There's are many small changes that anyone can make that can help you lose weight without dieting. We can touch on some of the important ones.
Getting more sleep is very basic to the weight-loss process. What ever changes you make in your exercise or diet if your not getting enough sleep you will probably continue to fight your battle with weight.
One small trick that works for some people is to only allow yourself 20 minutes to eat. I understand that on paper this might seem like a good way to control portions. It's been used by the military in boot camps with big success for decades, so it can work, but you need the will power to resist food between meals, and only eat 3 meals a day. And don't forget the exercise. In these boot camps a person can burn more than 5000 calories a day. That's really the biggest problem overweight people have. They burn less then 2000 calories a day and they're eating too much food that their body can't process so if the body can't process your food it will be turned into fat.
Eat more veggies is the best way to eat more food that your body can process. It doesn't mean that you should become a vegetarian, but it does mean that we all eat too much meat and meat is one food that's hard to digest. It takes your body about 3 days to digest red meat, less time for poultry and only one day for fish. Fish may be the best way to get meat into your diet. A good example of a good diet that limits meat would be the Mediterranean diet. The diet of the Mediterranean people before they started to eat like Americans. You can read about their diet on the internet or on the Front page of this blog, check the diet page. Eating this way gives you more nutrition then the traditional American diet. You will lose body fat over time, but the real plus for this diet is that you will become a healthier person with more energy and be more productive. A good way to get more veggies is to eat more soup and more salads. This is a way to get more good vegetables like tomatoes, celery, okra, zucchini, cabbage plus beans and grains like barley, brown rice.
Grains are also a food that most of us don't get enough of. Today things are changing and good grains can be bought in our favorite foods. We can now find whole grains like oats, brown rice, barley and buckwheat in foods like waffles, pizza crusts, english muffins, breads and pasta. So we really have no excuse for not being able to find good nutritious foods. I know that some of us get sticker shock in the grocery stores but remember when you don't buy the snack food, bakery goods, candy and bottled drinks you will save more money then you might think. You can actually save money on groceries after you adjust to this new diet. And another plus with the Mediterranean diet is that your not limited to quantity of food and there's no calories to count. You just follow the food pyramid and get your exercise.
Foods to skip. A big part of losing weight is to stay away from certain foods. Processed foods top the list if you're trying to compile make your own list. One big problem is not enough people know which are processed foods. I'll boil it down to one sentence. If it's food that's made by man, it's processed. Bacon, lunch meat, most breads and bakery goods, pre-made food in the grocery store. Those whole roasted chickens you buy in the chain stores. The salads that they make in the chain stores. Any desserts you buy fresh or frozen. Except for frozen vegetables that are just vegetables without additives, there is nothing in the frozen food section that is not man-made. Another very important thing to skip is cooking oil. Be very careful when buying cooking oil. Olive oil and coconut oil are the best that I know. Coconut oil is better when cooking with high heat, but both are good choices. If your not cooking olive oil is the best. I even drizzle olive oil on my popcorn before I season it.
Another food group would be bottled drinks and snack foods. The only good snack food that I buy is unpopped popcorn, bulk nuts and seeds. Bottled drinks include soda, juices and alcoholic drinks I avoid. The only alcoholic drink that can be considered healthy would be wine, but it's full of added sugar. Beer is the only alcoholic drink that doesn't add sugar. Drinks and snacks add more calories to the average daily diet then food eaten during meals. The reason I include juices with sodas is because of the added sugar. Juices have in some cases more added sugar then soda. Any juice you drink and want to continue to drink should be done in small quantities. Forty or fifty years ago juice was always had juice on the breakfast table, but what I remember is that what ever the juice, it was served in a 3 oz. glass and breakfast was the only time anyone drank juice. We use to be more aware of the foods we ate, and somewhere through the years you lost that. If we are going to eat healthier we'll need to make our meals at home. We should only be eating food if we know what's in it.
More tips on losing weight might be to shrink your portions. When eating out with friends I usually eat a salad but sometimes I'll just order an appetizer. After your meal you want to get the taste of food out of your month. This avoids food cravings later on. Chew a strong mint gum or maybe strong black coffee or tea. Try to do more walking. It takes 20 minutes to walk one mile. By walking one extra mile everyday you'll loss about 10 pounds a year.
Eating "clean" is gaining traction — but what does it actually mean, and how is it good for the body? You here about it almost everyday if your reading food blogs of watching cooking shows.
Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being aware of the food's pathway between its origin and your plate. At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or "real" foods — those that are un- processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible. However, modern food production has become so sophisticated that simply eating whole foods can be a challenging proposition these days.
Stores like Whole Foods have changed the food scene. We have more mini grocery's that specialize in fresh foods, organic foods and healthier brands. Ten or fifteen years ago we had 3 major grocery's where I live, and we had Whole Foods and convenient foods in gas stations. Today the scene is much different. Healthy foods are becoming common place in the majors and small grocery chains are springing up throughout the city selling organic, fresh, healthy food. Restaurants are starting to offer healthy food on the menu. The difference is today the public demands it. Menu will have to show the calorie count. And recently the FDA what's food manufacturers to put the amount of added sugar on food labels. These changes won't happen immediately but the changes will be a good thing for consumers.
Not eating processed foods is the biggest part of "eating clean". I was surprised to learn how many people don't really understand what foods are considered to be processed foods. Most people don't realize that bread is a processed food and that some cheese is processed. These new milks like soy milk and almond milk are processed foods and may have chemical additives.
I just finished a sugar detox recently. For 10 days I couldn't eat anything with added sugar. I'm glad I did the detox, but it's difficult finding foods or drinks without sugar. I had to just buy the basics and make my own food. It's very healthy and I learned a lot and I have no regrets. The hardest part was not eating in restaurants. The other hard part was only drinking water, tea and coffee. I could add lemon for flavor and add cinnamon to black coffee. I could eat salads in some restaurants but no salad dressing, only lemon, oil, or vinegar.
The reason I mentioned the sugar detox is, if you want to get a taste of what it's like to "eat clean", try a sugar detox.
Not eating processed foods is the biggest part of "eating clean". I was surprised to learn how many people don't really understand what foods are considered to be processed foods. Most people don't realize that bread is a processed food and that some cheese is processed. These new milks like soy milk and almond milk are processed foods and may have chemical additives.
I just finished a sugar detox recently. For 10 days I couldn't eat anything with added sugar. I'm glad I did the detox, but it's difficult finding foods or drinks without sugar. I had to just buy the basics and make my own food. It's very healthy and I learned a lot and I have no regrets. The hardest part was not eating in restaurants. The other hard part was only drinking water, tea and coffee. I could add lemon for flavor and add cinnamon to black coffee. I could eat salads in some restaurants but no salad dressing, only lemon, oil, or vinegar.
The reason I mentioned the sugar detox is, if you want to get a taste of what it's like to "eat clean", try a sugar detox.
If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books.
There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.
