Welcome to the Weight Loss Page at the Health Resource Group. This is
where you can learn how to make positive holistic
wellness choices that will become life-long habits. Always check with your physician before making changes to your lifestyle.
Lost over 100 pounds!
The best weight loss diet just might be the 'Everything Diet.' That means, doing everything
known to help with weight loss. Don't just look at nutrition, or exercise,
but do everything. A holistic approach is likely to be more effective. Rather than thinking about what you can do to help you lose weight (a short-term goal), consider what you might do to prevent weight gain. This sounds similar, but it isn't. One approach is reactionary, the other is proactive and more permanent.
Brush and Floss Teeth. The Doritos commercial taunts us with the challenge,
"Betcha' can't each just one." Once salty, greasy, or sweet foods
leave their lingering flavor in our mouth, we're continually reminded of the
flavor like an ongoing sensory commercial broadcast directly to our brain. Brushing
and flossing your teeth after a meal or snack is a great way to 'turn off the
commercial' that lingers enticingly in our mouth.
Calcium. Recent research suggests that proper calcium intake
can accelerate weight loss. "When your body doesn't get enough calcium,
it starts a defense mechanism to preserve what calcium it does have. It's actually
a hormonal response that increases the amount of fat stored and slows down
the process that breaks it down for energy. So if you increase calcium, less
fat is stored and more fat is burned." - Dr. Michael Zemel, author of
The Calcium Key: The Revolutionary Diet Discovery That Will Help You Lose Weight
Faster. Reports are now surfacing that suggest consuming three 8-ounce glasses
of milk a day will help accelerate weight loss. Not surprisingly, these reports
are coming from the dairy industry. Although milk is touted as being an excellent
source of calcium, a glass of milk only provides about 30% of the recommended
daily allowance for Calcium, so this is why you would need three glasses of
milk to meet your daily requirement of calcium. Regarding milk, Dr. Zemel states, "While
milk may help you lose weight faster, calories still count. It's still important
to reduce your current calorie intake and increase daily activity."
Exercise Program. Consider exercising 7 days a week as well as staying
active by biking or walking to work. A possible exercise program could include
a cardiovascular workout of 20 minutes on an elliptical (EFX) machine every
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. An optional strength training workout
could offer a comprehensive upper and lower body weight lifting every Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday.
Fiber. According to the Weight Watchers points system,
foods high in fiber have a lower point value. This is essentially suggesting
that fiber reduces the effective calories. Research suggests that this is true.
So, to reduce your effective caloric intake significantly throughout the day
(and week) consider adding high fiber foods to every meal and snacking on them
throughout the day. This will add fiber to every meal, even if the other
foods you eat are low in fiber. Crisp breads and cereals are a good source
of fiber. Kashi GoLean cereal is a great tasting, inexpensive, and easy to carry, source of fiber.
Love or Chocolate. Perhaps you've experienced or heard of a kind of
love that is so fulfilling that it significantly reduces appetite. Some theories
suggest that much of appetite and eating is related to the human desire for
love and contentment. Perhaps this is why some people eat when they are depressed
or lonely. For some people, having a fulfilling romantic relationship can help
curb appetite. While it hasn't been tested or proven, it is possible that consuming
chocolate in limited quantities could produce a similar sense of contentment
that results in a lowered appetite. Surrounding yourself with images and music
that is soothing can also help produce a sense of contentment.
Nutrition. Consider a low carb, low fat, low calorie, high fiber diet.
Consider frequenting restaurants such as Pita Pit that offer healthful food
options and online nutritional calculation of meals. Be sure to eat plenty of
food! Starving yourself only causes the metabolism to slow down. The
Brain Garden is a good source of healthful nutrition. A vegetarian
or vegan diet can help you focus on foods and meals that are low in animal
fat.
Ride a Bike. Staying active can help elevate your body's metabolism.
Riding a bike regularly for transportation saves money, saves time, helps the
environment, reduces stress, and improves personal health.
Sleep. Going to bed early every night and getting a full-night of
uninterrupted sleep can help with weight loss. Metabolism is highly influenced
by sleep. Also, when fully rested, we have more energy during the day for an
active lifestyle and exercise.
Tea. Consider drinking Good Earth Original Caffeine Free Sweet &
Spicy Herb Tea. This is a purely herbal tea that has a fulfilling and satisfying
sweet cinnamon flavor. Some people find that drinking tea helps curb their appetite.
Water. Drink plenty of water. Proper hydration helps optimize the
body's metabolic rate and facilitates other important body functions. Click
here to learn more about water facts.
Weigh-In Daily. Some health consultants recommend weighing
yourself once a week. However, as an alternative, you may want to consider
weighing yourself every day to record your lowest weight of the day. This will
typically be in the morning after going to the bathroom. Your lowest weight
of the day should not fluctuate much from day to day. If it does, this will
be an early warning to make a correction in your weight loss strategy. It is
easier to make up for a pound gained in a day than to make up for 5 or 10 pounds
gained in a week. Weigh yourself undressed and use a reliable scale that can
display tenths of a pound. If you want to learn more about your weight fluctuations,
consider weighing a second time later in the day to find your highest daily
weight. This will help you recognize how much weight is food and water weight.
Weight Watchers. Consider joining a weight management program such
as Weight Watchers. Click
here to find out more.
Resources
The following links take you directly to pages related to weight loss on the sites indicated.
Quotes are listed here in alphabetical order by the first word.
"A diet is the penalty we pay for exceeding the feed limit." - Author Unknown
"Bigger snacks mean bigger slacks." - Author Unknown
"Getting my lifelong weight struggle under control has come from a process of treating myself as well as I treat others in every way." - Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, August 2004
"Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us." -
Peter De Vries
"In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eat about twice as much as nature requires." - Benjamin Franklin
"Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake." - Author Unknown
"Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." - Author Unknown
"Obesity is a mental state, a disease brought on by boredom and disappointment." - Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave
"One way to get thin is to re-establish a purpose in life." -
Cyril Connolly
"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas." - Author Unknown
"The belly is ungrateful--it always forgets we already gave it something." - Russian Proverb
"To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing." - Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1876
"You know it's time to diet when you push away from the table and the table moves." - Quoted in The Cockle Bur
"Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip." -
Arnold H. Glasgow
