Tag Archives: Healthy Food Choices for Weight Loss

Weight Loss & Fitness

10/21/11 by Debbie weight loss | No Comments

Posted in: Weight Loss & Fitness

The world we live in is a busy place. Most people have at least two places they have to be in at the same time, every minute of every day. They wake up in the morning and they are already behind schedule. Maybe you are one of the people who wants a waterproof 4G phone so you can read your emails and answer your tweets while you are in the shower. That’s just the kind of world we live in.

 

Trouble is, when all day everyday is about getting stuff done, about multi-tasking and deadlines, its hard to find time for yourself. It used to be that people just drove to work and maybe listened to the radio, now there are laws everywhere to prevent people from emailing, texting and talking on the phone without a headset in the car. Life is really busy.

 

If you are the kind of person who never has minute for yourself from getting up to going to bed, it is a very real possibility that you are overweight. Actually, just the fact that you are reading this is probably a pretty good indicator that you think you are in need of some fitness help. Finding information about losing weight and getting into shape is one of the very real benefits of the internet.

 

And fortunately there are some things you can do, even if your to-do list is 14 feet long.

 

It is important to find a diet plan that you can live with. One that emphasizes a healthy kind of food to keep you fit and strong without adding extra calories to your day.

 

But it is equally important to find a way to work some fitness exercise into your daily life. Even more important if you think you can’t possible add another single thing to your day.

 

We live in a world of labor-saving devices. And many times those machines and other mechanisms take away opportunities for everyday exercise that can help us stay fit. So we have to consciously add those opportunities back into our day.

 

For instance, you don’t really have to circle the parking lot like a shark trying to grab the spot closest to the door. Most times, you spend even more time waiting for somebody to vacate their parking space than you would if you simply parked at the opposite end of the parking lot and walked to the store.

 

Do this a couple of times a day, whether its going to work in the morning or stopping at the store on your way home and this is nice friendly way to add some easy exercise into your day.

 

Going to store for only a couple of items? Grab the hand basket instead of the cart. Doesn’t matter if you are going to get a gallon of milk or a bunch of bananas. Milk only weigh 8 pounds per gallon and carrying that through the store on your way to the checkout stand is a great way to tone up those arms. And you can always put your basket on the floor when you get to the checkstand if it really gets to be too heavy.

 

If you live almost anywhere but in an earthquake zone, there should be stairs in many of the buildings you go to. Forget the elevator and use the stairs. It does take a little longer, but the benefits you are going to get by adding that little extra exercise into your day can really add up.

 

Even though we live in frantic world, there is no reason why you can’t take advantage of some of the fitness opportunities that come up in the course of a day. A little bit of weight lost, and little bit better fitness, adds up to a great feeling of accomplishment when you get to the end of your day.

Healthy Food Choices for Weight Loss

10/21/11 by Debbie weight loss | No Comments

Posted in: Healthy Food Choices for Weight Loss

 

One of the biggest changes you can make when it comes to losing weight in a safe and sane way, is centered around the way you make personal choices. As a matter of fact, the issue of making changes in your life is almost completely about choice. Learning how to make healthy choices instead of keeping on with the options and choices that have led you to the overweight place you are right now.

 

There is nothing wrong with the choices you have made up to this point, and in fact many people are quite comfortable with their level of health and weight. But if you are not happy with the way you feel or the way you look, and you wan t to change, then learning how to make different choices is a good first step.

 

When we were growing up, the habits of the people around you, like your parents and your siblings, became your choices in life as well. No blame there, they were only doing the best they could with what they knew how to do. Sometimes, those were the only choices that were available at the time. It’s not like when you are a small child that you are going to tell your Mom that the food she is giving you is not healthy for you. You are pretty much just going to eat it.

 

Of course, there are always some kids who throw tantrums at mealtimes, but for the most part, you learn to eat what you are given to eat. As a result of this choice on the part of somebody else, you learned that these choices were the correct ones. If those choices included lots of good healthy food, then you probably grew up with a healthy body weight.

 

But if the food you were provided as a child was high fat, or high calorie or all carbohydrates, then you learned that those were the correct food choice to make. But now maybe those choices don’t serve you so much anymore.

 

Time to try out a new set of food choices that can help you in your quest to losing weight. So here are some new options that you can try to help you release some of that extra weight.

 

New Choice #1

 

Include some sources of protein with your meals that are NOT beef or pork. Beef and pork are not the horrible bogeymen that they have been made out to be by lots of dieting gurus. But they are usually higher in hard to digest fat than choices like chicken, fish, peanuts or cottage cheese.

 

Your body goes through different steps to metabolize and release the nutrients in each of those foods. What happens is that the energy and nutrients like amino acids help your body perform well. So you want to eat sources of protein that burn cleanly in your body and have fewer calories.

 

New Choice #2

 

At least once a week, try having a meatless lunch and dinner. These two meals don’t have to be on the same day, but they certainly can be.  A lot of people have grown up with the idea that if it doesn’t have meat in it, it’s not a meal. And that is just not true.

 

A meal does not have to include meat and in many parts of the world, meat is served at only one meal and sometimes no meals during the day. Sometimes as little as once a week. Now that doesn’t mean those people are healthier than you, but if you are looking for an easy kind of choice to make in your eating habits, this could be one to try.

 

There is no reason why you can’t have a meal with whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. Legumes are things like beans and split peas. Legumes have a fair amount of protein in them. And if you don’t have things like pork and beans, but instead make your meal of chili beans without meat or something like split pea soup with no ham, you will fell very full. You will get a good nutritious meal and you will have eaten way less calories of fat than you would if you had meat.

 

These choices are actually pretty easy to make in your life, and if you really want to lose weight in a non-suffering way, try a couple of these changes and you will be quite pleasantly surprised with the results.