It’s been a strange winter, and cold temperatures have been hard to come by in some places. But when the chill returns you may be able to burn more calories just by keeping warm. Because your body has to work to stay warm it’s putting in more effort and burning more calories. As long as you refrain from those hearty carb laden comfort foods you can use it to your advantage. You can take it one step further it seems with cold drinks as well. I found a statistical analysis of the calories it takes to melt an ounce of ice. It seems that it’s the same amount as forty push-ups. For a cup of ice that’s 347 push-ups! Of course you could do the push-ups and then cool off with the ice.
TODAY: DO SOME PUSH-UPS. WELL… AT LEAST TRY TO!
A hot snack that will fit into any diet is a can away. Just get some chicken broth. Swanson’s is really tasty, has only 10 calories, no fat and 1 gram of carbs. When it’s cold out or when you just need a quick snack it can’t be beat. Keep some cans on hand at work and at home. If you want to add some more substance to it its easy to chop up some veggies. Celery and onion are great, sliced mushrooms different, mix up the choices to add to the low calorie soup. Anything works. Crack an egg and you’ve got some more protein for a hearty snack that will keep you going.
TODAY: DO SOME STRETCHING EXERCISES AND TRY A COUPLE OF PUSH-UPS.
Dear Diary,
Today I ate…
That might be how you start keeping a food diary. It’s the first step in figuring out the rest of your diet. It’s also key to long-term weight management. Don’t lie though. A study showed that women can tend to have some “inaccuracies” when keeping a food record being short by about 1,000 calories. But why go to the trouble of keeping a diary if you aren’t going to be honest? Nobody is going to see it but you.
Include:
- What you ate
- How much you ate
- When you ate it
- Your cravings
- How much water you drink
If you don’t want to track fat and calories that’s fine. Just writing down how much you eat over the course of the day. You may find that you’re overeating and don’t know it. After a few days, go back and read your diary to see where you might want to change your habits or reduce calories. Remember you should also make sure you’re eating something every four hours. It keeps your body from slowing your metabolism.
TODAY: WALK, WALK, WALK!
You may be tempted to step on a scale a lot. You’re anxious to see how well you’re doing. But checking your weight every day can actually make it harder to stay on your diet. Once a week is sufficient for you to track your progress, because there should be real progress to see. On a day to day check you might see fluctuations that can be up as well as down. That leads to frustration and failure.
They say to weigh yourself at the same time of day but the day you select can be important too. I’ve found that Monday is the most representative and provides the most satisfaction and motivation. Monday means you are through the temptations of the weekend. Monday sets the direction for the week. Monday is after the weekend, which may have motivated you to stay good during your free time. If you do it any other day you run the risk of deciding that you need to “reward” yourself and indulge a little. That’s especially true of a Friday weigh in. If you’ve been good, the return to routine on Monday will keep you going. If you succumbed to temptation over the weekend the Monday weigh-in might make you feel guilty and give you motivation for a fresh start.
So make Monday the first day of the rest of your diet.
TODAY: START A CHART TO TRACK YOUR WEIGHT. MEASURE YOUR WAIST TOO.
It’s the weekend and you’re in a different routine. I know we just started the year and a fresh look at our eating habits but don’t deny yourself a little snack from time to time. It may not only keep your hunger in-check between meals, but can reduce your desire to overeat at mealtime. Some research shows that snacking instead of just regular meals may lead to greater weight loss and keeps your metabolism from going into a survival mode that stores food (fat) the next time you eat. Of course don’t use that to justify chips, cookies and other low value foods. Try cheese, nuts or hard boiled eggs which are high in protein or raw veggies. Both will make you feel fuller than snacking on foods that are high in carbs and sugar calories.
TODAY: MAKE AN EXERCISE PLAN FOR THE COMING WEEK.
I once visited a brand new huge health club that had two floors. The biggest surprise was that up on the second floor they had their stepper machines right at the top of the escalator that people rode to get there! That’s when I noticed that most of the spaces in the parking lot that were close to the building were the fullest.
Look for ways to add activity to your day. Park as far from the store as you can rather than looking for the closest space. Carry your grocery bags instead of using a cart. Use the stairs, not the escalator. You get the idea. It’s the easy way to burn more calories and get exercise.
TODAY: PARK WAY OUT IN THE PARKING LOT.
You may have started an exercise program before and gone at it gangbusters on the first day. Then you were so sore that you waited to recover a day or so later and never went back to exercising. It happens all the time. I think it’s part of how the health clubs stay in business. (They need more members than people who actually use the facilities.)
There is a reason that a few years ago (sarcasm) you started with “baby steps”. An how you should start back at exercising now. With time strength, endurance, and fitness will return. Challenge your body by exercising just outside your comfort zone. When it’s no longer a challenge, do a little more or do it a little harder, faster or longer. That saying, “no pain, no gain” is not a benefit if it keeps you form staying with the exercise program.
But to borrow a famous bit of advertising… Just Do It!
TODAY: TAKE BABY STEPS, OR MORE STEPS.
It’s been a strange winter, and cold temperatures have been hard to come by in some places. But when the chill returns you may be able to burn more calories just by keeping warm. Because your body has to work to stay warm it’s putting in more effort and burning more calories. As long as you refrain from those hearty carb laden comfort foods you can use it to your advantage. You can take it one step further it seems with cold drinks as well. I found a statistical analysis of the calories it takes to melt an ounce of ice. It seems that it’s the same amount as forty push-ups. For a cup of ice that’s 347 push-ups! Of course you could do the push-ups and then cool off with the ice.
Daily Nag, Exercise | Diet Nag | 
January 7, 2016 6:00 am | 
Comments (0) 
Subscribe