Losing Weight and Staying Healthy - The Effective Answer

Hi everyone!
I was initially writing a reply to the Forum Topic: "Do you have a secret way to loose weight?", but I realized how long that Topic had gotten, and my lengthy reply may not be easily found in there.

So I decided to create this new Topic to share what I have to offer on Fitness and Losing weight.

Like others already said, there is no Secret to Health, but I would say, there is more of a "Formula".

I'll try to just focus on the areas I think are most important, and get to the point quickly in each part.

To again emphasize on the important points some people have already mentioned, (and add to it if anything was missed), here is the best advice I can give:

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How to Effectively Lose weight
(If you follow all of these outlined steps, it is virtually Impossible for you Not to lose weight and live a healthier life)

1) Control your Diet:
a) Don't necessarily cut down your calories too much, but spread your Calories/Meals out more evenly through the day.

Your Aim should be 6 smaller portioned meals.
Eat your Largest meal in the Morning, with progressively smaller portions throughout the day.

b) Cut out the Sugars and Junk Food. This is important!
Anytime you go to the grocery, look at at the Nutrition Labels before you pick up an item. You'll be surprised how much of what you consume has high Sugar content. Consuming those foods makes it very hard to lose weight.

Try to get allot of Complex Carbs, "Lean" Protein and Vegies. Also don't leave out your Polyunsaturated fats and Omega-3 fatty acids. Some fruit is good, but not too much, while you are trying to lose weight.

Simply change the food you have in your home. If you have Junk food around, you WILL eat it first when you come home hungry, or just realized that you have not eaten in a while.
Get rid of the junk around your house, so you "Force" yourself to Only eat healthy food.

TIP: NEVER eat and Sleep!
That is the Fastest way to "Pack on the Pounds" (of fat).
After eating, always give yourself at least 2-3 hours to digest before sleeping.

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2) Do Exercise:
a)You should aim at doing Weight Lifting/Resistance training every week.
You don't need to have the goal of becoming a BodyBuilder to do some weightlifting. Gaining muscle is one of the best ways to burn fat. Muscle Burns fat "24/7", even while you sleep.
(Don't lift weights for more than 45 minutes per session, you will begin to "Burn" your own muscle as fuel.)
2-3 times a week is good.

b)You Must do Cardio.
You don't have to do something as boring as jogging if you don't like it. Play a sport, football, tennis, swimming, something you enjoy the most. (Enjoying it is important so that you don't get bored and stop after 2 weeks).
30-45 minutes of constant cardio is optimal. x3 times a week.

BUT if you can't spend so much time, then just start small.
5 Minutes, to 10, to 15 minutes x 3 times a week.
That's fine for keeping in shape.

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3) Drink Water:
And I don't mean the Water you get from your Cans of Fruit Juice, or other beverages you enjoy.
Clean fresh water. Try to get allot of it.
You should aim for more than 8 glasses eventually, but 8 a day is a great aim to start at.

TIP: Get a Bottle for your water, and keep it with you wherever you go. This way you will keep drinking.

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4) Be serious about it and Focused:
Just like with Internet Marketing and Business, you cannot take fitness/health "lightly".
You need to first make up your mind about what you want to achieve, then keep your eyes focused on it.
The biggest "turn-off" or "demotivation", is when the "results take too long to come".
You begin to lose trust in yourself because you've been working hard at it for 2 weeks, and no real changes has come yet.

Sit and think about it...
It took you probably 12 months, 5 years, 10 years to get in the shape you currently are. (which I assume is bad shape).
You CANNOT expect to change over your body in a few weeks, or even 3-6 months (depending on your case).
It is going to take a bit of time, work and Consistency.

(Set short-term realistic goals)

What you need to do, is make up your mind, and say to yourself: "I'm going to be a fitness guy/girl from this day forward".
If your goal is to just to "Lose the belly", you are NOT going to permanently change your lifestyle. Yes you may lose a bit of weight, but it will come right back afterward.

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5) Get your rest:
Try to get around 7-8 hours of sleep per day.
No less than 6, you are damaging yourself that way.

Your Body repairs and grows while you sleep, not while lifting weights.
Good sleep can affect your day life positively in so many ways. So invest in a good mattress or sleeping environment if you can.

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6) Supplements are Not needed:
You don't need to take any Special Pills or Dietary supplements to keep in shape.
Right now, all I take is Vitamin C, E and Zinc.
I let my healthy diet do the rest.
If you have the cash to invest on supplements, Whey Protein is the best supplement you can get for losing fat and building muscle.

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So there my advice for you all seeking to lose weight

I know allot of people gave really great answers already, but I hope I added a provided you with a little "Extra Drive" to get started. Sometimes people just need to be reminded of the "Basics" till they accept it as "Truth".

(I wrote all of this off the top of my head very quickly, so if I or anyone else finds any errors or important points missing later on, I'll Edit this Post.)


Since it's easy to just talk allot and not really DO something about your health (have no results to back up what you are saying), here is a link to my iOrbix Photo Album for those who are interested:
Andrew Davis :: Photos | iOrbix
(The responses from the girls seem to indicate they like the results lol)

In these Photos I'm about 160 lbs, 7-8% bodyfat.

I've been asked to Model a couple of times, but I don't have the time at the moment, with so much Business to tend too.

Actually, I think I'm a bit out of shape here, and I am still far from my final goals.
But I just keep at it, and slowly I'm getting there.

At this time, my routine was like this:
Day 1) Cardio in Morning: 15 Minutes
Day 2) Exercise in the Evening: 45 Minutes
Day 3) Cardio in Morning: 15 Minutes
Day 4) Exercise in the Evening: 45 Minutes
Day 5) Cardio in Morning: 15 Minutes
Day 6) Exercise in the Evening: 45 Minutes

That's only 3 Hours of exercise per week!
For the rest of the day, I was sitting down behind the Computer Screen, working on my Business and Projects just like you guys.

My diet was a bit faulty also, I must have consumed some junk food at least once every 3-4 days.


Is 3 hours a week too hard for you to do?
I'm sure not!

Don't make any excuses, and start TODAY.
One of the worst mistakes I see people make, is Procrastinating (putting it off).

"I'll start tomorrow... I'll start next week."
You eventually start, then lose focus and say: "Ok, I'll start for REAL next week"
And you get No where!

Keeping control of your Mind, Thoughts and Actions are so important.
So don't let the Piles of work ahead get in your way of starting NOW.

Just DO IT!