MyWeightLossForLife.com

Archive for the ‘diets’ Category

Wow, it’s been a bad few weeks. Work has been extremely stressful, but I think things are FINALLY winding down a bit. I’ll be traveling next week for work, but I’m actually looking forward to being out of the office for a change.

Unfortunately, the long hours and stress have really taken a toll on my eating and exercise. I’ve put on about seven pounds (yikes!), so I have a bit of work to do to get myself back on track.

That’s the issue with weight loss, isn’t it? It’s all too easy to put it back on when life gets stressful. Given that I’m a stress eater, it’s doubly difficult.

I found that when this happens, it’s even more important to keep a positive attitude. I also try to stick to my eating plan as much as I can, even if I know I’m not doing as well as I should. One danger that I watch out for is simply giving up. Taking the attitude that I might as well eat anything I want because things are already going downhill is the wrong approach, but it’s all too easy to fall into that trap.

How many times have you allowed a diet slip up turn into a diet catastrophe? I’m trying to not let that happen!

Work has been hectic, so my blogging schedule is way off track. You’ll probably see some shorter posts for the next few days until things slow down again.

Packing lunch daily is going well. I’m experimenting with different stir-fry recipes, so it’s going well so far. I’m getting used to not eating out, so that’s a plus.

Exercising daily isn’t going so well. I’ve spent some time painting, doing yard work, etc. Unfortunately, I’m only exercising about three or four days a week. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for either. I guess that goes to show how hard this will be for me.

How’s the diet and exercise going for everyone else?

I enjoy reading weight loss blogs, and here are some great articles I’ve run across lately.

Lose the Buddha Belly. You’ve heard over and over how spot-reduction doesn’t work. Here’s another article that says the same, and gives great tips for trimming your middle.

Lose 50 Pounds with Dumb Little Man. He lists some good tips for losing weight. Nothing earth-shattering; you’ve probably read most before, but it’s good solid advice.

5 Steps to Weight loss. Here’s another, solid, common-sense plan for taking off weight sensibly.

If you’ve written a weight-loss related article recently, post the url below, and I’ll link to you.

I wanted to post my weight loss update.  In three months, I’ve lost fifteen pounds. That’s a healthy rate of weight loss.

What’s working

1. I still think the most beneficial change has been giving up second helpings. Since working on that habit, I rarely go back for seconds, and I’m sure it’s saving me hundreds of calories a week. If you only do one thing to take off weight, I’d suggest that this be it.
2. We eat a lot less junk food. Since my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, I just don’t buy much junk food. Other than sugar-free candies, we don’t eat sweets either.
3. My husband has to follow a low-carb diet, which means that almost all our meals are low-carb. I haven’t been following the diet strictly, so I can’t say that the weight loss is due to that. I try to eat healthy in general, but I do eat some of the things that low-carb diets restrict (fruit, bread, potatoes, etc.).

What could be better

1. Exercise! I just haven’t been able to stick with an exercise schedule lately. I do try to be active on the weekends, even if it’s lots of shopping! This is somewhere I need to improve!
2. I’m managing to avoid the vending machines on most days. I’m tempted to hit the vending machines in the afternoons for those treats that we don’t keep at home any more. I’m not doing as well with this as I’d like — I’d like to not treat myself at all!

How is your weight loss going? What works well for you? Post your comments here.

You stick to your healthy eating plan and exercise all week, but when the weekend rolls around, something happens. You eat more than you should, don’t exercise, and end up feeling rotten by Sunday night. Sound familiar?

Do weekends and healthy plans just not mix? Actually, it is possible to stick to your diet and exercise goals and still enjoy the weekend.

1. Give yourself permission to splurge. Often, feeling deprived is the root of the problem when it comes to not being able to stick with an eating plan. If you plan to splurge a little, it can often give you the motivation to stick with your goals otherwise.
2. Combine meals. We love big breakfasts on the weekend, but they really can be diet disasters. Eat later in the day and let breakfast be brunch. You’ll combine two meals and mitigate the effects of that big breakfast.
3. Choose healthier activities. You probably love to get out and do fun things on the weekend; who doesn’t? Try to work in some activity as well. One of our favorite things to do is see a movie, so we head to the mall about an hour or so before it begins and spend the time walking.
4. Watch out for snack attacks. Weekends are prime snack time around our house. Since we often eat dinner earlier and stay up later, we usually end up wanting something to munch on. Try to keep junk food out of the house because it’s going to be tough to resist this temptation. Keep something available to snack on that’s a healthier alternative instead.
5. Socializing doesn’t have to be a disaster. Weekends are also prime time for socializing. Whether you’re cooking out, meeting at a restaurant or enjoying a sit-down dinner, it’s always tempting to go overboard. If you’re doing the cooking, it’s easier. Plan to fix a healthy — but delicious — meal. If you prefer, mix healthier alternatives with more fattening ones to give everyone some variety. If you’re a guest, try to just sample the most fattening items and stick with those that are healthiest.

Weekends don’t have to mean a setback to your healthy eating and exercise routine. If you’ve managed to create a healthier lifestyle during the week, then you can do the same on the weekends too. Yes, you’re facing a change of routine which can throw off your plans, but you can use that to your advantage as well.

It seems that for the past several years, low carb (and now low glycemic) diets are all the rage. As with most diets, they probably work just fine as long as you follow them!

What is a low-glycemic diet?

Foods that are low on the glycemic scale have less of an effect on blood sugar. So, a cookie is relatively high on the glycemic index because it’s likely to give you a pretty quick, intense jump in blood sugar. A stalk of celery is very low; it’s not likely to bump your blood sugar up at all.

Diets that are low glycemic focus on eating foods that don’t interfere with your blood sugar as much. It’s not a matter of avoiding certain foods altogether, but of planning your food so as to make the least impact on blood sugar.

Deciding what to eat

A site like The Glycemic Index can help you make better food choices. Another site to look at is Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load. Fiber helps slow down digestion, so that will help lower the GI of your food.

Use the lists to help you decide what to eat, or if your favorite snack is worth it.

Why you should care about blood sugar

This is a scenario you’re probably familiar with. You eat lunch around noon, but by mid-afternoon, you have the munchies again. Maybe you feel tired and sluggish. You grab something sweet from the vending machine to tide you over.

The candy does the trick. You feel better, but before dinner, you start to feel bad again. Maybe you feel even worse than before. You’re tired and hungry all over, and you still have the commute before dinner. What’s up?

You’ve experienced one of the bad effects of allowing your blood sugar to fluctuate widely. When you eat something high on the glycemic index, your blood sugar goes up very quickly. Unfortunately, once that initial boost is over, it also goes down very quickly. So, the initial feel-good burst of energy ends with your feeling worse in the long run.

Making the change

Switching to whole grains is a good start. They have a lower GI, and they’re usually more nutritious as well. Substitute fruits and vegetables for sweets and snack foods. It can take a long time to get used to the changes, so don’t give up. It may be easier to choose just one or two things at a time to change.

What I do

I try to follow a low-GI diet, in general. As you know if you’ve been reading for a while, I’ve been working on giving up sweets and junk food, two big culprits when it comes to wreaking havoc on blood sugar.

I can say that I feel better eating low GI. The sweets are particularly hard for me to give up, but after a while, they just don’t seem worth it. I know I’ll occasionally eat sweets, but I hope to never be quite so hooked on them as I have been in the past.

What types of changes have you made, that work for you?