How to lose weight now and keep it off

 

Losing weight takes commitment and a will to change the way you live everyday, losing weight isn’t about fitting into skinny jeans it’s about your health and you self confidence, mostly your health. In order to lose weight you must be willing to change everything, food is awesome when eaten right, so no yoyo diets and no magic pills. The only pill I recommend we all should take is a multivitamin; of course speak to your doctor first to see which one is right for you.

In order to begin your journey to a happier and healthy lifestyle you must make a goal, either a certain weight to reach or a certain amount you want to lose. Keeping a journal during you weight loss journey can be one of the most important tools. In the beginning of your journal should be your list of goals, how much weight you want to lose and why, why is getting healthy important to you. Next you need to write down what foods you eat now, how much and when. Do this for your first week or so, this will help you see what foods your putting in your body. And, when you begin you journey keep the journal to track you progress.

Food and exercise are the number 1 factors for living a healthy lifestyle. If your meals are fast, fried eaten late or filled with sugars you will never lose weight. A general rule is to eat green is to eat lean, and to eat right get rid of the white. This means no more white bread products none, stick with whole grain breads. Pop or soda is the number 1 cause for weight gain and high blood sugar levels, which can lead to diabetes and worse. Cut soda out of your daily life for good, if you don’t do this you will never lose weight. Try alternatives, like fruit smoothies, V8 vegetable drinks, milk or chocolate milk, lots of water and if you really need that carbon fix mix up some club soda with cranberry juice. When it comes to your morning coffee, try switching to tea, green tea can help your metabolism work wonders. If you still need your coffee, reduce your sugar and use low fat  or skim milk instead of cream or omit all together. These small changes will make a big difference.

In many diets you’ll find that your food intake is very minimal, meaning you take in very little calories. This for a short term will allow you to lose weight, however it will not help your metabolism. After while you’ll start to get hungry either you’ll binge and fall of the wagon forever or your body will start taking it’s storage and leave you feeling weak and even more unhealthy. So what do you do? You simple eat more often and more healthy.

Breakfast I don’t care what you say is the most important meal of the day, if you skip it your weight won’t be able to be controlled. Eating breakfast gives you the energy your body needs to start the day. If you one of those people who just doesn’t have time for breakfast well you need to make time.  Breakfast should consist of a few things, a milk product, a whole grain product, some protein and some fruit or vegetables. I know your thinking this sound like dinner, and it’s sound like a lot. Yes it is and it should be we need at least 1800 calaories day to maintain a healthy metabolism. That doesn’t mean eating a full egg and bacon breakfast but rather a small amount of each.

 

 

#1

1 cup whole grain cereal with/

               ½ cup 1% or skim milk/ soy is good too

Either half an orange, or cup of orange juice

Piece of wholegrain toast with 1 egg, or peanut butter

 

#2

Whole grain toast with Jam, peanut butter or light cream cheese

1 cup of fruit salad or 1 whole orange, apple or banana

1 egg

2-3 slices of turkey bacon

½ cup milk

    

#3

Cup of orange juice

Small yogurt, try it with 1 tbsp granola mixed in, some berries or use as dip for fruit

2 slices of Whole grain toast with peanut butter

 

Eating a healthy breakfast including all the elements is essential, and if you eat enough you won’t need to eat again right away. Which leads me into snacks, yes you can eat snacks. Preferably you will eat breakfast at a decent time so around 9 or 10 a snack will come in handy. Trying to eat every two hours is key, we need to food to lose weight ironic isn’t it. But eating the right food makes your body work as it’s suppose to, leaving you fit and healthy.

When it comes to snacks things like chips, donuts, chocolate and other sweets are not the best choices in fact I would avoid those at all cost. So what the heck are you going to eat? Well beside the  obvious crackers and water there are some great choices for delicious and healthy food. Here are some examples

 

Snack choices

 

Whole grain crackers with some sliced cheese

 

Tuna, mix in a small amount of mayo and some fresh herbs or onions, spread on toast or crackers

 

Try some chopped vegetables to dip in a light salad dressing mix

 

Chopped fruit with peanut butter or yogurt for dip

 

Mixed dried fruits and nuts

 

Corn chips and salsa

 

Try a handful of dried whole grain cereal with a cup of yogurt

 

 

 

 

There are lots of healthy snack options don’t settle for the package crap anymore it’s not good for you and does a number on the rear section of out bodies. The next meal of the day is lunch some people chose this time of day to get in a large meal, I want to leave this up to you, you know your own lifestyle. Either way your lunch should be filling, tasty and healthy to. Here are some lunch options

 

Lunch examples

 

Sandwich and a side

 

Whole grain or rye bread, loaded with turkey, chicken or roast beef sandwich meat. Add some greens, lots of lettuce of your choice, some fresh herbs, onions if you like them and some cheese, use butter or lite mayo if needed. Have some sliced vegetables or a salad to go with it. Omit the cheese on your sandwich and have some fruit and cheese squares on the side.

