Friday, April 10, 2009

How Are a Turtle and a Quick Weight Loss Diet Similar?

Sharing and Email I received...

Once upon a time there was a turtle and a hare. On a bright sunny morning the hare came upon the turtle and, seeing him walking so slowly, started to make fun of him. The tortoise replied to the mocking by saying, "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." At this challenge the hare laughed at the ridiculous assertion that this slow-footed turtle could ever hope to win against him, one who had never lost a race before. They agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise, plodding on, overtook him and finished the race. The hare woke up and realized that he had lost the race. The moral of the story (as if you didn't already know):

"Slow and steady wins the race."

This famous childrens fable is one of the most powerful messages we can hope to grasp and use if we ever want to accomplish anything. Why? Because we're programmed to want quick results, do things quickly, get things fast, get quick results, and usually without much effort. We usually quit before we accomplish anything of significance, getting distracted by some other "shiny object" and start going down that path, instead of the one we were on, toward our supposed goal. Eventually ending up nowhere because we've wandered all over tarnation. Does this sound like you? If not, congratulations, you're one of the minority in this world that sets goals, maps out the path to those goals, and continues on through thick and thin until you get to the "finish line." But if you are one of those that has had trouble accomplishing goals (like transforming your body, for one), then follow this 3-step quick weight loss diet formula.

Decide on a goal
Break the goal down into weekly then daily goals
Measure your progress correctly

Details of Above:

1. Decide on a goal - Want to lose 30 lbs? What's realistic. 2-4 pounds per week is very attainable.

2. Break the goal down into weekly then daily goals. For example: "I want to lose 45 pounds". First, determine how many weeks this might take. 45 pounds divided by 2 pounds per week = 22.5 weeks (divided by 4 pounds per week = 11 weeks). So this is your weekly goal. Now, what do you have to do EVERY DAY in order to reach your weekly goal? Start with a baseline diet where you TRACK ALL OF THE FOODS YOU EAT. This is critically important. If you don't track YOU WILL FAIL.

Go to www.livestrong.com and sign up for a free account there, then go to the "Daily Plate" and start to fill in your foods for the day.

3. Measure your progress correctly: The scale is your worst enemy. It can trick you into thinking that no progress is being made when in fact lots of progress is actually happening. Here's what I recommend instead:

Get a tape measure and measure the circumference of your chest, waist, hips, thighs, upper arms. As you lose fat (not necessarily weight) these measurements will come down.
Get either a pair of bodyfat calipers (you can get one with my Amazing Fat Burning Formula) or a Tanita Duo Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor.

Both of these above devices will allow you to "really" see what's going on with your body. Start with a quick weight loss diet like I've already commented about in previous post. Use that formula to create your meals for the day, then just track it. You'll know right away if progress is being made because you'll start making progress. If you don't, then simply adjust what you've been doing (easy to do since you have been tracking everything) and continue tracking. You'll quickly hit the right combination of calories and meals for you to lose weight quickly. This shouldn't take longer than 10 days to figure out. Let me know if you have any questions by commenting below. Take Charge!

2 comments:

Annalisa@Gracie'sGarden said...

Thank you Lisa... I think you've brought me back down to earth. With my motivation left un-checked, I was trying for 4 work-outs a day, and it was okay for about 6 days... that is probably why the burn-out, and chocolate cravings. SLOW & STEADY. Good reminder :)

Anonymous said...

Whoa, I totally needed to read this. Thank you for sharing!!!!

I bought a sewing kit and it came with a tape measure so I am looking forward to using it on my body for the first time. I hear it's more accurate than the weight scale so I will give it a try :D