Be The Weight You Want | Weight Loss Journey

When you eat is just as important in weight loss and weight maintenance as what you eat and how much you eat.  We are told that a 1200-1500 calorie a day diet will allow us to lose weight.  Some lucky people are larger boned or taller, so they can eat more a day.  Let’s go with the lower number for an example.

The next rule pounded into us from birth is 3 meals a day.  Let’s allow 300 calories per meal.  That leaves 300 calories to use another time during the day.  If we eat our 3 meals 8  hours apart, we can insert 3 ’snacks’ into a day of 100 calories each.  Eating veggies like carrots, and fruits – lets have an apple, and a low sugar, low fat dessert will fill in the snacks and use up the other 300 calories.

What is the advantage of eating every 3-4 hours?  It keeps the metabolism going and levels out the blood sugar.  It also keeps us from being so hungry that we are tempted to binge. Eating smaller portions more frequently has been proved to help in weight loss, and also weight maintenance.

Have you ever tried to exercise running low on fuel?  Doesn’t work too good.  You don’t have the energy to put your all into the workout, and when you are done, you are so hungry you want to binge.  End result, less calories burned and more calories taken in.  Not the way to lose weight.

Try eating a low sugar, high fiber breakfast with a fruit or a serving of milk.  1/2 cup of fruit juice can be substituted for the fruit.  A cup of coffee with non-dairy no fat creamer and sweetener if you wish, or tea if you prefer, would also be good.

Mid-morning have a multi-vitamin along with a no fat yogurt such as yo plait or dannon.  The yogurt contains as your second milk portion for the day – that’s it for the dairy.  Have fruit in your yogurt also.

Lunch have 2-3 oz of meat, high fiber bread or pasta 1/2 cup, and a veggie salad with non-fat dressing – 2 tablespoons.  Have water or a non-sugar drink.

Mid-afternoon, chump on those veggies – carrots, cucumbers, raw squash, etc.

Supper have 3 oz of meat, a portion of starch (about the size of an egg), veggies such as broccoli, green beans, squash.  Have another veggie salad if you wish.

Wait a couple hours.  Have a non-fat 100 calorie bag of popcorn – spray with non-dairy butter or butter flavor spray pam.  Or have a non-fat small piece of cheesecake with 2 tablespoons of non or low fat whipped cream.  Or jello with or without the whipped cream.  No sugar Popsicles are good.

Be sure to have 6-8 glass of of water a day.  Have 20-60 minutes of activity/exercise a day.  Then  the most important part – get 8 hours of sleep.

Also read:  10 Elements of a Healthy Diet