Mark McNees: Mark’s 10 Commandments for Being Your Ideal Weight

Mark’s 10 Commandments for Being Your Ideal Weight

I thought it might be helpful to pass along 10 of the most beneficial changes that assisted me in my personal transformation.

1. Thou shalt only make sustainable changes.

Gimmick diets may work for the short term, but let’s be honest, how long can you go only eating pork products? Before you make a change in your life ask yourself if it is sustainable for the rest of your life. If the answer is, “No,” then don’t do it.

2. Thou shalt lose ounces not pounds.

No one loses or gains fat in pounds; we lose and gain in ounces. There are about 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. So in order to lose a pound of fat you need to have a 3,500 calorie deficit in your diet. But since no one loses pounds only ounces (16oz make a pound) let’s look at what it will take to lose an ounce. If you are currently drinking 16oz of Coke a day and switched to Diet Coke (I suggest water, but remember only make sustainable change) you would lose about 1oz of fat a day. In the course of a year you would lose around 22.8 pounds. Small changes, big results.

3. Thou shalt not eat while watching TV, movies, or surfing the computer.

Reason: Mindless eating can easily add a 1,000 calories (5oz of fat) or so a day.

4. Thou shalt not eat fast food.

Processed foods like the ones you find at McDonald’s are low in nutritional value and high in calories. If you are on the go, run into a supermarket and grab some turkey meat from the deli and some whole grain bread and make yourself a filling yet healthy sandwich.

5. Thou shalt not eat out of the bag/carton.

Portion control is critical. If you are going to eat something that is from a bag/carton, don’t eat it out of the bag/carton. This includes ice cream as well (sad).

6. Thou shalt read the label.

Reading the label before you buy it will help you decide how you want to spend your approximately 2,000 calorie daily quota.

7. Thou shalt think through your eating.

Let’s face it, 2,000 calories a day is not a whole lot. That means to get the most out of your calories you need to think through what you intend to eat for the entirety of the day. For instance a 4oz skinless chicken breast has 110 calories and a 3oz 80/20 (lean/fat) hamburger patty contains 230 calories. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather have 8oz of skinless chicken breast at 220 calories than 3oz of hamburger patty (3oz, really!?) at 230 calories.

8. Thou shalt grill not fry.

Frying adds fat and calories and does not taste as good as grilling.

9. Thou shalt drink lots of H2O.

If your belly is full of water, you can’t fill it with food. It also flushes your system.

10. Thou shalt move.

I can’t live on 2,000 calories a day. OK, I could, but I really don’t want to. So, that means something else must change.

That change is movement. I am 6’2” and 200 pounds; if I run a mile I’ll burn about 150 calories (Exercise Calorie Counter http://www.prohealth.com/weightloss/tools/exercise/calculator1_2.cfm). Or another way to look at it is: I get to eat another chicken breast at dinner. Simple math: If you want to eat more than 2,000 calories, you gotta move to make up the difference.

This post was an excerpt from Immersion: Live the Life God Envisioned for You

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