by
Renee Kennedy and Nap Napowocki
1.
Understand that this is going to take time.
You gained weight over a period of time; you
must lose it over a period of time. There
is no quick solution to losing weight and
keeping it off.
2.
Take a week to two weeks to determine your
current eating patterns. Figure out how many
calories you are eating per day to maintain
your current weight. Figure out the ratio
between carbohydrates, fat, and protein. For
instance, what percentage of your daily intake
is carbohydrate? What percent is fat? What
percent is protein?
3.
Once you have determined your current eating
patterns or your "set point" to
maintain your current level of weight, you
can begin to manipulate your intake of calories,
carbohydrates, protein, and fat in order to
lose weight without feeling deprived.
4.
First, try to limit your calories by only
5%. So, if you need to consume 2500 calories
to maintain your current weight, try cutting
out only 125 calories per day. You won't lose
weight overnight, but you will lose weight
over time and you won't feel hungry, tired
or deprived.
This
needs to be a lifelong commitment, it has
to be something you can do every day for the
rest of your life. If you try to starve yourself
or cut out too much at once, you will eventually
fail to keep the weight off. If you do it
gradually, you will have a good chance to
stick with it and succeed.
5.
When you get close to your goal weight you
may have to do more than just cut out calories.
You may need to increase exercise. You may
need to increase your percentage of protein
and decrease your percentage of carbohydrates.
For
help on making sure you're in the mood to
diet read Why
Diets Make You Crabby by Pauline Wallin,
Ph.D The
Nutricounter can help you establish your set
point and help you monitor your daily intake
of calories, carbs, protein and fat. http://www.nutricounter.com
