Losing weight

If you are trying to lose weight, you have three choices; go on the latest greatest diet, exercise more, or make longterm lifestyle solutions! Conventional wisdom says that it is all about calories in and calories out. Get them under control and weight control will result. That is what the USDA suggests in their new dietary guidelines. Research is showing there may be more involved. Chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and other additives might be interfering with your endrocrine system and actually changing how your body deals with calories, as well as your metabolism, and possibly your fat cell number. Scientists still do not have all of the answers!

What can you do if this is true? My recommendations would be to implement lifestyle solutions like:

• Adopt the half plate rule but use smaller plates. Mounding a large plate, even following the half plate rule, will probably add weight. Remember half of your plate should be fruits and veggies. Aim for more veggies than fruits because they are less caloric.
• Adopt light recipes for your favorites. Most recipes can be just as delicious with reduced calories.
• Adopt the Meatless Monday idea. Have a meatless meal at least one day of the week.
• Make sure you are keeping your starches under control. Remember they are to fill only 1/4 of your plate. One serving of a grain is only 1/2 a cup, which is quite small.
• Eliminate processed foods from your diet as much as possible. Eat real foods. If it comes in a box, bag, or package, it is not real food. If it needs an ingredient list, it is not real food.
• Buy organic meats without antibiotics, or hormones and grass fed or free range. If cattle are given hormones to increase their growth, you are eating the very same hormones. Could these hormones be increasing your weight also? Find a great source of organic meat.
• Buy organic fruits and veggies at least for the most contaminated produce called the dirty dozen. Once again, eating pesticides could be interfering with your endocrine system and causing weight gain.
• Learn correct portions of meat, starches, and fruits, but eat unlimited veggies!
• Limit chemicals in your home. Use green products whenever possible.
• Exercise daily even if it is just brisk walking. Add more steps daily!
• Eat set meals and snacks (mini meals) and end mindless eating.

These are just a few things to think about when you are making lifestyle solutions. The way to personalize your plan is to keep a food journal for a couple of weeks. Evaluate your journal and clean up your problem areas. It is difficult but doable. Unless you want to fight this battle for the rest of your life, it is easier to make a few permanent lifestyle solutions that promote healthy eating and keep your weight under control!

Calories by the Pound

I was flipping through some of my great books this week and I found a chart I had not noticed before. Calories by the pound. Very interesting! I had never thought of calories like that before. It clearly shows why certain foods cause us to gain weight and others don't. Here it is! Check it out!

FOOD	CALORIES PER POUND
Vegetables	65 to 195
Fresh Fruits	135 to 420
Nonfat dairy foods	180 to 450
Potatoes, pastas, brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn, hot cereals	280 to 650
Legumes: peas and beans, such as pinto, garbanzo, black and lentils	400 to 750
Seafood, lean poultry, lean red meat	400 to 870
Dried fruit, jams, fat-free muffins, and all breads, including sourdough rolls, bagels, pita breads, and baguettes	1200 to 1400
Dry cereal, pretzels, fat-free cookies, fat-free potato chips	1600 to 1780
Regular salad dressing	1800 to 2000
Chocolate bars, croissants, doughnuts	2200 to 2500
Nuts, regular potato chips	2500 to 3000
Butter, margarine	3200
Olive oil, corn oil, lard	4010

*From “The Pritikin Edge” by Robert A. Vogel and Paul Tager Lehr

There is a big jump between Seafood and Dried fruit, which is where the processed foods begin. Big surprise there? It really makes you think about the foods that you eat. How about eating a large bag of potato chips. That is almost the same calories as eating straight butter. Would you ever do that? I sure did not pick up that fact, when the bag of Chips that I was eating, listed the calories as 10 chips for 120 calories. Tortilla chips, my favorite are about the same as chips. Tears, tears, tears! You can still eat your favs., just need to be careful with them. Eating real food will pay of for you in weight control! Eat Healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out the website! I have been working hard! http://www.healthy-diet-habits.com

Great weekend to all! Kerry