Eating Evolution

I want to share with you all the type of information I received during a series of free seminars given by a number of healthy living advocates in my area. Tonight I will begin with some weight loss reduction tips for evolving your eating habits.

Some of these will be obvious to most of you. But I find that these types of list usually stimulate my own thought process. They also help me think more broadly about other things I can do to be successful. Sometimes I even find a new and novel idea. I hope at least one of these seems like a fresh idea to you.

Eat slowly. Take time for a breath and for conversation between bites (but not with your mouth full ;-)

Chew well, you might even try chewing each bite a certain number of times. This helps you body digest, get all the nutrients out of the food, and will help you feel full faster... say that ten times fast.

Think about the food you are eating as you eat it. Don't just mindlessly gulp down food. Ask yourself if the food you are eating is the best choice for you. Think about alternatives to the food you are eating. If you have chosen a healthy food, think of different ways to prepare it.

Cut your food into small bites. Cut it into the smallest bites you can. Then remember to chew each bite well.

Drink water with your meals... ever been to Europe... wine or water with all meals. Water will help digestion and help fill you up.

Serve from the stove. This will make you have to do more than just reach if you decide you have to have seconds. I like this idea in particular and have started trying to incorporate it at family meal time.

Tell everyone close to you that you are dieting. Be accountable for your actions. If people are aware of your goals they may be less likely to tempt you.

Get a diet buddy, either a family member, friend, or co-worker who regularly eats with you.

Don't buy junk. It's harder to eat it if you don't have it. Also, don't make sweet treats to have at home. You will set out with the best of intentions for having one portion of the treat a day and end up eating half of what you made in one sitting.... I know this from personal experience.

Set realistic goals. Not meeting your goals could lead to you giving up all together. Set goals that may be a struggle but not goals that are unattainable. Break your long term goals into shorter sections and feel the sense of accomplishment after reaching each part of that short term goal.

Remember that little nibbles here and there count too. Try to avoid tasting or sampling food during preparation.

Don't give up! Realize how long it took you to put the pounds on. Realize that it may take just as long to get rid of them.





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First Day of Mini-Goal

I have done well today so long as I stop eating now. Right now I feel full. I hope that carries over through the next 5 hours before bed time.

I actually have 19 calories to use if I just can't stand it, but what can I eat for 20 calories? Plain lettuce does not sound so appetizing. I guess this is really part of the push. Were it not for the heat, I would have the energy to fight cravings. I could go to bed early. That actually sounds like a great idea right now. I'll let you know how things went tonight on tomorrows post.
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Incorporating Mini-Goals

Over at the MiddleAgeShed there is a great article written to inspire and assist a fellow weight loss blogger. The article lists 5 tips for successful, sustained, and dramatic weight loss. I would like to mention one of those tips in particular and officially state my intentions to incorporate this principle into My Diet Plan.

The tip from the article Losing a Large Amount of Weight - 5 Tips is #2, "Break down the weight loss into small goals." I think this is an excellent idea. In My Diet Plan I originally broke it down into 2 large goals. After reading this article and having had time to experience this long-term weight loss battle, I have decided to revise my goals. That being said, I have already met one smaller goal... to get below the 200 pound mark. Though I am just barely there, it is a significant accomplishment. I am already able to fit back into some clothes that had become too tight. That's a double reward as I don't have to go buy all new clothes and having too tight clothes was the reason I started this new lifestyle to begin with.
I'm going to take this smaller goal idea in a different direction for the time being. Instead of focusing on pounds lost as a small goal, I'm going to focus on re-commitment to my principles. My first mini-goal is to have 3 days of "green" according to My Food Log. This may seem like a wimpy first mini-goal but I have just returned from a week long vacation. During the last 7 days (OK 8) I have not been logging my calories. I was unable to log while on vacation and the first day back just got away from me. I need to revitalize my commitment and I think a mini-goal of three days green is a great place to start. Wish me luck!
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Mission Statement Explanation

I will in general eat healthy. The tools and products to develop healthy eating are already available to me. My idea of eating healthy is largely based on the USDA Food Pyramid. A person of my height should eat at the lower range of serving sizes mentioned on the Food Pyramid. I should eat from each of the five basic food groups. I differ from the USDA suggestions in that I believe that it is not necessary to eat from each of the food groups every day. Eating from each group at least once every 2 or 3 days is sufficient to maintain proper health provided that the right multi-vitamin is taken on a daily basis. This variance from the USDA suggestions is an acceptable way to control my total daily caloric intake.

