The end of the year is quickly approaching, and I know many of you are probably going to create a list of resolutions to work on as soon as January 1st hits on the calendar. I don’t know about you but at least when I was younger my resolutions always included drinking less alcohol, smoking fewer cigarettes (or quitting altogether), and losing weight. Now that I’m older I have mostly lost hope that I will ever quit smoking cigarettes or drinking a beer or two every night when I get off work, but I was able to lose weight a few years ago. I’m sure there is a large proportion of you out there who want to lose weight in the coming year, whether just dropping the added pounds you put on during Thanksgiving and Christmas, or making a substantial change to your life.
Track your results carefully.
Several years ago I worked really hard for several months straight and I lost about forty pounds in the entire year. I got into the best shape of my life and I looked and felt great. My cholesterol levels dropped, as did my blood pressure. I was spending less money on groceries because my appetite decreased in size, and I was getting hit on at bars way more often. Life was great!
That year and for the next couple of years after I was always asked about how I finally did it. Everyone wanted to know what my secret was. The truth is, there really is no secret to it. All you have to do is watch what you eat. It doesn’t mean going crazy and cutting out anything that has an ounce of fat, sugar, or carbohydrates in it. Instead, the lesson to learn here is one of moderation. Eat plenty of vegetables and proteins, and help yourself to dessert, a glass of wine, or french fries once in a while. You don’t need to be eating all three of those things every day.
The other tip to focus on is exercising. This doesn’t mean killing yourself for three hours at the gym every day. It means just making small changes to your daily routine: walking to the store four blocks away instead of driving; taking the stairs to your apartment instead of the elevator; and making sure you sweat or get your heart rate up a few times a week.
Finally, use a weight loss calculator. It doesn’t seem like it would really make a difference after changing the way you think about diet and exercise, but it definitely helped me keep on track with my weight loss and also not feel like everything was lost if I didn’t eat right for a day. If you follow these tips it really shouldn’t be that difficult to lose those extra pounds next year. And in all honesty, the best idea is probably not to wait until January 1st to get started on these goals. Everything you see here can be done on a daily basis starting today, so don’t put it off any longer. Also take a look at this Youtube vid for some other handy advice on diet and fat loss: