Oprahs Super Easy Weight Loss Tips Redux

Easy Weight Loss Guaranteed - Super Easy Things That Can Change Your Life and Weight Loss Goals



I didn't expect so many great responses to my last article,so and I'm grateful for all the positive feedback.

Recently on The View, Elizabeth Hasselbeck mentioned an author who felt that the best way to achieve your goals was to make a huge goal and strive for that. Speaking from my own personal experience along with friends', I could not disagree more!



That is the surest way to not even come close to achieving your goals, but also a way to drive you further from what you want. I used to make a huge plan and get overwhelmed with it all and then just drop it. Then I went through all the self-torture of feeling like a total failure. It is truly the saying "Not seeing the forest for the trees." That's not saying there's anything wrong with dreaming big though. That's always important.

Then I learned the secret to really achieving goals and actually surpassing them. Break down your overall goal into smaller achievable steps, and you can wind up getting to that huge goal.

Take weight loss and improing your health as an example. When I got onto a scale in December and found that I had shot up to 229 pounds (from 200 less than six month before), I was so ashamed of myself for allowing it to happen. I tried to find a reason/excuse but finally I only had myself to blame. So after a couple weeks whining to myself, I started using a pedometer (which I can not recommend highly enough). It truly has been a godsend. They can be gotten anywhere and only cost $1 -$14.

Another small change that has made a major impact was switching from whole milk to skim. Now I know the taste is somewhat different if you jump completely so I'd recommend going down to 2 percent then 1 percent and then you can drop to skim if you want. Drinking 1 glass of 1 percent milk is 100 calories less than 1 glass of whole milk.

Next is what you eat in the morning. I know many people love cereal (myself included), but if you check out the fat content/carbs, you might be in for a big shock. It's crazy how much crap can be in the so-called healthy cereals.

Something that is great for your overall health and heart is oatmeal. Now I don't mean the pre-packaged flavored kind. That stuff is just junk. I used to eat it too thinking it was healthy and was I ever wrong! Quaker whole oats is great and you can add things to make it more to your preference. Things I'd recommend is cinnamin, vanilla extract, a teaspoon of brown sugar, peanut butter (yeah I know it sounds crazy, but it's really tasty) or just fresh fruit. The nice thing is that you can switch up each day for differnt tastes and you will definitley feel the improvement in a matter of weeks.

Another big thing for me was to reverse my way of eating meals during the day. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "Eat breakfast like a king and dinner like a pauper". Well it's very true. What this means is that you should eat your larger meals earlier in the day, i.e. eat your first meal like a king. This gives your body a chance to burn those calories that you just ate. Eating most of your carbohydrates, such as cereals, breads and fruit, earlier in the day is recommended as the body does not need them to be eaten at night: you've already got a full days storage of carbs in your body.

Dinner should be your smallest meal and should be mostly protein with some complex carbs, such as vegetables.

There is popular advice that says "don't eat anything after six". This is basically the same idea about tapering calories but it should not be taken as hardcore fact. While you may eat after six in the evening and still lose weight, watch what you eat and don't eat too much of it or you will taking in calories that your body doesn't need and will just store it.

And again, I can not stress enough about doing something active for 20 minutes each day. That's where the pedometer can really help you. Just striving for small increments to work your way up to 10,000 steps each day will make a huge impact on your life. Plus you'll feel so much more energetic. It won't be everyday since there are mornings when I wake up and getting my butt in gear can take some doing.



So I have to disagree with Ms. Hasselbeck on the idea of striving for a huge overwhelming goal instead of setting up smaller attainable steps working towards the big goal. I was glad to see that Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar were quick to also see the huge flaw in that ideology. But I've always been a huge fan of Whoopi though.

So keep those stories coming in. I find them very inspiring and hope my stories continue to do the same for you. I've lost 11 pounds now since December 15, 2008 just applying these simple goals to my life. It can definitely happen for you too!