Losing Weight

Cut back on salt. Not just on so-called salty foods, like chips and French fries, but on foods containing "embedded" salt as well, like crackers, breads, and many prepared and pre-packaged foods. You have to read labels in order to determine if something has a lot of salt/sodium or not. If you’re going to do the salt thing, then choose sea salt or celtic salt if possible.

Drink a lot of water, like about 64 ounces a day, spread throughout the day. At first it will seem you are always going to the bathroom, but it levels off some after your body gets used to it.

Eat lots of fiber. Many fruits and vegetables are high in fiber. Whole grain breads and cereals also are a source of fiber. White bread, as well as many other commercial breads are not good for you, nor are they especially high in fiber. Look for "100% whole wheat" on labels, because bread that is brown-colored is not necessarily whole wheat. In fact, manufacturers often color their "wheat bread" with molasses or raisin juice to deceive people (or else to satisfy peoples' penchant for deceiving themselves)—it’s still really just white bread. Milled and highly processed grains and cereals also have lost a lot of value.

Cut back (or even eliminate) meats, eggs, dairy, and/or added fats, such as butter, margarine, and oils. Animal fats, such as lard and butter are among the worst, because they are saturated fats. Margarine contains "trans-fats", which are even more damaging to your body than the saturated fat of butter. Most peanut butters on the market are hydrogenated (go fresh-ground or Adams brand, if available--but don't accidentally grab the new "no-stir" version). If you’re going to eat meat, eggs, dairy, or other high-fat foods occasionally, try to select low-fat versions and use as a condiment or flavoring rather than as the main course. One reason fat in the diet is a problem is because it is a more concentrated source of calories than carbohydrates (such as from fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals) or proteins. Carbs and proteins both have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram.

Fatty foods tend to be low in fiber and overall nutrition and often high in sugar and calories. High-fat foods tend to be less filling than other foods, and therefore less satisfying. Can you see where that might lead to trouble?

The concept of "fat-free" food is a deception. All foods have at least a trace of fat—it’s added fat that you really have to watch for. According to law, manufacturers can label foods containing up to a half a gram (.5 g.) of fat per serving as "fat-free." Restricting fat grams is not as important as limiting percentage of calories [coming] from fat (cff). Ideally, a good diet should be around 10-15% cff or less (this IS a subject of much debate, however). Anything over 25% cff is pretty high. It follows, then, that individual foods with over 25% cff should be kept to a minimum or avoided altogether.

Calories from fat (cff) is not the same as percentage of fat by weight. Some product labels give percentage of fat by weight (like milk, for example) which often creates the illusion that something is low-fat when it is actually not. Whole milk is not 3.7% cff, but it is more like 50% cff. It is 3.7% fat by weight—do you see the difference? Much of the weight of milk comes from the water it contains, which has no fat, and thus it is able to sport a low percentage of fat by weight. Here’s another example: 2 tablespoons of Adams Peanut Butter has 200 calories, and according to the label 150 of those calories come from fat. That means that one serving (2 tablespoons) is 75% cff. To calculate %cff, divide the number of calories from fat by the number of total calories. Do not be fooled by product labels which list the percentage only in relationship to a 2,000 calorie/day diet with 30% cff allowable. This percentage will undoubtedly be a smaller number than true %cff for that particular food.

If you don’t have a clue as to which foods are high/medium/low in fat, get a little pocket fat-gram counter and study up. Please don’t let yourself get obsessed with counting fat grams though! Eventually you’ll know enough about foods to be able to make educated guesses, and you can just "wing it" from there.

Be sparing with sweets (cookies, candies, cakes, pies, pastries, etc.), even low-fat or non-fat versions. Sweets are usually concentrated sources of calories. That means that there is a high proportion of calories to amount of food. Even though fat has been identified as a major contributor to an overweight condition, calories still count (I think I remember one pound of fat being 3,500 calories, regardless of the source). Furthermore, a sweet-tooth is a real phenomenon, and sugar is habit-forming, particularly refined sugar (white or brown sugar, powdered sugar, corn syrup, raw sugar, turbinado, some commercial fructose, dextrose, maltose, etc.)

Limit or avoid packaged foods, which are often loaded with excess salt, sugar, fat, and other undesirables, such as chemicals, artificial colors and flavors, and pesticides. They also tend to be skimpy on nutrition. Try to eat fresh, whole foods whenever possible. If you’re going to eat something prepared or pre-packaged, check out the serving size. Sometimes sodium/sugar/fat content may appear to be low because the figures presented on the label are based upon unreasonably small portions. This is the manufacturer’s attempt to deceive you the consumer, by making you think something is less "junky" than it really is.

Exercise at least 3 or 4 times a week for at least 30-40 minutes or more. A good cardio-vascular workout should be at least 20 minutes or more, not including the warm-up and cool-down phases of the workout. Thirty to forty minutes of aerobic exercise several times a week is ideal, combined with toning or strength training at least a couple times a week. If you are starting out very overweight, however, this may seem unreasonable or impossible. I suggest starting with walking, maybe 10 minutes, 3 times a week, and go from there. Walk as fast as your body will allow without severe discomfort. Or try a water aerobics class, which will greatly reduce the strain on your body caused by the excess weight and take the stress off your joints.

Overweight people are usually overly focused on losing weight and understandably so. But in my opinion, it is much more important to be concerned with the quality of the diet and consistency in exercise. If you concern yourself with good self-care, specifically getting regular exercise and eating for health, especially eating to please God, eventually your weight will reflect that. People who eat healthy and exercise are not fat or do not stay fat. Start with what you know, and go from there. Nutritional self-education is a key element, as is spiritual education, because strength to implement what is learned is spiritually acquired and maintained.

Plateaus (periods of time when weight-loss seems to come to a halt) are normal, and may last anywhere from a few days to several weeks or more.

Go for the lifestyle of healthy eating rather than the quick fix—I guarantee you’ll have much better and longer-lasting results. Studies have confirmed again and again that weight lost rapidly is much less likely to stay gone than fat shed more slowly due to permanent changes made in eating habits and overall lifestyle.

NATURAL CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY