Team Up: A to Z Weight-Loss Tips for Long-Term Success - Tip T

Sometimes it's easier to succeed "with a little help from our friends", as the Beatles wrote.

Making positive changes in eating and exercise habits can be tough, so TEAM UP with family or friends!
Finding people with a common goal can help you succeed.


Here's how a TEAM can help:

Teach- Team members can teach each other new things, such as how to cook healthy recipes, a new exercise routine, or tips on how they control temptations.
Encourage- A team mate can really help encourage you on your nutrition plan or during your exercise routine. We all need encouragement when tackling something difficult. It helps us through the rough times so we can achieve our goals.
Accountability- On those days when you just don't feel like exercising, your team mate is there to hold you accountable. For example, if you set a date and time to exercise, you feel more obligated to actually show up if someone is waiting for you.
Motivation- Team mates can help motivate each other to follow their meal plan or complete their daily exercises.

TEAM up to help you achieve your healthy lifestyle goals! 

What does 200 Calories look like?

Click the link for an interesting little video. Enjoy!

What does 200 Calories really look like?

SLOW down!!!: A to Z Weight-Loss Tips for Long-Term Success - Tip S

Weight-Loss Tip S: 
Slow Down!

(This tip is the one I really need to work on!)  

Many research studies confirm that by eating slowly, you may consume fewer calories. Why? Well, it takes about 20 minutes for our brains to register that we are full. If we eat fast, we may continue eating past the point where we are full (See my blog on Tip H- Hunger Scale). If we eat slowly, we have time to realize we are full before we "clean our plate" or go back for "seconds". This can help reduce the number of Calories we eat at each meal. In addition, eating slowly is better for digestion (less indigestion and stomachaches) and allows us to really ENJOY our food. 

Here are some quick and easy tips on 
how to slow down when eating:

• Chew each bite 15-20 times
• Use your non-dominate hand to eat 
• Use chopsticks
  
• Put down your utensil and sip water between each bite
• Turn off all distractions (TV, Computer, etc) and really pay attention to your food...and enjoy it! 
• Enjoy some conversation with family or friends. (It's hard to eat fast when you are talking.)

Try some of these ideas at your next meal. 

They really do work!

Remove Temptations: A to Z Weight-Loss Tips for Long-Term Success - Tip R

"Out of sight, out of mind?"  
This saying doesn't always work, but with tempting foods, it sure couldn't hurt!

Everyone's temptations are different. I can tell you, if there are cookies in my house, I will eat them; especially chocolate chip or Oreos. I know I have little self-control when they are in the house.  Ice cream doesn't really do it for me, so I can have ice cream in the house for the rest of the family and not think much about it. We are all different; most of us know what our food temptations are...the ones we can't say "NO" to. 

Removing these temptations on a daily basis can really help you with your weight loss journey. Here are some tips to remove these little daily temptations and keep them out of sight so they don't sabotage your nutrition goals. 

1. Do NOT keep tempting foods on the kitchen counter where they are easy to see, easy to walk by, and easy to grab and eat.  Hide them in the pantry up high where you may not be tempted every time you walk by. Think about the Halloween candy or Easter basket treats your kids may have brought home.  Keeping it on the kitchen counter for days is too tempting. 
2. Remove candies and treats from your office desk and replace with dried fruits.
3. Avoid the break room at work where donuts and pastries are usually found. Bring your own mid-morning snack to munch on. 
4. Change your driving route and don't drive by the fast food restaurants or coffee houses that tempt you. 
5. Leave your tempting foods at the grocery store. Will power is much easier if the tempting foods aren't even in the house.

With that said, there are times you should enjoy your favorite treats! What's life without some enjoyment?  Just remember the tips I wrote  for "Tip P -Portion Control" when enjoying your tempting treats. Renee's Portion Control Tips

And, in case you are wondering....Yes, I do have Oreos on occasion!

