DO NOT DIET!

If you want to lose weight…forget the word diet. People who begin a diet set themselves up for disaster from day one. The word itself immediately makes us think of restriction, of giving things up. Dieters are challenged to perform and produce results from the moment they begin. When they are unable to reach the targets that have been set…which are invariably way too high or in too short a time frame…then depression, hopelessness and feelings of inadequacy are the result. Dieters only learn how to mismanage their eating habits and are extremely liable to end up with serious eating disorders.

HFCS

High-Fructose Corn Syrup has replaced sucrose(table sugar) in the States. It is the primary sweetener and used in such things as bread,cereals, breakfast bars yoghurts and soft drinks. There is much consternation about the extent of its usage and claims that it helps increase weight loss and tooth decay. It has become prevalent because of corn subsidies and higher import tax on foreign sugars. The truth is that research is still ongoing and in fact they do not know what this stuff will do to you long term. So guess who are the Guinea pigs! Best advice is to not touch it and stay away from all sugars in general. You know it makes sense! 

Views from The Wagon

Since I've stopped drinking I've been wondering how much the booze has cost me over the years. Lets say i spent on average about £40 per week ($60). Over the 34 years that i have been a drinker that amounts to over £65,000. Now £40 is a conservative estimate and many weeks it was easily a lot more than that but probably not often less. Into this amount needs to be factored money spent occassionally on certain recreational drugs that sometimes just seemed so necessary with the booze buzz. Not forgetting the money lost from days missed at work because of hangovers and the real total is probably between £80 and £100th. A staggering amount I'm sure you would agree. On top of this is the emotional cost...booze has been a major factor in the break-up of several relationships i have had with women. I guess you could say that booze has cost me dear over the years. What about the good times? Well yeh, I've had many good times. Would i change anything? Well i think your experiences mould your character, so no, I wouldn't change anything. But i would love to have that money in the bank now!   

How can I Stop Eating at Night

Night Eating Syndrome or NES is a big problem for many people.Often, after eating very little throughout the day, NES sufferers will eat a large evening meal and then continue to consume vast amounts of food over the course of the evening and night. Sleep is disturbed and often sufferers will get up in the night to eat. More than 50% of the days' calorie intake is consumed between the evening meal and breakfast.Guilt, shame,stress and overweight problems go hand in hand with this eating disorder.

Green Tea.

You can boost your weight loss efforts simply by drinking green tea! It has been known for thousands of years by the Chinese to have health benefits. Evidence now shows that drinking green tea lowers the risk of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer. Green tea helps with fat oxidation and lowers cholesterol raising the good HDL to bad LDL ratio.

You may not like the taste at first but it can very quickly be acquired. Do not miss out on this natural health drink.

The path of Temptation.

1.Set achievable goals and give yourself a reasonable time to achieve them. If you are trying to cut out all the junk food from your diet do not attempt it all in one day. Better to replace one item each day. First day swop pastries for fruits, next day fizzy drinks for fresh fruit juice etc.

2.In the same way…bad habits cannot be broken in one day…if you are used to a snack at 11am or mid-afternoon it is better not to cut it out immediately but to modify what you eat. Instead of cake or a chocolate bar take yoghurt or fruit.

3. Resist temptation when it comes along outside of meal times do something to take your mind from it…go for a walk, phone a friend…drinking water will temporarily remove the feeling. Try anything and everything that will prevent you giving in to the temptation.

Self-Belief.

Self- confidence and self-esteem are a big, big part of successful weight loss. If you are a long term overweight person you have probably suffered many times from taunts and whispers. Pointing and sniggering and possibly outright cruel insults. Over time it will wear away your belief in yourself. Try to look to your positive traits…you do have them. Take up hobbies that you enjoy, maybe you were good at art in school but have not done any since…well now is the time to have another go. Seek out friends and family who are sympathetic towards you and leave behind the ones who are just pathetic! We are all of us special and you are just as special as anybody else.
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Don't Starve!

Get this straight. Dieting does not mean starving yourself! If you do not eat enough calories your metabolism will slow. Fat deposits will be stored and not burned for energy. Muscle mass will be lost. You will feel low and lacking in energy. You will be unable to exercise and soon you will be off dieting for good!

You need food. You need calories to function, eat the right amount and your metabolic rate will rise again. It is the type of calories you intake that matter. Eating ten apples a day wont make you fat, although they would amount to about 700 calories, but eating ten packets of crisps a day would certainl pile on a few pounds. What you do not need are not the empty calories obtained from junk food. The negative calories obtained from some fruits and vegetables for example, will be a great help to weight loss. Negative calories means that for your body to digest these foods it will burn more calories than the food provides. This calorie deficit will result in weight loss.

Throw some regular exercise into the mix and you are well on your way.

Tips to Weight Loss

So you have decided you are going to lose that excess weight…you have done your research and decided on your healthy eating plan.

