I quit drinking coffee two months or so ago, and I hired a personal trainer two months ago to learn how to work out correctly (it does make a difference!). I quit smoking four weeks ago today, and now I’m intent on losing that last fifteen pounds.
So naturally I’ve focused on eating well (and healthy) for the past few months (although the smell of fresh donuts still drives me wild). Therefore, I tend to gravitate to “slim-down tricks” articles like the one I found at CNN last night. While I learned a few things from this article, I also want to add my own tweaks to their suggestions.
1. Start Smart - Starting a lunch or dinner with a veggie-rich salad is a great tip, because salad greens usually range between 8-15 calories per cup. Can’t beat that with a stick. With low-cal dressing (use olive oil and balsamic vinegar to help the good cholesterol) and some raw veggies, you’ll come in under 200 calories easily for a salad that will stuff you. If you need a calorie counter, try Calories Count or Calories Per Hour.
2. Sneak a snack - I’m not sure how good I felt about this tip, as one TABLESPOON full of peanut butter equals about 80 calories. That’s a level tablespoon, not heaping! And I’m not sold on the benefits of peanuts. Better nuts include walnuts (2 tablespoons = 80 calories), pine nuts (throw a tablespoon full in that salad!), or almonds (12-15 = 90 calories). If you want to include nuts in your smoothies, soak two tablespoons of nuts in water overnight so that they go in the blender easily.
3. Three-hour rule - Yes, this works. But, my trouble has always been overeating and being clumsy or obtuse about portions (more about that in a bit). Stick to the “100-calorie” rule for snacks, and you’ll do fine. Plus, try to avoid “empty” calories. It’s much better to eat a medium-sized apple (81 calories) than 1/2 donut. The donut may trigger a sugar buzz and more hunger.
4. Drink Water! - Sure, Pepsi One has just one calorie, and the zero sodas supposedly have no calories. But, they still may trigger hunger responses, whereas water may often quench a “hunger” that was really a thirst. The best water tip I found was to drink 1/2 my weight in ounces of water per day. I won’t tell you how much water that equals, but it’s close to eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day. If you haven’t done it yet, measure out eight ounces of water into a glass to see that amount - it’s not much! Just a cup of water eight times per day. You’ll be amazed at what that water will do for you (reduces chapped lips during winter for one thing…).
5. Absolutely avoid bad carbs - I trust Andrew Weil with my life, and what he says about bad carbs makes sense…when I cut out white bread, cookies, donuts, etc., my body loved me for it. Plus, avoiding all carbs late at night helps me to sleep better. But - another tip - you might want to learn more about the GI Index rather than drive yourself batty with carbs. The GI Index was originally invented to help diabetes patients manage their blood-sugar levels. Now, however, many folks have discovered that a low-GI diet helps to maintain a diet, let alone help to knock off the weight.
6. Choose Your Pals - Hey, fat isn’t that contagious. We’re all responsible for our own behaviors. But, if you find yourself next to your friends at the buffet table during a party, then move to mingle with strangers on the other side of the room.
7. Pare Portions - As I mentioned earlier, this is my downfall. I don’t use scales to measure portions, and I should. Plus, I was never sure if the diets meant 3 ounces before or after cooking! So I decided to opt for a Jenny Craig experience for a few weeks to learn how to portion my food. Even after three days on this program I’ve learned a lot. Mainly, I’ve learned that Jenny Craig is not a great option for gluten intolerant individuals (lots of wheat product), nor is it the most organic way to eat. But, it’s a terrific way to learn portions and to establish regular eating habits (see #3 above).
8. Eat Large Early - Absolutely! Don’t trim calories from breakfast or lunch, as those meals provide you with the energy to get through the day. Pare the calories from dinner, when you slow down for the day. I also learned that I feel better when I spread out my calories to 400 each meal (plus those 100-calorie snacks) when I’m dieting. This comes to about 1500 calories per day (don’t use this number for your diet, as your needs may be different).
9. Get up and walk - If you can do 30 minutes on a treadmill per day and get up to walk around for about three minutes per hour, then you’re easily on your way to that 10,000 steps per day goal. A pedometer is a great tool for your get-healthy lifestyle, and you can purchase a good one for less than twenty dollars.
10. Think thin, and think sexy - I add the latter attribute because when I think thin I think about anorexic models. If I add “sexy” to thin, it makes my goal more appetizing. Plus, I prefer the word, “lean” over “thin.”
11. Eat more fiber - Like I said previously, an apple instead of a ‘crap snack’ can do more for you than just cut calories, because the fiber in the apple is great for you. But, there are certain fruits and veggies that are better than others. Avoid starches like potatoes, winter squash, peas, and corn until you’ve lost the weight you want to lose. Choose more green veggies instead like broccoli, asparagus, beans, cabbage, celery, peppers, etc. And don’t slather them in butter! Use lemon for flavoring instead, as butter will up your calorie count and it’s not the best food for those arteries.
12. Brushing teeth - I brush my teeth after every meal and that doesn’t stop my stomach from growling when I’m hungry! Instead, I cleaned out my fridge and cabinets and threw out everything that wasn’t good for my health or weight. Now, if I want something insanely sweet or something made from white bread, I have to get dressed and go out for it since I work at home. That gives me time to reconsider how much I really need that junk.
If you want to lose weight and get healthy, you’ll need to discover your own “tricks” that will keep you on track. But, if you slip up, don’t kick yourself. The temptations are many! Instead, just get back on track and pat yourself on the back for continuing with your goals.
Posted by ewoman at 8:00 AM PST
