Don't Starve Yourself!

      

                
          It would seem that the logical thing to do when you want to lose weight is to starve yourself right? Wrong! Starving yourself might lead to temporary weight loss but you'll be miserable and you'll gain it all back and quickly. I learnt this lesson the hard way.
    
                      On one of my unsuccessful weight loss attempts, I thought that starving was the way to go. I lost weight quite alright but I ended up with such an appetite that I gained back all the weight I lost and some more too.
     
                     I was always hungry and whenever it was time for me to finally eat, I would devour the food like a lion. This was why when I stopped the diet, all the weight I had lost came back on.
                 
           Starving yourself is counter-productive to weight loss attempts. When you starve yourself, your body sends a message to your brain that you're in starvation mode. Then both of them gang up on you and prevent you from losing weight and even if you do, they'll make the process painfully slow.
               
                

           Weight loss experts advise that to optimize weight loss, you should eat 3 healthy medium sized meals a day and 2 healthy snacks. Eating more frequently speeds up your metabolism and makes you burn the fat faster.
                
           Also, with regular meals spread out this way, you're less likely to get hungry and less likely to over eat. The emphasis however, is on healthy meals in medium sized portions. If you eat 5 enormous meals a day, you're on your own. Lol.
                 
              The key to achieving your goal is in enjoying as much of the journey as you can. Losing weight is challenging but there's no need for you to be miserable while doing it so don't starve yourself! I'll be seeing you...

                                                                       Love Always...
                                                                              Jay...

It's Just Food!!!

   

         Now we're getting to the scary part. Lol. You didn't exactly expect to lose weight while still eating a whole bucket of ice cream did you? There's no healthy way to lose weight that doesn't involve re-evaluating your food choices. The most essential way to drop the kilos quick is to adjust your diet.

        The day before I began my fitness program, I decided I was going to "celebrate". Kinda like what some men do at Bachelor parties. It was the last time I was going to be able to eat as I liked for a while and I was determined to savor it. Just before I set out to buy the pack of shortbread biscuits I planned to eat all alone, it sunk into my head that I was sending a very wrong message to my body. I was telling my body that it was about to go into suffering and deprivation.

        The thing about the human body is that it doesn't like to be deprived. This is why it's not easy to lose weight in the first place.Your body realizes what you're trying to do and it struggles to keep the fat. I knew that if I ate that pack of shortbread that day, I wouldn't reach my goal because my body would have freed itself from the suffering and deprivation I made it believe it was under.

       That mentality would have made it very diffcult for me to succeed. It would have sapped my willpower and weakened my determination.The human mind is a powerful thing and if not properly programmed, it would stand in your way to success.

        Instead of buying shortbread that day, I stayed at home and sunk it into my head that my weight loss program wasn't a punishment, rather it would be of tremendous benefit to me. I convinced myself that the days would be just like regular days. The most important thing I told myself that day was that "It's Just Food!"

       Think about it, if you don't eat a doughnut in two months, will you die? NO! Because it's just food! We give food too much control over us and the fact is that we're the ones in control. This realization gave me immense strength. It was the reason why I could watch my friends eating whatever they wanted without as much as a flinch.  It's the reason why I can turn down soft drinks and why I can now do without shortbread. It's the reason why I achieved my weight loss goal and why I enjoyed every minute of it.  

      If you want to succeed on this journey, you need to realize that food is just food. You are supposed to eat to live not live to eat. You can do without those fattening foods. They don't control you. You're the one in charge. Food has no mind. It is inanimate.The ice cream can not call your name and that doughnut can not force itself into your mouth. You have been given the power of choice so take charge and realize that " It is Just Food!" Stay strong.

 

                                                                                 Love Always...

                                                                                        Jay...

Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail

        A goal without a plan is just a wish. The same is true of a weight loss goal. If you're going to succeed in your quest to lose weight, you must have a plan.  Before I embarked on my weight loss journey, I spent about three weeks planning. I decided on my goal size, mapped out  my exercise schedule and my meal times among other things. I made sure that I was mentally and physically prepared for the task ahead and this was a major factor in my success.
       You'll need a weight loss plan too. How many kilos do you want to lose? What time frame do you have in mind? When will you be able to exercise ? You need to be realistic in setting your goal so you don't get frustrated. You didn't put on all that weight overnight so don't expect it to disappear suddenly.
       In deciding your goal size, I suggest you find someone who is a much slimmer version of your specific body shape and keep a picture of that person. This will give you a clearer image of what you're aiming towards. There are three main body shapes: pear, apple and hourglass.

         

The pear shaped person is significantly bigger on the bottom than they are on top for example, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez. I am pear shaped and of average height so Beyonce was a much better model for me . A pear shaped person who is not as tall as Beyonce can use J.Lo as a model.

      

The apple shaped person is bigger on top than they are on the bottom and they tend to gather weight around the mid-section and upper body. Jennifer Hudson would be a suitable model for this body type.

  

 People with the hourglass shape are equally endowed both on the bottom and on top. For example, if On Air Personality ToolzO( pictured below) wanted to lose weight, Kim Kardashian would be a suitable model for her because they both fall into the hourglass category.
                                               

            

Make no mistake though, this is not to make you compare your body with another's and try to be like them. You are unique. There is no other body exactly like yours in the whole world. What you are going to do is create a better, slimmer version of yourself not become a mimic of someone else.

They are just symbols to help you envision the destination you have in mind.
So, that being said, if you don't have a plan, now's the time to make one. Take your time because the more detailed your plan is, the stronger the chances are that you'll stick to it. Remember, he who fails to plan, plans to fail. I hope you found this helpful. Until next time.

                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                              Love Always...
                                                                                                                  Jay...