How To Lose Weight, Guaranteed

Deuteronomy 21:20, “And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.” Proverbs 23:21, “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” Matthew 11:19, “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.”

It is interesting that Jesus' enemies falsely accused Him of being a glutton. A glutton is a person who is devoted to eating and drinking in excess. Our Lord was not a glutton! But He wasn't a skinny wimp either. For Jesus to fast for 40 days and nights, he must have had some extra pounds on Him. But that is only speculation, we don't know His weight.

I am writing this blog to share with you some simple helpful tips on how I lost weight and keep it off. First, there are several different methods to lose weight. The worst way is to simply starve yourself! Although this will definitely work, it is the most difficult to do because your will power must totally overcome your hunger cravings, and that is super hard to do for most of us. I used music to motivate me in 2017, to lose 70 pounds in just 4 1/2 months. But starving one's self is not a sustainable plan. I went from 215 pounds down to 145.0. I kept the weight off for 1 1/2 years, but then gave in to my hunger cravings and gained it all back in 6 months, weighing 208 pounds on the scale in 2019. It is true that 95% of people who lose a significant amount of weight gain it all back within 4 years!

A much BETTER way to lose weight is just start eating healthy food. It was eating processed foods that got us fat in the first place. So if you lose a bunch of weight, regardless of the method, and start eating processed foods again, you WILL gain all your weight back. To lose weight and keep it off, we must permanently change our diet. Most people are simply not willing to do that. Remember, what you eat today you will crave tomorrow! That is especially true if you are overweight and eating processed foods. Such foods spike our insulin, which makes us more hungry for more processed foods (all high in carbohydrates).

Here are some helpful statements that help me lose weight:

• When you are hungry, you make bad decisions (so don't try to starve yourself, or you will get really hungry and binge on food. Eat healthy foods every 4 hours.)
• Multiple your present weight times 10. That is your maintenance calories. Then calculate a 25% and 50% reduction. For example: If you weight 200, multiple that times 10, which is 2,000. That is how many calories you can eat without gaining or losing any weight. It's a fairly accurate way to determine your maintenance calories. So a 25% reduction would be 1,500 calories, and a 50% reduction would be 1,000 calories. If you reduce your daily intake of calories by 25% you'll lose 1 pound per week. If you eat only 50% of your maintenance calories each day, you'll lose 2 pounds per week, guaranteed!
• What you eat today, you will crave tomorrow (so eat the right kind of foods and you will crave them. If you eat greasy French fries, you will crave them tomorrow again).
• If it's in your house, it's in your mouth (don't but a bunch of junk. I usually grab a couple pizzas as a reward for losing weight, but everything else is healthy that I buy).
• You can be uncomfortable now, or you will be uncomfortable later (you will have to endure some discomfort to lose weight, but that's MUCH better than having your legs chopped off from diabetes in 15 years. Diabetes can cause blindness from a stroke. You can have a heart attack or a crippling stroke from diabetes. You can easily get rid of Type II diabetes by simply losing 20 to 30 pounds, depending how overweight you are).

Drink lots of water and stop drinking Fun Drinks (anything with sugar in it). My goal each day is to eat between 1,000 to 1,500 calories. I aim for 1,000 calories. So this is the most important rule for losing weight. To avoid binge eating, you need to avoid getting hungry. So even if you are not hungry, eat something. I keep hearing people online say not to eat if you're not hungry, but that is bad advice. If you don't eat when you aren't hungry, you WILL be starving later, and you'll eat a whole pizza! So every 4 hours eat something, even if just a container of Greek yogurt (110 calories). Eat a handful of mixed nuts (high in good fat). Eat grilled chicken breast. You can but sliced turkey of chicken at the store, which is great to eat. The whole 1/2 package is only 240 calories.

