Strategy #9: Weigh yourself

Weigh yourself

     Weighing yourself can be nerve wrecking but it is a necessary component of a healthy lifestyle. I know there were times I intentionally avoided the scale because I did not want to see the number that would show up on it. I remember going to the doctor's office and getting shocked over my weight. I can remember my palms getting a little sweaty because I knew my doctor was going to discuss the issue. Low and behold, he always did! Anyway, one day I realized knowing how much I weigh now was the beginning of a journey of self love. I went and bought an analog bathroom scale for about $6, stepped on that baby and with a lot of love reassured myself that from here onward it was just going to get better! I must say, this will go down in my personal history book as one of my best "under $10" purchases.

           So if you do not have a bathroom scale go and buy one today.When you are trying to get and maintain a healthy weight you need to know where you stand now. Weigh yourself at least once a week so you can visualize your progress. Weigh yourself at about the same time every week and jot it down in your food diary or on a calendar. Don't panic over weight increases of less than 5 lb, seriously you cannot weigh the same exact weight everyday. There will be some fluctuations sometimes. However, if the increases are above 5 lb check what you have been eating. Most of the time that is where the issue is if you are an otherwise healthy individual. 

             When you decide to buy a bathroom scale you may become inundated by all the options there are out there. If you are on a shoe string budget stick to the small, analog kind. I have graduated from this kind to the digital one but I still didn't spend more than $20 on it (here is a similar one). It still does the basic job I bought it for. If you want one that has other bells and whistles, there is one out there for you. Basically, there is no excuse for not having one because there's a scale out there to suit every kind of budget.

 

Strategy #8: Shun Seconds

Shun Seconds

     When food is good you just want to have more but resist the urge because if it is really good, you may not stop at just the second round. You may serve up a third and fourth time! If the meal you just had was loaded with calories, going for seconds will just make it worse because you will double up on the calories.
     You may be thinking, okay I'll just eat from a big plate so that I don't have to go for seconds. Uhhh, not a good idea. I have seen some humongous dinner plates that may be mistaken for platters; you definitely want to stay away from serving yourself in these kind of plates. Grab a small plate and load up your food on it. Eat slowly so you can savor your food-mmmm yum! Pay attention to whether you feel full yet. Unfortunately the body's mechanism to tell you that you are full takes a while to get to the brain so it's important to just slow down. Your brain may start signaling that you are full before you even finish up the food on the small plate if you start eating slowly. Rushing through your meal may leave you with an upset stomach and by the time you finish you may think you are still hungry.
     If savoring your food is a foreign concept, try to incorporate it slowly. Try it with one meal first then spread it out to other meals. Chew your food slowly for about a minute, while you are chewing put your spoon/fork down. Give yourself about 25 minutes to enjoy your meal. It is hard to concentrate on just eating because there are so many distractions around. Sometimes you may even eat while you are chatting on the phone and after you get off the phone you start wondering where all that food went to! So savoring your food will also help prevent mindless eating, which in my opinion is responsible for a lot of excess weight.
   Make the most of that first and only serving-eat it slowly so you can enjoy every bit of it!!

Strategy #7: Avoid eating after 7PM

Strategy #7: Avoid eating after 7PM

      My thought process with this strategy is if you eat good all day you shouldn't have hunger pangs at 10pm and if you do, that is a signal that you are lowering your calories a little too much. I notice that when I get back late and eat around 9pm I tend to wake up not even craving breakfast. But when I eat my last meal before 7pm, when I wake up in the morning the first thing I want to do is fuel up!
    I know you could be thinking, avoid eating after 7pm? I don't even get back in the house til 10:30pm! That is true for me too so I make sure I carry my food with me. This involves a little effort in the morning but it is always worth it. Home cooked meals are always hearty and taste way better than fast food.
    In order to stay away from the kitchen after 7, I try to stick to an eating schedule. I love breakfast so I have that every morning. I have asked some people why they don't care for breakfast and most have told me that they are just not hungry in the morning. When I didn't have an eating schedule, anytime was eating time so sometimes I did wake up and didn't even feel like eating because I was just not hungry. The problem with this was instead of filling up early in the morning, I started later in the day and ended much later at night-most people are usually not active later in the day so the calories you eat at night may end up being stored (think extra weight).
   Sticking to a schedule will definitely help you to cut off by 7pm. I normally have 3 meals and 2 snacks. Breakfast by 9am, snack around 11am, lunch between 12-2pm, snack around 3-4pm then dinner between 5-7pm. Sometimes you will crave to chew on something after 7pm, but avoid having a real meal. If you ate well all day I guarantee it is not real hunger so just quench those tiny cravings with something that doesn't break the calorie bank like green tea or a cup of Greek yogurt.
   This is a pretty easy strategy to follow. Follow this and the other strategies and you will be feeling a little lighter by the end of the week!

