Lose weight, stay sane, get fit and feel great Yes, it's possible

This is a guest post by Neel who is an award winning professional freelance writer, specializing in creative writing and journalism, working in the US, Canada, Australia and Belgium.


If you would like to submit a guest post to SimplyForties, please review the guidelines here.

The quickest known way of going mad is trudging through the apparently endless “tricks” to weight loss. The various “tricks” vary between the bizarre, the unproven, the moralistic, and the insufferable, with diets which would worry a supermarket database. As a matter of fact, all you need is a swimming pool, a bit of your preferred type of exercise, and a new perspective on the problem to get you moving to your right weight range.

The weight loss concept and staying sane

If there was ever a case of a basic idea getting lost in itself, it’s weight loss. Let’s get this straight to start with- There is no One Size Fits All for weight loss. The ideal weight for one person isn’t the ideal weight for someone else. Some people feel fitter at different weights. Losing weight, to be done properly, needs to be done gradually, not all at once. You can actually do yourself serious damage by “starvation diets” and other types of nutritional insanity.

Just stay hydrated, eat fresh foods in rational amounts, and get down to work on your weight. Do not rely on supplements to do anything but be supplements. There are no “miracle diets”. That’s the surest way to stay sane while handling the issues. 

Getting fit

Doing a  “preferred” exercise is critical. Forcing yourself to regularly do something you really don’t want to do at all is a guarantee of trouble. You’re more likely to get worried than fit, if you don’t find a type of exercise that you actually like. You don’t need to become a fitness fanatic, you need to get fit.

The reward for getting fit is feeling fantastic. You need to experience it to understand what it really feels like. You’re not tired, you’re not breathless, you’re regularly starting to do things you thought you could barely do at all.

For weight loss the best basic exercises to start with are:

·      Swimming (Whatever else you do, swimming is the best all around exercise.)

·      Walking (Even a short walk exercises every muscle group in your body and burns calories.

·      Beginner Yoga (Always works for women, and does a lot to improve circulation and oxygenation.)

·      Beginner Tai Chi (aka Qigong, pronounced “Chee-goong”- You can do these exercises in bed, in fact invalids have been known to do them with good results. One of the exercises is just standing properly, and it’s surprisingly effective.)

Feeling great

Don’t be surprised if you “feel like a different person” rather suddenly. At a certain level of fitness, you will have behavioral changes which will lock in the new model you, and it’ll all be your idea. A lot of old style foods and habits will start to get on your nerves, or even actually repulsive. People rarely forgive anything that makes them feel bad, and things that made you overweight will be seen, rightly as The Enemy.

Get your swimming pool organized and cleaned (you might have to contact your local pool supplies shop) and start thinking about the future.