7 Ways to Lose Weight Without Suffering

7 Ways To Lose Weight Without Suffering

 

Eating well is the best way to lose weight these days and as most diets tell you what you can’t eat, we say that you “can eat” to lose weight. You can eat delicious foods that give your body what it needs, without lots of sugar, fats and calories. This approach will take care of your cravings, leave you satisfied and allow you to drop excess weight.

Most diets ask you to “change your likes and dislikes”, but that isn’t a very logical approach. The reason you gain weight is because your taste buds crave certain foods and in certain amounts. You can go all out on a weight loss diet, but eventually, when you start eating normal again, you will gain all the weight back again. Even patients that have undergone lap banding or gastric bypass, have gained weight again after the initial “honeymoon” period is over.

So what is the secret? The Secret is in the right ingredients!

 

 

1. You Can Eat All Kinds Of Foods…

How many times have you gone on a diet that tells you “you can’t have “ your favorite foods? You start to crave those comfort foods and then you eat twice as much of something else to kill the craving.

How about Chocolate Candy…Did you know that Dark Chocolate is a powerful antioxidant that is actually good for your body? Lean meats are not bad either, especially for those who are low on iron. Eating smart is not about taking all the “fun” out of food, it’s about really, truly enjoying foods.

Forget about deprivation, it will lead to failure. Think about natural, fresh, homemade foods that make your mouth water!

2. “How Much” Does Count…

Have you seen the movie “Super Size Me”? Yes, portion size does matter…when you are trying to lose weight, it’s not only what you are eating, but how much you are eating. Calories do count, no matter where those calories come from.

If you are sitting at the table and thinking about having more…wait 10 seconds to make sure you really want that additional serving.

I always make my kids put their servings in a small bowl so they don’t eat directly out of the box or bag. That way, they understand how much they are eating, and you will too!

Sometimes, when we are out shopping, my kids want to stop and grab…I make sure that they order the “kids meals”. There is plenty of food in that size to fill their stomachs. Fast Food restaurants are getting better by offering salads and fruits, yogurt and so forth in their kids meals. Even when I take them to a Juice Bar for a meal, they know that they will get their fill if they order the small drink with fiber.

At restaurants, eat all your salad, with dressing on the side, half of your entree, drink water with your salad, and no dessert. Put the other half of your entree in a take home box, and your lunch is ready for tomorrow! You’ll be full when you leave the restaurant and have lots of food left over.

If you like lots of sweets or high calorie foods, make sure you buy them in individual packages so you don’t over-eat…buy the small packages of candy, don’t buy the party bags! If you love candy bars, buy the snack bags, and freeze them…pull out one at a time and by the time their thawed enough to eat, you will have thought about that craving.

Processed foods are really the enemy…so read the labels on the boxes or cans that you have decided to eat…how many servings are your really getting ready to eat? Most packages, even soft drinks, have two servings, instead of one. My husband and I like natural drinks, but often, it takes us 3 days to consume one can. We will take a couple of sips and our craving is gone, then we will put pressure back into the bottle, seal and save for another day. (you can buy specialized containers to allow you to do that.)

3. What To Eat To Lose Weight…

This is my favorite…I’ve never been one that likes restriction.

In order to lose weight, it’s the amount of food that count…portion size is important. Foods that are low in fat and high in fiber are the best when it comes to food that will fill you up, has less calories and will give more benefits as far as health is concerned. Vegetables are the number one food that gives you everything you need as far as nutrition, fiber and taste. If you like pasta, use a whole wheat or whole grain pasta to start with. Lay the pasta down like a napkin, thin, but enough to cover…then, lay down the vegies, roasted vegetables, steamed vegetables, fresh chopped tomatoes! The pasta will fill you up and give you that taste and texture you crave, but the vegetables will not only fill you up, they will give your immune system a boost as well!

If you have to have potatoes…here’s my favorite. First, I stay away from the high carb baking potatoes and go for the Red’s or Peruvian Purples. These are waxy potatoes and they take longer to break down in the system. Also, make sure you don’t put your spuds in the refrigerator, the cold makes the potato turn the fiber into sugar. Bake these Red or Waxy potatoes and then top them with mounds of broccoli…I like Asparagus over mine, with grilled onions and red peppers! Make sure you eat the skins too!

Just remember that if you are eating something that is “Starchy” you should stay with one serving. If you have a potato, don’t add corn…add something that isn’t a starch.

The more vegetables you have on your plate, you can eat more food and still lose weight!

Also, a note on treats. There is a little candy shop not to far from our town. I take my girls there once a month. They give out samples of homemade fudge and handmade chocolates. When we go there, I only allow my girls to eat what is homemade or handmade. The slices of fudge are small, but it’s so rich that it’s enough to satisfy their craving for the month. The sizes are small and when they take a piece of candy home, it goes right into the freezer and they savor it later.

