It's almost Christmas Eve

I found out today that I have readers in the Netherlands and now I can add you to the list of countries that follow my blog. I’m really surprised after 8 years of writing 4 different blogs how many readers I have amassed. I write these blogs for fun, I get nothing out of it but because I found success in my weight loss venture, I thought I should write about it. Let those know that it’s not hopeless and that anyone can lose weight.

I know there will be a sacrifice. You do have to change the way you live. I have to live every day like I’m in training. I decided that from now on I would be more active, and eat a proper diet that would help me burn my body fat. I know now that no one can totally avoid all the foods they love, but until you achieve that slimmer, trimmer body you want to have you will have to sacrifice just like a pro athlete training for the Superbowl or a big title fight.

I weighed about 220 pounds several years ago and now I’m 155. I reduced my body fat to about 20% and I have all the energy of someone 20 years younger. We don’t realize what extra weight can do to your body, your health, and your mind. Yes, I know I look my age but you don’t have to feel as old as you look. Yes, the weather takes a toll on your skin and you can do something about that today if you want. That’s an option I don’t care to do. But you don’t have to feel your age. You can turn back the clock and stop your body from aging just by keeping in shape.

Your diet plays a big part in staying in shape. Cancer is a real threat to all of us and medical science is spending millions of dollars every year in research trying to find a cure, but the real cure can be found in your diet. Excess body fat increases your chances for cancer, I read that in a newsletter but why is that? When you add weight as an adult you’re adding body fat so your blood vessels have to grow in length to accommodate your growing body and because you’re not a child any longer it’s more difficult to grow these blood vessels. Your heart has to pump blood to all these new fat cells to keep them alive. I believe when these fat cells aren’t getting enough blood to stay alive they become Cancerous.

So what’s the answer, Don’t add weight to your body after you are fully grown, usually between 18 and 21 years of age. Naturally, there are several other ways you get Cancer. Like smoking, but all of the ways involve cells in your body that are dying for one reason or another.

People, in general, will eat food that they like, regardless of the health consequences. We forget that eating food is to fuel our bodies and give us strength, eating is not for pleasure. Eating is a necessary part of survival just like walking. It’s just that North Americans don't do enough walking to help their bodies.

Lose your fat and stay healthy and you’ll be a much happier person.

Look for my podcasts on anchor.fm, or the podcast app on your cell phone. Search “howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight”.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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.

If You Want To Lose Weight Fast

Working on weight loss? Then you probably want results — fast.

Let me save you some time: skip the fad diets. Their results don’t last. And you have healthier options you can start on — today!

You can safely lose 3 or more pounds a week at home with a healthy diet and lots of exercises, says weight loss counselor Katherine Tallmadge, RD.

I will warn you that this might not work for everyone. And I’ll add that if you're under doctor's care consult them first before changing your diet or doing lots of exercises.

How to Lose Weight Fast

If you burn 500 more calories than you eat every day for a week, you should lose about 1-2 pounds

If you want to lose weight faster, you’ll need to eat less and exercise more.

For instance, if you take in 1,050 to 1,200 calories a day, and exercise for one hour per day, you could lose 3-5 pounds in the first week, or more if you weigh more than 250 pounds. It’s very important not to cut calories any further — that’s dangerous.

Limiting salt and starches may also mean losing more weight at first — but that’s mostly fluids, not fat.

“When you reduce sodium and cut starches, you reduce fluids and fluid retention, which can result in up to 5 pounds of fluid loss when you get started,” says Michael Dansinger, MD, of NBC’s The Biggest Loser show.

Diets for Fast Weight Loss

Dansinger recommends eating a diet that minimizes starches, added sugars, and animal fat from meat and dairy foods. For rapid weight loss, he recommends focusing on fruits, veggies, egg whites, soy products, skinless poultry breasts, fish, shellfish, nonfat dairy foods, and 95% lean meat.

Here are more tips from Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet :

Eat vegetables to help you feel full.
Drink plenty of water.
Get tempting foods out of your home.
Stay busy — you don’t want to eat just because you’re bored.
Eat only from a plate, while seated at a table. No grazing in front of the ‘fridge.
Don’t skip meals.
Keeping a food journal — writing down everything you eat — can also help you stay on track.

