ThinkSlim

Eat a Good Meal and Lose weight

When you say you had a good meal what do you mean?

A good meal could be one which gave you enormous pleasure. It could be that it was absolutely delicious. You enjoyed every mouthful and felt quite satisfied after eating it.

Maybe it included some of your favorite foods - just like your mom used to make. True comfort food.

Maybe it was pure indulgence with food you love but which you don't normally allow yourself to eat on your diet.

Maybe you pushed the boat out a bit and ate in a top restaurant and are still remembering the whole experience of dining like royalty.

But there's another definition of a good meal I would like you to think about. It's one where you don't say "That was delicious" and then regret the calories when you get on the scales the next day.

A truly good meal is delicious but it also nourishes your body and provides a good balance of protein, carbohydrate, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals without going over the top on calories. It's one which has a healthy balance between tasting fantastic and making you feel fantastic too.

You may think that such foods don't exist - that a good meal isn't a good meal without a multitude of calories and a sticky dessert but I'd have to say you just haven't found the right recipes yet.

Make it your mission this year to find one new delicious healthy recipe every month (or every week if you can manage it). Find a healthy recipe that you would look forward to eating, try it out and make sure you love it then add it to your usual list of potential meals. As time goes on and you have collected a few recipes, you will be able to have a good meal whenever you like without wrecking you diet - you'll have your own treasure trove of personal favorites.  

To find recipes take a look at the cookbooks you have at home, search for "low-calorie recipes, "low-fat recipes" or "Weight Watchers recipes" online or check out some specialist magazines from your local book store.

How to Stop Evening Snacking

Christmas is a difficult time for losing weight even if it's just because of the sheer amount of extra snacks that are around the house.

There can't be a single person who escapes the gift of chocolates and if everyone in your family receives some then that's an awful lot of chocolate to munch through. Then there are all the other snacks - the nuts, the crisps, the crackers and cheese, the leftovers of delicious desserts.

The best way to stop snacking is to get rid of it all, straight in the trash and no regrets. But you won't do that will you? (I can't bring myself to do that either)

The next best is to share it out - invite a crowd round and let them polish it off. My son's friends are great for this!

Failing that, put it all away in a high cupboard (out of sight, out of mind) and/or ration it - one small treat a day.

After the Christmas goodies finally disappear you may find you have a new unwanted snacking habit (or just a continuation of an old one). That habit needs to go, if you want to lose weight. Unfortunately it doesn't take more than a few days regular snacking before we are used to eating something at particular times of the day and miss it when we don't.

Like Annie (whose issues we have been looking at this week), you might find you can eat well during the day but once evening comes you just want to snack in front of the TV especially if your family are eating something.

With any habit, it can be difficult if you just try and stop doing something. It is easier if you change something else associated with your habit. For example if you always have a cookie with your after dinner coffee, it can be hard to have the coffee without the cookie, so instead drink tea!

If you always just sit and watch TV in the evening, do something else while you view - knit, take up needlepoint, do the ironing, paste your photos in an album, lift a few hand weights - anything to keep your hands busy and break the pattern of viewing and snacking.

Annie found that her husband made it difficult for her to stop snacking because he was always eating in the evening. Her partner could eat the food and not gain weight. Here, it's important to remember that men use up around 500 calories more a day than women just because of their body composition. If you have a similar problem, try a combination of the following strategies

• ask your partner to support you by not eating snacks in front of you
• prepare your own special low calorie snacks in advance to have while they are eating their higher calorie snacks
• leave the room when they are eating
• practice saying "No thank you" whenever they ask you if you want some. You won't succeed every time but 80% will make a difference
• Every 5 times you succeed in saying "No" to snacking, reward yourself with a (non-food) treat
• don't buy fattening snacks or buy snacks which they like but you don't (I buy Jaffa cakes - can't stand them myself but my family like them)

How to Combat the Worst Diet Wrecker

There are quite a few diet wreckers around but I  think the very worst is found in every kitchen, cafe and food store and it's hidden in most manufactured food products. 

