5 Unconventional Rules For Losing Weight
Some time ago, I lost an impressive amount of weight. Unfortunately, since that time I’ve gained some of it back. I’m writing this post as much for my readers as myself, because these are the rules I followed during my weight-loss heyday and I would love nothing more than to stick to them and see the results once again. I would be thrilled if they work for you as well. So without further ado, here are my 5 unconventional rules for losing weight:
1. Do It For The Wrong Reasons.
Every weight-loss article out there promises to give you the best tips for how to become “healthy”. They claim that you can live a long life, keep out of a wheelchair for as long as possible, and prevent heart disease. These are all great things that should definitely make someone want to lose weight, but in all honesty at my ripe young age of 21 they just aren’t even close to motivational enough. At age 21 I want girls, good athletic performance, and a job – it’s just the honest truth. Health isn’t a top priority of mine. However, if you use the wrong reasons for losing weight as motivation, they just might work better. You want to be the guy who was nice, good looking and bright, but never gained attention from girls until one day you lost 40 pounds and suddenly became the most desirable one at the bar. You want to be the person that other overweight people look at and wonder “How the hell did you do that?”, because let’s be honest – you’ve been that person for your entire life up to this point. Whatever the true reason you want to lose weight is, do it for that.
2. Fall In Love With Healthy Food.
This one sounds funny, I know. But it’s hugely important. Love the snap of carrots in your mouth. Love the way strawberries and blueberries try to taste sweet and tart, even though you know you could grab candy down the street that would put it shame. Pick a healthy meal that you love, and eat the hell out of it. For several consecutive months I ate a turkey, cheese, and mustard sandwich for lunch or dinner every day because I loved it and it was healthy. My father lost a lot of weight obsessing over grilled half-chickens. Bottom line is this: find a healthy food you like, and roll with it.
3. Don’t Listen to Nice People.
Again, this one sounds ridiculous but it’s crucial for maintaining the right mindset. The second my progress slowed was when I would walk into a room and have my best friends tell me how hot I looked. Once you’ve made enough progress, you will hear compliments all day every day, and that’s fantastic. But I promise you, if you think going to the gym is hard when you’re overweight and unconfident, it is twice as hard when you feel like you’ve already won. Keep your head down and don’t believe you’re there until you truly are where you want to be.
4. Grow Up.
Quite honestly, eating bad food and not exercising is immature. If you’re in your 20′s especially, it’s time to grow up. Eating cheeseburgers and pizza on a regular basis is just not acceptable anymore. By all means, indulge from time to time. But, regularly eating bad food just isn’t the norm today. Consider this situation: you go out to a meal with someone important – a potential employer, a boss, your girlfriend’s parents. Do you order a burger and onion rings with ranch on the side, or do you get the fish with steamed green beans? Your choice should be obvious. These days, the most popular places for people to go on their lunch break are healthy ones – just spend a week downtown somewhere and observe.
5. Read the magazines.
Men’s Health, Women’s health, etc. These websites and magazines are filled with marketing messages, so be sure not to confuse a lot of the information. But, they’re still perfect for providing you with tons of motivation, and a lot of great tips and tricks as well. Don’t just read these every few weeks – this needs to be daily, so much that they become a part of your psyche. You need to actually believe you can become as “shredded”, “sculpted”, and “ripped” as they are, if you do what needs to be done.