Eating Out

It's a lot easier to make healthy choices when you are the one fixing the meals, but what to do when you go to a restaurant? Should you avoid eating out entirely so you can stick to eating healthy? No! A lot of people who "diet" (I hate that word in relation to losing weight) feel like they need to be social outcasts and refuse all lunch/dinner invitations because "there's no way to eat out and stick to their 'diet.'" That is untrue, you just have to know how to maneuver the menu to choose the healthiest choices. Here are some tips for eating healthy while eating out:

1. Stay away from options described as "creamy"- This means that they are undoubtedly made with heavy cream and/or whole milk which adds mucho calories to that piece of chicken or bowl of pasta.

2. Be salad smart - It's true that salads are definitely a healthy choice while eating out, but what gets people is the salad dressing. When those good for you greens are drowned in ranch, your healthy salad just turned into a fat bomb! If you're like me and still like dressing on your salad, order the dressing on the side and dip your fork in the dressing before you dig in. This way you get the yummy-ness without ALL the fat and calories.

3. Think H2O- Instead of ordering the magically refilling glass of soda, order water with lemon. This will save you hundreds of calories because the waiter refills your soda glass how many times before during and after the meal? I mean who keeps count of how many times the sneaky guy comes by and refills your soda glass anyway? Water is definitely the way to go.

4. Go grilled - Order your food grilled instead of fried. One tablespoon of oil is 100 calories and when foods are fried they practically take a bath in the stuff so that adds a few hundred more calories and, you guessed it, lots of fat to your meal. Even if the menu doesn't have the grilled option you can usually still get it grilled if you ask.

5. Substitute the fries - Ask for fresh fruit or steamed veggies instead of those fried fries, same things applies, even if the menu doesn't have the option, you can substitute for a healthier choice.

6. Ask for a box as soon as your meal comes (or before) - Portions these days are out of control, so ask for a box and place half of your meal in the box before you start eating. This way it's not on your plate tempting you when you are full.

Those are some of my tips. Does anyone else have any other tips or ideas to add?

Of Diet Pills and Food Journals...

Unfortunately there is not a "magic" pill that will make you thin and healthy, if there was everyone would be taking it!!! There are no substitutes for eating healthy and exercising. My take on diet pills/appetite suppressants is if you talk to your doctor about them and he prescribes you one then by all means go for it, but if you just want to shed 10 or 20 pounds, I wouldn't experiment with diet pills. They can seriously mess with your body and not in a good way (remember ephedra?) So to answer your question, there are not any diet pills that I would recommend.

I've found that the thing that works best for people trying to change their eating habits, rather than taking a diet pill, is to keep a food journal. Write down EVERYTHING that passes your lips for a week, then go back andreview it. What you find may surprise you. I've had people, who before I asked them to do this, thought they were eating healthy and then, when we went through their food journal, were taken back by how much food and how many calories they were actually consuming on a daily basis.There are online food journals that can be helpful also. SparkPeople has one that I used to use when I worked at the gym, just click on the link and you can check it out. Just remember when you're keeping a food journal you need to write down EVERYTHING, even if you just eat a couple peanuts or drink a glass of milk, write it down!

Clean Plate Club

When you were growing up did your parents ever say to you "You can't leave the table until you eat everything on your plate!" or "If you don't clean your plate no dessert!" Your membership in the "Clean Plate Club" could be sabotaging your efforts to lose weight. As adults we still think that we need to eat everything on our plates or we're wasting food and the people in Ethiopa are starving while we're not finishing everything on our plates! Well, even if you boxed your leftovers and mailed it to them, the food would spoil and get thrown away anyhow, so what's the difference? =) Now is as good a time as any to relinquish your membership to the "Clean Plate Club"! Don't feel like you have to eat everything on your plate, when you're full, put your fork down and push the plate away or take it to the sink, that way the temptation to clean your plate is gone. My mantra is "If you want a little behind, you need to leave a little behind!" I love that saying and besides being cute it is SO true. Did you know that by just cutting 100 calories out of your diet a day that's cutting 36,500 calories a year, which translates to losing 10.4 pounds?!?! And that's just by cutting 100 calories!

Couch to 5K...

Valerie told us about this site and I checked it out, it's a great way to get yourself going if you've been at a lost of how to get started on a program. It maps out a week by week program to get you from the couch to a 5k in 2 months. The site is www.coolrunning.com then click on the Couch to 5k link. Thanks Valerie!=)

Running - A Love Hate Relationship...