Strategy #6: Sleep

Sleep

      One of my favorite things to do in this world is to sleep! And thank God, it helps with weight loss and weight maintenance. Who doesn't love getting some sleep in? People pay lots of money for sleep aids so yes, everyone gotta love it. Oh, that wonderful feeling of waking up well rested-I feel like jumping into bed right now.
      Getting enough sleep helps in achieving your weight loss goal because the more you sleep the less you eat. If you are up more hours of the day you are likely to eat more.
Sometimes getting enough sleep is hard, so it's important to protect your sleep time. Waking up well rested offers many benefits which I know you will love-glowing skin, increased focus, better memory, improved digestion, improved mood, less stress and it curbs irritability.
Here are a few suggestions on protecting your sleep time:
1. Have a curtain to block sunlight early in the morning especially if your room faces the east
2. Avoid caffeine at least 6 hours before your bedtime
3. Get into a regular sleep routine and avoid scheduling activities around the time you are supposed to be asleep ie late night or too early in the morning
4. During the weekends avoid sleeping in because this will affect your circadian cycle. On Monday  you will wake up groggy (this is probably why a lot of people resent Mondays).
5. Drink warm milk or chamomile tea  if you are having trouble going to bed
6. Avoid using the computer at least 30 minutes before bed because the light affects your falling asleep
7. Avoid loading up on liquids just before bed because this will have you waking up many times during the night
8. If you take diuretic pills make sure you follow the dosing strictly because taking them just before bed will mean you will be waking up during the night too
9. Turn the cellphone to silent mode
10. Move the TV out of the bedroom
11. Make sure the room is cool enough to sleep in
12. Take out strong smelling bedroom deodorizers

Protecting your sleep time will help you lose weight but the benefits will not stop there! So count sheep if you have to, gotta get those zzz's in. Sweet dreams....
     

Strategy #4: Become a Flexitarian

Become a Flexitarian

       At one point I thought about becoming a vegetarian because I had learned about all the benefits. However, I thought it was going to be hard and also I just didn't see myself following a diet of total exclusion of meat and animal products. Later I decided I could just have diet with plenty of veggies and a little bit of meat-what do you know they had a word for that: Flexitarian! A flexitarian diet is mostly plant-based but has the flexibility of adding in meat into it. I love it! You will be surprised how many new vegetables you will learn about just by following a mostly plant based diet. Meat tastes good but having a predominantly meat based diet has shown to increase the risk of heart disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cholesterol problems and some proteins found in animal products actually turn on cancer genes (we all have cancer genes). You may be feeling as fit as a fiddle today but the saturated fat from excess meat consumption is slowly building up in your arteries. I have met people who have had heart attacks before the age of 40 and all I can think about is the food they were eating before the attack. If only someone would have told them to cut down on the meat and eat more veggies right? It's really sad.
      There are many benefits to eating a plant-based diet:
1.Lower cholesterol (LDL)
2. Healthy weight
3. Fiber in plants aid in digestion
4. Antioxidants in plants lower risk of some cancers
5. Gorgeous skin
6. Plants are cheaper than meat
7. Lower risk of diabetes
8. Lower risk of heart disease
9. You will feel lighter and have more energy
10.Lower risk of developing high blood pressure
  It may be mind boggling  how you could honestly have a meal without meat but it is possible. When I started, I picked one day out of the week that would be a meat-free day. I did that for a while and I discovered it was not too bad so I extended that to most days of the week. Ease into it and I promise, you will surprise yourself.