Losing Weight Fast: The Consequences of Alcohol

Nothing makes you gain weight like alcohol.
I know that is depressing news to all of us who like a glass of wine (or vodka??) every now and again, but I must tell you the honest truth.

I did some comparisons and basically a cocktail contains more or less the same amount of calories as a nice portion of your favorite ice cream. If you have a glass of wine with your meal, that means you probably should be having salad. And my stomach doesn't work that way. I like having salads during the day, but I also like a small sweet snack or a nice hot dinner. More than I like wine.

Another thing I've noticed for me personally is that I can notice the difference in my weight immediately after I have had a nice weekend with a few glasses of that special something. With other things such as ice cream or cakes I can let myself go from time to time without having to face too much guilt from the scale later on.

Don't ask me for the science behind it, I'm sure there is a good biological explanation for it, but all I know is what I experienced. And my experience says you need to stay far, far away from alcohol. Obviously a cocktail also contains sugar, meaning that pure vodka might be less damaging to your weight, but I find all types of alcohol tend to have a very rapid influence on my weight.

Of course you can allow yourself a small glass every now and again, but this is really the thing you need to try to avoid the most. The first 2-3 weeks I would not allow myself any alcohol, but when I was more advanced in my diet I would allow myself a small glass over the weekend. Just control the amount as well as the type of alcohol.

As much as I love beer, beer is not your friend in this situation. Beer and cocktails are the worst culprits and wine and champagne are your friends. or you just go straight for heavy-duty vodka or other pure alcohols.

Be aware that your tolerance may be less as you not only eat less, but you lost weight. You do not wish to be surprised by this. I know my limits very well, but a diet can completely change this and you should be prepared. I do recall going out with my boyfriend and his friend, getting completely slammered after 3 drinks not knowing what I was doing...not exactly what I was aiming for that night.

Picking Up Where You Left Off a.k.a. Damage Control

I've failed. As much as I preach about keeping the weight off and staying healthy, I regained. I'm human and we all have certain periods in our life where we cannot focus completely on our well-being. I've had a stressful period with plenty of distractions, which caused me to feel like it was ok to slip back into old habits. As I was stressed and not feeling good mentally, I decided to make it visible physically.

The biggest problem is that the decisions you make do not quite go like that. If only this was our thought process then we at least made a conscious choice. A conscious choice can be changed if you are convinced of the reasons for change. However, much of this is very unconscious. I don't want to play the woman card here, but hormones play a role too and make it more difficult to suppress those cravings. Somehow we never crave celery during that time of the month...

I was feeling stressed and felt the need to comfort myself with food as I was no longer able to do it any other way. It doesn't help that I got a cold, which meant I wasn't able to go to the gym (still struggling with that by the way). The gym has become a good replacement to me for that rush you feel after finishing a tub of ice cream. In addition, I usually have more energy after a nice workout than after eating a tub of ice cream. However, I was prevented from my workouts due to my physical condition, making me reach for the ice cream again (my favorite is Caramel/Vanilla with caramel bits in it...yum!). Of course approximately two weeks of this will leave its traces.

I've gained back 2 kilo. After all my hard work and effort, being so happy in my "new skin", I gained 2 kilo back...for what? For a bit of stress? That doesn't seem worth it??

And it's not, yet we always succumb.

You could say that 2 kilo is not much and I'll admit it won't make a huge difference, but once you start paying attention to your health and weight you'll notice even small changes. It was in combination with having to stop going to the gym, which of course also changes your appearance.

This means I'll be having another go at a small diet for this week. The problem is that I have organized dinners with work, so it is more difficult to control what I eat. I have my birthday on the 21st so I will clearly not be dieting that day. Say what you want about a healthier lifestyle, but everyone deserves a slice of cake on their birthday.

The Final Push Round 2 End of Week 2 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I won't say it was an immaculate success as I am 60,3 kg today, but I think I got pretty damn close.

I managed to go from 64 kg to 60,3 kg in two weeks without starving myself.

I am very proud of myself. I lost the necessary weight, I lost the weight fast and I stayed healthy. In fact, aside from the occasional cranky day or strong craving, I was feeling better. I had more energy after lunch because I was having a lighter meal. Instead of eating a big heavy meal I was having salad, which kept me going until my afternoon snack. I will continue with this habit as I simply feel better this way.

I don't suffer from a slow metabolism nor from any hormonal imbalance and I am sure this could make things more difficult. However, I am far from an expert on dieting and had no experience in the field. Therefore, if I can do it, anyone can. Technology is now a great help and guided me along the way, but the key is to eat as healthy as possible and as much raw fruit and vegetables as possible.

With modern technology, you can have access to an equivalent to a nutritionist in your pocket, for free. I say let's take advantage of that and improve our lifestyle.

