Tips and “Tricks”
We have focused this 3 part series on what I call the 3 Truths of Weight Loss and how each truth effects your weight loss journey. This is the final part of the series and we will talk about some tips and tricks that may help you achieve the goals you have set.
Remember these tips and tricks are meant to help in our journey, but they do not replace keping track of your calories and burning more than you take in.
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Pick a smaller plate- We were trained as kids to clean our plate, just make it a smaller plate you can reduce your calories significantly by choosing to fill a smaller plate
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Put your fork down between bites- This little trick will slow you down as you eat and will allow your body to communicate the "full" signal to your brain.
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Enjoy the conversation- If you have family dinners it is common to finish your first helping and then immediately go back to the bowl for seconds. Instead give yourself 5-10 minutes to sit and enjoy the fellowship and allow your food to digest. You may not need seconds after all.
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Don’t park so close- It is natural to want to park as close to the office or the store as possible, but by choosing to park further away you are increasing your heart health as well as burning a few extra calories.
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Take the stairs- If you have the choice between the stairs ans an elevator take the stairs, much like the tip about parking,; your heart and your waistline will both thank you later
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Keep snacks on hand- There is a catch to this tip, make sure the snacks are healthy. If you have a can of almonds in your desk and you get hungry you are more likely to eat a handful of almonds then you are to go get a Zinger out of the snack machine.
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Chose your calories wisely- For breakfast you could either have 2 Krispy Kreme Glazed Donuts or 2 Eggs, 2 Slices of Turkey Bacon, 2 Slices of Sara Lee 45 & Delightful Honey Wheat toast with a pat or margarine and strawberry preserves and you could even add a piece of fruit. Which choice will fill you up longer?
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Anything that grows on a plant is healthier than anything processed at a plant- This one doesn’t need a lot of explanation, clearly a banana is healthier than a Twinkie
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Drink lots of water- drinking lots of water is healthy for our body in so many ways, but it is extremely effective when losing weight for 2 reasons. First water has Zero Calories and second significant amounts of water can help diminish your appetite.
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Find a hobby- if you are like me you eat if you are bored, the trick is to find something to do. I graze through the kitchen eating whatever I can find unless I keep myself busy doing something else.
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Never eat as a secondary act- think about how often food is a secondary act to something else we are doing. “How many wings did I eat while I was watching the game?” Make sure when you are eating your purpose is to eat. It makes it much easier to track your calories and hold yourself accountable if you aren’t mindlessly shoveling food in without thinking.
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Ask for your salad dressing on the side- drowning your salad in ranch dressing can make it have as many calories as a hamburger, get the dressing on the side and use the fork dip method.
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Reward yourself- reward yourself when you meet your goals, but as a word of caution, don’t reward yourself with a half gallon of Cookie Dough Ice Cream
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Plan meals ahead of time- this will allow you to put some thought into what you are going to eat instead of making rash hungry decisions
Avoid Buffets- First of all, a sign reading “All You Can Eat” is more like a challenge than an invitation. Besides if you are like me, you know that if you pay $15.00 for the buffet you had better darn well eat $20.00 dollars worth; otherwise you got a raw deal.
Enjoy a long walk on the beach- yes it is cheesy, but it will do wonders for your waistline and if you can get someone special to walk with you it may even do wonders for your heart…
Balance your calories- Some experts advice eating several small meals per day to avoid hunger. This is good advice if this is a plan that works for you. Different people have different hunger needs, some people function better in the morning on a small breakfast and will eat a big lunch and a small dinner. Personally, I like to spread about half of my calories throughout the day and save a large amount of room for a good home cooked dinner. The key is to find your balance.
Beware of "Hidden"Calories- Sometimes it is not our main course or even our snacks that sabotage us, it is our beverages or our accessories. Be careful you may be eating a very low calorie bowl of soup, but the cornbread you are about to crumble into it may have as many calories as the soup. Also don't forget if you drink soft drinks those things are packed with sugar and therefore with calories. The choices here are to allow yourself enough room in your meal plan for these saboteurs or to find alternatives. I personally can not stand the taste of diet soda so, I drink almost exclusively water. I do have one glass of sweet tea at night with my dinner (about 200 calories).
As an addendum to thiss tip, if you like beer or wine make sure you account for those calories, and keep the consumption within reason, too much of this delicious frothy goodness can not only lead to a night you don't remember but can keep your waistline from shrinking the way you had hoped. Hey they don't call it a beer belly for nothing.
You don't have to sit still while you watch TV- Here is an odd tip, next time you are watching your favorite show, when the annoying ads come on spend that time doing push ups or sit ups or some other exercise that gets you moving. An average 30 minute sit-come has around 8 minutes of ads, if you can watch 2 shows a night and practice this tip TV time could become a major fat burning experience
I hope at least one or 2 of these tips and "tricks" helps someone meet their goals.
40 pounds gone 60 to go; I can hardly wait 2 days until weigh-in Wednesday.
As always Thank You to anyone who may be reading and hopefully enjoying. Remember the opinions expressed in this blog are mine and the plan I am following including “The 3 Truths of Weight Loss” is not approved by a doctor, a nutritionist, or a bureaucrat, only by me.
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