Losing Weight the Right Way

Here are some common statements, which ones are true or false, test your skills.

1. Eat grapefruit and it will melt the fat away.
2. You have to starve to lose weight.
3. When exercising no pain means no gain.
4. Potatoes make you fat.
5. Food combining should be avoided.
6. Avoid treat food, a no-no when losing weight.
7. Skip meals and you will lose weight.
8. Avoid carbs at all cost.
9. Drinking while eating is fattening.
10.Counting calories is a waste of time.

All these statements are false. I remember years ago how I used to think about eating and how I would starve myself to lose weight. It was crazy and just didn’t work. In fact, it led me to hit the scales at 100 kilos, so maybe it is time for you to rethink how you lose weight. The best way to shed kilos is to eat a balanced diet, exercise at least 4 times a week and look at portion sizing. I know that I ate far too much when I was overweight, sat on the couch too much and never asked myself if the food that I was eating was good for me or just good for my taste buds. The slim healthy Annette has changed all this just by embracing a healthy diet and being active, so if I can do it so can you.

If you are fed up with dieting then read on...In all my years in the weight loss industry, I have yet to hear of one good thing to be said about dieting. Most times people say that dieting to them means eating boring tasteless food, deprivation, hunger, irritability, starvation and not being able to go out or socialise. This could explain why so few can stay on a diet long term and actually get to their goal weight. I had to lose 35 kilos, which is a huge amount of weight, so looking down the many months of living off celery and carrots would make any motivated person cringe with fear.

Here are some realistic ways to win the battle of the bulge:

1. Don’t be boring with your food choices. Steamed vegetables and fish are lovely but aren’t very exciting so experiment. Try some of my fabulous low fat recipes and learn how to eat the healthy way.

2. If you enjoy a wine or piece of chocolate then make sure that you work these things into your eating regime. If you love to snack then make sure that you have good healthy snacks at home when you need them.

3. Eating in moderation is essential to lasting long term on a healthy eating program. For example fruit is fantastic. It is full of fibre, which will help keep you feeling full and satisfied longer and is also a good carbohydrate but beware it is possible to eat too much fruit. The normal serving size of a piece of fruit is 140g. Women should have no more than 3 pieces and men 4 pieces each day for weight loss.

4. If you can’t get motivated and have little willpower your weight loss will be a struggle and you won’t last long so make sure you keep motivated, focused and have strong willpower if you wish to succeed. When you are motivated you can do anything. Think about all the positives to you losing weight and forget the negatives.

5. Finally make time for 3 very important parts of any weight loss journey: A) Shop for the right food. Buy only what will support your healthy program and don’t be tempted to buy chocolate for the kids if you know that you will sneak some for yourself. B) Allow time in your day to prepare and cook delicious low fat healthy meals and snacks. And finally C) Make time in your day for exercise.  Prioritise this because without activity in your day, weight loss will be slower and also harder to keep off long term. Step up and do what ever is needed each day to be the healthy person you want to be.

More tips from Annette