Do Diet Meal Programs Work?

If you like to watch TV I'm sure you've seen all the "diet meal programs" advertised. They are on TV almost all day long. So is there one that's best for weight loss.

Just like there is no single diet that works for everyone, there is no single diet meal delivery service that works best for everyone. So before you sign up for a diet delivery meal plan, ask these critical questions about the cost of the food, the quality of the meals and the nutritional standards upon which the program is based in order to find the best meal delivery service for you. You're not going to get the answers from the company rep on the phone or in an email, these people only want you to order their products.

Questions That Reveal The Best Diet Delivery Meal Program
You can find answers to most of these questions on the websites of popular diet delivery programs.

But you may have to do a little digging to find them. When I review delivery food programs, I find most of the answers in the FAQ section, not on the main pages. You can also get answers by emailing the company if you know what to ask.

Is this food plan designed for weight loss? This may seem like a simple question, but many meal delivery services provide healthy meals that are not calorie-controlled and won't necessarily help you lose weight. Diet food delivery plans designed for weight loss should provide information about how many calories are in each meal and other essential nutritional information.

How many calories will I consume each day on this plan? You may already know how many calories you need to eat each day to lose weight. Some plans are designed to provide a specific number of calories each day while others have some flexibility in the total number of calories you consume. Remember, weight loss won't happen unless you create a specific calorie deficit at the end of the week. So make sure you know how many calories you will consume on the plan.

Is nutritional information provided for each meal? Smart dieters will check to make sure that they are getting enough protein to maintain muscle mass, enough carbohydrate to provide energy and some healthy fats to promote a healthy body. If a Nutrition Facts label is provided on each meal, you'll be able to find this information. You might also want to check the ingredients and nutrition for each meal so that you can plan future meals based on what you liked and didn't like. For example, you may find that breakfast meals with more fiber help you to stay satisfied through the mid-morning slump. This information will help you to plan fiber-rich morning meals after you go off the diet delivery plan.

Will the food taste good? This will be a tough question to answer before you order because everyone's tastes are different. But you may find that online reviews are helpful. My diet delivery service reviews provide comments about food taste and food quality. And online research company "NextAdvisor" also reviewed several of the top companies and rated each on food quality and cost.

Does the weekly cost of the meal plan include all food? Some meal delivery plans look less expensive, but you may have to provide your own snacks and/or your own fresh fruits and vegetables. Make sure you take the extra food cost into account when you are comparing the cost of each plan you like. And remember that the calories from your purchased food will increase your total daily calorie intake. That may have an impact on how quickly you lose weight.

I want to explain, this post was first on WebMd.com and I re-blogged it because of the emails I've received about these meal plans. I don't really think it's a good idea, but having said that, I realize that young single adults who eat out most of the time, don't like to grocery shop. So, to have a couple meals in the house so they can eat at home during the week is probably a good idea. The reason I don't care for these meals in a box is because if you're trying to lose weight and buy these meals with 500 calories, you will probably end up snacking more in the evening and that's the best way to gain weight.

I think that if you need help planning healthy meals and don't have time to do research, then you might learn something by ordering healthy meals in a box for a short time until you find good foods that you like to eat. The biggest reason that young adults are gaining weight is one lack of exercise and two eating the wrong foods. They skip meals and eat snack food instead of a meal.

I see this all the time in my emails, I don't have time to eat a meal. Okay, I understand, I'm busy also. Work today is demanding. So in some cases, it might make sense to order meals in a box and if they're healthy meals and you ordered enough to keep you from snacking, that's a good thing. It's not really about how many calories you eat, it more about what kind of calories are you eating.

I can eat 2000 calories a day and not gain weight, but if I eat 2000 calories of pizza, ice cream, and cake, I'll gain weight. Same amount of calories but if you eat the right foods the calories won't add any weight. If you're gaining weight it's because of what you're eating not necessarily how much you eat.

