A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Do you have any advice on how I can lose weight and begin eating healthy?I would like to get a head start on my New Years Resolution and begin to make changes in my life. My health is one of those changes.Any advice? Thanks.
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male
reader, Wild Thaing  +, writes (3 November 2011):
 Honey, the solution is pretty straightforward but so hard to do:
1) When you find a physical activity you really enjoy make the time to do it several times a week. The added benefit of a good workout that you enjoy is that it reduces stress. But doing an activity you don't enjoy will end in failure.
2) Reduce your intake of calories from carbohydrates and saturated/trans fats. These are the baddies that are easy for the body to process and store as fat.
As others have posted you are embarking on a major lifestyle change. Start slowly to see if you are mentally prepared to make that change.
Picking that set of physical activities is crucial. I sometimes don't want to exercise but I go anyway and put on the gear knowing that when I do get going it will be instant joy. Once I get going I look forward to how good I will feel after I'm done.
Finally, talking about change is meaningless. Get out there and start doing it... but slowly at first. Good luck and take care.
A
female
reader, hannah76  +, writes (3 November 2011):
 Hello,
I used Weighwatchers in the UK and it took me weeks and weeks just to turn up. I psyched myself up because I had the immpression that I was ashamed and felt everyone was going to look at me. I finnally attended and had one of the most friendly experiences ever. I weighed in, nearly cried but was assurred and "loved" by the leader and other members on the same journey. I have been going for over 6 months now, have made a load of friends, lost pounds of weight. (yes really!) And still eat lots and enjoy a healthier lifestyle. My jeans begin to fit again, my panties don't feel tight, my shoes feel bigger, my tops fit better and I really feel good. My advice would be to try a "group" where you weigh in once a week and stay for the class and meet and have fun with the other guys and girls. After a few weeks, you will look forward to the class as an evening out and the weight will begin to go slowly or fast with whatever plan you try. I say go to a class. Good luck.
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A
male
reader, JustHelpinAgain +, writes (3 November 2011):
Its really good that you want to get in shape before you are older and it is harder. The important thing is to realise this takes a while but in 6 months you could be amazed. A few ideas:
1.cut out you worst junk food completely. It is easier to do this than try to reduce.
2. Eat a couple of apples every day. Around mid morning and afternoon, when you start to feel hungry. Eat a lot more fruit if you can but remember there are significant calories in things like bananas
3. Same with salad but look out for the highcal dressings
4. Do more exercise, this can be boring so find a friend to join in
5. This is probably the toughest one, but control when drinking, its not just sexual morals that go out of the window after a few glasses! Before you go out make sure you've had something healthy to eat so you dont bing eat. Or you can be like my wife and drink till you vomit, but I dont recommend that!
Good luck.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (3 November 2011): Hi there.
The best advice i can give. Set yourself a realistic target.. Trying to lose two stone in a month is not realistic. Healthy weight loss is a slow process. You should aim to lose 1-2 lb a week. Cutting your calorie intake by 500 a day should help you do that and if you lose weight slowly like that then its more likely to stay off.
Make healthy choices. If you can walk somewhere then do it. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Choose juice or water over soft drinks. Switch from full fat to half fat milk/cheese.
Tell all your friends and family what you are doing and gain their support. It is much easier than going it alone.
Do log ur weight at the end of each week/fortnight so you know whats working for you......but
Dont weigh every day as ur weight wont have changed that much and it will only make you feel bad when the scales say no different than the day before.
Invest in a portion plate . They are a good way of making sure you get the right amount of each food group
Make excerxise fun. Involve ur kids/nieces/nephews/siblings/dog in a walk down the park or beach. Hav a laugh and run around burning calories at the same time. Choose an exercise that you find fun . There are plenty to choose from.
Join an online support group.
