Three Steps to Weight Loss

Let's boil it down. Want to lose a bunch of weight?  Here's what you do:

1. Eat fewer calories than you burn.  
2. Burn more calories than you eat.
3. Drink water.

Want it put another way?

1. Eat less.
2. Move more.
3. Drink water.

Oh, but you have special needs?  Okay, here's YOUR prescription:

1. Eat fewer calories than you burn
2. Find a way to move, so you can burn more calories than you eat.
3. Drink water.

It works.  100% of the time.  No, you won't lose 40 pounds overnight.  But you will lose and lose and lose.  You may not feel it, but you'll wake up just a little bit thinner each day.

Burn enough fuel, through extra movement and daily living, to use the calories you have consumed along with some of your stored bodyfat.  Melt the pounds.

It's simple physics.  Don't over-complicate it!

EAT LESS

MOVE MORE

DRINK WATER

Need a few more cold-water splashes of common sense?  Download the e-book, Bucket List Weight Loss, to your computer or tablet.  Just $2.99. 

A Tale of Two Skeletons
Take a look at these two female skeletons.  They're the same size, probably about a Size 6.   Now look at the extra flesh that covers the skeleton on the right.  That extra padding makes her a Size 14, or maybe larger.

Next time you think you can't get small enough to wear small sizes, remember this illustration.  Your frame, without the extra padding, is a Size 6.  If you're wearing a Size 16 instead, it's not because you were "born big" or have "plus-size genes."  It's because you have about 40 extra pounds of fat that you've allowed to accumulate on your frame.  Get it off and discover the "Size 6 You"  that's lurking beneath the surface!

For help in your discovery, download the e-book, Bucket List Weight Loss, by Jan Manning, available at Amazon.com.

You're gonna love yourself in the morning....

Ever heard the old Kris Kristofferson song, "You're Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning"?  It is, of course, a 180-degree turnaround of the old phrase, "You're gonna hate yourself in the morning."

Which do you do?  If you eat and/or drink too much of the wrong things the day before, you're familiar with that sensation of self loathing the morning after.  You wake up groggy, lethargic, and feeling "fluffy" because of all the calories you ingested the day or night before.

This is NOT a good way to start your day!!!  You're likely to continue on a negative path that spirals downhill, leading to even more misery tomorrow.

However, if you "live well" today by eating small to moderate amounts of delicious and healthful food, you truly will love yourself in the morning.  You'll awaken tomorrow with an abundance of energy and a "nothing can stop me" attitude that propels you toward an even better morning the next day.

Take steps today and tonight to make you love yourself tomorrow morning.  Once you find out how good it feels, it will be easy to repeat it...day after day....and you'll see pound after pound disappear!

Based on the book, Bucket List Weight Loss, available for download at Amazon.com and other e-book retailers for $2.99.  By Jan Manning.

The Duct Tape Diet

Remember the last time you had a bag of candy sitting next to your desk, and all the contents just sort of vaporized by the end of your day?  Oh, you know where they went.  You just don't know precisely when or how it happened, because you were eating rather mindlessly.

Don't you wish there were an alarm you could set to go off every time you mindlessly reached for something to put in your mouth?  After all, you really didn't mean to eat that whole bag of candy.  It just happened.  You weren't even aware it was happening.

Well...there's no food alarm on the market right now, but you can always try duct taping your mouth shut.

Yes, I'm kidding!  But wait....think about the concept!  You want a barrier between the food and your mouth.  It needs to be a barrier that's hard to break.  With duct tape, the easiest way to break the barrier is to rip it off.  That causes pain!  Not pleasant!  It's far easier to simply keep the duct tape in place until you are thin.

Granted, you can't and shouldn't do this.  There's only one other way to keep the food from traveling into the mouth.  That's to become more aware of what you're doing.  Make yourself a rule that you will only do "conscious eating."  In other words, if you want to put food into your mouth you'll have to remove the virtual duct tape first.  So take a moment to recall how it feels to yank that tape off your mouth.  Ouch!!  Is that bag of candy really worth it?

