Quitting Smoking and Losing Weight
I received an email from someone this morning that I never met before. By the end of the letter I was in the presence of a friend who wanted to quit smoking and was afraid she was going to gain weight. I read about her hopes and dreams of what she wanted to accomplish and it was great to hear about her newfound desire to start a healthier lifestyle.
I want everyone to know that what she is accomplishing in her three smoke free days is fabulous. She has quit for three days. The next part of the letter was where I wanted to reach out and hug her and ask her to stop being so critical about herself. She was telling me the wonderful things she has recently accomplished and I could sense the well deserved pride in her achievements. What did worry me was the fact that she gave herself little credit for what she had done. She HAD quit smoking for 3 days. She HAD started an exercise program. I felt as if she was pinning her achievements on something that was to occur in the future and she bypassed the here and now. She was not giving herself the well deserved pat on the back she needed for starting the healthy choices she had recently accomplished.
How often do we all do this?
How often do we look in the mirror and only are critical of what we see? I exercise and then think it was not hard enough. I eat healthier foods and I then am critical that maybe I ate too much. I look in the mirror and all too often I only see a reflection that is too critical of what is inside the body that is only a vessel that carries my spirit. We all need to stop and we all need to take a moment to live in the moment. We need to stop looking at the clock and waiting for 5 o’clock. We need to stop being so unloving about ourselves and the little accomplishments we make on a daily basis.
So yes Margaret, I am proud of you and I know that if you can only use your mind to harness that infinitely powerful spirit you will not only be able to quit smoking but you will be able to lose the weight and be the person you really see in the mirror. Because that critical reflection is really not you, it is only the outward manifestation of what you allow to be.
Morning Banana Diet: A Review
We have heard about many diets and now we have learned about a new diet craze from Japan. When you first hear about the system you say to yourself that it is just another craze to make someone a zillion bucks. We have all seen fad diets come and go and despite the fact that this plan has some craziness to it there are some sound facts and healthy points that the Banana Diet has to offer. We here at IChooseThin have been sounding the value of not only fruit but bananas for a few years now. Whatever you decide, we would like to spend a few moments to bring The Morning Banana Diet into perspective.
What we do know is that The Banana Diet will more than likely fizzle out fairly fast because there is not going to be much marketing hype to push it into the ultra-mainstream. The little fact is that bananas are available so widespread that there is no single company that can produce it and market it and then turn a huge profit from its sale. That little fact alone makes us take a second look at the product and the plan and the method that is described to lose weight.
The basic theory behind the Banana plan is to eat as many bananas with room temperature water as you desire for breakfast. There is no limit as to how many you can or should eat, bananas are essentially a free food, as far as calories are concerned. Eat only raw bananas and those that have never been frozen. If you are stil hungry 15 – 20 minutes after your breakfast you can eat some other food with a caloric value of around 200 calories. The lunch meal should be normal and pretty much whatever you choose. Dinner must be eaten by 8 PM at the latest and preferably by 6PM. There is no limit to the food you can eat for dinner and this plan is designed to avoid strict, traditional diet rules and the onset of the feeling of deprivation that is often associated with a diet or meal plan.
At all meals you should eat till your full, but never till you are stuffed. You should ONLY drink water and that water needs to be room temperature. The water should be drank in sips and not gulps. There is no limit to the amount of water a person can drink with the meals. Outside of meals non-caloric drinks are frowned upon and should be avoided. You may eat a snack about 3PM if desired but again you need to stay away from the donut or chips. Popcorn is a great idea and fruit is an excellent alternative.
In Closing
The Morning Banana Diet will never make it to a major main stream American concept because there is no money to be made outside of the banana industry, therefore it will fade from the scene. The plan has sound ideas behind it such as drinking water, eating bananas and alot of other fruit. The concept of not drinking your calories is not anywhere close to being new and loading up early in the day with healthy high fiber food is also an age old concept. The plan helps you gain a conscious thought of the food you are eating and helps stop the mindless snacking. It helps a person take notice of the times they eat and this is always a plus.
The ‘Banana For Breakfast Diet” may at first seem silly but do not be surprised if it actually works for you.
Why Can’t I Lose Weight?
We receive so many emails from young and old alike wanting to lose weight and then being upset that they do not know how to lose weight. Since we are trying to help the masses, we must tell you the usual disclaimer that if you want to start a weight loss program you should go visit your doctor before starting any sort of program because there may be some hidden risks or ailments. Now that we have said the required, let us say what really needs to be said. If you are tired of being overweight, then do something about it. Get educated, read books, search the web and for heavens sake, stop blaming the world for your demise! If a person wants to lose weight they will do what is needed to make it happen. If a person desires to lose the weight that has taken years to put on, then it must be realized that it will takes quite some time to take that same weight off. A person needs to make this decision them self and this decision cannot be forced upon them for any reason, unless the individual wants it to happen.
