Losing weight from a purely objective mindset should be very simple, don’t eat so much! But in reality, it is hard to do that especially when we are left to do it all alone. We always give ourselves more credit than we should and for some reason think that we are the exception to health rules by saying things to ourselves like, “I know this cupcake is not good for me, but surely I won’t get fat if I eat this, I mean I worked out for 10 minutes yesterday.” Or when thinking about what we ate over the last week, “hmm I probably ate right about as much as I should have and I’m just not sure why it’s not working…”
Reality check! If you want to lose weight IT WILL TAKE WORK! You need to change your habits. It will be hard. You need to persevere. You need to think about it. You need to plan ahead. You need to change how and what you are eating. AND you need to ask and trust the Lord if this is something that HE desires for you, that HE will do it in you. That’s just the truth. There are no shortcuts, there are no 3 step plans, there is no amount of money to be spent that can change your HEART to lose weight. Being disciplined in anything takes work and is very rewarding. (for those still not convinced… you do not not discipline your children because it takes too much work… right?) So here are a few thoughts to bring healthy eating down to a normal person’s level. Remember YES it will stink not eating cookies, pie, fries, panda express, whatever, but give yourself 12 weeks. That’s it, then slowly and in moderation bring your favorites back into the mix.
Plug it into the Harris Benedict equation to find out how many calories a day to eat
Remember:
- 1 pound is 3500 calories, so this needs to be subtracted from your calories per day. OR exercise to lose that many calories.
- Long Term Health takes time only lose 1-2 pounds per week. At the beginning you will probably drop a bit more due to regular hydration and less bloating.
- Water is your friend. Drink your body weight divided by 2 in ounces each day.
- Fill up on veggies, complex carbs and lean protein. Limit sugars and trans fats.
- READ Labels. Look for calories, low carbs, low sodium, low sugar
- Eat during the day. Each meal or snack should be about 1/5 of your calories for the day. (you got it, eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day about 3 hours apart.)
- Plan ahead. I take all my little snapwares of food to work everyday. Easy.
- Try it for 12 weeks, what do you have to lose? Recruit your spouse or friend.
- Pray and trust the Lord.
Bottom line, if you want to lose weight do it. If you don’t, that’s fine. Just don’t complain about it.
just a moment to reflec
Good words – it really is just simple math.
When considering how to create the caloric deficit you’ve mentioned, I’ve found it most helpful to consider the NET calorie burn during exercise, instead of the TOTAL calorie burn. Most exercise equipment and calculators will provide you with the latter, which includes the calories you would have burned just staying alive (your basal metabolic rate), and overemphasizes your *perception* of calories burned. So, you see “400 cal” after a short run on the treadmill and think, “Surely I’ve justified an extra serving of pie; I’m a runner after all!” But beware! The incremental calories you’ve burned during exercise (as opposed to sleeping, for example) are likely somewhat less than 400; in my case, on the order of only 330 cal. Add up those “lost” 70 cal/day and you’re going to lose weight more slowly than you might expect.
The most effective way to create a caloric deficit: eat less! Be disciplined and eat less, just like the author mentioned. Although so important for your cardiovascular system, aerobic activity really doesn’t burn calories at the rate we’d prefer, and unless you’ve got time for an hour+ run every day, just skip the pie. Check out bodyrecomposition.com for a technically-oriented, physiological approach to fat loss (but watch out for some of the foul language).
eat less, do more as my mum would say!!