First of all, snacks are great! Some people think that to lose weight they have to eat only three meals a day – nothing else. They feel hungry, fatigued, and frustrated. It’s not surprising when they don’t stick with their diet, or end up binging at night when no one’s looking.
Snacks keep you from getting overly hungry (when you lose control). They help keep your blood sugar stable. And they help you lose weight.
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When you’re away from home, whether for work or for travel, it can be challenging to eat right. There are so many unhealthy choices – fatty fast foods, high-calorie convenience snacks, and sodium-laden restaurant food.
To save your diet, the best thing to do is to take your own food. It’s the old fashioned “brown bagging it” with a modern day insulated food bag.
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Next time you’re standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, take a look at the candy and snack foods displayed. Look at the package size and decide how many servings you think are in it. Then turn the package over and see what it says.
There’s a good chance there is more than one serving in the package – even if it looks like only one serving!
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When it comes to weight loss, we have to be really careful with our food choices. One of the biggest things to keep in mind is: calories vs. portion size.
We’re looking for foods that are full of nutrients and we can eat a good portion of, but that don’t contain a lot of calories.
For example, a baked potato is very filling, has lots of good nutrients, and trace amounts of fat. A bag of chips on the other hand is not filling, has little nutrients, and tons of sodium and fat.
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Have you ever planted a garden? Then you know whatever seeds you plant, that’s the kind of plants you’ll get. So if you want corn, you’ll have to plant corn.
Well, with weight loss it’s the same principle.
If you “sow” 20 Twinkie cakes and 30 minutes on the treadmill, what do you think you’re going to grow? (Grow around the middle!)
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During the first six months of making healthy changes you are most at risk for relapse. This is the time when it’s easiest to slip back into old ways.
During this time you have to really think about the changes. They’re not comfortable for you or “natural.” Making healthy food, preparing ahead, planning your exercise, journaling your food – all these new things take a bunch of effort.
It’s not for many months, or even a year, that these new and healthy changes start becoming automatic.
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Change doesn’t always come easy or fast – even when you want it to. It can take weeks, months, or (groan) even years to get to the point where you’re ready for action.
Everybody goes through many stages of change. They can bounce back and forth for awhile before they hit that “Okay, I’m ready!” stage.
Contemplation: Most people start by thinking about making changes. For example, they go to an amusement park and find out they are really out of shape and overweight. They realize they have to do something about their weight. This sticks in their head.
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No, I’m not promoting the latest, greatest herbal wonder remedy. Actually, what I am promoting is completely natural and costs very little.
So what is this incredible mood booster and stress reliever?
Believe it or not, it’s exercise! I can be having the worst day, feeling totally stressed out or down in the dumps, and after I exercise my whole outlook is brighter.
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I overheard a lady talking about how one year she decided not to wait until New Year’s to make her resolution – and to start working on it. It was Thanksgiving Day when she decided to work on her weight. Now each Thanksgiving she makes a resolution. It’s her new New Year’s Day.
A lot of people wait until the New Year to make a resolution. This is especially true for weight loss. But why wait?
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When I finally convince my clients to plan their food, they start seeing results. They may have fooled themselves a long time into thinking they could just “wing it” and make good choices. But when they were hungry and short on time, they grabbed what was easiest and what tasted good. When they were with family or friends they ate what everyone else was eating. They may have made some good choices, but they kept “blowing it” with a few bad ones.
Only with a solid food plan can anyone stick to a healthy diet.
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Have you been thinking about making some healthy changes? Maybe you’ve been considering trying to lose weight or start exercising.
At the same time, you might feel like it’s too hard to start.
Of course, it IS difficult to change. Behaviors set our course and build momentum. It’s kind of like a ball rolling downhill. It picks up more speed and power the longer it continues.
For example, if you’ve been stopping at the gas station on your way to work every morning for the last five years for coffee and pastries, it’s going to be hard to pass by. If you’ve been sitting on the couch watching TV for your recreation, it’s going to be hard to move.
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The best way to be successful with your diet is to plan your food. If you leave food to chance, “I’ll figure it out later,” you’ll end up making poor choices. You’ll be hungry, short on time, and low on will power.
Instead of hoping to stick to your diet, plan your diet. Figure out what healthy foods you like, make a menu, get your ingredients, and get cooking!
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I’ve worked with many school teachers for weight loss and fitness. What I find is that during the summer they are able to concentrate on their health and really work on their diet and exercise goals.
Once the school year starts, however, their schedule gets hectic and they often give in to time pressure. They skip exercise, get take-out food, and fall off plan.
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One of my clients is beginning to train for a 5K. Two months ago she never thought she could do something like this.