The Final Push Round 2 Day 5 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I had a grapefruit for breakfast, but I recommend preparing your fruit in advance...I'm starting to get too much attention while I am cutting my fruit in the kitchen at work. On the other hand you might inspire some colleagues with your good example. Obviously I was hungry again shortly after the grapefruit so I had a Blevita Forest Berry to sustain me until lunch.

For lunch, I had a broccoli soup consisting of broccoli, 1 onion, 1 potato, 1 carrot and a little bouillon and spices. I then had 2 clementines for desert, but had to refill with some more Blevita (this time Gruyere taste) to last me until dinner.

For dinner I had a healthy salad (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, raw cabbage and some light French dressing) along with a bit of lean ham on the side. In the evening I was hungry again and I shared a honey melon with my boyfriend. I must admit I ate a lot more than my boyfriend...

Still, I am keeping my calorie budget every day and I am now at 61.8 kg. I might go a little softer over the weekend, I think I deserved it.

The Final Push Round 2 Day 3 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I may have felt frustrated yesterday, but when I woke up today it seemed all worth it. My weight this morning was 62,1 kg! This is 0,5 kg less than yesterday. If I keep this up, I can easily attain my goal in my set time. The problem is not only sticking with it, but your body also gets used to it after a while and you lose less fast...better make the most of this beginning and shock that body to shed some weight!

I didn't have time to have any real breakfast today, but I have stashed some Actimel at work (a drink yoghurt supposedly good for your immune system - again, it's my insurance). These are the tiniest little bottles of yoghurt (I think 100 ml) so you'd have to consume a pack of 6 in order to gain weight from them. However, this is also frustrating as it feels like you put nothing in your stomach. However, I had a coffee (without sugar) with that as well as some water and my stomach calmed down for a little while.

I didn't quite make it to lunch though and had a grapefruit before to silence the worst hunger. For lunch I had a simple salad, but I was hungry again after one hour so I had some cheese flavored blevita whole grain crackers.  I went to the gym after work and did 30 minutes of intense cardio. For dinner I had a carrot soup followed by a smaller portion of what I had yesterday; quinoa with mushrooms.

The Neverending Story and the Diet Cliché

As much as we hate to admit it, clichés often become cliché for a reason; it is common sense and useful.

Most nutritionists and weight loss coaches worldwide will agree on one thing; fruits and vegetables are good for losing some weight. I don't ignore diets like the Atkins diet where one should avoid carbs at all cost, but let's be honest, fruits and vegetables is the key to lose weight the healthy way.

Fruits or vegetables are both loved and hated. Some hate spinach, others don't like kiwis, we all have fruits or vegetables we dislike and cannot stand the sight of. I've tried to force myself in the past and eat the things I know I don't like, but this will never work. Although it may at times feel that way (at least to me), a goal of a diet is not to torture yourself.

Find healthy things you like and incorporate them into your diet. I experimented with different things for a while. Some of us grew up with healthy habits and know our fruits and vegetables very well and therefore also which ones we like or dislike. I on the other hand, started from scratch and found out what worked and what didn't.

I'm not huge on vegetables, but I decided to have some type of salad for lunch every day. However, I don't particularly enjoy snacking on vegetables as it just doesn't seem to hit the spot for me. I'm more into sugar than salt though, so if you like salty snacks vegetables might work better for you. I personally am now addicted to fruit and am able to replace my unhealthy sweets.

As you may already have read in my previous post, I also have food allergies that limit me in my choice. I wanted to eat as much raw food as possible, but I am allergic to many fruits in raw form. All the usual fruits such as apples, pears and plums (etc.) were not available to me as I would have to cook them before eating them. For a while I had mostly bananas and mandarins, sometimes switching it up with an orange or a melon, but it was very boring. That's when I got into more exotic fruits. Some I didn't even know how to eat, but you can ask a friend or search online. I now regularly eat mango, litchi and grapefruit. Normal grapefruit is a bit too bitter for me, but if you get the pink grapefruit it has a lovely sweet/sour/bitter taste which really peps you up.

Aside from being healthy, full of vitamins, and helping you to feel full, fruits are also perfect to replace those sweet snacks you take between meals. Bear in mind that even fruit contains calories, so don't overdo it. However, it's hard to eat the equivalent of the calorie content of a chocolate cookie in fruit; the quantity would be too big to be enjoyable.

Losing Weight Fast: The Big Secret - Stay Healthy

Here's my biggest secret to losing 5 kg in 4 weeks is really simple: go back to basics.

There's plenty of material out there about raw food diets. There are theories about processed and cooked food being unhealthy for us in a variety of ways. Cooking rarely improves the quality of food. Ok, I admit the taste is often better, but you lose a lot of vitamins when you cook your vegetables. Even with a pressure cooker, vitamins get lost in the process, even if it is less.

