Healthy Monday Tip: Measure Portions, Parent Better

Kids Eat More When Parents Eat More

A new study released in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition evaluated the eating habits of parents and children. Specifically, researchers wanted to see if the amount of food that children consumed was affected by the amount of food that parents served themselves. Not surprisingly, study authors found that kids were likely to eat larger portions if parents served themselves larger portions.

Raise Healthier Kids

If you've been a parent for more than a minute, the study findings won't surprise you.  Kids model their parents behavior.  But the research serves as a reminder that it's not just what we eat that we need to be mindful of, but also how much we eat that matters. If we want to raise healthy kids, we need to teach them how to exercise moderation when serving themselves food portions at mealtime and throughout the day.

Avoid Portion Size Mistakes

There are a few different ways to be more mindful of your own portion control habits in the home.  The first step is to understand serving size.  This handy reference can serve as a guide for how much food you should eat at each sitting.  There are also some foods we are more likely to overeat - like cereal.  Find out what they are and measure them if necessary so you don't eat too much.  And if your family is trying to lose weight, consider the Lifesize Portions system. I reviewed the product last year and really liked it because it's a great way to make sure you're not eating too much food during any meal or snack.

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How to Lose Weight With Exercise

A good weight loss program requires that you eat well and get plenty of physical activity. You might already know how to monitor your calorie intake to eat the right amount of food, but how do you lose weight with exercise?

This course will guide you through a program that will help you get leaner, fitter, stronger and more flexible. You'll lose weight and feel better about the way you look and feel.

 Yes, I Can Lose Weight!

Many factors can impact the success or failure of a new diet or exercise program, so we often spend a lot of time researching and choosing the best weight loss program, finding the most effective workout or eating the right foods. But there are also psychological factors that can affect whether or not you lose weight. One of these factors is self-efficacy, and it’s easy to change.

What is Self-Efficacy?

Self-efficacy is your belief that you can successfully carry out a specific task. If you start your weight loss journal with the words, “I can lose weight!”, your self-efficacy with regards to weight loss is probably high.

Self-efficacy generally relates to a specific goal. For example, you may have strong beliefs that you are capable of skipping a high-calorie late-night snack. That means your self-efficacy regarding late-night snacking is high, but you might have doubts about whether you’re going to get up early the next morning to work out. Your self-efficacy regarding the morning workout is low.

Self-Efficacy vs. Self Confidence.

It might seem as if self-efficacy is just another version of self-confidence, but that’s not true. Let’s use an example: say Carol is a graphic designer who has worked her way up the corporate ladder to become the head of her department. She's proud of her accomplishments, comfortable in social settings, strong but respectful in dealing with her boss, and positive about her personal relationships. Carol has a strong sense of self-confidence.

But let’s say that Carol is overweight. She's tried dieting repeatedly, has worked with personal trainers to stick to an exercise program, and has even gone to weight-loss camps to shed her excess pounds. Nothing has worked. Carol now believes that she just can’t lose weight. So even though Carol is self-confident, her self-efficacy about her ability to lose weight is low.

Why Does Self-Efficacy Matter?

Researchers have found a strong link between one’s beliefs in her ability to successfully perform a task, and her completion of that task. Quite a bit of research has been done with regards to self-efficacy and weight loss — most confirming a relationship between strong beliefs (either negative or positive) and actual success.

To see why it matters, let’s go back to our example of Carol. Let’s say that Carol’s new diet coach has identified a weak link in Carol’s diet: she's good for most of the day, but she tends to eat too many of the cookies and cakes that are left in the lunchroom at work. Let’s say that Carol has never been able to pass up those treats in the past, so her belief that she can do it now is minimal. When she's faced with a tray of brownies, she's not likely to muster the willpower to walk away, because she knows that she always fails anyway. Her attitude is, “why bother to make the effort?”, and she eats a brownie. Carol’s beliefs about her abilities have become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But let’s say that her diet coach was able to build her self-efficacy. The coach was able to remind Carol of the many other situations where she has successfully passed up treats in order to stick to her diet. He tells her that he believes she can do it. Now, when Carol is equipped with the belief that she can, in fact, walk away successfully, she's more likely to do so when she's faced with the tray of brownies.

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Best Tips for Losing Weight

Don't have time to diet? People who are busy often say that lack of time is a reason that they can't lose weight. Who has extra hours in their day to read complicated diet advice books or surf websites for the best weight-loss plan? That time investment may not be necessary.

The best tips for losing weight are the same in almost every diet and exercise plan. They are often packaged differently, but the bottom line for almost every weight-loss program is the same. If you can master these three basic principles, you'll be on your way to successful weight loss.

