Fat Like Me

The common diet programs (Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, etc.) are effective, especially in the short term. What most people don't realize, and this is not specifically explained by the companies, is that they are intended for the long term (your remaining life). I know several people who've had great success. The problem is the programs are expensive and if you stop, the weight comes back. The people that came up with the programs designed them to be life long programs, not quick gimmicks.

The thing we need to do to loose weight is to find a program we can live with our entire life. We already have the tools, we just don't use them. Let me say that if a person is happy on Weight Watchers, or any other program, and they are happy paying for it and using it for the rest of their life, that is great! Its just not feasible for me to pay the price so I needed to find something else.

This is where proper diet and exercise come in. Its not so much WHAT we eat as it is HOW MUCH we eat. The Burger King Whopper is the worst sandwich you can eat, about 1700 calories if you add cheese. Still, you can eat a whopper once in a while and not gain a pound. The problem most people have, and I must include myself, is we eat the Whopper a lot. Eating a Whopper once a month is not a problem, eating one every day or six in one day is a big problem. Its not WHAT you eat, its HOW MUCH.

We already know what we should be eating and that we should be physically active. We know fruits and vegetables are good for us and that fried chicken for every meal is a bad idea (I freaking love fried chicken, I could eat it for every meal and not get tired of it). Yet we don't put this simple, common knowledge to use. We all know walking is excellent exercise yet we sit at home playing video games or watching TV.

The formula is not complicated, we just don't apply it. When you eat, slow down and think about what and how much you're eating. Put down the fork between bites and gauge how full you are. Stop before your stomach hurts and you will eat drastically less. Replace as many drinks as possible with water and limit soda and other sugary drinks. Make time everyday to take a walk, preferably with your significant other, or go for a bike ride. Put some real thought into finding better foods and more activities and it becomes easy. Try new recipes and find ways to be more active. If you don't like a food or some activity isn't interesting or doesn't work for you, change it.

this sounds very interesting! I was wanting a buddy, so maybe I can report in and loose also! I was on the weight watcher momentom plan too but fell off (*holiday's ) so I will start and report in when you start thanks Matt!

Glad to have you back Matt, always enjoy reading your blog.