Healthy Diet Changes: Little Changes Can Lead to Big Results

A Healthy Snack of Tomatoes and CheeseHave you noticed how hard it is to make healthy diet changes, especially lasting ones? Intellectually you know that if you cut out certain foods, you’ll see a difference the next time you step on a scale. You know that if you make healthier food choices, you can reduce your risk of  conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Yet when that candy bar calls to you from the office vending machine at 3 in the afternoon, sometimes your best intentions fly out the window.

The clients that I see succeed over the long term make small healthy diet changes to habits they already have. They focus on tweaking one habit at a time rather than making drastic changes. Here are a couple examples:

Half & Half to Low Fat Milk in Coffee. If you like this creamy additive in your morning java, you might try whole milk. If you use 2 tablespoons to eachCoffee_can_Be_part_of_a_healthy_diet cuppa joe, you’ll save about 20 calories as well as reduce fat grams. If you drink two mugs a day that adds up to 280 calories a week. That’s the equivalent of a Snickers bar. If you switch to 2% milk, you’ll save even more.

Instant oatmeal to unflavored oats. Those pre-packaged sleeves of oatmeal packs a sugar punch. The Maple & Brown sugar version has 9 grams of sugar, while its slow-cooked alternative has 1 gram. By adding fresh blueberries or ½ a banana, you’ll get the sweet without the same glycemic hit.  You’ll also increase your fiber intake by adding fresh fruit to your oatmeal :-).

Fatty cuts of beef to lean cuts of beef.  There is a lot of saturated fat in regular ground beef and several popular cuts of steak.  You can shave off lots of calories from fat (without losing much in iron or other nutrients in beef)  by switching to leaner steaks (such as flank steak or filet mignon) or to extra lean ground sirloin.

 

Where could you make small changes to your favorite foods in order to decrease your calories (or sodium, fat, sugar)? Don’t be surprised if it takes several months for your taste buds to change. But once they do, you’ll be amazed!  Your taste buds really do change— you’ll be more sensitive to the sugar, salt or fat content of your food once you’ve gotten used to eating foods with less.

My clients have commented that the old foods they used to eat and love just don’t taste as good now. Or, less of it satisfies them. That’s the trick to staying on track with a healthy diet.  Small changes over time reap BIG, long term dividends down the road!

What little changes have YOU made that are paying you big weight loss dividends now?

Share your successes in the comment section!

 

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

 

********

Image credit:

Coffee image

 

10 Reasons Why You May Not See a Weight Loss – Part 2

Eat 5 to 9 fruit and veggie servings a dayLast week we looked at 5 reasons you may not be losing weight (even though you may be trying!).

Here are 5 more reasons you might not be seeing the weight loss you desire.

6. Skipped Meals

When one of my bootcamp clients complains that they aren’t seeing weight loss results, I ask if they are skipping any meals. Why? Because chronically skipping meals actually slows your metabolism, causing your body to store calories rather than burn them. I also see that when a meal is skipped, a dieter will actually overeat at the next meal because they are hungrier than usual.

7. Sugar & Simple Carbs

Added sugars and lots of processed white flour-based products can sabotage your weight loss goal. There are literally hundreds of products that contain sugar with deceptive names like sucrose and high fructose corn syrup. Sugar and other simple carbohydrates turn off the hormones responsible for releasing body fat and turns on the hormones to store fat. Effective and healthy weight loss regimes have the opposite effect on the body.

8. Adult Beverages

Alcohol stimulates the appetite and slows down metabolism. While alcoholic drinks taste good, they are loaded with empty calories.  So reflect on the Cocktail imagenumber of drinks you have each week. Personally, I plan for (and then thoroughly enjoy) one or two glasses of wine a week. Limiting your alcohol consumption can help your weight loss efforts.

9. Five A Day

Are you having fruits and/or vegetables every time you eat? Most veggies are lower in calories and help fill you up. When you feel satisfied, you’re more likely to stick with your weight loss program.

10. Failing to Plan

The adage “fail to plan and you’re planning to fail” is true for weight loss as well. Are you planning and preparing your meals ahead of time? If not, you are more likely to get off track. By incorporating items you really enjoy in your meal plans, you’re setting yourself up for success.

Can you think of any other activities that throw your weight loss efforts off track?  Have you found solutions for them?

Share them here!

Committed to your success,

Becky

 

*********

Image credits

Asparagus

Cocktail