You can tweet me at #ray0369

I write several blogs, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog
idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonlosingweight.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/couponThere’s two ebooks. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

Why Portion Control Doesn't Really Work

We all know that calories matter a lot when it comes to weight loss. As long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you should lose weight. The logic is sound for most healthy adults, but we can also take that logic too far. In the case of healthy, sustainable weight loss, more restriction doesn’t always lead to better weight loss. In fact, regularly eating too few calories can put you at risk of malnutrition, resulting in unhealthy weight loss and nutrient deficiencies.

To prevent this, MyFitnessPal automatically has a minimum daily calorie goal of 1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men. These minimums, based on recommendations from the National Institutes of Health, ensure the majority of us trying to lose weight do so safely and get enough essential nutrients from food to prevent malnutrition.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHRONICALLY UNDEREAT?

The difference between fasting and chronically undereating (which can lead to starvation) is a matter of duration. Fasting is commonly practiced on a timescale of several hours, but while the term has earned itself a bad reputation from notorious fasting or “detox” diets (think: cayenne pepper diet), fasting for weight loss can be safe. Our bodies were actually designed to handle short-term fasts, like when we don’t eat for eight hours during sleep. We also go anywhere from 4–8 hours without eating when we skip meals during life’s busier moments.

On the other hand, going without food for several days or eating less than the calorie minimum for weeks to months puts you at risk of malnutrition. As well-nourished individuals, we do carry enough stored fuel to meet our needs for 1–3 months in the form of muscle tissue and fat. However, our body can only store 1–2 days’ worth of glycogen (the body’s carbohydrate stores), which, if not replenished, is quickly used up to maintain blood sugar.

After several days of undereating, the body switches to energy-conservation mode, meaning your metabolism slows way down, making you feel tired and edgy. As carbohydrate stores run low, protein and fat become the dominant sources of fuel. After 48 hours without food, your body runs out of glycogen to power the two organs that need it the most: red blood cells and the brain. While glucose is the only fuel blood cells can run on, the brain will begin to adapt to power itself with ketone bodies made from fat. To meet basic energy needs, your body ramps up breakdown of muscles and organs in addition to fat.

IS IT EVER OK TO UNDEREAT?

Although it’s not advisable for the average adult to eat less than the calorie minimum, there are individuals who benefit from following a medically supervised “very low calorie diet.” The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease defines a very low calorie diet (VLCD) as eating less than 800 calories per day. Eating at such a low calorie level makes it very difficult to obtain all the essential vitamins and minerals through just food alone. This diet involves eating specialized shakes, soups and bars that can fit in more micronutrients per calorie and regular check-ins with a doctor who specializes in weight loss. It’s not a good idea to jump into a VLCD without checking with a health professional to determine if you are a good fit. Even so, a VLCD is meant to last 12 weeks at most—enough time for someone who has a lot to lose to jump start their weight loss.

3 REASONS WHY UNDEREATING IS A BAD IDEA

For most of us, consistently eating less than the calorie minimum is a bad idea because it leads to a:

1. Slower metabolism and lousy side effects. With too few calories on board to power you through your daily activities, your body learns to live on less by significantly slowing your metabolism. Short term, you may feel sluggish, irritable and apathetic. Once you stop undereating, it takes awhile before your body to recover and your metabolism to rev back up.
2. Loss of valuable muscles and organs. Just because you’ve adapted to using ketone bodies doesn’t mean your body won’t need glucose at all. A minimum blood glucose level must be maintained to keep you alive so your body continues to break down muscles and organs. It’s a major problem in the long run, because your body doesn’t distinguish between essential tissues (think: heart, kidney, blood cells) and less essential tissues (think: skeletal muscle). Over time, this breakdown weakens and damages your vital organs.
3. Higher risk for nutrient deficiencies. Eating very few calories will also decrease the variety of foods you can eat, increasing your risk for nutrient deficiency. The type of nutrient deficiency that can occur depends on the food(s) that are being restricted. While not everyone who chronically undereats can automatically be diagnosed with an eating disorder, anorexia gives insight on the types of nutrient deficiencies that are likely to occur from prolonged starvation. This includes but isn’t limited to deficiencies in calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin D and the B vitamins, in addition to dangerous electrolyte imbalances and protein malnutrition.

