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A Healthy Crash Diet? How To Lose a Lot Of Weight Fast… The Healthy Way

June 21, 2010 By 2 Comments

A Healthy Crash Diet?

Now there’s an oxymoron, right? “Healthy” and “Crash Diet” in the same sentence.

As it turns out there is such a thing as a healthy crash diet, and I’ll explain it to you here in a second, but first some words of caution and a disclaimer (to cover my own butt):

I’m not a doctor or dietician, nor do I play one on TV.  Don’t do this stuff without consulting a doctor first.  This advice is for educational purposes only…

And now the words of caution:  What I’m about to explain to you is hard!  There, I said it.  Don’t let the simplicity fool you, this is tough and you need to get ready for it.

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If you want an “easy button” these instructions are not for you

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Still with me?

Okay, here’s what we’re going to do and I want you to keep in mind we’re only going to do this for five days.

And since you’re still here, I’ll tell you this can result in you dropping 10 pounds over the course of five days (that’s what my son lost when he did it, and he didn’t have a lot of weight to lose in the first place.)

It’s a great way to kick start a diet plan or to break through any plateau you’ve hit.  It’s not a long term diet plan itself, but I think it’s a great component to add in to a long term plan as it helps mix things up.

So what type of magic elixir are we going to take to pull this off?

Juice.

Fresh juice and only fresh juice… for five days.

Told you it was simple.

Of course, getting fresh juice from the store is pretty much impossible these days – everything has been pasteurized and preserved or it’s made from concentrate – that’s not the stuff we’re looking for.

So that means we’re going to have to make our own (or visit juice bars several times a day – that gets inconvenient after your 2nd visit that day).

So what are the rules you ask?

Well, as I mentioned earlier, as long as it’s fresh juice, you can have it.

Carrot juice is actually pretty tasty and fresh apple juice is yummy (but cloudy – not like the stuff you get in the store – tastes more like a mix between unsweetened apple sauce and apple cider).

One of my favorites is to have fresh grapefruit juice – if I’m doing this, I drink a LOT of that stuff and of course you can have orange juice.

You can get more creative and start mixing and matching stuff – for example, here’s a video showing you how to make your own green lemonade which tastes pretty darn good:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNQYJxBo-XU

You can make your own lemonade without cheating provided you use fresh lemons and 100% pure maple syrup (use a 1:1 ratio of syrup to pure fresh squeezed lemon juice and add water to taste – two lemons usually makes about 20 ounces worth of the stuff once you add water and syrup).

Now what happens if you just absolutely need something to munch on?  Try some watermelon, but try to stick to juice as much as possible.

If you like tomato juice, you can give that a whirl in your juicer as well.  Some people have even reported that cucumber juice is really good after a few days on this diet.

Just remember that you get juice… only juice… and nothing but the whole juice.  You can also have as much water as you’d like – but no flavor packs or mixers – just pure good ol’ H2O.

Stick to this for five days and you’ll lose a lot of weight fast, and here’s the kicker that makes this even more effective than not eating at all for five days (which I don’t recommend as about the only thing you’ll want to do after the 2nd day is sleep).  You’ll have enough energy to exercise while on this “crash diet” – heck, the last time I did it, I had more energy than normal for exercising and was actually able to increase the intensity of my workout.  Very few other extreme diets like this can pull off that feat of very limited calories and exercise and still provide you body with tons of vitamins and minerals all at the same time.

Keep in mind, this “crash diet” is a lot healthier than the typical American diet consisting of burgers, French fries, and Diet Cokes.

How much can you lose in 5 days?  It really depends on your body and how much weight you have to lost total, but anywhere from 5-15 pounds is considered normal.

And don’t be surprised if you’re skin looks brighter, younger, and starts to glow.

How long can you stay on a juice fast?  About 2 weeks is the most I’d recommend though some people do it for a full month.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, you could give “juice feasting” a try which can be done for up to 90 days at a time.  With juice feasting, you’re still drinking just juice, but you’re drinking a lot of the stuff each and every day.

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Walking To Lose Weight – How To Walk Those Pounds Away

November 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Walking is a normal part of most people’s everyday lives.  At least it used to be until most of us got so dependent on our motorized modes of transportation that it became normal to hop in our vehicles and drive 2 blocks to the gas station for a cup of coffee because who has the time or inclination to walk there and back.

Walking is so normal to our bodies and can be a great aid in our weight loss efforts.  Plus there are tons of free “walking to lose weight” plans available online from reputable sources.  Just Google “walking to lose weight” and you’ll get a bunch of options to choose from.

There’s two big mistakes that many people make when they embark on a “walking to lose weight” plan though.

1)       They don’t walk briskly enough or long enough to effectively zap fat.

2)       They don’t invest in a good pair of walking shoes.

Walking to lose weight is different than taking a leisurely stroll around the block.  Work up a sweat and aim for 60 minutes of walking most days of the week.  It should be hard to talk in full sentences, so if you can carry on a full bore conversation while walking it’s time to step up the intensity.  Do it slowly though, building distance and intensity over time.  Don’t expect to get sixty minutes of brisk walking in most days of the week if you’ve been a dedicated couch potato.  And always talk to your health professional before starting any exercise program.

You say you don’t have a 60 minute segment of time to devote to walking each day?  Then try for 30 minutes or walk in 10 minute increments throughout the day (during a break at work; during your kids soccer practice, after dinner, etc.).   And don’t give up those leisurely strolls.  Every step you take is good for your body and burns calories (and every calorie burned counts!).

Also, take the time to get yourself a good pair of walking shoes.  New Balance and Saucony are my two favorite brands.

To making walking more fun and to help you stick with it, use these tips:

-          Get a walking buddy (being accountable to another person will help you get your butt off the couch on those days that you’re feeling less than energetic).

-          Get a dog, but only if you have the time to take care of and love a dog.  My dog is my best walking buddy because she’s always ready to go for a stroll no matter the time of day or the weather.  Dogs are a big commitment though.  They need to be fed and bathed and loved.

-          Get a pedometer to track your distance and time and to help you build up your speed and endurance.  Optimally, work yourself up to 10,000 steps a day.

-          Listen to music while walking (headphone in just one ear for safety though please).  Good music makes the time fly.

-          Get a change of scenery.  Walk in different places; your neighborhood, a nearby trail, on a park trail, in the woods, and even while power shopping with friends (I racked up 7 miles during a shopping trip a few weeks ago).

-          And, as mentioned above, invest in good walking shoes

Walking is the easiest and cheapest exercise to do because it can be done almost anywhere – no gym memberships required.  All that’s needed are comfortable clothes, a good pair of shoes, and the will to get your butt out the door and do something good for yourself.

