How to get started (Again, if necessary)
How to Get Started (again, if necessary)
When your kit arrives (if it hasn’t already), read your manual, and then as you progress, read it several more times, WRITE down your goals and what you plan to do to achieve those goals, such as:
1. Drink 100 oz. of water a day
2. Exercise (walk, walk, walk) Start with 5 min. 2-3 days a week,. When you feel up to it, increase the time to 10 min., then to 15, etc. until you finally reach 40-60 min of sustained paced walking. After that, start increasing the number of days you do this, until you finally reach 6 out of 7 days. This may take several weeks or months.
3. Cook all your meals ahead of time, from scratch. No packaged foods here!!
4. Eat every 2-3 hours, no cheating here
5. If you eat out, take your chicken and salad dressing from home, along with either strawberries or diced baked potato and order a green salad. If you are having it with potato, order lettuce and tomato salad.
6. Leave nothing to chance.
7. Don't do the same things all the time. Vary your foods and activities. Sometimes I do my walking at SAM's or Wal-Mart and I try to use at least one recipe each week that I did not use the week before.
8. Tell everyone what you're doing, and enlist their support. I've got about 100 people rooting for me now, and that keeps me honest!! :-)) Now about 30 of those people are losing weight.
9. I don't know if you are a religious person or not, but I am and before I started, I prayed that God take this burden from me. He knew I had tried so many times before, and had failed, but I had always done it MY way, not His. That has made all the difference in the world. I do not have will power or determination. What I am trying to do is be obedient and do what He tells me is best for my body.
10. Don't do this because someone else is doing it. Do it for you. Do it so YOU can be a beacon and a role model for others. Who knows how many lives you touch each day or how many of those people are seeking the same answers to weight loss that you are.
11. Take it minute by minute. Don't worry about tomorrow. You have been given the strength to get through today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
12. Start cutting back on your salt intake, eliminate sugar, switch to Splenda or other sweetener, cut out dairy, stop eating breads, and concentrate on what you CAN have….fresh fruits and veggies and very lean meats. Start collecting recipes from the website or from members like me, who are willing to help along the way. Clear out your pantry, fridge, and freezer. Start hunting grocery stores that carry no-salt-added canned goods and really start reading labels. Learn to use herbs and spices to intensify the foods you eat, rather than salt and fats. Adjust your attitude. This is a life-change, not a diet. It is not a temporary plan to follow till you reach goal. Otherwise, you’ll be right back where you started, without ever learning anything. Figure out a day when you can cook for the entire week. That is the most efficient way of doing this program. Some cook for 2-4 weeks at a time and just freeze the extras. You have to be able to grab and go, when you’ve been used to having so-called fast foods!!
13. Go ahead and weigh and measure. You may be surprised at what happens.
First published 5/3/05)
When your kit arrives (if it hasn’t already), read your manual, and then as you progress, read it several more times, WRITE down your goals and what you plan to do to achieve those goals, such as:
1. Drink 100 oz. of water a day
2. Exercise (walk, walk, walk) Start with 5 min. 2-3 days a week,. When you feel up to it, increase the time to 10 min., then to 15, etc. until you finally reach 40-60 min of sustained paced walking. After that, start increasing the number of days you do this, until you finally reach 6 out of 7 days. This may take several weeks or months.
3. Cook all your meals ahead of time, from scratch. No packaged foods here!!
4. Eat every 2-3 hours, no cheating here
5. If you eat out, take your chicken and salad dressing from home, along with either strawberries or diced baked potato and order a green salad. If you are having it with potato, order lettuce and tomato salad.
6. Leave nothing to chance.
7. Don't do the same things all the time. Vary your foods and activities. Sometimes I do my walking at SAM's or Wal-Mart and I try to use at least one recipe each week that I did not use the week before.
8. Tell everyone what you're doing, and enlist their support. I've got about 100 people rooting for me now, and that keeps me honest!! :-)) Now about 30 of those people are losing weight.
9. I don't know if you are a religious person or not, but I am and before I started, I prayed that God take this burden from me. He knew I had tried so many times before, and had failed, but I had always done it MY way, not His. That has made all the difference in the world. I do not have will power or determination. What I am trying to do is be obedient and do what He tells me is best for my body.
10. Don't do this because someone else is doing it. Do it for you. Do it so YOU can be a beacon and a role model for others. Who knows how many lives you touch each day or how many of those people are seeking the same answers to weight loss that you are.
11. Take it minute by minute. Don't worry about tomorrow. You have been given the strength to get through today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
12. Start cutting back on your salt intake, eliminate sugar, switch to Splenda or other sweetener, cut out dairy, stop eating breads, and concentrate on what you CAN have….fresh fruits and veggies and very lean meats. Start collecting recipes from the website or from members like me, who are willing to help along the way. Clear out your pantry, fridge, and freezer. Start hunting grocery stores that carry no-salt-added canned goods and really start reading labels. Learn to use herbs and spices to intensify the foods you eat, rather than salt and fats. Adjust your attitude. This is a life-change, not a diet. It is not a temporary plan to follow till you reach goal. Otherwise, you’ll be right back where you started, without ever learning anything. Figure out a day when you can cook for the entire week. That is the most efficient way of doing this program. Some cook for 2-4 weeks at a time and just freeze the extras. You have to be able to grab and go, when you’ve been used to having so-called fast foods!!
13. Go ahead and weigh and measure. You may be surprised at what happens.
First published 5/3/05)
Labels: Hints for success
posted by Liz Maxson @ 12:59 PM
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