Diet & Life Style Info

Well if you read our last post which was a summary of the US Governments New Diet Guidelines, we are assuming you are confused and wondering if you can eat anything at all. You may be also wondering if you have to give up all of your favorite foods with pizza possible at the top of the list. Well this writer does not think so and it is not based on any kind of scientific study, nor is it based on lobby groups. Or opinion is based on experience and a little bit of common sense.

Common sense says that if you eat 5000 calories every day and sit on the couch you are going to get fat. Just think about if for a second. The Tour de France bikers participate in races that span 5 to 6 hours and cover up to 200 kilometers. During this time they will burn between 5000 and 7000 calories. If you are not burning calories you either have to limit your intake or increase your activity to avoid gaining more weight and also to lose weight.

But the new diet guidelines are more than just calories. They are also about making sure you get the right amount of vitamins, fibre and minerals to keep your system running well and staying healthy. This is also very important because if you are not well , then you are sick, become lethargic and likely will gain weight.

Study the Guidelines

Remember they are guidelines. They are not a bible that you have to follow religiously. Rather they are a set of instructions that you should follow most of the time if you want to avoid gaining weight and also stay healthy. Print out the list of things you can eat and those you cannot eat. Carry it with you and use it as a reference. After awhile you will know it by heart, but until you do it will be a handy reference for you to refer to each time you are deciding what to eat.

They Are Really a Guideline and not a Law

This is so important. While you want to follow these guidelines as much as possible, what is important to remember is that these new diet guidelines are just that. Follow them as best you can, at least 90% of the time , which means you may fall off the wagon once and a while, but that is ok as long as it amounts to only 10% of your food intake. They are a guideline so use them as guidelines !

Portion Control

Use small plates. It just makes so much common sense. We all love big plates so that we can pile all of our favorite foods on them. If you use a small plate you will reduce a few hundred, maybe even a thousand calories. Drink a glass of water with your meal as well to fill you up and you will be surprised at how much less food you eat. After awhile it becomes habit to eat less.

We love going to buffets and they all have these huge plates, You can pile so much food on them of all different types. We have learned to take the desert plates instead of the dinner plates when we are browsing the main course buffet lines. You cannot get that much food on them and you have to go back for seconds, but that is just fine since it limits our calory intake!

The following is a summary of the new US Government dietary guidelines. In our next post we are going to discuss these guidelines and how the average person may be able to apply them!

A new term has been coined by the US Government and they want you to  avoid extra calories from Solid Fats and Added Sugars (SoFAS). Also consumers  who eat a lot of SoFAS also tend to eat a lot of refined grains which should also be avoided. They want consumers to move away from our over reliance in the past on sugar and sodium and saturated fat.

If it tastes great, then you probably should avoid it and of course that means pizza, which is major source of food types Americans enjoy and  are advised to avoid.

We also need to cut back to 1,500 mg of sodium per day for people over age 51, African-Americans, and people with high blood pressure.  Everyone else are advised to cut back to less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. There is salt in just about everything, so start by putting the salt shaker away! Avoid processed foods were salt is very high. Read the labels and look for low sodium levels in foods. Also avoid fast food restaurants that do not have low salt menus and low calorie foods.

The new dietary guidelines from the US Government  focus on two major themes:

• watching calories to achieve and maintain a healthy weight
• tipping the balance of calorie intake: More calories from nutrition-rich foods, fewer calories from solid fats, sugars, and refined grains

The new American guidelines suggest:

• Eat more seafood — at least 8 ounces a week
• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Substitute healthy oils for solid fats (such as margarine)
• Lower your sodium intake
• Avoid fast foods
• Exercise more
• Read food labels
• Substitute whole grains for refined grains
• Eat more beans and peas
• Get plenty of fiber, potassium, and vitamin D
• Eat/drink more nonfat or low-fat dairy products
• Replace high-fat meats with lean meats
• For some Americans, drink less alcohol
• Get off your SoFAS

The new guidelines point to specific sources of SoFAS and refined grains that we should not eat.

Dietary Guidelines: Worst Foods for Solid Fats

Solid fats make up almost a fifth of the total calories in American diets. They are a major factor behind the obesity epidemic.

The 10 foods that give us the most solid fats (and the percentage of solid fats from each food):

• Grain-based desserts (10.8%)
• Pizza (9.1%)
• Regular cheese (7.6%)
• Sausage, franks, bacon, and ribs (7.1%)
• French fries (4.8%)
• Dairy desserts (4.7%)
• Tortillas, burritos, and tacos (4.6%)
• Chicken and mixed chicken dishes (4.1%)
• Pasta and pasta dishes (3.9%)
• Whole milk (3.9%, just ahead of burgers at 3.8%)

Dietary Guidelines: Worst Foods for Saturated Fat

The body makes its own saturated fat — and we don’t need any more from our diet. High intake of saturated fat is linked to high cholesterol levels, which in turn are linked to heart disease.

The 10 foods from which Americans get most of their saturated fat

• Regular cheese (8.5%)
• Pizza (5.9%)
• Grain-based desserts (5.8%)
• Dairy desserts (5.6%)
• Chicken and chicken mixed dishes (5.5%)
• Sausage, franks, bacon, and ribs (4.9%)
• Burgers (4.4%)
• Tortillas, burritos, and tacos (4.1%)
• Beef and beef mixed dishes (4.1%)
• Reduced-fat milk (3.9%)

 Dietary Guidelines: Worst Foods for Added Sugars

Added sugars make up 16% of the total calories in American diets. Like solid fats, they’re a major factor in obesity. Far atop the list are sugary beverages.

The 10 foods from which Americans get most of their added sugars:

• Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks (35.7%)
• Grain-based desserts (12.9%)
• Fruit drinks (10.5%)
• Dairy desserts (6.5%)
• Candy (6.1%)
• Ready-to-eat cereals (3.8%)
• Sugars and honey (3.5%)
• Tea (3.5%)
• Yeast breads (2.1%)
• All other foods (15.4%)

The new dietary guidelines say we should get more fiber in our diets.

The guidelines’ top 10 selected sources of dietary fiber :

• Beans — navy, pinto, black, kidney, white, great northern, and lima (6.2 to 9.6 grams)
• 100% Bran ready-to-eat cereal (9.1 grams)
• Split peas, lentils, chickpeas, or cowpeas (5.6 to 8.1 grams)
• Artichokes (7.2 grams)
• Pears (5.5 grams)
• Soybeans (5.2 grams)
• Plain rye wafer crackers (5.0 grams)
• Bran ready-to-eat cereals — various types (2.6 to 5.0 grams)
• Asian pears (4.4 grams)
• Green peas (3.5 to 4.4 grams)

Dietary Guidelines: Best Foods for Potassium

The new dietary guidelines say we should get more potassium in our diets.

The guidelines’ top 10 selected sources of dietary potassium :

• Baked potatoes including the skin (738 mg)
• Prune juice, canned (707 mg)
• Carrot juice, canned (689 mg)
• Tomato paste (664 mg)
• Beet greens, cooked (654 mg)
• White beans, canned (595 mg)
• Tomato juice, canned (556 mg)
• Plain yogurt, nonfat or low fat (531 to 579 mg)
• Tomato puree (549 mg)
• Sweet potato, baked in skin (542 mg)

Dietary Guidelines: Best Foods for Calcium

The new dietary guidelines advise Americans to get more calcium in their diets.

The guidelines’ top 10 selected sources of dietary calcium:

• Fortified ready-to-eat cereals (250 mg to 1,000 mg)
• Orange juice fortified with calcium (500 mg)
• Plain yogurt, nonfat (452 mg)
• Romano cheese (452 mg)
• Pasteurized processed Swiss cheese (438 mg)
• Evaporated milk, nonfat (371 mg)
• Tofu, regular, preserved with calcium sulfate (434 mg)
• Plain yogurt, low fat (415 mg)
• Fruit yogurt, low fat (345 mg)
• Ricotta cheese, part skim (337 mg)

Dietary Guidelines: Best Foods for Vitamin D

The new dietary guidelines advise Americans to get more vitamin D in their diets.

The guidelines’ top 10 selected dietary sources of vitamin D :

• Salmon, sockeye, cooked (19.8 mcg)
• Salmon, smoked (14.5 mcg)
• Salmon, canned (11.6 mcg)
• Rockfish, cooked (6.5 mcg)
• Tuna, light, canned in oil, drained (5.7 mcg)
• Orange juice, vitamin D fortified (3.4 mcg)
• Sardines, canned in oil, drained (4.1 mcg)
• Tuna, light, canned in water, drained (3.8 mcg)
• Whole milk (3.2 mcg)
• Whole chocolate milk (3.2 mcg)

So what are the worst foods, anytime during the year and  the calorie-packed culprits that we should stay away from? The experts say  that there really are no “bad” foods. A few bites of even the most fattening food can fit into your diet. But there certainly are foods that are worse for us than others.

When you check out the nutritional numbers on these foods, keep in mind that most adults need fewer than 2,000 calories, 65 grams of total fat, and 20 grams of saturated fat each day. If you are not an active person, you may need to limit yourself to even less calories each day.

There are many foods that fall into the heavy calorie list, however the following will give you an idea of what to avoid or to limit the quantity of each that you eat. I am using a calorie counter at the moment and find that I sometimes have to really limit portion size in order to meet my calorie limit. I eat everything, just not a huge quantity!

Alcohol

Probably the number one calorie counter is alcohol. As with anything else if you limit your intake, you can limit the calories. A simple rum and coke is loaded with calories. Change to diet coke to limit your calories. Choose light beer and avoid the creamy liquors if you want to control the calories that you take in while enjoy a drink with dinner or a liquor over dinner.

Macaroni and cheese. It’s an all-time favorite comfort food for both kids and adults, but it can wreak havoc with your diet. A 12-ounce serving of Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese has 529 calories, 25.7 grams of fat, and 10.6 grams of saturated fat. Calories can climb higher when ingredients like high-fat meats or sausage are tossed in. Modify the recipe by using a low-fat cheese, low-fat milk, and stretch it with additional vegetables to improve the nutritional profile and still taste great.

