Ok mamas, my huband and I are dropping a few lbs for the summer as I need to lose about 10 and he needs to lose about 20. We have decided to add a competition to the first 2 weeks to get it started because our willpower sucks... whoever loses the largest percentage of weight in the 1st 2 weeks gets half of the other person's monthly "allowance" (the money each of us gets for spending on whatever for ourselves) for the month of July. So I have to win!! :) Of course I don't want to do anything ridiculous or fad-ish because I will just regain anything I lose but I would love to hear your favorite very lo-cal, unpackaged foods that are actually filling... soups/salads/etc etc... for the most part we already eat the things we are "supposed" to eat, however we eat them in ridiculous portion sizes, or find ourselves snacking (or more like consuming like 1000 cals) at night while we watch tv. So any tips for kicking that habit would be appreciated also.
LARGE salads with low fat dressings, add a can of tuna, drained and maybe hard cooked eggs to make a meal out of it.
Buy regular popcorn---no more microwave popcorn, too much fat and calories. You can put about a 1/4 cup unpopped corn in a small paper bag, fold down the top of the bag and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt or even a tablespoon of butter and you will cut the calories to about 1/3 of pre-packaged microwave popcorn.
Try brushing your teeth soon after you eat dinner. It really helps to stop those nightly cravings. Nobody likes to eat when their mouth is minty fresh!
Like someone said, go natural. Eat clean, google clean eating for a list of foods to eat. Basically avoid all processed foods as much as you can. Make a house rule, "No eating while watching TV!". Once you stop doing it for a few nights, you'll get out of that routine and it'll get easier. Instead of mindlessly snacking, have a cup of green tea. Good luck, you can do it!
I really don't like the taste of low calorie most things. So with that in mind I tend to gravitate to eating things like cucumber slices, fresh pineapple, grapes, cherry or grape tomatos, blueberries, strawberries, apples, oranges, raspberries, bananas, cherries, brocolli, carrot sticks, and what ever other friut or veggie I can get my hands on. They are filling and not fattening and I don't use any dip but if I really wanted something I go after low fat vanilla yogurt with a spinkle of nutmeg.
I have yet to see an overweight vegetarian.
Remember to get up and get it moving this will enhance your ability to loose weight and increase your appetite but remember fresh fruit and veggies are your best weapons against weight gain. I hope this helps you out.
Kim, I never thought of that, good one.
My thing is go natural. Granted I also exercised like a crazy person but I lost 35 lbs in two months and the only change in my diet was cutting out all that was unnatural. Like most of your fast food, TV dinner type stuff, ya know? I love to eat and I love good food so it really wasn't suffering. :)
Oh, walking but make sure your abs are engaged when you walk. It works more muscles than you would think and burns more calories than running.
Log what you eat on a free web site such as livestrong.com…this will add up all the calories you are consuming. You can also enter how much you want to lose per week and it will tell you how many calories you can consume. As you enter your meals, it will show you what you have left for the day. I am less apt to snack when I know I am going to have to log it and them be mad at myself!
I started eating low sugar oatmeal for breakfast (7:30am)
Banana for morning snack (9:30am)
Lunch is chili (home made turkey chili or small Wendy's chili), Chicken Noodle Soup (Progressive or home made) or Subway
Afternoon Snack 1:30 of Sugar Free Jell-O or fruit
When I get home from work, I snack on carrots and low fat ranch or Almonds
Dinner is chicken breast with broccoli, chili or soup.
Late night snack at times of fruit or pickles
This combination with cardio (5 days a week) helped me to drop some lbs. I use to eat salad every day. LOVE it, but so bloated and not always super full. The protein is really what I think is helping me to lose the weight.
Best of luck! I hope you win!!!
First of all you should cut out any sugar that you can. As far as easy meals I love eggs. You can make scrambled eggs (no or only one yolk) with whatever you like. Also I love squash lasagna. Take yellow, zucchini, mediterrainian. Whatever kind of squash you have available and cut it longways into strips. These are your noodles. Brown minced onions and ground beef or turkey in a pan on the stove. Add your favorite tomato sauce and warm. Layer the meat sauce mix with the squash and add a little cheese. Brown this in the oven for 30 minutes at 350.
