Any doctor worth their salt will tell you diets don't work. Plain and simple. Surprised? Well you might be. You can't get away from all the talk about South Beach, Atkins, Low Carb, Zone ... you name it, they're talking about it. It's on TV, in magazines... everywhere you look. And of course there are the pills, drugs and other expensive methods to lose weight. While they may be appropriate in certain cases, by and large they aren't necessary. Some can actually be dangerous to your health. What does work, what's been proven to work time and time again is something very simple... a lifestyle change. You may not want to hear it, but it's true. You can't eat thousands of calories, rich desserts, sugary snacks, excess fat and tons of carbs, get little or no activity and expect to lose weight with a pill! You'll be surprised to know that you don't need to stop eating or have to exercise for hours every day to lose weight. Just a few simple lifestyle changes added daily can turn your life around quickly. You will start to lose weight within days and feel better as well. Here are 4 tips you can use to get started today: - Drink water. Drinking lots of water is probably the single most important thing you can do for your health. Water delivers nutrients throughout your body, flushes toxins out of your system and aids in digestion. When you get up in the morning, start with a full glass of water before you start your day (add a little lemon if you like). Then get at least 10-12 additional glasses of water in throughout the day. - Eat slowly. Chew your food 10-12 times before swallowing. Your saliva starts the digestion process, and if you don't chew enough, your stomach has to work twice as hard and many times you don't get much out of the foods you eat -- except maybe some indigestion :). - Split your entree. When eating out, split your entree with your dining companion. Most restaurants now serve portions that are up to 8 times the recommended serving size. Supplement with a salad, soup or vegetable to complete your meal. - Avoid sodas. Did you know that an average soda has 14 teaspoons of sugar? Not only are these empty calories and carbs that take you on a blood sugar roller coaster and adds pounds, the sugar also can also cripple your immune system for up to 5 hours leaving your body working overtime and open to infections, viruses and the effects of stress. Drinking one soda a day alone can pack on 16 lbs of unwanted weight! Skip that soda and watch the weight go away. Additionally, recent studies have linked increased soda consumption with certain cancers and a loss of essential minerals from our bodies. |
