Tag: “lose weight without diet”

Back To School Weight Loss Tips

You can feel it in the air! Summer is ending. The light is changing and it’s back to school time! Whether you are a parent, teacher, student, or simply getting back to a Fall routine, the new season usually means much busier schedules.

A shift in schedule can potentially derail your weight loss goals if you let it. I’ve put together some simple guidelines on how to stay on track while adjusting to the new season.

Five Easy Weight Loss Tips for the Back to School Season!

1)  Plan!  Back to school usually means a more set routine. This can be used for your benefit to help you lose weight! Pull out your calendar and determine when you have time for exercise, meal planning, and healthy meal preparation.  Write these activities in like like any other important appointment.

Avoid biting off more than you can chew.  Look at your calendar before saying yes to extra projects.  If saying yes will interfere with your weight loss goals, you may want to take a pass for now.

2) Brown bag it! Breakfast is key to successful weight loss. If time is tight in the mornings, a healthy egg sandwich or smoothie are easy to eat on the go. Do your best to eat by 9:00 am, and no later than 10:00.

Pack lunches and have healthy snacks on you at all times. No matter what your day looks like, busy and hungry are a dangerous combination for weight loss. By planning ahead, you’ll have more control over the food you eat.

And if you are shuttling kids, pack snacks to have on hand. Not only will it contribute to their good health, it will save you time as well.

3)  Order out!  After looking at your schedule, you may realize that cooking some nights will be a stretch.  Let someone else do the cooking for you! Order healthy pre made meals from a company like Magic Kitchen.

4)  Get creative! If your normal exercise time is conflicting with your child’s activity or sport, go for a walk while you are waiting for them. One of my clients decided to get a low cost membership at the gym across the street from her daughter’s dance class.  She’s going to run on the treadmill while her daughter is taking class.  Another option would be to see if there was an adult class to try during her daughter’s class.

Early morning and lunch time workouts are a great way to sneak exercise into the day. This strategy helps you avoid evening interruptions such as working late. 

5)  Create a fit lifestyle!  One of the reasons people are so much more active in the Summer is all of the fun outdoor activities that are available. That doesn’t have to end just because it’s Fall.  Like the beach or hiking? Bundle up and take a walk. Personally, I think Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year!

Choose active recreation on the weekends to counter the less active time during the week. Recreational activities are a great cross trainer if you are doing more formal gym workouts during the week.  Try turning off screens (computers, TV, phones, etc. ) as much as possible on the weekends!

All it takes is a little bit of planning. Fall is a great time to meet your weight loss/management goals.  Embrace this time of year and all of the fullness it brings!

Please let me know if you have any questions or a tip you’d like to share!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 


 

How To Handle A Food Craving And Avoid Binging!

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Food cravings can lead to binging and sabotage your weight loss efforts!  If you haven’t already, read part 1 — Cravings vs. Hunger: How to Tell the Difference  The last thing I want is for you to ignore true hunger signals. 

Food cravings are normal!

We all experience food cravings from time to time.  Don’t worry!  It’s normal.  You just need to follow some simple steps that will help you handle the craving and avoid the binging.

First off, there is a difference between craving food and experiencing real hunger.  Part 1 gives you detailed steps on how to tell the difference.

Have you ever heard that if your body is craving a certain type of food, then “it probably needs it?”  This is not always true.  If your body is craving a big salad with lots of raw vegetables, that concept is totally reasonable.  However, I don’t think there is anyone on the planet that has to eat Chocolate Chip Cookies to survive!

Simple Tips to Stop Food Cravings from Controlling You!

1)  Give in!  Yes, you read that correctly.  Years ago I was taking classes from a well known nutritionist in southern California.  Because of her location, many of her clients had eating disorders.  She told me a story about a young model who would eat an entire bag of baby carrots in one sitting to keep herself from eating a chocolate chip cookie.  She told the nutritionist she was trying to avoid the “bad” food.

Fortunately, she got some health benefits from  eating the carrots.  But, she consumed more calories with the carrots than if she ate one small cookie.

The point of the story is that when you attempt to eliminate a food from your diet entirely, it can trigger binging. You’ll may redirect the binge to another food. Or once you allow yourself to eat the “forbidden” food, you are at risk of over doing it.  Better to have a small amount of the food you are craving than to try avoiding it entirely.  For example, if you crave ice cream, find a low calorie flavor you like and measure out a serving.  You may even find a half serving will do the trick.