Progresso Soups
I'm not sure what to say about the snacking in front of tv part. I can give tips about low cal munchies. But I suspect you'd just get up for more snacks during tv watching since you said willpower sucks. I guess keeping only healthy stuff like carrot sticks in the house would keep you from overeating if you don't jump in car and go to store for junk.
Beans are very low-cal and really good for you, and the fiber makes it a filling meal. There are also many ways to cook beans. We put black beans in a whole-wheat tortilla with salsa, lettuce, and tomatoes, and it is delicious! We also make vegetarian chili with black beans and it is also filling. Good luck, and I hope you win! :-)
First, I would suggest myfitnesspal.com or a similar website. Great way for tracking your calories and exercise, and it will give you a pretty good idea of how much you should be eating based on your age, goals, activity level, etc. It's also a great support community.
Then get rid of all the junk in your house. Chips, candy, microwave popcorn, soda, etc need to go. Stock up on fresh veggies, they make great snacks (especially if they're already pre-cut and ready to eat). And while you're at it, buy a water bottle (ideally one that holds 16-32 oz). Keep this with you through the day and into the evening and drink regularly (you should be having at least 64 oz a day, probably more). We often mistake thirst for cravings, so this will help cut down on the snacking.
Buy a sugarfree gum you like, and chew that first when you know you shouldn't be hungry but find yourself wanting something in your mouth.
Give yourself a rule that you only eat at the table. Not in front of the t.v. (as you've found, this leads to mindless snacking and before you know it you've eaten a ton of empty calories).
Next, go to the library and find some exercise DVDs. Anything that gets you moving is good, but I've heard really good stuff about Shred, and I always loved Tae Bo. Once you've found something you like, you can think about buying it, but the library is a risk-free way to try different things. (If you have Netflix, they have a bunch too, and many even on instant play). Oh, and you have to actually do the workout with the videos to get the benefits, LOL.
Last, don't try to lose too much at once. 2 lbs a week is reasonable, especially for someone needing to lose a lot (which isn't you). 1 lb a week might be a better, more manageable goal. Anything more than 2 lbs a week can be dangerous, especially if you only need to lose 10 lbs total, and it is a lifestyle (and weightloss) that is very hard to maintain.
my best advicce is make the main components of your diet water, fruits, and vegetables. Add in protien throughout the day. When I'm being really good, I keep a big bowl of grapes, apple and orange slices and a few cheese cubes or some yogurt to eat on all morning. Then at lunch, I microwave a bag of frozen veggies and season them up a little. Maybe 3 or 4 peanut butter crackers and another apple in the early afternoon. Then I'm not so crazy hungry in the evening. I try to just eat an extremely small portion of everything at dinner.. I mean ridiculously small! With nore veggie than meat and no carb. Then I can eat a handful of pretzels in front of the tv. I will portion out 20 or 30 and sit those in front of me. That's all I'm getting, so, I just nibble on them here and there. Thats the best day - you dont even want to hear about my worst day!
Walking after dinner is a good one. Also apples really help to stave off hunger so if you can eat one about an hour before dinner or even as a TV snack that would be better. I love to add peanut butter to my apples, so you could try that too to make it sweeter. As far as snacking, it's hard, we are major snackers! In fact, I would rather eat a "snack" dinner of a bunch of different things (not even necessarily unhealthy) than a sit down dinner, but I rarely do that! Anyway, we sometimes buy baked chips or low fat type snacks, not all the time, but it's a nice treat. Sugar free popsicles are one of my husband's favorite and I like the frozen yogurt made by Stoneyfield Farms. The yogurt still has sugar, but it's fat free and I don't eat it every night!
start going for a walk in the evening so that you are not sitting in front of the TV just vegging out. That is when I start picking at food. I noticed that I start eating when I am bored......not a good habit. Now that I noticed that I am doing it, I have stopped.....
For kicking habits esspecially late night snacking, drink herbal tea if you have to have somthing. If you really crave something salty, have some broth or instant miso soup. You may need to go to bed earlier than usual if you get really hungry to keep from snacking. Know that it takes a few weeks of will power on habbits like that before you can conquer them. Keep up the will power and it gets easier. I had to break late night snacking habit long long ago, and I've stuck with it for 20 years!
