Summer Dieting Tips
Cut the Calories, Bring Out the Bikini
Summer’s almost here and you want to get into the swim of things, but the B word – bikini – has been blindsided once again by that C word – calories.
What can you do to get in shape at the last minute?
Adam Shafran, co-author of the new book "You Can’t Lose Weight Alone The Partner Power Weight Loss Program," says it’s never too late to start losing weight. Aside from diet and exercise, Shafran says it is important to have a partner or buddy who can be there for you through your thick and thin days and nights.
"Find someone – a friend, a partner, a husband, who you can be accountable to," he says. "Someone you can walk with, someone who won’t let you down, someone who will be there to exercise with you and get you to exercise and someone who will weigh in with you every week."
Successful weight loss, he says, doesn’t mean that you have to deprive yourself; it simply means that you have to watch yourself.
Shafran, a Georgia chiropractor who along with co-author Lee Kantor owns a personal fitness center, offers these non-fattening bite-size bits of advice for fitting into that itsy-bitsy bikini:
* Instead of drinking calories, eat them. Cut out sugar-based drinks like soda and juices and substitute water or dilute them with a shot of seltzer. Sodas have 200 to 400 calories, and Shafran says that if you can reduce your weekly calories by 3,500, you can lose a pound of fat. If you add exercise, it will be easy to meet the 3,500 goal because even if you only walk for 30 minutes a day, you burn about 300 calories or 2,100 per week. Add to that the 1,400 to 2,800 you’ll save by drinking water, and you’re on your way to slimness.
* Replace calorically dense foods with ones that aren’t dense. Those breakfast bars may taste great and they may only be 200 calories, but you’re hungry again almost before you eat the last bite. Salads, fruits and soups are better choices because they fill you up. And make your salad a meal, not a snack. Add hearts of palm, walnuts, chickpeas, olives, tuna, corn, peas and even shredded cheese to the lettuce and tomatoes so it’s tasty and healthy. Juices are OK, but they won’t give you the fiber to make you feel filled. "They won’t help you cut calories," he says.
* Go light on salad dressings, which are calorically dense. Make your own with olive oil or canola oil. Measure them; don’t pour them on.
* Take more time to eat, and you will feel filled. "Hunger goes away over time," Shafran says. "If you feel hungry, you may only be dehydrated. Wait five or 10 minutes and the hunger will go away."
* Eat several small meals spaced throughout the day instead of one big meal at night. "If you are hungry and don’t eat, you will become ravenous and start eating everything in sight," Shafran says. "When you’re at work, set a timer or an alarm on your watch that will beep every three to four hours to remind you to eat a snack. And make it fruit or nuts."
* It’s easier to exercise at a gym than it is to work out at home. Gyms offer visual distractions – you can watch TV, you can watch people. "There’s energy in gyms, there’s music, there are things to take your mind off the boredom of exercising," Shafran says.
Joey Dweck is the founder of WeightLossBuddy.com, committed to helping you find a 24/7 buddy who will not only help you lose weight but who also will get you to change to a healthy lifestyle. You choose your own diet and your own exercise regime, and we find you a buddy who literally will stick with you through thick and thin. Signing up for a buddy is free. Simply go to WeightLossBuddy.com/article/ezi4.htm
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Psychological Factors in Weight Management
To continue the educational series on your health and fitness lifestyle, this article is based on accredited college nutrition programs and literature based on proven science. My hope is to empower you to take responsibility for your nutrition plan. One does not have to become a fanatic and eat perfectly to be healthy!
How we think and feel about food is profoundly influenced by how food is used in our families as children. If food is used as entertainment a reward a bribe a punishment or stress relief, from sadness, anger, or other negative emotions, problems may ensue.
Often, people will eat when they are not hungry, only bored, sad, angry, upset, or lonely. When eating for these reasons, they usually eat foods high in fat, sugar, or both. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a meal, just be sure to get sufficient healthy food and limit your quantities of junk food.
People who eat for reasons other than hunger will sometimes feel guilty after they indulge. This will often lead to more overeating and more guilt. These people often become obsessed with food “cookie monster syndrome”. There are support groups and counseling for people who over-eat for emotional reasons.
The flip side of food obsession is anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is a serious condition in which the person stops or severely curtails their food intake to induce weight loss. Approximately ten percent of people who are anorexic die of their disease. People with this condition see themselves as being fat, even when extremely emaciated.
Bulimia is a condition where the patient eats food (sometimes gorging) and then vomits or takes laxatives or diuretics to avoid weight gain or induce weight loss. This can result in the loss of electrolytes and minerals essential for proper heart function and pH balance in the blood. Both these conditions are serious and require medical assistance.
Success in weight control comes by understanding the cause of your individual problem and then developing a program accordingly. Some people, who were unaware of what good nutrition consists of, only need to learn the facts about nutrition and exercise to apply what they have learned without difficulty.
Others have unconscious eating patterns such as eating while doing other activities and not paying attention to what or how much they are eating. By being aware of the problem and using techniques such as behavior modification techniques, can help the person with problems such as these.
People who have trouble changing eating habits or extreme obesity may have deep-seated emotional or psychiatric problems and may be using food to help alleviate the symptoms. Consuming large quantities of high-sugar or high-starch foods releases serotonin in the brain, which imparts a feeling of wellbeing. This can be an attempt to relieve undiagnosed clinical depression or anxiety.
Once you apply the principles of weight control for a while, it becomes part of your life style, like taking a shower or making the bed. You lose your taste for high-fat, high-sugar food and eat healthier food out of choice even when weight control isn’t an issue. A blended approach including education, healthy eating habits, and exercise, along with counseling if needed, will produce permanent fat loss and weight control. A step forward in your Fitness Lifestyle.
DEBORAH is a highly respected authority in personal training for overall health and fitness, with more than 22 years of experience and success. Her credentials include…
Currently licensed Registered Nurse specializing in Rehabilitative Nursing Medical Exercise Therapist: certified by AAHFRP, an internationally recognized physical rehabilitation certification Maternity Specialist Pre & Post Natal certified by Maternal Fitness Personal Fitness Specialist: certified by NASM, an internationally recognized certification Yoga Teacher Professional Health Member, National Organization of Fitness Instructors (IDEA), a leading membership organization of health and fitness professionals Deborah Caruana RN, AAHRFP, NASM, ACE.vitalsignsfitness.comemail [email protected]call 212-677-3185Get Free Fitness Tips, Strategies and Secrets from a recognized expert at my web site: Vitalsignsfitness.com
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