The worst diet wrecker of all time?

It  has to be sugar - pure, white and deadly.

Why is sugar such a demon?

• Sugar is calorie dense and without eating very much in quantity you will quickly consume a whole load of calories.
• Not only that but it's very natural to love sweet foods - so you want to eat more and more of it
• Sugar is often combined with high fat foods - just think about cakes, cookies, ice cream and chocolate so you get extra calories along with your sugar
• And because sugar has very little nutritional value or bulk it does not help to satisfy your appetite
• Last but not least, eating sugar rapidly raises blood sugar and insulin levels which increase your tendency to store excess energy as fat

The innocent looking white stuff has a lot to answer for but it's easy enough to avoid if you can see it.

The real problem is that we all eat a whole load of  sugar when we don't even know it's there.

• It's often consumed in beverages
• It's hidden in almost every manufactured food product.
• Not all of the products which contain sugar mention sugar in the list of ingredients on the packaging - sugar comes in all different variants so it's important to understand that fructose including high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, lactose, molasses, sucrose, dextrose, galactose and honey are all forms of sugar too and many products will have several of these included in the ingredients making up a huge proportion of the total.

To avoid eating too much sugar

• look out for those hidden ingredients and avoid buying products which load up their foods with empty calories
• eat (rather than drink) your calories - drink plain or sparkling water, herbal tea or black coffee
• eat slow-release whole grain carbohydrates which don't cause insulin levels to spike in place of sugar

 Of course I'm not saying ban sugar altogether (unless it's a real addiction and once you start you just can't stop). Just keep your sugar eating in moderation (maybe a square of chocolate after dinner) rather than filling yourself with empty calories and piling on the pounds.

Lose Weight : Teach Others To Respect You

Do your friends and family sabotage every diet you go on by offering you food you can't resist?

You know how it is.

It just takes a declaration that you need to lose 10lbs to fit into your party dress, for someone in your office to treat everyone to cakes or chocolates. Or for your partner to say, "Let's eat out tonight. How about trying that new "all-you-can-eat" place?"

Why do they do that?

It's probably just coincidence - because food and offers of food are all around us. Eating is a social activity after all and so you will often be invited to eat.

But if you want to reduce those offers and temptations you have to show your friends and family you mean business.

You do that by saying "No!"  without worrying about what they think of you.

Say "No I'd rather not because I am cutting back on food until I lose 10lbs" or whatever.

And the more you keep saying "no" the more respect you will earn and your friends will see that this time you really do mean it.

You can't really blame them for ignoring your half-hearted attempts to lose weight before can you?

How many times have you said to friends "I really shouldn't eat that" and then instantly followed it with "But go on then, just a small piece/just one"? It's no wonder that they don't believe you when you say you're on a diet.

Approach saying "No" like a sport that you are out to master. Try, try and try again until it comes naturally and your friends start to respect your efforts and stop pushing food on you.

This is important for weight management too because when that wonderful day comes when you reach your goal weight your friends will be telling you that you can eat everything now that you are slim. And if you believe them you won't be slim for long!

Is Your Job Making you Fat?

When I worked in an office and did a lot of client entertaining and business travel, it would have been very easy to gain a lot of weight - I didn't - but that was only because it was counter-balanced with long hours of stress with no time to eat :)

But I do believe there are plenty of work situations which may lead you to overeating - some of them social (birthday cakes, lunch with the girls, drinks after work etc) and some of them in the line of duty (travel, entertaining etc)

If you're trying to lose weight, don't blame your job for getting in the way - work out some strategies to cope with the situations you find yourself in instead. You will know what these situations are likely to be more than anyone.

Maybe you receive presents of chocolates if you're a nurse or a teacher. You know they will come. What will you do with them? Think about it before they arrive!

If you entertain clients, work out your strategy for that too. If possible choose the restaurant were you know they have a good selection of healthy dishes you like. In any case, you are always in control of what you order and what you eat or drink from what actually arrives in front of you.

