Weight Loss Success - Shedding 35 pounds and keeping them OFF!

How did I do it

I struggled to attain the ideal weight all my life, but once I focused on this goal the results came quickly and consistently. I want this article to be the inspiration, motivation and a practical resource to help you achieve your weight goals and live a happier and healthier life.

There are many causes of weight gain including family history, emotional issues or stress, and unhealthy life style. I went through the entire process in stages i.e. talked with my mother about childhood weight, evaluated my diet and habits, and started an exercise regime.

In doing all this, I went from 225 lbs to 190 lbs, dropped from a 38 inch waist to 34 and perhaps my biggest accomplishment was that I went from being chubby, weak and tired, to toned, strong and energetic. Moving up those belt holes is a priceless feeling - that is until you have to get a new belt. Now that feels like a grand accomplishment!

I started off by prepping my body for three months by doing extended medium intensity workouts, stretching and a whole lot of cardio. After that period, I went hardcore by working with a personal trainer for four months, five times a week for one hour sessions.

Right now I'm at the gym 3 to 4 times a week to maintain my fitness. I attend various classes or do medium intensity workouts.

The First Steps

The motivation for weight loss should not be a pair of jeans but an ideal, healthy life. Start off with a plan and educate yourself on the choices you should be making, why you should be making them, and how to make them on consistent basis. With a committed but healthy weight loss routine you can shed maximum of 2 pounds per week.

Evaluate and monitor your physical health. Get a blood test done to check your cholesterol and other levels. Understand family history as it plays an important role in designing a successful diet plan.

Based on all the facts above, I cut my sugar intake by slowly eliminating chocolate and candy bars. On occasion I sweeten my herbal tea or coffee with a teaspoon of honey, but if it is not available, I don't crave sweetening it.

Before you start or as you get started, I strongly suggest a body detox or cleansing. You will drop an inch or two simply by getting rid of some really bad stuff accumulated inside of you. You will feel great and with a healthier metabolism your body will be more capable of accepting and processing healthy nutrition.

Remember that any exercise is better than no exercise. Any low intensity activity that spans a few hours, such as planning a party or extended hiking, will help you get closer to your goal. Incorporate a workable balance of diet and exercise in your life to maximize the benefits. Try to consume fewer calories during the day and increase your daily physical activity – this is the holy grail of weight loss.

If you are eating a lot of sugar right now, you will also need to cut fruit and sugar completely from your diet for the first two to three weeks to get your blood sugar levels down. Same goes for smoking and alcohol - do everything you can to stop these unhealthy habits or get help.

Weight loss is 70% diet, 20% exercise, 5% mindset and 5% determination.
Get your eating in order and you're ¾ way there! The rest becomes easy. Really!

Another important thing is to make sure you finish eating one to two hours prior to exercising since it takes that long for your body to actually digest the food. On the flip side, don't workout when you are starving. Have a granola bar 10 minutes before the workout if you must, but don't make it a habit.

Food: Separating the Good and the Bad

In order to reach my weight loss goals, I cut sugar from my diet. This includes all kinds of high-calorie foods such as cookies, cakes, ice cream and soft drinks. This change was an adjustment I had to make on many levels, but it is worth it. When shopping for food, I always check the nutrition information for the amount of sugar in the product and pick the one with none or the lowest amount.

Gradually eliminate the bad-carbohydrates (sugar and white breads) and fried foods since these are packed with calories no matter how small the serving size may be. Such foods include potato chips, French fries, donuts, fried chicken, onion rings, etc. I call this the "yellow or orange" food group. Watch out for the "low-carb" or "low-fat" food varieties, which pack many chemicals to keep the product tasting good. If it ain't fresh or you can't read it it's probably bad for you.

If you have to eat meat, stick to light varieties such as lean turkey, white chicken or lean beef. Keep it to minimum - once or twice per week, and avoid fatty cuts of pork, beef or lamb. Best yet, gradually shift to vegetarian diet. Once you feel more energetic and experience a clearer mind, you will be convinced. Rest assured, pure vegetarian diet can deliver ALL the essential amino acids that are found in the meat-based protein.

When you avoid all the bad foods, entire aisles in the grocery store will become irrelevant to you and you will find yourself reaching for healthier choices. Avoid mainstream Fast Food places with deep-fried or microwaved food. Opt for grilled or cooked warm food, eat it cold, or go someplace else. Choose green tea over coffee, but if you must, opt for a single long espresso with 2% goat milk or soy and honey instead of a fancy specialty coffee.

The Ideal Diet

I have learned that awareness is the key to maintaining a successful diet plan. There are five steps to creating an ideal diet:

1. Calorie intake: this includes knowing the number of calories you consume in a day and where they are coming from i.e. every single piece of food you eat in your day.
2. Determine how many calories you need in a day to attain and maintain your ideal weight (see links at the end of this article for help or see a professional nutritionist).
3. Compare your answers in step 1 and 2. You may be surprised by the difference in how many calories you "need" versus how many calories you actually consume. This number is an eye-opener for most of us who wonder where the extra pounds are coming from.
4. Create a plan to balance the two numbers and remind yourself of them EVERY TIME you reach for any food. You need to watch what you eat and enforce your daily limit. Remember that eating wholesome nutritious food keeps you satisfied a lot longer.
5. Add exercise to your plan. This should be done in any form you can. Light to moderate exercise is very helpful as long as you stick to it.

