How to Lose Weight without sacrificing your health or enjoyment

If you're one of the millions of people who constantly fight the battle of the bulge to no avail, I have good news.

Not only can you lose excess weight and feel better about yourself on a daily basis, but it's not nearly as difficult to accomplish as most people make it out to be. Allow me to show you how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The desire to live healthfully.
• A willingness to give your body what it needs in order to function properly.

1. The first thing that needs to be said is that exercise is unavoidable. You will need to participate in some form of exercise on a regular basis in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There is no getting around that.
   
   If you are the type of person who thinks exercise is unnecessary and difficult, then you may as well just hit the back button and go find an unhealthy way to lose weight.
   
   The type of exercise you choose is inconsequential. You just need to find a way to elevate your heart rate and get the blood flowing for at least a half hour to an hour each day. This can be as easy as going for a walk.
   
   If you are currently obese or have other serious health issues, it's best to consult your physician before partaking in any strenuous physical activity.
   
   If you are currently out of shape, I'd advise that you start off slowly with your exercise routine, and work your way up. There's no need to rush anything. Maybe just go for a short daily walk, and increase the length by a few minutes each day.
   
   There are also many exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Such as Yoga or Pilates. Always remember to do some sort of basic stretching before you participate in any physical activity. Ideally, you'll stretch every morning upon rising, every evening before you rest your head, and both prior to and after any strenuous physical activity.
   
   So that's the first thing you need to do. Find the exercise routine that best suits you, and stick to it. This will not only improve your physical health, but it will also aid in your ability to sleep at night and feel energized during the day. You'll find that your food tastes better and sex feels better. The bottom line is that exercise is the most important factor in living a healthy lifestyle.

2. You are what you eat. So cliche, but so true. I want to make it clear that you do not need to eat things that you don't like in order to lose weight or be healthy. You just need to practice moderation with everything you eat.
   
   It's important to be wise with your choice of foods you eat on a daily basis, but people often forget about portion control. Rather than eat a few big meals, it is ideal to eat several small meals throughout the day. This will be difficult to do at first, but after a few days, you'll find that you enjoy looking forward to a meal every few hours, and that you actually feel full with a surprisingly small amount of food.
   
   No need to break out the weigh scales or anything. Just eat much less per meal than you do now. Split your meal size in half, and double the amount of times you eat. Spread those meals out evenly throughout the day. This will help stabilize your blood sugar, keep your metabolism high, and prevent energy spikes and crashes.
   
   It's much easier for your body to process smaller quantities of food, rather than larger amounts. It is unnecessary to stuff yourself, and it is just hard on your body. So stop eating until you can feel your stomach bulge. Practice moderation.

3. Learn to cook the foods that you love the most. Love hamburgers? That's fine. There's nothing wrong with eating a hamburger from time to time. It's certainly advisable to limit your red meat consumption, but you don't need to avoid it altogether. Learn to make a real hamburger with fresh, quality ingredients, and you'll probably never want to go back to the fast food restaurant again.
   
   The majority of the food you consume should be prepared at home. That way you have control over what ingredients you use, and the portion size of your meal. Just be sensible and incorporate a wide variety of foods into your diet. No need to be regimented or anything. Just eat what you like in moderation.
   
   Be sure to include plenty of fruits and vegetables, and avoid processed foods and simple carbohydrates. Eat whole or live grain breads rather than the overly processed stuff. Try soy milk in place of cow's milk. It's far healthier, and actually has a much less offensive taste. Ever smelled your milk? It's disgusting. Stop drinking it. Those ads you saw about how necessary it was for your good health were brought to you by the people who are trying to sell it.

4. Continually seek out accurate information about the foods you eat. Over time, you'll learn what's truly good for you and what's not. You'll be surprised to find out that products such as beer and chocolate are actually quite beneficial when consumed in moderation.

5. Stop drinking soda pop or any 'juice' products that contain a lot of sugars or corn syrup. Just eliminate those from your diet altogether. They do nothing but prevent you from being the healthy person you want to be.
   
   Drink lots of filtered water throughout the day instead. If you learn to see soda pop as the poison that it truly is, this should not be a difficult step. Research the negative effects that soda pop has on your body to see what I'm talking about.

6. Apple Cider Vinegar. Learn what it can do for you, and love it for life. Minimally, you should be drinking a few tablespoons each day, diluted in a glass of water. Do this in the morning, at least a half hour before you eat. You should notice some of the benefits immediately, while others you may not even be aware of.

7. Try to find a way to incorporate hemp seed oil into your diet. It is quite simply one of the most healthy foods known to man. Go do some research on it and find out for yourself.

8. Revisit foods that you previously thought you didn't like, but you know are healthy for you. Often times, the primary reason we don't like a particular food has more to do with the way we were introduced to it rather than the food itself. Whether that be a psychological thing or just that the food was prepared incorrectly, the truth is that you will probably like most foods if you just give them a shot when they are at their best.
   
   Always make quality your top priority when you are purchasing something that will be going into your body. Take the time to understand the food and prepare it correctly. It's worth it.

9. Get your colon cleansed. There are multiple ways of doing this. Do some research on the subject and get it done if you haven't. This will help tremendously.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid fad diets. Your diet is a part of your everyday life. Not just some 6 week program that will magically transform you. Make conscious everyday choices to protect your overall health, and you'll be fine.
• Always question the validity of any health advice you receive from somebody who is trying to sell you something.

[jasminemars]

on 2/4/2009 I have never considered a colon cleanse before. Is that common for people to do? I wonder if health insurance would pay for it. Love your article, nice writing style.

[grouch]

on 12/13/2007 Hey great Article. I love the part about learn to cook. It is to easy for us all to spin through a drive thru and come out with whatever our whim is. I have to say to anyone who does not cook a lot or has never tried to....it tastes so much better if you were the one who put the effort into it.