Healthy Weight Loss Tips

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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So, you want to get sugar out of your daily diet. Well, it’s not too easy, but it certainly can be done with a little effort. And getting sugar out of your diet is totally worth the effort!

Meal times aren’t too difficult when you’re eating lean proteins and fresh veggies. Snacks and treats can be a challenge, however, so here are ideas on how to enjoy tasty, sugar-free eating.
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Get rid of all junk.

Now we come to a touchy subject. Many people feel resistant, or even resentful, about giving up all their junk food. They want to hold onto a few “little” things.

It’s not that one pretzel or three chips will sabotage your weight loss. It’s that one pretzels turns into five, and three chips turn into half a bag.

Junk food is engineered to make you want more. Flavor enhancers, sodium, and sugar are used to cause cravings and make the food addictive. It’s almost impossible to stop once you get started.

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It’s really frustrating to get on the scale and see the number up instead of down when you know you had a really good week. You wonder, “Why is my weight up when I did so well?”

If you know you did great with your diet and you exercised consistently, then there is something else going on. There can be several reasons for this.

1. Too much sodium. If you had a meal the day before with sauce or seasoning, it could have been loaded with salt. This causes your body to retain water and it takes a day or two before that goes away.
2. Carbs or sugar. Things like potatoes, pasta, popcorn, sweets, etc., all cause you to retain water and weigh more. This is especially noticeable if you eat carbs or sugar the night before you weigh in.
3. Bowel backup. How much waste product you have packed in your bowels can make a big difference on the scale. Make sure you are having regular bowel movements.
4. Water logged. Water weighs a lot and if you drink before you weigh it’ll show, especially if you weigh later in the day and you’ve been drinking water all day. Of course, drinking water helps flush fluid out of your body, but drinking it too close to weigh-in will affect your number.
5. PMS. It’s normal for a woman’s cycle to cause weight fluctuations throughout the month. Know where you are in your cycle so you won’t feel discouraged if your weight is up while PMSing.
6. Plateau. Sometimes the body just takes a little time to adjust. You may hit a week or two when your weight holds steady. Just keep on course and your body will adjust.
7. Diet denial. Often, when our weight isn’t coming down as we’d like, we didn’t do as well on our diet as we thought. We may have had four good days, but blew three days. No matter how good we did on our good days, those bad days will cancel them out!

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Crackers, cereals, pretzels, chips, breads, cookies, etc., are all processed grains. They have been changed from their original state, refined, and added to. Often in the refining process, the fiber in the grain has been stripped away. Many processed grains also contain high amounts of sodium, sweeteners, and preservatives.

What I have found with process grains is that they are trigger foods. Whether it’s the salt, sugar, or the simple carbs hitting your system, processed grains trigger your body to eat more, crave more, want more!

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Today was not a good eating day for me. I was BAAAAAAAD. Two cookies (my son made them for math to learn how to measure), a handful of M&Ms (I took some when I gave one to the little girl I was babysitting went potty), and half a homemade waffle my mom made (fresh, hot, right out of her waffle iron – the evil contraption).

When I got up today, I knew the waters were going to be rough. I felt very tired physically, plus I felt a boatload of stress on my shoulders. So, emotionally, I was not in a good place. And I felt really hungry first thing when I usually don’t even think about breakfast for two hours.

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I tend to burn through my food like the Tasmanian devil spins through a tree. About two hours after eating, I’m feeling hungry again. If I don’t eat, I’ll become tired, spacey, and sometimes shaky.

I had my blood sugar tested and it was normal. No problems there. So why the high hunger level? And why do I go craving crazy if I eat any starches other than brown rice or oats? Why do I only feel full if I eat a lot of protein?

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Doritos, Oreos, Snickers, potato chips, French fries, M&Ms, pizza, nachos, chicken wings, oatmeal cream pies, chocolate, cheese curls… can you think of a few more?

