Healthy Weight Loss Tips

We had the last cookout of the summer with our friends. We grilled, built a fire in the fire pit, and watched the kids chase each other with flashlights all over the backyard after the sun went down. What a sweet time we had.

The only down side for me was that I ate too much! And I had ice cream – chocolate with peanut butter chunks. Oh man.

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How you think, you will feel. How you feel, you will do.

I’ve often noticed clients in negative thought patterns. They may say things like, “I’m so fat. I’m so out of shape. I hate this bulge. My hips are so big. I don’t know how you put up with me.”

Other times I’ll notice how they try not to look at themselves in the mirror. Or how they pull down their shirt constantly to cover their hips. Or how they always move out of other people’s way, apologizing, when they were using the space first.

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If you’re working on weight loss, you want to make sure you eat lots of fiber every day. Fiber helps fill you up and keeps you feeling fuller longer. It helps move fat through the digestive system so not as much is absorbed. Plus we don’t absorb the calories in fiber.

You should aim for 25-30 grams of fiber each day. If you’re not eating much fiber currently, start adding fiber slowly. Eating too much fiber too fast can cause bloating, gas, and/or constipation. Also drink plenty of water to help the fiber pass through your digestive system.

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Where I live there are a lot of “old order” Mennonites. They do not use cars, electricity, TV, or many modern conveniences. They dress plain and live simply. Getting around town is done by horse and buggy, or bicycle.

Today I saw two Mennonite girls waiting at a traffic light on their bicycles. What amazed me was that neither of them had their feet down, but they balanced perfectly while standing still. They had their arms linked together and across one another’s shoulders. This allowed them to balance off each other. When the light turned green they began pedaling and unhooked arms in unison, never having to touch down with their feet.

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For many people, keeping a food journal all day long is tedious, if not almost impossible. If you work in the health care field, at a factory, etc., you may be unable to keep a journal with you or have the time to keep a running total. Even if you do have the time, you may hate writing everything down and adding up calories.

There’s a simple way around this – and you can still eat healthy foods in your calorie range. So go ahead and ditch the journal!

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We took our boys to a WWII air show at our local airport. We enjoyed the display of planes, toured two bombers, and then joined the throng of people packed along the airstrip. Stunt planes flew crazy loops in the sky and parachute jumpers floated down like petals.

Right in front of me was a family with two small children. The little girl (about age 1 1/2) sat in the stroller screaming, but not from the sound of the planes like I first thought.

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Take time this weekend to plan healthy meals ahead for next week. If you’re very busy during the week, go ahead and prepare them (or partially make them) so all you need to do is re-heat or cook.

This will help you avoid stress eating at the end of the day when you’re low on energy. Consider also eating the “same” foods during the day and only changing up your dinner foods. This too will help keep your food choices under control, and makes planning and preparing a simple process.

Here are some ideas for healthy plan-ahead meals:

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We all know sugar is bad for us – even though it can taste heavenly! And one bite usually isn’t enough. The more you eat, the more you want.

You may be surprised by how much sugar you actually consume. It’s hidden in most processed foods. Even yogurt, which we consider healthy, can have the equivalent of 5 teaspoons of sugar.

One of the best steps for weight loss (and your health) is to cut sugar from your diet as much as possible. Here are some easy tips to get you started: [More]

How’s your week going? Did you start out with good intentions on Monday? Now it’s the middle of the week and you may have found your food choices taking a nose dive.

One of my clients said to me, “I had a bad food day yesterday because I was so busy.” This can happen easily. We’re hurrying about and suddenly realize we’re starving. So we grab the fastest and nearest thing available – which usually isn’t grilled chicken on a bed of Romaine lettuce with light Caesar dressing!

For me, when I come home from work famished, I know I’d better not open the cupboard where the boxes of crackers and cereal are kept for my kids. It’s too easy to grab a handful and stuff it down without a thought. Almost always, I will have planned my food for when I arrive home and have it in the refrigerator waiting.

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Weight cycles are discouraging, but don’t give up!

I sat down and talked with a former client from three years ago. He had lost 40 pounds and became quite fit – cycling, swimming, and weight training. Everything was going great. He felt great, looked great, had lots of energy, and felt very positive about his accomplishments.