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The Best Diet For Women – Tales Of A Chronic Dieter

November 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I’m pretty sure I could write a 600 page book on the best ways “to not lose weight” and how to “diet and gain weight and be a yo-yo” in less time than it takes to inhale a box of Twinkies.

You name the diet or diet pill and I’ve probably tried it (the grapefruit diet, Atkins, the popcorn diet, the three day diet, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Dexatrim, cleansing diets, dieting for dummies, liquid diets, fasting, raw food diet, Cabbage soup diet, Curves diet, LA Weight loss, the Zone diet, the chocolate diet, the apple cider vinegar diet, and many many more that would literally take pages of space to write).

But, to write you a condensed version of what I’ve learned: “the best way to lose weight, keep it off, and be healthy” is to do it the old fashioned way – diet and exercise.”  Yeah, what a bore and what a blow to the multi billion dollar diet industry that little tidbit of news is.

To me, (and please keep in mind that I’m not a nutritionist or medical expert- just someone who has decades of experience trying to lose weight), I think the best diet for women is one that includes everything in moderation.  Banning foods (especially chocolate and carbs) is, IMO (in my own opinion), a certain disaster.  After all, women have that special time of the month (lucky us) and what do most of us crave then?  Yep, it’s huge bars of chocolate and entire loaves of bread.  That means if we are doing our best to follow one of those crazy diets that completely bans carbs or completely bans sugar (get real please) we get to the point when no amount of willpower is going to keep us away from that Hershey bar or delicious soft pretzel.   Then, instead of having a single serving (aka – one normal size candy bar or just one soft pretezel) we typically say “Well I screwed up so I may as well eat the entire bag of chocolate candy or the entire box of pretzels.  Then, the downward spiral to gaining the weight back starts.

Personally, I think us women need to take a look at guys to help us understand weight loss better because a guy typically can lose weight so much easier.  Why?  It’s a well established fact that men’s bodies have more muscle than women’s bodies and, pound for pound, muscle burns more calories than fat.

But I’ve also noticed that, given a choice, most guys at a buffet head right for the proteins while women give the bread and dessert sections longing stares before heading over to the salad bar for some greens and fat free dressing.  A perfect meal to a lot of guys is a steak with a side of steak.  For a lot of women the perfect meal is warm crusty bread with a side of warm crusty bread and a little chocolate for a sweet ending.

While both men’s and women’s bodies need both protein and carbs for good health (the chocolate is healthy too as long as it’s dark chocolate), protein is a building block for muscle and helps to muscle that’s been stressed (from working out) to repair and build itself.

Plus, protein is satisfying and helps us feel full longer (and who wants to go hungry and feel like they’re starving when they are dieting?).

So, doesn’t it stand to reason that a diet that includes generous amounts of protein would be perfect for women (okay not steak with a side of steak though).  That doesn’t eating protein and excluding other food groups like the Atkins diet promotes.  I’m talking about a diet that includes a broad range of healthy foods from every food group: proteins, fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy, whole grains, small amounts of healthy fat like olive and grapeseed oils; and treats here and there because everybody needs some wiggle room in their diet.

I’ve also noticed guys tend to never feel guilty if they eat something less than healthy.  They’ll eat a piece of chocolate cake, enjoy the experience, and move on.  Women, on the other hand, tend to feel guilty about possibly taking a tiny little bite of cake – whether or not they actually give in and eat any.

I’m not here to advocate a specific diet plan for women and that’s because I truly think there is no “one size fits all” diet plan.  Just as each of us are different individuals with different personalities and different lifestyles; we have different diet plans that are a better fit with our lives and our likes and dislikes.

But, to help women find the best diet for them that gives them the best chance of long-term success here’s the things I think should be looked for in a weight loss/diet plan:

- promotes healthy eating and doesn’t ban entire food groups

- includes at least 2-3 servings of protein a day

- promotes a slow and steady approach to weight loss; no more than 1-2 lbs a week

- encourages physical activity (at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)

- includes emotional support (whether it’s face to face meetings or online forums) because us women are nurturers by nature and we need nurturing and support of our own when facing the challenges of trying to lose weight successfully

- fits your lifestyle (for example, the odds of failing are high if you love to cook and have to cook for your family but choose a meal delivery program that doesn’t allow you to prepare your own meals; and vice versa – if you choose a program that asks you to prepare all your own food when you and your kitchen appliances, with the exception of your microwave are sworn enemies).

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The Best Way To Lose Belly Fat (And Other Annoying Fat Deposits)

November 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever had insomnia and turned to the television to distract you in the wee hours of the night, you’ve probably seen numerous infomercials for crazy looking gadgets and workouts guaranteed to give you rock hard abs.  You may have even purchased a few of them in a weak moment.  It’s pretty hard to resist the lure of people with those gorgeous rock hard abs telling us we can have them too if we only use their piece of equipment for a few minutes a day (and of course part with our hard earned money to get our hands on said gadget).

And I bet if you’ve purchased any of that equipment it’s probably now languishing in the closet, in a corner of the garage, or has been sold on eBay because those rock hard abs never materialized.

Why?

It’s because most of us who succumb to those advertisements have extra fat around our stomachs and until we lose that fat, the abs we work so hard to tone won’t be visible because that extra fat hides it.  And just because we want to lose the extra fat we have hanging around bellies before we lose fat on any other part of our body, our body decides where it’s going to lose the fat first no matter how may sit-ups, crunches or other ab targeted workouts we do.

Does this mean you are stuck with a belly that jiggles like a bowl full of Jello?

Absolutely not!

But here’s the solution you may not want to hear.

The best way to lose belly fat (and other annoying fat deposits) is by diet.  Exercise is definitely important too but people who want to lose fat should put their biggest focus on eating fewer calories than they take in to lose weight.

I’m not saying to skip the exercise.  It’s important too, but ask almost any doctor and bona-fide fitness expert about the best way to lose belly fat and they’ll say to focus 90 percent of the effort on losing excess weight and 10 percent of the effort on cardio and resistance training.  Most of us who want to lose that annoying belly fat do just the opposite.

So stop torturing yourself with those endless reps of crunches.  Instead focus physical activity on high intensity whole body workouts that turn your body into a fat burning furnace (sweating is good!) and do strength training (typically 3 days a week of each, alternating cardio workouts with strength building workouts, but always consult your health professional first).

In addition, watch sodium and alcohol intake because they can cause us to retain water and bloat which can make our stomachs look bigger than they really are (and who needs that?).  Plus, drink plenty of water to discourage fluid retention.

Any health diet plan you can follow will help you shed those extra pounds whether it’s joining an online program, attending weight loss classes, scheduling one-on-one sessions with a nutritionist, or following the program detailed in one of the numerous weight loss books available (try before you buy and check one or two or ten out of your local library).

