In a message dated 2/12/2006 7:13:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, UNITASJ writes:
Need to lose weight? Dreading the thought of another diet
program? You don’t have to follow diets to lose weight. There
are many people discovering this for themselves and they are
the ones who are finding long term weight loss apposed to short
term fixes. The key to weight loss is finding the right balance
of what you eat, what you think, and what activity you do. It
is not about following a perfect plan. It is impossible to be
perfect every day! Finding the right balance helps you to
decrease your calorie intake, increase your metabolism and
keeps the self-sabotage at bay. Here are 8 steps to bring more
balance into all corners of your life so you too can find
weight loss success.
1. Eat more frequently during the day-
Skipping meals or waiting too long between meals can have a
negative impact on your metabolism and results in overeating
later in the day. It’s best to have 3 small meals and 1-2
snacks throughout the day. You will feel more satisfied and eat
less. Plan to have a snack or meal every 4-5 hours.
2. Watch portion sizes-
Appropriate portion sizes are still quite misunderstood. Most
Americans are eating 2-3 times the recommended portion sizes.
Limit your grains, cereals, pastas, and rice to ½ - 1 cup
serving sizes. Keep meat, poultry and fish to 4-ounce portion
sizes. Restaurants are notorious for giving extremely large
servings of food. Keep this in mind when eating out. Eat half
of the food on your plate or take the rest home for lunch the
next day. Studies show that when people are given large portion
sizes, they eat up to 56% more calories without realizing it. To
add insult to injury, our portion sizes are larger than they
have ever been. Start to become more aware of the portions you
are served wherever you are.
3. Eat the right fats-
Yes some fat is important. Omega 3 fatty acids are an important
strategy for weight loss success and yet most Americans are not
eating enough of these healthy fats. Some reports show these
fatty acids may be helpful in increasing your metabolism. They
are also shown to be a wonderful mood supporter and people
report significantly less food cravings and triggers to eat
when they incorporate omega 3 fatty acids on a daily basis.
This is especially important for any emotional eaters out
there. Omega 3’s are found in fatty fish such as salmon,
mackerel, cod; they are also found in canola oil, walnuts, and
ground flax seeds.
4. Increase fruits and vegetables-
Fruits and vegetables are not only packed with important
vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, they are also loaded in
fiber and low in calories. Include 5-8 fruits and vegetables
every day. This is one of the most important diet changes you
can make. When you fill your plate up with fruits and
vegetables you eat less of the higher calorie foods. For
example, let’s take a sample steak dinner.
Original meal:
8 ounce steak
Whole baked potato with fixings
½ cup steamed broccoli
Meal Makeover:
4 ounce steak
½ baked potato with fixings
½ cup steamed broccoli
Side salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, and 1 tbsp light
vinaigrette dressing
By changing the balance of this meal to include more vegetables
while decreasing the steak and potato we saved approximately 350
calories. Saving 350 calories daily can result in almost a 1
pound weight loss per week. Small changes are the key.
5. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full-
Our bodies have an innate weight management mechanism. It
performs this task by making you feel full when it is time to
stop eating. Every time you eat past full you are taking in
more calories than your body needs which will result in weight
gain. Start to become more aware of your internal cues for
hunger and satiety (fullness). You will be amazed how many
times you wait too long to eat and how often you eat past full
and enter into stuffed. It’s common for all of us to do this
from time to time. However, it’s time to check in with yourself
and see how often you are falling into these food patterns.
Listen to your body, it will tell you when you are physically
ready for food and when you are ready to stop.
6. Exercise regularly-
I know, this isn’t anything you haven’t heard before but it is
a crucial part of weight management. It is important to engage
in regular aerobic and weight bearing activity. The aerobic
exercise helps you to burn the fat and weight bearing activity
increases your metabolic rate. Muscle burns up to 90% more
calories than fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more
calories you will burn in a day. By adding three to five pounds
of muscle you could actually burn 100 - 250 additional calories
a day. This combination of aerobic and weight bearing activity
is what really kicks weight loss into gear.
7. Limit sugar-
Sugar becomes a major issue for many people wanting to lose
weight. Not only does it add calories, it also causes insulin
spikes leading you to store more calories as fat, it stimulates
your appetite, and is a major food trigger for emotional eaters.
However, it doesn’t mean you need to go all or nothing. When
people try to omit all sugar from their diet they can become
obsessed about sugary foods and end up in a binge. Find the
right balance for sugar. Avoid daily use of sugar and instead
have some guiltless treats once in awhile. A little cake at a
birthday party or some ice-cream with friends is a good way to
incorporate sugar once in awhile to avoid the negative
outcomes.
8. Pamper yourself regularly-
Who wants to argue with that?! The reality is many people eat
for emotional reasons. Food makes us feel good on many levels.
The problem occurs when eating becomes the only coping
mechanism your subconscious knows of. This is why that pesky
urge to emotionally eat is so strong. It is hard to reason your
way out of it. For many people food is the only thing they know
that makes them feel better. When you start to do other things
that make you feel good on a regular basis such as taking a hot
bath, going for a walk, having a hot cup of tea; then your
subconscious starts to register these activities as coping
mechanisms as well. Over time this will decrease the constant
urge to use food. You can’t expect to have a bad day, go take a
bath and not have an urge to eat. It is something you need to do
regularly and something you truly enjoy so your subconscious
starts to recognize it as a new choice.
© 2005, Meri Raffetto
About The Author: Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri
Raffetto is a recognized professional in the area of nutrition
and wellness. For more information or to sign up for a free
newsletter visit http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.Note: Go to http://thenutrifitness.com for online weight loss consultations.
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