A few years back I did the Slim4Life food plan for a whole year and over the course of that time I lost a total of 100 pounds. The food plan is based on consuming fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins, starches, and a minimal amount of fat. It basically lays out what foods are okay to eat and what a correct portion size is for that food. What I enjoy about the plan is that I eat normal food I buy in the grocery store and can even eat out at restaurants. If you would like to know more about it you can find the plan online in blogs where people have talked about their experiences with it. You can also feel free to PM me and I can go into more depth.
It's not just you, good health is more about diet than exercise for all of us. The key is to learn how to manage your weight through diet without being dependent upon exercise.
Agreed!
There is a reversal of the effectiveness of exercise over our life times. Speaking for myself, (and wondering if this applies to most people?) exercise was super effective through my thirties. I won't call it an addiction, or an obsession, but it certainly was my life style. I started late,
when I went out for football in my 11th year of high school. I went from being 185-190 lb down to 175-180. I hated running laps as part of practise. But then in college, in the evenings, sitting around playing cards in the common room, and snacking from my own private fridge stocked with cheese and sausages, I started to become a fatty, gaining weight to 195 lbs, then a light bulb went off.
I was 5'10". This is when I hit the track, I became attuned to the mental aspect of running, discovered runner's high, and the magic happened as my weight steadily dropped down to 160. I ran 5 miles,3 times a week. Best of all, while I did not over eat, I could eat damn well anything I wanted to and this was great for being a sugar-holic.
This routine worked for me until my early forties, when this kind of exercise no longer kept the weight off and slowly I started gaining weight. Then factor in back and knee issues and today I float between 210-220lb. Having been on a swimming routine of 50-60 laps 3 times a week, for one year now, it has made little difference in weight loss, although I'm healthier, and swimming affords me a way to exercise without pain.
As is, due to my life long weakness regarding sweets, cake, cookies, pies, candies, the only solution is to steer clear of these items and once I have a handle on this, then reduce my daily calorie intake overall. At this point, if could get down to 200 lb, I'd be thrilled.
