How to Lose 10 to 20 pounds in 3 months: 10 ideas

How to lose 10 to 20 pounds in 3 months: is that your goal? Well, Rand & Merry Soellner did just that. He’s an Architect and she’s a Real Estate Broker. This article features 10 ideas. None of them is hard or unpleasant.

Rand was at 206 pounds, the heaviest he’s ever been about 3 months ago, and Merry was heavier than she had been (but doesn’t want to talk about that). Rand is now maintaining around 189 pounds, what he considers to be a “doable” weight, but would like to perhaps get down another 10 pounds, to 179, which he believes is closer to his ideal weight. He is about 6′-2″ tall. Some people might say he is okay at around 200 pounds, but he can tell and knows that his body fat percentage is too high. Some of that correction could be handled by exercise.

People out there may be asking: “Okay; so how did you lose this weight in 3 months and how are you keeping it off?” Good question. And one that has nothing to do with residential architecture, the main subject of this particular forum. However, Rand Soellner felt that what he and his wife accomplished weight-wise seems to be preoccupying so many tens of millions of people in America and around that world, (a multi-billion dollar a year industry) that he thought those people visiting his company’s website: www.HomeArchitects.com , might appreciate knowing how he and his wife did this. First: Rand and his wife and their respective websites are not medical websites, nor do they offer medical advice, and anyone and everyone contemplating entering a weight-loss regimen should first consult with their medical doctors to be assured that whatever program they undertake will be healthy for them. Certain aspects or all of the methods indicated herein may need to be modified to suit your particular circumstances. Do Not undertake without consulting with your doctor(s) and have them monitor your progress regularly. Okay, the disclaimer has been stated. Here’s how Rand & Merry did this:

1. VEGAN DIET
Merry Soellner is a vegan vegetarian 95% of the time. That means she doesn’t typically eat meat of any kind, including fish. Nor dairy products (like cheese, milk, eggs). She has a mainly plant-based diet. Once in a big while, she will have a cheese pizza, but not too often. And also perhaps some fish, but not often.

2. CONVENIENCE EATING CAN BE A GOOD THING
Rand Soellner is a guy, which means he is a creature of convenience and will eat just about anything set in front of him by his wife. This means, that while he remains an omnivore, his diet has been much reduced in animal protein, in favor of primarily plant-based food. HOWEVER: he cheats: he regularly will “spice-up” his wife’s vegan fare with turkey pepperoni, grated cheese, and will have the occasional fast-food burger and shake and the like, when he is on the road on business, driving to his clients’ building sites. The idea is that the main percentage of his diet has changed to plant-based. And when he does indulge in fast-food on the road, there is zero snacking between meals (see more on “snacking” below). And he rarely gets fries and never has any McDonald’s or other restaurant “super-size” his meals. Medium size is good enough.

3. WALK MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY: ITS EASY AND FEELS GOOD
Rand, while leading a primarily sedentary lifestyle, also makes sure to walk about 1.5 miles a day (he is a Architect who works in his home office at a computer most of the time, designing projects all over the USA and world on his computer). He and his wife have a dog and every couple of hours, he leaves the sitting position to walk the dog along a route that taken 4 or 5 times a day, adds up to 1.5 miles. He strides swiftly, also moving his arms, trying to use up calories (no, he does not do this to excess; just a normal, swift pace). His doctor has informed him that he needs to increase his heart and breathing rates while doing this, in order for this to be effective. In other words, if you putter along at a mile an hour, that’s probably not going to be as beneficial as a swifter rate. What rate is good for you depends on your condition and what your physician advises. For gosh sakes, do not cause yourself a heart attack while trying to improve your health by reducing weight. And Rand’s physician has not advised running, which is high-impact and can be harsh on hip, knee and ankle joints (which could vary, depending on your age).

4. CHANGE SNACKING
Like many people, Rand and Merry have historically been snackers. Rand said that this, in his opinion, is the main thing to control. He feels that if you can stop snacking altogether (no intake of food content between each of the 3 normal meals a day), you will probably experience faster weight loss. If you don’t have the willpower to not snack, then substitute a healthy snack, like carrot sticks, celery or other munchie that tastes good to you and satisfies your hunger, but doesn’t add fattening pounds. If the carrots or celery by themselves don’t satisfy you, then include a bit of something tasty on the end, but don’t overdo this. Sugary snacks, are, in Rand’s opinion, one of the deadliest causes of obesity. “I used to eat perhaps over a pound of chocolate a week; sometimes more. That kept me going for 20 hours a day when I had multiple large projects to design. When I was in my teens, 20s and 30s, this was no big deal; my higher metabolic rate back then burned the calories up. But when I hit my 40s, it started to stick.” Rand also discovered recently that caffeine from chocolate, carbonated sodas and other sources can cause migraine headaches. With the advice of his doctor, he found that by completely eliminating caffeine, which unfortunately included his lifelong enjoyment of chocolate, immediately removed any headaches whatsoever. That is a by-product of weight loss, that is most welcome.