I cannot sleep on an empty stomach. So I like to eat before I go to sleep. Most people will tell you not to eat past 6 pm, but that doesn't work for me. I need some food in my stomach so I can sleep. So eating a sliced chicken sandwich on Ezekiel bread is great! I like mustard on my sandwiches. I eat a nice lunch and then nothing else until dinner, except a light snack at 4 pm. Eat a salad each day. I use Paul Newman Sesame & Ginger dressing. It only has 35 calories per 2 Tablespoons. I snack on something every 3 to 4 hours (Greek yogurt, nuts, avocado, cottage cheese, a smoothie, et cetera).

Last night I made a smoothie in my Nutri-Ninja with some frozen peaches, pineapple and bananas. I buy them frozen so they won't spoil if I don't use them right away. I love frozen fruits and vegetables. The best way to lose weight is TO EAT food every 3 to 4 hours, but only 100 to 200 calories. This will prevent you from getting super hungry, which will cause you to binge every time! So to lose weight you need to always have some food in your stomach. This keeps your metabolism going, supplies needed nutrients to your body, and helps you lose weight without the horrible discomfort of starving yourself.

The most important rule is to decide how much weight you want to lose, whether 1 or 2 pounds each week. For me, I want to lose 2 pounds, so I cannot eat more than about 900 calories per day. But if I fail and eat 1,400, that's okay, because I will still lose 1 pound each week. But I aim for 2 pounds. The key is to eat Low Calorie Density foods. This means you can eat a large amount of these foods, without eating a bunch of calories. Here is a list of Low Calories Density foods which you can pig out on:

• All kinds of beans (a superfood)
• Lettuce (Romaine or Iceberg is fine)
• Tomatoes (I like canned tomatoes, so they don't spoil if I don't use them right away. I like fresh tomatoes for tacos of Bacon Sandwiches)
• Cucumbers (all kinds of pickles are great)
• All kinds of berries (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, et cetera)
• Hummus (it is made from chick peas)
• Radishes, carrots, beets, squash, cabbage, all kinds of vegetables
• Italian green beans, frozen mixed vegetables, all kinds of peppers
• Greek yogurt (it is lower in sugar than Yoplait)
• Sweet potatoes (each medium sized potato only has 114 calories. Sweet potatoes make you feel full longer and are loaded with nutrients)
• Celery stalks (I use just a little Philadelphia cream cheese. I usually measure 1/8 package, which is 100 calories, and that's the most I can eat with my dozen celery stalks).

These are some of the Low Calorie Foods that you can eat large quantities of without worrying about weight. Then eat the following foods in moderation, which are Medium Calorie Density foods:

• Eggs (70 calories each; I only use brown eggs, which come from chickens fed a high protein diet. Always buy pasture raised chickens, which are much happier and healthier. You don't want to eat eggs from unhappy sick chickens cooped up in cages. I like hardboiled eggs, poached eggs in boiling water with a little vinegar, or fried in a little pure New Zealand butter on medium heat. Butter is 120 calories per Tablespoon, so go gentle on the butter! It's best to avoid fried anything though.)
• Baked fish (avoid frying anything, because the oil will make you crave more oil; fish contains about 100 calories per fillet. I like Tilapia.)
• Baked chicken (140 calories per thigh; I always like the dark meat, the thighs)
• Sardines (about 200 calories per can)
• Avocados (these are great in nutrients and to lose weight, which make you feel full; but only eat one per day, which is between 200 to 300 calories each, depending on the size)
• Mexican Salsa and Mary's sprouted grain crackers (I like mild salsa. The entire container of salsa is only 75 calories. Not bad. But the crackers contain more calories. I usually eat 6 to 12 at a time, loaded with salsa. This is a great snack during the day to get you between meals).
• A Tablespoon of cottage cheese is a great snack (high in protein)
  
• Protein shakes (I only like vanilla flavor. One or two scoops per day can give you an additional 25 to 50 grams of protein, which helps to curb your appetite. I only use Protein Isolate, not whey protein. You can buy it at Vitamin World, GNC, any health store. Whey protein is for gaining weight. Protein Isolate is for losing weight. This is pure protein. I like to add a scoop to my nighttime smoothie, with peaches, pineapple and bananas. I also sprinkle in a little cinnamon. I usually add some nuts and seeds, whatever I have on hand. Last night I added some pecans, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. Just a little of each, because the smoothie cup only holds so much. I add Dasani mineral water and mix it all. Yummy!)