Focus on healthy foods instead of filling up on processed foods, chips, refined carbs, and oodles of sugar that’s in soft drinks and candy (don’t completely eliminate these foods if you love them; instead have them as a treat instead of as part of your daily food intake).

Lean protein along with low fat dairy, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains will help you not only with weight loss but will also help you have the energy to exercise and build muscle, which will help you burn even more calories.  It’s a win-win situation.

So stop spending your money on ab gadgets and ab targeted workouts.  Instead focus on a healthy weight loss plan along with a combination of cardio and strength training exercise so that you can lose that belly fat for good and find those toned abs that have been hiding underneath it. 

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28 Tips For Long Term Weight Loss

November 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Yes, you can lose weight and keep it off.

And yes, it can be done without thinking you’ll have to be hungry for the rest of your life or subsist on meals of steamed broccoli, plain chicken breasts and salads with fat free dressing.  Yuck!  Living like that is no fun.

How can losing the weight and keeping it off be done?

Here’s my 28 best tips for long term weight loss:

1)       Remove the word “diet” from your vocabulary. Losing the weight and keeping it off means changing your lifestyle instead of dieting to lose the extra weight and then going back to old habits, resulting in constant yo-yo dieting.  Replace the word “diet” with the word “healthy.”

2)       Eat when you are hungry; not when you are bored, sad, happy, etc. Find non-food ways to deal with emotions and instead of stuffing your face with food to deal with them.  Yes, chocolate gives you a natural high but that great feeling won’t last if you gobble down 3 Hershey bars in 10 minutes.  Find activites such as painting or woodworking or knitting that keep your hands busy so you can’t stuff your face with food when you’re not hungry.

3)       Think slow and steady when it comes to losing weight. Experts agree that 1-2 pounds a week gives a person the best chance of keeping it off.  That means no “crash dieting.”  The weight didn’t pile on overnight so don’t expect it to come off overnight.

4)       Write down what you eat. Yeah, I know writing down what you’re putting in your mouth is a pain in the arse.  But, it helps you remember what you’ve eaten throughout the day and makes you accountable to yourself.  You don’t need a fancy food journal.  A small inexpensive notebook, a piece of scrap paper or even the back of an envelope will work just fine.

5)       Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Fresh fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients and fiber and are low in calories.  Make them a part of your everyday food consumption.  But eat a balances diet.  Also have lean protein, low fat dairy and whole grains, plus work a treat in every once in a while.

6)       Eat high fiber foods.  There are lots of delicious healthy whole grain breads available and don’t forget about popcorn. It’s high in fiber and delicious (just avoid drenching it in buckets of butter).

7)       Adopt the motto of “everything in moderation.” That means you’ll never completely ban a food from your eating plan.  Why?  Doesn’t being told you can’t have something make you really really want it?  It’s like telling your toddler not to touch something.  It almost guarantees they are going to make an effort to touch it anyway.

8)       Learn what your “trigger” foods are and don’t keep them in the house. By “trigger” foods I mean ones that you can’t stop eating and don’t stop eating until the entire package/container is gone.  Mine is kettle potato chips.  I don’t stop until the bag is gone even if I’m feeling stuffed.  My husband’s are Milk Duds and Mounds Bars.  One of my friend’s is Peanut M&M’s.  When any of us really want those foods we either buy a single size portion or take it to a party/family gathering where other people will help eat it.

9)       Stop thinking you have to look like Twiggy to be healthy. Experts say that losing 10 percent of your body weight can make a significant positive difference in your health (lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, pressure on your knees, and your risk of diabetes).  I’ll use myself as an example.  After losing 25 pounds (10 percent of my body weight which means that yes I’m a big girl and still have more to lose) my fasting blood sugar went down 20 points, my blood pressure went from borderline high to normal, and my cholesterol went down a little (not a lot but I was lucky and it was in the normal range even before I lost weight).

10)   Have regular checkups at the doctor.  That helps you keep being healthy as the focus of your weight loss and can help pinpoint factors that might be hindering your weight loss efforts.  For me, I found out my thyroid was sluggish after a simple blood test my doctor recommended when I said I was always tired was having an extremely difficult time losing any weight.

11)   Aim for 8 hours of sleep a night.  More and more research is pointing out how our modern day lifestyle of cheating ourselves of enough sleep is also creating more risk for being overweight.  Give your body what it needs and get enough sleep.

12)   Don’t skip breakfast. Our metabolism gets sluggish when we sleep.  Help get it going in the morning by eating something even if it’s just a banana or a container of yogurt.

13)   Exercise regularly.  The American Heart Association recommends that “all healthy adults between the ages of 18-65 should be getting at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity five days a week.”

14)   Eat more than 3 times a day. Instead, have 5-6 smaller meals and don’t go more than 2-3 hours without eating a little something to keep your blood sugar stable and your metabolism humming.  Can skipping meals wreck your metabolism?  I think so.  I have a friend who only ate 1 meal a day for years because he was a truck driver and didn’t want to take time to eat until he stopped his rig for the evening.  He’s now retired but he readily admits he still can only eat one meal a day otherwise he gains weight.  He doesn’t pig out in the evening either.  He eats what I consider a normal size meal.  Don’t let that happen to you.

15)   Drink lots of low to zero calorie liquid, 8-10 glasses a day.  Water is best but if you can’t stand the taste of plain water then use flavor enhancers like True Lemon, True Lime, True Orange or Crystal Light.

16)   Eat most of your calories instead of drinking them. I love Starbucks and my vehicle pretty much knows how to get there without me having to steer it.  But some of the choices there (and at any coffee shop that makes specialty beverages) can have as many or more calories than an entire meal.  Instead of having whole milk in a latte, opt for skim or soy or almond and skip the whipped cream on top (although I admit to indulging in it once in a while as a special treat).  Those two  options can cut hundreds of calories from one latte.

17)   Stock your fridge and pantry with healthy choices. Lean protein, fresh and frozen fruit, fresh and frozen vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy are the best things to keep handy, along with single serve bags of healthy nuts like almonds and walnuts.   The problem for some people (myself included) is that a lot of healthy foods aren’t always quick and easy to prepare or handy for a quick snack.  Case in point: it’s much easier to grab a handful of chips to snack on than to cut up vegetables to eat.  Cut up vegetables when you bring them home from the store and put them where you can see them instead of hiding them in the crisper.  For the quickest lean protein, buy fish.  It’s a natural “fast food” because it cooks up in just a few minutes (shrimp literally takes 3-4 minutes to cook).