4. A Little Fat Is Good…

Did you know that eating a little fat can actually help you lose weight? Some types of fat are good for you…like olive oil, fish oil, nut oils, avocado oil and flaxseed. Even though these types of “fats” are good for you, you still want to watch the amounts you are eating.

So, how do you cut down on the wrong kinds of fat?

Choose lean meats like Bottom, Eye or Top Round, Top Sirloin, Top Loin or Tenderloin.

Take the skins off of your poultry before you cook it! If you want poultry tender, learn to use a brine…tea makes a wonderful brine solution, just make sure you use “sea salt” for your solution to make sure you get some added benefits to your cooking. Also, make sure that you eat “white” meat in poultry, there is less fat in white meat.

Eat “low-fat” versions of dairy, skim milk or fat-free milk, use yogurt instead of sour cream and my favorite, eat Sorbet instead of Ice Cream.

If you have to have the fat as a flavoring on your bread or toast in the morning, try a nut butter or a yogurt instead of butter.

Try different types of Salad dressing for your salad. My personal favorite it Salsa, fresh and homemade. Use a vinaigrette or you can try our Raspberry Salad with balsamic Vinaigrette at the end of this article if you are really looking for flavor!

5. Add Fiber To Fill You Up…

   Americans are continuing to get fatter and fatter each year, making the diet and medical industry richer and richer. How do we end this cycle we are in? Is there a miracle pill that can make us thin again? Drum roll…..

And now, the secret ingredient to weight loss…Fiber! Fiber is the most important part of easy weight loss because high-fiber foods help fill you up with fewer calories!

Soluble fiber mixes with water to form a gel in your digestive tract slowing down digestion, so it takes longer for your stomach to empty and keeping you satisfied for up to four hours. Because we don’t have what it takes to break down the fiber, it isn’t absorbed, so it doesn’t contribute any calories!!! (Be cautious when using soluble fiber that you only take what is recommended, you don’t want to get plugged up!)

My youngest daughter was diagnosed with a disease cause by trauma. The medications the doctors put her on caused her to gain a lot of weight. She is 11 now and looking forward to going to a new school.

When she was taken off her medication, we had to help her lose weight. She lost 25 pounds in one month by eating! I had her eat Breakfast, Lunch, a Snack and Dinner…She was never hungry, but the secret ingredient was the life saver. I added Wheat Bran to her sandwiches, on top of whole grains, and she never knew it was there. I added Wheat Bran and a soluble fiber to her Smoothies in the morning, I packed her lunch with extra fiber in her sandwiches, on top of crunchy peanut butter, she never knew it was there. She had smoothies when she came home as a snack, again, filled with soluble and insoluble fiber and dinner was full of fiber as well. All Desserts were made with our special, slow absorbing sugar and our FlourBlend, which has twice the protein and twice the fiber as regular Flour.

Not only did she lose weight, but the rest of my kids lost anywhere from 10 – 20 pounds also, I lost 20 pounds and my husband lost 25 pounds…just by eating the right kinds of fiber and lots of it.

6. Demon Devil White Foods!!!

Processed and packaged foods have almost taken over the American Diet. Nearly 90 percent of household food budgets are spent on processed foods. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, lean meats, dairy or whole grains.

Processed foods are filled with chemicals designed to keep you coming back for more (see my article on glutamate’s), but it’s not the fact that processed foods have chemical additives, it’s the fact that nutritional value is taken out when the food was processed. Because processing strips the foods of soluble fiber, antioxidants and the good fats that nature put in to protect your health, processed foods

can only help you gain weight.

With the recipes at the end of this article, we hope that you will add more fresh foods into your diet, without spending more time and money on food that won’t satisfy your cravings.

Not all packaged foods are bad either, just remember to read your labels and rinse off salty residue before using the food inside.

7. Does It Matter When You Eat?

Yes, it does matter when you eat. I recommend 5 meals a day for my clients, about every two hours. You should only eat when you are hungry, but you should never let yourself get so hungry you feel like your starving. Snacking is a good thing, as long as you snack on things that will be beneficial! Usually, when I get hungry, I drink a glass of water first, just to make sure I’m hungry and not thirsty. If the water doesn’t do the trick, I try whole grain cereal sweetened with SugarBlend, just a touch, I don’t like to cover up the taste of the grains. Eating Whole Grain Cereals for a snack helps me get slow absorping energy, protein (I use soy milk or almond milk) and fiber that I know is going to give me what I need. In the morning, in between meals, I usually drink a vitamin C drink that gives me the energy and mental boost to keep me researching and writing.