Every body is different, so it’s important to experiment and see what works best for you. Just know that undereating is not a good long-term solution for living a healthy life or achieving or maintaining weight loss.

You can tweet me at #ray0369

I write several blogs, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.blog

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonlosingweight.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. There’s two ebooks.  “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

We Got Healthy

Mandy & Conner Volpe Got Healthy With An App

by MYFITNESSPAL

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I'm not doing a commercial, but I look at the "myfitnesspal" website pretty often and saw this story and wanted to reblog it. Those of you that follow my blog know about my battle with weight loss and some of you don't think it's possible, so I found this story about real people and I want to tell you that this story is not unusual. Today more people than ever are trying to lose weight. This couple used the apps available on the MyFitnessPal website to help them drop a large amount of body fat. Yes, this guy still has a way to go, but you can tell by the photos that they lost a lot of weight already. I know anyone can do it because I went from 220 pounds to 160. And all I did was change the foods I was eating and started to exercise. The fat will melt away and I was over 50 years old. Don't tell me you can't lose weight. 

Mandy and Conner Volpe not only created a healthier lifestyle for themselves but have lost a combined 176 lbs. — which is more than either of them weighs now! In December 2014, Mandy and Conner celebrated one-and-a-half years of healthy living — something they started working on as a married couple because they wanted to create a healthier lifestyle for their marriage.

To help them live that healthier lifestyle, they both started using MyFitnessPal. Said Mandy: “MyFitnessPal changed the way we think about food and exercise. It’s become a way for us to track our food and fitness and to visually chart everything — we can actually look at how we’re eating and exercising and use it as a way to correct ourselves if need be. It lets me see how eating a certain way — say a cupcake — how that would affect my weight if I were to eat one on a daily basis.”

In addition to tracking food and exercise, Mandy and Conner love the variety of the MFP database, “It’s great because you can track your food whether you eat out, eat pre-packaged foods, or make foods from your own personal recipes,” said Mandy. “It’s so easy to integrate into daily life. It’s free so you don’t have to spend money to make it happen like you would for a gym membership or at-home equipment.”

Probably the greatest challenge for them has been shifting how they celebrate things. They now eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and half marathons. Though it’s been tough, they’re committed to this lifestyle. For them, it’s no diet or fad — and because of the work they’ve done, they’re healthy, have newfound athleticism and look at themselves in a new light.

After you lose that first 10 pounds of body fat you won't want to quit. You'll feel younger and more energized. You'll be a happier person and your doctor will love the change.

I write several blogs, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.wordpress.com

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want.

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

Why Does My Weight Go Up and Down From Day to Day?

Usually, this happens to you after a few months on your diet. Most of us get a little too comfortable with their weight loss and start to take it all for granted and cheat a little by skipping some of the exercises, or you're starting to eat too many calories. It may be time to start a new food log or exercise log.

Fluctuations are normal, for women more than men, but for the most part, if you're trying to lose weight and you're on a strict diet, you probably eat about the same amount of calories every day. The problem with weight fluctuation is because we don't burn the same amount of calories every day so when there's an excess of calories consumed the excess is stored as fat and the scale can increase. It's easy to add up the calories that we consume but much harder to calculate the number of calories we burn. You are burning a different amount every day. It all depends on your activity level that day. So some days we burn more than we consume and some day we burn less than we consume. If you like to weigh-in every day, check your weight start thing in the morning before you eat of drink and do the same thing every day.

If you weigh yourself every morning, you probably notice that the number on the scale can change significantly from one day to the next. Sometimes the reason for the daily weight fluctuation is obvious. Perhaps you indulged in a big meal before bedtime that resulted in weight gain or had a very sweaty workout that resulted in weight loss. But there are be other reasons that your weight fluctuates day to day.

If you are trying to lose weight or change your body composition, you might be tempted to believe that the daily weight change is due to fat loss or fat gain. And that is a possibility. But there are many other factors that affect your weight from day to day.