Some of you have expressed a desire to learn how to love running. I've given this A LOT of thought, why do some people hate running and why do some people love running? Here's what I've come up with: a lot of people don't like running because they try to achieve a run that is above their current fitness level. If you haven't been exercising regularly and decide hmmm..I think I'm going to go for a run today, your run is going to be miserable! You'll be out of breath, in pain, and it will breed an intense dislike for running because it makes you feel awful. Who wants to intentionally make themselves feel that way? Nobody! On the otherhand if you start out slow and work your fitness level up to where running is comfortable for you, you are much more likely to develop a good relationship with running. It just takes a little patience! Here's how to start: Start with walking at a pace that is not too easy and not too difficult (use the talk test I posted about below) Walk at this pace for at least 1 week if you're walking most (5-6) days of the week, 2 weeks if you're walking 3 days a week. By this time this speed should be too easy for you and you should bump up the speed to a pace that is a little more challenging. Continue increasing your speed every week or two and you'll be well on your way to a healthier you who MAY have learned to love running (I'm not making any promises!=). Just remember you don't have to become a runner to be healthy, so don't be discouraged! There are a lot of other activities that you can do, the important thing is to find something that you enjoy doing so you'll continue doing it.

Just a little side note: David, my husband, started this program (combined with portion control) July 1st and has lost 30 lbs! I just want to give him a big pat on the back and tell him how impressed I am with him and the efforts he's made to live healthier!

Exercising to Lose Weight

Sorry I've taken so long to post! We've been out of town for the past 5 days and I haven't had access to a computer! Let's jump right in to answering Jen's question about the best exercises to lose weight. The best exercises to achieve weight loss are going to be cardiovascular exercises. These should be weight bearing exercises such as walking, jogging, swimming, etc. If you're just getting started on an exercise program, start slow. Lots of people want to jump in full force which will lead to overtraining injuries (such as pulled muscles) Let's say you're going to go with walking to start off your exercise program, you need to make sure that you are working and not just out for a Sunday stroll (although a Sunday stroll is better than nothing at all!) To gauge your intensity, use the talk test: if you can carry on a light conversation while exercising, then you are in a good intensity range. Once your speech starts to break, slow, or cause discomfort, you’re working too hard and you might want to take it down a notch. This test is easy to use while you're exercising. If you are on a machine that tells you your heart rate calculating your target heart rate (where your body burns calories most efficiently) will tell you if you are exercising at the right intensity. To calculate your target heart rate subtract your age from 220. For example, if you're 25, 220-25= 195. 195 is your maximum heart rate(the max number your heart beats per minute). You would then multiply 195 by 70% (.70) to get your target heart rate -->  195x70%=136.5 (137) So if you are 25 years old your target heart rate is 137 beats per minute. Try to exercise at your target heart rate for at least 20 minutes of your workout. It is important not to exercise over your maximum heart rate because you are making your heart work too hard which can cause potential problems.

Nursing Mommas!!!

So, for you nursing mommas out there (me being one of them, so I've taken special interest in this topic!), there is a lot of conflicting information on how many calories nursing "burns" and how many calories you need to eat. Valerie you were right on, the answer is NOT 2600-2800, that is WAY too many calories (unless you are a VERY active person, and most of us, the Domestic Goddesses that we are, do not fall into that category!=). Taking in 2600-2800 calories will definitely get you to keep (if not add to) the baby weight! The fact of the matter is, your body uses 600-800 calories a day to produce milk (depending on how often your baby nurses).  When you factor that in to your pre-pregnancy caloric intake, shave a couple hundred calories off for weight loss, your intake should be around 1800 calories a day. Don't worry about affecting your milk supply though. Studies have been done on nursing mothers in countries where the mothers do not get enough food and they still produce quality milk for their infants. Our bodies are amazing in that if we don't get the nutrients and vitamins our babies need from our food, our bodies take from our stores to make sure the baby gets the best nourishment your body can provide. Don't take that the wrong way, I'm not saying it's okay to starve yourself! That's definitely NOT a good idea, I'm just saying don't be overly concerned about losing your milk supply if you're just cutting a couple hundred calories from your diet; as long as your diet is well balanced, you and your baby will be fine! Excellent question!