It makes sense to me to lose weight with raw food. Not only do you keep more vitamins, making it more healthy, but you will also keep more fiber, making you feel more full. Therefore, you eat less, get more vitamins, and feel more satisfied. The things you cannot eat raw usually have more calories (e.g. meat or even rice).

There are people who have made a lifestyle out of raw food. I personally am unable to go that far. I have to eat something cooked for dinner. I tried to eat raw even for dinner from time to time, but it was an exception rather than a rule. However, I tried to eat raw for all other meals of the day (note: trying is not always the same as achieving, but it's a good goal to strive towards).

A lot of people eat big, warm meals for lunch. I skipped this and went for cold, raw meals. I love salads, so most of the time I would eat some type of salad for lunch. Yes, I sometimes get hungry quickly, but I cannot resist snacking on something in the afternoon anyway, so I figured I might as well eat less and snack guilt-free in the afternoon. Obviously a healthy snack. Another advantage is that you no longer feel stuffed and tired after lunch.

I have as a general rule to eat as much raw food as possible. You'd be surprised how good that feels. A useful guideline to staying slim is to eat as much raw food as possible in order to lose more weight and gain more vitamins. For weight loss: when in doubt; go raw.

Sugar Substitute for the Sugar Addicts - a Spoonful of Sugar Makes theMedicine Go Down

I am a major sugar addict. Not only do I eat tons of sweets and cookies, I also drink soda and even add sugar in my tea and coffee. Therefore, my main priority was to cut down on sugar.

Soda is the most evil thing against your diet. It must be avoided like it's a question of life and death. There are so many calories in these and you don't feel full at all - it is the biggest threat to your diet. At the end of my diet, I decided to replace my soda with the "zero" version, but the best is to drink water.

The cookies and sweets are obvious temptations and need to be cut out completely from your diet. I satisfied my afternoon sweet tooth with a nice fruit such as mango or pinapple. Due to my allergies, I am limited to exotic fruits, but you can mix it up a bit more.

For my coffee and tea, I found a sugar replacement. I am now able to drink both of these without sugar or sugar replacement, making them completely calorie-free, but this is not easy to get used to. For tea, the choice is rather obvious in my eyes: honey. Don't put too much as there are still calories in there, but on the bright side these are calories that are burnt immediately and not stored in your body. For coffee it was more complicated as I found that honey changed the taste too much.

I tried different things, both natural and chemical. I hope I can help you find your alternative through my experiences. I personally shy away from chemical sweeteners, so these did not catch on. On top of that I find that they often have a very bitter aftertaste which I cannot get used to. I also tried Stevia, but I find that too has a strange aftertaste. Finally, I discovered Agave Syrup.

Agave syrup is a natural sugar with very little taste. It still changes the taste of your coffee, but it is minimal and acceptable. Agave syrup is much like honey as it is a natural sugar, but slightly more calorific so pay attention to the quantities. However, like honey, it will not be stored in your body. I also used Agave syrup when I needed a sweetener without any real taste, even in baking, but it might change the consistency a bit as it is a syrup instead of sugar crystals.

During my diet I try to avoid sugar as much as possible at all times, but sometimes things just taste horrible without any sweetening (especially if you are a sugar addict). You know the old saying "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down". If you go too extreme on your diet, you won't be able to stick to it for very long, so I suggest finding a healthy alternative for your favorite weaknesses.

Know Your Enemies - Unctuous Urges

I love cookies. I don't love them, I adore them, I'm infatuated with them, I'd marry them if I could - though I'm pretty sure it's illegal and I'd end up having A LOT of husbands...

It is my biggest food pleasure. I can have it for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner. Anytime. It is my biggest weakness. This is why I chose not to have any cookies at home during my diet. When in the grocery shop, I quickly skipped the cookie isle with my eyes closed and a horrible pain in my heart.

Know your weakness. We all have our favorite food sin that we indulge from time to time (usually too often). Avoid this by any means. And don't think you can eat "just one" because we all know that "just one" means "just one packet" (or insert relevant packaging method for your personal weakness).

This will be your most forbidden food until you have reached your goal weight. We all have to make sacrifices in life. It's like breaking up with that boyfriend you know is bad for you because of his bad influence. You don't want to, but you have to. You then proceed to delete him from your life. You remove photo's, memorabilia, clothes...some even choose to do a ritual burning of his belongings. We then proceed to live our lives as if he never existed. Should he dare to beg for forgiveness, we pretend we don't remember who he is.

You have to break up with your favorite munchies. Throw it out, burn it, do what you have to do to get over it. With time, just as if you broke up from a relationship, you will forget what it was like and stop missing it.