Daily Weight Fluctuation: What's Normal?
In a recent interview about how to lose water weight, Dr. Kathleen Wyne, a board-certified endocrinologist, said that a five-pound weight shift is typical for most people day-to-day, but that the number on the scale can change by as much as 20 pounds depending on your body size. So why the big swing? And what causes these frustrating weight fluctuations from day to day? These factors contribute to an increase or decrease on the scale.

Sodium

High salt foods can cause water retention. The extra water adds up to pounds on the scale. Some people are very sodium sensitive and may retain more water and others are less so.

So what if you don’t think you consume a lot of sodium? Many of us don’t overuse the salt shaker at mealtime. But sodium can hide in unexpected places. Cold cuts, frozen meals, and savory sauces are often high in sodium. Canned soup is another common culprit. Many varieties of low-calorie soup are very high in sodium. But even homemade soups can have a lot of added salt. If you’re a dieter who is trying to cut back on big meals, you might notice an increase in the scale when you replace a big meal with low-calorie soup—even though the weight is simply water retention.

Carbohydrates

If you love bread, pasta, rice and other starchy carbs, the weight gain you see on the scale may be related to your carb intake. For every gram of carbohydrate you consume, your body retains three grams of water in order to store the fuel source. For that reason, if you eat a very high carbohydrate meal, your body weight is likely to increase because of the water weight, not because of increased fat. In addition, many refined carbohydrate foods are also high in sodium. For example, a spaghetti and meatball meal with parmesan cheese may cause you to retain water due to the carbohydrate intake and due to the high salt content.

Food Weight

Food intake will, of course, cause your weight to increase slightly as it is processed by your body. The food you consume can weigh a few ounces per meal to a few pounds per day. The water in food can cause your weight to increase as well, and many times after you've been eating a lot this water weight is what causes the number on the scale to rise. Additionally, according to some experts, consuming two cups of water—from beverages or water in food—increases your weight by one pound.

So what happens to all of that weight? It doesn’t automatically stick to your thighs. The calories in food are either used to fuel your body’s natural processes or the energy is stored to be used later. Waste products are processed and excreted by your body in the form of urine and stool (bowel movements).

Bowel Movements

You’re likely to see some fluctuations on the scale due to bowel movements. Have you ever wondered how much your stools weigh? In a research study, investigators found that you might produce 125 to almost 170 grams of stool per day. That’s less than a half pound. However, other studies report average daily stool weight to be roughly 106 grams per day—less than a quarter pound. Still, other sources report that you might poop up to one ounce per day for every 12 pounds of body weight. The bottom line? Normal bowel habits vary but you won’t see major weight fluctuations from bowel movements alone. In fact, even when you lose stool weight, there will still be digestible material in transit. Normal physiological fecal transit time is estimated to be vary between 40 and 60 hours with an optimal whole gut transit time of 24-48 hours. Transit time is improved if you consume more dietary fiber.

Exercise

Exercise can cause you to sweat and lose water weight. Exercise experts estimate that the average person loses approximately 25 to 45 ounces of fluid per hour during exercise, especially intense cardiovascular activity. But of course, that number can vary greatly based on weather conditions and other factors. And fluids lost from sweat shouldn’t make a difference on the scale. Why? Because fluids lost during exercise should be replaced. So if you notice that you lose weight consistently after exercise, you may want to come up with an improved hydration plan.

But other forms of exercise can cause daily weight fluctuations as well. Lifting weights or any form of strength training can cause your muscles to retain water. Why does this happen? When you participate in strength training, you create tiny tears in the muscle. Your muscles store and use water to repair the damage. When you create and repair these micro tears your muscles become larger and stronger.

Medication

Certain medications may cause you to gain weight. Some increase your appetite, some may cause you to retain water, and according to the Obesity Action Coalition, “others may affect how your body absorbs and stores glucose, which can lead to fat deposits in the midsection of your body.” If you are on a medication to treat conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, mood disorders, seizures or migraines you may notice an increase of up to several pounds per month, according to OACs medical experts. “Some people may gain a few pounds throughout the course of a year, while other people can gain 10, 20 or more pounds in just a few months.”