“Even if you write it down on a napkin and end up throwing it away, the act of writing it down is about being accountable to yourself and is a very effective tool for weight loss,” says Bonnie Taub Dix, MA, RD, author of Read It Before You Eat It .

Besides jotting down what you ate, and when, you might also want to note how you were feeling right before you ate it. Were you angry, sad, or bored? We often focus so much on foods and calories, but our emotions are a huge part of our eating habits.

If you see a persistent pattern in your emotional eating, please consider talking to a counselor about it. They can be a big help in finding other ways to handle your feelings.

You have to take weight loss seriously if you’re going to make it work for you.

Look for my podcasts on anchor.fm, or the podcast app on your cell phone. Search “howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight”.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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.

Staying Fit Over 40

This blog post spells it out. This doctor tells us what he does to live a healthy, fit lifestyle. Most professionals today are well schooled and not kids anymore. It takes a lot of education and a lot of money to rise up in your profession. Anyone who has 4 years of college and then 4 more years getting a post-grad degree knows he’ll be working for a long time. My brother has a law degree and after many years in his own practice was asked to be a judge in the county where he lives.  He now hears mostly criminal cases and will probably work into his 70’s. This isn’t unusual, I know doctors and dentists that will do the same. Professionals have a lot of time and money invested in their careers and simply working to 65 doesn’t always work out.

Today a professional or executive doesn’t reach their earnings peak until later in life and then just to quit because you’re 65 is pretty stupid. This blog is about a doctor who is staying fit to be able to continue with that middle-aged lifestyle as long as possible.

It always amazes me how much work it takes to simply maintain my health – and each year past 40 it seems to get harder. So, I’ve made some changes over the past few years to my diet, especially my workweek meals. They’re small changes, but since I’ve been consistent (for the most part), they’ve really helped.

Here are some of the tricks that are working for me:

Stick to a routine: I’ve read routine is a key player in weight management, and I don’t have any extra calories to waste. So, I eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning during the workweek. I make a big batch of whole oats (more fiber than instant oats) and add almonds, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon. I measure everything, so my portions (and calories) are controlled and consistent. And, then I divide it into 6 bottles so in the morning all I have to do is heat it up and go. It’s tasty, and the best part is I’m full until lunch!

Cut back where I can: I’m a coffee drinker, and for years added artificial creamer (I’m lactose intolerant). But when I learned about the trans-fat in the creamer, I went cold turkey and cut out the creamer (and sugar!). It took a little while to get used to it, but I love my black coffee now! Never going back. I have a second cup of coffee in the early afternoon. I’d like to cut out the coffee to not be so dependent on the caffeine, but I’m not fighting it at the moment.

Bring my lunch: I’m on again, off again with how strict I am with lunch, but my WebMD lunch buddies are a pretty good influence. I bring my lunch from home most days and sit in our kitchen area to chat with coworkers. I like to eat a green salad every day plus a bean or lentil dish, or whatever food is leftover from my fridge.

Variety at dinner: While I’m pretty regimented and routine with my meals during the day, I need variety during dinner with my family. Over the years I’ve collected many tasty recipes originating from around the world. I have a formula for the ingredients I choose when making my weekly meal plan. Every weeknight is a different protein – either red meat, poultry, seafood, or a bean/lentil dish. And for carbs I do the same – it’s either rice, a pita or roti; a pasta (high fiber!); or a starchy vegetable like peas, corn, and potatoes. And, of course, every night we have a colorful veggie side. Of course, some weeks, schedules are crazy and the formula goes out the door – but I try!

Think the Mediterranean: I look to the Mediterranean diet for all the various food ingredients I’ve added to my diet. A lot of my focus over the years has been to add nuts/seeds, beans/lentils, and fish to my diet. I’m always trying to increase the quantity and variety of vegetables I eat. And I’ve cut down on red meat a lot! I do tend to run short on dairy, but I try to get a little cheese and yogurt on most days.

Save restaurants for special occasions: I don’t eat out at restaurants much, and when I do, I want it to be because I’m craving a certain food, or it’s a social event – not because I don’t have any food at home to cook. To be honest, I have a tough time ordering healthy when I’m out – I’d rather just order what I want to eat. But, I’m getting better: if I really want the Reuben, I get a half sandwich with a salad, rather than the full sandwich with chips. Like I said earlier, it’s about small changes.

