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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: , , , , ,

Lose Weight Naturally For Long Term Weight Loss Success

October 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In our society of instant gratification nobody wants to hear that the healthiest way to lose weight is to lose it naturally, without popping a bunch of pills or drinking strange concoctions of herbs and who knows what else (“eye of newt”?)

What do I mean when I say it’s best to lose weight naturally?  I’m talking about losing it with diet and exercise, and to do it slowly.

Yeah, I know nobody wants to hear that.

But to have the best chance of keeping the weight off, diet and exercise are the way to go.

Why?

Let me give you an example.  You watch an infomercial that says you’ll lose weight quickly and easily just by taking their product.  They go on to say there is no need to change your diet or to exercise because their product will cause the weight to fall off without any pain, effort, or discipline on your part.

Wow!  It sounds too good to be true, but the part of you that is desperate to lose weight doesn’t listen so you order it.

Does it work?  It might.

Does it cause side effects?  It might but who cares if it helps you lose weight, right?

What happens when you quit taking it (or do you plan on taking it for the rest of your life)?

I can tell you what happens when you quit taking it.  The weight almost always piles right back on.

Why?

It’s because you never learned how to change the eating and exercise (or shall I say lack of exercise) habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place.

My “expertise” on this topic comes from the good old “school of hard knocks” called experience.  I’m not a doctor or scientific expert – just a normal person who has struggled with weight loss.

After getting married and having kids I looked in the mirror one day and realized I wasn’t exactly skinny anymore.  But instead of eating more fruits and vegetables, eating whole grains and lean protein, and exercising regularly (and to only eat when I was hungry instead of when I was bored, sad, angry, etc.), I fell prey to the multi-billion dollar weight loss industry and those slick and enticing marketing campaigns that made me believe I didn’t have to stop stuffing my face with pizza, chips and candy every day but instead could just take their pills or “natural” herbs and supplements to get back to a normal weight.

What did I get?  I got a lot poorer because none of that stuff is cheap, got fatter, and got more and more depressed with each failed attempt.

When I went to see a new doctor and she tried to convince me to give diet and exercise a try, I resisted.  Well, I didn’t really resist.  I just ignored her.  When she insisted on continuing to talk about it, I started to think about other things and waited for her to get done yapping.  Then I went home and continued with my same old bad habits.

Flash forward a couple of years.  I was getting fatter all the time but ignoring it.  But, all of a sudden my test results at my annual checkup weren’t so stellar.  My blood pressure was getting high and my blood sugar was in the pre-diabetic range.  Those things were pretty hard to ignore.  I was in real danger of losing my health.

My doctor insisted it didn’t mean I was going to get diabetes, but that I almost certainly would if I didn’t make changes in my life.  What kind of changes?  Changes to my diet and incorporating regular exercise into my life (ugh!  not that “song and dance” again!).

Until that point in time I had never really thought about the saying “you are what you eat.”  But when I finally did think about it I realized I was a walking talking junk food machine.  No wonder my body was rebelling.

So I decided to give that darn “lose weight with diet and exercise” thing a go and started eating fewer calories than I was burning.

Guess what?

It works.  It’s not “quick and easy” but I’m happy to say I’ve lost 50 pounds and am keeping it off because I’ve changed the way I eat and now exercise regularly.  Now when I think about “you are what you eat,” I know I’m a fruit, veggie, whole grain, and protein machine (with a little junk food tossed in here and there).  My health has improved too.  I have more energy, normal blood pressure, and normal blood sugar levels (no more pre-diabetic range for me!).

I used to think I wanted a quick and easy weight loss solution in the form of some pill or potion but I now know it’s not what I really wanted.  I really wanted to lose weight and have it stay lost for good instead of always finding me again.

I didn’t choose to go it alone though because I knew I needed help decoding all the information about weight loss out there so I joined Weight Watchers where I choose the food I’m going eat and have been taught how to make healthy choices.

If you know you want to start losing weight naturally for long term success but aren’t sure where to start here are a few tips to help you get going:

-          eat lots of fruits and vegetables

-          use spices and herbs to flavor food instead of massive quantities of butter and oil

-          drink lots of water instead of gallons of soda, high calorie energy drinks and calorie dense juices

-          eat lean protein

-          eat whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.)

-          talk to your health care provider about exercise.  Most recommend 30-60 minutes of physical activity 5-7 days a week.

-          Take care of yourself by taking time to relax and getting enough sleep

-          Don’t forbid any food because it’s not diet friendly because it will only make you want it more (remember when you were little and your Mom told you  not to touch something?  Did you want to touch it more than ever?  Of course you did.  It’s human nature.  It’s the same theory here – if you really want those nacho cheese Doritos have some; just not an entire family size bag in 1 sitting)

-          Try modeling.  No, not the walking down the runway type but the type where you model your habits after someone you know who is normal weight and healthy.  One of my favorite tips from a friend who has always been normal weight.  She says to have a little chocolate every day.  She says her favorite thing is to buy M&M’s from those 25 cent vending machines.  It’s enough to satisfy her and there are no worries about a partial giant sized bag sitting around calling her name.   Another friend says she always stops eating when she is satisfied no matter how tasty the food in front of her is.  She tells herself she can always get more when she’s hungry again and that helps her put down the fork and stop shoveling it in.

-          Eat when you are hungry; not when you are bored or upset and not when you are watching television and not paying attention to what you are stuffing in your mouth.

-          Be kind to yourself.  Nobody is perfect and there will be days when you make less than great food choices.  It happens.  Dust yourself off and keep going.  Perseverance pays off.

A friend told me several months ago that the power to lose weight was inside me.  She’s right.  Yes, it takes discipline but what’s wrong with having a little self-discipline?  It’s worth it.  And while I don’t agree the saying of “being thin is better than having a piece of cake” because some days I really want that cake and have learned I can have cake once in a while and still lose weight, I’m healthier, happier and more confident since I’ve gotten rid of some of those extra pounds.

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

13 Tips For Losing Weight

September 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I asked one of my thin friends for her best weight loss tip.  She said “don’t eat.”  Ha, ha.  Wasn’t she funny? (not!) I told her that her advice would work all fine and great until I pass out from weakness, which, with my luck would happen right as I’m crossing the street while a bus is heading my way at full speed.

Since I obviously couldn’t count on my friend for helpful weight loss tips, I had to actually think about the tips I use in my everyday life to help me lose weight (wonder how many calories I burn while thinking).

Here are 13 of them (and unlike those superstitious elevator numbering people who will not make a 13th floor button although there is obviously a 13th floor in a 20 story building, I do not think the number 13 is unlucky).

1) Write Down What You Eat
Why?  Have you ever gone to the ATM machine, taken out $100 and then looked in your wallet the next day to find only a few singles left and then wondered what happened to the rest of the money?

Not writing down what you eat is kind of the same.  It’s hard to remember everything you ate.  Our brains only hold so much information plus sometimes our minds hardly register what we’ve eaten (those bites consumed while standing in front of the fridge door, the nuts and chips shoveled in while watching television, etc).

For me, writing down what I eat during the day is especially helpful when it comes to dinnertime because I can easily see if I have enough calories left for a nice plate of pasta or if I’ve already indulged enough during the day and should stick to some lean protein and vegetables.

2) Drink Before You Chew
I’m talking about drinking water.  Why?  Because that’s what a large portion of our bodies consist of (about 60-70 percent although it varies somewhat with each individual person), and that liquid needs to be replenished.

Many people (me for instance) tend to mistake thirst for hunger and eat something instead of drinking water.  I now take a drink of water before I eat something to make sure that I’m actually hungry and not just thirsty.  I often find the water is what my body really wanted and that I don’t need to eat anything right that second.

3) Pop Some Popcorn
Many of us love our crunchy, salty snacks.  If you’re not convinced of this take a stroll through your local grocery store.  Mine has two  entire aisles full of the stuff.

To help with my weight loss efforts, I’ve swapped the greasy potato chips and cheese snacks for popcorn whether it’s microwave or air popped (but not the butter drenched movie theater stuff).

It’s a lot lower in calories, satisfies my craving for crunchy and salty food, and it’s a good source of fiber.