Don’t let food control you!  If it’s only certain foods, try keeping them out of the house for awhile until you can practice moderation.

2)  Go to bed!  When you are in need of rest your body will crave sugar for a pick me up.  Go to bed early that night.  Your body will thank you for it.

3)  Drink some water!  Dehydrated bodies can send a hunger signal.  If you have eaten a full balanced meal within the last few hours, then try a glass of water before you eat more.  If you are still hungry, have a small snack.

4)  Redirect!  Find yourself digging through the cupboards for no reason?  You could be bored.  When you find your self mindlessly foraging for food redirect that behavior.  Try walking, doing a household chore, meditating, catching up on phone calls or email, or reading.  Make a list of replacement activities and keep it posted.  Use the list when the craving begins.

5)  Avoid using food for comfort! We’ve all heard of “comfort food.”  There’s no such thing as comfort food.  Food does not offer comfort.  We can associate a positive time in our life with certain foods, which is why you may feel warm and fuzzy when you eat them.

With that being said, elevating your serotonin levels does help fight depression.  But, turning to the sweets to elevate your serotonin levels is not the best choice.  You may feel great for a moment after eating a large piece of cake.  However, when your blood sugar drops, you can go right back into the dumps and may experience guilt for sabotaging your weight loss goals.

Choose a balanced meal with complex carbohydrates to elevate the serotonin in your body.  If dessert is really your thing, have a small serving that will fit into your daily calorie expenditure.

Just remember we all have food cravings from time to time.  It’s how we deal with them that will make or break our weight loss and management goals!

I hope this has been helpful.  Please let me know if you have any questions or tips you’d like to share to control food cravings.  I love to hear from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

The Right Foods For Weight Loss

Have you been struggling to lose or maintain your weight? Don’t worry! You’re not alone. The good news is you can begin to make simple changes in the foods you eat and lose weight for good!

For the past 22 plus years, I’ve helped clients make easy changes in their daily/weekly food intake and lose weight. No deprivation diets or crazy workouts, I promise! Just simply swapping out some of the higher calorie foods with good tasting low-cal substitutes helped them lose weight. It can help you too.

Try food swap magic!

Here are some small yet powerful changes you can make to lose and maintain your weight:

1)  What’s for breakfast?  Do you know that one cup of granola can pack in 450 calories? Yikes! You can eat a serving of oatmeal (with blueberries and butter), and two eggs for only 360 calories. Granola is a healthy food, but if you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, avoid the high calorie cereals in the morning. They make better toppings than meals.

If you eat breakfast at your favorite coffee shop, you will want to find out how many calories are in that on the go meal. Keep it to 350 calories and have a plain cup of coffee with a small amount of creamer. This simple tweak alone helped one of my clients stop gaining weight and lose three pounds in five weeks!

2)  Snack wisely. A small serving of chips is about 150 calories on average. But, did you know you can eat four cups of popcorn for only 60 calories? Popcorn is way more filling, and will keep ,you satisfied longer. Not crazy about popcorn? Eat a piece of fruit.

3)  Entertain with lower calorie choices. Having company? Offer hummus and yoghurt based dips. Offer whole grain crackers as well as fruit and cut vegetables to go alongside the dips. Serve smaller portions of the higher calorie fare such as cheese and cured meats. You and your guests are likely to eat less when the portions are sized smaller.

4)  Limit the fast food!  I realize this may be obvious to some. However, with 25% of our nation eating fast food daily, I do not like to ignore this one. Most of us picture a drive through window when we think of fast food. However fast food can be healthy take out as well. When you let someone else cook the meal, you have zero control over the calories.

Just like with the breakfast meals, find out how many calories are in your favorite take out and decide if it meets your weight loss goals. Or, have some healthy frozen food on hand and combine it with a fresh salad for a last minute dinner option.

5)  Watch the sweets! There are 196 calories in a large chocolate chip cookie. Switch to a piece of dark chocolate (60 calories), a small cookie (49 calories), or a small serving of sorbet (110 calories).

These tips will help you cut calories and stay on track without feeling deprived! Please let me know if you have a food swap you’d like to share or a question about your daily food intake by leaving a comment below.  I really enjoy hearing from you!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer