Okay, let’s say you’re being good all day. You watch how much you eat, keep the calories and carbs low, drink lots of water and even… wait for it… EXERCISE! But then it gets to be evening time and you get hungry and blow it. Well, maybe it has to do with when you eat dinner. Those early-bird specials are great but… they’re EARLY. If you stay up till the late news you have a third of your day to go. Even if you eat right after work, there is a lot of time till bed. That’s why you get hungry. So shift your dinner a bit later and you’ll be less tempted. Of course, don’t get too hungry before dinner. Have a hand-full of almonds or macadamias and a big glass of water. It will take the edge off and keep you from wanting bigger portions later. So eat late but don’t over eat.
TODAY: EAT DINNER A LITTLE LATER.
On day six of Half Week you have probably realized by now that this has been an exercise in the easy way to reduce calories. Fix your meals the way you always have, order the meals you always have, eat what you want, just take the portions you are used to and cut them in half. Set them aside, share them, freeze them for another meal do anything you want with them, just DON’T EAT THAT OTHER HALF. In the end it will all add up to less you.
TODAY: WALK DOUBLE YOUR USUAL DISTANCE.
Be realistic and think beyond your diet today. Did you get a Wii Fit for Christmas? or maybe the new Wii Fit Plus update. Last evening mine told me that setting a goal to lose three pounds over two weeks would be longer lasting than a fast loss. I know the shapely avatar on my TV isn’t an expert, but some quick research backed this up.
Diets fail over time because they feel like deprivation. It takes an unrealistic level of motivation to keep cutting calories. This does not last.
To avoid Rebound Weight Gain, medical experts recommend:
– Cut calories while maintaining protein intake
– Exercise five times a week during the diet and beyond to maintain muscle mass
– Take multivitamins and drink plenty of water
– Plan your transition back to real foods
Besides, you already know you can’t “diet” forever. In the long term it’s not about goals. We’ve got to change the way we eat and maintain a more active lifestyle if we want to have any lifestyle at all.
TODAY: WALK A LITTLE FARTHER THAN YESTERDAY.
There is no sense in trying to start a diet during the holidays. Go ahead, eat and imbibe. Sit around and watch those DVDs you get. I’ll start nagging you the Monday after the new year. THIS is going to be the year to get back in better shape! So I’m going to nag you until you back to a healthy weight. To get ready maybe ease up a little on the calories now so there is less to lose. I’ve heard we average a five pound gain over the holidays! Don’t overdo it or you’ll have that much more to lose to get back to needing to lose weight.
I don’t mean the kind where your tongue hangs out. I mean when your belly hangs out!
The weekend is here and you are going to get those temptations again. Go ahead. Eat out. Enjoy your meals. Just don’t eat it all at one sitting. The reality is that food portions in the US have increased over the past 20 years. It’s helped to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Or it’s an excuse for it. But either way, restaurant portions are often much more than you should eat at one sitting. So here’s a trick. Order what you want. But have them splt it in the kitchen before it’s sent out to you. Have them go ahead and put half in a to-go box. You’ll have a filling meal and then have another one with your favorites later in the week. Just take it home and pop it in the freezer. That way you won’t waste anything and you won’t WAIST anything either.
TODAY: HAVE HALF OF ANY RESTAURANT MEAL PREPARED TO GO.
Have you ever read the instructions on the shampoo bottle? Or do you already follow the “wash, rinse, repeat” mantra? Well do you know how that came about? The truth is that you only need to wash once. The concept of doing it twice came from the P&G marketing department decades ago. Why? Well it’s simple. Because you use twice as much, it doubles their shampoo sales!
What does that have to do with dieting? Eating seconds does the same thing to your calorie intake. You really DON’T need seconds after you finish a plate. The logic continues that if you eat twice, you get twice the calories. YOU DON’T NEED THOSE CALORIES!
So if the urge to go back for more hits you, step away. Go take a shower and wash your hair… ONCE.
TODAY: STOP HAVING “SECONDS”.
Tags: calorie reduction, diet advice, diet and calories, diet portions, eat smaller portions, eating healthy, eating less, how many calories to eat, Reducing Calorie Intake
Daily Nag, Food Choices | Diet Nag | 
October 26, 2009 6:32 am | 
Comments (0)
We’re working our way down to smaller portions this week, one less bite per meal per day. You’ll start to see a portion size that will satisfy you. In the meantime view every bite left behind as a small victory. Those are calories that aren’t getting in. Feel good about it.
TODAY: EAT ANOTHER BITE LESS AT EACH MEAL.
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