Then his health took a turn. He began struggling with knee pain and a nerve issue in his back. It was difficult to exercise at all. Slowly he lost control over his eating. The weight began to creep back on until it was all back.

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Want to wear sporty tank tops and cute sundresses? But you’re embarrassed about your flabby arms…

You can have nicely defined shoulders and firm arms, but it’ll take a little work! You’ll have to strength train your upper body twice a week.

Use challenging weights and, ladies, don’t worry that you’ll bulk up. You won’t bulk up, but you will start to look toned. Wouldn’t that be nice? Guys, if you want to add some muscle, really push your weights (8-10 reps with a spotter). For toning, do each exercise for 15 repetitions and repeat a second time.

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Whole grains are packed with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. You can easily add them to your diet by replacing “white” grains with whole grains in recipes, snacks, and meals.

This whole wheat spaghetti pie uses whole wheat pasta in place of white spaghetti. It offers lots of nutrition and great taste the whole family will enjoy. Add a salad or a side of steamed veggies for a complete meal.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Pie

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You may say, “I want to eat healthy and exercise, but I’m super busy. I work a lot of hours and eat a lot of restaurant food. How can I lose weight and get in shape with my schedule?”

You’re not alone. There are many people who find it difficult to make healthy choices because of hectic schedules. But it can be done. I see business professionals, doctors, and moms with small children and babies who workout daily, eat well, and take care of their bodies.

There are five simple steps I recommend for you to start with. You will have to be diligent to stick with them, but in time they will become habit. And they will make a great start to your weight loss.

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I remember when I first lost weight. There were days when I felt big. I called them “fat days.” My internal image, my emotions, my mindset – everything – felt like I did when I was 60 pounds heavier. Insecurity would sit on my shoulders like a sack of potatoes. I could hardly make myself go into the gym to workout. All the thin, shapely women around made me want to tuck my head in shame.

It didn’t matter that I was a size 6. Inside I was a size 18.

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There are few people I know of who decided to lose weight on their own with no outside support or help – and were successful. There are also few people I know of who lost weight and kept it off for five or more years.

Why? Because weight loss is not a once-and-done thing like buying a pair of shoes. It requires total behavior change: new ways of eating, coping, socializing, relaxing, etc. This requires difficult lifestyle changes.

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It’s easy to say, “I want to lose weight. I want to get in shape.” But saying it and doing it are not the same things!

These are big goals and they can seem overwhelming. You may feel like you don’t know how to get started.

To actually get in motion and work toward your goal, you will need to break it down into manageable steps. This will give you clear direction on how to proceed.

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I recently spent time with my mom in the hospital. Sometime during the night (as I tossed and turned on hard plastic chairs) I realized that many of the nurses and healthcare workers were overweight – significantly overweight.

Of all people who “know better” you would think that healthcare workers would be at the top of the list. Every day they see the ravages of obesity-related diseases in people’s bodies. They see the medication’s side effects, the debilitation, and the suffering.

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There’s something about summer that says, “Ice cream, watermelon, and corn on the cob!” Plus there’s grilling out, picnics, and trips to the beach for boardwalk food. But how healthy are your summer favorites? How do the calories stack up? Take a look:

Cold Stone Creamery’s vanilla bean – 330 calories, 19 grams fat

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I read an interesting interview with author Debbie Danowski Ph.D. What she said confirmed what I’ve found to be true in my own life and with others who struggle to control their food. She said, “The main thing to ensure success is for food addicts to take their addictive substances out of their eating plan. If they don’t, they will not be able to recover.”

I’ve noticed there are certain foods that seem to “set me off.” When I eat them, I feel like I can’t stop at one portion – or it’s very hard to stop.

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Weight loss doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it isn’t. There are very basic principles that work. You may not like them, and you may not want to follow them, but they are simple and they are basic.

You don’t need fancy diets or fancy foods that cost lots of money. You can have them if you want them. But weight loss still comes down to basic principles.

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The last thing I wanted to do this afternoon was run 8.5 miles. I knew the hilly route ahead of me, which wouldn’t have been so bad early in the morning while the temperature was cooler. But at 6:00 a.m. we were having thunder, lightening, and downpours. Not a good situation for an outdoor run.

I was on schedule to play piano at church, so I knew I’d have to run when I got home – if the storms had ended. They did, and the sun came out to make the air steamy, hot, and humid.

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