And lastly these methods worked well for me and i dropped 3 dress sizes in a year and that weight stayed off. I wish u the best of luck
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (3 November 2011): my advice is to start slow, make the changes incrementally and gradually. these are lifestyle changes we're talking about - these are to be permanent changes or semi permanent at least. So if you start out doing something that feels like a huge commitment and huge amount of effort that cramps your style, whether it's a grueling exercise regimen or a diet that makes you feel deprived, you're unlikely to do it permanently.
if you make gradual changes, where each time you slowly acclimate to the new level of change and become used to it and OK with it, then this is more likely to be effective in the long run and without you feeling like it's a huge effort. And this is how the weight loss becomes permanent.
an example: instead of overhauling your present diet completely, make one simple change with the idea that it's to be permanent. Such as, reducing your meal portion size by just a bit. Or replacing one meal a week with salads. Then when this feels like no big deal, make another gradual change, like reduce your meal portion size a bit more. Now replace 2 or 3 meals a week with salads. and so on.
With exercise: instead of embarking on a grueling regimen, just do something simple that feels enjoyable, if you enjoy it you'll be more likely to keep doing it. Find an activity you enjoy, join a club or rec center cos it can be more fun if you're doing the activity with other people.
finally, I'd like to say that while exercise is crucial for good health, it is your eating lifestyle that has more of an impact on your weight or amount of fat on your body. You can exercise as many hours a week as an Olympic athlete and still be chronically overweight if you're eating too much or eating bad foods. Thus, controlling what you eat is the primary way to control your fat levels. Exercise is to maintain the proper functioning of your body, muscles, organs and mind for long life and good health. As a byproduct, exercise helps you to lose weight faster provided you're not increasing your food intake at the same time.
I exercise regularly but not as much as I used to several years ago. Yet I have a lot less fat now than when I was exercising more. The difference is that my eating habits have changed and stayed that way. It's easier to exercise to maintain health than to lose fat. For example brisk walking will benefit your cardiovascular system though may not do as much to make you lose fat if your eating doesn't change.
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A
male
reader, GhostChild  +, writes (3 November 2011):
 Hi,
When I was struggling to lose weight, what I did was write up a journal type thing of both meals and exercises. I'd write up a schedule of when I would exercise, so like three days a week I would go for a walk, the other days I would go for a bike ride, three times a week I would go down to the gym.
I also stayed away from fast food and anything with a lot of fat or sugar in it. I'm not saying you have to go cold turkey on everything, but say, look for low-fat alternatives. Instead of having ice cream for dessert, I'd have low-fat yoghurt, instead of drinking soda I'd have orange juice or diet coke, something without sugar.
The main thing is just to keep active and watch what you eat.
Try to stay motivated and disciplined as well, perhaps try joining a gym with a friend, that way you can motivate and help each other. A personal trainer is also a great idea as they can give you a good idea on what sort of exercises you should be doing and how often you should do them.
Routine is also great. A friend of mine lost a lot of weight just by sticking to her same routine for a couple of months. At 7pm every week night, she would go for a thirty-minute walk, and she would do sit-ups and push-ups every night before bed.
Get into the habbit of doing these things so they become part of your routine. i.e. when you wake up in the morning to take your shower and brush your teeth, do some crunches as well with them. Or perhaps try to wake up half an hour earlier than usual so you can go for a jog before starting your day.
Losing weight can be a real uphill struggle, but if you stay motivated and serious about it, then you'll reach your goal
Best of luck!
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A
male
reader, The Realist +, writes (3 November 2011):
 The best advice I can give you is that you should plan a head. I am more of a muscle building work out person so I can't really give to much advice on what exercises you should do but a very important thing is plan in advance. At the beginning of the week plan out what you will be eating each day. This way when you are hungry you avoid grabbing something quick and most likely unhealthy. Then carry healthy snacks along with you because if you are hungry you should eat something. It very rare that it is about cutting down on food but rather just changing what you eat and drink. Then for working out do the same thing. Each day have a list of what you have to do and the time when it is going to be done. That way there are no excuses. If I didn't do that one there would be no way that I would keep up with it. As for what you should do for work outs is make sure to change it up. Find things that get your whole body moving instead of say sitting and riding a stationary bike. The more natural movement exercises you do the more weight will come off but also it will increase your strength too. I recommend seeing if a gym can set you up with someone qualified just to talk to if you are really serrious about this.
I wish you the best of luck.
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