How to be a loser

If you've drifted away from the direct path to your weight loss goal lately, join me as we take a look at some ways to ease yourself back into living like a "loser"!

Television and Temptation
We're not just talking about those commercials for the latest $1 hamburger at the fast food joint around the corner! Didn't you hate it when your mom called the television "the boob tube" as if you were a complete idiot for watching it so much? Turns out she was on to something... at least when it comes to the part of our brain that tells us enough is enough. When we tune in to the "X-Files" marathons on Tuesday nights (or whatever your TV addiction might be!) and sit down with some munchies, it's a virtual feeding frenzy.

Research has shown that we automatically exaggerate portions when we snack in front of the television, especially on the foods we tend to overdo anyway like straight-out-of the bag potato chips, powdered donuts, buttered popcorn... (All those delicious treats that just happen to be high in fat and sugar that go with TV so well!) Do yourself a favor and portion out a single serving of your favorite treat into a snack bag and allow yourself only that serving during prime time.

Stave off Hunger
A sure-fire way to fail in your re-dedication to weight loss is to skip meals or eat so little during the day that you allow yourself to become super-hungry by nightfall. When you don't eat well-balanced meals during the day or forgo them entirely you will end up so famished by the time you do eat that you're far more likely to binge. A reliable way to keep your appetite from getting out of control is to incorporate good sources of protein into your meals:

• Breakfast will stick with you until lunch if you include cottage cheese, eggs or yogurt.
  
• Working poultry into lunch will keep you away from the vending machine mid-afternoon. Perhaps a turkey sandwich with lots of veggies on the side or add sliced grilled chicken to a salad with reduced-fat dressing.
  
• At dinnertime, making lean meat or fish your entrée will fill you up and prevent the midnight munchies from sneaking up on you.
  
• Legumes are a great side dish for lengthening any meal's staying power.
  
• Snacks serve up a protein punch with yogurt, legumes or peanut butter.
  

Give Yourself Writer's Cramp
Most of us get into the groove of keeping a food diary when we first start assessing our eating habits or when starting a new diet. But once we get an idea of where our trouble spots are, or, we get the hang of our diet, we stop. In actuality, keeping a food diary is a good idea anytime, but it's especially useful if you know that you've gotten off course from your diet program or your healthier eating goals. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a notebook or a few copies of a food diary form.

Jot down what you ate, how much and when. Keep track of everything, including the slice of your boss's birthday cake that you didn't know was going to be lurking in the employee break room and other unexpected goodies. Write down each item as soon as you throw away the plate or packaging that came along with your treat so you don't forget to account for it! Make it a daily habit and sit down with your diary and glean your bad habits and pitfalls from your record. Commit to changing the unfavorable patterns you see!

Go Halves
One of the most crucial steps in losing and maintaining weight is to master the skill of portion control. If you've slipped back into old eating habits, a really useful way to start managing your portions again is to cut normal servings of your usual fare in half. Not only does that mean boxing up half of your entrée as soon as it's served or splitting your deli sandwich with a co-worker, there are also sneakier ways to meet your weight loss effort halfway:

• use only half your normal creamer in your coffee
  
• drink 1/2 your bottled soda now and 1/2 tomorrow instead of downing the whole bottle in one sitting
  
• use 1 slice of bread halved when making a sandwich instead of two slices
  
• use 1/2 as much mayo as usual on your sandwich
  
• use half as much oil as usual when you sauté veggies for dinner tonight
  
• These may sound like small things, but they really do matter in the big picture of making changes you can stick with. Couple them with your bigger changes and it all adds up to pounds lost!
  

Be a Fruity Foodie
There are so many good reasons to incorporate fruit into your diet. Even if you thought you could never become a fan of fruit, try sneaking it in a couple of times a day and it'll grow on you (No pun intended!). Make fruit the only thing you eat between meals for a few days. You'll get the boost of additional nutrients that help your immunity and general health and you'll eventually have fewer cravings for sweets and begin having a yen for fruit instead.

A great way fruit will help you lose weight is to replace desserts with it. You'll be surprised at how well a banana or apple can appease your sweet tooth once you become accustomed to it. If you really want some extra pizzazz, try fruit cocktail (not syrup-based), add reduced-calorie whipped topping to your melon, zap your apple with some cinnamon in the microwave or freeze a banana to make a "fake" ice pop.

Go Veggie
Make one day of the week's meals all vegetarian. You'll not only eat healthier by building your meals around vegetables and grains (thus reducing fat and increasing fiber), you might end up finding you like the veggie lifestyle and go veg for good! Incorporate recipes you've never tried into your menu and try vegetables you've shied away from in the past. If you try different ways of preparing veggies, you'll probably find some to your liking.

For example, I was positive that the only way I could tolerate broccoli for years was to eat it raw. And even then it wasn't very pleasant. You know the episode of "Seinfeld" where Jerry tells Newman he wouldn't eat broccoli if it was covered in chocolate? I liked broccoli even less than everyone's favorite postman. But I finally had some steamed broccoli when I first began a vegetarian diet and it became one of my favorite foods. Try the same trick on your taste buds and you may be pleasantly surprised at their reaction!

Until Tomorrow!

Fit-NOW-Girl