Getting The Most Out Of The New You

Welcome to week two! Zgirl’s idea has grown faster than my Oreo eating ass (that says a lot!). Congrats to making it to week two in your journey. We have excited and phenomenal new bloggers joining every day which means with the variety of tips, resources and weight loss approaches you are sure to find something that works for you!


We’ve already seen tips for getting back into the gym or on your treadmill, journaling your food journey and been given links for some really awesome support sites.

Your journey should be one of a lifestyle change if your ultimate goal is for the weight to truly be gone.

 One day at a time…one meal at a time…

Here are a few more tips and reminders to help get the most out of your healthy eating habits and new active life style.


1. When running errands park as far away from the door as you can (unless of course you are shopping in a really bad area of town. Then park close unless you pack heat or have studied with a Ninja lately)

2. Working exercise into your day even in 10 minute increments IS beneficial. So get up and walk around at least once every hour. Always take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you have bad knees try taking the elevator for every other floor. Walk a flight…take the elevator…walk a flight…elevator until you build up to all stairs.


3. DO NOT skip meals. You’d think this would help reduce your calorie intake for the day thus drop the pounds. Not so…this will actually counteract your efforts in the long run. It messes with your metabolism by sending your body into survival mode. The goal is even blood sugars throughout the day to maintain your energy level and curb your hunger. BREAKFAST is your most important meal!

4. DRINK DRINK DRINK! Not Vodka but water (that was for me…not you…kind of a NOTE TO SELF thing…). If you’re thirsty, you’re dehydrated. Being dehydrated can trigger the hunger signal in the brain (or stomach or ass…wherever yours in located). Diet sodas and sugar free drinks don’t count. Sorry. Water is the key. If you hate water try adding Lemon or Orange peels to your pitcher and refrigerate. I love to infuse my water with mint flavored ice cubes. I’ll do a post on how to make these. SUPER EASY and you can add them to iced tea (unsweetened of course) or Lemonade (sugar free of course).

5. While on the water bandwagon, sometimes we misunderstand our body cues and think we are hungry when we are really bored or upset about something. Try drinking a full 8 oz of water before giving into the munchies desire. If you’re still hungry after the water, a healthy snack is fine. Remember…level blood sugars…it reduces the spikes and drops your body experiences which can also falsely signal HUNGER to your brain!

6. Don’t stand at the sink or kitchen counter to eat or snack. Take your portion/serving and put the rest away. It’s harder to keep track of how much you’ve actually eaten if you just ‘guess’ while dipping your hand in and out of the bag. This still rings true even if you’re munching on carrot sticks.

I’ll stop preaching there. These are things that work for me and have been drilled into me over the years from all the dietians that come and go in the life of a diabetic. I am always open to new tips and idea so feel free to share in the comments what changes in your everyday life work for you. There are TONS more than what I’ve listed here. This is interactive though so…have at it!



CHEERS! For week two! Keep moving ladies!  ~love~Duckalicious

Write It Down, Bitches

So?  What did you eat today?  I bet you can't tell me everything you put into your mouth today.  If you don't know, how do you expect to lose it, bitch?  If I've learned anything over the years about weight management, it is to write down EVERYTHING I consume.  Food journaling is one of the most critical parts of managing your weight.

So once you've written it down, what should you do with it?  Good question....  Once upon a time, back when I had a real job and stuff, I paid a personal trainer to evaluate my food journals and tell me what to do next.  These days, not so much.  But don't fret darlings, you don't need the bank roll of a Hilton to make your food journal work for you.  There are countless resources online (I'll post some links at the bottom.) that will digest all the information you enter and tell you what it means.  There is also the "old fashioned way" of reading labels and figuring it out yourself, but really, who are we kidding?  No one wants to do that!

So your goal is to write down EVERYTHING you put into your pretty little mouth, determine your caloric intake for the day (or points if you're doing the Weight Watchers point counting thing), and make sure you are expending more calories than you are consuming.  Some even encourage writing down your mood when you eat to determine if you are eating things for the right reasons. (You mean I shouldn't have eaten that whole box of Twinkies while I was angry at The Boy for being lippy?  Hmmmmm.)

So?  What does a food journal look like, you ask?  Well, it's really as simple as having a notebook with blank pages, writing down what you ate and at what time, the serving size, and IF you're calculating "the old fashioned way", the calories, fat, and protein consumed.  But if you are as anal as I am, you may want to use a form of some type.  Never fear, there are a TON of web sites that offer them for free. Here is a list of free, printable versions offered online:

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  WebMD
  
  
  
  
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  All Diet Source
  
  
  
  
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  Personal Nutrition Guide
  
  
  
  
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  The Project Girl
  
  
  
  
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  About.com
  
  
  
  

These are a few options, or you can google "printable food journal", or you can make your own...  Whatever works best for you.

My favorite site for tracking what I eat is Livestrong.com.  Not only does this site have a crazy big library of brand name and generic foods, but you can add your favorites if they are not there!  It also has a quick little questionaire you answer and it tells you how many calories you can eat to meet your goals...  AND if you enter your info as the day progresses, it will tell you how many you have left for the day.

Some others are My Fitness Pal, Fitday, Slim Tracker, and extraPounds.com.

Find one that suits you and start this new habit!  It will only help you in the long run!

Today's tips were provided by That One Mom of Chronicles of an Only Parent.