18)   Love yourself. Negative chatter inside our heads can be our biggest enemy when it comes to weight loss.  It’s mine.  That negative voice inside my head loves to tell me “it’s too hard,” “go ahead and eat that whole pie cuz you can always go back on your diet tomorrow,” “you’ll always be a fat pig,” “you’re crazy if you think you can really lose that weight,” and “you don’t deserve to be healthy and happy.”  Tell that voice to shut up (100 times a day if necessary) and instead start giving yourself positive messages such as “I’m worth it,” and “I deserve to take time to take care of myself.”

19)   Stop thinking you’re “bad” when you eat something less than healthy. There are very few people (actually I don’t know of any) who always make healthy choices and who never overindulge.  The key is to not use it as an excuse to keep on overeating and overindulging.  Have that treat.  Enjoy it.  Then focus on going back to eating healthy again.  I’ve read over and over again that the 80/20 rule works for food as well.  If you eat healthy 80 percent of the time, you’ll be okay.  That may sounds like you can pig out every day but if you are eating 1,500 calories a day that means having 300 calories in treats which could mean 1 teaspoon of butter on a white dinner roll and a small dish of ice cream; not the entire bread basket or the entire container of ice cream.

20)   Try modeling. No, not the kind of modeling that involves walking down a runway but modeling the behaviors of someone you know who is a normal weight and is healthy.  Watch how they eat and what their everyday life is like.  Then imitate them.  My friend is normal weight and never tells herself she can’t have a certain food.  But, she always stops eating when she is full – no matter how tasty the food on her plate is; and will push away an expensive dessert after just one bite if it’s not super delicious because she will not spend calories on food she doesn’t love.  Plus she has an active lifestyle, which brings me to the next tip.

21)    Adopt a healthy lifestyle. Most healthy and normal weight people are not couch potatoes.  Activity is a normal part of their everyday lives.  They enjoy hobbies and activities that are require physical exertion such as: gardening, woodworking, hiking, bicycling, tennis, sailing, kayaking, swimming, jogging, water skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, bowling and putting lots of miles on their legs while strolling along the beach, taking in some culture at a local museum, or spending the day doing some power shopping.  They don’t spend the entire weekend plunked in front of the television eating junk food.

22)   Make eating an activity that is not combined with others i.e. watching television, while driving, etc. It means being aware of what you are eating.  How many of us have opened a bag of chips while watching television only to stick our hand in the bag, find it empty, and wonder where they all went – knowing full well that we were the only person sticking our hand in the bag and munching away?

23)   Eat less fast food and share or take home half of restaurant entrees. I think a big part of our society’s weight problems today are that we have no idea what a normal portion is because they have grown so much over the years (as have our waistlines).  Try cooking more of your own meals too because then you have control over ingredients (you’d be surprised at how much butter restaurants slather on food they serve you).  Don’t have a lot of time to cook?  Get a slow cooker and give it a workout.  Meals can be put together in just a few minutes in the morning.  Then at night you can walk in the door to a hot meal.

24)   Get support from other people.  Find someone to talk to about the struggles you face and to also share your successes with.  It can be a family member, close friend, or even online discussions with others.  There’s the old saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.”  I think the same thing applies to losing weight and keeping it off.  Don’t think it’s bad to need emotional and physical support.  Take advantage of help from wherever you can get it.

25)   Remove the negative from your life. This can be the hard to do but if people in your life are negative towards you and they won’t stop even after you talk to them about it then it’s time to be strong and cut them out of your life (for example the friend who is always saying “why bother trying to lose weight – you’ve never been successful the last 99 times you tried.”).  Surround yourself with positive and encouraging people. You deserve it.

26)   Manage your stress. Too much stress is bad for us in a lot of ways.  Besides the obvious negative of making us crabby, wound tighter than a drum, and ready to blow like Mount St. Helena at any moment; it can contribute to weakening of our immune system, is bad for our heart, and lead us to overeating as a way of dealing with stress.  Find ways to relax.  Practice relaxation techniques such as relaxation breathing, give yoga a try, or give biofeedback a whirl.

27)   Stop obsessing about every morsel of food you put into your mouth and stop feeling guilty for eating something you enjoy.  If you really want to have a piece of chocolate cake, then eat a small piece and enjoy the heck out of it.  Then go back to eating healthy and exercising.  That doesn’t mean you should eat the entire cake or have cake every day.  Remember to enjoy the foods you love “in moderation.”

That brings me to may last tip for long term weight loss.

28) Know that the choice is yours and that losing weight, maintaining weight or gaining weight is about choices you make. Work on making choices that help you with your goals.   That also means being accountable for your choices.  Nobody makes you have that extra piece of cheesecake.  The choices are yours.  Make the ones that are best for you.  Remember YOU ARE WORTH IT!

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3 Of My Favorite Fat Loss Workouts

November 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I never thought there would come a day when I would use the words “workout” and “favorite” in the same sentence.  I used to equate “working out” with torture and something to be avoided at all costs.

It’s not that I can say I now love to work out because I don’t.  But, I do love what it does for me.  It’s helping me lose weight, gives me more energy, helps me feel more clear headed and focused, is helping me get healthier and is making me look better because I’m building some muscle and getting toned rather than getting more lumpy every day by sitting on my butt and eating junk food.

That’s why I exercise.

Any exercise that gets your heart rate up and gets you sweating for at least 30 minutes will help you lose fat.  But, in my mind, some types of exercise are a whole lot more fun (when I say “fun” I really mean I’m able to get myself to do them instead of using all my energy to come up with excuses to not exercise).

Here’s my 3 favorites:

1)       Bicycling – I’m talking bicycling outdoors on an actual bike, not on a stationary bike in a gym or in the basement next to an old ratty punching bag.  Getting outside in the fresh air and riding bike is not only good exercise but it is refreshing and a throwback to my childhood when I jumped on my bike every chance I got to explore and go hang out with friends.

Most areas of the country have great bike paths – some are paved and easy to ride and others are rugged trails in woods that are a challenge.  Time passes fast while bike riding (an hour or two goes by in a flash) because there’s usually so much to see whether it’s a little chipmunk popping his head up out of the grass to see who’s invading his territory, deer meandering through the woods and having their dinner, a stream or lake with rippling water to marvel at, varying neighborhoods to take in while riding in urban areas with their unique construction and with the interesting landscaping homeowners and apartment dwellers like to display, and other riders who are almost always ready to exchange friendly Hellos.”

Try dusting off that bike sitting in the garage and give it a spin around the neighborhood.  You just might get hooked on it like I have.

2)       Walking – Yes it’s that old standby that’s the first type of activity a doctor will mention to get a person moving.  Of course, people new to exercise need to start out slow and always need to talk to their health care professional to make sure they are not overdoing it.