3 Fast Weight-Loss Tips

Understand serving sizes. If you choose the right foods, but eat too much of them, your weight-loss plan won't work. In fact, a common mistake by dieters is to overeat organic foods and foods that are perceived to be healthy.

Portion control is an essential skill for effective weight loss. Chicken breast is great for you, but not if you eat too much of it. Almonds? Yep, they're healthy, but not if you eat more than you need. Healthy snacks? They are better for your body than junk food, but they'll still cause weight gain if you overeat.

Stick to these portion sizes when planning your meals:

1 serving of cereal = size of your fist

1 serving of a starch (rice, pasta, potato) = half of a baseball

1 serving of cheese = 4 stacked dice

1 serving of fruit = baseball

1 serving of margarine or butter = 1 dice

1 serving of meat, fish, poultry = a deck of cards

Count calories. Some weight-loss plans may advertise that calorie counting is not necessary. But the bottom line is that weight loss happens when a calorie deficit occurs. Nearly every diet is some variation of calorie restriction to achieve a calorie deficit.

Calorie counting may seem like a time-consuming skill. But with the availability of mobile apps like the one at CalorieCount.com, it has become easier for people who are busy to track their calories. If you have a smartphone, calorie counting will take no more than a few seconds; your totals are stored so that you can review them at a later time.

After you start counting calories, you'll learn how many calories you consume in a typical day. Most people can reduce their daily intake by 500 calories per day to see a healthy weight loss of 1 pound per week.

Move more. Sounds obvious, right? But this doesn't necessarily mean that you have to exercise. For some people, exercise works against them. If you complete a hard workout in the morning and then spend the rest of day laying on the couch, you will probably end up burning fewer calories from movement than a person who does not exercise and who makes non-exercise activity a part of their daily habit.

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the term used by scientists to describe the calories burned from your non-workout movement. Whether you exercise or not, be sure that your NEAT is maximized every day. Consider some of these activities. The calorie burn for each single item is small, but if you participate in some movement each hour, your NEAT at the end of the day will be significant.

Putting away laundry = 26 kcals/15 mins

Moving furniture, boxes = 100 kcals/15 mins

Playing/running with your kids = 40 kcals/15 mins

Walking while carrying a light load (<15 56="" kcals="" minutes="" pounds="" span="">

Most people will achieve some results with these three basic tips for losing weight. Of course, there are some instances where underlying issues, such as a medical diagnosis, may make weight loss more complicated. But for most people, weight loss boils down to a simple equation: eat less, move more.

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Diet pills, supplements and surgery

Diet pills and surgery can help with weight loss — when combined with a healthy diet and physical activity. But diet pills aren't for everyone. Neither is surgery. In fact, many doctors consider them only if you have weight-related health problems.

If you're in that group, you and your doctor need to carefully evaluate the potential benefits of diet pills or surgery and weigh them against the possible long-term risks. Your doctor will also counsel you about the lifestyle changes you'll need to make to be successful over the long term.

 

  Reduce Your Sugar Intake to Lose Weight

 If you're looking for the simplest way to slim down and improve your health, learning to reduce your sugar intake would probably be it.  Sugar is in many of the processed foods we eat, in almost all of the commercial beverages we drink, and we often add it mindlessly to foods at home. It's no wonder that high sugar consumption is being blamed for a variety of global health problems.

So what's the solution? Learn to find hidden sugars and reduce sugar in your diet.  It's not too complicated.  Use these resources to learn more about the sweetener, then put the tips to use in your daily routine. Chances are good that you'll feel better, look better and slim down in weeks.

Am I Addicted to Sugar?

Do you know the signs and symptoms of sugar addiction? Even if you don't eat sweets, you could have a bad sugar habit.  Use this checklist to find out if you have a sugar addiction.

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Diet and exercise

How can you lose weight? With diet and exercise. The key to successful weight loss is developing healthy diet and exercise habits. You may not like those words — diet and exercise. Don't get hung up on the words. Diet just means eating healthy, lower calorie meals. Exercise means being more active.

Although people often focus on diet when they're trying to lose weight, being active also is an essential component of a weight-loss program. When you're active, your body uses energy (calories) to work, helping to burn the calories you take in with food you eat.

Cleaning the house, making the bed, shopping, mowing and gardening are all forms of physical activity. Exercise, on the other hand, is a structured and repetitive form of physical activity that you do on a regular basis.

Whatever activity you choose, do it regularly. Aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity — preferably spread throughout the week. Keep in mind that you may need more physical activity to lose weight.

