First off, diets don�t work. Diet implies a short-term deprivation of a number of items. When you off your diet what happens? You let yourself indulge in those items that have been off limits. Usually, you start slowly, perhaps bingeing on a few of those goodies that were so sorely missed. Before you know it you�re eating just like old times again and POW you�re 10 pounds heavier than when you started your diet. You have to make changes that are forever. You have to decide; can you live without those late night cupcakes for the rest of your life? Be honest. Chances are the answer is no. Now, can you live without them 6 nights a week? Of course! It�s that easy. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that is off limits forever. Of course there are lots of things are only occasional items and that is where will power comes into play. If I really want to have some pizza, I�ll have it, but only a couple of slices, not half a pizza.
You may not want to try to incorporate all of your changes over night. It might be easier to figure out what changes you want to make then prioritize them. Put your choices in effect over a period of, say, 3 months. This way you aren�t really shocking yourself with tons of changes at once.
There are several things that are, for me, rarely or almost never have items. Some of them are:
regular soda, whole milk, ground beef (take a look at the nutritional label sometime), fast food, store-bought baked-goods, gravy, bacon, pork sausage, �junk food� (chips, candy bars, etc.), regular cheese, fried foods.
Some of the items I enjoy on a regular basis:
fat-free sour cream (Yoder�s), fat-free/sugar-free yogurt (Dannon is the best), baked nacho chips (Tostitos), fat-free salad dressing (Kraft), fat-free evaporated milk (in place of whole milk/heavy cream in cooking), light bread w/reduced-sugar jelly, salad (the more fresh veggies the better), chicken, turkey (there are lots of really good turkey items), dry cereal (look at calorie/fat content), Lean Pockets, egg substitute, salsa (Wal Mart brand white corn & black bean), fat-free refried beans (Taco Bell brand).
When you�re cooking low-fat meals you have to remember, you�ve taken out a lot of the fat which, traditionally, provides a good deal of the flavor. If you�ve taken out a lot of the flavor you�ve got to make sure to season it well or it�s not going to taste very good and you�re not going to stay at this very long. I like to experiment with different spices and herbs. Fresh herbs are great but they are expensive, not always easy to find and don�t store well for long. I do prefer fresh garlic to garlic powder and never use garlic salt.
Tips:
Drink plenty of water. I know you�ve heard this before but it works! Water helps to speed up the metabolism, flush out fat and toxins and decreases your appetite. (see article Eight Glasses of Water a Day)
Take a multi-vitamin and calcium supplement. Chances are you�re not getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals anyway but now that you�re eating less it�s almost certain. Calcium citrate (Citra Cal for instance) is absorbed much better than the cheaper supplements.
Start measuring everything. I know you think you already know how much a cup/teaspoon/ounce is but trust me, you�ll be surprised when you actually see the difference in what you think is a tablespoon and what really is a tablespoon.
Keep a food journal. At the very least write down what you�re eating and the calories and fat grams. We usually keep notes daily as well. This is a very valuable tool. Make sure you use it!
Yes, calories are important to keep track of. Many people think that if they watch the fat grams they don�t need to watch the calories. Big mistake! I can�t tell you the times I�ve picked up something listed as �low-fat� or �reduced-fat� to find the difference between it and �regular� is only 1 or 2 fat grams. And very often the difference in calories will be substantial. with the low/reduced-fat item being higher in calories. And it stands to reason, if you�re watching the calories, and we know that 1 fat gram equals 9 calories, then you�re watching fat grams already.
Read the nutrition labels. The packaging food comes in can be very misleading. Did you know that a food listed as �light�, �lite� (or any other variations of the word) food means absolutely nothing? That�s right, there isn�t necessarily any difference in light and regular anything.
Reduced -fat means there is at least a 25% difference between this product and the regular version.
Low-fat means the food contains 3 grams of fat per serving or less.
Look at the serving size/servings per package. Over the weekend we were at Wal Mart with my mom. She picked up some fat-free muffins and said, �Wow! Only 140 calories per muffin and no fat!� Upon looking closer, it was 140 calories per serving and there were 2 servings per muffin. You have to really read these things carefully.
