Party of Five
Wife, Mom, Student, & Friend

I wonder how many times these words have been uttered in regards to dieting or weight loss. Certainly this is the time of year when everyone gets revved up to shed that excess weight. Partly because holiday eating has forced us to squeeze so tightly into our jeans that we can hardly breath, and partly because new year resolutions make us feel inspired to set that goal and finally stick to it. So what precisely is the key to going the distance?

For some the answer may simply be setting a goal and sticking to it, where for others the time has just finally come and nothing is going to set them back. For me however, I have yet to find the one thing that keeps me going so that I can finally say I have succeeded. Therefore with payday around the corner and a pocketful of inspiration I plan on filling the cupboards with yummy, yet healthy, alternatives to the junk we have been eating. I also offer the following tips and websites collected from friends on this similar journey to anyone else out there hoping to unload some spare tires.

• Keep track of what you are eating: awareness alone in an amazing tool to consuming less or choosing low-cal alternatives. Whether you write it in a notebook, track it in a word doc., or visit an online journal do you best to put it down. Don’t trust yourself to keep a running log in your head as this often flops and you can’t easily reference it down the line.
• Do not go cold turkey: Where this can work for certain foods like sugar, or cheese, don’t cut everything fattening that you enjoy out in one step. This often leads to binge eating sabotaging everything you have done up to this point. Make baby steps like drinking at least eight glasses of water, a salad before your meal, or a bigger portion of vegetables than usual. Once you have learned new habits and begun enjoying healthier foods then cut out more of the junk you shouldn’t be eating.
• Continue to enjoy your favorites: You can still enjoy even the worst of foods if they are your favorite, just do it in moderation. Or if you are dying to have a chocolate bar make it a reward for a full workout you have done. Do remember however that the calories you are consuming are quite possibly more than you burned, so keep the portions small.
• Find a friend or support system to help you go the distance: There are many online sites which are intended just for this.

• Spark People- This is an amazing community recommended to me by a couple of friends. It is a source for anyone looking to shed lbs. It includes multiple tools like online journaling, a full calorie database, multiple community forums to meet your individual needs, and much more. Best yet it is 100% free!!
• Weight Watchers: I include this link not to endorse this company but to say that this is an incredible plan which helps to teach life habits to individuals who plan to lose weight and keep it off. Unlike many fad diets you do not need to eat their foods or even attend their meetings to lose. The main principles alone are worth knowing.
• Calorie Count Plus: An online database of common foods nutritional data, as well as low calorie/ low fat recipes.

Most importantly if you blow it, get back on track the next day or even the next week. Don’t just throw it all out because of a bump in the road. This is one I am so often guilty of and precisely the origin of the post to begin with.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 30th, 2007 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Health & Weight. You can follow responses to this entry through the Comments RSS Feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your site.