Tips from a Nutritionist I saw yesterday

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I went mainly for my son, who is overweight (but he lost 13 lbs. last year). I'd once been 5'1 and 180 lbs. and now I'm around 125 lb. Here are the tips the Nutritionist gave me for Lucas. She's the Nutritionist who inspired me to lose weight.

1/Work out at least thirty minutes a day five days a week. Even three days help, but the more the better. Sweating is good.

2/Your plate should look colorful, like a rainbow. Eat fibers before the main course--fruits and vegetables. They fill you up. Wait twenty minutes before eating more. It takes that long for "hunger pangs" to go away. (This is really helping me. I always want to eat right after I've eaten...lol)

3/Don't do fad diets. They don't work. Eat healthy. Cut out as much sugar as you can (I use Splenda rather than sugar). No sugary sodas. Caffeine can help retain water (I mostly drink decaf now--I know it doesn't taste that great, but I doctor it up with Splenda and sugar free syrup...hey, it's still warm on cold days!)

4/Don't have junk food in the house. Too tempting.

5/DO count calories. I can't stress how much this helped me. I kept a Food Diary, like this:

9:00 AM--had coffee and two hard boiled eggs 180 calories

10:00 AM had an apple 100 calories

12:00 one fish filet and brocoli about 200 calories
This helped me be aware of everything I ate, not gorge myself, and gave me an interesting look at when I eat. For me boredom was a trigger. Exercise cut my appetite.

Since I lost weight, I feel much better, can do more, and, although it can change at any time, I'm very healthy. I can run up and down stairs with NO HANDS...lol. I've slowed down very little, although I'm starting to get arthritis in my knees. (I resent that. How dare I have an "old age" thang).

Anyways, just thought I'd pass along what helped me. I'm BIG on healthy lifestyle. My favorite treat is low fat yogurt. I also always drink skim milk and like soymilk too. It's good!!
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
MM, those are excellent tips.
I've had good results with a food diary as well. Just seeing it all there in black and white forces me to be much more mindful about what I'm eating. When I don't keep track, I'm liable to sliver my way through half a cake without even noticing. When I have to write it all down it keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Trinity
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
MWM,

Good tips! Tracking what you eat is a very good idea. Whenever I get way off track I need to go back to tracking everything I eat. I'm impressed that you drink skim milk. I have never been able to even use it in my cereal. I do use 1% which I figure isn't that bad-but only in cereal.
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
I think that tracking what you eat is especially important at the beginning of a a lifestyle change. I am constantly suprised at portion size! And, even the little extras off the kids' plates count!!

Sharon
 

Guest
Ok, you've conviced me...I'll start tracking again! Since I'm still paying for the WW site and I was doing it there before, I'll start again. Thanks for posting these tips!!

Also, I use smaller plates so that I can fill it up more. I don't remember if I saw this in your tips but I think that's a useful one.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I do mostly cardio. I hate, hate, hate, did I say hate? working out and I'm impressed with myself (lol) that I manage to get out of bed at 5 every morning, go to the Y, and do the eleptical (spelling) machines and the bike. I do know that strength training is excellent for bones.
I almost never eat sweets because once I take one cookie, I go way off track and I want the whole box. I have learned that I'm addicted to sugar so I stay away from it. I do have some sweets, say, on Christmas, but part of my lifestyle change was to cut the sugar.
I highly recommend talking to a Nutritionist. Mine REALLY motivated me. Now I'm so used to eating this way and working out five days a week it's sort of a habit or second nature. I can pretty much walk past a chocolate fudge sundae (sniff) and not crave it. I often wonder why everything that tastes so good is bad for us...lol.
It's NOT FAIR!!!!
 
M

ML

Guest
I will start tracking immediately.

I have a question about the 5 am thing. What time do you go to bed and are you tired during the day? I have objectively looked at my schedule to find time for working out and the only possiblity is to give up sleep. Lack of sleep happens to be a depression trigger for me. I'm wondering if the increase in activity will counteract the effects of slight sleep deprivation.

MicheleL
 
Popcorn (the kind you pop at home ~ not the microwave kind) is great for dealing with the munchies. You can learn to enjoy it without butter and even, without salt.

The munchies do me in every time! :smile:

Low fat items may actually contribute to weight gain, as it is the fat in foods that lets us know we are full. Low fat, high sugar items are not good things to eat. Without the fat to tell us when we have had enough, we eat more than we should. We ingest more sugar than we would if we were eating a high fat item. The influx of sugar requires our bodies to produce more insulin to deal with it. After the sugar has been dealt with, the insulin which is still circulating tells us we are hungry, and we eat more. When this happens? We will especially crave sugary foods, and the cycle begins again.

If you are able to avoid sugary things for a week to ten days, the craving for them will pass. If you use sugary foods again once the craving has passed? You will be amazed at the way your body responds, with all the cravings right back in place again.

It makes sense when you think about it, though.

Barbara
 
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