Limit ground beef to twice per week. Even the highest quality ground beef is loaded with fat, calories and cholesterol. Ground chicken or turkey is a great alternative. You can use all chicken/turkey or half beef and half poultry. And try using less than the recipe calls for. If you are supposed to use 2 pounds, try 1 1/2 pounds instead. You�ll never know the difference, until you weigh yourself!
Also, mashed beans or fat-free refried beans are great to use with ground beef. Mix them about half-and-half.
Weigh yourself regularly. Some people weigh-in daily, some weekly. Do which ever works best for you. Don�t weigh yourself more than once a day. Weigh yourself at the same time every time. The best time is right after you wake up and relieve yourself, with only your underwear on and before you eat/drink anything. Record your weigh-in every time.
If you weigh-in daily, remember there are going to be natural fluctuations. Don�t let them discourage you. (see article Why The Scale Lies)
If you have access to the internet, use it! It�s a wonderful tool for weight loss. There are tons of great sites for recipes, motivation, exercise tips, support groups and much, much more. I�ve attached a few of my favorites at the end of this article.
Learn to cook healthy. I know this seems obvious but it�s something you have to think about at first. Start using olive/canola oil instead of vegetable oil. Use non-stick cooking spray instead of pouring oil in the pans. When you do use oil, reduce the amount. In baking, you can usually reduce the amount of oil by half or more by replacing oil with applesauce.
Remember, it all adds up. By cutting a little here, a little more there, before you know it you�ve made some really significant changes!
Eat slower. Did you know it takes as long as 20 minutes for the message to get from your stomach to your brain that your full? If you�re stuffing it in as fast as you can you�ll be bloated by the time you get the message to stop.
Resign from the �Clean Plate Club�. Most of us had the idea of waste not, want not instilled in us from a very young age. Remember phrases like; get all you want but eat all you get, there are children in Africa that would love to have half what you get; don�t get up from the table until you clean your plate. Just because it�s on your plate doesn�t mean you have to eat it if your full! If you�re like me, this is a hard thing. I absolutely hate wasting anything. When you get your meal remember to get smaller portions. This will help you not feel like you�re wasting, give you a chance to slow down after you�ve eaten what you have and let your tummy tell your brain if you�re done.
Low-fat cheese tastes a little better than fat-free cheese. It also melts way better (fat-free cheese doesn�t really melt) so it works better for cooking/hot dishes. Just remember to look at the nutritional label and measure your serving!
This is a great time to try some new foods. The stores are loaded with things you�ve never tried and some you�ve never even heard of! Try new fruits, veggies and some of the �meat-less� meats. There are �meat-less� steak & chicken strips, pepperoni, sausage and even hamburger. They are either low-fat or fat-free, low calorie, low cholesterol and taste good!
Eat more often. That�s right more often. Eating smaller, frequent meals helps keep you from getting famished and keep your sugar level constant. You don�t get as hungry and aren�t as likely to over eat when you do sit down for a meal.
Eat your largest meal early and smaller, lighter meals later. I know that traditionally we eat a little something for breakfast and lunch, if we don�t skip it al together, then a big, satisfying dinner. Eating larger meals earlier gives us the energy we need to go through our day and speeds up the metabolism. Then a nice smaller meal in the evening helps us to wind our selves down.
Never skip a meal. It slows the metabolism and makes us more likely to over eat at the next meal.
Take an after dinner walk. You�ll feel better and sleep better.
* This site is for a program that you can download for free and use for a week or so. You have to pay $9.95 to register it for it to work for longer. It is a really good program that works with all plans. I highly recommend you check it out.
** All of the About.com sites are great.
*** There are some great recipes here. In fact, some of the ones I�ve included I found here.
Important Notes
Everything stated here is my own thoughts and/or experiences. You may or may not agree with the way I have chosen to manage my diet. None of my tips, thoughts or advice is meant to replace the advice of your doctor. You should always consult yor own personal physician before starting any exercise plan or modifying your diet.
While most of the ideas and recipes listed here are my own there are some recipes and articles that I have picked up here and there over the past year or so. When known, I have included information as to the origin of these items. If you know of an item's origin that is not listed, email me the information and I will note it with the item.
