Posted by Rene Melendez
First of all let me begin by saying that losing weight, any at all is worth it. One pound of weight lost is better then one pound kept. So adopt this way of thinking and use it as a milestone for your intended goal. I was close to my retirement when I realized that I was too heavy for my frame. It began one Thanksgiving about 7 or 8 years ago. Typically, I would lose all the weight gained from feasting before December, but that year it didn't go away. I began to lose energy, was always tired, and worst went up two almost three pant sizes. I visited a nutritionist/dietician at the V.A. hospital who told me some very interesting facts about the things I was putting in my stomach. One of the things that is important to understand is what happens to sugar when we eat it. We must understand what our metabolic rate is, and how much therefore it affects the storage of sugar. Usually, a very physically active person who gets enough exercise will have no problem with stored sugars. Ideally we will have what we need plus a little more. People with good metabolic rates that exercise will lose weight that is gained by sugar provided they don't eat too much sugar in the first place. I eat oatmeal every day in the morning with a little brown sugar, some fresh fruit, and skim milk. With this diet, I have been able to lose about 20 pounds, and that is without exercise which I should be doing. Everything I eat is less than 5 grams of saturated fat and low in cholesterol. By the way, oatmeal that is prepared the way I mentioned earlier will fuel your body for doing hard work for about 5 or 6 hours and you won't feel starved even after that much time. Once you see the benefit of a lightweight but nutritious breakfast, then you can work on a light weight dinner or lunch. Stay away from sugar! Eat low fat food. In the evening, no later than about 6 eat a SMALL serving of your favorite meat with a vegetable. Get some good sleep and walk a mile or two every other day or so. You will realize weight loss. Give it time. If you break a rule, don't worry about it, make up for it by exercising enough to burn the extra sugar you may have eaten. Keep going at it. Let me know if anyone has been helped by my thoughts. Good luck. Most importantly, you are beautiful and special no matter how fat you are. I'll take a person with a weight problem over any slim trim person any day. Why? Because they need somebody who cares about them and aren't ashamed to admit it. Why? Because people who struggle with weight problems know what suffering and shame is all about. The most important person in this world is you regardless of your weight problem. This world needs to "shape up" by being compassionate to people who don't have the good fortune of possessing a body they are proud of.