Healthy Times Online | Healthy Times Newspaper | Achieving Weight Loss Starts With an Attitude Adjustment

Achieving permanent and desirable body-composition change requires a change of your attitude; a change in your thought patterns and beliefs. Today’s media is filled with advertisements that promise remarkable results that always sound too good to be true. Most individuals in today’s fast-paced society want “microwavable” results. They want permanent, positive body-composition changes with no real effort. Advertisers know this and take advantage of our “gullible” nature.

The above “change of attitude,” or what may be more appropriately termed “change of aptitude,” starts with the realization that there are no “magic pills.” Spokespersons paid to advertise these magic pill products have achieved their physique through muscular training and appropriate dietary strategies, not by a “fad” diet or “pill.”

The hard truth is that most individuals will only try the “road less traveled” once the route of “least-resistance” has failed multiple times. Our society of convenience has certainly influenced today’s level of obesity and lifestyle-related illnesses.

Despite the “harder road” that must be traveled to make this change, some individuals are able to make this leap without wasting years on the perceived “easier road.” These few are able to accept responsibility for their predicament and health and truly make the changes necessary for a healthy body-composition. These are the individuals that realize that few things come easy in this life and anything worth achieving is worth working for.

Others only come to this realization only after years of failures. Still others continue to look for new “magic pills” and are forever doomed to failure and an eventual acquiescence to their less than desirable physique and level of health. This acquiescence then leads to relinquishment of all hope and the allowance of poor habits because, in their mind, nothing will work. They may even convince themselves that they are happy with the way they look.

Achieving the above realizations requires time, but once a new paradigm is embraced, you open yourself up to new ideas and knowledge. This leads to adoption of new habits, which then leads to new lifestyle practices and subsequent body-composition changes. With positive changes comes an affirmation of your beliefs (attitude change) and the cycle continues.

Specific strategies to achieve a positive body-composition change need not be tedious. Changes should be accomplished “step-wise” and slowly over time. Only in this way will changes become habits, habits become practices, and practices become a lifestyle.

Getting started can be as simple as increasing one’s meals from 2 per day to 3 per day, decreasing one’s fast-food visitations by one-third, or by identifying your weak areas and imposing limits. No one food should be eliminated as all foods can have a place in your diet—including pizza and ice cream! The key to remember is that your body is a reflection of your chronic practices, not “every-now-and-then” practices.

The following are some important strategies to making positive changes.

• Accept responsibility for your health (i.e. don’t blame others or society)
• Set multiple short-term goals leading to your overall long-term goal
• Make new changes only when the most recent change has become easy and habitual
• Realize it takes time for positive change—weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week is safe; don’t be too aggressive
• Accept that you will have plateaus—don’t get discouraged
• Reward yourself when you achieve your short-term goals

One of the easiest practices to initially follow is to eat foods in their natural form and do not adulterate them with gravies, sauces, and toppings. Avoid foods that require a complex recipe to prepare. For instance, eat 3 ounces of lean steak, a baked potato with salsa, steamed broccoli, fresh fruit and 8 ounces of filtered water. The contrast would be 8 ounces of steak with fat, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, broccoli with cheese sauce, banana cream pie and a soda.

Overall one should try to eat 5-6 small meals daily and drink approximately 8 glasses of water daily. Do aerobic exercise (walking not “out-of-breath” is one of the best) 2-3 times per week for 20-30 minutes. Do cardiovascular exercise (this is where you are “out-of-breath!”) 1-2 times per week for 20-30 minutes, and muscular training 3-4 times per week. Remember to always get clearance from your doctor before starting any exercise program!

The follow-up to this article will contain specifics on aerobic training, cardiovascular training and muscular training with action shots from home and the gym. Remember, changing habits into new lifestyle practices may be difficult, but the results are easy to digest.

Kevin Andrews RD is the owner of Dietitian and Fitness Services. He can be reached on the web at Dietitianandfitness.com, or by phone: (951) 326-0959.