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Weight-Loss & Diet Plans

                           Weight-Loss Diet Meal Plans to Help You Lose Weight

You can healthfully lose weight without resorting to unhealthy trendy diets or risky supplements. How? Our weight loss diet meal plans are designed by EatingWell’s nutrition and culinary experts to offer delicious, nutritionally balanced meals for weight loss while keeping you satisfied. Just find your calorie level and you'll receive a personalized meal plan of breakfast, lunch and dinner planned for weeks

Lose Weight Fast: How to Do It Safely

It's time to move more! Losing weight requires close to an hour a day of moderate exercise, one study shows.

Plan to do cardio and strength training.

"Cardio burns the most calories, so it is ideal for fast weight loss, but afterward you need to include a few hours a week of strength training," Dansinger says. To burn the most fat, try to break a sweat after your warm-up and keep sweating for the entire hour, Dansinger says.

If you're not exercising now, and you have a chronic condition or a lot of weight to lose, it's wise to check in with your health care provider first. They'll be rooting for you! And they'll make sure that you're ready to work out.

Pace yourself. Don't do too much, too soon -- work your way up to help prevent injury.  

One way to step up the intensity is to do interval training -- brief bursts of high-intensity, followed by a more mellow pace, and repeating that pattern throughout your workout.

"Interval training allows people to work harder without having to spend the entire time at the higher level, and over time, the more you do it, the easier it becomes to burn more calories," Blatner says  

Fad Diets and Crash Diets

I know how tempting diet crazes can sound, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. You hear about stars who did it and look incredible.

But remember,  if a diet plan sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Also, please skip any programs that promote detoxification pills, laxatives, fasting, or potions, and any that promise weight loss faster than 2-3 pounds per week.

The truth is that cutting calories below 1,050-1,200 per day is counterproductive, because you need strong muscles to be able to exercise effectively.

"When you eat too few calories, you lose fat but also precious muscle, which is the worst thing you could do because it slows your metabolism and makes it more difficult to increase exercise intensity or duration," Dansinger says.

Fad diets also set you up for failure by depriving you of what you want. You can't eat like that for long, and it's too likely that you'll rebel and end up back where you started. You deserve better than that!

So by all means, attack your weight loss goal. Put it on the fast track. But please, do it right so you set yourself up for lasting success.

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Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #4: Fill up with fruit, veggies, and fiber

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat less food. You can fill up while on a diet, as long as you choose your foods wisely.

Fiber: the secret to feeling satisfied while losing weight

High-fiber foods are higher in volume and take longer to digest, which makes them filling. There’s nothing magic about it, but the weight-loss results may seem like it.

High-fiber heavyweights include:

• Fruits and vegetables – Enjoy whole fruits across the rainbow (strawberries, apples, oranges, berries, nectarines, plums), leafy salads, and green veggies of all kinds.
• Beans – Select beans of any kind (black beans, lentils, split peas, pinto beans, chickpeas). Add them to soups, salads, and entrees, or enjoy them as a hearty dish on their own.
• Whole grains – Try high-fiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat or multigrain bread, and air-popped popcorn.

Focus on fresh fruits and veggies

Counting calories and measuring portion sizes can quickly become tedious, but you don’t need an accounting degree to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s generally safe to eat as much as you want, whenever you want.

The high water and fiber content in most fresh fruits and vegetables makes them hard to overeat. You’ll feel full long before you’ve overdone it on the calories.

• Eat vegetables raw or steamed, not fried or breaded, and dress them with herbs and spices or a little olive oil or cheese for flavor.
• Add nuts and cheese to salads but don’t overdo it. Use low-fat salad dressings, such as a vinaigrette made with olive oil.
• Pour a little less cereal into your morning bowl to make room for some blueberries, strawberries, or sliced bananas. You’ll still enjoy a full bowl, but with a lower calorie count.
• Swap out some of the meat and cheese in your sandwich with healthier veggie choices like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, and avocado.
• Instead of a high-calorie snack, like chips and dip, try baby carrots or celery with hummus.
• Add more veggies to your favorite main courses to make your dish “go” further. Even dishes such as pasta and stir-fries can be diet-friendly if you use less noodles and more vegetables.
• Try starting your meal with a salad or soup to help fill you up, so you eat less of your entrée.

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Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips

In our eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and losing weight, even tougher. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before, you may believe that diets don’t work for you. You’re probably right: traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term. However, there are plenty of small but powerful ways to avoid common dieting pitfalls, achieve lasting weight loss success, and develop a healthier relationship with food.

The key to successful, healthy weight loss

Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.

Since 3,500 calories equals about one pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately one pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? Then why is weight loss so hard?

All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—and winning the battle of the bulge.

Getting started with healthy weight loss

While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:

Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various popular diets can help jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.

• Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—to get the encouragement you need.
• Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose one to two pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.
• Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.
• Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound and inch you lose. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.

Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you.

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