November 20th, 2008 — Meals, alternative ideas, healthy eating, nutrition, trigger food
Trying to map out a new health plan can be difficult, especially when you are used to overeating on a regular basis. Many of us don't even realize just how much we eat and how this can affect our bodies. The key to weight loss is the simple formula of calories in - calories burned. If you're taking in too many calories, you're just not going to lose weight the healthy way.
Learning how not to overeat can be a difficult process, especially if you have been used to it for many years. Your stomach is pretty much trained that it needs a set amount of food and when it doesn't get that amount, it sends out signals to your brain that you're hungry.
In order to stop overeating, you're going to need to employ a process with a few different techniques. It may take awhile to completely retrain yourself, but it is possible. Don't get discouraged and keeping moving forward, even if you end up falling off the wagon. It's only a disaster if you don't get back on.
Let's look at a few ways that you can start training yourself to avoid overeating. Personally, I went with 1-3 until I had figured out my diet and even now continue to rely on number 2.
1. Keep a log of absolutely everything you eat from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed.
Don't forget to log what you drink as well. Sometimes, just seeing everything on paper is enough to make you realize how much you are eating. Talk with your doctor or nutritionist to see how many calories you really need, and then compare the two. Chances are, you're probably consuming more calories than you thought.
2. Start using smaller plates.
Even if it's only for your meal and not the rest of your family's, studies have shown that smaller plates really do help when it comes to weight loss. Eat only what is on that plate and avoid going back for seconds. You'll get that mental feeling of having cleared your plate, but it will be with much less food than you normally get. If you have difficulty with portion control, this technique can really make the difference.
3. Get a food scale.
It's tough to know how big a portion should be and having a food scale around really makes it easier. Chances are, what you thought was one serving is probably closer to two. It can seem a little frustrating and quite a bit crazy at first to weigh everything you eat, but after the first week or so it will become old hat.
4. Allow yourself your favorite foods, but cut back on their size.
In some cases, overeating is triggered by the feeling of being deprived. Instead of quitting all of your favorite foods cold turkey, allow yourself to eat them, but in much smaller quantities. If this is still a problem, try replacing these foods with similar versions that are lower in calories. There are new snacks that are packaged into 100 calories packs that are very similar to popular desserts and these can really help in this situation.
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October 29th, 2008 — calories, proteins
When you first start on a weight management plan, it’s easy to look at calories as your enemy. In fact, many people fall into the trap of actually consuming too few calories, which can make it harder to lose weight, especially over time. Your body needs to have fuel in order to run properly and if it doesn’t you may notice that you just don’t feel right, and that you don’t have enough energy. This makes it hard to stick to your diet, and if you are too deprived, you may actually be slowing down your own metabolism.
The first step to take is to figure out your basal metabolic rate. This is the bare minimum of calories that your body needs for basic functions, such as running your brain, keeping your heart beating and keeping everything running smoothly. It’s not wise to drop below your basal rate, particularly for any extended period of time. This will end up slowing your system down and you may find it impossible to lose weight. In fact, many people that plateau may have simply reached their basal rate and they are not eating enough to lose weight.
You can find a basal metabolic rate calculator online that will help you determine your basic needs. They will need information such as your height, current weight, your age and how much exercise you get. Be honest so that you can get a good idea of just how many calories you really need. If you do need to burn fat, it is acceptable to go a little below that basal rate, but you should never drop below 1200 calories. You can also add more exercise to increase the amount of calories that you burn, which will actually help you raise your metabolism.
Once you determine what your daily basic needs are, you’ll be able to start working on a basic diet plan that will provide you with the weight loss you need, without sacrificing your health as a result. Try not to go more than 500 calories less than your basal rate, and instead, add more exercise to help you burn more calories.
Some signs that you are not consuming enough calories can be a headache, which is common when you are suffering from a lack of protein, general tiredness, fatigue, simple malaise and generally just not feeling up to snuff. While it is common for your body to through a few of these changes initially when you start a weight loss plan, within a week or so you should actually start to feel energized. If you don’t, you may not be eating enough to keep your body functioning properly.
