Finding the pounds hard to shift?

Midway through the first month and results to date may well be disappointing. 

If so it's only to be expected. A new drive to lose weight is often hampered by habits and food still around from the old you. If you are like me and refuse to waste food then part of the problem is the need to eat and drink all the bad stuff before embarking on "my body is a temple" approach. My approach only added to my weight problems. A better approach would have been to give the food away, preferably to someone not on a drive to lose weight!

So cut yourself a little slack....... Rome wasn't built in a day and pounds of fat built up over years will not just dissolve overnight.  

First of all, re-read the 10 steps I suggest to help you lose weight or better still just read the following formula that is the core principle of weight: 

Consume more calories than you burn and you add weight

Do the opposite and the weight and fat drops off

So here is your choice: 

Option 1 increase your activity levels = burn more fat and lose weight or 

Option 2 reduce your intake of food and drink (ie. less calories) = loss of weight

Option 3 Do both and it's a win-win

Increase activity examples: today consider Walking

• Walk to work or to the next bus stop before taking the bus or tube
• Walk to the shops and carry a backpack to put your shopping in
• Walk at lunchtime around the industrial estate or around a nearby shop or shopping center
• Ignore the office lift and take the stairs up and down to the office or the car park
• Walk in the evening and bring the dog with you so kills two birds with one stone!
• Find a walking club online or in the local shop or community center noticeboard
• Find a walking buddy or put a notice up yourself locally - you are not the only one seeking to lose weight this month.
• Take up a hobby such as mountain-walking or a sport such as badminton, tennis or bowls
• Buy a stepper and set a number of steps you aim to walk or
• Join Strava or Garmin as a free member and they will record all your activities on your phone or watch and use that knowledge to motivate yourself to take action

Cut back the calories examples:

• Swop potatoes with sweet potatoes when making chips
• Use one cal  cooking oils 
• Serve up food on small plates
• Eat before 9:00 pm and nothing afterward!
• Hungry still?  - drink water - often you mistake thirst for hunger
• Make sure each meal is a third green and two thirds low-fat something
• Stop eating after 5 minutes or when you are no longer hungry - save the food for another meal
• Replace bread with rye crispbread, cheese with low-fat cheese, yogurt with low-fat yogurt etc. Small changes in diet make big changes in weight