If you notice a sudden increase on the scale after you start a new prescription, don’t stop taking the medication. Instead, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Sometimes the weight gain is normal and to be expected, but other times it may be an indication that something is wrong.

Menstrual Cycle

Most women notice some degree of bloating from fluid retention immediately before and during their menstrual period. Studies have shown that fluid retention peaks on the first day of menstrual flow. It is lowest during the mid-follicular period (the middle phase of your cycle) and then gradually increases over the eleven days surrounding ovulation.

The authors of a broad one-year study found that the fluid retention was not linked to ovarian hormone changes. But other studies have linked fluctuations in estradiol and progesterone (your ovarian hormones) to changes in binge eating and emotional eating. So while there may not be hormonal changes that cause weight gain it might be that those cravings you get before your period may be causing you to eat more or eat different foods than you would normally eat—causing increased fluid retention and possible an increase in weight from food and water intake.

If you are trying to lose weight during your period, it's important to be aware of and manage these menstrual eating patterns. A few days of high-calorie, high-fat eating can easily undo a few week’s worth of consistent dieting.

Alcohol Intake

Alcohol is a diuretic, so it is possible that you could notice an immediate weight decrease if you end up urinating more than usual while drinking. In fact, researchers have found that alcohol can produce urine flow within 20 minutes of consumption leading to urinary fluid losses and possible fluid imbalance. But the imbalance may also cause your body to retain fluids from the beverages you consume and from food that you eat. Many drinkers eat or overeat salty foods that cause water retention. The end result is that it is very possible to see a weight increase on the scale after drinking.

When Will My Weight Go Back to Normal?

There are many reasons that daily weight fluctuations occur. Most of the changes can be linked to changes in water weight and normal bodily functions. So there really is no "normal weight." You probably don't need to worry if you see a small shift from day-to-day. You can even buy a body weight scale that measures your percent water to see how your fluid levels change throughout the month.

When should you be concerned about daily weight changes? If the number on the scale continues to increase or stays elevated for more than 5-7 days then it may be an indicator of a medical concern or simply increased body mass. But keep in mind that both muscle and fat increase your mass, so your weight gain isn’t necessarily bad.

What this all boils down to, is that small fluctuation is normal, but by the end of the week, for me, that's Friday morning, I want to weight slightly less than the previous Friday. I weigh-in every day to remind myself that I have a weight loss goal, but all I really expect is that every Friday morning I should be a little less or at least the same as the previous Friday. You won't lose weight every week, but you can try.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

How Should I Track My Weight Loss?

Take Your Measurements

We have relied on the scale for far too long. You don't have to throw out your scale, just remember it's not your bible.

This is a great option for tracking progress because it doesn't require any fancy equipment and anyone can do it. Taking your measurements at certain areas can give you an idea of where you're losing fat, which is important since we all lose fat in different areas and in a different order. 

Many of us have tried this method and gave up using it, but it's a better tracker than the scale. You know where you carry most of your fat and that's the object anyway. "Lose the fat." And the only way to lose fat is to change what you eat.

Taking your measurements can help reassure you that things are happening--even if you're not losing fat exactly where you want just yet.

Start by wearing tight fitting clothing (or no clothing) and make a note of what you're wearing so you know to wear the same clothes the next time you measure. Here's how to do it:

• Bust: Measure around the chest right at the nipple line, but don't pull the tape too tight.
• Chest: Measure just under your bust.
• Waist: Measure a half-inch above your belly button or at the smallest part of your waist.
• Hips: Place tape measure around the biggest part of your hips.
• Thighs: Measure around the biggest part of each thigh.
• Calves: Measure around the largest part of each calf.
• Upper arm: Measure around the largest part of each arm above the elbow.
• Forearm: Measure around the largest part of the arm below the elbow.

You can use this Progress Chart to record your measurements. Take them again once a week or once a month to see if you're losing inches.

Use Your Clothes

It may seem obvious, but don't overlook one of the simplest ways to track progress--how your clothes fit.