While we all want to lose weight quickly, it is much smarter to take the time that it takes, watch your caloric intake and make sure that you don’t go overboard when it comes to cutting those calories. Your body needs fuel if you want to get healthy.
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October 27th, 2008 — Meals, Weight Loss Journal, diet, food, healthy eating
It is a common practice, and many of us are guilty of it. We forgo eating all day long, because we know we’ll be eating out that night, or that there is a special event coming later in the day and we want to be able to eat whatever we want. However, is this type of planning actually derailing your diet? Let’s take a look at just a few reasons why this mindset is not healthy, and may actually be counterproductive.
1. You’ll end up eating more.
If you don’t eat all day, and are suddenly faced with plenty of food, it is all too easy to eat way more than your recommended amount of calories, and worse, you may never even realize how many calories you’ve had. Remember, 3500 extra calories equals one pound of fat. At some special events or dinners, it is all too easy to get more than 3500 calories on a single night.
Because you went hungry all day, your body’s blood sugar levels are off. This can also cause you to eat more, simply to get regulated. There is no point in starving yourself for a day, and then try to make up for it at night, it’s just too rough on your body.
2. It puts you in the wrong mindset.
Right off the bat, you’re preparing to cheat, and in a big way. Many people feel that it is all right to have that big dinner, especially if they didn’t have any calories all day. But once again, we go back to the point that you do end up eating more, usually much more than you intended.
By sticking with that “it’s ok to cheat” mindset, you may be hampering your future progress on your diet. If you’re not making those lifestyle changes that will stick with you, the chances of future success and being able to keep your weight off do decline dramatically.
3. You can end up in a bad cycle.
Once your body gets used to fasting during the day, and eating whatever you want at night, it’s all too easy to get into a bad cycle. You may find that you’re tempted to do this more than once, and before you know it, you’re back to making excuses and falling into the wrong mindset. A diet is much more than food control, it’s also about being able to control your mind, and your food cravings.
By allowing yourself this much wiggle room, and setting yourself up for behaviors that are hard to change, you’re making your diet needlessly complicated, and chances are, over time, you’ll be disappointed with your results.
Instead of fasting all day, even when you have a special event coming up, eat as you normally would. You may even want to have a healthy snack before you go. Your blood sugar won’t be sending off signals that will make you want to eat everything in sight and you’ll end up being able to successfully avoid even the dessert tray. A way to fight eating too little during the day is eating many small meals during the day.
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October 9th, 2008 — Meals, Weight Loss Journal, alternative ideas, diet, drink, food, goals, healthy eating, nutrition, sodium, sugar
For many of us, trying to consume fewer calories can be very difficult. If you are someone that has a hard time feeling satisfied on little meals, or you just can’t seem to make any headway with your calorie count, there are a few ways that you can dramatically reduce how many calories you are eating without feeling the pinch. These tips are about some small switches that you can make to get some big weight loss results.
1. Remove temptation.
If you are someone that will go through an entire bag of chips without thinking, it’s difficult to look at that big bag and not keep reaching in. One of the easiest ways to control this is to make use of the smaller kid’s size bags. You’ll still be able to eat chips, but you will have that automatic portion control already figured out for you. The key is to keep as few of these bags around as possible, so that you don’t make up for what you’re missing by eating a bunch of small bags. Possible calories cut: 150 – 600.
2. Try tasty replacements.
If you just have to have those salty snacks and the little bags aren’t cutting it, it’s time to find a different way to get your salt fix without eating too many calories. One of the easiest switches to make is to try some air popped popcorn, lightly salted. You can have three popped cups of this for what nine potato chips would cost calorie wise. This is an easy way to feel more satisfied and you won’t have to worry about eating unhealthy oils. If you can’t do without butter, try a light 1 second spray of butter flavored spray oil. It’s a lot easier to replace chips with popcorn than it is with celery. Possible calories cut: 150 - 600
3. Get that dressing on the side.
If you are eating restaurant salads and wondering why you’re not losing weight, the dressing is usually too blame. Restaurants slather salads with high calorie dressings. Look for a non-cream based dressing, or better yet, go with a vinaigrette. Get your dressing on the side, and dip in the lettuce. You’ll be surprised at just how much is left over. Possible calories cut: 50 to 500 depending on the dressing.
