JerryMeyerOnline.com

One of the biggest mistakes that obese people make is that of starving themselves by skipping meals. What they don’t understand is that in order to lose weight, it is not necessary to skip meals. On another note, if your body doesn’t get enough nutrition in the form of food, how will it give you the energy you need to perform various physical activities? The best approach is to eat healthy foods: foods that are highly nutritious but have low calorie content. Such foods will give your body the much needed nutrition without making you fatter. Normally, an adult’s body needs about 2,500 calories in order to survive. If you consume calories on a moderate level then you don’t even have to count calories! In this article I will tell you the basics of a healthy weight loss plan.

1. Stop emotional eating: Scores of people have become overweight because of emotional eating. Often people are gripped by intense feelings such as anger, hatred, depression, stress, boredom, loneliness, etc., and this is when they take the help of food in order to give themselves relief. You need to understand that food cannot be the answer to each and every problem. Learn to deal with your emotions without taking the help of food, for if you take the help of food to douse your emotions, you can never expect to lose weight!

2. Join an efficient weight loss program: Your next step is to join an efficient weight loss program. An efficient weight loss program is one which recommend you a healthy diet and exercise regimen. An inefficient weight loss program is one which recommends a lot of fad diets and prescription drugs to you. By healthy diet, I mean fruits, vegetables, lean chicken meat, fish, low fat dairy products, whole grain cereals, as well as skinless poultry. Avoid high fat products such as pies, candies and pastries at all costs!

Apart from following a healthy diet, regular workouts is also essential for permanent weight loss. I would recommend you start out with lighter aerobics and then go on to resistance training and cardio when you feel very comfortable with your exercise routine. Even if you do only aerobics, you will be able to lose weight because aerobics help you burn fat at a high rate by speeding up your metabolism, and this way gives you a tremendous boost in energy level as well as helps you lose weight.

Now you maybe wondering how to know whether a weight loss program is efficient or not, without burning your pocket. Well, the only way to know it is to ask for feedback from a customer who has joined the program that you are eyeing. Another way is to ask your doctor or a weight loss expert; both of whom would be able to give their unbiased opinions.

Emotional eating is one of the biggest setbacks of weight loss. But don’t feel alone. It affects a large percentage of people. There are tons of people everyday that turn to food for comfort. To make matters worse, emotional eating can be very counter productive. After the initial comfort wears off, many times you feel worse. It can be very difficult.

You do your best for days or even weeks, eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. Then something comes along and causes you to eat an entire pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream or a whole pizza. This makes you feel guilty for breaking your diet, leading to more emotional eating. It’s a viscous cycle that needs to be broken.

Of course, there are times when you don’t even realize you’ve fallen into the emotional eating trap. So the first thing you need to do is create a food diary. Each day you should write down everything you eat, how hungry you are, and what you’re thinking and feeling. This will tell you not only if you eat to satisfy your emotions but also what triggers you need to look out for.

For instance do you eat more when you’re alone, or after a stressful day at work? Does eating that cheesecake when you’re upset make you temporarily happier? Once you identify when you’re eating and why, you can plan an alternative.

The best way to counter emotional eating is to create a diversion. Whenever you feel the urge to eat when you’re not hungry, find something else to do. If you know you are going to gorge on cookies when you’re stressed, find a de-stressing alternative. Exercise is a great stress reliever. Maybe you could take a kickboxing class or learn yoga. Make a list of different items that can help break the pattern that you find from writing a journal.  Such as; taking a shower, going on a walk, a puzzle, shopping (not for food), listening to music.  Try something new!

If being alone is your trigger, give someone a call. You could also join a group or volunteer to visit nursing home patients. You won’t be alone and you’ll brighten someone else’s day as well. Most importantly, find out what works for you.

And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Do what it takes to get the support that you need. It can be from your family and friends, a weight loss group, or even a counselor. I’m sure there are several people who would be happy to help you.

Just be consistent. You can use your food diary for as long as you need. Make sure you eat only when you’re hungry, find alternatives when you’re not, and take advantage of your support.

I have to wear a belt now with everything… I have lost a total of 2.5 inches around my waist.

Everyone is starting to ask me how I lost so much weight so fast.  Another 5 lbs and I’m going clothes shopping.

Independence DAY!

Here is what today means to me!  It marks my Independence from family get togethers.  I love my family, but starting on Ash Wednesday (this year it was on Feb 6th)…from that point forward…every weekend is either a Birthday, Anniversary, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day….it is just non stop.  In fact this is the first year that I have done something for my Birthday…for the last 18 years I have chosen to do nothing because I am burnt out.

So, what all these occasions mean is FOOD!  Every weekend.  That means I have lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks with all the obstacles in the world in front of me.  Now my Indepence means I can get serious and lose the last 15 lbs I need to lose.  I am very excited!

My wife and I were able to get out of the 4th of July BBQ…so let the cleansing begin!

Okay…it took me about 3 days to get rid of the water gain I got on the weekend.  I did not go crazy on the weekend.  I was not snacking…the biggest thing I did was ate a larger portion than I should have.

My body does burn through calories faster than it used to.  But it was all good!

Back on track at 218.5lbs