We’ve been chatting to our friends at www.justslimming.com to see if they can help you all shed some pounds before the christmas period all hits us hard without impacting your christmas present budget, here’s what they said:
Fad dieting has consumed the minds of men and women around the world for years. Their guarantees of ”fast results” and ”lose a stone in a week” are indeed appealing, especially around the holiday season, but like their promise, are unrealistic. You know you didn’t put a stone on in a week so why do you think you will lose it in the same amount of time?
Our society is tackling the symptom of obesity instead of the cause. According to the NHS, in 2008, the latest year with available figures, just fewer than 32 per cent of women and 42 per cent of men were overweight. Gastric bypass surgery and diets pills are recommended to obese patients, but have major side effects, are expensive and do not always eliminate obesity for the long term. However, the daunting realisation of the time and money needed to effectively lose weight has most women and men signing up for the above options or worse, just avoiding the issue completely.
Ironically, the best way to lose weight is to go back to the basics and use common sense. When we are infants, we have someone decide our portions and the regularity of meals yet all that is undone when we reach adulthood. There are plenty of companies that offer delivered cooked meals and systems that control calories but the truth is weight loss does not have to be expensive or time consuming. As long as you are willing to make some lifestyle changes, it can be quite easy and inexpensive, and very effective.
Here are some tips for losing weight on a budget:
1. Write down what you eat each day in a journal. By keeping a regular log of your eating habits, it will show you where you are making mistakes and wasting money. It might shock you just how much you are consuming a day. If you eliminate between 500 and 600 calories a day, and add regular exercise you will definitely see results. The Food Standards Agency has a great article about portion control here: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/eatwellplate/
2. ”Stay close to the farm,” i.e. eat less processed foods, and eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Eat healthy fats like nuts and fish, and healthy carbs like oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread. Frozen vegetables are good too and are an inexpensive option to keep in your freezer for convenience.
3. If you have an iPhone, this article on the top 10 free iPhone Apps to lose weight. http://mashable.com/2009/01/03/free-iphone-apps-to-lose-weight/
4. Take the hard route whenever possible i.e. if there is a choice between stairs and the elevator, choose the stairs more often. If you can walk, choose that over the car.
Weight loss is all about burning slightly more calories than you consume each day and these ideas might just tip the scales in your favour! Good luck…