You may want to take a picture of yourself wearing a bathing suit and keep it in your weight loss journal. Each month, take a new picture...you'll be surprised at how many changes you notice in a picture as opposed to just seeing yourself in the mirror.

You can also use your clothes to keep track of your progress. Choose one pair of pants that are a little tight and try them on every 4 weeks to see how they fit.  Make a note of where they feel loose, where they feel tight and how you feel wearing them. 

Whatever the scale says?  Your pants will never lie.

Whichever method you choose to track your progress, by patient with yourself. It takes months for many of us to see significant changes and, even then, you'll probably notice the weight fluctuating as your eating habits and workouts change.

We can't be perfect all the time, so use these numbers as guideposts, not something that decides whether you're a good person or not. If you're not losing weight quick enough, take another look at your diet. You should eat every few hours. Eat only fresh foods with no man-made sauces, gravies, or anything with calories added to your food like cream or butter and don't drink calories.

You can tweet me at #ray0369

I write several blogs, check out some of my other sites.

gettingtoahealthyweight.wordpress.com

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

There are two e-books.  “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Changing Your Life

If you’ve already broken a New Year’s resolution or two, take heart. I can let you in on the ultimate secret for successfully making change in your life. If you want to be slim and trim and full of energy you'll have to change your life, there's no shortcut, no easy way. If the truth be known, anyone who loses weight fast has a much large risk of re-gaining the weight just as fast. Losing weight permanently is about losing body fat. Losing body fat will take a lifestyle change. No diets, just eating the right food and avoiding foods that add fat. Yes, you have to count calories at first until you learn what to eat and how much to eat.

A century’s worth of psychological research reveals an interesting paradox in who we are. On the one hand, once we reach adulthood our basic personalities remain unchanged for the rest of our lives. We keep doing the same things—and feeling the same ways—over and over. But, on the other hand, every day we change our behavior drastically in response to different environments. Most of us are one person at work, for example, and another person at home.

The implication of these findings for making (and keeping) New Year’s resolutions is clear:

It is easier to change our environment than to change ourselves. So, if you want to change yourself, change your environment.

Said differently:

Whenever possible, don’t try to fight temptations – avoid them!

The easiest way to make a change in your life is to modify the world around you in ways that will naturally drive you toward making, and maintaining, the change you want. There are many ways to change your environment, but let’s focus on 4 that have stood the test of time:

1. Nature hates a vacuum: In the context of changing your life, this means you can’t just get rid of something that is an important part of your life and leave a big emptiness in its place. This is one of the great secrets of Alcoholics Anonymous: you substitute the location of a bar and the company of fellow drinkers with an AA meeting in the company of people committed to sobriety. If you want to exercise instead of watch TV in the morning, put a treadmill in the spot where your TV once sat. If you eat too much at night because you are lonely and it briefly makes you feel better, do something in the evening where food is not available and eat earlier in the day so you don’t starve.

Did you notice the similarity to the Weight Watchers program. It’s a proven method that works.

2. Make it easy: It is hard enough to change habits or behaviors, so don’t make it any harder. Let’s take me as an example. I’ve been trying for several years to lose weight but always failed due to two problem behaviors: once I start eating a meal I can’t stop myself from eating more than I should; and, although I do pretty well during the day, in the evening I invariably break down and eat more than I should.

So how have I lost 10 pounds recently? By going with these weaknesses and modifying my environment in ways that allow me to succeed in spite of them. Because I can’t regulate what I eat very well once I start, I’ve limited how often I eat – which means fasting for a good portion of the day. Because it isn’t practical to fast at night given a family at home (and my weakness for eating at night), I fast during the day when the environment makes it easy. I’ve changed my environment so that I avoid restaurants at lunch and make sure I keep focused on work during the peak time of my midday hunger. A final note on this strategy: you have to accept a blow to your pride to find ways to work with your weaknesses instead of against them.

