Five months ago I made a major change in my weight loss strategy. It was a step, quite frankly, that I never thought that I would take. It was at that time that meat was removed from my diet and I became a vegetarian.
Long ago, my wife made the switch to a no-meat diet primarily because she felt sorry for animals. I did it because I saw vegetarian weight loss as a means to not only keeping my weight under control but also improving the quality of my health.
I came into the world with a weight problem. In the first grade I was the heaviest kid in my class and I maintained that distinction for most of my school years except for high school when a transfer student eclipsed my weight by 50 pounds. Was I ever glad to see him.
My life has been about dieting…gaining…dieting…gaining. An endless cycle of putting it on and taking it off has followed me all my days. Happily, in recent years I have been able to keep the weight off by making some radical yet gradual changes to my diet.
In reality, there are few diets that don’t enable you to lose weight. Unfortunately, when you get off them, the bad habits creep back in and your right back to where you started from and maybe even worse.
Happily, I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. The problem was…I was dieting. Diet programs are short term fixes for long term problems. By their very nature they are only helpful while you are on them. The only lasting change that produces long term benefits requires an altered lifestyle.
Change #1- Get rid of white stuff- The first change that made a difference came about a 18 months ago. I simply eliminated white stuff from my diet including: anything made from white flour, white rice, white potatoes, and sugar.
One day it dawned on me that I had lost weight and without any effort. It was actually easy to give up those things (except for the potatoes).
Change #2- Get rid of soft drinks- Then I came across some research that said that diet soft drinks were as bad as sugary soft drinks at adding on the pounds. So, I thought, I eliminated white stuff from my diet. Why not diet sodas? As a result the weight loss continued.
Change #3- Walk a little each day- A friend suggested that a walk after the evening meal each day significantly helps digestion. That seemed easy enough so I picked up the practice.
Change #4- Stop eating packaged and processed foods- Another friend, you would probably call him a health nut, suggested that I give up packaged and processed foods, and eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. “Eat healthy and you will be healthy,” he said. Sure enough, not only had I lost weight and kept it off, I was now feeling better than I had in years.
Change #5- Get rid of meat- Then went the meat. After reading several articles on the health risks associated with eating meat I reasoned that it was time to become…a vegetarian.
Finally, after all those years of trying to lose weight…and failing to keep it off, I finally succeeded…without dieting. What finally worked was a life change. I altered the way that I ate and even added in some light exercise without really trying.
So, it just happened. It took 60 years to get here. But at least it happened before it was too late. Excessive weight is no longer a problem and my health is better now than when I was in my 30s.
Have you been fighting the war for weight loss all of your life? My recommendation is that you stop dieting and start implementing some life changes. You don’t have to do it all at once. Take it one easy step at a time.
By: Richard Weirich