The first step to a healthier, fitter you

Is to acknowledge that the choices you have made towards the foods that you put into your mouth and therefore your body was yours to make. Once you acknowledge that, you have regained the power you will need to make better, more informed choices next time you are presented with some food substance.

The only thing you really need to remember is this - food is energy. If you eat more than your body can safely use in a day, then you are more likely to be gaining weight. Conversely if you eat less than your body requires for fuel, you will lose weight. However there are some caveats. Never starve yourself. You should know how many calories you should be eating for your age/height and current exercise pattern. Check in with your medical practitioner, and/or a calorie controlled diet book/counter for this information. Then once you know these facts, you can make adjustments. Remember though, this cannot be an overnight fix, you cannot hope to lose excess weight quickly and hope to keep it off over the long term.

Remember also, that you are not going on a diet, you are going on a changed lifestyle plan. if you cut out foods in order to lose weight, and then go back to what you were doing before you went on a diet, you will soon gain weight again....and then some.

If you reduce your muscle mass, you lose your fat burning engine, so you should also remember that you need to do some exercise. Preferably weight bearing exercise. As in - you need to think about going to the gym. This keeps the muscle tight, and the skin does't sag and droop as you lose the fat that sits between the two layers. Of course you can do any kind of exercise, lift the kids, curl tins of beans, what you do doesn't matter, just move it if you want to lose it more quickly.

Oh and the last thing to remember is that - time is important. How long did it take you to reach your current weight/size? Then you need to consider it takes about half as long again to shift it.

With love to a much lighter you

Elle

MMM1