If you are a person that wants to lose weight and have made it to this point, then listen to what we have to say. Figure out how many pounds you want to lose and then divide it by 1.5. (ie: 100 pounds divided by 1.5 results with an answer of 66) So in this example you want to lose 100 pounds and when you divide that by 1.5 pounds a week, you must understand that comes out to 66 weeks of effort….. 66 weeks of effort!! Let’s repeat that again…….if you want to lose 100 pounds a good goal is that it will take you 66 weeks of effort. Sure, if you were to be on The Biggest Loser
Realistic weight loss goals are essential to weight loss and 1.5 pounds a week is a fantastic and a realistic goal. The first week you should lose weight faster, but when the body adjusts to the new lifestyle, 1.5 pounds each week is realistic.
Now that you have a great goal set, you need to understand that your motivation needs to be there for the long run. You must understand that all of the choices that you make over the next 66 weeks are your choices. If you choose to start some silly weight loss fad diet that is not what you can do for the rest of your life, the failure will be all yours. You will own that failure. If you decide to start say…the cabbage soup diet, expect failure. If you decide to do anything but a plan that you can stick to for the rest of your life, then it is an exercise in futility that will only end with a feeling of another weight loss failure. You need to not start a diet, you need to start a new way of life. In that life you will be confronted with food and exercise decisions on a daily basis.
If you go to work and eat three donuts from the break room, that is okay. The reason it is okay is because the choice, the decision and the weight gain are owned by you. If you can’t keep away from certain foods in an effort to shed weight, then your motivation to lose weight is not as strong as you may think. We will not and sit and coddle you about past decisions and events in your life that led you to become fat, that is for Jillian Michaelsand Bob Harper
If you want to lose weight then realize you and only you can make it happen. Stop the sodas, all of it, diet soda included. Stop the candy, slow down on the salt, keep track of the calories you eat (FitDay is a great online tool) and for your own sake, get out and do some exercise four or five times a week by joining a health club. If you slip and slide during your weight loss journey it is alright because you are not in competition with anyone. If you slip, pick yourself up and keep moving and keep trying. The past is history and the future has not yet happened.
Whatever you decide to do, the decision will be owned by you. If you want to be 100 pounds lighter, then in 66 weeks it could be a reality, but only if you put forth the effort and maintain a sense of sustained motivation.
Good Luck!! You can do it, anybody can! Your future has not been written yet, but one day soon, your future will be your past and that day is coming whether you want it to or do not want it to. 66 weeks from this moment will occur one way or the other.
How To Lose Weight On a Diet
I went to my son’s graduation from boot camp and was scared to death that I would have to go off my diet plan. It was not too long ago that I was asking how to lose weight on a diet, and since I lost over 100 pounds…I was afraid I would start packing the weight back on as I traveled on my trip. I used to ask basic weight loss questions like;
- How many calories do I eat a day?
- How often do I eat?
- How many carbohydrates should I eat?
This list could go on for quite sometime because before I started my final weight loss journey, I really had no clue or understanding of how to lose weight on a diet. I tried many different methods and plans and it was really all confusing to me. What I did not understand when I first realized I had to lose weight was that weight loss was really more about endurance than it was about a specific program. Before I became really serious about weight loss I was 115 pounds overweight and morbidly obese.
After spending years trying this program and that program, I went to my doctor for a checkup and was told that I had to lose weight or I was going to become a diabetic. Amazingly enough, the doctor simply handed me a pamphlet and told to read it and lose weight. Sure the pamphlet had some government facts on what to do…but overall the advice was useless because there was no implementation plan. There was nothing in the advice from my doctor that offered me any substantial help on how to diet.
I really do not remember how I found Medifast, but I do know that it was the one thing that helped me. After I lost my weight I realized a few things;
- Weight loss did not happen over night, it took five months of solid effort
- I did not have to exercise like on The Biggest Loser
- Anyone can lose weight with a plan and some sustained motivation
- With Medifast there was NO calorie counting
- I had to eat food often to facilitate continuous fat burning
I proved to myself that by using Medifast I was not only able to lose a substantial amount of weight, but I would also be able to keep that weight off while NOT LIVING on a diet. The thing that I learned about how to lose weight on a diet is that I had to come up with a way to not only lose the weight, but learn how to keep the weight from coming back. For years I thought I had to learn how to lose weight on a diet…but what I really needed to do was learn how to reprogram the way I ate and how I lived my life on a daily basis.
