Struggling to Lose Weight?

I saw my true weight size in a family photo that I took this past weekend. It made me realize that I had to do something with my weight. I used to be skinny up until I passed my teenage years. Who stays the same weight size after that? Your metabolism slows up significantly when you become my age. So, I decided to do something about it. 

I did some extensive online research on weight loss methods. Like me and a lot of other people, we struggle with being able to lose the weight and keep it off. There are surgical procedures that you can get done to lose the weight. But can you have a surgical procedure done if you have health problems? Especially, having a bleeding disorder. It's scary to imagine yourself bleeding to death during surgery. My point is that there are risks associated with weight loss surgery. So, you do some research to find healthy ways to lose weight. If you have rheumatoid arthritis like me, there are only certain exercises that you can do. How do you overcome these obstacles when all you want to do is lose weight?

It is the foods that we are putting in our bodies. Studies show that North America is the fattest, unhealthiest country in the world. Can you believe this? I can believe it. Let me give you an overview of the foods that we eat here in the U.S. The hamburgers are loaded with fattening foods, like mayonnaise 94 calories per 1 teaspoon. How many calories is that if you put 3 teaspoons on your sandwich? That’s 282 calories alone. You haven’t even added the calories from the ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, bread, ketchup, mustard, and cheese. Some people add French fries on to there burger. Fried onion rings are added to hamburgers as well as other toppings. My point is the more toppings that you add to your hamburger, the more calories that you risk consuming. Hamburgers are used in this article to give you an example of what we eat on a daily basis. I studied both macroeconomics and microeconomics in college. What I discovered about the differences in the foods that are served on the fast food menu versus what we eat here in the United States is astonishing. Oh, it doesn’t just stop here, it goes beyond fast food restaurants. The grocery stores carry much healthier foods than we do here. 

So, how do you keep the weight off of you once you have lost it? It’s simple, change your diet. The foods that you eat are harming your body. It’s not just making you gain weight, it is also affecting you physically. Your health can be determined by the foods that you put into your body. For instance, you have high cholesterol because of the foods that you eat. What can high cholesterol do to your body? High cholesterol increases your risk for heart disease. High cholesterol deposits cause strokes and heart attacks. However, the benefit of cholesterol is that it increases your cells. But when you have too much of it, it causes harm to your body and it can be deadly. 

Go, vegan! You could. I have seen people that go vegan, turn back to eating meat. They don’t stay on this diet for long. So, what’s the point of doing it in the first place if you won’t maintain it. So, let’s say that you decided to eat everything else except for dairy foods. You’re going to have to pay close attention to the ingredients in your foods. You can still be eating foods that contain dairy and not even know it. My advice to you is that you Google what’s on the label if you don’t understand it. 

Let’s get back to the reason why you’re reading this article in the first place. How not to struggle with losing weight? Watch the foods that you eat, download an app that automatically counts your calories. Maintaining your calorie count will prevent you from overeating. Don’t push yourself to work out to the point of exhaustion. Walking is good for your heart and it burns calories. So, does Pilates. Workout for 30 minutes per day. If you’re still feeling energetic, cool down with a brisk walk for about 15 minutes. Do you like to run? Jogging is a good way to burn off a lot of calories. Try jumping rope. It burns a lot of calories as well. Don’t forget to do your toning workout. I downloaded some apps from the Google Play Store. I was looking for an indoor walking app to do on the days that it is raining outside because I don’t want the rain to stop me from getting my walk in. The app is called, “Walking for Weight Loss.” I also downloaded a weight loss diary to keep track of my progress. There is also an Abs workout and Butt workout app. 

To be sure that you track all of your steps, download a step tracker app as well. Everyone is talking about the Noom app that helped them lose weight. But there is a fee to use all of the features. Another diet plan that is popular is the Keto Diet. It does work, but if you don’t keep up with the diet even after losing all of the weight, you will gain it back quickly. With this being said, your best bet is to change the foods that you eat to healthier foods and watch your calorie intake. And stay away from the sugar if you can. If not, use it sparingly. A teaspoon of white granulated sugar has 33 calories in it. The idea here is to keep the weight off of you after you have lost the weight. Training your body to eat healthy foods will help you out on your weight loss journey a lot when combined with diet and exercise. It is imperative that you develop a weight loss regimen that works well with your body. As always, consult your primary care doctor before going on any diet and exercise plan.