Cream-based soups, bisques and chowders. “Warm soups and chowders feel so nutritious, but if they are loaded with cream, they are also loaded with calories. Soups also tend to be high in sodium, and if you crumble salty crackers into the bowl or top with cheese, the sodium level soars even higher. A one-cup serving of Harry’s Lobster Bisque (Costco) has 380 calories, 27 grams of fat, 16 grams saturated fat, and 1,240 milligrams of sodium. The New England clam chowder at Chili’s, meanwhile, has 940 calories, 65 grams fat, and 34 grams of saturated fat. Choose soups that are broth based, like vegetable or minestrone, and pair it with a salad or a whole-wheat roll.

Cream- and cheese-based casseroles, or those topped with cheese, bacon, fried onions, or buttered crackers. One serving has 568 calories, 40 grams of fat and 21 grams of saturated fat — and this is for a side dish! Creamed, scalloped, and au gratin dishes may start out with healthy ingredients like broccoli, green beans, or potatoes. But when you add cream, butter, and canned soups and top them with cheese, bacon, and/or fried breadcrumbs, you can easily quadruple the calories. Reduce calories by substituting low-calorie mix-ins such as fat-free sour cream, low-fat cheese, or reduced-fat soups.

Cheesecake treats. Cheesecakes are typically loaded with artery clogging fats. In just one slice of chocolate Oreo mudslide cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, you get 1,050 calories, 71 grams of fat, and 34 grams of saturated fat. And don’t think ordering a muffin will save you when you’re craving a cream-cheese treat. Starbuck’s pumpkin cream cheese muffin has 490 calories, 24 grams of fat, and 6 grams of saturated fat. Better to skip these rich desserts and satisfy your sweet tooth with a 150-calorie Skinny Cow ice cream cone — or suck on a peppermint for a mere 20 calories.

Chili and stews loaded with ground beef, sausage, and/or cheese. When you make them yourself, with small portions of lean meat, lots of vegetables and beans and a sprinkle of low-fat cheese, chili and stews can be nutritious and filling. At Chili’s, a bowl of chili with cheese will cost you 500 calories, 35 grams of fat, and 15 grams saturated fat. At Quizno’s, the bread bowl chili has 760 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 7 grams saturated fat. “Stews or chili have the potential to be very hearty, high in protein, and a great meal as long as you control the high-fat ingredients such as ground meat, sausage and cheese.

Pies topped with whipped cream or ice cream. These winter favorites often start with healthy ingredients, like heart-healthy nuts or antioxidant-rich fruits, but they also include high-calorie ingredients. “Rich, buttery pie crusts on the top and bottom, sweet fillings, and the customary whipped cream or ice cream topping make these pies decadent and full of calories. A slice of coconut cream pie at Denny’s, for example, will set you back 701 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 20 grams saturated fat. Shoney’s apple pie a la mode has 1,203 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 23.7 grams of saturated fat in one serving — equivalent to the total daily calories in some weight loss plans. “Skip the crust(s), add a dollop of light whipped topping, and serve yourself only a sliver” if you want to enjoy these desserts.

Cookies. Enjoying one small cookie is not a problem. Most small (about 1 -2 ounces) cookies are around 200-250 calories, which is not bad if you eat only one — but who can stop at one?. The CD-sized cookies you commonly find at bakeries and restaurants pack a real caloric punch. At Dunkin’ Donuts, the peanut butter cup cookie (4.5 ounces) has 590 calories, 29 grams of fat, and 13 grams saturated fat. At Panera, the shortbread cookie (2.5 ounces) has 350 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 12 grams saturated fat. So split it in half, or take along a 100-calorie pack of your favorite cookie.

Fried side dishes – chili cheese fries, onion rings, and plain old French fries. Sadly, the most popular vegetable in the U.S. is the French fry, which is loaded with fat, calories, and salt. Most people think nothing of adding a side of 6-ounce fries to their order at McDonald’s, even though it adds an additional 570 calories, 30 grams of fat, and 6 grams saturated fat. Sharing a Chili’s Awesome Blossom (1/2 portion) gives you 1,355 calories, 101 grams of fat, and 18 grams saturated fat – all before the entree. A serving of Del Taco’s chili cheese fries has 670 calories, 46 grams fat, and 15 grams saturated fat, while White Castle onion rings have 750 calories, 39 grams of fat, and 6 saturated fat. Have a side salad with your entrée and skip the high-calorie, deep-fat fried appetizer, and look for something that is not fried and has vegetables.

Creamy pot pies with pastry on the top and bottom. It looks innocent enough but when you have pastry on the bottom and top, you get a double dose of high-fat crust plus the filling. The individual Boston Market chicken pot pie has 780 calories, 47 grams of fat, and 17 grams of saturated fat. Forget the creamy pie and enjoy a roasted chicken breast and a whole-wheat roll for a fraction of the calories.