Here are foods that you absolutely must avoid if you want to lose weight:

• Ice cream
• Pizza
• Burgers and fries (the beef is okay for you, it's the processed bun and ketchup and mustard that is bad for you. Eating these types of foods will make you crave more. So what I do is grill a burger, add a slice of cheddar cheese. I put it on one divided slice of Ezekiel bread with no ketchup or mustard. If you make fries, bake them! Even the slightest bit of junk or deep fried foods can derail your diet. We're trying to avoid insulin spikes, which will cause us to binge.
• Pastas
• Rice's
• Breads
• Candy (a little dark chocolate is okay, 100 to 150 calories a day; I like 70% or higher cocoa. Dark chocolate will help curb your cravings.)
• Pastries, donuts, pies and Honey Buns (these things will kill you, making you obese. Get your sweets from berries, bananas, dates, figs, bee honey and a little dark chocolate.)
• Avoid anything that comes in a box! (these foods are all processed, which is why Americans cannot control their weight and are fat slobs!)

If you insist on using Blue Cheese, Ranch or Thousand Island dressing, don't pour it over your salad. Instead, put it in a bowl and dip the tip of your fork into the dressing, just to get the essence of the flavor in each mouthful of salad. All of the salad dressings I just mentioned contain 120 calories per Tablespoon. So you could easily eat a 60 calories giant salad, and add 500 calories of salad dressing if you're not careful. And God forbid, if you add croutons and cheese, you could easily hit 1,000 calories! That is why I always choose vinaigrette dressing, which is like 35 calories total. To lose weight you MUST eat calorie conscious. There is no other way, except to starve yourself, which will work, but it is not wise or sustainable.

It all comes down to character and personal discipline. I use my favorite music to help motivate me. Walking doesn't help me much to lose weight, but it does help me psychologically, giving me motivation to eat better. Also, getting some sunshine helps me. You don't have to exercise or walk to lose weight, but it helps. Losing weight is 95% diet!

So how do you get started? First, plan a health meal schedule for the whole week and stick to it. Plan what you will eat. Use the internet to choose your foods. Go to the store and buy your foods. I wasted a lot of fresh produce when I got started, not realizing how fast it spoils. So I highly recommend buying frozen fruits and vegetables, which won't spoil, and then you won't feel pressured to eat them before they spoil, which is counterproductive. Just make sure that you have enough room in your freezer...lol. I made that mistake too. Start eating healthy and don't listen to your whining body begging for junk food. Eat healthy for 7 days and you'll see that your body will detox and start craving the healthy foods. It really takes about a week to get used to a healthy diet. Now, your body may ache and feel horrible while eating healthy foods for the first week, because your body needs to get used to eating good foods again.

Drink 8 to 12 cups of water per day. A cup is 8 ounces. Whatever your weight is, divide that number in half, and that is how many ounces of water you should drink per day. So if you weight 180 pounds. Half of that is 90. So you should drink 90 ounces of water each day, or about 11 cups of water. That is roughly six 16.9 ounce bottles of water per day! Drinking lots of water increases your metabolism, keeps you hydrated (especially is you've been in the sun or take medications), helps speed digestion, et cetera. Most people don't drink enough water! The human body is made up of mostly water. Not drinking enough water can cause headaches, cramps, back pain, depression, confusion and feeling down. You also don't want to drink too much water. Follow the rule I gave you and you should do just fine.

