Why is it as we age, we get heavier? I feel like if I just look at food, I gain weight. I know many people in mid-life have these feelings. We start getting bigger and bigger and before long, we find that we have become plump or even fat. There are some things that we can do about gaining weight but the two main things to remember are basic to losing weight.

Can you think of the two basic things that are needed by anyone trying to lose weight? They are simple things that we always did as youngsters. They were like second nature to children to run around, playing, and eating small amounts of food at every meal. Eat less and move more. Somewhere along the line, as we began to age, we forget to follow that advice. Children always remember it.

All the advice we ever hear to ?lose weight? is to go on a diet. But dieting is not the way to really lose weight because we don't want to ?die? it; we want to ?live? it. If we just learn to eat less food, push ourselves away from the table, stop eating when we are satisfied or measure our portions, we would be really surprised about how much food would be left over after a meal. We just need to quit eating so much!

Before we sit down to eat, or even while we are eating on the run, we need to drink a big glass of water (or bottle of water if you are on the run). Filling our stomachs first, with water which contains no calories, will make it easier to feel full quicker. Once we sit down to eat, we need to remember another important step, which is to eat slowly, so our brain has time to receive the message that our body is getting nourishment. A good way to eat slowly is to put your fork down between bites.

I think all of us are used to having our meals ?super-sized?. I'm not sure if that is because we think we are getting a better deal or we just actually like to eat, but many people don't even know what a single serving is anymore. I have heard weight loss experts say to skip the second helping and use that food for a smaller meal a few hours later. Plates used to be the size of a dessert plate, which is why the food serving size was more realistic. Our ?super sized? mentality now has us eating off plates the size of a serving platter.

The second important part of losing weight is to jump start our metabolism. The best way to do that is to just get moving by doing some kind of exercise. The easiest way to get exercise is to walk. Walking for enjoyment is a fun, easy way to boost your metabolism and you can walk either outside in nature or inside at malls. Another idea is to park away from work or shopping malls so you have to walk. When you walk more, you can really burn off the extra weight. Try taking the steps next time instead of an elevator.

Try to modify your food intake and eat less. Also try to increase your energy level by doing more activities. Have fun doing things that burn calories, like when we were children and soon we will be a smaller size. Remember, it took a lot of time to put the weight on, so don't be impatient and get frustrated if it doesn't come off fast. You will be successful when you learn to ?live it? and get healthier by eating less and moving more. And try to make friends with healthy and lean individuals. That will motivate you to lose weight faster.