More Tips to Avoid  Weight Gain

Beyond limiting the most fattening foods, here are some more general expert tips for avoiding winter weight gain:

• Have plenty of low-sodium soups and stews that are broth- or tomato-based and contain lots of vegetables. Studies show that eating broth-based soup before a meal can fill you up and help you eat fewer calories during the meal.
• Heat up your food with spices and peppers to give it more pizzazz so you won’t miss the high-fat ingredients.
• Use only lean meats in casseroles and other dishes. Even then, remember to keep portions reasonable.
• Drink plenty of water with your meals
• Include plenty of lean protein in your diet to keep you feeling full and satisfied
• Replace cream in recipes with fat-free half-and-half or low-fat milk
• Use 2 egg whites instead of each whole egg in recipes.
• Get plenty of natural sunlight, and stay fit to keep your metabolism perking.
• Keep your menus simple and reduce the number of choices to reduce the temptation to try everything, Tallmadge says.
• During the holiday season, “keep your routine as normal as possible, and if you do splurge, just get right back on track so Thanksgiving dinner does not extend all the way to New Year’s Day,” says Hurley.

Vacation at all inclusive resorts, business meals, holiday parties, gourmet meals, and celebratory dinners can easily take you a long way off your diet plan and ramp up the calories, salt and fat that you intake. When you are busy going to these events your exercise plan tends to suffer as well and you are not burning off the calories either.  Everyone of us will blow his or her calorie budget every now and then.

Should we worry about this temporary situation? Is this diversion from your plan temporary or is it a symptom of a longer term trend? What should you do next and how do you get back on track with your plan to lose weight or to maintain the weight you want to be at?

Here are a few answers that we have picked up from around the internet on various web sites from experts and none experts. Decide what works for you and get back to your plan!

Relax (For a Moment)

Considering that you need to  eat 3,500 calories to gain one pound of body fat,  it’s unlikely that a single overindulgence will show up on the scale. This is the good news, one meal is not going to ruin you if you eat sensibly and exercise regularly the rest of the time and get back to your routine, experts say.

Also if this occurs once and awhile, and the rest of the time you adhere to your plans, you probably will be ok. If you are over indulging often, there is a great danger that you will start to gain weight unless you really turn up the exercise routine.

Even a week at an all inclusive resort can be managed if you get right back to your regular plan when you return. It may take a week or two before you will be back to your regular weight, but then this is within your expectations. Again get back to your routine as quickly as you can.

With the size of most restaurant meals most people cannot help but overeat somewhere between 500 and 1,500 calories every single day and if they do not work this off through exercise, they are going to gain weight for sure.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up, Get Right Back to Your Plan

If you do fall off of your plan for whatever reason, don’t get discouraged. Every one does this from time to time. The important thing is to recognize that you only fell off the plan for a day or a week while you were away, and you are going to get right back on your plan. Watch the portion size on everything and try to reduce your portions to the point that you are eating less calories than you need.

Plan Your Diet Over the Course of Several Days

Most people eat more sensibly during the week and take in more calories on the weekend. During the week it is easier to be more disciplined and you do not have the distractions  you may have on weekends when we tend to go out with friends or visit with family.

If you eat more calories than you should at a party on a weeknight, consider that one of your “weekend” days and compensate for it accordingly on the weekend. Plan your calorie intake over a week so that your average meets your goal. There is more flexibility this way and it is much easier to cope with every day life if you can average things over a week.

Resume Sensible Eating as Soon as Possible

If you over eat one day cut back the next day over several meals. If you skip meals you may find that you are hungrier and more likely to fall off your diet again. Eat smaller portions until you have compensated for the over indulgence.

If you have been on a vacation, it may take a while week to get back on plan after you return. Be patient and eat properly for the week following until you are back on target.

• Cut back throughout the day with a series of small meals packed with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables:
• Wait until you’re hungry. Then have a light breakfast such as a bowl of low-fat yogurt and berries.
• Mid-morning snack: A piece of fruit and an ounce of low-fat cheese
• Lunch: A big salad with lean protein such as fish or chicken, or a whole-wheat pita pocket with lettuce and tuna or turkey
• Afternoon snack: A cup of vegetable soup and an orange
• Dinner: A piece of fish and plenty of vegetables
• Skip the Scale

Most foods contain salt and some foods have salt artificially added to help preserve the food. This extra salt helps the body to retain fluid and can contribute to perceived weight gain.  It may take a few days for the body to rid itself of this excess salt and the corresponding fluid weight.

Pick a day once a week to weigh yourself. The worst day is probably Sunday evening after you have enjoyed the weekend festivities.  Friday morning may be a good day to do your once a week weigh in, when you are at your lowest weight for the week if you have been sticking to your plan.

Continue with Your Normal Exercise Routine

Over compensating for the extra calories by over-exercising will leave you burned out or worse, perhaps even dehydrated.

You could strain a muscle, you could hurt a joint and muscle soreness may set in. Injuries will just slow you down or cause you to stop exercising contributing to your frustration and possibly more over eating. Stick with the plan and exercise more minutes rather than going faster, lifting more weights or stressing your body more than normal.

Track What You Eat for Every Meal and Snack

Setting a caloric goal for the day and recording what you eat keeps you conscious of what you’re eating, in terms of calories as well as salt intake, and other essential minerals and vitamins.

Track your calorie intake carefully. Every time your hand heads towards your mouth, more calories are adding up. Still you need to make sure that you are also eating sufficient calories for your body type and activity levels. Track your calories and stick to your plan

Comments are welcome.

Many people, including this blog have preached that you must reduce the calorie intake and if you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than what you eat or drink on any given day.  While this is a true statement, as with all things the devil is in the detail and it is no different with weight loss.

