So you need to lose weight. What Next ??

So you have discovered (or finally accepted the fact) that you need to lose weight but at the same time, don't think that you can let go of all the goodies in life i.e. chocolates, French fries, donuts or pastries to name a few. I have never come across a person who does not realize that he or she needs to lose the extra fat accumulated over many years of bad eating habits. And when it comes to shedding the extra pounds, people start off by reading magazine or Internet articles, discussing it with friends, ordering some weight loss pills or other gadgets, getting a gym membership or signing up for yoga classes, buying a nice pair of jogging shoes and some sweat shirts / shorts, putting together a collection of favorite music on the iPod for jogging, but the weight loss story ends when it is time to start working on the weight loss plan. The result is that you only have parted with a few hundred (sometimes much more than a few hundred) dollars of your hard earned cash and (sadly) not the extra fat you are carrying day in and day out.

Some of the most common reasons (rather excuses) people have for not being able to lose weight are :-

1. Whenever I start dieting I feel too weak and lethargic, therefore I cannot perform my routine tasks at the office or household chores.
2. I am too busy to go on a diet at the moment. I’ll start dieting during summer vacations.
3. My man (or woman) likes me the way I am. Why should I endure the agony of controlling my appetite and go on a diet.
4. OMG, that chocolate cake is too delicious to pass up. Dieting can go to hell.
5. My weight is just fine. People are just jealous of me so they tell me to lose weight.
6. I don’t believe in the BMI, cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases and a healthy lifestyle mumbo jumbo. Weight loss is not my cup of tea.
   

But whatever the excuse, one knows very well if he or she needs to lose weight. I knew it. I was over weight by at least 20 pounds even when the idea of losing weight had never crossed my mind. And even when I started to think about it, I did not believe that I could lose that much. Besides, my average day included preparing breakfast for the kids, a long and tiring day at the elementary school where I am a teacher and a coordinator, preparing lunch after school, preparing assignments, workshop papers and exams for my Master’s degree and finally preparing the dinner. In such a hectic schedule, one needs to have “food”, and lots of it. Just to think of going on a diet seemed “Mission impossible”. It was however, support and encouragement from my husband that enabled me to gather enough determination to see me through the weight reduction experience, which I must tell you was by no means, an easy task.

Having said all that, the day you start getting noticed for your slim and trim looks, the momentary pleasure you derive out of bad eating habits will simply become very easy to pass up and the agony of spending a MAJOR portion of your day on empty stomach will become a matter of routine, rather a second nature and you will bask in the glory of the NEW YOU.