Diet together

We've all been through this... One day, we get up, and decide we're too fat! We want to go on a diet, start eating healthy, exercise... But where do we start? Here are a few tips to begin losing pounds:

Find different ways to measure your progress

More than a scale, you will need a measuring tape - just like the one you use for sewing. On a notebook, write down the starting date, your weight and the time you weighed yourself - try to always weigh yourself at the same time during the day, and the measurement for your wrist, chest, waist, hips, thigh and calf. Try to remember where exactly you measured yourself (your waist and hips measurement can vary a lot depending on where you put the tape!), and write it down if necessary. Now, forget about this and do not weigh or measure yourself for a week!

Set a reasonable goal for the first month

You don't want to get discouraged after a couple weeks, do you? So you should set a very reasonable goal for the first month. One inch lost on your main areas (waist, hips) is good, and so is a loss of a pound per week (considered a "healthy" weight loss by doctors). Remember, it's all about being consistent, eating healthy and being  more active. You are trying to change your life habits, you do not want to lose weight too quickly to put it back on after a few months.

If you wish, you can calculate your "ideal" weight. Doctors usually calculate it using the following formula :

Height in centimeters - 100 - (Height in cms - 150)/4 = Ideal weight in kilos (multiply by 2.2 to get lbs)

This is a pretty reasonable goal  to have for the long term when you start dieting. You should know, though,  that your ideal "fashion" weight is considered to be the above weight - 10 kilos.... Depending on your bones size, any weight in between should be good, really. It's all about what weight you will feel good at.

Start eating healthier

For your first month, try changing your eating habits slowly, but surely, week by week. Add a new habit every week in the following order:

During the first week, try to cut down on sugary drinks, juices, sodas, and replace them by water. Also start eating a healthy breakfast (I'll write later about why eating breakfast is essential), with some toast, yogurt and fruit by example (recipes to come).

During week 2, cut down your mid-morning sugary snack, and replace it by something healthy, either a fruit or a yogurt. If you are not used to having a snack around 10 am, start eating one. Try not eating after 8 pm. It is very important that you go to bed with your stomach empty.

During week 3, on top of what you've already changed, start eating cooked vegetables during one meal a day, and raw vegetables as part of the second meal. Eat  them with lean meats. You need protein to lose weight!

Finally, during week 4, start eating a mid-afternoon snack - healthy, like a fruit, a yogurt, a small handful of almonds.

If you follow these rules, adding a little exercise, you should be losing weight right after the second week.

Be more active

Don't try to do too much for your first month... How many of us have started dieting, gotten a membership at a gym, gone every day for two weeks, and then stopped going all together? Being active can be much simpler, and more fun too!

WALK! Try to find a little time every day to walk. It can be by walking instead of driving to work, walking to the next bus stop instead of the one closer to your house, walking your dog every night for half an hour, or even walking to talk  to your colleague on the 5 th floor instead of phoning her...

DO SOMETHING FUN! If there's any sport you like, I really encourage you to start playing it regularly. If you have no particular likes, consider badminton, soccer, ultimate freesbee, dancing lessons... there's no limit to what you can do, you just have to put your mind to it, and GO!

FIND A SPORTS BUDDY. It's always good to have somebody, even better, a group of friends, who will be motivated when you are not. So start calling your friends, cousins, sisters, brothers, colleagues... and have them commit to exercise with you at least three times a day. 

Drink water

Believe it or not, drinking water actually helps you break down the fat contained in your cells, and eliminate it! So get a half a litre bottle, and start drinking right now! The ideal amount of water you should drink every day can be obtained with the following formula :

Weight in lbs / 2 = fl.oz per day

So here you go, you have there a few tips and directions to start dieting... If you have any comments/questions, do not hesitate to post them, and I'll answer them as fast as I can!

 This is my first try at blogging... so please don't be too critical! I envision this as a way for us all to share tips on how we lost weight, what we tried, what worked, what didn't, etc... Each month, somebody will take on a "challenge" and try something new for a week; he or she will then let us know how it worked for him/her and whether they can recommend it to you or not. I'll also try to post articles as often as I can, with recipes, good exercises, etc.

So stay tuned, this is only the beginning!

Chris

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