Walking to lose burn fat and lose weight is different than taking a stroll around the block with a friend or a spouse discussing your day though.  Personally I have the best fat burning walks when I’m either out with my dog (who is a bundle of energy and who is already to go a little farther and a little faster) or when I’m by myself.  To really get the heart pumping and to burn calories a person needs to be walking briskly enough that having a conversation is hard.  My doctor says that if I can say more than a few words at a time without having to take a breath then I’m not working hard enough on my walk.  So unless you have a fitness buddy that is into “silent support” while walking, save the fun filled conversational walks for another time.

Don’t use inclement weather as an excuse to not get out and walk.  Pretend you are the mail delivery person who doesn’t let rain or snow or cold weather stop them from getting their mail delivered.  If it’s raining, put on a rain coat and go out anyway.  You are not the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz – you won’t melt.  Invest in boots with a good tread or buy “shoe chains” to give you traction in snow.  Dress in layers to keep yourself warm and wear a hat because up to 40 percent of our body heat escapes through our head.  If it’s storming with lightning then find an indoor location to walk such as the local mall or wait for the storm to pass.

3)       Curves 30 minute workout. Okay, so maybe this one isn’t fair to the guys since Curves is a women’s only gym but since I’m of the female gender and since I faithfully go to Curves 3 times a week to do strength training, it makes my list of my three favorite fat burning workouts.

Why?

First of all, it’s strength training which builds muscle which is essential for fat burning because we all know that muscle burns more calories than fat, right?

Secondly I like that there are only women at the gym so I don’t feel self conscious going there.  A regular gym is way too intimidating to me.  All those incredibly fit people and all those horrible mirrors do nothing for my self esteem and make me want to run out the door, not stay and get a workout in

Third, it’s only a commitment of 30 minutes that I can fit into my day and that I know builds muscle because I can see the muscles I’m building in my arms (they’re still little but very exciting to see!).

If you’re not a woman or don’t have a Curves gym where you live, then look for a different way to get some strength training in.  Maybe there is a gym near you that you wouldn’t mind going to.

In addition to getting regular activity that gets your heart rate up and gets you sweating, don’t discount the importance of any activity to help you be healthy and remember to eat healthy as well so you have the energy and stamina to get your exercise in.

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

Foods That Burn Fat – 8 Metabolism Igniting Foods

November 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

When we’re dieting and trying to lose weight we want every advantage we can find to help us burn those calories and get that extra pudge off our bodies, right?

So are there really foods that can help a person burn extra calories?

Realistically, every food we eat gets our metabolism going to some extent because our body has to burn calories to digest it.

But, from what I’ve read and from what I’ve experienced myself I can see why a person’s body uses an apple differently than a bag of Doritos.

I think of it like this: our bodies know what to do when it sees a pure whole food source like an apple because it’s a food our bodies are meant to have and has nutrients our bodies know exactly how to utilize. A bag of Doritos on the other hand, while very tasty, aren’t exactly a whole and pure food source. They contain artificial ingredients and preservatives which our bodies aren’t designed to burn up efficiently so is it any wonder that our digestive system may look at those Doritos and say, “I’m not real sure what to do with these foreign ingredients so I’ll just stick them over here (aka–turn them into fat) and decide what to do with them later.”

Personally when I’m eating healthy and nutritious food I feel better, have more energy, can fight off sickness much better, and I lose weight.

When I fall back into my old habits of eating junk food and drinking soda, my energy levels plummet and I find it nearly impossible to lose weight even though I’m consuming the same number of calories as when I’m sticking to healthy food.

But I’ve wondered if there are healthy foods that can help rev up metabolism and help get pounds off. For instance I’ve always wondered if drinking cold water really does burn more calories than drinking room temperature water.

According to Web MD, the answer is “yes.” Information on the Web MD website says that both men’s and women’s metabolic rates increased by 30% after drinking water and they attributed 40% of that increase to the body’s attempt to heat up the water that was ingested. Plus our bodies work better when they are hydrated which can help keep our metabolism humming throughout the day.

So water is number one on my list of “foods that burn fat and ignite metabolism.”

Here’s seven more:

1) Breakfast Food – remember how your mother constantly told you that you should eat your breakfast? Mom was a pretty smart lady. After sleeping for several hours our metabolism has slowed and needs to get woken up. Breakfast does just that. Whole grain toast, oatmeal, whole grain cereal, eggs, yogurt, fruit and low fat milk are great breakfast foods that are nutritious and filling. You say you’re not hungry in the morning? I say eat something anyway, even if you can’t manage more than a piece of fruit. The idea is to get some food into the body to wake metabolism back up and get it going for the day.

2) High Fiber Foods – Fiber not only helps us feel full longer as our bodies work to digest it and break it down, but that extra work our bodies need to process that food through our system uses extra calories. Think fruits such as grapefruit and apples and bananas; vegetables like broccoli and spinach and sweet potatoes; whole grain breads and whole grain cereals; and beans – the high fiber food that makes you “toot.”

3) Hot peppers – Hot peppers contain capcaisin, a strong alkaloid produced by the glands of hot peppers. Capcaisin causes a body to burn extra calories for hours after being ingested which speeds up metabolism.

4) Almonds – This tasty nut contains essential fatty acids that help to raise body metabolism. I consider them a “win/lose” food though because although they help raise body metabolism it’s easy to eat hundreds of calories worth of almonds in a few minutes. Portion control is key. Try buying them in single serve bags.

5) Green Tea – It contains a healthy catechin, which is a tannin. It’s a powerful antioxidant and it also is known to speed up the brain and nervous system, which in turn causes a person’s body to burn more calories.

6) Coffee – I’m talking the high octane stuff that still has its caffeine in it. Caffeine gives our bodies a boost but be careful because overdoing it on the caffeine can turn a person into a jittery mess and cause sleeplessness.

7) High Protein Foods – Foods high in lean protein such as turkey and yogurt can help boost metabolism because protein helps build muscle and muscle burns more calories than fat.

Now here’s where I add a “catch.” While consuming the foods I just listed can help increase metabolism and burn fat, it doesn’t mean that calories don’t count. Calories do count. Bottom line: a person still needs to take in less calories than their body burns to lose weight.

Filed Under: Diet Friendly Foods, Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

What To Eat And Lose Weight

November 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Today’s diet plan boys and girls is this, “ Eat egg whites for breakfast along with 8 ounces of fat free milk and one slice of whole grain toast, salad greens with vinegar and a splash of olive oil for lunch along with an apple, and a plain chicken breast with steamed vegetables for dinner. If you’re really hungry in the evening and just have to have something, then you can splurge and eat a half cup of nonfat cottage cheese. And drink a bunch of water throughout the day” Does that sound delicious or so boring that you’d almost rather eat nothing?