...eat "normal" food. In order to make a lifestyle change I need to migrate away from my bad habits but towards a realistic diet. In other words, something I can live with. I consider "normal" food to be foods that are readily available at the grocery store. Some "diet" foods are OK but the idea here is to avoid foods like diet bars and diet shakes. Foods labeled "lite", "low-fat", "low-calorie", "zero calorie" and "zero fat" are acceptable choices provided that the tastes are not so altered that my family will not eat them. Also, foods with those labels should not have so many unpronounceable ingredients (chemicals) that I would not give them to my toddler to eat.

...without gimmicks. I will not use a gimmick-style diet, i.e. eat nothing but watermelon for a day or eat as much steak as desired but no carbohydrates on Tuesdays. This also includes popular diets such as The Grapefruit Diet and The Cookie Diet.

...pills. I will not take diet pills, appetite suppressants, or any other artificial weight loss supplements. I will take a daily multi-vitamin. I do not consider taking a multi-vitamin to be in contradiction with the premise of not taking pills.

...surgery. I will not have any kind of bariatric or plastic surgery (i.e. liposuction) to facilitate weight loss. I am not in general opposed to the practice of stomach reduction surgery but I do not feel that it is the right choice for me or my family.

...trademarked diets. I will not use any diet plan that is for sale including but not limited to Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Dr. Atkins, NutraSystem, Slim Fast, Bob Greene, and The South Beach Diet. My diet plan may unintentionally be in line with some commercial diets. The only trademarked diet I have ever done is Atkins. I do not think that all commercial diets are bad or that they do not work. I do believe that at least temporary success may be achieved with just about any diet. My diet plan is just that, my own ideas based on bits and pieces of knowledge that I have acquired through nutrition classes, seminars, other blogs, and research. It is a diet in terms of an account of what I actually consume. It is a plan, a plan of action for what I believe is realistically attainable.

I will log all calories consumed. I will keep track of everything I eat or drink that contains calories. I will do my best to notate portion size, calorie and fat content. I will do this on a daily basis. I will use Google applications whenever possible to do the logging.

...and estimate calories burned on a daily basis. I have an idea of how many calories my body will burn during an average day using information generally found through Internet research. I will also use the same methodology to estimate how many calories I burn doing out of the ordinary activity (such as exercise) until such activities become part of my average day. I will keep track of calories burned on an average day. I will log extra activities as often as they occur. Extra activities will not be included in daily calories burned totals until they become part of my daily routine.

I will then be able to track my progress. Using the log I will have a clear system for tracking progress by each meal, day, week, month and year. This log will act as an indicator for success and highlight areas for improvement.

...and estimate arrival time to my goals through the calorie log. Unfortunately weight loss using my methodology will not be at a constant rate. The log will enable me to calculate and estimate the time it will take to reach each goal. Calculations and formulas will be reset upon arrival at each goal. This is in order to keep my goals and estimated time to achieve each goal realistic. This system will also highlight any periods where my goals were reached ahead of schedule. Having a record can serve as both a reminder and motivator during the tough times.

I will also develop non-food rewards for reaching my goals. Special recognition of success is important. I know one reward will be buying a new wardrobe, although I can't afford to do that for every reward. I am VERY open to suggestion in this area.

...knowing that reaching each goal is a reward in-and-of itself. My body, mind, and spirit will certainly reap the rewards of reaching each goal, without external recognition. It is also satisfying to know that my toddler will have a positive influence and example for leading a healthy lifestyle.

I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up.

I know that I will not be perfect. If I hold myself to a standard of absolute perfection I am only setting myself up to fail. I will not fail this time.

...but that I am making a permanent lifestyle change. It becomes less of a chore, less of something I don't want to work for if I look at my diet plan this way. Eventually, this diet will be my lifestyle and vice versa.

The good days will out-number the bad days. As I said before, there will be bad days, however, overall, the good days will be more prevalent and frequent than the bad days. The calorie log will help insure this remains the case.

I will not give up I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! I will not give up! Read more!