5 Important Things to Remember about Weight Loss

1. Not all Fats are Bad!

That’s a thought trap! It’s something many people will think: Fats will make people fat. In fact, that’s wrong because believe it or not, there are a lot of food high in fats that actually help you lose weight. Good fats, mostly Monounsaturated Fats and often, Polyunsaturated Fats help lower cholesterol levels, absorb a lot of the nutrients and prevent heart disease! These are often found in nuts, olive oil, avocados and many other plant foods. Omega 3 is one of the fats found in fish and walnuts, and I’m sure you’ve all heard of the benefits of that. So I recommend instead of chewing on some bacon, try some nuts. Fruit and peanut butter sound like a delicious treat! Also, try having fish once or twice a week.

Be careful of saturated fats, found in most animal products, particularly beef, lamb, pork and some diary products like cheese and butter. They can be very fattening. Try and avoid trans fat altogether, they are even worse! Trans fat are found in some baked and deep fried foods like french fries.

2. Don’t be afraid of drinking water

I can’t believe this but my husband during his weight loss journey was paranoid about drinking water, he was going crazy thinking water gained you weight. Please remember why you’re losing weight: To lose excess body fat for better health, not losing the 1 pound of water you just drank. Water is very essential for health, so there’s no need to fear drinking it. Yes, it does gain you a couple of pounds but that’s only because you just drank the water.

Perhaps some people find it hard to control weighing themselves every other hour. My suggestion is, ask someone living with you to lock away that scale and only let you use it once a day, at the same time.

3. Sometimes, your mind tricks you with Hunger and Fullness

I remember a couple of years ago, I felt hungry even after I ate a steak and whole pizza. However, there were other days when I felt full just eating a couple of pieces of apples (during high anxiety times). Your body doesn’t always know whether you’re really hungry or full. If you keep eating more and more, your stomach expands and you will feel hungry much more. If you don’t eat, your stomach will shrink so you don’t feel as hungry anymore.

Remember that, because this is how excessive overeating, as well as eating disorders like anorexia happens. When your body either has too much that it’s hungry all the time or because you never eat enough, you don’t know how to feel hungry anymore. Be sure to try and keep your diet balanced. If you’re still hungry, first have a look at how much you’ve eaten. If you feel that you’ve had enough, try and bear with the hunger. It will pass. (DO NOT LOOK AT FOOD PICTURES OR SMELL ANYTHING FOOD RELATED, IT WILL MAKE YOU HUNGRIER!!!!!!!!!!). If you feel full but haven’t eaten a lot, then try and eat a little more.

4. You May Run across Hurdles

When my husband started to lose weight, he got to 180 and it simply wouldn’t go down with just an hour and a half of walk. There were times he walked three hours a day to lose weight. There may be certain points where you simply feel that no matter what you do, your weight won’t go down. That’s when you may need to look into exercising more. Try not to make it too hard! As I said in many other posts, exercising doesn’t have to be a bland, boring waste of time. You can easily get an ipad and watch your favourite shows or movies on it.

5. Have Fruits in the Morning after you Exercise

Having fruits in the morning often curbs the hunger. Sometimes I’d be so hungry wanting a three course meal, and then I ate my bowl of fruits and I’m quite happy for some time. Fruits are brilliant on an empty stomach because they digest fast and will cleanse your insides. If you get time, try cutting yourself a fruit salad for each day. If you really struggle with finding the time, then you can buy pre-cut fruits in the super market. Try and eat fruits of every colour of the rainbow!

Fruits after you exercise can be particularly refreshing and almost feels like a reward for your hard work.

If you’re eating fruits, please watch out for waxed apples, grapes and blueberries. Try and wash them out with baking soda and lemon juice before eating!