You Lose Weight in the Kitchen

Isn’t this the truth. Conventional weight loss programs get this twisted. They make you think that you need to do both at once. That’s not true. Especially if a healthy diet and exercise program is far out of your regular daily routine.

By starting a combined diet and exercise program, you develop an all or nothing mentality. You are setting yourself up for failure and possible serious injury. Sure, exercise is important for a healthy lifestyle. But what's much more important for health and weight loss is what you are putting in your mouth.

Every morning I get on the treadmill and walk for half an hour. Then I do 10 minutes of calisthenics. It isn’t much and certainly not enough to lose weight. That half hour on the treadmill only burns 100 calories. But this is as much time I am willing to dedicate to conscious exercise every day.

And I do this EVERY morning first thing. I don’t do it to lose weight. Far from it. I do it because it makes me feel good about myself. I do it to maintain my strength and flexibility. Whatever exercise I do after this is a bonus.

So, this is not the most important thing that I do every morning. EVERY morning, I assemble my breakfast salad. That way I know that whatever life throws at me during the day, I am off to an excellent start. I am fueling my body with low calorie nutrient rich foods.

So, the real magic for weight loss happens is in the kitchen. It’s so important to really understand the principles of caloric density. How foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are low in caloric density. If you want to lose weight, you need to start in the kitchen.

Are you overweight, out of shape and perhaps limited in your mobility due to lifestyle excess? Start in the kitchen. Get the food right. Eat a whole food plant-based diet without salt, oil and sugar. Give your body what it needs to rebalance and renew itself and reduce inflammation.

Several people I know get knee replacements. Some operations are due to injury. But most are from the wear and tear of carrying around too much weight on the knees. Joints that are not designed to handle this excess weight.

The Standard American Diet is loaded with highly processed foods. All contain sugar, oil, and salt or, more commonly, a combination of two or three of them. These foods cause pain from inflammation. They also cause low self-esteem, low energy levels and high body weight. Who wants to go to the gym or be active when you feel like that?

So, start with what you are putting in your body and in your kitchen. By eating a whole food plant-based diet, you will:

• Decrease your inflammation and the pain from it.
• Increase your self-esteem because you are doing your very best to fuel your body.
• Increase your energy levels. You are adding in lots of nutrients while eliminating foods that are toxic to your body.
• And steadily lose the extra weight.

Soon you will find that you feel so much better, you will want to start moving your body.  Exercise will be fun.  It will make you feel great because you are doing it because you want to not because you feel you have to.

Having a clean environment is 70% of the battle. So, either re-read Chapter 5 of my book BREAK THE CYCLE or check out the tips below.

To lose weight in the kitchen:

1. Get rid of all the highly processed foods containing salt, oil and sugar.
2. Get rid of salt, oil, sugar and flour.
3. Stock up on fresh and frozen vegetables
4. Stock up on fresh and frozen fruit
5. Stock up on various whole grains like oatmeal, rice, quinoa.
6. Stock up on a variety of legumes like beans, lentils and chickpeas.
7. Bulk cook recipes so that you always have something compliant and ready to go. You can find lots of compliant bulk cooking recipes on my website (link)

I don’t exercise to lose weight. I exercise so that I am fit enough to do all the things that I need to do and to improve my mood and my sense of well-being. I am not training for a fitness or body building competition. But I am happy to know I can bend down and pick up something I’ve dropped or run around the block if I have to. And I look forward to being active and fit enough to play with my grandchildren and, God willing, my great grandchildren.

Remember, you are exercising for fitness and stress relief. Exercise should be something you enjoy. It is made to improve your mood and your sense of well-being.

Eating a healthy whole foods plant-based diet will help you look and feel great. And especially help you lose the extra weight.

Once you reach your ideal weight, you can maintain it. You have learned how by incorporating your new healthy habits every day. Your new healthy lifestyle is your best insurance for a long healthy, happy and active life.