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Healthy Eating
Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Helping you reach your goals The tips on this page are designed to help you with weight loss and diet issues. Judging from the number of dieting books, infomercials and programs out there, losing weight is a hot topic. It is my hope that these tips will help you achieve your goals in the area of maintaining a healthy weight.
Keep in mind that the tips found here are ones that I know for sure are useful, because I use them myself! I will be adding to this page as new tips come to mind, or as discoveries come my way. Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #1:Serving sizes One “serving” of meat is about the size of a standard deck of playing cards. One cup of cooked vegetables or rice is about the size of a fist. A medium piece of whole fruit is a little bigger than a tennis ball. This is a way to visualize your portions, so you don’t kid yourself about how much you are eating! Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #2:Conscious Eating A famous country singer was asked how she had trimmed a few extra pounds and maintained her lovely figure. Her secret was that she stopped unconscious eating. This means that she paid attention to what she was eating, rather than just putting food in her mouth. Make your meals an occasion that commands all of your attention. If possible, don’t do anything else while you are eating (except, of course to visit with the people with whom you may be sharing the meal), or you will be unaware of what and how much goes into your mouth. You will miss all of the great flavor and texture of your food. Make yourself an attractive plate of food so that you can see what you will eat. Then eat slowly, savor and enjoy. Eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures. It deserves your undivided attention! Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips There have been a number of studies recently that suggest that chief among diet tips is to write down what you eat. It is recommended that you begin to chronicle your diet before you change it, so that you can get a handle on what your "normal" eating habits are that may have contributed to weight gain. Since you are the only one who will see your food diary, you can be honest with yourself and thus have a useful tool for success. Of course, healthy eating should be part of any diet plan. Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #4: Are you nuts? When most people think of "diet" foods, nuts are not on the top of the list. In fact, nuts are probably not on the list at all! However, there is evidence that eating nuts can actually help you to eat less! In addition, nuts are chock full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and flavor. They also contain a fair amount of fat, which is why they have a bad reputation. The secret is to include nuts in your diet, but to do so sparingly. The best way to eat nuts if you are concerned about weight, is to count out, say 10-15 pieces, and then eat them one at time, enjoying the rich flavor. You will find that if you eat nuts in this way, as a snack, you will not be as hungry when mealtime comes around. Of course, raw nuts such as almonds and walnuts are the best choice, but even roasted macadamias or cashews can have a place in your diet if you eat them sparingly. Peanuts, although strictly speaking a legume and not a nut, and peanut butter can also have a place in a weight loss regimen. Nuts in the shell may also be a good choice, since they take more time to shell and eat, and therefore may be more satisfying. Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #5: Hydrate...Hydrate...Hydrate! Water is probably one of the most important aspects of any weight loss program. Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #6: Low-fat foods Be aware that often when the fat content is reduced in products such as yogurt, ice cream and baked products, it may be replaced by sugar or chemicals that are not necessarily better for you than the fat. Generally it is the fat that contributes to the food's pleasing taste and texture. Thus, it may be better to eat smaller amounts of the whole food, rather than a version that has been modified in an unhealthy way. Of course, this does not apply to products, such as milk, that merely have the fat removed, without replacing it with anything unhealthy.
Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #7: How big is your ice cream scoop? The serving size established by the FDA for ice cream is ˝ cup. You need to be aware that this amount and only this amount of ice cream (which is not much by most people’s standards!) will supply the calories, fat, etc. that are listed on the rest of the label. Just once, take a half-cup measure and see what a serving really looks like in your bowl. Then you will know, for future reference, if you are eating more or less than the “serving size” listed on the label. You should only have to do this one time, and then you will be able to choose your portion wisely. Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #8: Hunger or Appetite? One of the potential problems with diet aids that claim to suppress "appetite" is that, while they may alleviate hunger, they do not actually affect appetite. It is possible to feel like eating without being physically hungry. There are many reasons that we eat that have nothing to do with hunger. We may eat because we're sad, lonely, angry, depressed, bored or even happy. This is usually referred to as "emotional eating." Sometimes we eat simply because the food looks or smells good. Eating for other reasons than hunger could contribute to weight gain. Learning to know the difference between hunger and appetite can be a useful tool in weight loss. Try replacing emotional eating with other pleasurable activities, and save your eating for when hunger and appetite coincide. Healthy Eating Weight Loss and Diet Tips Tip #9: Liquid calories count too When you consider the vast number of drinks available, including soda, energy drinks, coffee drinks, teas, enhanced waters, juices, shakes, beer, mixed cocktails and wine,it is not surprising that liquids contribute in a significant way to our total calorie intake. The problem is that we don't often consider the things we drink as part of our food intake. As a result, we may be sabotaging our efforts to lose weight by drinking extra calories--and quite often empty calories. In addition, when we drink beverages other than water, we are probably not drinking enough water to facilitate weight loss (see hydration tip above), so it is a double whammy! Try substituting water as often as possible for all those drinks listed above. It is possible to retrain your palate to appreciate a cold, refreshing glass of water over other types of drinks. There are also many delicious herbal teas that you can try, either iced or as a hot drink. Caveat: If you drink "diet" versions of soft drinks, be aware that there is significant evidence that you will actually gain weight, not to mention that you are drinking a concoction of chemicals rather than a natural food. Click here to go from Weight Loss and Diet Tips back to Healthy Eating Tips page.
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