Simple Weight Loss Strategies Part 2

If dieting doesn't work, what other strategies can you adopt for simple weight loss?
One possible approach is to design your own weight loss diet and learn to cook.

You know the type of food you enjoy and you know what's good for you and what isn't. It may seem that these are miles apart. However, it is possible to combine the two in a way that will make weight loss easy and keep your taste buds happy at the same time.

This technique will require a little time and effort, but the long term benefits – a healthier slimmer you – will be well worth it.

Start by making a list of all your favourite dishes, including takeaways and ready meals. Now think what could be added to these to make them healthier. And what could be taken away to make them healthier?

You've probably written vegetables and perhaps lean meat in answer to the first question and salt, sugar and fat in answer to the second. So let's look at your favourite meals. Fish and chips? Certainly likely if you live in the UK. Try oven chips with baked salmon, with a variety of frozen vegetables – you'll be cutting out so many calories by getting rid of the batter and deep-fried chips, that you can allow yourself a little ketchup. And this is very easy to cook.

How about sweet and sour pork? Cut out the batter again and use lean meat in a sauce with a little ketchup (I have this from a Chinese chef – tomato ketchup is the secret ingredient in sweet and sour sauce! If you can find sugar free ketchup, so much the better), tinned pineapple in juice (not syrup), some balsamic vinegar and a load of vegetables.

If you eat ready meals, read the labels and see if you can come up with a healthier version by omitting some of the unnecessary ingredients, such as wheat and sugar, and cutting down on the fat. Obviously, this won't be possible for all your favourite dishes, but sugar, wheat and excess amounts of fat find their way into so much of what we eat, that it's not difficult to make your own diet-conscious alternatives.

Learning to cook is a sure way to know exactly what goes into your mouth and will not only help you control your weight, but will also improve your health. Once you've mastered a few weight loss recipes, you can cook these dishes in bulk and freeze them. This will save time and will mean you always have something tasty on hand for times when you are busy, hungry and need something to eat in a hurry. Try getting the whole family involved – if you have kids this will really help them to become independent and what better gift can you give them than the key to a healthy future? And with so many children and teens struggling with obesity, teaching them simple weight loss strategies will help them avoid becoming overweight in the first place.

© Waller Jamison 2007

Weight Loss Success Made Easy!

Weight loss is a game, similar to solitaire. It's a game that you play by yourself. The sooner you realize that it's you and only you that's going to make the weight loss happen, the closer you've just gotten to your own weight loss success.

This doesn't exclude personal trainers and perhaps your very own diet guru. You can, and should, acquire all the positive support you need, but in the end one truth will hold: only you can lose the weight. No diet pills. No magic weight loss spells. No Hollywood 48-hour pineapple juice voodoo.

Now once you've come to terms with this, you can get onto the activities you will need to begin—and stick with—to accomplish your weight loss goals.

Below I've included 3 absolute beginner must-dos, if you "really" want to lose weight.

WL Must #1: Exercise. It doesn't matter how much at first, just do it. Do it, and do it often. Begin and be consistent. Do something today. The faster you begin something, the better your chance of keeping with it. Don't delay.

WL Must #2: Adjust your eating "slightly." Do not… I repeat, do not attempt to completely alter your dieting habits. Too much of a change almost guarantees you will not stick with it.

You see this all the time with New Year's resolutions. People start out hardcore motivated for weight loss success, and then two weeks later (maybe sooner than that) they succumb to the gravity of their old weight "gaining" lifestyle.

They fall flat because they tried to do too much too soon.

WL Must #3: Treat weight loss as a priority. This is the opposite of "Must" number too. Don't pity-pat or half step your beginnings. There is a fine line you must walk at the very beginning of every weight loss program.

You've been out of the game for a while (maybe forever). You must step out of the weight loss gate with purpose, but also control. You must be able to measure your limitations and gradually increase your diet and exercise abilities over time.

Patience and balance will guarantee your weight loss success. Begin where you are, feel good about that, and then progress slowly over time. Do this and your weight loss success is only a few miles down the road.