Lose 20 lbs of Fat in 30 Days - Tim's Rules for Quick Weight Loss

Yesterday's post about habits got me to thinking about my two basic rules for weight loss might not be enough for some people. Rule #1 is "Eat Right", but what is eating right? What should you eat? How much should you eat?

Guess what - I don't know how to give you a more precise answer. What I do know is that whether you are skinny and want to gain weight, or you are heavy and want to lose weight, you will need to change what you eat. Maybe you are eating the right stuff, but just too much of it. Maybe you are eating about the right number of calories but all the wrong stuff. The reality is that your current eating habit got you where you are so it would be foolish to keep doing it.

A good place to start would be a discussion with your physician. Or a professional dietitian.  They can help you determine your current BMI and give you a good idea about what your BMR should be for the goal you want to set. But you will have to do the work and make the changes. Take what you learn from them and from here and set some rules for some new habits. Don't worry. You can change them later. In fact, I need to warn you that you will be tweaking the rules the rest of your life; see yesterday's post.

As I have written before, one of the tools that I refer to often is a book by Tim Ferris - The 4-Hour Body. Be sure you get a copy and definitely read the first three chapters. Click the tab above to jump over to my "Tools" page for a link to buy the book.

Just before his book came out, Tim wrote about four rules he followed for losing weight quick. His post titled Quick Weight Loss - Lose 20 lbs of Fat in 30 Days With the Slow Carb Diet has been the most popular to date. Keep in mind that when you read it that it might not work for you. But maybe it will give you some ideas on what rules you should set for your new daily eating habits.

Drop me a line and tell me what you decided? Or maybe you have a question - leave that in the comments.

Be sure to eat breakfast, and take a Clif Bar with you.

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Eat Right. Exercise. Get Plenty of Rest.

Eat Right Means Nutritionally Smart: Seven Simple Ways to Eat Healthier (with Strawberry Orange Sorbet recipe)

A friend of mine, Anne Milford (@book_nurse), called the other day to talk about the transformation that Cheryl and I have made to our bodies, our life and our marriage. Near the end of our conversation, she asked me a question about counting calories, "did you always use MyFitnessPal.com?" The answer - not at first, not until about 4 months after I started. What did I do first? Made my best educated guess about portion size by reading nutrition labels on EVERYTHING I ate. I didn't know then what BMI or BMR meant. I didn't even know how many calories I should eat. At least not for the first few weeks. But I read everything I could about nutrition. I researched each category to find out how many carbs, how much or how little fat, what kind of carbs, what kind of protein. Then about a year ago, while looking up the calories for some food I had eaten, I discovered MyFitnessPal.Com. Soon I discovered they had an app for my phone. It's easy to use, so I keep using it. Only missed one day of logging in the last 365. Back to the phone call with Anne.

About 30 minutes after we finished talking, I had pizza for lunch, and dutifully opened the MFP application on my iPad. After recording the slice of pizza and the salad I saw a question posted by a friend on MFP - "How many of you went over on your sugars regularly and still lost weight? Is this negotiable at all?" It is the kind of question I used to struggle with. Maybe you do, also. Here's my advice, for what it's worth. It's not just about the sugars, or the sodium or the protein. You have to balance with your daily exercise. Calories in. Calories out. Eat Right. Exercise. So, before you stress too much, do some reading. Here's a good blog post on nutrition. I have not tried the recipe, but I found the information to be very good.

 I Want To Lose Weight Fast: Nutritionally Smart: Seven Simple Ways to Eat Healthier (with Strawberry Orange Sorbet recipe)

Another good resource is Tim Ferris' book, "The Four Hour Body." Get a copy and at least read the first 4 chapters. You can get the hardback, paperback, audio, or eBook by clicking over to buy.com.

OH, and if you have some old photos or scrapbooks from times when we might have been together in the same place at the same time, please send them to me privately by clicking this email link for photos@blogs.docdevore.com.  Please! With sugar on it?. Trust me - they won't end up here unless you give me permission.

Be sure to get some breakfast, and take Clif Bar with you.

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Eat Right. Exercise. Get plenty of rest.