Now that Christmas and New Years are over it is time to pay attention to managing your weight over the year and to meet those goals you set for your self. The following points may be of interest to readers who are trying to lose weight and not having a lot of success for a variety of reasons. We will discuss each of them in more detail.

• Exercise is only part of the weight loss story.
• Exercise is a must for weight maintenance
• Food splurges may undo your efforts.
• Exercise machines may not tell the whole calorie story.
• One daily workout may not be enough.

Don’t get discouraged if you are not losing weight as fast as you would like. Like any problem, you have to dig into the detail before a solution will present itself.

Exercise is only part of the weight loss story.

If you are not seeing the results you are expecting, it is time to examine what is really happening in your life. Calories in vs. calories out is the principal mantra. If you are exercising but not reducing your intake or perhaps even increasing your intake because you are exercising, chances are you are not going to lose any weight. Embarking on an exercise program is an excellent thing to do, but you need to examine the intensity of the program as well as the amount of calories you are taking in. Cutting your intake by a 1000 calories, combined with exercise that burns a 1000 calories every week will have an impact.

A healthy diet is important as well. Healthy foods, vegetables and fruit will also contribute to reduced calories. If you are starting in an over weight condition, you probably already know that it is difficult to exercise with all of the that extra weight that you are carrying around. Just watch the biggest loser to find out.

It is actually easier at this stage to start exercising slowly and cutting a 1000 calories out of your diet at the same time. Exercise at least 3 days a week. As you reduce weight, you will find it much easier to lose weight and to exercise as well to build muscle.

Exercise is a must for weight maintenance.

No matter how you lose those  extra pounds, most people will find that they are going to need to be active to keep the pounds off. While you may be successful at losing weight through diet alone, over time you are going to fall off the wagon sometime and if you do, the binge eating is going to be absorbed by your body. With a combination of exercise and diet you have a much better chance of maintaining your weight as well as being much more fit as well.

Food splurges may undo your efforts.

Let’s say you have adopted the program and are managing your weight through diet and exercise. We all have temptations and it may be in the form of parties we go to , special events, or a special food we just cannot stay away from. Chances are that if you succumb to these temptations, often enough you will start to gain that weight all over again.

In addition, many restaurants serve huge portions of food. We have been all trained to finish our meals and this alone can contribute to weight gain. Split portions, share them, use take home. Whatever you do try to get the portion size under control and avoid splurging on more food than what you can handle or are losing through exercise.

Keep track of all of the calories, not just at the table. Fancy coffees, soft drinks etc contribute a huge number of calories to our overall weight gain. If you have a desk job, you are not burning many calories during the day when you are consuming these calories. Try to drink water instead!

Exercise machines may not tell the whole calorie story.

Treadmills and other exercise gear often have monitors that estimate how many calories you’re burning. This is an estimate only and an indicator of the number of calories you are burning. They are not accurate enough to plan your food intake with.

Consider that you probably will burn 70 calories in an hour just sitting at your desk  or even watching TV. If you burn 300 calories on a treadmill or some other device in an hour, you are only actually burning 230 calories in this example incrementally. This is a much lower number than what you might have thought or planned with respect to food intake.

If you are looking for net calories burned as a result of exercise, subtract 70 calories per hour to obtain a better number for use in food planning.

One daily workout may not be enough.

Whether you exercise or not the real culprit is the sedentary lifestyle that many of us lead. For example, taking the car to work, riding the elevator, sitting at your desk all day, elevator can car on the way home, watching TV at night is a typical day for many people.

Leading a more active lifestyle will help you control weight gain and exercise sessions will also help. Consider walking to work, walking up the stairs, walking at lunch time, walking after work and doing physical activities around the home in addition to 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week will make a huge difference in your weigh control battle.

The message is to “get active during the day” to control and lose weight. This activity will also assist in better sleeping habits and less stress as well all of which contribute to weight gain.

Let’s face it we all gain weight over the holidays. There are parties to go to and then there are the meals. We consume thousands of calories with the drinks, the food and the deserts and lets not forget the snacks and munchies that seem to be available everywhere.

Unless you are a robot, it is really tough to avoid or resist all of these temptations. We all love to snack and when the food is so good, why not. Now it is time to make some new years resolutions, but will we stick to it?

New Years Resolutions

I am sure you have made New Years resolutions in the past and you are probably going to make some this year as well. I know that I have and I will make some more resolutions which I will probably break within a few days of having thought about them or even gone as far as writing them down.  Doomed to failure , right!

Well they do not have to be broken right away. Many people some really drastic resolutions that call for them to make significant changes in their lifestyle. These are really difficult to keep. There are too many temptations and let’s face it our will power is just not up to it. Who wants to turn down that piece of chocolate cake or that extra helping of food.

My solution this year is to make smaller resolutions that are aimed at something I can actually complete. For example, instead of saying I am going to lose 50 pounds this year, I am going to focus on losing one pound a week and I am going to utilize small plates at supper which will limit the amount of food that I can pile on my plate! Hopefully this will work and if I lose some weight or half the weight I am trying to lose, well I will consider it to be a success.

Small Portions

It is all about limiting the number of calories we intake. If we can eat smaller portions pretty soon our bodies and our stomachs will tell our brains that we are full after we have eaten a small amount. Using a small plate is one way of doing this, so that you are forced to think about filling up a second time.

Stay away from buffets, were the natural tendency is to always eat more than you planned. I always take a little bit of everything, but before you know it I have an overloaded plate! This is were the small plate really works well. By the time you finish the first plate and are heading back for the second you are going to feel full and you just may avoid a second helping.

Most of us do not have the will power to stick with it, so playing these little tricks on our selves, is a great way to condition our bodies to expect less. Try it.

Exercise

We cannot write a post about New Years resolutions without talking about exercise as well. Many people will go out and buy a membership at a gym, only to quit a month later. Actually the gyms love these people, because they pay for a full year and then never use the facilities. Talk about profit margin!

Get out there and move. Walking around the block, walk around the mall if it is cold outside, whatever works for you, but move and get some exercise. If the gym works and you will stay with it, it is a really great way to exercise and get it done, but you do need to form the habit of exercising daily for at least 20 minutes a day!

Diet

Lastly there is diet. New Years resolutions cannot just be “I am going to lose weight”, or ” I am going to lose 10 pounds”. There has to be more than that. It has to encompass, eating less, exercising and of course diet. You might eat smaller portions, however if you are still eating high fat content foods, then you are probably going to lose some weight if you are reducing your portion size, but you could lose a lot more if you watch your diet and eat  food that is going to help you lose weight.

Eat salads and low fat foods, which means you have to limit what you eat that is deep fried, food that has a lot of sugar in them etc.

Good luck with your New Years resolutions. Remember – smaller portion sizes, exercise 3 times a week, eat a proper diet and set reasonable achievable goals! Comments and suggestions are welcome!

This was a post By Madison Park, CNN on November 12, 2010, which we wanted to repeat on our blog with full acknowledgment, since it incorporates many of the things we have been saying over the past months on our blog. We used the terms Energy In must be less than Energy Out in order to lose weight. Tony Posnanski put it much simpler, ” Eat Less – Move More”.

Here is the post, repeated verbatim!

(CNN) — There were no diet pills, shakes or detoxes. And no, it wasn’t caveman food, grapefruit, Twinkies, Taco Bell or Subway sandwiches.

Tony Posnanski’s 200-pound weight loss was straightforward, almost dull.

“I changed the way I ate,” said Posnanski, 34, who went from consuming 10,000 calories a day to 2,400. “I got rid of processed foods. I ate fruits, vegetables, lean meats. It is pretty boring, but the results aren’t boring.”

The basics of weight loss are simple: Eat less. Move more. But consumers still flock to the newest best-seller diets, hormone injections, alleged hunger-controlling cookies, enthralled by glowing testimonials about sumo-to-svelte slimdowns.

“There’s nothing sexy about ‘eat your fruits and vegetables,’ ” said Keri Gans, a registered dietitian. “We want to hear something else.”

“Consumers need to understand that health and the ideal body weight are not found from a gimmick. It takes hard work. The end result is long-lasting success.”

This week, a CNN.com story about a professor’s diet experiment went viral, drawing more than 125,000 Facebook shares and more than 1,200 viewer comments. Some blamed portion control for the obesity epidemic in the United States: “People in France have fattening food but are thinner than Americans because they eat moderate portions. It’s how much you eat that matters”

Others found humor: “Well, it’s not like Twinkies are food, so no wonder he is losing weight.”

People are attracted to these types of stories for one simple reason, Gans said.

“Most people think if they can eat junk and still lose weight, they’re going to sign up for that,” said Gans, author of the upcoming book “The Small Change Diet.” They don’t realize that losing weight can happen without deprivation or gimmicks.

It’s a lesson that Posnanski learned after trying a slew of diet products. Over-the-counter diet pills made his heart race. Weight-loss shakes left him hungry.

At 400 pounds, Posnanski learned he might never be healthy enough to have children with his wife, Rebecca. His doctor said he needed bariatric surgery. In February 2008, he vowed to change.

Posnanski, an iReport contributor in Orlando, Florida, stopped spending $30 during 3 a.m. drive-thru binges at Taco Bell. He stopped polishing off boxes of pizza and buckets of chicken.

He practiced what he had always heard — he reduced portion sizes and ate healthy.

There was no immediate difference, he said. “My pants were still large after that first day. But I felt like I could do this. It was different.

“Before, I would tell myself I’m going to do this for a little while. That day, I was like, ‘You know what — I’m done. This is the rest of my life.’ ”

That’s the key to weight loss, experts say. It can’t be a temporary fix; the changes have to be lifelong.

“It’s like the tortoise and the hare,” said Dr. Sam Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. “You need to be the tortoise here. Rapid, short-term weight loss is not the way to go. It’s the slow, steady approach. Small changes you stick to forever is key.”

A drastic diet of snack cakes helped nutrition professor Mark Haub tried lose 27 pounds in 10 weeks because he reduced his caloric intake.

Critics warned that his over consumption of Twinkies would have long-term consequences and questioned whether such a diet could be sustained.

“Please bear in mind this was a class exercise to illustrate issues and concerns that occur during weight loss,” Haub said. “This project is not to promote a diet.”

The basic premise is that people can lose weight eating anything from Twinkies, apples or baby food, as long as they reduce calories.

“Most people find out on their own. They do the cookie diet or cabbage diet for a week or two, then inevitably, maintaining something that eliminates major food groups [is] just such an unrealistic lifestyle change, it doesn’t work,” said Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

That initial weight loss isn’t likely to last.

There are successful plans such as the low-fat diet and the Mediterranean diet that improve cardiovascular and metabolic health while also encouraging a range of healthy foods, Klein said. And programs that bring awareness to portion size such as Weight Watchers can help, because they essentially direct people to reduce calories.

“It’s not taking a single cookie to make you lose weight, a pill or product,” said Gans, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “Eat your whole grains to lower cholesterol, fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer. The key to weight loss is about eating and creating a healthy relationship with food.”

For people who hope for shortcuts, Klein said: “There’s no magic bullet to lose weight and keep it off.”

Smaller portion sizes (no fewer than 1,200 calories) and daily physical activity can lower cardiovascular disease risks, he said.

Posnanski, a former yo-yo dieter and restaurant manager, who gave up what he called “gimmicky” diets, shared how he has managed to sustain his weight loss:

• Monitor portions and keep track of food intake
• Stay away from processed foods, and eat mostly vegetables, fruits, lean meats and whole grains
• Work out one to two hours a day

“I don’t believe in quick weight-loss diets,” Posnanski said. “I believe in the rest of my life.”

What a great good news story that should motivate all of us. Feel free to leave comments on our blog.

We really enjoy watching the biggest loser. It is an inspirational show, we actually learn a few things about diet and about how to manage our food intake. This past week we also learned that we already do some of the things that they discussed on the biggest loser which helps us control our weight and also save money !

Portion control!

Portion control is really the biggest thing to help you control your weight, lose weight and manage your diet.  It is the old adage, energy in must be less than the energy you burn if you are going to lose weight. So one way to manage this is to control the size of the portions you are eating.

If you are at home, use a small plate. I know for myself if I use a large plate, I have a tendency to fill it up, while I do the same thing with a small plate, there is only so much food I can put on the plate. BY the time you have finished the food on the small plate you are starting to feel full and if you can wait 5 minutes, you will definitely feel full. Sure you might go back for a second helping, but again you are using a small plate and it will only hold a small amount of food. Sure you are tricking your mind and your stomach, but if it works why not use every trick you can to lose weight.

When you are out of the home dining in a restaurant, it is a bit more difficult, so we have another suggestion that will also help to save some money as well.

Share meals when dining out!

As we travel around the country, one thing we notices is that the size of the meals served at restaurants are huge. Portion sizes at restaurants have gotten out of hand. Many restaurants and I guess their patrons as well feel that they must serve large portions to attract their guests.

We have found that for many meals if we split the meal it is more than enough for each of us and we save money at the same time. The restaurants for the most part are ok with this, and sometimes will even split the meal for us, serving it on two separate plates. Sometimes they will bring us a second plate and let us split the meal our selves. Either way we eat less and we save money. What a deal!

There are some places that want to charge a fee for splitting the meal. We just do not go back to them and we tell people as well. They end up losing business as a result. So when you go out to eat split your meals.

Portion Control and Buffets

Buffets are really difficult. If you have a problem controlling how much you eat, it is probably best if you avoid going to a buffet. With all of the excellent food it is usually best to just not go, because it is human nature to overeat when all of that food is just sitting there. Use the small plate approach and eat slowly, but we are pretty confident that you will still over eat in this situation.

Eat slow, Weight20 Minutes So your  Stomach Feels Full!

This is one of the best ways to manage the portion size and how much you eat. Apparently it takes a little time for your stomach to register that it is full and let your brain know that you have eaten enough. Some people say wait 10 to 20 minutes and then decide if you are going back for second helpings.

Fast eaters tend to over eat, so if you wait even 5 minutes before getting that second helping you may find that you have eaten enough. We find that discussing topics over the dinner table is a great way to slow down your eating and also get that full feeling. Let’s face it you cannot eat when you are talking, at least you should not, just for good manners. Talking slows you down and forces you to enjoy the food more and provides time for your stomach to register the fact that you are full. maybe you will realize that you are full and will avoid going for that second helping!

Use Every Trick in the Book

Aside from just deciding to not eat as much, we are suggesting that you use every trick you can to control how much you eat. If you use a couple of little tricks to manage your eating, so what. At least you are losing weight, or controlling your weight.

Bottom line, you need to deal with the long term reason regarding why you have over eaten. Using these tricks will help you get going, but to maintain your weight or lose weight you do have to deal with the reasons why you over eat.

There are probably a lot more tha can be used as well. If you know some of these tricks to control the portion size, why not leave us a comment and let our readers know about it. Spam comments will be auto deleted!

There are a huge number of diet fads available in the market. They all have one thing in common and that is they are all trying to make money off people who really want to lose weight and need to lose weight for health reasons. For me this is a situation were business is really trying to take advantage of people who have real problems and are willing to spend a lot of money. Unfortunately these same people either do not follow the instructions or they get disappointed and give up early.

