Image by Kenzoka
Not that I’m amazing at posting regularly anyway, but I wanted to say that I’m on vacation. Sadly, it’s the working/studying/visiting family kind instead of the laying on the beach/drinking mojitos/eating nachos kind.
See you next month!
Image: Wikipedia
I’m going to my list of quick “try-its” while I try to juggle teaching, working, volunteering, shadowing an otolaryngologist and studying for the MCAT (which I have ingeniously decided to take BEFORE taking the underlying courses – brilliant!).
So don’t complain, these are just as important as the ones that need 10,000 word explanations. Maybe more so.
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Don’t think I’m judging you for eating peanut butter by the spoonful while standing by the kitchen counter or swallowing Pringles too fast to taste them.
I do the same thing.
What I can tell you from my own experience is that you eat less food if you take more time to stuff it in your pie hole.
Tactics:
1. Put your fork/spoon down between each bite.
2. Swallow each bite before putting another in your mouth (ie the civilized method).
3. Chew your food before swallowing it.
4. Actually take a moment to think about how your food tastes.
5. Sit down at a table to eat, without watching television or surfing the net. Potentially, you could even have a conversation with another human to draw the meal out.
6. Set aside time in your schedule to eat so you don’t feel pressured to squeeze it into the 5 minutes between meetings or activities.
7. Use smaller utensils – like a dessert fork and spoon instead of full sized. It will limit the food you can pick up at once.
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It also helps to schedule regular meals to make sure that you aren’t STARVING when you sit down to eat. Try to stay relaxed and think of eating as a legitimate activity that is worth taking time to complete.
Common wisdom says that it takes around 15-20 minutes for satiety signals to register, so you also want to leave a rest period before going back for second helpings.
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What are your tricks for eating more slowly? Do you find that taking your time means you avoid overeating? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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Image: Wikipedia
Or blogs, or whatever.
One of the most important influences on me when I first started exercising was Fitness magazine.
I picked it up at the grocery store cashier line and read it while sitting on the couch eating cheetos by the fistful. I read the articles. I tore out some home workout guides. I circled some crap in magic marker. I stuck the magazine in a pile under the coffee table.
I went through several copies of Shape and Fitness with the same result.
After a few month, I noticed that I remembered tips and encouragement that I had read in the magazines when I decided what to eat and whether to work out.
Even though it took awhile, reading through those magazines kept diet and fitness in the forefront of my mind. It also made healthy decisions seem like a normal thing to do.
It’s really hard to change habits, especially when eating healthfully and exercising aren’t part of your normal routine. If you increase your exposure to healthy habits, they really start to come more naturally in your own life.
I started with Shape and Fitness, then later added Oxygen, which is more weightlifting-focused. There are lots of sport-specific mags if you want to read about running or yoga while you eat your cheetos.
Check out amazon, eBay and coupon sites for discounted subscription rates. Sometimes you can get a year of magazines for the price of just one at the grocery store.
And just keep reading them. They will work eventually.
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What health and fitness mags do you subscribe to? Do you feel that they help you stay on track with your diet and exercise? Share your experience in the comments!
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Image by watz
Looks like I’m doing a pretty terrible job of updating the site. But I have an excuse, actually lots of them:
I’ve been mildly distracted. But I have come up with a bunch of new ideas to try for improving your health habits.
This one is really easy, but a little bit counterintuitive.
You know when you gain a couple of pounds, you go straight for your baggy jeans or sweat pants? Don’t.
Wearing fitted tops and pants will make you more aware of what you stick in your mouth.
Likewise, wearing baggy or stretchy garments might just make you feel like you a free pass to a second donut.
I’ve definitely noticed this about myself. I make it a point to notice how my pants fit when I put them on. If they fit a little bit tightly, I may need to pay more attention to extra snacking and desserts.
This can be good reinforcement for those who prefer to try intuitive eating instead of a prescribed eating plan. The fit of your clothing can serve as a gentle reminder if you get off track.
So, next time, leave your sweats in the closet and take a pass on the M&M jar.
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Do you use your clothing to judge if your weight is on track? Are you more likely to overeat if you know your clothing will hide it? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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Image by bradley
Sometimes focusing on a secondary objective makes losing weight SEEM a lot easier.
One thing that has worked for me is to focus on what I am eating, rather than what I’m trying not to eat.
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Get Your Nutrients
So, the first step is obviously to track your nutrients.
Most food tracking sites actually do not do this. The two that I’ve found that do are FitDay – which I personally use – and the USDA’s mypyramid site, which I guess isn’t really a pyramid anymore.
Then you put your food in there.
Do this for a few days with your normal diet and you will quickly see which nutrients you are not getting.
Tweak your diet to add more foods with those nutrients. I will wager a wild guess that you need to eat more vegetables.
Nutrients from vitamin supplements do NOT count and you shouldn’t be taking them unless prescribed for a deficiency, since you will be getting all you need from food.
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Don’t Freak Out
You don’t need to hit 100% on every single one, every day.
First, Vitamins A, D and E are fat soluble so they stick around a while. You don’t need to obsess over the daily amounts, but try to get enough long term (on your months charts).
Next, the recommended nutrient levels are an average that gives at least the minimum needed, for most people. So, if you are really active or a big person, you probably need a bit more than smaller, slower-living people.
Just try to get most of your nutrients most of the time.
Work on adding foods to your diet that hit multiple dietary needs.
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Then Eat What You Want
It’s actually pretty hard to get the nutrients that you need and you will wind up eating quite a bit of healthy food.
If you want to eat a little trash on top of that, go for it.
So that’s it. Looking at your food for it’s nutritional content will hopefully distract you from worrying about the calories and portion sizes.
Oh, and you’re supposed to be doing it anyway.
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Do you track your vitamin and mineral intake? What method do you use to keep tabs? What are your favorite nutrient-dense foods? What nutrients did you find you were missing and what foods provide them? Share your tips in the comments!
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Shut Up and Try It 