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Category: Health & Fitness
The are right ways to lose weight and there are wrong ways. I'm just going to tell you about my way. This is what I did to lose some unwanted pounds and I'm leaving it up to you to decide if it's right or wrong for you. It's entirely possible that it may be considered unhealthy.
Although I'm not an expert, I'd say it's a lot healthier than popping diet pills every day. I'm a 38 year old male, 5'8" tall and weighed 186 pounds. This may not seem like a lot to some people, but I knew that I wasn't in shape. My belly hung over my waist band and I avoided removing my shirt in public. I wanted to improve my self-image and my health.
To Begin
First, I needed some incentive. I'd been "trying" to lose weight for a while, but always gave up. I decided that if other people knew I had a weight-loss goal, the pressure I'd feel would help me achieve it. I also bet real money with a fellow employee that I would hit my goal.
Second, I needed a plan. I knew just enough about fitness to be dangerous, so that's what I began with. I've watched Oprah, I've read articles on diet and exercise, and I figured I could do this. I knew that a gram of fat contained 9 calories while protein and carbohydrates contain.. well.. I knew it was less.
My Diet
So I cut back on the fat in my diet. The easiest way to do that was eliminate most meats, except for lean chicken breast or turkey, from my diet. I also had to dump dairy fat like cheese and whole milk (including "low-fat" milk, which still has too much fat). I'd been using skim milk anyway and was used to it.
I had no idea how tough it would be to eat like this in the company cafeteria. After looking through everything, the only real choice was to order two or three sides of vegetables for lunch.
Most of my weight problem probably stems from eating in the cafeteria. Anyway, I tried to spice up the veggies as much as possible by adding hot sauce. It was still boring, but I ate them and stuck with it. (I've actually begun to like them.)
I didn't count calories, but I knew it was less than my usual. By cutting out bacon, sausage, cheese, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc. How could the calories not be less? I began to eat only whole-grain cereals and bagels for breakfast.
My lunch was all veggies, and my dinner was just as restricted. I made sure I had veggies and if I had meat, it was lean like skinless chicken brest.
Excercise
 So much for the diet. I also wanted to improve my cardio-vascular health and I knew that aerobic activity would do the job. I also figured, I'd burn a ton of fat that way. Each morning before breakfast, I would get out and go somewhere for 20 minutes. (on my feet, not in the car). I eventually began jogging part of the way and now I run the whole 20 minutes. I read somewhere that you burn about 100 calories per mile when you jog. Sounds good to me. I think it's also better to do it before you eat anything in the morning.
Okay, this will definitely cause weight-loss.
The drawback is that your body will not only burn fat, but start feeding off of your muscles as well. You'll notice pounds coming off, but do you really want to turn into one of those "98 pound weaklings" in the back of a comic book? You know, skinny, sort of flabby muscles... no muscle tone at all.
To prevent any more muscle loss, I began to add some strength training in the morning. I alternated days of running with days of muscle work. This began with some basic stuff like sit-ups/crunches, push-ups, dumb-bell curls, and dips.
I've noticed some improvement in the way I look since beginning this about 3 weeks ago. There is more definition in my arms and my waist looks better.
I've recently read some articles and books that suggest that by adding muscle, you can increase the fat burned while you're at rest. Your body needs to support the extra lean mass somehow. However, to build muscle you have to feed your body extra calories in the form of protein and carbohydrates (while still keeping to a low-fat diet). As long as you're doing serious weight training, the extra calories are supposedly used to build muscle rather than fat. If you're interested in building muscle, I'd suggest taking a look at some magazines or books on that subject.
 In Conclusion
Anyway, I've lost 15 pounds. I don't know how much of it was fat, but I do fit into a smaller pair of pants now. People have noticed and say that I look great. I realize that my way may be asking for too much sacrifice from some of you cheese & sausage pizza addicts, but you have to decide for yourself which is more important-- the fatty food or your health and improved self-image.
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Kevin Dunn |
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