Mind and Body, Thought to Action
Has a message for you . . ..
Weight and Waiting for It to Go Away
Stefanie A. Saccoman, Ph.D.
Science & Health Educator, Problem Solving Facilitator
Top 3 (of many) Things You Can Do Today to Lose Those lbs
No one was born over optimum weight, grew up longing to be over optimum weight, nor was pleased at achieving being over optimum weight as approaching adulthood (or sometime thereafter.) Never the less, approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese (American Obesity Association 2005.) This isn't healthy, doesn't make anyone happy, and it is a situation called an "epidemic" by the Center for Disease Control. The good news is, in recent years 300,000 to 400,000 people died annually in the U.S. due to obesity related illnesses, now however, only 100,000 people die annually from obesity related illnesses (Center for Disease Control, 2007)--awesome! We're making progress! No, folks aren't getting in better shape, but the drugs to keep the overweight population alive have improved drastically! Thanks pharmaceutical industry! All right, what's really been going on here?
Hmmm, how did so many free people in a free and democratic country end up with something they didn't want--unhealthy, out of control body weight gain? There's so much to think and say at this point, it's overwhelming. Let's skip all of that for now and move forward. Agreed? Great, stop waiting and lose the weight starting now. Here are the top three (of many) actions you can take today:
1. Honestly decide that losing weight is what you want. Sound simple? It isn't. The only reason people fail at losing weight or find they gain it back again, after losing it, is because they truly did not want to lose it. Trust me on this. You must want to lose weight for yourself. Perhaps something external of the self will motivate you (and that's normal) such as becoming attractive to someone else or impressing former classmates at an up-coming school reunion. Whatever the external reasons (and those can be a great jumpstart), focus on the internal, stop obsessing about your weight and obsess about your health--never stop thinking about improving your health. This is literally all that stands between you losing the weight and keeping it of for the rest or your life.
2. Write down everything you eat and drink everyday (I really mean it) for two weeks. Include the amount (scoops, handfuls, cups, any unit of measure will do) and the reason you are eating (such as a specific meal time, feeling or emotion, the food was offered to you, etc., or no reason) along with the time of day (even if you get up in the middle of the night and eat--write it down.) This is called data, real data about you (and no one knows you, not even your physician, like you do and now you've just learned more.)
3. Drink water, a lot of water (tap is fine, it meets drinking water standards, no need to invest in any designer waters). Drink as much water as you can, especially while eating. The minimum amount of water you should drink daily is calculated by taking your current body weight, dividing that number in half and that yields the number of ounces of water your body needs (example, if you weigh 210 lbs., you need to drink 105 ounces or 6 pints of water, minimum.) For easy reference, a pint (500 milliliters) is roughly the volume of a single serve bottle of drinking water. This, most likely, will be more water than you normally drink, and that's good.
The water will flush the system and start the detoxification process. You, of course, will be using the bathroom much more frequently, that's also good, very good.
Weight will begin to come off, really, about 5 lbs in the first two weeks. Yes, there's more to do, but this is a great beginning because of three distinct actions on your part: 1) Deciding (honestly) to lose weight, 2) Gathering data on your eating/drinking habits (very useful in the second phase of your weight loss process to be discussed in a later message from Mind and Body, Thought to Action), and 3) Drinking water in massive quantities (you'll also love the look of your skin in a few weeks and ultimately notice the enhanced building of muscle, once you begin regular exercise.)
If you would like an informational DVD on products to assist you in your weight loss efforts, please contact me directly, my contact information follows. You can lose weight and keep it off. Just let me know if I can help. VISA and MC accepted, $10.00. (refunded with product order.)
Contact information for Stefanie Saccoman, Ph.D.
ssaccoman@verizon.net toll free number 866/476-1069 (consultation/ order)
www.ssmybodyshape.com
About the Author
Dr. Stefanie Saccoman is a science and health educator with degrees in biology, education and psychology. Currently teaching at the university level in teacher education she sees an alarming problem with human nutrition and resulting obesity and obesity related disease. She is dedicated to guiding individuals of all ages to meet a weight loss goal and maintain a healthy life style.
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