Lose 1 pound a month

Welcome to March and the second in our series of making one healthy change a month in 2013. Yes, we’re tackling the task of losing weight for March. In the spirit of slow and steady change, let’s focus on losing 1 pound a month. That’s doable, don’t you agree? By the end of the year, we’ll have lost 10 pounds.

What does losing 1 pound a month have to do with travel? According to Dr. Oz, losing just ten pounds will “lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk for a stroke, ward off dementia, lower your risk for uterine and breast cancer, and lower your cholesterol up to 10%.” And, all those changes equal to a healthier you, which means many more years of active travel.

Why just 1 pound a month, why not lose the ten pounds once and for all? You can lose as much as you want on our challenge, but here’s my theory:  if we lose one pound and keep it off for a month, there’s a much greater chance we’ll keep the next pound that we lose off and so on. In the process of this slow weight loss, we’re developing new habits that will help keep the weight off—for good.

Move more, eat less, cut out sugary drinks and deserts is dieting advice that we’ve all read about or heard from our doctors. And, of course, there’s a plethora of “do this, don’t do that” in today’s weight loss industry—some of it good, some of it downright dangerous.  I’m no nutritionist, exercise guru or medical expert; so, I traveled the Internet to find realistic tips and tools to help us lose that one pound in March, April, May and on through the rest of the year.

• I like the 50 simple ways to lose 10 pounds from Shape Magazine. Trying to lose weight is such an individual process. Surely we will all find tips to help us with our monthly goal. Did you know that Shape Magazine publishes a weight loss diary that follows the year-long path of one woman’s weight loss? This year, it’s my travel writing friend Beth Blair. I’m looking forward to learning from her progress.
• Do you like to walk? Prevention Magazine recommends walking to lose 10 pounds.
• At Healthy Women, health writer, Sheryl Kraft, recommends drinking more water, upping the protein and including snacks in your weight loss program.
• Brette Sember, who writes at Putting it All on the Table, lost weight on what she calls The Martha Diet. The weight came off the year she cooked and ate like Martha Stewart – lean meats, lots of vegetables and fruits, healthy carbs and only small portions of dessert.
• Travel writer, Betsy Talbot, Married With Luggage, suggests losing weight is easier if we eat like a traveler.
• Jackie Smith, who publishes TravelnWrite, pens a Diet to Go series of articles where she follows the advice of Seattle cardiologist, Dr. Rob Thompson author of the The Glycemic-Load Diet: A powerful new program for losing weight and reversing insulin resistance.
• Could a lack of vitamin D be contributing to your weight problem? Alisa Bowman, who also writes about relationships at Project Happily Ever After, explains why vitamin D could help. Don’t be fooled by the title, The 7-Day Slim Down: Drop Twice the Weight in Half the Time with the Vitamin D Diet, the advice also applies to our slow weight loss challenge.
• And, finally, Melanie McMinn from Frugal Kiwi isn’t on a weight loss program, she’s on a mission to cure her health problems by Eating Yourself Well. Maybe we should all be looking at food that way.

Which one of these suggestions will work for you? Post a comment to share with us or share more strategies. We’ll work on this together.

Want to keep up with all of our healthy changes? Bookmark the One Healthy Change a Month page.

I have included an Amazon Link to The Glycemic-Load Diet and to The 7-Day Slim Down for your convenience. However My Itchy Travel Feet does receive a small percentage for purchases made at Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Before making changes to your health routine or starting a weight loss program, consult your doctor to determine what is best for you.