Losing Weight is Easy
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2008
by KR Douglas
ACME Writing
How did I lose 32 pounds in two months?
The solution to losing weight is in your head; not in a book. How many fad diets have been popular in the U.S. in the past ten years? The answer may be hundreds, and still we have a culture of overweight people. The success of fad diets has been a miserable failure, but has sold books, video tapes and food products. While it's failed the public, it has been a cash bonanza for diet gurus.
This article is different than most anything you will read on the subject of weight loss. There is no link at the end persuading you to purchase a diet book or DVD. This is not a carefully disguised sales letter that will sell you on a low-calorie muffin or new-fangled exercise device. It's written by a professional writer with the sole purpose of providing you with that rare commodity; information.
Anyone can lose weight and can do it consistently with sustainable results. What you are reading is not part of some marketing campaign for the latest fad diet, so there was no consideration to naming this diet. If you need a way to identify it when your friends ask; let's just call it the Douglas Diet.
Start losing weight today
There is a very simple truth to losing weight. A human who burns more calories than they consume will lose weight. This fact is the simplest component of any weight loss strategy. If you eat a 300 calorie donut and then go out and run six miles, you will very definitely not gain weight from the donut. The only problem is that few people have the ability or the motivation to run six miles.
Make no mistake; no one has ever lost weight by sleeping or lying around after ingesting some magic supplement or herb. The laws of physics clearly demonstrate that motion requires energy. Energy requires calories in we humans. Calories come by way of eating or drinking. When the requirement to produce motion causes a burning of calories, people either lose weight or maintain their current weight, depending on the number of calories expended.
The simple fact is that this important balance between calories used and calories ingested determines weight loss or gain.
My own experience illustrates this part of the equation in simple terms. During the past year, a disconcerting realization dawned on me. None of my nice suits fit anymore. It wasn't that they barely fit; they would not fit even with alterations. There was not enough material left in the pants or jackets to let out to make them fit. There was no way that these timeless suits were going to end up as a charitable contribution or garage sale article. If they couldn't be altered; I would.
The only solution was to lose weight. A few pounds would not do the trick; it had to be something substantial.
My decision was to wear my favorite suits again
What you have to do when you begin your weight loss regimen is to stand back for a moment and take an inventory of your daily and weekly eating habits. Somewhere, within your favorite foods and routine foods, are culprits that need to be ejected. These are the high-sugar, high-calorie comfort foods that are a habitual part of your lifestyle. In my case, one of the culprits was my morning pastry which accompanied every breakfast. That wonderful pastry had to go.
Considering my standard breakfast, the pastry was a contradiction compared to the other foods. The centerpiece of my breakfast every morning is a bowl of Special-K. A glass of water, a few vitamins and a cup of coffee round out my breakfast. My decision was to drop the pastry in favor of a bagel. It sounds like a simple change, but over the course of a month, it is substantial.
Besides eliminating a pastry in the morning, I changed from two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee to one. These seem like minor changes, but minor changes can garner major results. Remember that reducing calories is one component to your weight reduction decision. Cutting down on portions or eliminating that unneeded treat every day will begin to reduce the number of calories you consume over time.
The key element to losing weight
There is a much more important ingredient to losing weight than just eliminating your calorie intake. It has nothing to do with something physical like food. It has nothing to do with the physics of motion and energy. It has everything to do with what resides between your ears.
If you were sailing a boat out in the bay, you would depend on the wind for movement and your rudder for direction. What if you had no rudder? There is a likelihood that your sailboat would move out to sea or crash into the shore. Without the ability to provide direction to your boat, the power of the wind is meaningless. Attempting to sail without a means for changing direction is a dangerous and futile thing to do.
When I starting my weight loss project, I needed to know what direction I was heading in. I knew that I could not arrive at my destination if I didn't know what my destination was. That is the most important concept to understand when you set out to lose weight.
Write down a number. Make it realistic. Determine a timeframe. Think about that number every day. Weigh yourself every three days. This is your destination. You will lose this number of pounds, but you have to first decide on a number and stick to it.
Does that concept seem oversimplified? As a writer, I have a saying that I originated and display on my web site. It reads; Don't overthink anything.' I apply this principle to writing and religion, but it is just as relevant to losing weight as anything else. Don't make it complicated. Set a goal, stick to that goal and don't get distracted.
Motion requires energy
Up to this point, we have covered two key components of the Douglas diet. Understand the importance of knowing what you will achieve at the beginning and then cutting out calories. These two ideas will serve as a meaningful starting point and could conceivably help you lose weight without anything else.
There is one additional consideration though. To really lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you do today. Remember, the simple principle of using more calories than you consume is key to taking off the pounds. Reducing your caloric intake will make a meaningful difference, but burning additional calories will make the results easier to achieve.
The final component of this weight loss approach requires increasing the energy you expend. This does not have to be difficult. In my case, I began taking a walk with my family after dinner every evening. If you do not have that luxury, then use a treadmill for 10 or 20 minutes every day. The idea is to burn additional calories on a daily basis. A strenuous exercise routine is not required, but some additional activity is.
So, this is what you do
In conclusion, let's review what you are about to undertake:
Remove one, two or three items from your current diet that contain a lot of calories or are high in sugar
Decide how much weight you want to lose and write that number down. Keep this number in the forefront of your mind every day as you go about your daily routine.
Add some method of burning calories to your daily routine. Whether that means taking a walk, using a treadmill, going swimming or taking a bike ride, you have to use more energy. (remember to check with your doctor before exerting yourself)
These simple steps will cause you to lose weight. They don't require a book or the purchase of expensive foods or supplements or a personal trainer. The Douglas diet is based on a few simple principles that can be applied by everyone to their daily lives. If you want to lose weight, write down that number today and throw away the pastries.
Here is your assignment. Use this approach for the next two months and then write a comment about how much weight you have lost. Let others see that a simple, practical approach is the most meaningful. Also, don't be tempted to backslide and start eating that same high-calorie junk food again that you removed from your diet. Seek permanent change.
Remember: When engaging in any lifestyle change or beginning a diet, you should consult with your healthcare provider first. Proper medical advice is important as a first step and prerequisite. © 2009 K Richard Douglas
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