A-Z Healthy Eating Strategies For Weight Loss

Thanks to Miranda at MyLife Personal Fitness Studio for inspiring this newsletter. It was adapted from Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Expert Column.

ATTITUDE – a positive, can-do attitude can help you through the tough times. Anticipate slip-ups and backsliding and learn to get back on your weight loss path quickly. Perfection is not required. Instead, focus on your target and move toward it, even when it feels like 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Remember, you’re still one step ahead.

BREAKFAST – one of the most important steps you can take to achieve weight and better overall health is to have a nutritious breakfast that contains a healthy protein and very little, if any refined carbohydrates. Eggs or cottage cheese, fresh fruit, and whole grain make a smart start to your day.

COUNT CARBS – look at food labels. It’s all about calories, particularly those from sugars. Less sugars in a high carb food means more fiber. Avoid refined carbohydrates, including processed grains, whenever possible.

DIET DELUSIONS – diets just don’t work. Lifestyle change does. Look for a weight loss plan that helps you make new habits, not one that has you starving and feeling deprived. Instead, look for a lifestyle change such as adding more water, increasing your exercise, substituting an activity for a snack.

EATING OFTEN – regular meals, and planned snacks are essential for successful weight loss. Don’t go more than 4-5 hours without eating. Intense hunger can trigger binge eating, and all the negative emotions that go with it.

FIBER – you’ve heard this before, that we don’t get enough fiber in our Standard American Diet (SAD). Fiber found in oatmeal and dried beans is soluble fiber. In fruits, vegetables and whole unprocessed grains, it’s insoluble fiber. We need both for good health. If it comes in a package, chances are it has inadequate fiber. Shop the fresh fruit and vegetable aisle, as well as the bulk bins for a variety of dried beans, peas, and whole grains.

GRIND IT UP – with your teeth! Chewing starts the mechanical digestion of your food. Often we eat so quickly that we don’t adequately jump-start the digestive process, leading to bloating, gas, and many other uncomfortable sensations. In addition, when you chew thoroughly and slow down your eating, you get fuller faster.

HOME COOKING = BETTER HEALTH – when you cook at home you control all the ingredient. Using good, natural fats instead of margarine and overly processed vegetable oils and shortenings to cook you food in or spread on your vegetables is a healthier choice than the cheap fats used in many fast food and sit down restaurants. Freshness, quality ingredients, less sodium, less processed foods, and more whole food translates to better health. www.whfoods.org is a great resource for recipes.

INVEST – in your health by purchasing a pedometer, some free weights, resistance bands, and other inexpensive tools to help you increase exercise at home or at the office. When you increase your walking in a measurable way, using a pedometer, you can achieve your fitness goals more rapidly. 10,000 steps a day might seem unattainable right now. But adding a little bit more everyday will get you there eventually. When every step counts toward achieving your fitness goal, all you have to lose is weight.

JUST DO IT! – ala Nike. Here in Eugene, everyone knows that slogan. If you get regular physical activity you will feel better. How? You’ll improve balance, breathing, coordination, relieve stress, and burn calories. Not only that, you’ll be surprised how quickly exercise can become a positive habit. Just because you’ve never run a 10-K doesn’t mean you can’t in the future. Or, walk it for fun. That’s really the key to exercise: a habit that is fun.

KEEP AT IT! – not as well known as JUST DO IT!, a habit can be positive and not something to break, like cutting back on coffee or beer. Instead, use the power of habit to start something great. The more you keep at it, the more ingrained it will become. Pretty soon, in about 6 weeks, you too can have an exercise habit that is hard to break. Why not give it a try? What have you go to lose? – the excess weight, the excess stress, the excess time in front of the TV.

LOW BLOOD SUGAR is a big problem for many people and can lead to all sorts of irregular eating habits. Breakfast is important. So are planned snacks between meals. Here are 3 excellent snacks: apple with a few walnuts, celery with nut butter, mozzarella stick or hard-boiled egg with fruit or crunchy vegetables. I like red bell pepper pieces with cheese or carrot sticks with a hard boiled egg.

MINDFULLNESS – paying attention to what you eat is a great way to monitor your body’s signals of pleasure and fullness. Often, we eat so fast, we don’t even taste our food. Slow down, savor every bite, notice when we start to lose that hungry feeling and then, pay attention to satiety. That’s the feeling we get when we’ve had enough to eat. Fullness is fine, overfed and bloated is not.

NIGHT EATING – snacking after dinner is one way we sabotage our weight loss efforts. If you need something after dinner, try a small square of dark chocolate. Savor it and make it last. Then brush your teeth! If you need one last bite of something before bed, try a little hot tea instead.