4. Forego the cheese and mayo based toppings.
If you must eat out, get a plain hamburger instead of a cheeseburger. Use plain ketchup and mustard and forget about any special sauces. You’ll still be eating something you enjoy, but you’ll also be saving on calories. Possible calories cut: 50 to 250.
5. Replace soda with flavored sparkling water.
Sparkling water still has that zing of carbonation, without all the empty calories of soda. There are some great flavors out there and once you get past the caffeine issue, you’ll be on track towards losing a lot of weight. Possible calories cut: 100 to 600 (depending on the amount of soda you drink)
All told, these are five easy ways to carve anywhere from 500 to 2550 calories a day. Now that’s significant!
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September 29th, 2008 — alternative ideas, calories, diet
For many of us, dieting is a form of deprivation that is extremely difficult to handle. It's tough to get through the day when you are literally starving yourself. Before you even start a diet, you're going to need to make sure that you are getting enough calories to get through the day while still reducing your current intake. In some cases, it's best to start slow and build up from there.
For example, we all know that in order to lose one pound in a week, we need to cut 3500 calories out of our diet for that week. Instead of trying to do it all in one day, find a way to cut 500 calories out of your daily diet. This can be as simple as not drinking soda or foregoing that high calorie snack. These little things can really add up. For example, if you frequently go to a coffee shop and get a latte or anything that has a lot of calories, replace this with regular coffee or even add a little non-fat creamer to it to make it taste better. You'll be carving out another 200 calories or more every single day.
These are little ways that you can go on a "diet" without making it feel like a real diet. You're not really depriving yourself of food, you're just cutting out the danger foods that contain a lot of useless calories. Once you start on that path slowly, it's a lot easier to get to the end. Remember, this is not a race. You're more likely to keep those pounds off by creating healthy habits and sticking to them.
Once you've gotten to the point where it is easy to cut these little useless calories out of your diet, you can move on to the next step. Let's say you want to lose 2 pounds a week. This requires cutting out 7000 calories to your weekly diet. You can easily accomplish this again, without feeling deprived, by targeting some of the more high calorie foods in your diet. Start writing down everything you eat during the day. You may be surprised at just how many calories one serving of a dessert or entrée can pack.
If you frequently eat out, chances are you are piling on the calories without even noticing it. Try not eating out for two weeks, and eat a sensible low calorie dinner at home. You'll find the weight literally melting off of you. In order to accomplish this, you may need to make some substations. Since we're going for the low stress, no deprivation variety, we're going to start small. Start by cutting all the fat off a cut of meat and broiling it instead of frying it. Instead of fried potatoes, go for mashed potatoes with a low fat margarine. You'll be able to easily replace all of those high calorie foods with alternatives that taste good. Add in some exercise and you're set!
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September 25th, 2008 — Meals, blood sugar, calories, grazing, healthy eating, moderation, proteins, snacking
For many of us, it's just too hard to get through the day without nibbling on something. If you have issues with your blood sugar being too low, or you are simply hungry during the day, snacking can be second nature. While snacking generally gets frowned upon, grazing is typically recommended for many diets. The key is finding the right balance so that you don't get overly hungry and you still feel satisfied throughout the day.
First, you need to set limits for your grazing behavior. It's one thing to graze on peanut butter cups all day, and it's another to graze on unbuttered air popped popcorn. One contains loads of fat and calories, the other has approximately 31 calories for a whole cup. You can really fill up on popcorn without filling up on calories. Figure out how many calories you are allowed each day and then how much you use for your regular meals.
That will give you the amount left over that you can eat while grazing. It is best to stick to a very low calories amount so that you don't end up sabotaging your diet. For example, instead of a candy bar, try low calorie string cheese. Instead of a bag of chips, have some crunchy vegetables. By making the right food choices when you're grazing, you'll have better luck at losing weight.