If you travel, you will have a good idea of what you can eat from the usual airport, plane or roadside cafe. If all else fails take your own. Don't use travel as an excuse to eat too much.

And as for the birthday cakes and lunches - join in if you like but go easy on the portions...

It easy to find things in your life to blame for being overweight, but that doesn't get you any nearer the size you want to be.

Remember whatever situation you find yourself in at home, at work or at play, you are always in control of what you put in your mouth. Make sure that you exercise that control!

Best Diet Tips (Part 5) : Do You Want to Lose Weight?

The difference between those who want to lose weight and those who actually lose weight is one thing and one thing only.

Actually taking action!

It's alright imagining yourself slimmer, plotting what you'll wear (or eat?) once you're slim but unless you actually get your finger out and change what you eat NOW and/or increase your activity levels you are not going to achieve your goal.

• You can buy a diet book and not lose weight. You have to follow that plan.
• You can take a diet pill and not lose weight. You inevitably have to follow the diet plan they give you and don't mention.
• You can join a gym and not lose weight. You actually have to go and do the exercises  - regularly not just once or twice.

I quite often hear from clients "I have tried everything to lose weight" and it will be true. They have TRIED everything (or so it seems) but what is also always true is that they have never stuck with anything.

Losing weight is not going to happen on a wish no matter how much you want it. It happens when you take action day after day after day.

You might have the odd "off day" even the odd "off week" but you have to get right back on board and get on with your weight loss program straight away.

And the great thing is - it's entirely under your own control whether you lose weight or not. You just have to decide whether you want to lose weight (a wish) or whether you are actually going to stick to a plan and lose it.

Best Diet Tips (Part 1) : Start with Veggies

One of the healthiest changes you can make to your diet if you want to lose weight AND feel better is to eat more vegetables. They are low in calories and high in minerals and fibre and they will fill you up without adding to your fat stores.

I know they are not so much fun to eat like chips and chocolate but they can be delicious if you cook them right.

If you're not fond of veggies you have to be a bit inventive - add them to soups, stews, casseroles and curries or stir fry them with a good sauce for a better flavour. You could roast root vegetables to bring out their sweetness or puree your vegetables along with potato for a great mash. If you prefer them raw, make crudites (vegetable sticks) with a low-fat dip or have them in a huge mixed salad.

And if you tend to buy lots of vegetables at the start of the week with good intentions only to find them rotting in the fridge when it's time to go shopping again, do yourself a favour, spend a little more and buy the ready prepared kind which are easy to serve without effort. You''ll spend more but waste less.

One good tip for weight loss is to start every meal with veggies so that they fill you up BEFORE you get going on the main course. Eat your salad first or a good vegetable soup and then serve yourself a much smaller portion of your main course than you otherwise would.

If you have any good recipes or ideas for eating more vegetables (and less everything else)  please feel free to comment below. You also find lots of recipes under 200 calories on this diet recipes site.

Healthy Eating at Work - 7 Tips

There are pros and cons to working outside the home.

If you work at home and get a bit bored then, I can tell you from experience, the fridge is always beckoning and temptation is constantly a few steps away.

But if you're not careful, a job can be just as hazardous to your weight loss efforts.

Here's how to prevent your work getting in the way of you losing weight.

1. Take Your Lunch to Work

Take 10 minutes every day to pack your own lunch so you avoid the over-sized sandwich and fast food offerings that you might otherwise opt for.

2. A Bag of Apples

Always have apples on hand (or other healthy snacks) to avoid the temptation of the chocolate machine. Apples don't make much mess and the pectin they contain helps fill you up.

(And if you tend to get in from work ravenous, an apple on the way home can also help you from emptying the fridge before you have a chance to make dinner.  )

3. Eat Breakfast at Home

Breakfast before you go to work so you're not tempted to collect a coffee and muffin on the way. If you really don't have time or don't like eating breakfast so early - pack your breakfast as well as your lunch.

