Category: Healthy Eating

Eat Out AND Still Lose Weight!

In my last article  How Meal Planning Helps You Lose Weight, I mentioned that the average American eats out four to five times per week. This habit can sabotage your weight loss efforts. Even worse, it can cause you to gain weight! 

But what if you’re unable to change that?

I realize that you may be someone who travels a lot, goes out for business, would rather not cook, or you simply enjoy going out to eat.

It IS possible to eat out and lose weight if you follow some simple guidelines. Here are four effective strategies.

1) Business is Business.  When eating out to conduct business of any type keep it low-calorie. Unless it is a major celebration, this is not the time to splurge!

Make sure it’s a balanced meal. Pick grilled meats, simple salads, steamed or raw vegetables, and whole grains whenever possible. Avoid skipping carbs entirely or you will be hungry later.  For tips on portion sizes click here.

Portion sizes can be two to three times what you need in some restaurants. Eat slowly and when you begin to feel full, box it up or leave it on your plate.

Before ordering, check the menu for the lighter fare. Many restaurants are including nutrition facts on their menus now. Substitutions are becoming more popular. For example, we’re seeing options for using whole wheat pasta instead of white.

Foods that are breaded, cheesy, fried, or have cream sauces should be avoided when possible. They are packed with calories!

Skip dessert when eating out for business. Focus on the business and keep the food secondary.

Pack your suitcase.  When I travel for business I bring packets of oatmeal, nuts, and dried fruit with me. It’s an easy meal you can make in your hotel room for breakfast. Pick up a yoghurt at the coffee shop if you want a little extra protein.

Bring snacks that are single servings. You can find single serving packages of nuts, and many hotels have complimentary fruit.

If you’re driving to your hotel it’s even easier. Bring a small bag of groceries to keep in your room!

2)  Fast Food. I usually avoid fast food. However, sometimes the occasion comes up and I find myself in a fast food restaurant. Fortunately, there are much healthier fast food restaurants to choose from these days.

If you find yourself in this situation, I would much rather you pick the healthiest, low calorie choice you can find, than starve yourself.  That is worse for you in the long run.

Here is a great list of sandwiches to skip courtesy of WebMD. They have included the better choices as well!

3)  Pick and choose!  If you are a social butterfly and go out for fun multiple times per week, start paying close attention to how you order. Use the same principles listed above for business. Then, pick one night per week to splurge.

Get to know your menus at your favorite places. Start entering the calories for your normal choices into a calorie tracker. This will help you decide what you want to order before you get to the restaurant.

Split dishes with fellow diners. This allows you to taste more food without over doing it.

4)  Exercise! If you are someone who eats out often you will have a better chance of losing weight and maintaining it if you exercise daily.

Try these options:

  • Walk to the restaurant
  • Hit the hotel gym for 30 minutes
  • Sneak in time at the office gym at lunch or after work
  • Walk at lunch
  • Walk in the evenings
  • Do early morning work outs

I hope these tips are helpful. It is possible to lose weight when eating out often. However, you do need to pay extra attention to what you eat, and make an effort to burn the extra calories.

Tell me about your favorite restaurant meal or calorie reducing tips while eating out! I love to hear from you! 

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

 


 

 

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