When I had my thirty third birthday I took a long look at myself in the mirror. I did not like what I saw. There in the mirror was a typical man approaching forty years old, with growing belly and mid-section. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was old. I decided that I needed one of those fast diets, fast!
The problem was picking the right diet to help me lose weight. I had learned enough in my years to know that just stopping eating wasn’t going to help me lose weight, and in fact might damage my health. Research was the answer, and I began to learn how to create one of my own fast diets to help me lose weight and maintain my health.
The first step in creating my own weight loss plan was to start using the basic exercise necessary for all fast diets. It is very simple and anyone can do it at any stage in life. It’s called the “Plate Push Back”. Just “push your plate” away, rather than having a second and third helping of everything at dinner time. We eat more than we need, and that extra helping just helps us to gain weight.
Next I learned about the important place that water occupies in all fast diets. Most experts on weight loss recommend drinking far more water than most people consume in a day, and I was an excellent example of one who does not drink nearly enough water. I immediately began to drink at least eight, eight ounce glasses of water each day, and in the beginning, I drank at least twelve ounces of water before each meal.
A cornerstone of all fast diets is the absolute necessity of overcoming inertia. It’s done by beginning a basic regimen of simple exercise, and I made a new resolution to get at least fifteen minutes of simple exercise the third basic step in my personal example of fast diets. After every meal, I go for a gentle walk somewhere. If I am eating a frenzied meal in a restaurant, I walk around the parking lot for fifteen minutes before getting into the car to drive to the next meeting. If I am eating dinner at home, I walk around the block for fifteen minutes. If I am eating breakfast at home, I walk around the yard for fifteen minutes. Just basic, good old fashioned walking is central to the success of any of those fast diets.
One month after I started my weight loss plan I stepped onto the bathroom scales. I was really worried that I would be terribly let down to see that I had not lost any weight. I couldn’t see any difference in my image in the mirror. I still thought I looked, well, forty. But to my great surprise I had lost almost eight pounds! A success!
Now I am much slimmer. My bulging waist line has shrunk and all because of my basic regimen of push back, drink water, and get some exercise. None of the pills or chemicals of those other fast diets: pills and chemicals that cost money and don’t work. My way works, I feel good about it, and most importantly I know that I am losing weight a healthy way.
