Category: Healthy Diet

Meal Planning Helps You Lose Weight

Taking just thirty minutes a week to do one simple thing can help you lose a lot more weight.  You will be surprised at how easy it is! Done right it will eliminate stress, save you time, and even save you money!

Want to lose 12 pounds in two months like Carvel did? He only exercised three or four times a week, plus did this one simple thing.

Imagine if you did the same, but added extra workouts! Interested?

If you have this one habit, it will help you lose weight!

Do you like to eat out? I enjoy going out to eat about once a week.  I encourage you to go out and enjoy yourself as well. However, the average American eats out four to five times a week. Be encouraged if that’s you! What I have to tell you will have a huge impact in your weight loss!

See, every time you go out to eat you will most likely be consuming an unknown amount of calories and portion sizes. That can sabotage your weight loss goals. Want to know how to change that? The tips I’m giving you today are so easy you’ll wonder why no one ever told you!

Look, I totally get why people eat out often. After a long day at work, cooking dinner can sound daunting. It’s tempting to swing by your favorite take out joint or restaurant. Packing a lunch takes planning, so it seems much easier to hit the food court.

Why didn’t anyone tell me I could lose weight AND save money!

Would you believe me if I told you that meal planning can do that? Well, I wouldn’t lie to you. Not only that, but it helps you keep it off, and it eliminates stress!

The truth is meal planning is one of the key ingredients to weight loss without dieting. It’s how my household is able to enjoy eating the foods we like without gaining weight.

Does meal planning mean that you need to go to culinary school and become a chef?  No!

It does mean that you need to spend a little time up front before your week begins. By meal planning you actually save time and money. Eating out less and taking less trips to the store or restaurants cuts calories and grows your bank account.

Ready to get started? Here are 9 tips!

1)  Make a quick plan. Decide what you want to eat. Make a list of what you want to eat for dinner and lunch for the next seven days. Look at your calendar to see if you have any planned dinners, parties, or lunches when you will be eating out.

2) Get inspired! If you like to cook, try using light recipes from the web, cookbooks or magazines to inspire you. Cooking Light is my favorite. EatingWell is another option.  If cooking is new for you, pick the 20 minute recipes to start.

3) Make quick and delicious no cook meals! Rather not cook? Assemble prepared food that is fresh. Try things like a roasted chicken, pre-cooked rice and pre-washed lettuce for a salad. Add some frozen organic vegetables on the side.

4) Go frozen! Try frozen organic pizza with a salad. Be sure to pay attention to serving sizes. A healthy frozen pizza has fewer calories than restaurant pizzas.

5) Use leftovers for lunches, or make sandwiches and bring fruit. If you have freezer space, try cooking enough for four meals and freezing three of them for later in the month. You can literally do all of your cooking in one to three afternoons per week with this method.

6) Write it down! Once you’ve decided what you will eat for the week, make a shopping list and write everything down before you go to the store.

7) Plan party dishes in advance. If you need to bring a food dish to a party, decide ahead of time what you will bring. Choose a “light” version if you are cooking. The guests will love you for it. Add the ingredients to your list to save a trip to the store.

8)  Go ahead! Outsource!  You may discover that cooking every night is a challenge. If so, consider these great ideas:

  • Order meals from a company like MagicKitchen.com. The food is made fresh and delivered to your doorstep. Voila! Still saving time, calories, and money.
  • An in-house personal chef! If you think that is too expensive, do a little calculating. You may find it a lot less expensive than eating out. Imagine being able to order exactly what you want and have someone cook it in your home and freeze your meals for two to four weeks in advance? Of course you can search on Google, but the two best places to search are: USPCA and APPCA.

9)  Stay consistent!  Pick a day and time that works best for you to meal plan and do your shopping, ordering, etc. Put it on your calendar and treat it like any other important appointment.

Have you tried any of these tips? Please tell me about that, or share any other meal planning tips. I really love hearing from you!

Blessings,

Jennifer

 

 

 

 

 

Obesity. How to Stop It!

 

You’ve probably heard obesity is on the rise again!  The Center for Disease Control is predicting an American obesity rate of 42% by 2030.  That’s close to half the population!

So, how do you avoid becoming part of these statistics?  Or, maybe you have quite a bit of weight to lose and realize you need to take action.  Read on my friend!

Studies are showing that 97% of the overweight population is overweight due to lifestyle.  The remaining 3% have been diagnosed with a medical issue that causes weight gain.  If exercise and healthy eating have not moved the scale I suggest you talk to your doctor.

For the majority, poor eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, lack of time, automation, and chemicals in our food are all some of the things that contribute to being overweight.

I’ve been a personal trainer for over 20 years.  I have seen many successful weight loss stories.  My own thirty pounds of weight loss included!

I can tell you the success was not due to any government initiated program by itself. Information like www.myplate.org is a good resource.  However, you cannot lose weight without action.

