My 10 Commandments of weight loss

If I here of one more person talking about the latest weird-ass diet they are on I'm going to have fit and die.

People diets do not work.  A diet is a temporary solution to a what could be a permanent problem if you keep dieting.

Wanna lose weight?

1. Start thinking of food as FUEL.
Yes it's nice to have delicious food that's bad for you, IN MODERATION.  Think of food as a fuel source and not what will make you happy if you eat it.

2. Stop weighing yourself.
The numbers of a scale mean nothing.  You can be 50% body fat and weigh 250 lbs but so can a bodybuilder who has 3% body fat.  Your body fat % is what is important.  If you are 50% body fat the last thing you need to worry about is the scale.  The way your clothes fit is the way you tell of you are losing body fat.

3. MOVE
It doesn't matter if you walk, run, crawl or jump.  You have to move your body consistently everyday for at least 30-60 minutes.  You don't have to run a marathon.  Once you start a daily routine you will see that your time exercising will increase as well as your distance.

4. Have a goal
Start small.  Pick an event such as a wedding, class reunion or a holiday.  I picked a half-marathon date and worked towards that day.  What ever the event or date you picked, work towards that goal and once you reach it, pick another date or event.
I ran my first half marathon this past September.  I trained since May and thought, "Well hell.  I trained for all that time and I'm just gonna stop after this first race?"  Once I ran that race on September 25th I set my next goal for a half marathon in Seattle on November 25th.  After that my goal is Arizona in January.

5. Stop drinking sugary drinks.
Start small.  Switch to diet.  Diet is still not as good as water but it's better than sugar.  What's bad about diet soda is that it's still sweet and it trains your brain and taste buds to crave sugar.  If you cut out soda completely you will lose those sugar cravings.  It takes about two weeks.
If it's not diet, don't drink it.  Newsflash:  Gatordade is AWFUL for you.  It's just sugar water.  Sports drinks are not good for you unless you have exercised rigorously for at least an hour straight.  You need to replenish your fluids, sugars and electrolytes if you have exercised that long. Otherwise you are just drinking a soda that doesn't have carbonation.

6. Drink water.
If you drink water you will not only hydrate yourself but you will also have better skin and hair.  Water also helps with energy.  Hydration = Energy.   If you dehydrated you will become sluggish and tired. Your body needs water.

7. Stop eating out.
Restaurant food is horrible for you.  Eating out in MODERATION is great!  If you eat out for every meal you will gain weight quickly, especially if you're not working out.  Restaurant food isn't made to keep you healthy.  It's there to make you want to come back again and again.  That's not a bad thing except look at people who eat out alot.  Usually they are overweight.

8. Don't plan your day around food.
If you wake up and your first thought is, "what am I having for lunch and where?" than you probably have an eating disorder.  If you plan your destinations around where your favorite restaurant it or you won't go our of your way because you won't be able to eat lunch where you want, food is ruling your life and affecting your weight.

9. Eat every 2-3 hours.
Small meals every 2-3 hours will jump start your metabolism because your body is constantly digesting food.  If you only eat once or twice a day, your body just sits there between meals and your metabolism slows to a snail's pace.  Eating 2-3 hours plus exercise will elevate your metabolism and you will lose weight.

10. Stop buying magazines.
Stop buying fitness magazines, fashion magazines and tabloids mags. Those people in those fitness and fashion mags are not the regular normal person.  Those people are usually genetically blessed.  They are models because they look different.  A model has to be incredibly thin because the designer wants the clothes on a model to hang as they would on a hanger.  Most people are not built like hangers.  The images in those mags are deceiving and not anything to aspire to.
What about tabloids?  Tabloids usually talk about just the beautiful people or who had the latest plastic surgery or what crazy workout some celebrity is doing.  They are PAID to workout.  They have to look that way. That is not a normal goal to aspire to unless you plan on becoming a fitness model or an action star.

Ok those are the top 10 ways to lose weight.  They aren't hard. They do take time.  Once you start you will have a "lightbulb" moment and see that it all makes sense and you'll wonder what you were thinking for all those years when you were overweight and unhappy.

- Fat parents = Fat kids.  Think about it.