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Losing weight overtime won't happen in just a few months. While you must eat all the right foods and move your body enough to burn calories, without a proper mindset it will be impossible. Many people I personally know who have dieted on and off for years, have said motivation is the real backbone for every successful weight loss journey. This is true.
However, there is one misconception that never seems to garner enough discussion. You can indeed lose weight while not necessarily changing what you eat. You may not find the most awesome results in specific areas of your body, but the scale will move. The key to losing weight is simply burning off more than you consume.
Sure the effects will be more ideal when combined with the removal of certain foods, but these foods don't have to be completely barred. Immediately removing foods you enjoy from your diet, can lead you right back to square one and may cause binging.
My solution has always been moderating. Gain control of your weight, by rewriting your favorite recipes. More people should jump on to this instead of forcing themselves to eating food they don't like, for sake of healthy eating. As a meat-eater, I just don't see meat being excluded from my permanent diet no matter how much I cut down on it. Cutting back on meat is the best solution for now; I know if I just abruptly stop eating it, I'll come running back, looking to indulge into a succulent juicy pork rib. A few years ago, I decided instead of forcing myself to eat meals that always asked of some kind of yogurt, or some other ingredient I wasn't fond of, I decided I would still eat the foods I liked. Only I would revamp the recipes.
I still ate chicken Parmesan, only with low-fat mozzarella, a lighter pasta sauce, whole-wheat pasta and no eggs used. I still ate my french toast breakfast, but I used egg whites instead, whole-wheat bread and almond milk. I used cooking spray whenever I could, and I baked, broiled, or stewed all the meats I ate.
I never changed the meals I ate. All I did was choose healthier alternatives for some ingredients.
Challenge yourself to make your favorite recipes, while reducing any fat, sodium and sugar content. If something calls for whole milk, go for the 1% or skim versions. It calls for cheese? Low-fat cheeses are abundant. If you need hoisin sauce? Substitute it with ketchup.
This shouldn't be hard because there's a low-fat, fat-free, low-sodium, sugar-free version of almost everything now.