Avoid the pain.  Keep your virtual duct tape in place., and remove it ONLY when you're ready to NOURISH your body with what it wants and needs.

Bucket List Weight Loss, an e-book for $2.99, by Jan Manning, available here.

A great natural appetite suppressant!

If you've ever planned an exciting trip, you know this sensation.  It starts months ahead of departure time.  Your mind is flooded with endorphins that create a kind of natural "high."  You see yourself on the plane, on the cruise ship, on the trail you've dreamed about for so long.  You imagine how you'll feel, what you'll be wearing, what foods you'll eat, the sounds, smells and other sensations that will surround you.

Anticipation is half the fun of a well planned trip!  You get to live the perfect experience in your head over and over before you actually do it for real.

Book your weight loss destination (Size 6, let's say) today. It's a big trip, so you'll need plenty of advance planning.  You should probably start a year in advance to fully enjoy the experience.  Book it right now and put down a nonrefundable deposit.

Hmmm....if this really were a dream trip, you'd be jumping for joy.  You're going to your bucket list destination, after all. 

So why not embrace the excitement of getting to this other Bucket List destination (the Size 6)?  Think about how wonderful it WILL be (not how wonderful it "could" be).  You're going there.  You've made a deposit!  Next time you feel hungry, or next time you feel like snacking, rejoice!!!  You're getting closer to your destination because you will RESIST the temptation.  Rather than feel deprived or resentful because you're not eating, feel strong and empowered because you don't cave in.

Onward!  Keep your eyes on the prize ahead!

www.bucketlistweightloss.com

Download the book, Bucket List Weight Loss, to your reader or computer.  $2.99.

More fun than eating!!

Granted, eating is fun.  Textures, tastes, sensations, satisfaction, memories, associations....all these elements make the experience of eating pleasurable.

 Here's something 100 times more fun:  LOSING WEIGHT!!

Compare recreational eating to losing weight, and it's like comparing a kids' merry-go-round to a theme park rollercoaster.  You'll get a whole lot more lasting thrills from losing weight than you will from that five minutes of junk food ingestion.

Next time you're thinking, "What the hell, I'm hungry, I want it, and life is short so I'll eat it," think this instead:  "It's more fun to get on the scale and see my weight drop, it's more fun to see my clothes get loose, it's more fun to feel great, it's more fun to shop for smaller sizes, it's more fun to know I look terrific."

Get off your butt and go have some FUN!!  Choose activity over inappropriate eating.  Take the wild ride and get your money's worth from this day and this life.

Bucket List Weight Loss, an e-book for $2.99, by Jan Manning.  www.bucketlistweightloss.com

If nothing else, just do this

Okay,  so you pigged out for the past two days and ate way too much salty food.  You suspect you've gained five pounds since last week and you'll be damned if you're going to WEIGH yourself when you feel like this.  Maybe you'll crawl on the scale again in a couple days, after you've cleansed....

If you ever find yourself in this miserable predicament, there's still one thing you can and should do.  It'll help you get back on track and keep you healthy in the meantime.
DRINK WATER.

Water is heavy.  You don't really want to drink a quart of water right before you weigh yourself (you'll be up two pounds).  But if you're not going to weigh ANYWAY, then you might as well seize the opportunity to DRINK (water, that is).  Drink as much as you can.  Start with at least 96 ounces a day.  (That's a mere 12 cups of water.)  It'll wash through your system and flush out some nasty stuff that's helping you retain weight.  You'll be more ready than ever to jump back on the scale in a couple days of more moderate eating.

WATER--LOTS OF IT-- IS NECESSARY FOR HEALTHFUL AND SUSTAINED WEIGHT LOSS.

Remember....if you're not going to weigh that day, DRINK MORE WATER.  It will become a happy habit before you know it.

Bucket List Weight Loss, an e-book by Jan Manning, available for download to readers and computers for $2.99 at Amazon.com and other e-book retailers.