You just have to watch the biggest loser on TV to begin to understand what these people are going through and how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off. They work for months, and I mean work hard to burn calories to lose weight. They combine exercise with starting to eat properly and watching their food and calorie intake.  This is hard work and takes conviction and perseverance to be successful. The companies that sell all of these diet plans and diet products are there to sell you something and not to support you over the long term. All they want to do is to sell product.

So what are you supposed to do if you want to lose weight. With all of these fad diet plans, advertising of miraculous weight loss with no work, how do you avoid being taken in and spending a lot of money to try and lose weight?

Well the answer is pretty simple, however most people will not like the answer. It is really simple.  If the energy you take in, in terms of food is greater than the energy you burn in daily living and exercise, then you are going to gain weight. Burning more calories and energy than you take in will ensure that you lose weight. Taking in the same amount of energy that you are burning every day will ensure that you maintain the same weight.

If you are not one to exercise very much other than daily activity, then you must limit the calories that you intake every day. Read labels and assess the number of calories in each serving. Stay under 1500 calories a day if you want to lose weight. Don’t forget to count sauces and other things you add as condiments. They contain a lot of fat and calories which you do not need. Even mustard, catchup and deep frying anything is not a good idea. Take some general vitamins to ensure that you are maintaining your proper level of vitamins in your body as well.

This seems pretty simple and it is really simple, however it takes a lot of control to say no to some of the things that you enjoy eating. Deserts, fried foods, sauces, overeating and snacking are all things that you have to get under control and reduce. If you do not then you will just become frustrated and stay at the same weight.

The financial side of weight loss is staggering. If you apply self control, you are going to reduce the money you spend on food, you avoid spending money on fad diets, when you lose weight you need less medicine and less doctor visits and you have less health issues. These things all save you a great deal of money. Use these factors as motivators to help you stick with your own plan to lose weight and avoid all of these fad diets that are out there.

Feel free to leave us comments about your experience with fad diets and losing weight. Spam comments will be deleted.

A dieting web site would not be complete with out having a post on Weight Watchers. We do not claim to be experts about weight watchers, nor do we offer any advice about this form of dieting, however it does work for many people and if it work why not try it.

Our reason for writing about Weight Watchers on this post is based on a conversation I had with a friend who has joined weight watchers and to date has lost 12 pounds. He has not changed his exercise routine, has a regular job behind a desk, yet he has managed to lose 12 ponds and wants to lose another 5 pounds to get to what he considers to be his optimum weight.

He mentioned that he follows the plan and counts his points everyday to make sure that he does nto exceed his daily allowance of food intake. Vegetables are free points, while many of the meats and starchy foods are from one to several points per serving. He is allowed 13 points per day and 35 points extra for the week. If he can stay at this level of points each day, he will lose weight and reach his goal.

Alcohol

We were at a party having a martini and I commented that his drink was probably around 9 points in that one drink. His look was of astonishment. He could not believe that there were so many points in one drink. My rational for this number of points was as follows.

He had mentioned that a regular beer ( Canadian) was 3 points. There were 3 ounces of liquor in his martini and so we figured that one ounce of liquor is equal to a beer, hence 3 points per ounce time 3 ounces is 9 points. He was almost at his daily limit with one drink!

He finished the drink and then switched to beer, taking full advantage of his 35 weekly points that he is allowed to go over each week. This guy can also pack away the beer and in the past at our parties would easily drink 10 beers in an evening. Note: that his wife always drives home, so there is never a drink and drive issue for my friend.

This was the really interesting part. After his martini, he limited himself to 4 beers to stay within the 35 point limit extra for the week. This is when I really realized that he was committed to losing weight, because this man really loves his beer!

Weight Watchers and Alcohol

I do not know what weight watchers opininon is regarding alcohol, other than you probably should limit the amount of beer and liquor you drink to avoind gaining weight from your drinking.

If anyone knows or has comments feel free to weigh in and provide your comments. We welcome anyone’s comments that are valid and real. Comments that are of a spam variety, will be deleted.

Alcohol has lots of sugar in it and the body will convert it to fat quickly. Counting the number of beers or hard liquor you take in is a great way to manage your weight loss or avoid gaining more weight. Weight watchers will I am sure, want you to limit the amount you drink for health and weight issues, however there are lots of other reasons to manage the amount you drink every week as well.

Aside from issues of drinking and driving, gaining weight, you can actually also damage your liver and other parts of your body if you drink too much as well. If you fall into this category, you really need to deal with your drinking level first and then start managing  your weight loss as well, whether it is through weight watchers of some other diet plan.

My friend is committed and although he does fall of the wagon from time to time, he is committed to losing weight and avoiding other health issues that over weight conditions can cause.

Bottom line is that you need to make your own decision and commitment to lose weight. Weight watchers is only a tool that you can use to help you lose weight and manage your weight in a structured somewhat scientific method.

We hope that you can make the decision and follow the plan. After all it is not free. It does cost money to join which is part of being committed to losing weight. Think of it this way. The money you save on reduced food intake as well as reduced alcohol consumption will easily pay for your Weight Watchers member ship.

Good luck and we hope you found this post interesting. As we said comments are very welcome, as long as they contribute to the general theme of this post and are positive and helpful comments. Anything else will be deleted. Thanks to Weight Watchers for helping my friend lose weight and we hope that he continues to be successful in losing weight!