It Starts in the Kitchen

Let’s look each other in the eye here and tell the truth. You want to lose a few pounds. You’ve been saying that for a while now. You’ve probably even gained a few pounds while you’ve been saying it. Likely, you’re most common complaint is: but I just don’t have the time to work out.

I’ve got some news for you: losing weight starts in the kitchen.

That’s right. Losing weight is all about what you eat. Getting in shape and losing weight are two different things. Now you can certainly do them both as the same time (they tend to support each other), but you don’t need to do one to do the other.

So if you’ve been coasting along on the I don’t have time excuse, I’m going to burst that bubble.

Let’s say you’re a guy pushing 210 pounds. Jogging for 10 minutes will burn around 100 calories (about 10 calories per minute). Guess what? One Oreo cookie has 70 calories. That’s 7 minutes of jogging to burn off one Oreo cookie! Now what’s easier? Jogging for 7 minutes or not eating that Oreo. It takes 1 second to decide not to stuff that Oreo down your throat.

And that’s the way it is for everything. If your primary concern is to lose weight, start with the food you eat (or don’t eat). Four easy ways to lose weight:

• No more sugared drinks (soda, sweet tea, fruit juice, Gatorade, etc.). Drink water, coffee or tea with no sugar added, or diet sodas. No, you won’t get cancer, and no, aspartame won’t give you brain cancer. It also won’t stimulate and insulin response and make you fatter.
• No more bread. I hear you moaning, but do you want to lose weight or not? If you’re a sandwich addict, use wraps instead. Whole wheat wraps have less than half the calories of bread.
• No seconds. Eat one plate and one plate only.
• No dessert. Have to have something sweet? Eat an apple. Or diet yogurt.

That’s it. That’s your start. Just doing these four simple things will get you going on your weight loss journey. You’ll be surprised as how quickly the pounds will come off just from doing these four easy things. And once you’re lighter on your feet, activities will follow.

What are you waiting for?