5. DELAYED MEAL TIME
Rand realizes that many diet professionals may take exception to this; but it seems to work for him: delaying your mealtime. In other words, if you are very anxious to quickly shed some pounds, simply don’t eat for longer periods of time between food intake. Instead of eating breakfast at 7AM, wait until 10AM. Instead of eating lunch at 12Noon, wait until 3PM. If you feel your stomach gurgling and you have hunger pangs, that may be your body consuming fat deposits in your body, because you haven’t fed it promptly. And that’s probably a good thing. Most Americans can probably live off their body fat for quite a long time, as long as they have clean water to drink. No one here is suggesting that you do that. Just perhaps delay what you eat for a couple of more hours than you might normally do, if approved by your doctor.

6. EAT LESS
Despite some people’s claims to have fatness caused by glandular issues, let’s think about this for a bit: How can your body possibly become obese, if you stop cramming food down the pie-hole? If you eat less, how can your body add as much fat as before you stopped eating so much? Simple answer to fatness: EAT LESS. Most Americans probably eat enough food in a week to feed the average 3rd world family for 3 months. The obscene gigantic proportions at restaurants for a single person could probably feed 2 to 4 people. EAT LESS. Take 3 spoonfuls of pasta instead of 4 or 5. Eat no bread with your meal instead of that buttery Texas toast. Knock off the deserts, especially, gloppy, sugary stuff. Eat more salad, with less dressing. If you use dressing, buy or have the low-fat/low-calorie type.

7. DRINK MORE, DRINK LESS
Drink more clean, filtered water, drink less alcoholic beverages. Merry says that alcohol gets converted to sugar in your body, which makes you fat. Doctors may say that having a single cup of red wine a day may be good for you. Seems to work for the Europeans. Perhaps by thinning your blood a little. This will depend on your unique physiology. Check with your doctor. But much more than this can cause alcohol poisoning and add to obesity. Neither Rand nor Merry drink much. Perhaps a single glass of wine or beer once a week or even once a month. According to doctor recommendations for general health, they should probably drink a little more alcohol. But many people drink far too much alcohol and this is weight that can be removed by stopping this consumption. There are a variety of helpful alcohol treatment facilities and resources in our society, if you are addicted, but if you are able to control your intake, then you will probably want to consume less alcohol. This should help you reduce your weight. Do increase your clean water consumption, substituting water for sugary and alcoholic drinks. Stop drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. That’s like drinking a candy bar. The Mayor of New York actually instituted a law in that city that prohibited large sugary drinks, due to the high percentage of obese people there. Unfortunately, other people had the law revoked. In other words: YOU are responsible for what goes into your body, not a political figure, no matter how well-intentioned.

8. BREAD
If you are going to eat bread, eat whole wheat or other multiple grain bread, and although it is hard to find and do: read the contents label and try to not buy bread with sugar in it. Why is that in there? We really do not know. Pasty white bread with sugar can be almost as fattening as candy.

9. BE ZEALOUS IN LIFE
Have interests in your life: your work, your pets, your hobbies, your spouse. Have a state of mind that is active. Your brain is the main consumer of bio-electrical energy in your body: use it! That can increase your body’s consumption of calories. In other words, don’t just sit like a stump. Move around. Think. Do. Be interested in life.

10. EXERCISE OF A MORE INTENSE SORT
The walking above was meant to be woven into your daily lifestyle, so you aren’t just sitting all day long. That was meant to be nothing terribly taxing; just a pleasant moving around, not necessarily requiring athletic gear, special shoes or even sweat. However, most physicians will likely counsel their patients to do more. For instance, isometric or weight lifting using your arms and free weights. Nothing too heavy, just enough to keep your arms, shoulders, back and related bones and muscles in good tone. Once again: consult your doctor: you may have issues with your back or other parts of your body that preclude doing this. Don’t hurt yourself trying to be healthy! Rand has known other Architect who have decided to start running for their health, then they keeled over with a heart attack. Easy does it. However, perhaps a few pushups, crunches or situps may be order, if approved by your doctor. You are trying to “tone” yourself, not build a muscleman physique. Let the teenagers do that. Rand admitted that the only “6-pack” he’s likely to ever have might be in his refrigerator.

For residential architecture, give Rand Soellner a call: 828-269-9046. He probably will not have any more diet tips; please refer those requests for information to your physician.
Rand@HomeArchitects.com

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