Eat More, Eat Less

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently talked about a team of nutrition researchers that concluded that whether you are eating the “three” or “six” meals daily, weight loss ultimately comes down to “how much energy (or calories) is consumed as opposed to how often or how regularly one eats.”

Okay I’ve talked about this before, It’s the same equation for weight loss and maintenance: Calories “in” = Calories “out”. So this means that eating five or six small meals a day helps us to:

• Burn more total calories by the end of the day
• Eat fewer total calories at the end of the day

So keep the “meals” small and frequent.

TODAY: CONTINUE GRAZING THROUGH YOUR DAY.

Cook More, Eat Less

A study by the US Department of Agriculture found that people who spend more time planning, shopping for and preparing food are less likely to be over or under weight. They think it has something to do with being around the food so much. Of course those little tastes may also help you eat less too. Though I’ve seen my share of  fat cooks. So don’t overdo the samples, unless you also reduce your portions when the meal is done.

TODAY: GET OUT AND WALK. NO FOOLING!

Which $3 Fast Food Low Carb Meal Is Best?

I’ve mentioned having two $1 double cheeseburgers and a $1 side salad from McDonald’s as a quick low cost, low carb meal. It’s quite a value, they add lettuce instead of buns and put them in a container. Years ago when the Atkins diet was first on the scene I ordered the burgers without a bun and they actually did them with all the condiments and wrapped them in paper like a regular burger.

The other day I tried Burger King to see what the same money would buy. They have Whopper Juniors for $1 but no inexpensive salad. But since the Whopper comes with lettuce and tomato I decided to order three without the buns. Well instead of the 4 patties at McDonald’s I only had three. Though they put all the salad stuff in a container it was a bit smaller in total size.

Though the char grilled flavor of the meat was a nice change, but the $3 meal at Burger King was far less filling. Because we sometimes need a quick meal on the go, the challenge will continue to other fast food establishments.

TODAY: TRY A DIFFERENT LOW COST, LOW CARB, LO CALORIE MEAL PLACE.

How Can You Tell If You Are Really Exercising?

Now you’re eating smaller portions, so the next goal is to exercise more. Okay, maybe the goal is to START exercising. Maybe the best way to think about it is to not call it exercising. Let’s just call it increasing your use of calories. Walking is the easiest. I know you’ve heard it before, and maybe you are already walking some. But the walking has got to be productive without overexerting you. The trick to knowing if it’s being productive is to speed your walk up till you know you are exerting yourself. This makes it self adjusting to your fitness level. When you start that will be a slower pace than when you are more toned. You can always gauge your exercise that way.

Warm up slow, push up to exertion, keep that pace for 10 minutes and ease off to cool down. Or do whatever length of time you can manage. Like the advertising slogan… “just do it!”

TODAY: WALK HARD FOR TEN MINUTES.

The Skip A Day Diet

A blonde is terribly overweight, so her doctor put her on a diet. “I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you’ll have lost at least 5 pounds.” When the blonde returned, she shocked the doctor by losing nearly 40 pounds. “Why, that’s amazing!” the doctor said, “Did you follow my instructions?” The blonde nodded… “I’ll tell you though, I thought I was going to drop dead that 3rd day.” “From hunger, you mean?”, asked the doctor.” No, from skipping.”

TODAY: SKIP (EATING) SOMETHING.

Thanks to Ebaumsworld for the joke.

One More Bite Less

We’re working our way down to smaller portions this week, one less bite per meal per day. You’ll start to see a portion size that will satisfy you. In the meantime view every bite left behind as a small victory. Those are calories that aren’t getting in. Feel good about it.

TODAY: EAT ANOTHER BITE LESS AT EACH MEAL.

Subtract Another Bite

As we ease into smaller portions this week. Let’s make all your meals one bite smaller.

TODAY: LEAVE FOUR BITES ON YOUR PLATE AT EVERY MEAL.