Look for my podcasts on anchor.fm or the podcast app on your cell phone. Search “howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight”.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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.

Plant Based Foods Are The In-Thing

The new year is just around the corner, so it’s time to usher in the latest food trends that will soon hit restaurants and grocery store shelves. With more of us paying attention to the environment and our health, food manufacturers are responding by offering more innovative, plant-forward foods that are better for people and the planet. Get ready for seaweed, algae, fungi, and other plant-based edibles that will delight your taste buds.

Here’s a sneak peek at the healthy trendsetters:

Seaweed

Tired of kale? Seaweed is here to help … and dazzle your palate with rich flavors and nutrients. Seaweed is low in calories and fat and provides several essential nutrients including vitamins A and C, B vitamins, fiber, iron, iodine, zinc, and magnesium. A fixture in Asian cuisine for centuries, seaweed has been growing in popularity in the U.S. and is now poised to be the next trendy superfood. In fact, some estimates project that seaweed will surpass kale-based snacks.

Wondering how to infuse seaweed into your diet? This new year, ditch the greasy potato chips and opt instead for a tasty seaweed snack. Annie Chun’s Organic Roasted Nori Snacks have 25 to 30 calories per serving compared to 150 to 160 calories in most fried chips. As a bonus, preliminary research suggests compounds in seaweed may even quell the hunger.

Blended Burgers

A good burger is always on-trend, but with more emphasis on healthier, sustainable eating, top chefs are reinventing the burger to be more eco-friendly … and delicious!

The James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project calls for chefs across the country to blend at least 25% fresh chopped mushrooms into a burger patty. Blended burgers combine finely chopped mushrooms with meat, creating a burger that’s tastier, healthier, and more sustainable than all-meat burgers. So far, the blended burger has been adopted by some of the nation’s most creative and adventurous chefs and the foodservice industry, according to Kristopher Moon, vice president of the James Beard Foundation. In addition to restaurants, many leading universities and public schools offer blended burgers on their menus too.

Make your own savory burger with this Mushroom Monster recipe.

Algae

To create a healthier and greener food system, innovative companies have developed plant-based protein and fats to replace resource-intensive dairy and meat ingredients. Nutrient-rich algae, made from a resource-efficient fermentation process, is the hot new plant-based ingredient that is being used to replace animal-based ingredients. For instance, TerraVia’s lipid-rich whole algae, which is high in beneficial monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat, can replace eggs, cream, and butter in baked goods, sauces, dressings, and ice cream without affecting the taste or texture. Algae-based foods are now in every aisle of the supermarket — from baked goods and snacks to salad dressings and smoothies.

Pasta

After years of slipping sales during the height of the low-carb craze, pasta is back on the plate – and it’s better than ever. Based on Google data search trends, more consumers are buying, preparing, or ordering pasta in all its forms, including rigatoni, tortellini, penne, fusilli, and linguine. Pasta can be a healthy and earth-friendly choice because it’s a key component of the Mediterranean diet, which is considered the gold standard for healthy eating, and it has a small environmental footprint. Since pasta is made from semolina, a protein-packed wheat variety, a 200-calorie cup of cooked pasta has 6 grams of protein and a low glycemic index to help keep you fuller, longer.

Looking to make a satisfying, health-conscious meal in minutes? Add this Angel Hair with Tomato Basil and Peppers to your menu this new year.

Also, you probably haven’t heard much about it but bugs, worms are other insects will be next. Other countries have experimented with these tiny critters and found they are loaded with nutrients. In Africa and the Far East, they are a major supply of protein for the masses. I think we will see more and more bugs and worms in our stores as they become more popular.

Look for my podcasts on anchor.fm, or the podcast app on your cell phone. Search “howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight”.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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.

Forget The Diet, It's Christmas

It’s a very special day for every family. A day of celebration. I hope you can spend some time with your family, even if it’s on the phone.

Celebrating has always involved food and drink, it’s a tradition that has gone on for thousands of years and I’m sure it will continue on, but we don’t have to pig out.

Yes, you have to taste the important traditional dishes that your friends or relatives have taken hours to prepare, but use a small plate, take small amounts and try and avoid the sugary stuff. Remember you can’t work off a lot of calories.

