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| - Eat Less Fat This may be the least confusing and least complicated way to start gaining control over your weight. It's not just the calories, it's also the fat. A lot of fat in your diet can mean a lot a fat on your body. Reduce the amount of fat in your diet and you are likely to shed pounds. How do you reduce fat intake? First, you read the labels on the foods you eat. You want to focus, for the time being, not on the number of calories but on the fat content (number of grams of FAT) listed on the label. Per serving. Start by limiting your total daily fat intake to a maximum of 40 grams of fat. Total. Daily. Here's a little simple thing that will show you how much weight producing extra fat you've been eating. Add up the total number of grams of fat in everything you eat during a full day. Make sure you take into account the amount per serving. Example: the label on a pouch of microwaveable buttered popcorn states fat content = 10g (grams). Not bad, right? Wrong! Up above that the label states "per serving" and the number of servings per bag is 3. That means if you eat the whole bag (easy to do if you're hungry) you are eating 3 servings, at 10 grams of fat per each serving. You are taking in 30 grams of fat! HINT: 1 fast-food burger (without fries) can contain up to 30 grams of fat regular salad dressing alone can give you up to 30 grams of fat (depending on how much you use) 2-3 scoops of regular ice cream can contain up to 30 grams of fat cookies, candy and other snacks can contain lots of fat grams (if you eat a lot of it). The above info about fat can help you see where a major problem is and help you lose weight gained by too much fat intake. Read those labels carefully; they can be tricky! Limit yourself to no more than 40 grams of fat a day total. Later on, you might wish to reduce that to 30 grams or even 20 grams of fat per day to help you lose more weight and/or maintain your weight loss. Start by substituting low-fat or no-fat foods (read those labels carefully!) for high-fat foods. Don't worry, your taste buds will soon adapt. Food Is Fuel Biologically, your body needs food to function. It burns the food and turns it into fuel. That's it. Your body actually needs the fuel, not the food. Food is really only a fuel source. Sorry, it sounds unromantic but it's true. Food is NOT a substitute for love, unhappiness, loneliness, etc. Start thinking about food in a different way. Food is fuel. Like gas for your car. Stop having a romance with your food. If you are overweight food is not your friend, it's your enemy. Do not live for food, food is not your life purpose. 2 Easy Exercises Start exercising. Forget the gym for the moment. The single best exercise is the "push-away". When you've satisfied not your appetite but your body's need for fuel ... push away from the table. Push-aways. The second easy exercise is walking. If you are physically able to do it, start with just 1 mile a day. Every day. Takes about 20 minutes or less. In a short time you just may see a remarkable difference in how you feel. And how you look. Snacking Here's where many people get into trouble. You get the munchies, a craving. During the day or the evening. You grab something to snack on. The problem is that what you grab may be a few donuts or bag of Oreo's or a half-gallon of ice cream and maybe before you realize it you've gobbled the whole thing. And, poof, there's that extra 30-40 grams of fat a day, there's that extra 5 or more pounds a month. When you go food shopping don't buy those kinds of fatty snacks anymore. Don't keep them in the house. This may sound horrible to you now but, instead, have a banana or an apple or some oatmeal or some low fat ice cream. Without the whipped cream or the chocolate syrup! Preventing Weight Gain Here's a simple diet rule I invented and have personally used for over 25 years. My ironclad rule is that I will not, repeat ... will NOT ... buy a larger size pair of pants. No matter what. And I don't buy pants with elastic waistbands or pants that stretch. That means when I start gaining some weight (and yes, I do) my pants get too tight and it becomes very uncomfortable, even painful. That leaves me with only 2 choices; be very uncomfortable - all day, every day - or lose a few pounds. I lose the pounds. And I have been able to maintain a proper weight for my size. This rule gives you a good control technique for managing weight gain and also prevents creeping weight gain; that sneaky 5 lbs a month which in a few short months becomes a weight gain of 20 lbs and in a year can add a serious 60 lbs or more. Want to lose weight? Want to feel better, look better and be better? Start slow, start simple, start here. Now go get undressed and look at yourself in a full length mirror. If you don't like what you see try the above 5 free quick & easy diet tips and gain control of your weight ... and your life. copyright 2004 A. Lawrence may be contacted at
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