I've been struggling with weight ever since I was in elementary school. I was 130 pounds in 6th grade. So I was always a big boy. Even till this day I've been trying my best to loose weight.
Since January of 2011 till now February (2013) I've lost 30 pounds. I know it doesn't sound like much - but trust me, it has made a difference.
This photo to the left is of me from January of 2011 and the one on the right is from December of 2012. I'm still trying my best to drop 20 pounds more, so I can be "state average."
Some tricks that I've learned has helped me loose weight.
*note: this is for losing weight not gaining muscle, and this is from personal experience not facts.
I never did count calories or anything complicated like that.
When it came to eating here is some things that might help.
1. NO soda (any carbonated drinks)
2. smaller portions
3. fiber
4. exercise
1. Soda: not just bad for your teeth, but bad for your health. Basically what some people call it is "diabetes in a can," because it contains about 7 and a half teaspoons of sugar (10 packages of sugar) and mixed with about 12oz of water. Because it is mixed with water it seems 'normal,' but if you were to actually intake 7 and a half teaspoons of sugar and swallowed it - you'd vomit. Soda / carbonated drinks can you believe could also cause cancer? here's the equation :
drink soda + burp (acid reflux) +
carries acid into the esophagus, causing lesions + lesions = cancerous.
Doesn't that sound really scary? Thus no Soda.
http://www.mindconnection.com/library/health/softdrinks.htm
http://www.onecanofsoda.com/
2. Smaller Portions: this one sounds very cliche. There are actually a couple of tricks you can do to make smaller portions / eating habits better.
- Using smaller plates will actually make you eat less. Remember only one plate.
- Changing fridge light bulbs to blue colored, because blue makes food look less attractive. Colors like red and yellow (ex. McDonald) makes the brain hungry.
- eat only one taste. For example - if you eat sweet, and then salty; your brain will tell your body to eat more. Variety is not too good, like on Thanksgiving we gain 5,000 extra calories because of variety of food that is consumed.
- Drink a glass of water before eating: to make your body full so you will not consume as much.
- GREENS, GREENS, GREENS!
If that doesn't help then: better eating habits might be needed. You know the cliche stuff - like eating more vegetables and less protein. I mean protein is very important but try to eat more greens.
3. Fiber. I think we all know what this makes. (laughs) Going to the bathroom will defiantly make you loose weight. Eat whole wheat breads, and berries. Blue Berries has a lot of fiber - well basically any kind of berries contain very large sums of fiber.
"Fiber and Weight Loss
Fiber expands in the stomach and intestines, which creates a feeling of fullness. This means that after eating a fiber-rich meal, you'll typically feel fuller longer and may eat less throughout the day. In addition, because soluble fiber turns into a gel in the stomach, it binds to sugars, cholesterol, and fats and carries them, largely unabsorbed, through the digestive tract, says Anderson."
Honestly my stomach has problem digesting food so I eat a lot of wheat bread and take fiber pills. Nothing too special - I use CVS brand; that helps.
If you're looking to clean out your stomach "Senna," really works well.
"Senna is an herb. The leaves and the fruit of the plant are used to make medicine.
Senna is an FDA-approved nonprescription laxative. It is used to treat constipationand also to clear the bowel before diagnostic tests such as colonoscopy.
Senna is also used for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), hemorrhoids, and weight loss.
Senna fruit seems to be gentler than senna leaf. This has led the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) to warn against long-term use of senna leaf, but not senna fruit. The AHPA recommends that senna leaf products be labeled, "Do not use this product if you have abdominal pain or diarrhea. Consult a healthcare provider prior to use if you are pregnant or nursing. Discontinue use in the event of diarrhea or watery stools. Do not exceed recommended dose. Not for long-term use.”"
From personal experience I can tell you "do NOT take it on an empty stomach." The pain is horrible.
4. Exercise. I'm pretty sure anyone can lose weight, but the tone the body is hard. I sing on the side - so building abs is out of the question. You cannot sing with a tight stomach. So a lot of cardio helps lose weight.
I know a lot of people think that doing a bunch of sit-ups will make their stomach smaller and give them ripped abs. Well here is one secret to abs: If you've been doing sits up all the time and you still have no results - probably there is a layer of fat still in the way of allowing the abs to show up.
I will recommend CARDIO is the best option for losing weight. Like Jogging, jumprope, dance etc.
I hope that this helps. Any questions or ideas email: tevitaapina@aol.com
