Get out a pencil and notebook, and begin your diet by recording everything you eat; when; and how much. No, this is not a substitute for weight watchers or any other diet plan. There are no rules to follow; no special menus; just you and your daily caloric intake. This is a user friendly diet which enables you to determine why you eat certain foods and how you can tweak it into a more healthy, reasonable and realistic regimen.
For the first week, eat your normal meals, snacks and desserts. Write down every little morsel you have put into your mouth; note the day, time, and amount ingested. Add notes on what you were doing at the time you began eating late night snacks, or consuming slices of cake or morsels of chocolate in between meals. At the end of the week, read the journal. Identify the areas in which you can improve your eating habits, and write them down in red. Lets continue on to week two; or what will be known as substitution week.
The first time you reach for a snack, stop! Grab a piece of fruit instead. If you absolutely must have it; take one bite and throw the rest away.
Eat it slowly; savoring every bit of it. Remember, there are no rules here; you are just readjusting your eating habits. Before going out to the supermarket, eat a healthy breakfast or lunch.
Instead of bacon and eggs, have a bowl of high fiber cereal with blueberries. If its lunch, have a turkey sandwich on rye. Drink water with every meal; in fact, drink two plus two before bedtime.
As you prepare dinner, check the journal. What did you substitute for the red meat, bread, potatoes and creamy salad dressing? Fish, leafy green vegetables, rice and low fat dressing; excellent!
After washing and drying the dishes, go out for a walk for about 20 minutes. Settling in for the night, you turn on the TV and begin to crave something sweet. Take out the box of crackers you bought earlier in the day; have a few. Perhaps another bowl of cereal with skim milk would suffice.
Cravings gone? Good.
Continue this monitoring process for the entire week; substituting all of the suggestions you wrote down in the journal in red. Week three; weigh yourself.
Did you lose pounds? If you did; then congratulations. If you did not; go back to the journal and begin again. Did you understand the point of this exercise? There was no obsessing over what to eat; you made the choices; and you either stuck with them or did not.
Eventually, you will. Why? Because you are not a quitter; you never have been. This is just one more challenge you invite openly and realistically. You will succeed because you wont accept anything less.
Dieting shouldn't be hard. For fast and easy diet and fitness tips visit Patricia's site at http://The-Weightloss-Guide.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patricia_Zelkovsky |
Patients Should Be Alert For Obesity Surgery Complication
It is important for obesity surgery patients to take their prescribed vitamin supplements and to be alert for symptoms such as vomiting, confusion, lack of coordination and visual changes signs of a serious neurological condition that can develop after the surgery. [click link for full article]
Spain Removes Skinny Mannequins From Stores
Last year during Fashion Week, Spain banned models with a BMI under 18 from participating. This year, the Health Ministry in Spain is charging ahead with a new program that will prevent mannequins under a size 6 (a Spanish 38) from being displayed in store windows. Womens' sizes are also being standardized. 85,000 women across Spain, ages 12 to...
Singapore To Cancel Anti-Obesity Program
Singapore plans to end a 15-year-old anti-obesity program in schools after complaints from parents that overweight children, in particular, were being singled out and teased by classmates....
A Short Walk Helps Smokers Quit
Smokers should do short bouts of exercise to help them resist the temptation to light up, say experts at the University of Exeter. A review, recently published in the international journal 'Addiction', concludes that when smokers abstain from smoking, exercise can help them to manage withdrawal symptoms and resist the urge to smoke. [click link for full article]
Obesity Surgery Can Lead To Memory Loss, Other Problems
Weight loss surgery, such as gastric bypass surgery, can lead to a vitamin deficiency that can cause memory loss and confusion, inability to coordinate movement, and other problems, according to a study published in the March 13, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The syndrome, called Wernicke encephalopathy, affects the brain and nervous system when the body doesn't get enough vitamin B1, or thiamine. [click link for full article]
Potential Link Between Obesity And Environmental Chemicals
A team of researchers at the University of New Hampshire is investigating whether the increasing ubiquity of chemical flame retardants found in foam furniture, carpeting, microwaves and computers might be related to the climbing rate of obesity in the United States. [click link for full article]
DVT Awareness Survey Findings For Respondents In High-Risk Groups: Obese Individuals
Up to two million Americans are affected each year by DVT, with up to 600,000 hospitalized. Its primary complication, pulmonary embolism (PE), claims up to 300,000 lives annually -- more than breast cancer and AIDS combined. The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) recently sponsored an online survey of a nationally representative sample of consumers and physicians. [click link for full article]
Plagued By Diet Disasters? A Visit To A Registered Dietician Could Help
Studies indicate more than one-third of adults are trying to lose weight, but few have long-term success. Many can't stick to diets and exercise routines and struggle to stay afloat in a sea of popular diets, fitness programs and foods with "healthy" claims.But weight-loss seekers have someone to turn to. [click link for full article]
As Obesity In Children Increases, The Incidence Of Fatty Liver Disease Rises
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are taking a closer look at a disease whose incidence is rising as obesity in children increases. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, more popularly known as Fatty Liver Disease, occurs in approximately 15% of obese children. Fatty Liver Disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, while not life threatening in children, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, sometimes requiring transplantation by adulthood. [click link for full article]