Don't rely on your scale day by day. Eating carboHYDRATES, causes the body to retain water. One gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. So your daily weight can fluctuate by as much as 10 pounds! Usually it's more like 4 to 7 pounds. Please don't let this discourage you! When losing weight, it doesn't matter what the scale says, go by the number of calories entering your mouth, because that is basic science! It you reduce your daily calorie intake, it is an absolute scientific certainty that in time you WILL lose weight. So I weight myself each week. It the scale isn't going down over a month, then you are not reducing calories enough!

You can look at the scale each day if you want (I do sometimes), but just keep in mind that it will normally go up and down while losing weight. But the general trend should be down! You don't need to get frustrated and quit fasting if the scale seems like it isn't moving, because if you are eating only 1,000 calories a day, you WILL lose weight, just give it some time. But make sure that your not adding a bunch of butter, oil and extras to your meals that boost calories! Any type of oil (sesame, olive, corn, et cetera) contains 120 calories per Tablespoon, so use them sparingly.

This blog hasn't been exhaustive, I just wanted to share some helpful tips and things that have worked for me. I know how to lose weight, because I've done it numerous times successfully. My problem is that I get down and depressed often, and stop watching the scale, going back to my poor American diet of burgers and fries, pizzas, cherry pies, deep fried foods, sodas, et cetera. That is the same reason why we all fail. As we grow older our body's metabolism starts to slow down. Once you reach age 50, you start growing sideways like a refrigerator. Look at William Shatner, Russell Crowe, Steve Perry, Axle Rose and other celebrities (FAAAAT).

Losing and maintaining weight has to become something that we want to do personally for our self, and no one else, or we'll fail and fail. Being hungry is a healthy sign. It means that everything is working properly. Thank God for hunger! But we must exert personal discipline or else we will gradually gain weight, until we hit 300 or 400 pounds and want to die. When I reached 145.0 pounds in 2017, I felt awesome! It was the same me. To be honest, I personally didn't feel any different mentally than when I was 225 pounds. But it was different. I could leap out of bed in a single bound. I could reach around with the bar of soap in the shower without straining my shoulder because I was so fat.

I could bend over in the local shoe store to tie my own shoe, without having to sit sideways and literally pull my leg toward me to tie my own shoe, because my gut felt like a beachball in the way! I didn't look pregnant anymore! Yes, losing weight feels awesome! My goal is to maintain my proper weight of 150 pounds. I would be happy to keep it under 170 pounds, but no higher. I am struggling, not because I don't know what to do, but because I am suffering from depression and it compels me to eat the wrong foods. Just like other addictions in life, once you have become addicted to junk foods (processed food), it will be a lifetime battle to overcome the temptations to go back to the junk food deathstyle.

But at least I am fighting to control my weight, which is more than I can say about other people. I have never seen so many obese people in all my life. I see many fat people stuck in wheelchairs! I don't want to end up like that. Being grossly overweight can wreak havoc on your health. So please don't let yourself go, like many people do. Take pride in the wonderful body that God gave you, which is a true miracle. I am eating homemade bean soup for lunch today with an onion I added (150 calories). I am also eating a whole bag of shrimp today (280 calories total). I will eat a small avocado (200 calories). Before I go to bed I will make my peach, pineapple, protein powder and banana smoothie (250 calories). And a big salad with 2 Tablespoons of Paul Newman Sesame & Ginger dressing (65 calories).

The way to lose weight is to choose healthy foods and eat them BEFORE you get hungry. I ate 1/2 cup of dry beans cooked today with an opinion I chopped up and put in the beans. I also ate a small avocado. I wasn't hungry tonight at all, but I went ahead and drank a smoothie anyway. I did that because I know if I didn't, I would get hungry during the night and eat something I shouldn't. I made my smoothie with Unsweetened Almond Milk, some pecans, a few macadamia nuts, pine nuts, frozen peaches, bananas and pineapple. I just use about 4 or 5 chunks of each. I added some cinnamon and one scoop of vanilla protein isolate mix. It came out delicious, with an ice cream texture, which I ate with a spoon. The whole smoothie was about 250 calories at most. A cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk is only 35 calories!

My Healthy Diet