Have you lost weight?

Have you lost weight?

Over the past couple months, a few of my co-workers have asked the above question. I have lost a few pounds over the past months, and it's nice to know that other people notice without my saying anything about it. In fact, this past week I've been wearing my belt one hole tighter than I used to. How did I do it? You might say I'm on the Bish's Slow and Gradual Weight Loss Plan. What's that? Well, first a little background on dieting in-general. Despite all of the nutritional and medical knowledge we have today, there is still only one way to lose weight (excluding surgery or loss of a body part) - burn more calories than you take in. Fancy fads, special eating programs - Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig, et. al. - are designed to do two things: 1) Help and motivate people to burn more calories than they take in. 2) Make money for someone. There's nothing wrong with these programs, and many have been helped by them. Understand, however, that they are merely variations on the same theme.

A while ago I made some small changes to my diet, and initiated an increase in my weekly and monthly exercise. Nothing drastic, nothing too time-consuming, nothing that most everyone can't do. But the results are real. People have noticed. I have noticed. The scale has noticed. How did I do it?

Diet: Nothing too drastic here. Basically, I decided to cut back a lot on my sugar intake and increase my fruit intake. Notice I didn't say, "give up sugar". That would be drastic, and a bit more difficult. There are many areas of the diet in which it is easy to eliminate refined sugar, but I will focus here on four: Bread, Peanut Butter, Pasta Sauce, and Salsa. I also started using honey (raw and uncooked) as a sweetener for my tea in place of sugar.

Bread. There are a lot of good breads available that have no sugar and no hydrogenated oils (think vegetable shortening - very bad for the health). It may take a little looking, but the major grocery stores do carry such bread. Two excellent brands that I eat are Beckmans and Alfaro's. Your region of the country (world) may have its own varieties.

Peanut Butter. I find it amazing how much junk is in most peanut butters. Read a few ingredients labels for yourself. I have found that the "natural style" peanut butters (such as Adam's) taste better and are more agreeable to my gustatory system. In my opinion, the only things that should be in a proper peanut butter are peanuts and/or salt (and maybe peanut oil). Sugar and hydrogenated oils have no place here. I know the objections - you have to stir it up, you have to keep it refrigerated - and in my opinion these are weak objections. I will stir and refrigerate my peanut butter if it means better health. Some alternatives to peanut butter (not necessarily carried by the major grocery chains) are cashew butter and almond butter. In my case, peanut butter at all became progressively disagreeable with my digestive tract and I switched to cashew butter, with no problems to date.

Pasta Sauce. I only buy pasta sauce with no sugar and no hydrogenated oils. As with peanut butter, it's amazing what some brands put in pasta sauce. In my experience, a good pasta sauce doesn't need sugar to improve the taste. Sometimes I make my own pasta sauce, starting with plain tomato sauce as a base. It's not hard to do, and it can be most satisfying.

Salsa. The salsa I buy consists primarily of vegetables, seasonings, and spices. As such, I believe it is a good way to get a good serving of vegetables. Why spoil perfectly good chilies, peppers, tomatoes, etc. by infusing them with artificial chemicals and "natural flavor"? There are some excellent salsas on the market that have no sugar or hydrogenated oils. Again, read the ingredients lists. I usually have no trouble finding a salsa that fits. Chipotle salsa and salsa verde are two varieties that I am especially fond of. I prefer medium heat.

Exercise: Again, nothing extreme. I ride a bike to work 3 to 4 days a week, and I take long rides on weekends. When daylight savings kicks in again I'll be able to ride after work sometimes. I love riding. One benefit of living where I do is the close proximity of hills and mountains in which to ride. It's nice to get out of the city and into nature. I've also been doing push ups several nights a week. My goal right now is 50 good push ups, 5 to 6 nights a week. I'm close to that, and I have noticed a difference.

These are just a few ideas that have helped me. My main point in all this is that it doesn't take drastic changes in lifestyle to lose weight and get in better shape. It might take longer doing it my way, but it has worked for me, and by integrating these small changes into my daily life, and making them habits, the results should last and I should continue to improve.

Your calorige may vary.
bIsh