I didn’t just pick that menu out of thin air. It’s one a personal trainer at a gym gave me several years ago when I asked for help with a diet plan. It just goes to show that a person needs to be careful about what they ask for. Look what it got me – a diet plan that I couldn’t follow no matter how hard I tried and one that I hated from the second I saw it. Was it healthy? I suppose so. Was it tasty? No, no and no! (just exactly what was I supposed to put on that slice of toast to make it not taste like a piece of cardboard?)

When a person goes on a diet it’s hard to figure out how to make that healthy food we’re eating taste good without adding a lot of fat because as French chefs say “The flavor is in the fat.”

We all know that lean protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy are the mainstays of most any weight loss plan. That’s no secret. And, sadly, we also know that we should limit or completely avoid those tasty white flour products, sugar and alcohol. Yeah, no hope of a cocktail every so often or a candy bar along with seeing broiled fish, brown rice and streamed broccoli is just what I want to look forward to every evening when I get home (not!).

It’s not that I hate healthy food. I do like fish, chicken, broccoli, and brown rice. I just like them to have some flavor without using my old way of cooking which is add some butter and some oil and then to add more butter!

But along with finding flavorful substitutes for excessive amounts of fat, I don’t think it’s realistic for a person to think they can completely give up “treats” because I think that’s a setup for almost instant failure. Why? Because there’s going to come a moment of weakness at the same time an entire family size bag of peanut M&M’s and a 2 liter bottle of Coca Cola are within reach.

I think the trick is to leave a little “wiggle room” for treats (truthfully I have a little something sweet or salty every day and I’ve lost 50 pounds so far); along with finding ways to punch up the flavor of food without using vats of butter and oil.
If you’ve made the commitment to cut back on fat and sugar, what can you do to give your food flavor and punch while still staying on the “losing game” with weight loss?

Here are some of my favorites:
Fresh lemon juice, a splash of good quality extra virgin olive oil, and a little freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or a more reasonably priced American Grana cheese) along with some sea salt and freshly grated black pepper give baby salad greens a huge punch of flavor without adding a lot of calories.

Another favorite salad of mine is a combination of Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, 1 cucumber, 1 green bell pepper, and 2 stalks of celery all chopped into bite size pieces along with 1 to 2 tablespoons of my favorite full fat Parmesan Peppercorn dressing (I make it myself using Penzey’s creamy peppercorn dressing mix that I make with light sour cream and light mayo and that I stir a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese into). The salad fixings have very few calories and have a huge crunch factor. Yes, the dressing does have some calories and fat in it; but did you know that some fat needs to be eaten along with those healthy vegetables so that a person’s body is able to absorb the nutrients?

Spices, spices and spices. Make friends with the spice aisle in your grocery store, or better yet find a store that sells spices and only spices for a great variety and reasonable price (my favorite is Penzey’s spices).

My spice cupboard gets a heavy workout when I’m cooking lean protein. Jerk or lemon/pepper seasoning are my favorites with fish and chicken. McCormick has some delicious spice blends that take the guesswork out of giving food flavor. Their Montreal steak and chicken seasonings are delicious, and their vegetable supreme seasoning perks up the taste of almost any cooked vegetable. There’s a ton of seasoning mixes available in stores specifically designed to give meat and poultry flavor without adding calories. Check out the spice aisle and then sprinkle it on or rub it in and cook away.

Steamed broccoli sprinkled with Italian seasoning, freshly cracked black pepper and a little bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese is yummy!

Or, give the steamer a break and roast vegetables instead. Toss bite size pieces of your favorite vegetables in a little olive oil and then sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and a little sea salt. Roast in a single layer on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 12 minutes, turn, and continue cooking until the vegetables are browned. I never liked steamed cauliflower (unless it was drenched in butter) but I love it roasted. Other vegetables that I absolutely love roasted are broccoli, potatoes, asparagus, carrots and butternut squash.

Salsa, hot sauce and mustard add tons of flavor but minimal calories. Mustard pairs especially well with pork. Breakfast is my favorite time to use hot sauce. I love it with eggs. Salsa is also good with eggs and is a great addition to lean ground meat to make a deliciously moist burger.

To add flavor to whole grains, cook them with low sodium broth or stock instead of water. It’s how I got my whole family to like brown rice.

When it comes to the beverages you drink throughout the day think “I’d rather eat my calories than drink them.” I love Starbucks but their 16 ounce size (Grande size) white chocolate mocha has almost 500 calories. Switching to nonfat milk and skipping the whipped cream on top saves over hundred calories but still weighs in at a hefty 350 calories. A more calorie friendly choice is a 16 ounce latte with non fat milk and a shot of sugar free syrup. It weighs in at 130 calories (less than a third of the calories of the same sized white chocolate mocha). But if you’re not a fan of sugar free anything (I’m not because I don’t think those artificial sweeteners are good for a person’s body), try a latte with a half shot of regular syrup.

Eat fresh whole foods whenever possible and yes I know that’s a good thing to say in theory but is much harder to do when you’ve just worked the entire day, have to get one child to soccer practice, another to a piano lesson, and then need to get a meal on the table before there’s a revolt from your hungry family (that’s if you can convince them to wait until you get home to eat).

A slow cooker is a great investment. You can pop a beef roast in it in the morning along with some beef broth and dry onion soup mix (reduce fat cream of mushroom soup is also a tasty addition to the beef in the crock pot). You’ll be able to walk in the door at night to delicious hot beef that you can instantly turn into delicious hot beef sandwiches. Or, if you have a little more time, you can cook up some potatoes and carrots to serve alongside. Or put some chicken breasts in the slow cooker in the morning that are sprinkled with taco seasoning. Add some salsa and about a cup of chicken broth. Cook on low all day. At night you’ll have tender chicken that can be shredded and rolled up in wraps with your favorite toppings.

When you want to really treat yourself without having to buy pants that are a size larger, indulge in lobster (a little over 160 calories for 6 ounces which leaves enough room to dip it in a little melted butter); shrimp cocktail (about 60 calories for 12 large shrimp and around 50 calories for a quarter cup of cocktail sauce); or top a slice of angel food cake with some fresh raspberries and a dollop of freshly whipped cream (less than 200 calories – about 150 for the cake, a little over 1 calorie for each raspberry and 8 calories for a tablespoon of unsweetened whipped cream).

If you’re looking for a crunchy snack with minimal calories eat some dill pickles or other pickled vegetables. Pickled green beans and pickled asparagus are super delicious and are low in calories.

When in doubt trying to decide what you should or shouldn’t eat while trying to lose weight, choose foods closest to their natural source as possible; foods with a short and natural ingredient list (like my mother says “If you can’t say it do you really want to eat it?”); and avoid partially hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup.

