Five More Ways to Manage Your Weight
Guy’s Guys have healthy appetites—for life, love and the pursuit of happiness. We stay hungry, and that can be a problem.
After I finished compiling my first set of weight loss tips, I realized that every guy is different and not every method I mentioned in part one fits every Guy’s Guy. The best tip I ever received from a friend who had dropped thirty pounds was, “Don’t eat as much”. Please allow me to introduce five more tips for successfully managing your waistline, Guy’s Guy style.
1. Hydrate.
Drinking lots and lots of water is not my favorite activity, but it has to be done. The human body is made of two-thirds water, aging is spurred by a lack of water in our bodies, and scientists agree that over seventy percent of Americans suffer from chronic dehydration. I realize it’s not easy toting that plastic bottle around all day, but who wants to drink tap water? The more water we drink, the cleaner our systems. Zero Water and a few other brands make terrific filters that pay for themselves over the course of a few months. Bottom line is to drink up.
2. Beverages to eliminate.
Guy’s Guys like to live it up, but over time excessive alcohol consumption will ladle on the belly fat. Unfortunately this includes spirits, beer, and wine. Of course cutting down on alcohol can be tough, but you’ll see the results. I’ve eliminated alcohol for four months a few times now and I slept better, felt better and lost weight around my midsection. Other beverages to avoid are soft drinks (with sugar or artificially sweetened), sports drinks, milk and pasteurized juices. Coffee is not so great either if you add milk or half and half. That leaves water, fresh-squeezed juices and herbal teas like yerba mate as your go-to beverages.
3. Eat early.
Guy’s Guys don’t favor a big breakfast during the week. They usually eat a modest lunch, but then work up a big appetite by the time dinner comes around, which can be 8PM. This is all wrong if you want to lose weight. Solution? Flip that eating behavior upside down. Enjoy a hearty, but healthy breakfast, a modest lunch, and a small dinner. You might also consider consuming six small meals per day to keep your engine running in high gear.
4. Eliminate snacking.
That means cut out the junk. There is nothing wrong with a piece of fruit or a handful of raw nuts, but those sugary and salty treats have to go. Most of the salty stuff like tortilla chips are fried and made with GMO corn. The candies, cakes and chocolates stay with you long after you experience the short term high you get from indulging. I know it’s tough to make the change from a candy bar to a bag of raw carrots, but your waistline will be rewarded.
5. Dairy.
Milk, cheese, ice cream, presweetened yogurt are all on the watch list. If you’re jonesing for something sweet and creamy, your best bet is non-fat Greek yogurt. It’s got probiotics, tastes good and has a nice mouth feel.
There are more tips for managing your weight, but let’s not take all the fun away in one felt swoop. If you can work a few of these tips into your curriculum, I’ll bet you’ll see some positive changes in how you feel and look.This week’s Guy’s Guy of the Week is President Obama. Like him or not, the guy has managed his weight surprisingly well despite all the travel and stress he deals with on a daily basis.
