Losing Weight and Feeling Great

It’s Summer and inevitably it comes up — you need to drop some pounds, and you only have a week or two as a deadline.  So how can you lose weight in a week (or two)?  It may be easier than you think!

First You Should…

Drink plenty of water!  I’ve written quite a few posts on drinking water to lose weight, so you might want to check them out.

In a nutshell:  by hydrating your body properly, it will let go of excess water in your system.  Sure, it’s "just" water weight, but it’s still weight that you don’t need.  Drink at least 64 ounces of water (not soda, not coffee, not juice, but water) a day — more if you have more than 40 pounds to drop.

What to Eat?

Forget the thought of eating a minuscule amount of food in order to lose weight in a week (or at all).  It doesn’t do anything for you except lower your metabolism!  Aim for at least 1,200 calories a day, in veggies, proteins, whole grains and fats (in that order).  You need a healthy diet in order to lose safely, and to keep it off.  Fruits…well, be caureful of them for the first week — they tend to have a lot of sugar.  Stick with ripe berries and apples (with the skins) at first.  And speaking of sugar…

…"White Out" the Sugar

Stay away from sugar and foods that act like sugar in your body.  This means highly refined wheat/rice and sugar products — sugar, white bread, white rice, regular pasta and yes — even bagels.  Too much sugar and sugar-like calories will send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride and will make it very hard to stick to a diet.  If you must eat something like pasta or a bagel, have a half portion and make sure you have plenty of protein with it, to help even out the sugar spike.

Move Around Some

You don’t need to start out with a big exercise routine, but even 15 minutes a day of moving around will help!  Turn on the radio or put in your favorite CD and dance around your living room.  Take the dog for an extra walk.  Do a walk at home program.  Try a balance ball routine.  You get the idea — just get up off the sofa!

Lose Weight in a Week — It’s Possible

Don’t forget to take your measurements at the start of the week.  Sometimes the scales show only a pound (or even nothing) but your measurements are changing for the better!  You look slimmer and trimmer.

Of course, you could also lose 5 pounds or more!  It all depends on your body and your circumstances.  Everyone loses differently.

You might want to check out my page on lose weight, eat more page for more information on why you should eat more, and not less, and still lose weight!

You see the commercials all the time for NutriSystem food, and you find yourself wondering about it.  Does NutriSystem work?  What’s the food like?  How much does it cost?

NutriSystem Food:  The Good and the Bad

OK, first things first:  how does the food taste?  Is it great or is it terrible?

Well, how about it’s a little of both.  Some of the foods seem to be universally loved, like the pizza, hamburger, tacos and such.  Others seem to have few fans, like the beef stew and blueberry muffins.

All in all, the food is good, although some are a little on the bland side (especially the dinners).  Why?  Because the foods are produced to meet the needs of as many people as possible, they are bland-ish.  But that doesn’t mean they can’t be dressed up some!

For example, I think the tacos are yummy with an added tablespoon of salsa and a little low-fat cheese.  The pizza gets two thumbs up with some turkey pepperoni on top.  The hamburger seems to be great no matter what you do to it!

And the desserts — I don’t think there’s one that I don’t like!

Try It Before You Buy It

Now I’m not going to lie — NutriSystem is a little on the expensive side (although if you already eat out a lot, it might actually be a savings).  Figure on about $300 a month.

There is an option of trying some food, however, before you sign up for the full program.  Kind of a "try it before you buy it".

Strange as it may sound, ebay has a lot of NutriSystem listings!  You can buy a few day’s worth of food to try out and see how you like them.

If you decide to go this route, stay away from listings that include the tuna casserole dinner, blueberry muffins or microwave chocolate cake.  The muffins and cake are actually pretty decent once you know how to prepare them, but the tuna…well, better not touch that one!  (Yes, I speak from experience.)

So, If so, check out the box below; click on an image to see the listing and bid amount.

The bariatric diet is what you eat after undergoing weight loss surgery.  If you are considering bariatric surgery, it’s not a bad idea to try the diet before you opt for the surgery.

After all, if you can’t follow the diet after the surgery, why bother with the expense and the recovery time from the operation?

Bariatric Diet:  What You Can Eat

Once you undergo surgery (adjustable lap band, gastric bypass) there are foods that you very likely won’t be able to eat anymore without suffering some rather rough side effects called "dumping" (which is like what it sounds).  The most common trigger is sugar, followed by fats.

It’s not to say that you’ll never again be able to eat ice cream or a piece of cake; just that your portions will have to be very small (a half-scoop of ice cream, a bite or two of cake).  And some people find that they can’t tolerate even such small amounts!

Immediately after surgery you’ll be eating meals of soft, bland foods at first.  This will be followed by less soft and less bland as time goes on.

Get ready to eat small, frequent meals.  How small?  Sometimes just a few bites at a time, every couple of hours.  You’ll have to see how your body reacts and adjust accordingly.

The Dietitian:  Your New Best Friend

You’ll need to schedule some visits with a dietitian, to help set up an eating plan that will help you to lose weight, get plenty of nutrition and not cause adverse reactions from your body.

Get ready to take supplements, as your food intake will be much smaller — you won’t be able to get every nutrient by your diet alone (which is probably true for the rest of us anyway).  But in the case of a bariatric diet, you have to be extra-careful.

