13 Weight Loss Commandments ...

One of the most important weight loss commandments of all is never to try to eat like everyone else you know. How many times have we heard our friend, relative or coworker tell us how she lost all this weight with a certain magic diet she found out about? I can tell you right now that trying to eat like everyone else will never give you the lasting results you want. You need to find out the right foods that work for you. Of course no one should be eating junk foods or refined and processed foods, but when it comes down to your daily meals, be sure to eat foods you enjoy that are healthy too, not only because they contain a certain number of points or calories.

One of the biggest factors in losing weight is eating clean foods as much as possible. Eating clean is all about ditching fast food, junk food, processed food and refined food. Stick to pure whole foods, and I highly recommend out less. You’ll automatically omit extra sugars, salts and fats that restaurants use in their food, regardless of how healthy the entrée might sound.

If you’re serious about weight loss, learn to cook as soon as possible. I am not a gourmet chef, nor did I know how to cook when I started eating clean. What I did start doing immediately was preparing simple meals for myself. Bake some chicken or fish with veggies and learn to cook some eggs. Supplement your snacks with organic yogurt and raw veggies and fruits. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen, but learn to prepare some simple things at home. Your blender can also be your best friend if you’re new to cooking. Smoothies are great for meals as long as they’re nutritionally dense and healthy.

The more green foods you eat, the less junk you’ll eat. Almost immediately you should start eating more green foods if you’re serious about losing weight. Use spinach and romaine in your salads, eat broccoli, green beans and asparagus with your dinner and throw in some green onions and spinach in your morning eggs. Green smoothies are also wonderful ways to sneak greens into your day, and one of my personal favorites! Veggies are free foods, but the green ones give you extra points! You can even make it a game and see how many green foods you can eat each day. Green foods are lower in calories than other veggies and fruits, but more importantly, they are rich in chlorophyll, which washes away waste and weight in your body, and balances your blood sugar.

If you aren’t comfortable with tossing your scale out completely, at least put it away in your closet for some time while you’re attempting to lose weight. Did you know that the stress the scale imprints on your mind can actually prevent you from losing weight? It might seem silly, but letting a number define you and constantly affect how you see your progress creates a ton of stress in your body. Added stress leads to weight gain, so get rid of that scale and take your time in losing weight. When you give yourself freedom from the scale, you’ll be more inclined to listen to your body while eating, and let it tell you what it needs and when it is hungry or full. You’ll also appreciate how your clothes fit instead of just judging your body by what the scale says. Scales are misleading but how your clothes fit is not!

Sorry girls, but this list of weight loss commandments would not be complete without one of the most obvious and most important commandments of all. Physical fitness is non-negotiable in the list of weight loss commandments. Start slow if you’re new to working out, and remember consistency is key. Be sure to include cardio and weights as much as you can, and don’t be intimidated by what others around you are doing. The most important thing is that you keep up your routine, whatever it is. Daily actions will pay off and get you where you want to be faster and more efficiently.

I can understand that counting calories works well for some people, but in my experience, calorie counting sets dieters up for an obsession with numbers and they don’t listen to their bodies tell them when they are hungry or full as much. Also, calories can be misleading. A junk food can have less calories than a nutritionally dense, diet-friendly meal, but that certainly doesn’t mean you should eat the junk! What counts more than calories is quality. The leaner and cleaner your food, the better!

Losing weight is about changing your muscle composition and flushing out waste and weight! The best detox remedy you’ll ever find is to drink more water. Water with lemon is even better since lemon’s Vitamin C helps increase natural cleansing and flushes out waste. It also gives your water a nice flavor and adds an alkalizing boost to your water. Drinking herbal teas, decaf green tea and smoothies are also a great way to get in your water for the day.

I don’t believe we should all go protein crazy to lose weight, but eating protein at every meal is key to dropping pounds. Why so? For starters, protein has a high satiety effect, which means it tells your body it is satisfied for longer, more so than fats or carbs. Protein also takes longer to digest than any other macronutrient, so your metabolism spikes just by adding protein to your meals. Be sure to eat at least 20-30 grams of protein with every single meal. No excuses!

You can’t lose weight if you’re a ball of stress all the time. Cortisol is our stress-boosting hormone. When you are stressed, your cortisol levels are through the roof! Cortisol actually activates receptors in your body that tell it to store fat. Definitely not a good thing if you’re trying to drop pounds, right? Improving your cortisol levels is the first thing you should do if you want to lose weight. You should also eat regularly to prevent blood sugar swings, which lead to cortisol spiking and insulin resistance. Starving tells your body you are stressed, so be sure to eat three meals each day and include healthy snacks if you need them. Also, whatever you can do, find time for yourself each day in silence! This will decrease your stress levels all day long and help you stay focused.

Skipping any meal is never a good idea, especially breakfast. The first meal you eat will help you start your day, so make it filling and healthy. WebMD cites breakfast as one one the top weight loss tips that help you lose weight and keep it off.

Trick your eye and your stomach by using smaller serving dishes. When you use larger plates and bowls you tend to want to fill it up more. By using a smaller dish, you will get used to smaller portion sizes which will help you eat only until you're truly full and avoid overeating.

Your body needs to rest. Don't overwork yourself thinking the more you do the more weight you'll lose. Getting a good night's sleep should be part of any healthy lifestyle. WebMD mentions that those who don't get enough sleep can actually end up gaining weight. When we're sleep deprived we often turn to comfort foods to try to wake up which can cause us to overeat high calorie foods.

Never submit yourself to crash dieting or trendy cleanses to lose weight. The truth is, the best weight loss commandments of all don’t give overnight results, yet lend bigger, longer lasting results over time. Do you have a weight loss commandment that you stick to? Let me hear about it, ladies!