If you do find it necessary to graze because you are starving, you may need to address what is causing this. Are you not eating enough during your regular meals or are you eating the wrong balance of foods? If you're not getting enough protein, then you will be left feeling hungry after your meals. By getting the right balance of carbs, fats and proteins you can reduce those cravings that make you graze.
It is almost important to remember that if you are doing a lot of brain work, you are going to be hungrier during the day. Your brain uses more than 30% of your body's blood sugar just to run and when you're really using it, you'll burn through your supply quite quickly. Just find low calories fuel to keep you going in this situation.
Snacking and grazing can be too different things. Some of us get into the habit of the afternoon snack or late night snack and we are so routinized that it doesn't matter if we are hungry or not - we're going to eat that snack. Learn to recognize true hunger as opposed to "my brain is telling me it's time to eat."
Grazing is not necessarily a bad idea and when utilized properly it can help you lose weight. You just need to make sure that you are using smart choices when it comes to the food you are grazing on. Eat small amounts of low calories and still keep track of what you eat each day to stay below you recommended amount. This is grazing at its best.
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September 2nd, 2008 — alternative ideas, injury, weight loss, wellness
It happens to the best of us. You’re rolling along on your new diet and exercise plan and you’re starting to see results. You’re pumped, you’re on top of the world and then bang – an injury. At this point, you’ve got two main choices. You can give up, convinced that your body simply was not meant to be thin or healthy, or you can accept the setback and find ways to work around it until you’re healed.
Depending on the type of injury that you have, there are still many ways that you can keep fit until you recover. Granted, there are a few, such as a broken leg, that may incapacitate you entirely, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up on weight loss. You just need to find ways to restructure your plan until you’re ready to get back into action.
First and foremost, if you have a serious injury your body is going to need time and fuel to recover. If you are on a starvation or extreme diet, your body may not be getting the nutrients it needs to heal. Make sure that you tell your doctor how many calories you are consuming and see what they recommend. If it is a matter of life or weight, you may need to put off losing more weight for the time being. In the case of a broken bone, if you don’t have enough nutrition you could actually delay the healing process, which will put you back more than a few steps on your diet.
Since you will not be as active, it is important to revisit your caloric intake, within reason. If you do feel the need to cut back on your calories, make sure that you are taking a multi-vitamin supplement and again, consult with your doctor before starting. This is also a great time to ask them about your physical therapy options. In many cases, your insurance coverage may cover this therapy and you can use it to keep on track towards getting fit.
It is also important to make sure that you find some way to keep your heart healthy during your convalescence. With a serious injury, cardio may be out of the question, but there may be some exercises that you can still do. For example, if a leg is out of commission, try lifting weights with your arms. Find little ways to work around your injury, while still giving yourself time to heal. If you have a broken arm, try a spinning class. There are lots of little ways that you can keep fit, even while recovering from an injury.
Last but not least, you can use your recovery time to figure out what went wrong. Not all injuries can be prevented, but most can. See if you need to increase your amount of stretching before your workout or stop doing whatever it was that caused the injury in the first place.
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June 25th, 2008 — calories, diet, healthy eating, snacking
One of the major reasons that people have difficulty keeping on their diets is the urge to snack. For many of us, it's hard to get through the day without having at least one snack. However, that one snack can easily turn into ten and before you know it you're grazing all day long, adding useless calories to your daily intake. While snacking can be important, you're going to need to be smart about it to make sure that you can stick to your diet.
When we need a little snack fix, most of us reach for a bag of chips or a candy bar. It's a quick fix and provides you with that burst of sugar that will make you feel pretty good right away, but not so good later on. The key to snacking without ruining your diet is picking the right kind of snacks. It may take a little while at first to get used to eating healthier snacks, but before long, you'll be able to prefer it.
Start by figuring out how many calories you want to eat per day. Add up your three main meals and then figure out how many calories you have left over. This can be used as a guide to help you pick the snacks that will keep you on your diet. You'll also need to figure out the times when you are most likely to snack and target some changes in your regular meals to help you get through the day.