A one-hour workout for an experienced athlete will only burn about 300 calories. For a person with less athletic experience, you might only burn 100 calories. On a festive holiday like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year it’s easy to consume 3000 to 4000 calories between all the food, snacks, and drinks for the day. That kind of consumption can increase your weight by 2 or 3 pounds at least.

So if you can hold down your calorie count to say 2000 calories which should only be a few hundred more than normal, you should be able to work off those extra calories in a couple of days.

The problem we all have this time of year is the continual party, one after the other with very little time in between to recoup. Then there’s the shopping for gifts. We go after work and spend a couple hours trying to find gifts and no time to eat, so we eat in restaurants with friends which involves more celebrating and more calories.

Did you know that the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for restaurants? It’s not unusual for a family to eat out 4 or 5 times a week during the holidays. So if you add up all the meals we eat in restaurants and all the social events we have to attend, it’s no wonder that the average adult will gain between 5 and 10 pounds during the holidays.

This is the typical weight gain you have to avoid. It can take months to recoup if you can recoup. Most of us will try to diet in January. We’ll lose some weight but not much because the winters are cold and in the cold weather we tend to eat more comfort food and that’s a high-calorie food.

Eating the wrong foods even in small portions will keep you from losing weight. You can’t exercise away a bad diet. Once the weather starts to warm up most of us find it easier to cut back on food, but by that time it’s hard to break the bad habits we had during the winter. We will trim down a little because we are more active in the spring and summer because the days are longer and we have more time to work outside.

I know all about this life cycle because that is the way my life was. All the weight I would gain during the cold months never quite left me. I always ended up one or two pounds heavier at the end of the year. Of course, we never remember how much we weighed the year before, so we don’t realize we keep gaining weight every year. That cycle is called “creeping obesity”. The one or two pounds you gain every year and don’t even realize it. Then when you get to be 50, you wonder how you gained all that weight. On average, a 50-year-old male will weigh between 40 and 60 more than he did on his 21st birthday. The more you weigh when you are 21, the more you’ll gain over the years. This doesn’t hold true in all cases, it’s an average over the entire population, some people are very athletic and never gain weight. I weigh the same today as I weighed when I was 17, of course, I spent years yo-yoing from 220 pounds down to 160.

Be mindful of what you eat. Keeping your body in good condition is your responsibility. It would be better for you and better for your health if you never gained any extra weight. When an adult gains weight they are adding body fat. Not good. The human body is only built to carry a small amount of body fat, like 15% of your weight. It’s there in case of emergency. When you can’t find food your body will still have fat to survive on. But because of the American diet, we are adding too much fat and it only causes health problems.

Controlling your weight and keeping your body in good condition is your responsibility. Your doctor can only relieve your symptoms, give you a pill or repair a broken bone. Your body has to heal itself and you have to feed it the nutrition it needs to do that.

Look for my podcasts on anchor.fm, or the podcast app on your cell phone. Search “howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight”.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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.

The New Years Resolution

This is the one big promise we make to ourselves every year but seldom keep. I can’t speak for everyone, but for the ones obsessed with losing weight, don’t make that resolution about the bathroom scale. If this is the promise you have been making for years, “this is the year I’m going to lose weight”, it’s time for a change. This year you want to promise you're going to “live a healthier life”. I know it's a little early to write about the new year, but it's only 3 weeks away. If you're careful and watch your diet closely you won't have that regret in January that you gained too much.

Step off the scale now and no one will get hurt. Focusing just on weight loss can lead to cycles of losing and regaining weight, lower self-esteem, and a preoccupation with food and body image.

“You’ll do better if you have goals that have to do not with weight, but with health,” says Carol Landau, Ph.D., clinical professor of psychiatry and medicine at the Alpert Medical School, Brown University. While a New Year’s resolution is a great way to get in touch with what’s important and how you want to change, “Most diets don’t work,” she says.

“A focus on weight loss tends to result in a quick-fix approach to a permanent challenge,” she says. “Instead, focus on finding health results in lifestyle changes that are more likely to last.” It would be better to focus on changing your diet.

