourself, the easier it will be to make some healthy changes and start enjoying the healthy side of life.

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