In fact, if you are seriously considering weight loss surgery, it might be wise to contact a dietitian familiar with bariatrics and try the diet for a few weeks before you schedule a visit to the surgeon.  Worst comes to worst and you find that you can’t "stomach" a bariatric diet, you’ll have saved yourself a lot of pain (surgery isn’t pain-free) and expense.

Want more information?  You can view information and a video on gastric bypass surgery, as well as more information about bariatric diets from the University of Rochester.

So, what are your reasons to lose weight?  Is it because you want to look great for a special occasion?  Has your doctor had "the talk" with you about your health?  Is your blood pressure going up?  Are you embarrassed to be seen in public?  Is it something else?

Reasons to lose weight are a varied as people.  For some, the "hottie factor" is the biggest reason.  To look great in clothes again, to turn people’s heads, to feel great about yourself and your body.  I like to think of that BowFlex commercial soe time back, about the 50-year old grandmother posing (very successfully) in a bikini.

It’s Summer, so losing weight to look good in fewer clothes is another reason to lose weight.  Shorts, tank tops, bathing suits, light dresses all mark this season of the year.  It’s harder to hide the extra pounds in a pair of shorts than it is in a pair of sweatpants!

Your heath.  I know, I’ve had that talk with my doctor last year (or rather, he had that talk with me).  And you know, he was right.  I did seriously need to lose weight, and lots of it.  But that talk is kind of embarrassing.  It can be a motivation, though!  (So I say, 70 pounds lighter.)

Your health can also be for another reason — your family.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women tell me that they want to make sure they are around for their children and grandchildren.

Whatever your reason for losing weight, keep it fresh in your mind each day.  Remind yourself of it, when temptation comes calling — because sooner or later, it will.

You can read more about the varied motivations to lose weight on the main website, as well as the benefits of losing weight.  Enjoy!

Summer weight loss — something we all hope for.  It’s the time of year that sweat pants and baggy tops just don’t work that well.  Instead, we’re faced with shorts, tank tops and bathing suits!  Don’t despair; Summer can be a great time to lose weight and feel great!

Quick Weight Loss Tips

Here are some quick weight loss tips to help you start your Summer weight loss plan.

Drink Water…Lots of It!

Yes, it’s true — drinking water does help trim you by making you drop your excess water weight.  You know, the bloated feeling you get?  Well, you don’t need to feel that way!

Drink half your weight in water in ounces per day, with a minimum of 64 ounces.  So if you weight 160 pounds, you need to drink 80 ounces of water a day for weight loss.

Take Advantage of Fresh Foods

Summertime means fresh fruits and vegetables are readily available.  Take advantage of the situation to eat more raw fruits and especially vegetables.  Think crisp and crunchy and you probably won’t go wrong.

Salt — Stay Away From It!

We tend to eat far more salt than we realize — it’s in nearly everything.  And salt is something our body needs — just not in the quantities we take in.

Avoid the obvious culprits, such as fries, chips and fast food in general.  And of course, cook without the salt.  The advantage?  You tend to eat less without salt stimulating your appetite!  That all by itself is a big help as far as Summer weight loss goes!

Use the Extra Daylight

The days are longer in summer, so take advantage of the time to get out and move.  Go for a walk, take a bike ride, do anything to help get you up and moving.

Summer is also a great time to go swimming and beat the heat.  Don’t like the way you look in a swimsuit?  There are all kinds of styles out these days to fit any body.  And besides, it’s more motivation to get your body looking the way you want it!

X Out the Sugar

Simple sugar in your diet is the biggest cause of your blood sugar levels doing roller-coasters all day long.  Get the sugar out of your diet!  You don’t need to do it all at once, but day by day start cutting back and then cutting out the worst offenders.

What are they?  The banes of Summer weight loss include candy, cakes, ice cream, white rice, white bread, white potatoes, regular pasta and such.  Replace them with whole grain foods (rice, pasta, bread), fresh berries and if you must indulge — low sugar varieties of frozen dairy favorites.

Summer Weight Loss — Don’t Put it Off

I know it can be frustrating to face the summertime with extra weight and watch everyone dress in fewer clothes.  But you can lose weight during the summer; it’s a matter of making the decision to start today, at your very next meal.

You can look through the main Losing Weight Over 40 website for more tips for weight loss, no matter what time of year.

Yes it’s true — drink water to lose weight.  How and why?

When you drink water to lose weight you’re doing something your body needs — hydrating it.  And when it’s fully hydrated, a couple things happen.

First, you drop your excess water weight.  You may not realize it, but you’re probably carrying around between five and ten extra pounds in water.  No it’s not fat, but it is excess weight and you may as well get rid of it!

After you drop that extra water, something else happens.  It starts with you feeling more motivated to continue your weight loss with a longer-term plan — gives you a jump-start, so to speak.  Then, it’s easier for your body to work properly when it’s well hydrated.  When your body works better, weight loss is a bit easier.

So, if you want to drink water to lose weight, how much water should you drink?  Start with a minimum of 64 ounces (8 glasses), but then move on up to drinking half your body weight in ounces.  So, if you weight 200 pounds, you need to drink 100 ounces of water per day.

Can you drink anything else?  Well….not really.  But you can dress up your water a bit.  You can use citrus (lemon and lime slices) to help.  You can also, for no more than 32 ounces a day,  Crystal Lite.  If you do use Crystal Lite, though, drink an extra glass of water on top of everything else.

Drink water and lose weight — yes, it is that simple.  But don’t think that water alone with let you make it to your long term goals.  For that you need a sensible weight loss program.