How to lose weight fast
A thinner you?
I gained an enormous amount of weight after having my daughter and it wasn’t from the pregnancy. It was from lack of sleep.
Every little ache from teething to tummy troubles often causes broken sleep for even adults, but for babies and toddlers they almost always need help getting back to that sweet slumber. Hence those first few years may mean a constant state of exhaustion for at least one of the parents.
When you are tired only two things really help: a nap or food. A nap is just not always realistic. If you are really organised you will only eat healthy snacks which have high GI and sail through the day. If you are too busy with trying to do everything you used to do and with a baby on top, you may resort to high fat and sugar convenience foods which give a quick fix but add on the pounds just as quick.
How to help once the pounds are on? Let me tell you…
There are only two ways to lose weight and that is a healthy diet and exercise. You can’t escape it.
But there are ways to speed up the process but not feel like you are starving or spending all day at the gym. It is NOT a fad diet, as what is the point, to lose it just to gain it all back once you are off it?
- Have your food sensitivities checked. I recommend a chinese herbalist near you. Many of them do allergy tests from a cutting of your hair and have results back within a week. The cost ranges from £25 to £35 but let me explain why it is well worth the investment. Food allergies and sensitivities make it difficult for your body to process your food and get the nutrients from it while often making you crave more of the very thing which is causing you trouble. Cutting out these troublemakers can make much of the weight just fall off without having to restrict food portions or increase activity. I have witnessed it happening too many times in my life coaching clients to ignore the fact. Now I warn you the thing that you love most may be the thing you have problems with but there are thousands of different types of foods to try to replace it and soon the cravings will cease. (also later you could even re-introduce the culprit into your diet occasionally with no ill effects but BEWARE the slippery slope.)
- Check fat grams on everything and look for a harmless substitute. For instance sour cream tastes lovely on a jacket potato but fat free fromage frais tastes just as nice without the fat. When looking for your lunchtime sandwich just turn over and look at the fat content. It can vary from 5g to 45g just in one sandwich! (check out Boots for tasty low fat wraps and other low fat snacks) Just being more aware of what you are buying will go a long way.
- Increase your steps. Walk a little instead of taking the bus, check out what is around the corner. Many people who live and work in the city don’t even know what is next door. Go exploring close by, you won’t need shots to travel to new places and you will be pleasantly surprised at what surrounds you. (One of my favourite things to do on the weekend is take a walk in the city on a Saturday. It is pratically deserted and has an eerie peaceful quality)
- Obviously it is best if you do at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and your heart and attitude will be better for it but don’t try it all at once. Even if you only do one of these steps each months, six months from now you will be much closer to the weight you want and you will have made lasting change without too much trauma.
Now I am off to follow my own advice…
