Category: Weight Loss Goals That Work

Balance is the Key To Long Term Weight Loss

 

If you’re alive and breathing it’s pretty difficult to get through one single day without media bombardment of the latest and greatest fad diet or workout.  While these various diets, potions, and exercise routines all boast phenomenal results, the reality is that most of these are unrealistic and next to impossible to sustain. In the worst case scenarios they can even be dangerous for your body.

Lost Weight Loss Wisdom?

 

The key to long term weight loss has been and always will  be a healthy, balanced approach. There’s nothing complicated about it and it does not require deprivation, pain, fancy shakes, eliminating whole food groups, or any other fad that’s out in the media.

However, it does require a little bit of knowledge, consistency, and planning.

Six Things to Remember to Find Balance

 

1)  Calories count.  In order to lose a pound of fat per week, a reduction of 500 calories per day is required.  A combination of exercise and adjustments to caloric intake is the most balanced approach to creating a caloric deficit. Free apps like loseit make it easy to track your daily caloric intake based on your weight loss goals.

While counting calories may seem restrictive, it’s actually empowering. If you treat calories like a bank account, knowing how much you can spend each day gives you flexibility. A great tip from celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels is to follow the 80/20 rule. Allow yourself 20% “fun calories” each day. Use the 20% for things like a glass of wine, small dessert, or any other special treat you enjoy.

2)  Meal planning. Have you heard the old saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail?” Planning what you will eat for the week takes the guesswork out of whether or not you are staying on track with your calorie cutting and weight loss goals. Use “light” or “low cal recipes” to keep the food choices interesting so you won’t feel deprived.

You don’t have to give up planning when eating out. Check out the menu online before you get to the restaurant. Use apps like loseit or healthy dining finder to help you evaluate menus. Choose your lower calorie meal before you arrive at the restaurant to avoid being tempted by the higher calorie choices.

Allow yourself to go for it once in awhile and forget about the calories. Have fun and don’t allow yourself to feel guilty. Simply get back on your plan the following day.

If you’re on vacation, make it your goal to not gain any weight. Use your loseit app to find out how many calories you can spend.

3)  Regular Exercise. Regular daily exercise combined with a healthy eating plan is the best recipe there is for weight loss and weight management. Shoot for 20 minutes per day of regular activity like walking, hiking, biking,swimming, etc.

5)  Leisure Time Activity. Use leisure time to relax AND burn calories. Try things like a walk on the beach, kayaking, horseback riding, walking your dog, or playing with your kids. You’ll not only feel rejuvenated, but you’ll contribute to your daily weight loss goals.

6)  Make sure your goals are realistic. You may not have the time nor the desire to do what it takes to look like a model on the cover of a health magazine. If you can’t go out to dinner once a week without “blowing” your plan, your weight loss goal will be very hard to maintain. Set a goal to reach a desired weight that allows you to look good, feel good, and enjoy yourself. Then stick to it.

Avoid letting the media or anyone else pressure you into thinking your goal isn’t good enough or that you should be comparing yourself to others. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. What’s most important is that you are comfortable, happy, and satisfied with your own personal results.

Now, that my friend is balance!

To your health and fitness!

Jennifer

Questions or comments?  Please leave me a note below.  I love to hear from you!

 

 

Lose Weight With These Easy Portion Control Tips

Did you know that the average restaurant meal is now four times larger than a meal in the 1950’s?  It’s no wonder that the average adult is 26 pounds heavier than sixty years ago!

You can lose weight with portion control. That’s one of the most important secrets behind weight loss.  When you cut back on portion sizes and take a balanced approach to healthy eating, you will see your weight drop.

Unlike restrictive diets which can lead to binging, portion control teaches you how to eat the foods you like in moderation. You may be asking how to control portion sizes without scales and various other measuring tools, or what to do when you eat out. Great questions!

Five Simple Tips for Portion Control:

1)  Read the fine print!  Yes! The labels will tell you how many calories, but make sure you read how many servings are in that bag of chips, energy drink, soda, box of crackers, etc.  Most snack size bags are actually two servings — not one!

2)  Are your plates super sized? Over the years it’s become fashionable to have large plates. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to get new dishes! However, a plate that is smaller will appear fuller and may satisfy you more.

If you feel like you need the extra visual help, you can purchase plates that have the portion sizes built into them. Everything from plastic to china. Another way I combat the empty looking plate is to use bowls. They appear fuller and I am able to scoop out the proper portion sizes with a ladle.

