It's Fitness Friday again and I'm so glad. Since I write a blog post on this topic each Friday, it helps to keep me on track and accountable. Since I'm sharing my knowledge with others, I'd better be practicing what I'm preaching. I received a message from Sandy of God Speaks Today and she won't be joining us this week for Fitness Friday. A major storm hit her area of the country and there's a power outage. She sent me a message from Panera to let me know. So, say a prayer for Sandy and so many others who are being impacted by this storm. I'm going to link to her blog anyway because it's always fun to read any of Sandy's posts.
We all know that it can be easy to lose weight but it's so much harder to keep the weight off. If a quick fix diet could keep the pounds off, we'd be spending less money as a society on weight loss. I read that approximately $40 billion is spent annually on weight loss. Now, that's a lot of money!
I thought I'd share a few secrets I learned about losing weight.
- Soft drinks, frappacinnos and fruit juices are high in calories. Did you know that one glass of orange juice has two times the number of calories as a whole orange? So, why not eat an orange instead of drinking a glass of OJ ...and save calories. Start becoming aware of the amount of calories you're consuming in beverages. You know, it all adds up.
- Eat fiber-rich and water-rich foods that will fill you up. When you cut back on calories, you get hungry. And if you get hungry enough, it's easy to throw in the towel and give up. But here's a tip. For breakfast (and yes, you should eat breakfast) switch from a typical sugar cereal to a bowl of hot oatmeal with fruit. It's fiber-rich so it will fill you up. And you'll be consuming at least 100 calories less each day. That could help you drop 10 pounds in a year!
- Snack on healthy options like fruit and yogurt. If you cut out a 100 calorie cookie each day, you can shed 10 pounds in a year. Does that sound like a plan?
- Spoil your appetite with a big salad or low calorie soup before your lunch and dinner. It's usually the salad dressings that contain high calorie counts so check the labels. But you can eat lots of lettuce and veggies and then you'll get filled up and not consume huge quantities of higher calorie foods.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise! If you sit around and don't get moving, it's hard to burn off those calories. Did you know that if you walk an extra mile each day you'd lose 10 pounds in a year?
- Work at managing your stress. There's a link between obesity, heart disease and your emotions. People who are physically inactive tend to be more depressed and then eat more and gain more weight. It can be a vicious cycle. So, get enough sleep and take time for friendships and loved ones. And remember that you don't always get to choose your circumstances but you can make the choice as to how you respond.
Remember it's not a diet ...but a lifestyle change. And it's got to be a plan you can live with or else you won't stick with it. So, hang in there and know that you're not alone.
How are you doing so far? Do you have any secrets to losing weight that you'd like to share? You know, we can all learn from each other.
