Health and Psychology

I've lost 10 pounds in the past 2 months.  What's been interesting is reading the research on weight loss, hormones, exercise, and nutrition.  It's interesting because there's so much misinformation in the general media about all of it.  So here's some simple information and tips:

Check with your physician or registered dietitian before radically changing your diet and exercise plan.

1.  Eat single ingredient foods or cook from scratch.  This gets rid of all those chemicals, preservatives, and other ingredients that keep you overweight and do not help you lose weight.  Knowing what you eat helps you regulate what you are doing.

2.  Do brief exercise. Long periods of exercise don't contribute much to weight loss.  Walking, stretching, or brief concentrated periods of intense exercise are significantly better than hours on a treadmill or cardio class.

3. Most "diet" products contain chemicals that lead to increased weight gain.  Fats have been removed and replaced with sugars or artificial sweeteners.

4. Have a period of 12 hours in which you don't eat anything.  It doesn't matter when the 12 hours is, just have a 12 hour period of time for your body to be without food.

5.  Eat vegetables.  Eating vegetables will provide you with lots of fiber and nutrients.

6.  Limit grains like rice, breads, cereals, and pasta.  

7.  Limit all sugars.  Sugar, sucalose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, maltose, dextrose, and any artificial sweeteners decrease immune function and hinder weight loss.