Lose Weight and Make it Last

So I've tried a number of things to lose weight over the years: fad diets, tricks, supplements and who knows what else. I've seen people try those same things and ultimately fail to change their lives. I found that the way to keep weight off is to make small changes over time and it will help you keep that weight off. It took me about 7 years to put that weight on and I found by going on crash diets I would lose 10-20 pounds fast, but it would come back just as fast and with friends. The gradual lifestyle change has seemed to work because I slowly worked my way into small changes in the same direction. Over time it added up to a huge payoff. I've dropped over 50 pounds by not making drastic changes. Granted it took me about 5-6 years to lose all the weight, but each change I've made in my life as paid dividends by reducing my weight by 5-10 pounds. I did this about once or twice a year. I would like to share a few things that helped me.

Watch portion size

One of the first things I found was that I ate way too much. In the past I would eat a whole giant double burger, fries and a drink. So I first started to leave some of the food and not eat it all. Over time I have slowly eaten smaller and smaller portion sizes. I'm down to a small double cheeseburger and maybe a fruit yogurt thing. Over the last 20-30 years portion sizes have gone off the charts.

Move!

Exercise is great, but you don't have to kill yourself. I don't do much, but I do have to walk about a mile a day for work. Since I started that I dropped 10 pounds. In addition, I started taking the stairs at work. This simple thing helped me drop a portion of my 50 pounds.

Watch what you eat

Drop all the refined grains, high fructose corn syrup and deep fried goodies. I lost 10 pounds just by not eating deep fried foods anymore. In fact they make my stomach churn now. By skipping the French fries, nuggets, donuts (really hard to give up) I found I was able to feel healthier. I still eat some junk food, but not to the craziness that I did.

Water

By drinking ice water you keep hydrated, but also reduce the calorie intake you have. If I do drink something other than water then I do it in moderation. Drinking water can help digestion according to the Mayo Clinic.

If you have a lot to lose, then get some help, lose the weight, but if we don't change our lifestyle our lives won't change. Good Luck

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/digestion/AN01776

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283