A few words of advice to help you along: Do not expect things to happen overnight. You are going to have to make changes to your diet plan and lifestyle but if those changes are too drastic it may cause you to lose heart and give up and we do not want that to happen. Be positive in your thoughts. If you keep telling yourself that you cannot do this or that these exercises are too hard…you will fail! Your life may have been full of negative thoughts and insecurities before but that is all over now! The moment you set foot on the road to healthy living and permanent weight loss then you leave those thoughts behind you. You can do this! Tell yourself every day. If  you want to jog but cannot then walk at a fast pace…and know that 30 minutes of jogging will only burn 20 more calories than walking fast for the same amount of time…nice to know eh? If you can’t manage 30 sit ups then do 10 and take a rest before continuing. Do what you can and work at gradually increasing it…this will give you far better results than convincing yourself that you cannot do it and then giving up. Positive support is a big help. Surround yourself with family and friends who support and encourage your efforts. If this isn’t possible then join a weight loss club or support forum. This will help you through the low times that every one experiences from time to time…it is not only you!  Do not be discouraged and do not give up. You can do this. Set your mind to what you want to achieve and focus on that…believe in yourself…and enjoy the journey!

Addicted to the wagon?

So i was told once, by an expert in the field, that i have an 'addictive personality.' I was told not to worry and he infact had one too and it merely meant that i had to be more 'careful.' To say that i havn't always done that would be an understatement. So now here i am facing this thought...having abused alcohol to a degree for some time...now that i have stopped drinking and i am exercising regularly and have lost weight and am feeling great...am i still obsessing, as my addictive personality causes me to do?  Am i now obsessing by being addicted to healthy things.?..On healthy living instead of destructive living?...Not sure...and if i am, does it really matter? I feel bloody marvellous for it!

The Weight Loss Plateau

So you have been not on a diet, but on a healthy eating plan for a while now and things have slowed down a little eh? For the first few weeks all was going good and you were losing weight but now??? Well you have reached what is called the weight loss plateau. Don't despair it happens to all of us at some time. Your body has become accustomed to your calorie intake and exercise level and has adjusted to it...it needs a bit of a shake up is all. Firstly be sure you are taking in enough calories, if you do not then the body can go into 'starvation mode' whereby it will conserve energy and not burn fat, lean muscle tissue will be used for energy and you do not want to lose muscle. Try not to drop below 10 calories per 1lb of body weight, so if you weigh 150lbs do not go below 1500 calories per day. Weight loss is not simply a case of the less you eat the more you lose...you have to intake enough to sustain yourself. Secondly increase your level of exercise. This should ideally be a thing that you do automatically from day to day or week to week...as you improve and get fitter you must push yourself further. Act upon these two principles and you will leap out of the plateau...never to return.

Natural Highs...further travels aboard the wagon.

A friend said to me the other day, "The thing about not drinking is, you know that when you wake up in the morning that is the best you are gonna feel all day."  He went on to explain that because he is a drinker he has the prospect of inebriation to look forward to...whereas i have nothing. If only he knew how wrong he is. Yes, i do wake up feeling good...in fact i wake up feeling bloody marvellous! Clear headed, happy and relishing the prospects of the day ahead of me. I remember how i used to struggle to get up after getting plastered and then spend all day fighting to feel normal again.I have taken up jogging and go early mornings most days now...well it was post-jog today as i was towelling off after a shower that i had a kind of an epiphany. I felt so good, so clear headed...my mind sharp and focussed and active and in tune with my body which tingled from the recent exertion. I felt fit and strong and ...well...let's just say i was in a great place...and i thought, 'this feeling is better than any drug.' Getting in tune with yourself...mind and body focussed is so much better than chemical 'highs', better than alcohol 'highs'.....with the natural highs you stay higher longer and you dont get the lows...those dreadful comedowns. If only i had learnt this lesson thirty years ago...who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks!

Cats 'n' Dogs

...understatement mate...it's been p*****g down here all day and off an on for about 10 days now...'spose it is the rainy season (i'm in Thailand at the mo). Stuck indoors...but not because of the rain...i love the rain...but i suffer from 'Brollyphobia.' Whenever the heavens release a few drops of water out come the 'brolly brigade,' wielding their 'hoods of doom' and if i am careless enough to be caught outside when this happens i am foced to bob and weave; ducking and diving in mortal fear of losing an eye to one of the many vicious barbs that encompass this would be impaling device that cleverly tries to masquerade as a weather protector. The sadistic b******s who wield these menacing, mediaeval devices of torture seem oblivious to the distress they are causing me and other unfortunates whose only crime is to be of just the right height that alines the barbs with our eye lines. why in this modern age are these lethal weapons still produced? Surely these nasty spikey ends can be capped? Then maybe i could release my brollyphobia.

Compulsive Eating

Compulsive eating is far more dangerous and prevalent than many people would think. Apart from the lonely hell that it enslaves its sufferers in, filling them with feelings of guilt and shame; as they fill themselves with food, it also causes many health problems and can lead to death.
It is a problem of the mind which can be beaten with the correct treatment. If your first reaction upon seeing someone who is very overweight is scorn or derision (voiced or not) spare a thought for their situation. They could be one of the many compulsive eaters who are trapped in a metaphorical hole from which, for them, there may seem to be no escape.

Travelling aboard the wagon.

Stopped drinking alcohol five weeks ago and only wish i had done it years ago. Got so much enrgy...up at 6.30am jogging every day (well almost) walking loads, gym training and swimming. My mind feels far more alert and i have lost a stone (14lbs) to boot! I shudder when i think of how much money has been p****d up the wall over the years.

Hi there

Just set up this blog, its my first one and i am runniing it along with my new website which i hope will help people dealing with weight loss.
I am an ex overweight person myself and have managed to keep the weight off for many years. I would like to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who may need help in this emotional minefield.
If you have anything you would like to say i would be delighted to hear from you and will do my best to answer any queries. Best wishes