3)  Develop a simple visual system. Not all plates are created equal. so it’s helpful to know what a proper serving is. Here are some visual cues/examples to help you with portion size:

  1. Vegetables or fruit: about the size of your fist.
  2. Carbohydrates like pasta, rice, and starchy vegetables: A single serving is 1/2 cup or the size of a cupcake wrapper.
  3. Meat, fish, or poultry: the size of a deck of cards or the size of your palm (minus the fingers).
  4. Snacks such as pretzels and chips: about the size of a cupped handful.
  5. Apple: the size of a baseball.
  6. Potato: the size of a computer mouse.
  7. Bagel: the size of a hockey puck.
  8. Pancakes or lunch meat: the size of a compact disc.
  9. Cheese: the size of a pair of dice or the size of your whole thumb (from the tip to the base).
  10. A tablespoon of food such as peanut butter, salad dressing, hummus:  The size of your whole thumb.

4)  It’s okay to go back for seconds! Try serving from the kitchen counter to avoid reaching mindlessly for a second helping. If after 20 minutes you are still hungry, then go back and load up on veggies or a 1/4 to 1/2 second serving.

Eating out?  No problem. Ask your server about the portion sizes. Start with one or two dishes and then decide if you want more. The kitchen will still be there!

5)  You do not have to finish everything on your plate!  Many of us were raised not to waste. This was a really important thing to teach us as children, and I am grateful for that up-bringing. Unfortunately, this has been linked to overeating in adults.

I give you full permission to leave food on your plate. You will not be sent to your room! That may sound silly. However, so much of our childhood training affects the way we look at food. If you are like me and really dislike wasting food, then simply place whatever is left in a small container. You can have it as a snack or combine it with your lunch.

So there you go! These strategies can be implemented right away to help you with weight loss. Portion control is one of the best ways to begin cutting back on unnecessary calories without depriving yourself.

Have questions or tricks to share?  I’d love to hear from you below!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer

 

If I Skip Meals Will I Lose Weight?

Woman is Hungry Dieting

Does your new year’s resolution have you tempted to skip meals to lose weight? If so, you’re not alone. It’s very common for people to experiment by skipping meals to accelerate their weight loss — especially in January after the holiday festivities!

It’s no secret that you must cut and/0r burn calories to lose weight. And, while skipping meals may produce quick weight loss in the beginning, the reality is, the long term results of a “starvation” type diet can be devastating.

Four Reasons not to skip meals!

1)  Slows down your metabolism. When you skip meals, your body goes into “starvation” mode. This causes the body to slow the metabolism for survival and use less calories throughout the day. That’s the last thing you want when you are trying to lose weight!

2)  Unsustainable! Skipping meals to lose weight does not create habits that will help maintain your weight loss for good. It actually does the opposite. Once you’ve lost the weight and begin eating normally again, you will most likely gain all of the weight back. In many cases more than you started with!

3)  Harmful to your health! Skipping meals deprives your body of the fuel it needs to operate properly. It affects your blood sugar, which will cloud your thinking and cause fatigue. People who skip meals are usually robbing their body of essential nutrients and can experience a weakened immune system as well as other negative side effects.

4)  Causes Overeating! When you allow yourself to get overly hungry, you are more likely to overeat and/or binge. This will cause you to consume more calories than you normally would in one sitting, sabotaging all of your efforts to cut back.

Lose weight the smart way!

1)  Knowledge is key! Start by figuring out how many calories you need to cut out in order to reach your goal. Use an app like loseit to calculate what you consume versus how much you burn. Once you determine the deficit, you can decide each day what changes you want to make.

2)  Make a plan! The best way to lose weight permanently is to create a healthy eating plan and an exercise routine you can stick to.

A healthy (balanced) eating plan is usually a combination of three larger meals (aka breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with two snacks in between. Depending on what time you eat dinner, an evening snack may be needed as well. Don’t go to bed hungry!

Here’s an example of a balanced approach to a healthy eating plan:

  • Breakfast 400 calories
  • Snack 200 calories
  • Lunch 400 calories
  • Snack 200 calories
  • Dinner 400 calories
  • Total calories 1600.
This is for sample purposes. You’ll want to calculate your own total. You may discover you need more than 1600 calories depending on how active you are or how much exercise you plan on doing.

Skipping meals may seen enticing in the beginning, but long term success comes from a more balanced approach.  Besides, a balanced approach should sound a whole lot more fun and realistic to you than being hungry all the time.

Please let me know if you have any questions by commenting below! I am here to help you succeed!

Blessings!

Jennifer