ONLY ONE MORE – if you like to have seconds, take less the first time. Better yet, serve yourself once and don’t go back for more. This is a great rule for buffets. When dining out, ask for a to-go box at the beginning of your meal. Put half your meal in the box, and shut the lid.

PORTIONS – check out the serving sizes that are listed on packages. Chances are, you may be eating more than one. A good rule to follow is that ½ a cup is like a tennis ball, not a softball. A serving of beef is like a deck of cards, not checkbook.

QUIT TORTURING YOURSELF – when you go to a restaurant, avoid reading the appetizer and dessert sections of the menu. Instead, skip to the salads. Ask for special treatment – send back the bread basket, ask for salad with the dressing on the side, request your entrée grilled, not sautéed, keep your water glass refilled.

REALISTIC TIMETABLE – it took a long time to gain weight and it will take some time to get rid of it. If you make a 300 calorie reduction daily, you will lose 30 pounds a year. Add to that some exercise and you could double that. Remember, lasting weight loss requires lifestyle changes, so keep adding new habits that increase the possibility of realizing your goal within a realistic timeline.

SUPPLEMENTS – if you haven’t had a blood test to measure Vitamin D, it’s a good idea. Chances are, you are low in this essential nutrient. You may also be low in other vitamins and minerals, especially trace minerals like zinc. Digestion plays a key role in how effectively supplements are absorbed, so consult a nutritionist if you think you aren’t adequately utilizing the supplements you are currently taking. Chewables or liquid supplements may work better for some people.

TRACKING – the more you know, the more you’ll lose. It’s true. Weigh yourself daily, weekly, or monthly and write it down. Take your measurements before you begin a weight loss program and re-take those same measurements monthly. Daily, write down your food and water intake. Journal about your activity. These are proven tips for successful weight loss.

USE COMMON SENSE – if your grandparents ate it, it was probably a good food. We’ve been on the planet for 5, 000 generations. So have our genes. We’ve only had new, man-made foods for 1-3 generations, so look to the past for the types of food to eat. If your grandparents were raised on fast food, look beyond that generation to the traditional foods of the cultures they came from. Highly processed, brightly dyed, plastic wrapped and genetically modified foods were not part of your ancestry. Don’t make them part of yours or your children’s heritage. Regarding exercise - before cars, people walked more. Our bodies were designed to move, so park the car and walk the extra blocks. It’s just common sense to move more and sit less.

VOLUME – eat foods high in water, such as fruits, vegetables like salad greens, raw foods like peppers, cabbages and cucumbers, and soups. You’ll feel full while losing weight if you plan your meals around these foods. Throw in a little protein and you're set. One caution, fruit juice is watery but loaded with concentrated calories mostly from sugars. Eat the whole food instead.

WATER – drink at least 6-8 eight ounce glasses of pure water daily. Many people have lost touch with their thirst signals. Instead of having a glass of water, they eat something. Learn to incorporate drinking lots of pure water. It’s a habit that will stop you from overeating when you are really thirsty, not hungry.

EX-CUSES NOT TO EXERCISE – don’t let your natural tendency to remain in your comfort zone stop you from taking the first steps toward exercise. In fact, starting slowly is the key to sticking with an exercise program. Three easy ways to start are (1) to park farther away from your destinations and walk, (2) find a buddy and agree on an exercise activity to do together like walking or a class, (3) grab some cans from your pantry and do some arm curls while watching TV. The idea is to start slowly to avoid any pain that will keep you chair bound.

YOU’RE IN CHARGE – so take responsibility to learn to read labels, find reliable information, and follow through on making positive choices and changes in your life. If you need help, investigate getting a wellness coach or personal trainer. Interview them to make sure they know what your goals are, not what they think your goals should be. If you want a boot camp style trainer, don’t get on board with a mellow, soft spoken yoga instructor. And visa versa: boot camp yoga might not be for you.

ZERO IN – on your goals. Make a plan on paper. Stated goals are achieved 90% more often than unwritten goals. If you want to lose 10% of your current weight, figure out how much that is and make a plan. Will it be putting your fork down between each bite? How about increasing your water intake by 20 ounces a day. Maybe it’s walking 15 minutes twice daily. Rewards are important when you reach milestones in your plan, so build them in.

For more help in planning and reaching your goals, contact me.

Sandi Thompson, Nutritional Wellness Coach
541-953-8715
sandi.thompsonntp@gmail.com
www.sandinutrition.com