Try it air popped with a drizzle of good quality olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese (yum!).

4) Eat What You Really Want
Have you ever really wanted a chocolate candy bar or piece of cake (or whatever your favorite indulgences are) but didn’t have them because you were (sigh) dieting and didn’t want to ruin your diet?

But instead you drank some sugar free cocoa, then had a high fiber granola bar, then ate some low fat chips, and then a handful of almonds because they are supposed to help fill you up; but still weren’t satisfied and ended up eating more calories than if you would have just let yourself have the food you really wanted but in a reasonable portion instead of a piece large enough to feed a family of six?  Yep, I’ve done this too many times to count.

Now I no longer make any food forbidden or deny myself something I really want.  But, I work it into my weight loss plan and make sure my other food choices that day are a little lighter to make up for it or get in some extra exercise.

5) Make A List of Your Favorite Fast Foods
No matter how diligent we are about planning our meals and snacks to make sure they are healthy and within the weight loss plan we’re on, almost all of us are going to have times where we are really hungry but don’t have any food with us and need to have a quick bite.

Hello, fast food drive-through.  Yes, almost everything you’ve heard about the high-fat and high calorie choices at fast food restaurants is probably true.  But not everything is completely horrible.  There are some decent choices at most places and some are even downright healthy.

I’ve made a list of the foods I enjoy most at my favorite fast food places (some are fairly healthy choices and others “not so much”).    Next to each item I’ve written how many Weight Watchers points that item will cost me because that’s the weight loss plan I’m on (you may be just counting calories so you’d just write down how many calories each of your favorite items are).

That way when I need to stop for a quick bite, I can look at my list and decide how many points (or calories) I’m willing to spend on the fast food meal.  It helps keep me from overeating.

6) Stop Acting Like It’s Your Last Meal
For most of us, we know that we can easily find more food for our next meal so it’s not necessary to eat the current meal like it’s the last one we are going to have, and as a result stuff ourselves to the point of it being painful (yep, I’ve done that too which is why I used to have a bottle of Tums with me at all times).

Slow down, enjoy your food, and eat to the point of satisfaction – not to the point of busting out the seams on your pants!

Then, in a couple of hours, when you’re hungry again, have a little more to eat.

7) Go To The Bathroom In The Middle Of Your Meal
Sounds kind of crazy, but a couple months ago someone told me they always stop halfway through their meal at a restaurant (a place where it’s so easy to overeat) and go to the bathroom.

Besides using that time for the obvious, this person takes an extra minute or two to think about how she feels; as in she purposely thinks about whether or not she is still hungry or if her tummy is happy and satisfied.

She said she usually finds she is satisfied and doesn’t need more to eat so she goes back to her table and asks the server to box up the rest of her food.

This tip works really well for me.  When I’m at a restaurant it’s usually with other people so I’m not always paying attention to what I’m eating.  I’m just shoveling the food in my mouth in between snippets of conversation and not paying attention to how much I’m eating or whether I’m getting full.  Stopping midway to go to the bathroom is now a reminder to myself to gauge how my tummy is feeling because I want to keep losing weight and don’t want to have to go back to carrying antacid pills with me everywhere I go because I’ve overly stuffed myself.

An extra little tip: if you are seated in a booth, position yourself at the end so you don’t disrupt other people’s meals when you take your “break.”

8) Take Up An Activity To Keep Your Hands Busy While Watching Television
Mindless eating and watching television are deadly to weight loss and I used to be a huge offender.  I’m one of those people that needs to keep my hands busy doing something and shoving food in my mouth has always been a handy and easy thing to do while watching television.
I could give up tv, but I don’t want to so I’ve taken up knitting and crocheting.  I stink at it but it keeps my hands busy and helps me keep the food I don’t need and am not hungry for out of my mouth.

9) Think About Food More Often
Seems crazy for me to say to think about food more often when you are trying to lose weight and probably want to think about it as little as possible.
But when I don’t plan what I’m going to eat or when I eat mindlessly, that’s when I have problems staying on my weight loss plan and when I tend to pack the pounds back on.
I usually take a couple minutes every evening to plan what I’m going to eat the next day.  It’s especially helpful if I’m going to be eating at a restaurant.  Then I can hopefully find their menu online and pre-plan what I’m going to have and then plan the rest of my food choices for the day around it.