The irony is, if you make your resolutions about wellness, rather than weight, you may get the best of both worlds: You’ll feel better, get healthier and yes, lose weight. By eating the right foods and being more active your body will burn up that excess body fat.

“The reason most people fail to lose weight is that they don’t realize that it’s their lifestyle that caused them to gain the excess body fat and it’s their lifestyle that prevents them from losing their fat.” In almost all cases when an adult gains weight, it’s because they’re gaining body fat.

Good: Resolve to change daily behaviors

“If you’re totally inactive, it may be walking a mile every day”. “If you’re already pretty active, it might be training to run a 5k race.” Or it could be a promise to cut out processed foods. Let your goals be achievable and based on things you can actually do, rather than weight-loss results. It could be eating a healthy breakfast every morning, or eating fish twice a week and making sure you sit down when you eat.

You might resolve to eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal of the day. Eating more fruits and vegetables, along with drinking plenty of water and walking daily, has been shown to be a pretty powerful combo when it comes to weight-loss success. But that’s not your concern now. Before you get there, your goal is to create a healthy habit you can sustain. The same goes for exercise: Your goal is to create a habit that will improve the health of your body and mind.

You won’t have to rely on the scale to know if you’ve been successful, either. If you have an orange at breakfast, a salad at lunch, and a green vegetable at dinner, you’ve won. Took a 20-minute walk during your lunch break? Pat yourself on the back. Any improvements you can make in your diet or your activity level will improve your health.

That said, The more improvements you make the quicker the results. Yes, any small improvements will help over the long term, but big improvements can show results in a short amount of time.

When I first decided to “get healthy” I stopped eating my normal diet and started to eat a low-fat, low-carb diet of meat and vegetables. Oatmeal for breakfast and a salad for lunch. That it. I didn’t skimp on food, I ate a small amount of food every two hours or so. Between my three basic meals, I’d eat fruit or a yogurt cup. I was eating 6 times a day in small quantities. I never got hungry. I was eating all fresh foods. That alone will curb your appetite. Fresh food is more satisfying than manufactured food and yogurt are manufactured, but I stuck to Greek yogurt, it has less sugar and has more protein. Eating protein is important and you should try and eat protein at every meal.

Look for my podcasts on anchor.fm, or the podcast app on your cell phone. Search “howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight”.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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.

What To Ask You Doctor

 To help you lose weight, your doctor might have said things like, “Get more exercise,” “Cut back on calories,” or “Eat less junk.” It’s all good advice — but what exactly does it mean? How much exercise should you do? How many calories do you need to stop eating in order to shed pounds? Remember that your doctor is also running a business and him or her wants to keep you for a customer, so how “frank” can your doctor be without hurting your feelings or making you mad.

In some respects some of what the doctor doesn't tell you is because you didn't ask him. Sometimes you need to be blunt and just ask him for a diet that you can follow to lose weight. Just ask "how much should I weigh?" If your blunt about it they will give you an honest answer. "How much body fat should I lose?" These are questions you should be asking. Too many of us depend on a trainer at the gym for advice. Your doctor is impartial, a dietitian is impartial, but anyone who can sell you on diet pills or a gym membership want to convince you that you need what they're selling.

Learn how to turn your doctor’s well-meaning, yet sometimes vague, strategies into real steps you can start taking today.

You weight 220 pounds and your 5 ft. 8 inches. Your waist is a 40 us and your doctor tells you that you should exercise more. “What does that Mean?” “I try not to walk, my feet are killing me.” “Then he tells me I should eat better. I eat healthy food.” You might think you do but why are you gaining weight? How did you get so big? Ask yourself the tough questions and be honest with yourself. Remember you put on the weight. You have to be the detective. If you can’t be honest with your answers you won’t learn how you gained the weight and you won't lose the weight.

Let’s face it, unless your 7 feet tall a 40 inch waist is too big.

The Advice: ‘Get Down to a Healthy Weight’

What It Means: For you, gauging a healthy weight might be about how your clothes fit (like whether you can still squeeze into your favorite pair of jeans). For your doctor, getting to a healthy weight has more to do with lowering your odds of getting conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Keeping an eye on your weight is important. Although some studies have found you can be both overweight and healthy, other researchers say that if the numbers on the scale are high, your health is at risk. Personally, I don’t believe in healthy obesity. Our friend in the last paragraph, who has a 40-inch waist, is classified “Obese”, but did his doctor tell him, no. Being a doctor is still a business and no one wants to lose customers. Doctors know when you’re overweight and that you should do something about it. Why can’t they be honest about your condition and refer you to a weight loss specialist.