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Achieving Weight Loss Starts With an Attitude Adjustment By Kevin Andrews, R.D. Achieving permanent and desirable body-composition change requires a change of your attitude; a change in your thought patterns and beliefs. Today’s media is filled with advertisements that promise remarkable results that always sound too good to be true. Most individuals in today’s fast-paced society want “microwavable” results. They want permanent, positive body-composition changes with no real effort. Advertisers know this and take advantage of our “gullible” nature. The above “change of attitude,” or what may be more appropriately termed “change of aptitude,” starts with the realization that there are no “magic pills.” Spokespersons paid to advertise these magic pill products have achieved their physique through muscular training and appropriate dietary strategies, not by a “fad” diet or “pill.” The hard truth is that most individuals will only try the “road less traveled” once the route of “least-resistance” has failed multiple times. Our society of convenience has certainly influenced today’s level of obesity and lifestyle-related illnesses. Despite the “harder road” that must be traveled to make this change, some individuals are able to make this leap without wasting years on the perceived “easier road.” These few are able to accept responsibility for their predicament and health and truly make the changes necessary for a healthy body-composition. These are the individuals that realize that few things come easy in this life and anything worth achieving is worth working for. Others only come to this realization only after years of failures. Still others continue to look for new “magic pills” and are forever doomed to failure and an eventual acquiescence to their less than desirable physique and level of health. This acquiescence then leads to relinquishment of all hope and the allowance of poor habits because, in their mind, nothing will work. They may even convince themselves that they are happy with the way they look. Achieving the above realizations requires time, but once a new paradigm is embraced, you open yourself up to new ideas and knowledge. This leads to adoption of new habits, which then leads to new lifestyle practices and subsequent body-composition changes. With positive changes comes an affirmation of your beliefs (attitude change) and the cycle continues. Specific strategies to achieve a positive body-composition change need not be tedious. Changes should be accomplished “step-wise” and slowly over time. Only in this way will changes become habits, habits become practices, and practices become a lifestyle. Getting started can be as simple as increasing one’s meals from 2 per day to 3 per day, decreasing one’s fast-food visitations by one-third, or by identifying your weak areas and imposing limits. No one food should be eliminated as all foods can have a place in your diet—including pizza and ice cream! The key to remember is that your body is a reflection of your chronic practices, not “every-now-and-then” practices. The following are some important strategies to making positive changes. • Accept responsibility for your health (i.e. don’t blame others or society) • Set multiple short-term goals leading to your overall long-term goal • Make new changes only when the most recent change has become easy and habitual • Realize it takes time for positive change—weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week is safe; don’t be too aggressive • Accept that you will have plateaus—don’t get discouraged • Reward yourself when you achieve your short-term goals One of the easiest practices to initially follow is to eat foods in their natural form and do not adulterate them with gravies, sauces, and toppings. Avoid foods that require a complex recipe to prepare. For instance, eat 3 ounces of lean steak, a baked potato with salsa, steamed broccoli, fresh fruit and 8 ounces of filtered water. The contrast would be 8 ounces of steak with fat, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, broccoli with cheese sauce, banana cream pie and a soda. Overall one should try to eat 5-6 small meals daily and drink approximately 8 glasses of water daily. Do aerobic exercise (walking not “out-of-breath” is one of the best) 2-3 times per week for 20-30 minutes. Do cardiovascular exercise (this is where you are “out-of-breath!”) 1-2 times per week for 20-30 minutes, and muscular training 3-4 times per week. Remember to always get clearance from your doctor before starting any exercise program! The follow-up to this article will contain specifics on aerobic training, cardiovascular training and muscular training with action shots from home and the gym. Remember, changing habits into new lifestyle practices may be difficult, but the results are easy to digest. Kevin Andrews RD is the owner of Dietitian and Fitness Services. He can be reached on the web at Dietitianandfitness.com, or by phone: (951) 326-0959.