Weight loss keys and helpful tips
Plan your meals ahead
Waiting till your hungry to plan & prepare a meal can derail a great weight loss plan..usually resulting in poor food choice. Plan your meals ahead- this will help you provide variety and quality balanced meals that will support your goal. It is helpful to make extra protein to have some readily available in the fridge for the next day or snack. Take daily activities into consideration when planning meals – dinner for an evening with a good book have different requirement than that consisting of a Zumba class or soccer game.
Eat every 3-4hours
Avoid waiting till you are starving to hunt down your next meal/snack…this usually results in poor quick choices that are high in fat and sugar and can lead to overeating. Try carrying snacks with you in appropriate portion sizes. Snack should be no more than 100cal … half apple & piece of cheese, 8-10 almonds, 1/3 cup of ricotta cheese
Keep a log
It keeps you honest…whether you are showing it to your trainer or keeping it for yourself . A written log on a daily basis will help you keep track of your daily intake, make you accountable for your choices and portions sizes and also identify patterns and areas to work on like long gaps between meal, too few fruits, not enough variety of color (not getting all nutrients necessary). Make sure on that sheet you are also tracking your daily activities, water intake, portion sizes, and time of meals. These are all helpful when evaluating progress. Try using free log http://www.myfitnesspal.com I am on their.
Increase your water intake
Adding more water to your daily intake will keep you a little fuller, help prevent water retention, decrease appetite, maintain hydration ***A little trick is a liquid appetizer…start each meal with a glass or two of water….it will give you a false sense of fullness helping you eat less.
Be conscious of your portions sizes
This is one of the areas that so many overlook when they are working towards making changes to nutrition to support weight loss. Now the reality of measuring/weighing out portion sizes for everything we consume can be very impractical…so here is a simple way to guesstimate.
- small deck of cards
- medium will fit in one hand
- large will fit in the two hands when they are together
Exercise
Exercise is an important component to your weight loss program
- cardiovascular training – challenging workout in your target heart rate zone
- resistance training – maintaining lean muscle mass
- flexibility- reducing tension in your body from the increased work load
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