21 Do's and Don'ts for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off!

Anyone can lose weight. That is the easy part. Getting down to your healthy weight and keeping that weight from coming back is the hard part. Very few books focus on maintaining a healthy bodyweight and instead concentrate solely on weight loss as a short-term goal. The goal should be staying at an optimum healthy weight for the rest of your life. The key is taking control and making positive changes and being able to stick to them. If you are in the process of losing weight right now and you describe the process to friends using words such as “suffering” or “torture” chances are you are likely to quit before you reach your goal and will likely return to your previous bad habits.


You do not have to eat bland food and exercise for numerous hours every day to get to your goal weight and maintain it. You just need to know what you should and should not do. Most information in the media is confusing at best so I thought I would provide what I have learned over the years.

What do I know – you may ask? What I know I learned from reading and experience. I weighed 213 pounds at age 36 and since that time I have lost weight and managed to maintain a healthy bodyweight of 175. I am now 44. I have been ridiculed by friends and family members for the things I eat and do for my health but when it comes down to it, I am not the one struggling with my weight and more often than not, the same people who ridiculed me end up eating and doing the same things I have been doing. The list below contains things I do and don’t do that keep me successful in maintaining my healthy weight. I hope this helps you too.

Things I Do…

1) Eat whole foods preferably organic when possible – as a rule of thumb I try to eat organic whenever I can. If you stick to the items in my Don’ts list this is not as expensive as you would think. Calculate how much you spend weekly on sugary snacks, soda and fast food each week and just by removing that, you can afford to eat organically. The less pesticides and chemicals that go in my body – the better I will be.

2) Eat eggs from free range chickens – Eggs from overcrowded factory farmed chickens are not healthy. Eggs from free roaming chickens fed an organic diet are healthy.

3) Eat grassfed beef – Grass is the natural diet of cows. They taste better too and are less fatty. If you like steak and burgers – don’t give them up – just get the grassfed variety.

4) Eat organic free range chicken – what goes for eggs goes for the chicken. My favorite is Coleman’s Organic Chicken breasts that I buy at Costco and put over an organic salad.

5) Eat lots of raw organic nuts and seeds - There is a raw food movement where folks eat nothing but raw uncooked foods. It is not for me but may appeal to some people. Nonetheless, walnuts, almonds, pecans in their raw form and organic contain good fats, make excellent snacks and give you lots of energy. Nuts and seeds are the core of my breakfast in the morning – my favorite seeds are hemp and chia.

6) Eat lots of raw organic fruits and vegetables – I try to have salad every day. When I eat chicken or a burger, it is never in a bun - it is usually over a salad with some hot sauce , avocado, and hemp seeds.

7) Exercise smart – new research has shown that you do not have to spend hours in the gym to get outstanding results. Short intense workouts that can be performed in under 20 minutes or less have been shown to have benefits up to 48 hours after the workout.

8) Get proper sleep - Always give your body time to recover. Recent studies have shown that people who sleep less are prone to weight gain.

9) Eat food low in calories and high in nutrients – When choosing foods to eat I try to go with foods with the least amount of calories and the most nutrition. You get this by doing items 1 through 6 religiously.

10) Stick to items 1 through 9 90% of the time and try to avoid or keep items in the Don’t list to 10% of the time - heck even 80%/20% is a good ratio.  Think of it as 4 good meals/snacks for every bad meal or snack.  Strive to get that to 9 to 1. This way you don’t have to completely deprive yourself. It is impossible to be perfect all the time and you should not have to pout when it is cake day at the office or a pizza party. I try to follow these rules most of the time. Here and there I will have a cheat meal or a cheat day but I don’t go crazy overboard either.  Some rules I can stick to almost all the time - some I just have to cheat here and there. As you get healthier your body will crave junk less and less.



Things I Don’t Do (or try not to do)…

1) Eat highly processed foods – As a general rule, if a box or container or food has more than 6 ingredients – it is processed and not that good for you. Many processed foods will say “organic” which will mean they likely have better ingredients but it was still processed. Rule #9 in my Do list says eat food low in calories and high in nutrients. Processed foods are the exact opposite. If the ingredient list contains any items I don’t understand – I don’t buy it. As a general rule I tend to stay away from things in a wrapper or a box except for an occasional organic dark chocolate bar.

2) Drink sugary beverages – For centuries man and woman walked the Earth with only water to drink. If it was good enough for them – it is good enough for me. You will also save a fortune! Most sport drinks are just good marketing and most energy drinks have some really bad ingredients in them. Stick to water!

3) Eat heavily breaded or fried foods.

4) Eat dairy – I do not drink cow’s milk and prefer unsweetened almond milk instead. I do like ice cream during the summer and enjoy pizza on occasion. When I am training for a trail race or endurance event I have noticed that I perform better and lose fat quickly when I eliminate dairy. Keep in mind most dairy products are highly processed. Remember Rule #10 in my Do list – you don’t have to give up dairy. I just avoid it 90% of the time.

5) Overeat – eating until you burst is just not good for you. I will tend to do this on occasion and it causes nothing but stomach pain. If you snack often with quality snacks (see Do list #5) it will keep you satisfied throughout the day and less likely to overindulge.

6) Eat foods with MSG, trans-fats, artificial colors or other types of preservatives. Any food with this in it I label as pure junk. I stay away from these foods as a general rule. Just about any food with these ingredients has a healthier alternative at a natural food store and I would suggest getting the alternative.


7) Eat at fast food restaurants – Fast food restaurants have the lowest quality food you can eat. If you are serious about losing weight stay away from fast food and any restaurants in general. Always ask to see the nutritional information. Most restaurants have online menus and nutrition information. I would do some homework before you eat out. If I do eat out – I have a rule called WORK OUT/EAT OUT. If I eat out I always make sure I do an extra good workout before I eat out. It makes me feel less guilty about breaking a rule.

8) Eat candy as a snack – empty calories that are high in processed sugar and low in nutrition are a terrible snack. Organic nuts and seeds make a much better snack.

9) Eat processed soy products – soy is not as good for you as you may think. When there is too much controversy around a food – and there is with soy – I just stay away.

10) Eat lots of processed grains – I hear everywhere that you should “get your whole grains.” I definitely agree it is better than bleached, enriched white flour products but in general if you are trying to lose weight, most grain products are highly processed and do not give you much in terms of nutrition per calorie compared with nuts, vegetables, and fruits.

11) Drink Alcohol – I choose not to drink alcohol. If you are looking to lose weight I would definitely cut down or cut it out.

There you have it! I would not call this an exhaustive list but it should give you some insight into what I do and don’t do. Again, this works for me and should work for most people who can follow the rules. I wouldn't recommend converting and doing all these things all at once - that is rather drastic - but rather slowly adapting one at a time.  Perhaps one or two positive changes per week.  If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will be glad to respond. In my next few posts I will cover some of these items in some more depth.  Until next time!