Quit the Quick-Fix Mentality (it doesn't work)- A to Z Weight-Loss Tips for Long-Term Success - Tip Q

We live in an instant gratification society. When we want something, we want it now! And, of course, we want it to be easy and painless, as evidenced by all of the diet books with titles like:
"Lose 20 pounds in 20 days"
"Lose Weight While you Sleep"
"Lose Big and Fast"
"The Doctors's Quick Weight-loss Diet Cook Book."

The reality is we don't gain pounds of weight overnight (or in 20 days).  Weight gain is a gradual process that results from poor dietary choices coupled with lack of exercise.  We don't gain the weight quickly, so we can't expect it to come off, and STAY OFF, quickly either. This is not realistic. 
Weight loss is a gradual process...it takes time!


Here is the real deal and why you should 
Quit the Quick-Fixes:

• Quick fixes are time and money-wasters. Think about it: drinking a funky-smelling, horrible tasting concoction or taking dangerous supplements cannot be done forever.  Even if some weight is lost initially, you will gain it all back because you cannot live on detox cleanses, funky juices, or crazy fad diets forever. 
• Losing weight and getting fit is a gradual process that involves  changing your lifestyle with small steps over time. 
• To adopt a newer, healthier lifestyle, you have to set realistic goals for yourself and be willing to make the essential changes to achieve those goals.  
• You have to earn it through hard work and dedication that will continue for the rest of your life if you want the weight to stay off permanently. 

So, Quit to Quick-Fixes. Read my other blog entries on weight-loss tips to help you get started with small, simple changes for gradual and permanent weight loss that will last a life time.  You got this!

Portion Control- A to Z Weight-Loss Tips for Long-Term Success - Tip P

Portion sizes are really out of hand these days. We love bargains and getting more for our money, but when it comes to food, we are getting more Calories than we need. This "portion distortion" occurs when we dine out and when eating at home.


Portion Control is probably the biggest factor and ally in the battle of the bulge.  Of course, healthy food choices are important too, but if we consume the right-sized portions for our individual Calorie needs, then we can reduce the unwanted, extra Calories we consume daily.
By making a few small changes in HOW we eat, we can really reduce HOW MUCH we eat.  Here is a list of tips and tricks that can really help you reduce the portion sizes of your meals and snacks, thereby reducing the number of Calories you eat every day!

Portion Control Tips and Tricks:

• Using smaller plates, bowls, glasses, and utensils can help you keep your portions under control.
• Use your plate as a guide for a balanced meal. Use half of your plate for fruits/veggies, a quarter for grains (rice, pasta, bread, etc) and a quarter for lean meat or protein (poultry, fish, beans, etc). See the MyPlate illustration to the right. 
• Don't eat snacks out of a bag or a box. You are more likely to eat the whole thing, regardless of how many servings the package actually contains. Pour one serving into a small bowl and enjoy.
• Be a kid at heart. When dining out, order off the kids menu to reduce portion size. Sadly, many kids' menus provide too many Calories for young children, but they may be a more appropriate portion size for a weight-conscious adult. 
• Mom always says it is nice to share, so when dining at a restaurant, share an entree with a friend. 
• Doggy-bag it! At a restaurant, put half the meal in a doggy bag before you start eating. This will reduce portion size, and save money because you will have lunch or dinner leftovers for the next day ready to go!
• Just say no to "bargain meals".  Do you really need the chips and drink with your sub sandwich for "only $1 more"? Do you really need to upgrade to a "foot-long sub" for only $5? Do you really need the Venti size Frappacino for only 55 cents more? You may be getting more food per dollar, but you are also buying and eating more Calories than you intended. Avoid the "point-of-purchase" bargain offers and just say no (thank you!).
• When eating at home, serve the food onto each person's plate in the kitchen, instead of putting all the serving dishes on the dining table. Keeping the excess food out of reach may discourage "seconds" and overeating. 
• Learn to "eyeball" proper portion sizes and stick to them!
• 3 oz meat = deck of cards
• 1 cup of cereal, rice, or pasta = a baseball
• 2 Tbsp of salad dressing  = a shot glass
• 1 oz of nuts = a cupped palm
• 1 oz of cheese  = a ping-pong ball
• 1 tsp. of peanut butter  = one die
• 1 medium potato = a computer mouse
• 1 cup of fruit or veggies = a tennis ball

Click the link below and watch as portion control expert Dr. James Painter discusses portion control and shows a little experiment he did to illustrate his point.  Very interesting.
Portion Control - CBS News Health Watch 



Try some of the portion control tips this month and see if they help you manage your weight loss goals. Small, simple changes can make a world of difference.