And, when fast food is the only choice besides chewing off your arm, choose a burger (pile on the ketchup, mustard and pickles but opt out of the other sauces and cheese) or grilled chicken sandwich over a deep fried chicken or fish sandwich. A small side of fries won’t break the calorie bank as long as they’re not a daily indulgence because even though a side salad is often a lower calorie choice (depending on the salad dressing chosen), a salad is awfully hard to eat while on the run.

Filed Under: Cooking Tips, Diet Friendly Recipes, Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Tasty Snacks, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , ,

11 Effective Weight Loss Strategies

October 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

There’s about a gazillion tips and strategies out there on how to lose weight. Some are helpful and some aren’t, such as cutting out all carbohydrates. Sure, it can help with weight loss but how healthy is it to cut out an entire food group completely and how long will a person be able to ban all carbs before they go crazy and consume the entire bread basket at a restaurant in 3 minutes flat because they feel so deprived?

Instead here’s 11 sensible weight loss strategies that I have found to be effective and possible to follow long-term (no tips suggesting “crash and burn” starvation dieting here).

1) Everything in moderation. Instead of banning entire food groups, have what you really want but have it in moderation. Want lasagna? Have a small portion along with a large portion of salad, not the entire pan. Want chocolate? Have 1 really decadent piece instead of jamming 3 regular-size Snickers bars in your mouth at the speed of light and then hiding the wrappers under your sofa cushions.

2) Brush your teeth. I’m not talking about the twice a day that you already brush your teeth (you do brush your teeth twice a day, right?). I’m talking about using it as a strategy to help you keep food out of your mouth that you don’t want going directly to your hips (or wherever you’re prone to instantly pack on the extra poundage. That chocolate I talked about in the first tip? After eating that one delicious piece, go brush your teeth. You’ll be less tempted to eat more right after brushing because your mouth will feel clean and minty fresh; plus chocolate does not taste good right after you brush (yes, I know that mint and chocolate go together but mint toothpaste and chocolate do not. Have you ever seen chocolate covered toothpaste truffles?). Just remember that this strategy is to help keep you from overeating; not from eating when you are hungry and need fuel for your body (toothpaste is not a food group).

3) Practice Self Love. Don’t think you can find time to exercise? Don’t think you have time to shop for and eat healthy food? Don’t think you have enough time to get 7-8 hours a sleep at night (too little sleep negatively affects weight loss). If you don’t have time now, then when? When will taking care of yourself be important? After you gain 100 pounds? After you have a heart attack? After you get type II diabetes? After you experience a health issue related to your excess weight that’s so severe that you can no longer take care of yourself, much less anyone else? It’s not selfish to put your well-being and health first in your life. Do it for you because you’re worth it.

4) Learn What A Normal Portion Is. Portion sizes have gotten steadily bigger over the last 30 years and it shows in the form of extra weight on a lot of us. It’s everywhere and not just the increased size of the regular drink cups at McDonalds, the monster size restaurant portions that could easily feed 2-3 people, and the “dinner” sized plates that are closer to the size of the platters my Mom used to serve her whole chicken on at family Sunday dinners. . The “super-size” culture has even gotten into our classic cookbooks. Yesterday I read that the calories in recipes in the Joy of Cooking cookbooks have increased over 30% since it was first published.

A normal size serving of protein is about the size of a deck or cards or your palm. Yet, how many of us would be upset if our favorite restaurant served us a steak that was as big as our fist? Ditto for a normal size portion of pasta which is 1 cup. What would you say if Olive Garden served you a 1 cup portion of chicken alfredo? Would you be thankful that they aren’t trying to make you buy bigger pants or scream that they aren’t giving you your “money’s worth?”

Do you think this means you need to be hungry all the time? It doesn’t. Eat normal size portions of protein and whole grains; and then fill the rest of your plate with lots of veggies and fruits.

Portion out nuts and snacks into individual bags or containers so you don’t mindlessly eat an entire family size bag of potato chips while watching television.

5) Ask yourself, “Am I Hungry?” Before you put any food in your mouth, ask yourself if you’re hungry (especially if it’s less than an hour after you had your last meal). Or, are you bored? Are you angry? Are you happy and want to celebrate something? Are you sad? Obviously, if you’re not hungry you shouldn’t eat. But, that’s a whole lot easier said then done.

Boredom, the number one reason why people eat when they’re not hungry, was a huge issue that I had to deal with. And it wasn’t because I didn’t have things to do. Like most people these days I always have more things to do in a day than I have hours to do them. The problem is that they’re not always things I want to be doing. I mean how easy is it to stuff food in your mouth while on a boring commute or while reading a report at work that’s a huge snore-fest?

Just the act of asking yourself whether or not you’re hungry can help a person resist the food and put it back down, but not always. For me, it helps to find a way to get away from the food. If I’m driving I only keep a limited amount of food in my vehicle. If I’m a passenger I listen to music on my i-pod, podcasts on topics I enjoy, or books on tape to keep me entertained. If I’m reading boring, but necessary, info (happens all too often), I make sure I do it where food isn’t available. If possible, I’ll also take a break and go for a walk – even if it’s only to the bathroom.

6) Get a fitness/walking/exercise buddy. There’s nothing like accountability to get your butt moving or having someone else count on you. My best fitness buddy is my dog. If she doesn’t get out for her daily walk she’s not a happy camper, so unless I want a restless dog in the evenings she and I head out to walk (rain or shine – it’s just shorter walk on rainy days).

My husband is also a fitness buddy although we only occasionally exercise together; mostly because he’s more fit than I am and I feel like I’m holding him back from getting his best workout when we walk or ride our bikes together. But we ask each other if we got our activity in for the day and will stand in front of each other and talk each other through those last couple really hard minutes of our stationary bike ride.

A friend of mine has a work walking buddy. They count in each other for their daily “after lunch” walk and motivate each other when one of them doesn’t feel like doing it.

7) Get enough sleep. I don’t know who coined the phrase “I’ll sleep when I die” but I’m betting it was said in a joking manner and not meant to be taken as a mantra that many of us have adopted (at least I hope they were kidding). We’re so busy these days and always trying to fit in “just a little more work” before going to bed or dragging ourselves out of bed an extra half hour early in the morning because that’s the only time we think we can fit in exercise. Getting regular exercise is vital but so is getting 7-8 hours of sleep every day.

There is now quite a bit of scientific research saying that not getting enough sleep is bad for our waists. I personally also think it has something to do with the simple act of being awake more hours a day because, if we are depriving ourselves of one to two hours of needed sleep a day, then we have one to two more hours a day where we have the potential to be shoving food into our mouths.

