Losing Weight—What a Challenge!

LOSING WEIGHT—WHAT A CHALLENGE!

If you’re like I was, losing weight long term was an elusive goal. Over the years, I tried the Scarsdale Diet, the Atkins Diet, the grapefruit diet. I’d lose maybe 10 pounds with each and then gain them back within months. It wasn’t until I stopped active dieting and started swimming, biking and running to participate in triathlons that I began losing weight.

Yet, it wasn’t so much from the exercising. Rather, as I developed my fitness routine I also—without consciously planning it—began to eat better. I stopped drinking sodas and candy bars every day. But I did add a second cup of coffee in the morning and another at lunchtime and added apples and bananas into my menu. Still, it took me a LONG time—some 5 years—to go from 210 pounds down to the 160 pounds I average these days.

I’ve read, and found in myself, if you stay active—getting 5 or more hours of cardio and strength training exercise per week—you can maintain your weight. Again, the hard part is getting there. I began looking for online suggestions on how to lose weight without going on a regimented diet. And I came across this July 9, 2019 Silver Sneakers article by Christa Sgobba: 10 Ways to Start Losing Weight, No Matter How Unmotivated You Are. Here are excerpts:

“You know you want to lose weight, and you have a pretty good idea of what you should do to make it happen. You just need to get started. And unfortunately, that’s often the hardest part.

When motivation is lacking, remember this: Shedding pounds does not require a complete diet-and-exercise overhaul. In fact, starting small is often the best way to meet—and maintain—your weight loss goals, says Tony Gentilcore, C.S.C.S., founder of CORE in Boston. The good habits you adopt can snowball, leading to bigger changes down the line too, he says.

Here are ten ways to start losing weight with minimal effort.

1. Eat Foods That Hydrate You

It may sound counterintuitive, but eating more food can be a key to weight loss—as long as we’re talking about foods with a high water content, says Christine Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D.N., author of Food and Fitness After 50.

Eating water-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, or broth-based soups can fill you up, leaving you less likely to overeat on more calorie-dense foods, she says. There’s a mental benefit too. Seeing more food in front of you can make you feel less deprived. And that can cut your urge to end your meal with a calorie-rich dessert.

If you’re eating at home, try starting your meal with a broth-based soup. Not a soup fan? Look for other ways to include more water-rich foods to your plate. “Add two or three leaves of lettuce or more tomato on your sandwich,” Rosenbloom says.

2. Wake Up to Protein

Eating a protein-rich meal in the morning can set you up for a whole day of healthy eating, Rosenbloom says. That’s because, like hydrating foods, protein boosts satiety. And if you’re feeling satisfied, you’re less likely to graze all morning. “Aim for 30 grams of protein at breakfast,” she says, adding that most people get less than 15 grams.

Adding a scoop of protein powder to your smoothie is an easy way to pack it in. A single scoop contains roughly 20 to 30 grams, depending on the type you choose. If you prefer solid foods, “think eggs and a whole grain cereal with filtered milk, like Fairlife, which contains more protein than the regular kind,” Rosenbloom says.

3. Give the Sweatpants a Break

One of the perks of working at home or retirement, is not having to get dressed up every day. But living in yoga pants or sweats might actually be doing your belly a disservice since you’re missing out on the instant feedback of a too-tight waistband, Rosenbloom says.

“It’s a little bit of self-monitoring,” she says. Noticing your go-to pants suddenly feel tight can lead you to make changes to your food or exercise routine.

4. Rearrange Your Fridge

If you’re like most people, the most nutrient-dense, low-calorie foods—think fruits and vegetables—are hidden in your crisper drawer, while the ready-to-eat stuff that tends to be less healthy remains front and center.

So when you pop your head in for a snack, what’s going to catch your eye? Probably not the produce stored in those drawers.

Keep quick, healthy snacks visible on the shelves of your fridge, Rosenbloom says. That means giving prime real estate to those juicy berries or that bag of baby carrots. And use the opposite technique for treats: Store them out of sight so you won’t be tempted as soon as you open the fridge.

5. Pony Up for the Pre-Portioned Snacks

Portion control is key to staving off weight gain—and triggering weight loss. “When you’re just munching from a giant bag of potato chips or pretzels, it’s really easy to overdo it,” Rosenbloom says.

The most budget-conscious solution is to buy the cheaper, family-size package at the store and portion out servings into individual baggies. But if your motivation is lagging, that task will seem like a huge burden. Instead, start by buying the smaller, single-serving packages at the store, Rosenbloom says. They may be a little pricier, but the built-in portion control is worth it. Once you get used to your eating tweaks and your motivation increases, you can start packaging them out yourself to save some cash.

6. Lowball Your Exercise Routine to Start

Think about how many times per week you want to commit to working out. Then on a scale of 1 to 10, ask yourself how confident you are that you can hit that number each week, Gentilcore says.

If you give it a 7 or an 8, it’s probably realistic and a good place to start. But if you give it a 4, then you need to reassess your plans. There’s no such thing as too small of a goal to start. The key is committing to something you know you can achieve.

Once you come up with a number, mark each day you intend to exercise on a calendar, Gentilcore suggests, so you can actually cross it off. “There is just something magical about checking something off that provides the motivation to continue with it,” he says.

7. Set a Goal That Has Nothing to Do with Your Weight

Instead of telling yourself you want to lose X number of pounds, challenge yourself to knock X number of points off any lab readings that may be high, like blood pressure or cholesterol levels.

“I like to work with people to focus on their health instead of their losing weight,” Rosenbloom says. “You start eating a little better for your health, and before you know it, a couple of pounds are coming off.”

8. Stop Doing Workouts You Hate

If exercising on a treadmill makes you want to claw your eyes out, it’s not going to be a sustainable plan—nor is it going to motivate you when your couch looks more inviting than usual.

Consider swapping the treadmill for a hike outside or getting your blood pumping with pickle ball. Don’t like free weights? Stick to machines, or give resistance bands a try.

“Being consistent by doing something—whatever it is—is the determining factor for most people in the long run,” Gentilcore says.

9. Build Your Support Team

Exercise buddies can help you feel more confident, have more fun, and stay on track when motivation dips.

10. Keep Moving—Not just When You Exercise

Even on days you can’t do a “real” workout, there are many opportunities to move and burn calories. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (N.E.A.T.) can make a difference. [For information on this, please read my Mighty NEAT post.]

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If you’re trying to lose some weight, try some of these suggestions. Remember, the hardest part is getting started—even if it’s just acquiring the habit of every day taking a nice walk.