Several times a week she goes jogging/walking with a friend for 2.5 miles. Now, she is significantly overweight; her friend is normal weight. “I can’t believe I can run faster and farther than she can,” my client told me. She assumed that because her friend was smaller that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with her. But the opposite was true!
That’s because she is faithful to weight train, jog the track, get on the treadmill and the bike, and push herself a little more each week.
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Most people don’t have a difficult time eating fruit. Bananas, apples, and grapes are all tasty and make a fast snack. Plus they’re sweet!
Vegetables on the other hand often take a little preparation to prepare. Their taste may not be too exciting either. It can be a little harder to get enough every day.
But all of us need our veggies! They are part of a healthy diet. Not only do they give us vitamins and minerals, but they help ward off diseases like heart disease and cancer.
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You should know by now that your body likes to sit in a soft chair, recline on the sofa, and lounge by the pool. It will remind you of how good those things feel. And it will give you lots of reasons why you should take a break.
On the other hand, your body is not very willing to sweat, pant, burn with muscle fatigue, and put out great amounts of energy. It will remind you of how uncomfortable those things are. And it will give you millions of reason why you can’t exercise.
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If food is your issue (and it usually is if you’re overweight) then you have to figure out a way to control your intake. Of course food is not something you can just cut out of your life, like cigarettes or alcohol. You have to have food. So you have to learn how to have it, but have the right kind and the right amounts.
The biggest way to get a grip on your food is by first making your environment safe. This means getting rid of all the temptation foods in your home, office, car, etc. You know what they are – they’re the ones you crave, binge on, and comb your cupboards/freezer for.
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Have you been facing food challenges this summer as you go to fun get-togethers? I’ve been hearing lots of stories from my clients about summer foods they’re facing: hot dogs, barbeque, cakes, ice cream, potato and macaroni salad, etc.
It seems when people get together for things like reunions, picnics, or potlucks, most of the food is fattening and calorie-laden. It makes staying on your diet really tough.
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Studies show that people who exercise consistently are much more successful long term with weight loss than those who don’t exercise.
If you haven’t noticed, a lot of people go on a diet, lose a little weight, then go right back to their old habits. They sit on the couch, eat Doritos and ice cream, and feel lousy. They gain all of their weight back (or more).
When someone is exercising consistently, even if they struggle with their food, they’re keeping their weight and health in focus. They may have a period of weight loss then a plateau, but if they keep exercising they can hang on to their weight loss. Usually they can return to a weight loss phase because they are exercising.
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When I begin working with someone who is significantly overweight, I hear a lot of negative self talk: “I don’t think I can ever lose this weight. I hate the way I look. I feel so big.” And so on.
How they think about themselves eventually comes out of their mouths and shows what is in their minds. How they think about themselves and their weight will direct their course when it comes to weight loss.
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My son rode a full-size, adult bike for the first time this week. At first he couldn’t get on because the seat was higher than him. He had to straddle the bike then stand on the pedals and push off to get up. He wobbled around, but eventually got moving and steadied. Anytime he slowed down, though, he fell off because he lost momentum and balance.
I see the same thing happening with my clients. They come to me because they want to lose weight and start exercising. They haven’t been eating right and exercising so it’s really tough to get started – kind of like getting on a bike that’s too big for you!
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Have you ever gotten behind writing receipts into your checkbook? Did you know exactly how much money was left in your checking account? Probably not.
How about your monthly bills? Do you know what they are and put money aside for them? Or do you just spend money and hope you have enough to pay them? Hopefully you have a budget to follow!
Well, tracking our money can be compared to tracking our calories. We have to know how much money we need, how much we can spend, and how much is left over.
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It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to live every day of your life without getting any sugar of any kind. Going out to dinner, having a work luncheon, or going to a friend’s house probably means food with sugar.
Even if you try to make the best choices, sugar is found in almost every product – including bread, crackers, sauces, dressings, etc.
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This week I’m fasting all sugar, sugar derivatives, and products with sugar. Several of my clients have joined me on this venture too!
What’s been frustrating is finding sugar in everything – light salad dressing, low sugar ketchup, Bisquick, low fat mayo, pretzels, cereal, crackers, bread, etc.
I’m beginning to wonder if there’s anything in a box, bottle, or package that doesn’t contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
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There are a lot of natural sweeteners available. Some of them have no calories and many of them have a low glycemic index, meaning they don’t raise your blood sugar quickly. I have found that they are also very sweet and you only need a little to sweeten your foods.
I prefer stevia powder for drinks, shakes, and oatmeal. I drizzle a little agave over my oatmeal pancakes or into my oat mixture when making apple “crisp”. Brown rice syrup can be really great in natural peanut butter cookies made with whole wheat flour.
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