10)  Act Like A Squirrel and Keep A Stash of Food
This tip seems counterproductive to losing weight just like the tip recommending that you think about food more often.  But keeping a stash of “safe to eat” food handy can help you resist the fast food restaurant signs calling out your name, the dish of candy bars sitting on your co-workers desk, and the donuts in the break room.
I almost always have single serve packs of almonds (Emerald dry roasted almonds are super delicious), and an apple or banana with me.  I also sometimes carry mini candy bars to help satisfy my chocolate cravings and 100 calorie packs of Cheetos or Sun Chips.
A friend of mine keeps Soup at Hand and a couple pieces of Dove chocolate in her desk drawer.
The trick is to not keep too much on hand though because then it can get too tempting to eat it all on the same day.  Two or three things is plenty.

11) Find a Skinny Picture
If you have a picture from when you were thinner, put it where you can look at it every day to help keep you motivated.  If you’re an avid Facebook or Twitter user, make it your profile picture so you can look at it every day; or make it the profile picture in your instant messaging program.
Don’t have a skinny picture?  Find a picture of someone you’d like to look like, but be realistic.  Those gorgeous pictures of supermodels and celebrities on the covers of magazines have been airbrushed and Photo-shopped like crazy!

12) Try New Fruits and Vegetables
I’m a Weight Watchers follower and go to weekly meetings.  At those meetings I hear people say over and over again how they know they should eat more vegetables but just don’t like them.
They then go on to say that they either have carrots and celery every day (boring!) or that they’ve tried the old standbys of broccoli and cauliflower but can’t stand them.  I’m not sure why almost every dieter tries to force themselves to eat broccoli and cauliflower.  They are two very strong tasting vegetables so it’s no wonder that some people turn their nose up at them and then declare that they hate vegetables in general or are so sick of carrot and celery sticks that they would rather not eat at all.
Vegetables can be really tasty but not every person is going to like every one and not everyone likes them raw or likes them cooked and prepared the same way.
If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables, then make a pact with yourself to try one new one a week or to try one prepared a new way every week.
I used to hate broccoli but after I tried it roasted I found I love it (turn your oven to 400 degrees, toss the broccoli in a little olive oil or spray both the pan and the broccoli liberally with cooking spray, sprinkle on salt and pepper and then cook until it starts to brown around the edges).  Roasting vegetables gives them a really different taste – kind of nutty.
Another way to get more vegetables in your meals is to use them to bulk up your main course.  Single serve frozen meals can be really handy but the portion sizes tend to look snack size rather than meal size.  Buy bags of single serve frozen vegetables to heat up with those frozen meals and use them like you would lettuce (place the vegetables on a plate first and top them with the single serve meal if it’s one that has sauce such as a frozen pasta meal).

13) Get Rid of Your “Fat” Clothes
When you move down a size (yeah for you!) don’t keep those too big “fat clothes” in your closet “just in case.”  That’s a mistake I made for many years.  Because I was keeping those fat clothes “just in case,” I always knew that I could just slip on a bigger pair of jeans “temporarily of course” if I overindulged for a week or two.
But when I decided that I had no intention of ever gaining the weight back, and as a result decided to get rid of my fat clothes, the weight has been staying off (for the most part).  When I do start to gain a little and my jeans aren’t so comfortable anymore I know it’s time to pay attention to what I’m eating and to exercise more because I don’t have backup “fat clothes” in my closet.
For me, my fat clothes were a security blanket that I used to give myself permission to go off my weight loss plan.
The day it came time to take them to Goodwill though, I resisted.  I suddenly lost my resolve to get rid of them because I was losing that security blanket.  It took the prodding of my husband (meaning he told me about 100 times that I didn’t need them anymore – to the point of me wanting to tell him to “take a flying leap”) to get me to part with them.  Then I rewarded myself the next day with some new, smaller sized clothes!

These 13 tips for losing weight are working for me.  I hope you’ll give them a try and see if they help you too!

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