Before this past summer began, I weighed in at an ugly, obscene 315 lbs. At that point, I knew something had to change with my eating habits. I decided that a diet was essential for me to embrace, and I did just that. By the time the fall came around and the school year began, I had cut that figure down to 255. While that isn’t skinny by any means, it’s a lot healthier and more reasonable than a number in the 300s. Beforehand, I went to town on eating any chance I had. But I changed all of that during the summer, and even now, still continue to diet. How did I do all of that? I plan to cover that in this article.
Portion control
While some people may think carrying an intense workout regimen or drastically changing your choice of food is crucial, I propose that portion control is the most important aspect of any serious diet. I spent years after my football days in High School gorging myself on whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. That type of style works when you are playing a sport. But when you no longer are athletic and don’t keep up that workout style, the intake of food needs to lower accordingly, or you get me sitting at 315 pounds. During this summer’s diet, I carefully managed how much fat, calories, and sugar I was taking in. I sought alternatives whenever I could. I was an obsessive Mountain Dew drinker, I liked indulging myself on the fattiest chips and fanciest foods I could find. During the summer, I ate a lot of pretzels, fat free bread on my sandwiches, and I consistently stayed away from the sugary drinks. Instead, I drank a lot of water, fruit punch (fat free) and grape juice (also fat free). I was reasonably disappointed in the need to drop my favorite drink, Mountain Dew, but the grape juice and fruit punch provided me with more than enough good taste and healthiness to successfully jump the hurdle. I also dropped the extra sides of fries, ice cream and the second helpings. I ate what was necessary in terms of nutrients, and if I needed more, there were fat free foods, such as pretzels or air popped popcorn that I could always indulge myself on.
Tasty, healthy foods
Contrary to what people believe, dieting isn’t all about eating like you’ve got a twenty-five cent budget. You can eat good food, and you can eat enough of it to get what you need. A prime example is how I ate popcorn. Normal popcorn, what you may find at movie theaters, is typically extremely fatty. However, if you air pop the popcorn and use a topping without fat, a tasty one margarine will more than rise up to the occasion. What’s more, it’s cheap; you only need popcorn kettles, an air popper, and a thing of the aforementioned topping. It can be very helpful when you get a craving that a salad might not fill. Better yet, this particular snack has absolutely zero fat or calories whatsoever. Alternatives like this are achievable, you just need to have an open eye.
Stay active
Again, the notion of needing to be active in the midst of a diet tends to imply that you need an extreme workout regimen. I lost sixty lbs. this summer, and I did not take up such a lifestyle. I worked as a a painter; I traveled a good deal to go to video game tournaments and to call baseball games as a color commentator for a collegiate baseball team. That enabled me to stay active enough when, even though my off time was a lot of me sitting down and playing video games, I was still able to combine it with my portion control and allow my diet to be successful.
Know how to say no
While the aforementioned steps have misconstrued preconceptions, this one unfortunately does not. You will need to find a way to turn down fatty foods and junk in general that serves no purpose and does not need to be eaten. Fortunately, you can avail yourself a junk food every now and then (I would be lying to suggest I didn’t have moments here and there where I didn’t indulge myself on junk stuff) but make sure it does not return as a habit. You just need to make sure you stay away from the super fatty and unhealthy stuff on a fairly frequent basis. A good rule to have: if you’re not hungry, don’t eat anything. This is part of what got me to weigh as much as I did; I developed poor eating habits because I didn’t care or have the thought to care about what I was eating.
Ultimately, dieting is not as difficult, nor does it need to be as strenuous, as it may seem. As previously mentioned, I made a few adjustments to my eating habits, and just like that I turned it into a summer full of dieting that was extremely successful. As long as you can follow the above notes, you too can easily begin to shed some weight. It all starts with the decision to commit yourself. Are you up to the task?