I learned while on my trip to my son’s boot camp graduation that it was not only possible to lose weight, but to keep the weight off for life. I now realize that I no longer ask my self how to lose weight on a diet, but I now understand what it is going to take to lead a healthy life, at a healthy weight. I have learned that a diet is only used to reboot your body because a diet will not work for the rest of your life. What I have learned and finally realized is that the way to lose weight on a diet is to incorporate that weight loss into the plan you have for the rest of your life.
I have learned that I had to use a diet, or a meal plan to get the weight off. Getting the weight off is really only half the battle because keeping the weight off is what ultimately matters. Having lost my weight and then being able to keep it off while on vacation is what proved to me that I have finally have conquered weight loss. I used Medifast to lose the weight and then I used the ideas in the wonderful book written by Dr. Andersen that explains the principles that make Medifast a success.
I have learned the Habits of Health, which are tenants that make Medifast the wonderful weight loss program it has become. I lost ALL my weight using Medifast and then was able to go out, while on vacation, and not get fat again! I have learned to live in the body God has given me and because of Medifast I can treat my body like it should be treated.
I have learned that a diet is only good to lose the weight and that keeping it off is what is really important. I have learned to live beyond a diet! My weight loss story is not all that uncommon for people that have had help using Medifast. I have learned that the best way to lose weight is to commit to a diet that teaches how to live a healthy way of life after the diet is over. I am glad I found, studied and understand Medifast because it changed and saved my life.
How Many Calories Should Have a Day?
Since I am very well versed in weight loss I have noticed a trend in the question how many calories should have a day. What I have noticed is that the average person looking to lose weight starts to focus in on how many calories a food contains and sometimes that glancing search may wander over to carbohydrates or proteins and even the sugars portion of the nutrition chart on the back of all the food you eat.
As I speak with people looking for information about what to eat, or how much to eat I always drag the conversation to the statement that must be understood about food and nutrition. I always begin my answer with the statement of fact that to lose, or gain a pound of fat the number 3,500 calories must be plugged into the equation.
It must be understood that to lose one pound of fat, a person must burn off 3,500 more calories than are eaten. To gain one pound of fat a person must eat 3,500 more calories than are burned off, through exercise or movement. This number must be understood and plugged into the question of how many calories should have a day. Once the dieter understands that ALL weight hinges on that number, the attention turns towards the nutrition charts
To lose weight and achieve actual weight loss is not a matter of how many 100 calorie snacks you could “settle for” in the course of a day. The most important question is what TYPE of calories should I be eating when I am restricting my caloric intake? How many calories should have a day is really a lopsided question because to answer it a person needs to receive the information of what type of calories need to be eaten. I could write an entire graduate student paper on the subject with an answer that would bore you to abandonment long before the needed understanding takes root in your thought process. After all…you really just wanted a simple answer to the miss-typed question of how many calories should have a day.
I will skip all the boring information of how you need the right mix of calories to allow the metabolism in your body to release the fat from the cells. I will skip the boring details of why you get hungry after consuming a salad so quickly and why a turkey salad is so much more settling for longer-term appetite suppression. I will skip a number of calories completely and refer you to the weight loss program that does not count one single calorie. I used to be so confused about types and quantities of calories, while I was losing my 115 pounds, that I knew I was in over my head. I found a way to lose weight, without much exercise and without counting a single calorie.
What I will say is that I learned the word MEDI is in Medifast because the science has been perfected over the last 30+ years to allow a meal replacement program that facilitates weight loss, without having to wonder how many calories should have a day. I could answer the question with the amount of calories you will be eating a day while on the Medifast Weight Loss Program but that answer is not what is important either. What I can say because of my weight loss story is that when using Medifast the important concern has nothing to do with counting calories because the ingredients are what facilitates the weight loss, and those ingredients work in tandem with the calories.
How many calories should you have in a day? It is a great question and it is one that you really do not have the time to take the college course that is required to understand. Instead of trying to separate and appreciate what a calorie is and how ingredients impact those calories…just check out Medifast and your understanding will become crystal clear. Medifast has already figured out all the science and you just need to wrap your head around the answer in your head that is holding you back from reaching that goal. Weight loss is only a mystery to you because you have not reached your goal yet. Reach that goal and you will understand.
Lose weight quickly and safely with Medifast.