Why is it so hard to lose weight?

Keeping in mind the first blog in June, let us explore some other reasons why the weight won't come off. We can conquer this as long as we are educated on how the body works. We are in no way doctors trying to cure ourselves but we can better help ourselves if we know the reason for our ailments. Now let's get down to business.

This is the equation: calories in, calories out: When we take in more calories than we burn, we gain weight. It’s that simple. We take in calories through eating, and we burn calories through our base metabolism and our activities, which include exercise.

If we examine how many calories we consume and how many we expend, it’s easy to see why we gain weight. The average person burns about 1,800 calories through base metabolism—the energy required to breathe, digest food, and so on. The energy we need for our activities is added to this—about 700 for an average North American.

This adds up to about 2,500 total calories per day. If we take in more calories than our average, we gain weight. If we don’t expend more calories than our average, we don’t lose weight.

Now let’s look at food. A typical North American fast-food meal contains about 1,500 calories. So, in one meal, we have already consumed more than half the calories we need for a day!

A typical North American meal prepared at home—meat and a few vegetables, and maybe a salad—contains about 1,000 calories. So, in two meals, we have consumed what we burn in a day. Anything more that we eat—a third meal, snacks, sodas, other drinks—translates into weight gain. No wonder so many of us is overweight!

3 Day Diet
The 3 Day Diet is one of the most popular short-term fad diet around today. Many people adopt the diet to try and achieve short-term weight loss. However, unfortunately most people simply gain the weight back on again.

The 3 Day Diet is simply a low calorie diet (as can be seen by the meal plan). There is nothing magical - no mystical chemical reaction that goes on (as some seem to think). Weight loss is due to a sudden drop in calories - some of this may be fat - but most will be from water loss.

DAY 1
Breakfast---Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water1/2 Grapefruit or Juice1 slice toast with 1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
Lunch---1/2 Cup of Tuna 1 slice toastBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water
Dinner---3 oz. any lean meat1 cup green beans1 cup carrots1 cup vanilla ice cream1 medium appleBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

DAY 2
Breakfast---Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water1 egg (any style)1 slice toast1 banana
Lunch---1 cup cottage cheese or tuna5 saltine crackersBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water
Dinner---2 beef franks or hot dogs1/2 cup carrots1 banana1 cup broccoli or cabbage1/2 cup vanilla ice creamBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

DAY 3
Breakfast---Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water5 regular saltine crackers1 oz.(slice) cheddar cheese 1 apple
Lunch---1 hard boiled egg1 slice toastBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water
Dinner---1 cup tuna1 cup carrots1 cup cauliflower1 cup melon1/2 cup regular vanilla ice creamBlack coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

Condiments Allowed
*Lemon (and lots of it, if you like)
*a dash of salt and/or pepper
*mustard
*cooking spray
Substitutions
Some people use the following substitutions for the 3 day diet:
*Orange instead of Grapefruit
*Tuna instead of Cottage cheese (and vice versa)
*Frozen yogurt instead of Ice Cream
*Cauliflower instead of Broccoli (and vice versa)
*Green beans instead of Broccoli or Cauliflower
*Beets instead of Carrots
*Toast instead of 5 crackers (vice versa)

Losing the Weight

Why is it, we try and try to lose weight but just can’t? In fact, we lost track of the number of times we’ve tried to lose weight, or thought about trying again. But it doesn’t matter. It never happens. What’s wrong with us?


We blame ourselves for many things: "I like food too much." "I don’t like to exercise." "I can’t find the time to eat better and exercise." "I’m just not disciplined."


Are these valid answers? Maybe, maybe not. Our lack of results may not lie in us, our personality, our likes, or dislikes, but in the weight-loss programs or methods we’ve tried.

Most programs focus on achieving weight loss by getting rid of the pounds, reducing the number on the scales. But there’s more to healthy weight loss than weighing less. The way our body functions to which we never pay attention to are also affected. When we simply get rid of pounds, we are, in effect, getting rid of a symptom. This is similar to taking a brain tumor treatment and saying that the headache is gone when in fact, we still have the brain tumor, we’ve just masked the symptoms.


The act of losing weight seems to be simple, but it isn’t. It involves more than how much we eat and how much we exercise. It is what we eat, when we eat, and how we eat as well as what kind of exercise we perform. It involves what’s going on in our lives. If we don’t consider these aspects, we don’t lose weight, or we lose it only to gain it back. It’s that simple.

Check out the next blog to find out other reasons why we can't lose the weight. We "WILL" lose the weight by keeping up with these blogs, reading the tips at the bottom of this blog and grabbing the diets that I have placed in these blogs.

Cabbage Soup Diet 7 Day Plan
Remember: This diet should only be followed for 7 days at a time,

with at least two weeks in between.

Day One: Fruit: Eat all of the fruit you want (except bananas). Eat only your soup and the

fruit for the first day. For drinks- unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.

Day Two: Vegetables: Eat until you are stuffed will all fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. Try to eat leafy green vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today.

Day Three: Mix Days One and Two: Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want.

No Baked Potato.

Day Four: Bananas and Skim Milk: Eat as many as eight bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets.

Day Five: Beef And Tomatos: Ten to twenty ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin-on chicken). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef one one of the beef days (but not both).

Day Six: Beef and Vegetables: Eat to your heart's content of beef and vegetables this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green vegetables. No Baked Potato. Eat your soup at least once.

Day Seven: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables: Again stuff, stuff, stuff yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day.

Cabbage Soup Recipe
6 large green onions
2 green peppers
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
3 Carrots
1 Container (10 oz. or so) Mushrooms
1 bunch of celery
half a head of cabbage
1 package Lipton soup mix
1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
1 48oz can V8 juice (optional)
Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc.
Directions:
Slice green onions, put in a pot and start to saute with cooking spray.

Cut green pepper stem end off and cut in half, take the seeds and membrane out.

Cut the green-pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.

Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.

Clean carrots, cut into bite size pieces, and add to pot.

Slice mushrooms into thick slices, add to pot.

If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.

You can use beef or chicken bouillon cubes for seasonings. These have all the salt and flavors you will need.

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the V8 juice), cover and put heat on low.

Let soup cook for a long time - two hours works well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.