Plus, how many of us have downed high calorie drinks with caffeine in them in an effort to stay awake for a “little while longer” or to help us wake up in the morning because we didn’t get enough sleep night before.

If you’re not going to get enough sleep every night (or at least most nights) it’s going to make losing weight harder. Seriously, getting enough sleep should be the easiest (and most enjoyable) weight loss strategy to adopt.

8) Make fiber your friend. Fiber fills us up and gets released slowly into our bodies, helping us to stay feeling satisfied longer and less likely to dive headfirst into a plate of pastries. It’s recommended that healthy adults should be eating 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day. Most of us don’t get close to that amount, probably in large part because of the processed and “stripped” foods many of us consume as part of our daily diet.

Switching to whole grain bread is a good start.

That tasty snack of popcorn is a good source of fiber as well (instead of drenching it in butter try drizzling it with heart healthy good quality olive oil, a little freshly grated parmesan cheese and a little sea salt).

Some nuts are a tasty source of fiber too (an ounce of almonds has about 4 grams of fiber).

Fruits and vegetables are also good sources of fiber; with the exception of almost all juices (a medium apple has 5 grams of fiber).

Beans are a great source of fiber as well (1/2 cup cooked black beans has 7 grams of fiber), but because they can be difficult for people to digest they also tend to be a source of gas which makes some people avoid them because it’s just not nice to fart during an important meeting or in a roomful of people at a party (unless you’re good at pretending you didn’t do it and can pass the blame to someone else).

9) Write down what you eat. A financial budget helps keep your spending in check so why not use the same strategy to keep your eating under control? Writing down what you eat helps you easily see if you’re eating enough fruits and vegetables, if you’re eating enough fiber, eating enough protein, and drinking enough liquid. It can also help a person see where and when they are getting off track with healthy eating and why the scale might be inching upwards.

A food journal doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It can be as simple as writing it on a piece of scrap paper but I recommend a small notebook so you can keep several weeks worth of eating in one easy place for reference.

You might be thinking, “I can remember it all in my head.” If you can, good for you! Most people can’t easily recall exactly what they’re eaten that day though (there’s too much other stuff to remember). It’s so easy to forget about that bite of cake given out as a sample at the grocery store or that handful of chips (or 2 or 3 or 4) you grabbed while watching television and munched down without thinking about it.

10) Color your world blue. Did you know the color blue works as an appetite suppressant? It’s because there are very few foods in nature that are blue (even blueberries look more purple than blue to me) so our minds tend to not associate the color blue with food.

You could paint your dining room blue or even color your food blue if you wanted; but that sounds like too much work to me (although painting a room would be good exercise!). Instead buy yourself some blue dinnerware. You could also put a blue light in your refrigerator.

Green and pink and gray are also considered appetite suppressant colors but personally I would avoid gray because it’s also a color that can depress people.

11) Use smaller plates and bowls. Most of us like to see a plate full of food when we sit down to eat. Who wants to be reminded that they’re dieting at dinnertime by seeing huge empty spots on their plate where food used to reside?

For me a full plate makes me think “yum, I’m getting lots of food to fill my tummy.” But since I don’t want my tummy to prevent me from ever being able to see my toes again I have to keep things in check and not eat as much as I used to.

So instead of using full-size dinner plates and bowls, I use salad plates and smaller bowls. I end up eating less and still feel satisfied.

Yeah, it’s a mental trick but studies have shown that a person will eat more if a huge plate of food is placed in front of them but will eat less if there’s less food placed in front of them irregardless of how hungry they are. And, it’s an easy thing to try – no special cooking methods needed!

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Drinking Water to Lose Weight – Bottoms Up!

October 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

How many times have you heard that it’s important to drink water?  If you’re like me, it’s about a gazillion and two and you’re really sick of hearing about it!  But, the reason you probably hear so much about it is because drinking water is vital not only for weight loss, but for overall health.

So, for the gazillion and third time, “it’s important to drink water.”

Why is drinking water such a big deal?  The main reason is because our bodies are made up of a lot of water (somewhere between 55-65 percent in adults depending on the person according to madsci.org), and that water needs to be replenished so our bodies don’t become so dry and parched they’re like the Sahara desert!

Water is so important that a person can die in as little as 3 days without water according to livescience.com (but they obviously don’t recommend testing that theory out).  They also explain that water, “flows through the blood, carrying oxygen and nutrients to cells and flushing wastes out of our bodies.  It cushions our joints and soft tissues.  Without water as a routine part of our intake, we cannot digest or absorb food.”

You want water to carry oxygen to your cells and cushion your joints so that you can breathe decently and have less stress on your joints while exercising, and even just for going about your normal day-to-day activities, right?

You want waste flushed out of your body because who wants extra waste in their body when they step on scale, right?  Actually, now that I think about it, who wants extra waste lurking in their body at any time? (yuck!)

You want the nutrients from all those fruits, vegetables, lean portions of protein, and whole grains you’re eating to be absorbed into your body, right? (yes, I know that some of these foods, especially fruits and vegetables, contain water but not enough to keep our bodies hydrated).

With regards to weight loss, water is important for one big, huge reason (it’s a huge reason to me anyway).  It helps us to feel fuller which may make us less likely to reach for that “hundreds of calories” worth of brownies or chips a half hour after eating dinner (unless you ate like a rabbit and only ate lettuce leaves and raw carrots for dinner).

Plus, did you know that people often mistake thirst for hunger?  I don’t have a percentage to throw at you but I can give you my own person testimonial to this because I used to be a water hater.  Don’t get me wrong – I drank enough liquid but it was high calorie liquid in the form of soda pop (plain water was something I avoided like it was poison).

Then when I got serious about losing weight and finally started listening to the experts who are continually “blah-blah-blahing” about the importance of drinking water, I started to realize how I had been eating something to quench my thirst instead of drinking water a lot of the time.

How did I realize this?  Almost every time I thought I was hungry (with the exception of times I had gone 6 hours or more without eating and my stomach was growling because then it was obvious I was starving!) I would take a drink of water before eating something and wait just a couple of minutes to see if I still wanted something to eat.  More often than not, I realized I wanted more to drink.  Nobody was more surprised than me!

And the crazy thing is now that I’m drinking a lot more water (at least eight, 8 ounce glasses a day), I actually am thirsty for more water.  It’s like I had the connection between thirst and drinking water turned off in my brain – probably because I ignored it for so long.

The bottom line with drinking water for has been this: I feel better, have less headaches (did you know that dehydration can cause headaches), and am losing weight without feeling like I am being starved and am two seconds away from inhaling an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

So, bottoms up with that water glass and drink it up!  Your body will love you for its.

Filed Under: Featured, Lose Weight Naturally, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , ,
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