Safe Weight Loss Guidelines

So what do you do if you want to lose weight, but you just can’t seem to stay on a diet? That’s great. ‘Diets’ are bad for you anyway.

 According to the Weight-control Information Network – (a division of US Dept of Health) –

Weight-loss programs should encourage healthy eating habits that help you lose weight and that you can stick with every day. Safe and effective weight-loss programs should include:

• Healthy eating plans that reduce calories but do not forbid specific foods or food groups.

• Tips to increase moderate-intensity physical activity.

• Tips on healthy behavior changes that also keep your cultural needs in mind.

• Slow and steady weight loss. Depending on your starting weight, experts recommend losing weight at a rate of 1/2 to 2 lbs per week. Weight loss may be faster at the start of a program.

• Medical care if you are planning to lose weight by following a special formula diet, such as a very low-calorie diet.

• A plan to keep the weight off after you have lost it.

Let’s start with some basic healthy eating rules anyone can manage-  

1. Concentrate on getting your 5-9 fruits and veggies a day, first.

2. Drink plenty of water.

3. Quit soda pop. Replace with flavored waters, juice, fresh lemonade. They even make carbonated water if you must have bubbles.

4. Cut way down on bread, potatoes, chips, fried foods and stuff like that. Replace with cereal, pasta, whole grain breads, and rice. (unless you are a diabetic. In that case, follow your doctor’s recommendation for starch intake.)

5. Eat normal sized portions. Meat should be about 3.5 – 6 oz. Serving sizes for most food is ½ cup.

6. Don’t eat too late. Try to cut off all eating about 2 hours before bed.

7. Cut out the majority of sweets.

8. Eat until you are comfortably full, then STOP. Not one bite more.

9. Cut down your alcohol intake. (ONE glass of red wine a day is actually good for you.)

10.  Spread your eating out throughout the day when you will burn most of it.

 You can handle that, can’t you? Get back to me in 6 months and let me know what happened. You’ll get even more dramatic results if you throw in some daily exercise.