The way I look at it, the patient needs to know that being overweight or just having too much body fat can cause serious health problems unless he wants to take insulin for the rest of his life. That kind of talk may be a little strong but sometimes a person needs that Strong language before they understand your serious.

 

Surprising Reasons You’re Gaining Weight

Yet stepping on your bathroom scale alone won’t tell you if you’re at a healthy weight since it doesn’t take your height into account. At 150 pounds, you’re overweight if you measure 5 feet 2 inches tall, but just right if you’re 6 feet 2 inches.

A more accurate measure is your body mass index (BMI), which calculates your weight in relation to your height. A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is healthy. My doctor actually has a record of my BMI each time I get a checkup.

BMI isn’t perfect. It doesn’t consider how muscular you are, or where your fat is located. So also check your waist circumference. A woman of average height should have a waist measuring less than 35 inches, and a man should be 40 inches or less around the was it at the navel. Together, your waist size and BMI can give you a good guide to how much you need to trim.

The Advice: ‘Lose 1 to 2 Pounds a Week’

What It Means: Not sure how to get to those numbers? Well, think of it this way; we all consume too many calories. On average we consume twice the calories we require. We sometimes forget that the calories we drink are just like the calories we eat. The average North American will consume about 3500 calories a day. Half of those calories come from liquids.

Some people are pretty active without exercise. Not everyone sits behind a desk all day. But even the active people can be too heavy because of the food they eat. You don’t have to starve to cut calories. Stop eating out. Make the food you eat. Know what you’re eating and how it’s made.

If you trade your usual bag of chips for an apple, swap your grande blended coffee drink for a small iced coffee with skim milk, and hold the cheese on your sandwich at lunch, you could cut 400 calories from your diet. Toss in a 25-minute walk to burn the other 100, and you’ve skimmed 500 calories for the day.

You have to take responsibility for your weight problem and your health. Your doctor is looking at you as another customer. You’re the only one that cares about you.

The Advice: ‘Cut Back on Junk’

What It Means: You’re probably thinking of sodas, chips, and candy. Reframe that idea. Any food that’s low in nutrition and high in calories — including jams and jellies, sauces and gravies — isn’t doing your body any favors.

You don’t have to stop all splurges. Just cut back on empty calories. Eat smaller portions, less often.

Make simple, smart swaps. Bake chicken instead of frying, drink sparkling water instead of soda and top your pizza with vegetables instead of meat. Finish your meals with a piece of fruit.

This author never tried to lose 100 pounds, I can tell. Small changes in your diet usually don’t work. I had to give away almost all the food in my house and all the alcohol and soda, beer and wine. I had to eat white meat chicken, wild salmon, green vegetables, black beans and Oatmeal for breakfast. I worked out on a stationary bike every day because my knees were so bad I couldn’t walk around the mall for 20 minutes.

After a few months, I had dropped about 40 pounds and felt much better. I could finally walk a couple miles without stopping. I stayed on a strict diet for several more months and now that I lost my body fat I can eat other things but I still avoid meat and that means hamburger, and I eat very little dairy. I do eat seafood, poultry, all the fruits, and vegetables, rye or whole grain bread and a beer or wine a few times a week. Life is good and I feel good. I’m 6 foot tall and weight 155 and have more energy than ever before.

 The Advice: ‘Get More Exercise’

What It Means: To lose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you take in each day. Part of the formula involves diet. The rest requires exercise.

When you need to trim off a few pounds, aim for 60 minutes a day, or 300 minutes a week, of moderate aerobic activity. You don’t have to do all 60 minutes at once. Break them up into 10- or 15-minute bursts. If you can ramp up to a higher intensity during those short periods, you may burn fat even more efficiently.

Lift weights at the gym or do exercises like sit-ups and pushups at least twice a week to build muscle strength. Stronger muscles boost your metabolism and torch a lot more calories than fat, even when you’re not moving.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat 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 $3.99. 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, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.