The shelves in the newsagents are always full of magazines with captions promising us immediate weight loss, and toned tums, just like magic! I admit, I used to be one of those people who snatched up these magazines, parting with my hard earned cash, and ran home to read them to find the magic formula which is going to melt the extra lbs away! Like always, I was just reading what I had read a hundred times already...
The thing is, there is no magic formula to weight loss, there is no secret ingredient that is going to melt fat away. The secret is hard work and discipline. Cutting calories and taking part in daily exercise, that is what is going to melt fat away. Energy in, versus energy out... For every lb you lose, you need to cut about 3,500 calories. Simple as that.
There is no way you can lose a stone in 2 weeks and keep it off. If someone does lose a lot of weight quite quickly, it will be mainly fluid they will be losing. For every 1 gram of carbohydrate we eat, we store 3 grams of water. Therefore, if people start following low carb diets, it will be mainly water they are losing in the initial weeks. Once they start eating normally again, which they will, the weight will go back on.
Also, you cannot get a six pack in six weeks. Would you be surprised if I told you that we all have six packs? We do, it is just that a lot of them are covered in fat so we cannot see them. The only way to see our six packs is to lose body fat by following a healthy, balanced diet and take part in regular exercise (and not by doing endless amounts of sit ups, that will only hurt your neck and back!).
Every article in every magazine which promises to give us the holy grail of weight loss, will all be giving us more or less the same tips on diet and exercise, which most of us know already.
These will include:
- Drink lots of water
- Eats lots of fruit and vegetables, especially lots of green leafy vegetables.
- Cut down on salt.
- Avoid processed foods, instead eat natural, clean foods.
- Cook your own meals so that you know what is going into them.
- Avoid alcohol as much as possible.
- Avoid sugar.
- Take regular exercise, interval training is especially beneficial for fat loss.
- Stay away from cappucinos, lattes, hot chocolates ... drink herbal teas instead, or water.
- Replace white, processed flour for wholegrain.
So, there you have it, as I see it anyway! The moral of the story is don't get caught up with miracle quick fixes. It all boils down to hard work and discipline, and just saying "No" to junk food and "Yes" to exercise !
I know it sounds boring, and hard work, but believe me, it is so worth it! You will have a constant spring in your step, you will be thrilled come Christmas when you feel like a million dollars in your party dress, which you tried on in the shop and it fitted you like a glove... You won't know yourself with all your extra energy.... So go on, decide to put in the hard work now and your body will reward you, I promise.
Make a decision now to be as good as you can be for the month of November, and see how good you feel ! Finally, try to stay away from the sweeties tomorrow night that you have stashed away for the "trick or treaters". Give yourself a treat and don't eat any! Once you start eating them, you might find it hard to stop! (If you are anything like me ... :( ) So best off to avoid completely...
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