A great snack will contain enough protein to give you the energy you need to make it to your next meal without feeling deprived. Over the long term it is much more effective than carbs at keeping your body fueled right. For example, instead of that can of soda and a serving of chips, which can equal more than 300 calories, have one serving of low fat cottage cheese. This contains only about 80 calories and can actually be quite satisfying. Nuts, nuts, nuts... Almonds are particularly good for you, but almost any kind of nut is a great source of energy and in appropriate amounts nuts will fit into any diet. (5 almounds is equal to 1 protien serving on my diet. I get 14 protien a day.) Even a small block of cheese, a serving of tuna or some other small treat can be a great low calorie high protein alternative. A really great healthy snack that I just picked up at the local Costco (seriously tastes great) is dry roasted and lightly salted edamame aka soybean. 70% Less fat and 40% more protein than peanuts... one serving is 14 grams of soy protein and 2 net carbs.
Figure out what kind of protein snacks you like to eat. If you are one that absolutely needs to feed your sweet tooth, look for special protein bars that are low in calories and carbs while high in protein. These can provide a great boost of energy and keep you balanced all day.
Earlier, we mentioned that it is also important to figure out what times of the day you are most likely to snack. This is usually a sign that you are not eating a balanced enough meal before hand. For example, if you have a lot of carbs for breakfast, that sugar is going to wear off well before lunch, leaving you feeling hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is should contain enough protein to give you the fuel you need to make it to lunch.
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May 28th, 2008 — calories, exercise, healthy eating
When you are trying to lose weight, it is very common to go on a strict diet and add in exercise on top of that. There is a problem with this however and you can end up feeling too exhausted to keep going. This usually leads to quitting your diet entirely or giving up your exercises. If you want to avoid feeling exhausted, you need to provide your body with the right amount and kind of fuel to keep going.
First, let's talk about that simple ratio of reducing calories in + increasing exercise = weight loss. However, there is a problem in this simple equation. If you're not getting enough calories in, your body will go into starvation mode. You'll need to add another item to this equation to make sure that you're getting the right balance.
You'll need to figure out how many calories a day that you need, and then how many calories you burn at your exercises. For example, if you've cut down to 1200 calories a day, and you're burning 400 at the gym, that leaves you with only 800 calories for fuel. This is not nearly enough to keep you going. (I am on 1200 calories and exercising with my Jumpstart Medicine medically assisted weight loss... but I am under the supervision of a physician and I am getting all of my calories from lean protein (70%), complex non grain carbohydrates (25%), non fat dairy (5%), and I am taking a multivitamin.) I highly recommed Jumpstart. I have a special offer for anyone in wanting to try Jumpstart in Redwood City or Mountain View: $25 off your first visit (just print it and bring it to your appointment).
In this scenario, it would be better to eat a few more calories a day so that you're not running on empty. You can find the right balance by seeing how many calories your body needs to exist. This is usually around 1500 for women and 2000 for men. Anything above that and you'll gain weight. Too much below it and you won't have enough to stay healthy.
This means that on days where you exercise, you may need to eat a little bit more. Don't go overboard, but try to add a healthy snack on exercise days to help avoid having too little fuel. Remember, 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat. Without getting into complicated math, for each pound you want to lose, you'll need to cut 3500 calories out of your diet.
Simply put, if you're burning 400 calories a day in exercise, within a little over 8 days you would have lost a pound, if you're sticking with your normal caloric intake. It can get a little complicated, but the easy way is just to add up the calories you eat, subtract the amount you burn in exercise and see what you have left. Anything below 1200 calories a day for women and 1500 calories a day for men is not recommended.
You'll also need to supply your body with the right kind of fuel. You can't eat a brownie and expect to have it help you keep your strength up. Look for foods that are high in protein and low in fat with a low glycemic index. This will give you the energy you need to avoid feeling rundown. Healthy nuts like almonds are a great snack that can give you plenty of fuel for your workouts. Avoid sugary treats and stick with healthy alternatives for the best results.
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