All of these foods make you want to keep eating and eating, after you’re full, when you’ve already consumed more than a serving, and your taste buds clamor for more. To win the battle with them, you’ve got to cut them off cold turkey.

You cannot flirt with these foods or wean yourself off of them. They’re dangerous. Just one bite and you’ll be slammed-bammed-whammed with huge cravings to eat more. Why?

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I love pancakes. I rarely make them because the typical pancake mix is high in calories and carbohydrates, and low in fiber. So I went looking for an alternative.

I found a way to make a healthy version of pancakes that tastes delicious (my family agrees). They are made from oatmeal, which is a great source of nutrients and fiber, and they have no added fat or sugar.

Oatmeal Pancakes
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cup hot water or fat free milk
1 cup oatmeal flour (grind oatmeal in a blender)
4 egg whites, whisk with fork
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 packets Splenda

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I’ve noticed that over the summer I let sugar slip back into my diet. I have to admit it was mostly in the form of ice cream. There’s not much I enjoy more than cold, creamy ice cream to cool summer’s heat. But it was getting to be a little too much and a little too frequent.

Then over the weekend we had a birthday party for my son. My mother made homemade chocolate cake for the occasion. It was incredibly moist and rich. I ate too much and felt yucky afterwards.

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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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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]

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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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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Finding a healthy weight comes down to finding the correct amount of calories your body needs. Eating less than your body needs will cause weight loss. Eating more than your body needs ends up in weight gain.

If the scale is moving up, the unpleasant truth is you’re overeating.

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We’re driving north on the interstate, the last leg of the trip. Almost home! I am so ready to get back into my routine and back to my safe environment.

I felt pretty good about my week in Alabama, but these last two days on the road haven’t been good. I’m tired, road weary, and low on resolve. I’ve had carbs and sugar and who know how many calories.

Driving for me is tiring and boring. I want to munch to stay alert, but even if it’s good stuff like grapes and almonds, it’s too much. And spending a night in a hotel and two days in the car makes packing healthy foods a challenge. I did take healthy snacks (yogurt, fruit, protein bars), but we stopped a couple of times for meals – some good, some not so good.

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I recently began working with a previous client who had taken off for six months. In the past she had tried weight loss with limited success.

Though she watched her calories and portions, she didn’t always choose healthy foods. The diet she followed allowed her to eat any kind of food as long as she didn’t go over her allotment. One of the problems with this was that she craved foods, especially carbs and sugar.

This time around, she asked me for a food plan. I wrote out a balanced plan with healthy foods like lean proteins, vegetables and fruits, nonfat dairy, nuts, and olive oil. One big change for her was that I recommend she eat NO processed carbs. This included pretzels, 100 calorie packs, crackers, etc. I asked her to eat only cooked grains like oatmeal and brown rice, and 100% whole wheat products. I also asked her to completely eliminate sugar.

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Just about everywhere I go, I pack food and water for me and my family. It doesn’t have to be a long road trip. It could be grocery shopping, going to the mall, or going to the park. I know by the time we get back to the car, everybody will be hungry and thirsty.

I have no desire to stop at a convenience store for provisions. First of all, the healthy food selection is minimal at best. Sugary drinks and snacky junk foods are the main fare. Then you’ve got overinflated prices. I mean, really, who wants to pay $2.00 for a little bottle of water?

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I have found sugar to be a nasty little addictive substance. Have you noticed too that once you get a taste of it, you want more?

I had a perfectly healthy bowl of fresh strawberries and decided to add a plop of Cool Whip Free on top. It tasted mighty delicious. But then I noticed, after I licked my spoon clean, that my taste buds were clamoring for more – more sugar, more sweet something! Fortunately I needed to take a shower so I locked myself in the bathroom before I started raiding the house.

What works best for me is to avoid sugar altogether. If I start on sugar, it’s a roller coaster ride that’s hard to get off of. When I don’t eat sugar, I don’t have cravings. I feel great with lots of energy.

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