3. Skin in the game: Recent studies are suggesting that you can use monetary rewards and punishments to help change problematic behavior. In essence, these strategies require that you change your environment in ways that make it so painful to fail that you are motivated to stick with the change you are attempting. Let’s take dieting/weight loss as an example. Imagine that you’ve set up your environment such that you will have to pay money to something or someone if you fail to reach your goals (some people have found it especially effective for the money to go to a cause they hate). How much money would need to be on the line to motivate you to shed those extra 20 pounds? Would the threat of losing $ 10,000 keep you focused on succeeding?

It sounds like the author has a point, but I would do it differently. I think a better way to motivate would be to weight yourself on time a week, everytime you weight yourself do it on the same day at the same time and with the same amount of clothes. If you gain weight you owe your partner $20. When you get tired of paying $20 a week you’ll start losing weight.

4. Don’t do it alone: Change is infinitely easier if you are surrounded by a group of people who are working toward a similar goal and can understand your challenges. And the opposite is also true: change is much harder if you spend your time with people who encourage, or participate in, the very activities or behaviors you are trying to overcome, like going for ice cream in the afternoon.

The fact that it is easier to change your environment than to change yourself comes with a final bonus. It means that if you are struggling to make the change you want in your life, it is important not to blame yourself, or beat yourself up, but to recognize that you simply have not found the right strategy yet for leveraging the power of the world around you.

It boils down to the same answer everytime. Just because you haven’t had success, just means you haven’t found the way to succeed. Never give up, you will succeed if you keep trying.

I write several blogs, check out some of my other sites.

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

There’s two ebooks.  “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

The Basics of a Healthy Diet

Eating a healthy balanced diet can help you keep slim and trim and give you lots of energy. You want to eat a diet with the right number of calories, lots of good foods, and a whole lot less of foods that are bad for you.

OK, that seems a little too simplistic. In reality, it takes a bit of work to eat a healthy balanced diet, so I'll walk you through the process. If you're unsure of what your diet says about you & your lifestyle, this quiz is here to help!

How Many Calories Do You Need?

On average, an adult will need somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day to maintain his or her current weight. The number of calories you need depends on your natural size (that's the size you should be), muscle mass, activity level, age, and gender. There are calorie tables and calculators that will help you estimate your daily calorie need. But keep in mind these really are estimates—since you may have differences in your metabolism, you may need a few more or a few less calories than what the calculators show. Over time, you will know to adjust your overall calorie intake up or down by monitoring your weight. The less you weight, the less calories you need. I think that 2000 to 2500 is okay for an active person that is working out everyday and weighs over 160 pounds. The average person doesn't need 2000 calories a day if they have a small frame and if your trying to lose weight 2000 might be too many calories.

Keep a Food Diary

If you need to lose weight, gain weight, watch your fat, protein, or sodium intake, you'll have an easier time if you use a food diary. You can use a notebook, or you can use a web-based diet program, to keep track of your diet online.

Start by just writing down everything you eat for 3 or 4 days before you start a diet so you can see how many calories you're currently consuming.

Look at how many healthy foods you eat now and how many unhealthy foods you choose as well.

Once you understand your current diet, you will learn which healthy foods you need to eat more of and which ones you need to eat less of. Eating the right foods will help you lose weight.

Choose the Right Foods

Once you know how many calories you need, your next step is to choose foods that will offer lots of good nutrition for the calories you take in. What that means is that for every calorie you consume, look for the nutrition you'll get out of those calories. Avoid calories that aren't giving you any nutrition like sugar. Sometimes you can burn more body fat, not by cutting calories, but by changing the foods you eat. Empty calories won't create any energy and you need energy to burn body fat.

For example, at snack time, you could choose a healthy food such as a cup of blueberries for about 85 calories or a small glazed doughnut for 100 calories. Although there is only 15 calories difference between the two, the blueberries make a much better choice for a healthy diet. The blueberries are packed with vitamins, antioxidants and very low in fat. The glazed doughnut has very little nutritional value and a lot of unhealthy fats and sugars for such a small treat. Eating snacks with protein like a cup of Greek yogurt will create energy for your body to burn body fat. Try and eat some protein at every meal. But only eat meat once a day. 