Golf and The Importance of Hydration! Posted On My RNS Sports Nutrition Blog

Hydration and Golf Performance - a KEY element of your game

You're coming up on the 15th hole. You are fatigued, hot, and you feel a headache coming on. You've been fighting the course for the past 4 holes, and it is winning. Your game was great on the front nine, but now it's crumbling. Why does this always seem to happen? There could be one, simple solution...Hydration! 

Read more about the importance of hydration and your golf performance on my blog on my RNS Sports Nutrition blog 

Top 10 Reasons Why Athletes Should Avoid Alcohol Posted On My RNS Sports Nutrition Blog

Athletes train hard and compete in order to achieve their dreams. These dreams may be impossible to achieve if athletes choose to drink alcohol. Consuming alcoholic beverages, even days before or after an important practice or competition, can erase the beneficial effects of training and ruin their chances of achieving optimum performance.

In addition to the health and safety concerns of excessive alcohol consumption, Read about the: 

 Top 10 reasons why athletes should avoid alcohol consumption 

on my RNS Sports Nutrition blog 

Happy 2013!! Start S.M.A.R.T., and avoid fad diets...PLEASE!!!

Happy 2013! 
It’s time for that annual event: coming up with your New Year’s resolutions.  Most people probably have one or two in mind. I’m guessing that most resolutions are related to DIET and EXERCISE, and experience leads me to believe that today (or perhaps Monday) will be a very crowded day at the local gym. If you check back a month later in February, the gyms will be back to their normal capacities. WHY? 

New Year's resolutions are doomed to failure if you do not set SMART Goals. Making vague statements such as "I'm going to exercise more in 2013" or "I want to lose weight in 2013" is setting yourself up for failure, because these statements are missing key elements of the goal setting process.

Here are the 5 SMART elements of goal setting. Try them out with your New Year's Resolutions.

1. Specific:  Be specific by stating the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the goal. Instead of making the vague statement "I will lose weight", add the specifics:    "I will lose 4 pounds each month, starting in January, by running 30 minutes, 4 times per week, so I can reach my goal weight and improve my blood pressure."
2. Measurable: You need to have concrete criteria to measure your goals so you know if you are on track. This is the "how much", "how far" or "how many" of your goal.  This part of the goal is easily logged in a calendar, day planner, or smart phone and can be tracked to determine your success. "I will do 100 sit-ups, 50 push-ups, and jump rope for 10 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings before work."
3. Attainable: When you set goals that are important and reachable, you start to figure out ways to make them happen. You develop a positive attitude, learn skills, and plan the financial aspects related to the goals. Keep in mind that if you set goals that seem too far out of reach (i.e. "I want to lose 50 pounds") you probably won’t commit to doing them because they seem overwhelming. Setting a more attainable goal of 5 pounds per month is not so overwhelming.
4. Realistic: Get Real! “I’m going to stop eating ice cream this year” is probably not realistic if it is one of your favorite treats. Instead, cut back a little bit if you eat it frequently. “I will have one ½ cup serving of ice cream only on Saturdays and Sundays instead of every night like I do now”.  
5. Timely: Set a time frame for the goal: “by March 1^st”, “for 3 weeks”, “in one month”, etc. Once you have included a time schedule with your goal, you have a time point to work towards, and you can reevaluate your goal once you get to that point. Keep the time frame realistic by setting the goal date closer rather than far away. Shorter, more frequent milestones will keep the goal fresh in your mind, and early successes will motivate you even more. 

Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!!!