January 6th, 2009 — Meals, Weight Loss Journal, diet, goals, healthy eating
Summertime is party time for many people and there will be plenty of barbeques and nights out that may test your dieting endurance. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to become a hermit just to keep your body in beach ready condition. Here are some tips on how to enjoy your summer fun and still keep slim.
1. Make smarter drink choices.
Most of us think of drinks as being calories free, but the truth of the matter is there are some out there that could put a big meal to shame. For example, one margarita can have more than 400 calories. Have more than one and you won’t be wasting away anywhere. A white wine spritzer on the other hand comes in with just 80 calories on average. Now, that is a big difference.
If you’re not a big drinker, you’ll want to avoid the soda trap instead. Each soda has around 150 calories and roughly ten teaspoons of sugar. Try water instead or even sparkling water if you want to add a little fizz to your life.
2. Avoid the snack trap.
Let’s say you’re planning on having fun at a party and you know you will be drinking. A margarita sounds awfully good, so to make up for it, you don’t eat all day. By your second (or even first depending on the size) you will have forgotten all about your diet and your snacking inhibitions will have flown the coop. Eat a sensible meal before going out and never try to replace your meals with alcoholic beverages. It’s just not worth it.
3. Avoid the late night taco run.
After a night on the town, you’re probably tired and a little bit hungry. This means fast food since who really wants to cook at that hour any way. If you must go out for fast food, stick with the smartest choices possible and only eat half. It won’t be easy, but you’ll thank yourself in the morning.
4. Don’t be a BBQ downer.
Instead of arriving at a BBQ and finding out they have nothing you can safely eat without trashing your diet, let your hosts know ahead of time that you are trying to watch what you eat. Have them throw a chicken breast on the grill ahead of time for you. Most people will be more than willing to accommodate you. Otherwise, you’ll just make everyone uncomfortable if you’re not eating and they are.
5. Keep your eye on the prize.
It may be hard at times to stick to your diet when it seems like the rest of the world is enjoying themselves. You have got to stick with it and remember why you are doing this. A healthy lifestyle is so much more rewarding than a margarita. Chances are, your healthy lifestyle will be contagious and your friends will be inspired to keep up with you and get healthy on their own.
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Originally posted 2008-09-04 05:18:27. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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December 20th, 2008 — caffeine, healthy eating, sugar, trigger food
Whenever you start a new diet, cravings are pretty much inevitable. It can get to the point where you feel as though you'll literally stop existing unless you cave in. Countless diets are broken due to cravings, but there are a few techniques that you can use to retrain your cravings and keep your diet on track.
First, before you even start your diet, you'll need to figure out what your trigger foods are, the ones that you simply cannot do without, the ones that always derail your diet. By looking at this process logically, you can skip a lot of the problems that can happen when you first start your diet.
Whatever diet you pick, you'll most likely find that you'll have to give up these trigger foods. You're brain is convinced their necessary and it will start sending out the signals that start the craving process when it doesn't get them.
In order to retrain your cravings, you're going to need to start gradually. As an example, let's use sugar soda to illustrate this process. If you currently drink 3-4 sodas a day, you're dealing with two major triggers, caffeine and sugar. Cutting out soda is a great way to lose weight, but it can also be very difficult.
Personally, I like diet soda which has caffeine but not sugar and there are some varieties without caffeine. First try switching to diet soda from sugar soda. The taste will grow on you. Then you can move on to caffeine free diet soda. However, if you simply cannot diet soda. Then here is another technique you can try...
Let's concentrate first on dealing with the craving for caffeine. Soda does pack quite a punch in this department, but not as much as tea or coffee. Instead of reaching immediately for a sugar soda, try a cup of tea (no cream or sugar) or a plain cup of coffee. You're getting the same amount of caffeine you're used to, without any of the calories in soda.
Now, let's move on to handling the sugar problem. Since there are literally at least ten teaspoons of sugar in the average can of soda, your body is used to quite a bit of sugar at this point. Sugar cravings are some of the hardest to face, and your best bet is to avoid going completely cold turkey.
You can start by cutting back on one soda a day (replacing it with a cup of coffee or tea) and then gradually keep cutting back until you're completely off it. This gradual method helps your brain and your body retrain from relying on this burst of sugar. You'll get more time to adjust and it will be much easier to completely get it out of your life with this technique. You can also try substituting with something that has a little sugar but fewer calories.
The key to retraining your cravings is to take it slow and avoid going cold turkey. Sugar and caffeine are quite a bit like serious drugs or even cigarettes. They can be addicting and without help, it can be very hard to simply stop. Weaning is by far the easiest method to try and it will help reduce your risk of failure.
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Originally posted 2008-08-19 05:51:15. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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