Here's another example. Think about selecting fish for a meal—either 6 ounces of salmon or 5 fish sticks. Both the salmon and the fish sticks would offer roughly about the same number of calories, but the salmon would be a better choice because it's a great source of protein, B vitamins, and omega-3 essential fatty acids, while the fish sticks contain loads of unhealthy fats and sodium from the breading. Don't get confused, seafood is not meat, and it's a great substitute. Poultry is also a good substitute for meat. The trouble with meat is the animal fat you consume with the meat. You can talk to your doctor about that.

In general healthy foods are foods that are not covered in sauces, not baked into desserts, not deep-fried, heavily refined or processed.

By this I mean:

An apple is healthy; a piece of apple pie is not.
A lean piece of broiled steak is better than a greasy chicken-fried steak.
Turkey or chicken is lower in saturated fats than red meats.
Whole grain bread and cereals offer more fiber than white, refined bread and cereals.
Whole grain plain breakfast cereals are a better choice than sugar frosted breakfast cereals.
Eating a healthy balanced diet also means eating a variety of foods. Choose foods from each of the food groups to make sure you are getting all of the nutrients that you need. And pick healthy foods, not junk foods.

If you're not sure of the nutritional content of any packaged food, be sure to read the Nutrition Facts food labels to understand the nutritional content for the amount of calories per serving.

Dairy and Calcium Sources

Choose two or three servings from the dairy and calcium group each day. If you don’t like, or can't eat dairy products, look for deep green leafy vegetables or calcium-fortified orange juice and other foods.

1 cup of low- or non-fat milk
2 slices of cheese
1 cup of yogurt
1/3 cup of shredded cheese
1 cup cooked spinach
1 cup cooked or fresh broccoli
Whole Grains and Cereals

The United States Department of Agriculture suggests that you eat from six to eleven servings of grains and cereals each day, and at least half of those servings should be from whole grains.

Whole grains and cereals are great ways to get enough fiber in your diet and to add beneficial vitamins and minerals.

1 slice of whole wheat bread.
1/2 cup brown rice.
1/2 cup cooked quinoa.
1 cup of whole grain cereal.
1/2 cup oatmeal.
4 or 5 whole grain crackers.
2 cups air-popped popcorn
More Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables provide lots of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber, and you probably need 2 or 3 cups, or more, of vegetables per day, plus some fruit. It's difficult to imagine being healthy without eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Good fruit and vegetable serving choices include:

1/2 cup of sweet corn
1 piece of fresh fruit such as an apple, a pear or a peach
1/2 cup fruit cocktail
1/2 cup berries like strawberries or raspberries
1/2 half cup of black beans or pinto beans
1 small baked potato
1 cup of green beans
1 cup of broccoli
Healthy Protein Sources

You can easily get all the protein you need from plant sources such as dry beans and nuts, but most people prefer meat, fish and eggs as their main protein sources. You need 2 or 3 servings of protein each day.

3 ounces of cooked lean beefsteak.

3 ounces of lean cooked pork chop.

I cup of non-fat Greek Yogurt

One small baked chicken breast.

6 ounces of cooked oily ocean fish such as salmon or tuna.

1/2 cup of dry beans such as pinto beans or navy beans.

1 ounce of nuts, about 25 almonds, 13 cashews or 9 walnuts.

Healthy Fats and Oils ( plant based )

Olive and canola oil are good fats. So are the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and soy.

Trans fats are bad and eating too much saturated fat—like the fat in red meat—isn't recommended. You don’t need to add a lot of extra oil to your diet, just make healthy food and cooking choices, and you'll do just fine. The Mediterranean diet (recommended by most doctors) will only recommend red meat twice a month. Poultry and seafood are the best meat choices. The fats in seafood and poultry aren"t the same as animal fat and your body can process these fats. 

Also, don't drink calories and don't drink anything containing fat. Your dairy should be non-fat and your drinks no-calorie. The best is filtrated water.

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my Ebooks at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet.

There’s two ebooks. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my Ebook. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new ebook is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.