Tips on losing weight and a Must Read

Tips on losing weight

I used to work for a gym chain here in California. I won't say the name because I'm not authorized to speak for them. I was a Certified Fitness Counselor, and I know a little bit about losing weight.

If anyone is interested, I'll share a few tips.

Do not eat right before bed. In bed, you sleep. Your metabolism slows down and your body rests. If you eat a lot before bed, you will gain weight. It's a trick people who want to gain weight do. I used to eat a milkshake with an egg and a can of beer in high school right before I went to bed and it helped me bulk up. So if you want to lose weight, don't do that.

Walk, don't nap after a big meal. This will help your metabolism. If you nap, your metabolism will slow down. If you walk, your metabolism will go up.

Stop snacking on junk food. But do snack. Suggestions? Carrots, celery (without dressing unless it's a vinegrette, which are good fats), apples, pears, grapes. Notice what those all have in common?

Do not skip breakfast!!! You will slow your metabolism down when you skip breakfast.

Chew your food. Give your digestive system time to do its job.

My wife and I took a Caribbean cruise in '03. The ship has seven stories. One thing we noticed was that obese folks took the elevator and slimmer folks took the stairs. No coincidence there. So take the stairs, and walk or ride your bike for milk or beer runs, a quick stop to drop off your mail, the video store, etc. Drive less, walk or ride your bike more. Your body will love you for it.

And now, the secret formula - calories in vs calories out. Yes, it's that simple. The thing is, we all burn at different rates. So you want to do things that speed up your metabolism. Eating Bon Bons while watching soaps slows down your metabolism. Rigorous exercise speeds it up.

I strongly suggest to both men and women boxing and wrestling. Yes, women can wrestle. You might find it quite fun. Both boxing and wrestling are some of the toughest exercises you can do. That's why that Tai Bo guy's a multi-millionaire. It works. It would suck as a martial art, but the women who do Tai Bo for awhile are all in great shape.

You have to change your diet too. Cut down on crap calories. I don't think I need to explain to anyone what crap calories are. I'm pretty sure we all know what I'm talking about.

Atkins will kill you. Don't do that. Just stop going to fast food places, eat more fish, eat less chips and ice cream, and do some exercise that will work up a sweat.

Oh, almost forgot to mention. I've found that people who are more likely to stick with an exercise regimen are ones who go with a friend. You need one that's not lazy, but one who will nag you until you get out of bed and join him or her.

So good luck. Any questions, let me know. Yes, I am certified too, so I may not know as much as someone with a degree in it, but I can at least share some tips. I've been in pretty good shape all my life, so I speak from experience too.

The Must Read

Neal wrote a superb post on the State of the Union. Definitely read it. I especially love this quote he found:
I have a quote from a Lord Macaulay from back in 1857. It goes as follows:
The average age of the world’s greatest democratic nations has been 200 years. Each has been through the following sequence.
From bondage to spiritual faith.
From faith to great courage.
From courage to liberty.
From liberty to abundance.
From abundance to complacency.
From complacency to selfishness.
From selfishness to apathy.
From apathy to dependency.
And from dependency back again into bondage.

That's scary, because you can see exactly where we're at now in that timeline.