So you have decided to lose some weight. Before you go any further, I would like to inform you that I do not offer miracles.
To lose weight you must have dedication and strong will to do it.
If you cheat or make excuses, you are only cheating yourself and you will not achieve your goal. Please only read this if you are serious about losing weight.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Petra Watson and I am 34 years old. I have two daughters under age 3. After Christmas 09I have decided I am fed up with my big belly and big bum. I could not fit into my favourite pair of jeans. So I have decided to change that. I knew it would not be easy. There were times when I felt frustrated. I love my food and I was not prepared to be doing any of those Atkins diets, Beach Diets etc. And you dont need to be on them either.
I have set myself goal to lose 5 kg and my deadline was May the 6th. Why this date? Because my cousin from Czech was coming to visit me and I wanted to show off of course. I have achieved my goal by end of March. Sooner than I thought and you can do the same. I can now fit into my favourite pair of jeans! ;-) If you follow my tips you too can achieve it.
Firstly ask yourself why you want to lose weight. Is it after you had a baby (or babies), for your wedding, to fit again into your favourite pair of jeans (like me) or simply you are just fed up feeling sluggish. Whatever reason you have I can help you. You do not need to go to the gym and starve yourself.
Dont set yourself unrealistic goals. Be sensible. Only you know yourself. As I mentioned you do not need to go to the gym. However that does not mean you do not need to exercise. There are other ways to exercise than just in gym. Most people get bored or dont feel confident going to the gym. I dont blame them. It is not for everybody. Also a lot of women would not go to the gym unless their friend or partner goes with them. You can exercise at home. I have a fitball that I use for abs and bums exercises. There is an excellent book called Fitball workout by Jan Endacott. It has various exercises including pictures. I have chosen few which I do every day. I also have excellent hula hoop which also massages my intestines.
So how do you start?Well in my case I have printed off a photo of myself when I was happy with my weight. I have put the photo on the wall in our living room. I have to say that photo was very inspirational. If I was feeling lazy and I would look at the photo, it would make me get up and do my exercise. But it may not work for you. Think what would help you to motivate yourself. I have joined free website called You put down your details, your goal and date by you want to achieve it. Please remember to be realistic. Crash diets never work. This is really about the way you eat and burn off calories. This website gives you the tools to record what you eat and the exercise you do, even when you do washing up, clean the house or go for a walk. I would say dont get too obsessed with it. It is good indication on your calorie intake and how much you burn off doing certain things. Even having sex ;-) My advise is once you start do not weigh yourself for at least 2 weeks. You will n ot see results straight away (most of the time anyway) and if would only discourage you and you may want to give up. Trust me! I have been there. Then only weight yourself once a week on the same day. I hear from a lot of women that they are tired or dont have the time to do anything. That is were you are wrong! If you are serious, stop making excuses. The weight will not come off by itself.
Start doing sit ups while you watching TV or when the adverts are on even if you do 5 min at the time. There are always few ad breaks while you watch your favourite programme. So that could be already 15 min before you know. So for example if you have fitball (it does not cost much) do 20 abs exercises. Have a break and do another 10. See how you feel and add more if you can handle it. Dont over do it! It is not worth it. If you are not used to exercise your body needs time to adjust.
My favourite exercise is bum squeezes. Lie down and squeeze your bum cheek. I have started with 50 and now I am on 200. Build it up gradually. There is no hurry. But do it every day. As I said stop making excuses. Set yourself a goal.
You must really want to change. Do not say to yourself from tomorrow. It does not work as you will find yet another excuse. Do it from now on!
Examples of exercise that wont cost you much or even less. Rope jumping if you have a space. Walking, cleaning even ironing will burn off fat.
If you have spare cash go swimming if that is your thing. For me the best way is badminton or tennis. I have so much fun and I don't even now I am burning a lot of calories.
And now the most important part - Food. You do not need to do diets. Diets never work long term. Instead my advice is very simple. If you still put sugar in your tea/coffee, cut down your sugar intake by half and then by half again until you will not need any sugar.
You do not need to stop eating anything. What you need is to cut down your portions. Saying that never ever skip your meals. If you buy sandwich from shop for your lunch, find alternative that has lower calories. Shops always offer this choice. Snack of fruit rather than crisps or chocolate. Although I said you do not need to stop eating anything, you do however need to cut down on the bad food. If you have crisps every day with your sandwich cut it down to once or twice a week maximum. Soon you may not even crave it. Use it as a treat. Same goes for a chocolate or anything like that.
Do you put cheese in your mash? Don't. If you fry your food, put very little oil. Invest in a good non sticky frying pan. You would be amazed how simple change can make a big difference. I am now eating less meat. And I am amazed how less bloated I feel. I still enjoy eating it, just not everyday. I used to love eating kebab. Now my body cannot handle it. But saying that I have started to enjoy fish and chips once a month. As you can see it is not about strict diet. Just simple moderation on how much you eat. Have more veg with your meat instead of pasta. It is really not difficult once you get useto it. I now eat less but still enjoy my favourite food. I still haveegg and bacon for breakfast on the weekends. But instead of having 2 eggs and 2 rashes, I will have 1 of each including toast.
Ensure you drink plenty of water. Try to drink green tea once a day. Researches have shown thatit helps with anything from headaches to water retention. Also it is believed to be great antioxidant.
I do not need to remind you, that alcohol has a lof of calories and it is not all that good for you. I am not much of a drinker anyway so for me it is not a problem. Have it less. You will see it on your waistline in no time and it will be better for your liver too.
And lastly don't stress yourself over losing weight. You do need dedication, but do not lose yourself in watching every single thing you eat. Treat yourself, just not everyday ;-) Moderation is the key to your success. Once you achieve your goal, you obviously need to keep it up otherwise you will end up with gaining weight again.
THIS IS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE, NOT A DIET.
DO NO EXPECT RESULTS STRAIGHT AWAY.
DO NOT GIVE UP AFTER COUPLE OF DAYS OR WEEKS.
YOUR BODY NEEDS TIME TO ADJUST TO YOUR NEW LIFESTYLE CHANGE.
GOOD LUCK
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