Tricking your metabolism to lose
more
Thuesday 14, Jul 2009
- Sometimes the best advice
doesn’t come from someone with a degree or lots of letters
after their last name. It just may come from a person who knows
first-hand about dealing with—and conquering—a personal
battle.
A few months ago I’d interviewed a spitfire named Adele, who
lost 85 pounds in less than year after struggling with weight
for nearly seven years. And what I'd found so inspiring about
Adele’s story was that she didn’t need to purchase any
expensive equipment or join an organized weight loss group. She
simply did a little research online… and discovered that the
key to weight loss was using common sense!
Adele’s story: Queens native Adele turned to
“comfort food” after witnessing the horrific events on
September 11th. After drowning her fears with pizza, pasta,
fast food and cookies, soon Adele despised the way she felt.
Her legs were swollen, her back ached, and something as simple
as walking a few blocks became a struggle. When her breathing
became shallow, Adele’s doctor prescribed her an inhaler. Then
came the batches of bad test results. Along with suffering from
acid reflux, Adele’s blood work showed that she had high
triglycerides (a normal number is around 130—hers registered at
600!), high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. In time she
was swallowing up to12 medications a day.
Adele’s turning point: After being told that
she was borderline diabetic, size 18 Adele was infuriated with
herself. “What’s next—going blind and losing my legs?” the
39-year-old thought. “I’m too young for this!”
Adele’s solution: That night she researched
online about losing weight. “This is common sense,” she said to
herself as she read about counting calories, keeping a food
diary, and eating a balanced diet of complex carbs, protein,
fruits, veggies and healthy fats. Adele crafted her own weight
loss plan: Breakfast was bran cereal with flax seed and skim
milk. Lunch was turkey with spinach on a whole wheat pita,
while dinner was grilled chicken with brown rice and veggies.
Two snacks throughout the day would be either a 60-calorie
yogurt or fruit. Skim milk replaced regular milk in her coffee
and she vowed to drink up to 16 glasses of water a day.
She also knew it was time to drag out the life cycle. At first
she could only exercise for 12 minutes. But she worked out each
day and within a couple of weeks she was up to 15 minutes, then
20. Instead of renting movies, she now rented workout DVDs.
These days, a size 6 Adele feels on top of the world. “Men
check me out all of the time and now I’m doing online dating.
But it’s so much more than that. I feel strong, confident and
in control. I have tons of energy and I no longer spend ever
waking minute thinking about my weight. It’s so freeing!”
Adele's take-home lesson: “Cut out one bad
food or habit each week. Take tiny steps and learn to accept
your new lifestyle. After all, you deserve it!”
Source:http://www.examiner.com/x-935-NY-Womens-Health-Examiner~y2009m7d13-Losing-weight-boils-down-to-common-sense
| 