Eating On The Run For Weight Loss
“I’m too busy!”
“I’m always on the run.”
“I never leave my desk during the day.”
Sound familiar? These are the most common excuses I hear for why people don’t eat a healthy, balanced diet. Too many people resort to fast food and junk because they don’t think they have any other options. But with a little planning and preparation time, it is possible to eat well and maintain a busy lifestyle. If you will spend one to two hours one day a week preparing for the week ahead, it really is quite easy.
At the grocery store stock up on healthy snack options such as yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables, and nuts. Spend a little time putting these snack foods into individual servings. Grill several chicken breasts or other lean meats to use in salads and sandwiches for the week. Cut up your vegetables so they are ready to go for salads. If all of the prep work is done, it takes no time in the morning to throw together a salad or wrap for lunch. Invest in some disposable food containers, plastic spoons and forks, and disposable cups. If you tend to eat breakfast on the run, or skip breakfast altogether, you can make some oatmeal, put it in a disposable cup, and take it with you.
I carry an insulated cooler in my car all the time. If I am going to be out all day working, I pack it in the morning with all of the food I need for the day. I also keep a protein bar everywhere – my gym bag, my car, just in case I find myself out longer than I expected and get hungry.
If you do find yourself without any options other than fast food, at least try to make the best choices. Here’s a hint – skip the fries and order a side salad with low-fat dressing instead! You can find nutrition information on many fast food chains here:
shapefit.com/fastfood.html
Make sure to educate yourself so that you can make the right choices. It will take a little effort to prepare some healthy foods for your busy weekdays, but you will be amazed at how easy it really is, and at how much better you will feel!
Here is a recipe for my favorite To-Go lunch:
Grilled Chicken and Black Bean Salsa Wraps
Sprinkle 1 chicken breast with chile powder and grill until done. Slice and serve in a whole wheat tortilla with Black Bean Salsa:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tomato, chopped
? yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
? cup fresh cilantro
2 T. nonfat plain yogurt
1 tsp. Lime juice
? tsp. Ground cumin
1 tsp. Chile powder
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.
Kris Bierek is a fitness specialist for the health and fitness site ShapeFit.com where you can find FREE fitness tools like fitness newsletters, dieting tips, weight loss help, exercise questions and a free fitness analysis to help you get into the best shape of your life!
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The Miracle of a Cheat Meal
One of the greatest tricks that I use to stick to my diet is to allow myself a cheat meal once a week. For that one glorious meal I can have whatever my heart desires. I can eat pizza, cake, and ice cream, anything I want for that one meal. I believe that anyone who plans to diet for long periods of time should follow this principle. There are several reasons why I feel cheat meals are the key to dieting success.
First of all, we are all human. No matter who you are, you are going to have cravings for foods that you are not suppose to eat. The longer and stricter the diet, the more temptations you will have. It is human nature to want something that we are not aloud to have. Dieting is no exception to this.
The cheat meal approach to dieting allows us to break down and control our temptations. If we are craving pizza on Wednesday and our cheat meal is on Sunday, we know that within four days we will be able to satisfy our craving. We tackle our temptations with the approach that we can hold off the additional four days before we eat what we have been craving four. Under the traditional diet programs, we would not be aloud to cheat at all. From my experience with dieting over the years, the temptations for foods we want do not go away. In my case they become stronger over time. Having a cheat meal once a week allows me to stick to my diet by controlling the beastly temptations before me.
Another advantage to a cheat meal is that it is an award for us. Dieting is not an easy task and we should never expect people who are changing their eating habits to all of a sudden loose the desire to eat unhealthy food again. Dieting is a goal that should be rewarded not only physically, by the way your appearance will change, or mentally, the increase in self-esteem, but also should be a reward for the taste buds as well. Each week should be like a little goal to try and make it to the next cheat meal without breaking your diet. If you succeed, you eat whatever you want without any feelings of guilt whatsoever. You earned the right to that sixteen-ounce bowl of ice cream and you should not be ashamed to eat it either.
There is another benefit to the cheat meal approach in dieting. After time, you body will adjust to the current caloric intake that you are on. If you eat the same thing everyday, or the same amount of fats, proteins, etc., your bodies metabolism will eventually slow down to adjust to the current caloric intake levels. Cheat meals along with some other changes I make to my diet in the week allow me to shock my system. I keep my body guessing throughout the dieting process. I constantly adjust my carbohydrate, protein, and fat levels to keep my metabolism from slowing down. The cheat meal, if done once a week, is another way to effectively shock your body into maintaining a high metabolism.
In conclusion, if a cheat meal is to work effectively it has to be done once a week not once a day. The main objective of the cheat meal is to allow an individual a process or tool to use to defeat temptations that may arise during a diet. The second advantage to a cheat meal is that it is a weekly reward for all the hard work you put into your diet. The final advantage is the cheat meal is another way to shock your body. You keep your body guessing as to what your daily caloric intake is, therefore allowing yourself to maintain a higher metabolism.
Gerald Gore is the owner of the online fitness review site One4Fitness. For more health and fitness related tips and reviews on workout equipment visit Gerald’s site at one4fitness.com. One4Fitness also offers a FREE Health and Fitness newsletter at one4fitness.com/modules/evennews/index.php?action=subscribe
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