 

Soup and a side

 

Hearty or puree soup of your choice, home made preferably. Have a good sized bowl and eat with a salmon, tuna, bean or chicken salad, a green salad is best but a whole grain noodle salad will do, have a smaller portion of course.

 

One dish meal

 

If you love rice then why not eat more of it. Make a full rice meal for lunch, add to your favourite white/ Whole grain rice cooked vegetables like red, green and yellow peppers, broccoli, onions, chopped fresh herbs, sliced toasted almonds, some grilled chicken, or beef, when ready to eat coat with soy sauce or your favourite oriental flavour, and you have a healthy, filling lunch.

 

Pasta with tomato sauce is also a great one dish meal, make sure your pasta has lots of vegetables some sliced grilled chicken, or Italian sausage; Goes well with a lite salad or some whole grain buns with a lite coating of olive oil.

 

 

 

Fill up at lunch and get all your essentials. If you can eat a large lunch you will be less likely to want a large dinner. Remember before dinner one snack is permitted and required to keep you going. So go back to the list and have a healthy snack, even better if your not that hungry have a smoothy, or a vegetable drink, this will fill you and give you and extra boost for the day.

Dinner time can be the most challenging meal of the day, but it doesn’t have to be daunting. In fact this can be a great time to incorporate your family into your new lifestyle. Those who cook together, eat together. So get the kids involved and come up with some healthy alternatives to your usual meals.

My kids love fried food so I decided to make some of the same things but cook them a bit healthier. For example we loved fries, so now we use sweet potatoes coat them in olive oil and bake them in the oven. The kids like them even better because they are sweeter. Fried chicken was another of our favourites so now we’ve tried some healthier coating mixes and we tried using it on turkey, chicken breasts and even salmon, and instead of frying we bake it.

Incorporating fish and turkey more into our diets has really made a difference in our health. My family and I also omitted meat from a couple meals a week, instead we opt for some creamy pasta with a salad, sometimes we have home made subs and raw vegetables. Switching a lot of our ground beef meals to ground chicken and turkey has also made our meals taste just as good and a lot more healthier.

Deciding to go healthy doesn’t have to be scary and doesn’t mean you have to eat gross food. Shop the perimeter of your grocery stores, keep away from temptations. Vegetables, lean meats and fish are all better choices and often don’t cost much more then your usual crap.  It is important to know what you are eating otherwise you might as well just eat the box the food came in too because chances are you don’t know what it’s made of either. Be smart, take time with your food because convenience kills.

Of course you don’t always need to eat raw vegetables and fish, desserts are often forgotten because they are deemed bad and unhealthy. You can still have sweet treats in moderation. My kids love dessert, we switched a few things and yet are cravings are still met. We love ice cream no matter the time of year, so now we buy frozen yogurt, sometime we serve it with fruit but often the yogurt is in it’s self enough. Pies and cakes are a big thing around our house so we started making our own pies with whole wheat crusts and less sugar. Instead of cakes we go with cupcakes, only because portion size is easier to control, instead of icing we use honey,  or pudding, sometimes whipped cream or cool whip with fruit or shaved dark chocolate. Jell-O is a great dessert as well, sometimes I mix the Jell-O with yogurt and refrigerate over night, it’s like a fluffy moose.

 

Losing weight doesn’t have to be about giving up good taste it’s about knowing what you eat and eating it at the right time. A few good rules to follow are…

Always eat Breakfast

Never eat past 8pm

Keep a journal…

Avoid pop and anything that says low sugar or diet

Eat in regular intervals through out the day, and keep a food routine by eating around the same time every day

Swich you usual ingredients for a healthy alternative

Baked not fried, raw not cooked

Eat lots of greens and bean, omit the starches

Eat sweets in moderation

Losing weight can be a challenge Make sure that you don’t just change how you eat but also how you live. Exercise is the next step to a healthy you. I don’t mean you have to get up everyday and pump iron, but small changes will make a big difference. Take the stairs at work, walk to the grocery store. Bike ride around the block with your kids or a friend. Make it a plan to take a walk every night after dinner get into a routine. Incorporate stretching for five minutes every morning, to build muscle mass lift water jugs or canned food. Stretch, walk and lift a few times a week and make life fun. Sometimes a simple game of catch with your kids or neighbour is all it takes. Get motivated outside and move your body however you can. And if all fails with exercise then dance, alone, at a club, wherever, just dance to your favourite fast paced songs. I mean no one wants to exercise but everyone loves to dance so move your butt however you can.

If you serious about wanting to get healthy do it right, and if you can don’t do it alone. Lose weight and get healthy with you family, your friends, whom ever you can change your life and someone elses too. Lets get back to health and real food, lets live longer and be happier other wise what’s the point. We all deserve to look and feel our best, so make the change for a better you. Feel free to email me if you need some personal support. I have had troubles with weight over the years too, I know what your going through and I’m glad to help. Look for more articles coming soon for healthy meal choices and lifestyle changes…