4. Walk as well as Eat

Use you lunch hour to take a walk - a bit of a breather will help reduce stress (and stress eating) in the afternoon as well as burning a few calories and keeping your metabolism stoked.

If you have a nearby gym, you could fit in a 30 minute session on the cardio machines or weights and still have time for a shower and sandwich.

5. Avoid the Treats

Just because someone has a birthday doesn't mean you have to eat cake like it was yours (and accept seconds for good measure). Just because they want to off-load their chocolate gifts on the girls at the office, doesn't mean that you have to be the one to sae their diet by breaking yours.

If you feel it would be impolite to refuse, take a piece of cake or chocolate "for later" and  "forget" to eat it.

6. Drink Water

In an over-heated workplace, it's easy to become dehydrated. Keep a glass of water on your desk so you always have something to sip. This is also useful to help you cut down on caffeine. While coffee or tea can tempt you into having a cookie or something like it at the same time, water and cookies does not  have the same attraction.

7. Workplace Meals

If your work place has a good subsidized restaurant make the most of it and eat your main meal at lunch time if this means you won't have to cook in the evening. Choose lean protein with plenty of vegetables or salad and fruit or yogurt for dessert. Then swap your evening meal for a lighter snack or sandwich.

Fast Food Made Easy

Sometimes you just need to eat and fast! That's when we are most vulnerable to grabbing unhealthy food from the fridge or store cupboard, or to deciding to send out for takeaway - or worse, grabbing something unhealthy AND sending out for food.

To prevent these lapses in your weight loss efforts a bit of advance planning can work wonders - and then you can still eat fast - without breaking your diet.

1. Your Fast Food List

Have a list of healthy items that like and which you can cook in a hurry. On mine I would have things like 

• ham and mushroom omlette
• scrambled egg with smoked salmon on toast
• chicken stir fry (I buy cooked chicken from the deli)
• prawn (shrimp) curry
• pasta with tomato sauce and cheese
• sandwich
• cereal
• ready-made soup
• crunchy peanut butter on rye crackers

2. Shop Ahead

Have Ingredients for yout fast food list always to hand in your fridge, or pantry

3. Be Flexible

A meal does not have to be meat and 2 veggies. If your family objects, YOUR meal does not have to be the same as theirs. A bowl of cereal and milk with an apple for dessert may be all you need.

4. Get Help with the Prep

Buy ready-prepared salad or vegetables to accompany your main dish. Frozen veggies or canned sweetcorn can save time too. Look out for healthy pasta sauces and soups in the chiller cabinet at the store which can make a healthy meal fast when you have run out of time.

5. Cook in advance

The best meals are those which did take a bit of time to cook but you made them earlier so they are ready and waiting for you when you come in. A crock pot or slow cooker is ideal for this - or cook extra helpings when you do have time to cook then freeze portions and defrost ready for your meal.

Lose Weight: Ever Eat Your Lunch Like This?

Have you ever eaten a sandwich or tortilla wrap and wondered where it went? You've eaten your lunch but you didn't even notice. And now you're still hungry!

So often these days we are in such a hurry to do everything that we multi-task while eating.

(Maybe you are even eating your lunch reading this)

But the problem is to feel satisfied with food you have to be psychologically satisfied as well as physically satisfied.

In other words if you enjoy your food and the whole experience of eating you are more likely to feel full than if you wolf it down while answering your emails.

So give yourself a chance to enjoy your lunch today and to notice every bite. Eat slowly. taste the food. Enjoy the texture. Chew it properly (much better for your digestion too) and be thoroughly aware of what you're eating and how it makes you feel both during your meal and afterwards.

If you are forever on a diet you can lose the ability to regulate your eating using true hunger signals. You are so used to using willpower and a meal plan to tell you what and when to eat.

Eating every meal slowly and mindfully will allow you to retune into your natural hunger signals - and that's the first step to keeping your weight under control without dieting.