TEN WEIGHT LOSS TIPS.

Don't know about you but I love food, which is why I have found myself, unfit and overweight, here are some things that I have found works for me. 

ONE: First thing I had to do was accept my weight problem, it was very easy for me to bury my head in the sand and ignore the weight I was gaining, even though deep down inside I knew I should do something about it. Especially when I found myself stretching my knickers so they would fit, and struggling to find anything in the wardrobe that made me look half way decent.

TWO: Forget the fad diets, they may work for a short time, but you always end up putting the weight back on. I’ve tried them trust me, healthy food and exercise is the way to go.

THREE: Short cuts don’t work, I’ve found that out the hard way by losing then gaining weight, it takes hard work but it can be done. The times I have tried to find an easy way a quick fix, the results have never lasted.

FOUR: Fruit, is your friend, learn to love it, easy to carry around, and good for you. Fruit salads with a bit of yogurt are a great thing to have especially if you have a sweet tooth like me.

FIVE: Vegetables get to know them, try different ones and try to include as much as you can in your diet. Butternut squash soup, and vegetable soup, has been a God send, low in fat,filling and can bulk up a meal.

SIX: Do not deprive yourself, I don’t know about you but anytime I eliminate anything from my diet that is the thing I will crave more. When I done the Atkins a few years back, everything around me started to look like bread, the shopkeeper, the bus driver, the children I teach all started looking like crusty rolls.

SEVEN: On an average I lose a pound a week in weight, it adds up, slow and steady is the way to do it. Remember a long term fix is better than short terms gains which do not last. Since September I have lost 26 pounds, only two pounds away from two stone, at first I felt I was losing way to slow, but piling on the muscle due to running, has meant the scale moves slowly, but that all over I have lost 19 inches and gone down two dress sizes from a 16 to a 12.

EIGHT: Weight Watchers worked for me it’s not for everyone, but it was what has helped me to lose in the past and has worked again this time. What I like about it, although it encourages you to eat healthy, I can also have treats, I just don’t go mad. Find something you can stick to a realistic healthy plan that does not make you obsessed with food, but encourages you to eat well, without depriving yourself.

NINE: Weigh yourself once a week, measure your self-monthly and take monthly pictures in a bikini or shorts so you can see the physical changes.

TEN: Learn to cook, fresh food is a lot better for you than processed food, and you can cook more than you need and take some into work, college or university with you.

For those of you from the Caribbean, West Indian food can be high on calories, learn to make low fat versions, or save it for a treat.

I also make low fat versions of Shepherds pie, apple crumble, Lasagne, Bolognese, bake my plantain instead of frying it. Even ackee and Saltfish is low in fat if you cut down on the oil and have a smaller than usual portion of rice.

Saying that the hard food in Grenada and Trinidad, kept me going on those long runs in the heat, when I was on holiday earlier this year part way through my London marathon training, and I did not put on any weight. but try not to eat it everyday unless you to are training for a marathon, or doing some kind of hard labour on a daily basis, or you may just start looking like a dumpling!

Fish is the only meat I eat, and I have found that soya mince and Quorn products are great as they are low fat. Just get yourself some good seasonings and it tastes fine and is a lot lower in fat than real meat.

A lot of people do not like fish but there are so many different varieties I am sure you can find something you like. You have to start taking responsibility for what you put in your mouth. I found it hard at first, but after while you get used to it and it becomes second nature.

Watch out for ten more weight loss tips coming soon.

Good luck