I recommend choosing low-GI (slow carbohydrates breakdown) foods such as fruit or vegetables (colourful foods), non-sugared breakfast cereals (such as PC Blue Menu Fibre First and/or Raisin & Almond), brown rice and whole-grain breads (brown foods), milk and plain yoghurt, etc. Avoid high-GI foods such as white rice, baked potatoes, corn flakes, and pretty much any food or beverage high in sugar.

A great alternative to breakfast or as an after-workout snack is an Acai Protein smoothie (Jugo Juice) with optional PowerZone booster or Flaxseed oil. The antioxidant Acai and pure whey or hemp (vegan) protein will make you feel light and energetic, while keeping hunger away for hours. See the 126 Easy Smoothie Recipes eBook for some great ideas available free with the newsletter signup.

Avoid smoothies purely based on fruit and sorbet as they are loaded with sugar and carbohydrates. Ask for nutritional information before making the buying decision. Get rid of any unhealthy food from your environment and stock up on healthy snacks. Have them available near you and reach for them as you need them. See my wellness links for more information about binge eating.

When you are hungry, you are simply short on nutrients. It’s not HOW MUCH you eat, but HOW WELL. It’s about quality, not quantity! You have to focus on maximizing nutritious food – fresh and organic as much as possible.

If you really really crave a snack, have a simple system in place that will help you deal with the cravings as they come. For example: first reach for a glass of cold water with lemon juice. If the craving persists, have a piece of fruit (apple, orange or blueberries), a healthy raw organic protein bar, 1 to 2 pieces of high quality dark chocolate, or a healthy smoothie.

UPDATE: Here are some great add-ons for home-made smoothies, for example: I start with the President's Choice frozen berry-mix or blueberries, add a banana and mango juice, some soy, rice or goat milk, then I add Progressive VegeGreens Superfood powder, Hempola 100% Raw Hemp Protein & Fibre Powder, 1 spoon of each: Salba Whole Food, Sunfood's Organic Raw Cacao powder, Lecithin grains for the mind, and Flaxseed Oil. Shop around for all of the above as prices vary as much as 150% from store to store.

Depending on the need or daily dosage, I would add Green Tea Matcha powder or Noni Juice. Because I'm not the best when it comes to eating 5 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every single day, I take an "organic garden" in a capsule: NatureBorn Vitamins. Currently I am shopping around to assemble my own PowerZone (Jugo Juice): Ginseng & Ginkgo, Echinacea & Rose Hip 'Vitamin C', and Lecithin. For the evening or late night snack I would use Casein Protein powder (Optimum or GNC).

To attain and maintain your weight loss goals variety and balance are both required when it comes to food choice and physical activity. Diets fail because we create difficult short term goals for ourselves. The key to successful and permanent weight loss is to create a balanced plan that allows you to live your life normally. That means a systematized, easy-to-follow, gradually progressing, and as much fun as possible kind of plan.

Exercise: Understanding what works for you

The benefits of exercise are endless and any exercise is better than no exercise. By lowering your resting heart rate and normalizing your blood pressure you attain a healthier body inside and out. Also, you reduce your risk of serious injury by improving your strength and flexibility. The eBook 122 Life Enriching Reasons to Exercise (available with the newsletter signup) provides a list of benefits that regular exercise will bring into your life.

Before you start any exercise plan, understand what your current fitness level is and what is your preferred target. Whether you work with a personal trainer or on your own, make a commitment to yourself and stick to it no matter what - tired or not, rain or shine! See my eBooks on weight loss and exercise for plenty of practical information.

To keep yourself motivated through this entire process try wearing smaller more form-fitting clothes which serve as a constant reminder of your goals as well as how far you have come in your journey. Don't worry about things such as excess skin as with a healthy weight loss, skin has the ability to gracefully adjust to the leaner body. Watch for my upcoming article on motivation for more great tips.

Another piece of advice that I would like to offer is not to weigh, measure or evaluate your self in front of the mirror everyday. You will hardly notice any changes, but if you leave about a week in between, you will see progress which will motivate you to stay committed.

Find a physical activity that you enjoy and do it every day for a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes. This can include brisk walking, riding a bike, going to various classes at your local gym, etc, but the most important thing is that you do it 6-7 times a week. Also the more compound the exercise (more whole-body muscles) the better as you burn more calories per movement.

Take the stairs instead of elevators, park your car further from the store, get off one stop early and walk the difference, walk or bike to work whenever you can, and always remember that it's the little things that will add up towards your big goal.

Try to use light weights when you work at your desk or a hand-gripper tool when you watch TV. Find an exercise buddy to keep each other motivated and form a routine you can stick to.

Helpful Tips

Three grossly underestimated and very simple weight loss techniques include:

1. Drink 8 to 10 glasses of purified water per day (carry a bottle of water with you)
2. Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day (ideally go to bed around 10 - 11pm)
3. Eat small portions of nutritious food frequently and regularly (never get starving hungry)

Start your day with a cardio exercise to give your metabolism a boost and keep it working throughout the day. Experts say that morning exercise is 300% more effective for weight loss than evening – exactly for that reason.

After having read all this information, don't just sit there feeling educated and motivated - do some thinking, do some math, get out there and JUST DO IT!

This is exactly what I said to myself to get the results and you can do the same. Make your fitness and health a number one priority for a few weeks. Commit to it and make some great new habits. After that it will become easy and automatic. You won't even think of living any other way.

I wish you good luck in reaching your goals. Promise yourself that you will do everything you can to reach your goals no matter what it takes.

Do it for yourself and do it now!