Successful long term weight loss occurs when an individual makes a decision to lose weight.  Followed by consistent repetitive behavior.  That change must come from within!

The tips below will help you lose and/or maintain your weight.  They have helped me and my family stay slim for years!

1) Knowledge is key!  Tap into health and fitness professionals that are results oriented and not selling you a bunch of hype.

Learn about healthy eating habits rather than the latest fad diet.

Learn portion sizes and how to read labels.  See my article Portion Control vs. Elimination Diets for some easy tips to follow.

2)  Eat Fresh!  Do the majority of your grocery shopping around the perimeter of the store.  Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, dairy, and whole grains are all good choices.

Avoid the processed foods with high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils.

Tip:  If you can’t pronounce the ingredients you may not want to eat it!

3)  Exercise!  Push the stroller, walk the dog, walk to work, walk to the bus stop, take the stairs.  Just start moving.

It hasn’t been until recently (right around the 1950’s) that planned exercise even became necessary.  Up until then, people were pretty active in their every day lives and/or jobs burning calories throughout the day.  “Working out” just for the sake of it was not the norm.

Every day tasks have been automated.  Removing the need to use the calories and muscle power.  While I have no plans of getting rid of my dishwasher, it helps us understand the need for intentional exercise.

Most of us stay more consistent when we have a purpose to exercise.  “It’s good for you” is generally not enough unless you’ve had a life threatening visit to the emergency room.

Choose things like hiking a beautiful trail, walking your dog, doing errands on foot, or train for an event.  These types of activities give you a reason to exercise which helps you stay on track.

4)  Avoid a common trap!  One of our relatives stopped eating fast food and lost 20 pounds!  She didn’t even exercise!

You may not be a fast food person,  However, the average American eats out 4-5 times per week.  By cutting this in half you can seriously cut back on calories.

I hope this is helpful for you!  Care to share a success story or have a question?  Please comment below!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer

 

 


 

Why Diets Fail!

Today’s article comes from deep within my heart!

Summer is practically here already.  This could be causing you or someone you know to be tempted to go on a crash diet.  Or, maybe even a “cleanse” of some kind (which is really a diet in disguise!).

Before you go down that path please consider the consequences.  Temporary, restrictive, diets have a 95% failure rate and can do more harm than good!

Have you ever tortured yourself on the latest fad diet simply to find yourself unsuccessful and frustrated?

Maybe you lost a bunch of weight only to gain it back again.  Even worse, you gained back more than you lost!

You are not alone.  As a personal trainer I have seen so much physical and psychological damage from dieting it makes me want to scream!

Some of the reasons diets fail you are:

  • Slows down your metabolism
  • Causes you to store fat not burn it
  • It’s unsustainable for most people’s lifestyle
  • When you stop starving yourself and go back to a normal calorie consumption you WILL gain weight
  • Lack of energy due to being hungry
  • Eliminates entire food groups and key nutrients
  • Can cause binge eating

Look, I get it.  You want to get thinner and you want it now.  Most of us do not want to wait the amount of time it takes to lose weight that statistically stays off for life.  The diet industry is counting on that and the marketing is very convincing!

It starts with a change in mindset.  The mindset that you are going to switch to healthy eating.  Portion control, cutting back extras, and meal planning are all considered healthy eating.  Not starvation diets or skipping meals entirely!

Last week I posted some tips on how to lose weight in the next 30 days for summer.  I decided to repost them in this article for your easy access.

1) Exercise almost every day!  If your schedule permits do one workout six days per week.  Try an interval workout 2-3 times per week and alternate with more moderate activity on the rest of the days.

Choose a fun activity on your off day like a moderate hike, swim, taking your kids or dog to the park, or a stretch and release workout.

If exercising six days per week seems overwhelming start 20 minutes per day 2-3 days per week .  You’ll still get better results than nothing at all!

2) Eat in!  Cook at home for the next 30 days and bring your lunch.  Use light recipes from sources like EatingWell, Cooking Light, and Health magazine.

3) Avoid liquid calories for the next 30 days!  Try substituting alcohol, sodas, and other higher calorie drinks with water.  Try adding lemon or cucumber for some variation.

Sounds extreme?  Cut down to half or even a quarter of what you usually drink.  You can always go back to your normal consumption if you want to.

4) Cut back on dessert!  Desserts are usually loaded with calories.  If you have a sweet tooth try substituting with fruit or one piece of dark chocolate.

Try this for the next 30 days and I know you will be pleasantly surprised.

Seems a bit overwhelming?  Pick as many things from above that you can realistically add to your schedule and implement them right away.    By being consistent you will begin to see results.

Give yourself credit for getting started and know that this is a long term plan for success!

Have any questions or dieting stories you’d like to share?  Please comment below.  I’d love to hear from you!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer