foxfieldco
04-17-2004, 12:50 AM
Finding the time for weight loss
With all that you have going on, it may sometimes seem like it's crazy to try to fit in weight loss, too. After all, there's barely time for family and friends! And sometimes fast food is seriously the only option.
But are you wasting your time on clutter? Or by being a perfectionist, or by not delegating your work to other members of your family? Maybe you spend a lot of time procrastinating, or you've volunteered to do things you really don't want to do.
It's important to analyze your time-spending habits, because, often, one of the biggest hurdles on the way to a healthy lifestyle is a hefty lack of time. You need time to cook, exercise and make plans for healthy meals and snacks. So thinking about ways to save it is time well spent.
Save Time, See Success
You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about the importance of planning. Spending a few minutes coming up with plans can actually save you time, because it can make you less likely to have to scramble for last-minute solutions.
So plan! And try these five time-tested time savers as well:
Prioritize. Make your health and in particular your weight loss the most important task on your list. Speaking of which
Make lists! They'll help you organize your thoughts and put your plans into action.
Delegate. Once you know what you need to do and you've written it all down, ask your family for help. There's no reason you should have to do it all yourself.
Say "no." If there isn't enough time in your day for you to prioritize your health, you have too much on your plate. Which to-dos can you cut?
Find out how others save time at your next Meeting, ask the friends around you how they do it.
7 Ways to Help Your Family Help You
Does your partner ever say: "If you don't order dessert too, I'll feel like a pig"? Do your kids tempt you with cookies just to test your willpower?
If so, sounds like your family could be hindering your weight-loss efforts.
"Family members often resent changes to their 'routine' way of eating," says Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
"It helps to tell them why you want to undertake a weight-loss plan," Moore continues. "Once they can understand your perspective, and how much you value their help, they may be motivated to support your decision. At the same time, come up with strategies to minimize the impact of your diet and exercise regime so that it won't cause resentment, lack of control or frustration at home."
Here's how:
Offer variety. Reduce the portion sizes of higher-calorie foods and add a greater range of more low-calorie "fillers," such as vegetables, salads and broth- or tomato-based soups. Your family will be unlikely to complain because they'll be enjoying even more taste sensations and choices than they used to.
Have dessert. Offer healthy treats like fruit salad with flavorsome low-fat yogurt and your family won't even notice you're on a diet.
Involve your kids in menu planning. Sit down with your most kid-friendly healthy recipes and ask them to pick which meals they'd like to try. Ask them to help you cook them.
Take up a team sport. This way the whole family can exercise together.
Turn exercise into a treat, and do it together. Go for a walk to a destination the kids like, such as the local park or beach. Play a game of tag with them once you get there.
Make your family a part of your exercise. Ask your kids to check your pulse rate before and after exercise or to go for walks with you after dinner so you're sure to stick with it. They'll likely love to be involved, especially if you tell them you're doing this for your long-term health. Plus, it'll teach them good habits.
Be sensitive to your partner's hesitance. When dieters trade the usual high-fat fare in for a healthy meal, their partners may feel unhappy about their own appearance and lack of motivation to change it. If you suspect this is the problem:
Ask them if they could go on the diet with you to help you maintain your resolve.
Give them compliments when they look nice, and remind them of the traits that attract you to them.
Cook Once, Eat All Week
What's for dinner? If you had a freezer full of meals ready to heat up, you'd always have an answer to that question. And, oh, the time you'd save.
It's not such an unattainable dream all it takes is a little planning in advance. To make your life a little easier, we've developed the Cook Once, Eat All Week cooking series to help you get healthy meals to the table in minutes. What will you do with all your extra free time?
Eight Excellent Reasons to Cook Ahead
You lead a busy life. Cooking ahead gives you more time in the evenings to do whatever else you do.
Have a marathon cooking session one Sunday and you won't have to cook again all week long.
You can make it a fun, weekend family-affair. Assign children age-appropriate tasks like slicing and dicing or sautιing and grilling.
If it's 7:00 PM, you're hungry and you still have to make dinner, you may be more prone to nibbling while your meal cooks a factor that can be counterproductive to weight loss.
Having a well-stocked refrigerator and freezer minimizes last-minute take-out temptations.
Ready-made meals stored in individual- or family-sized containers makes for simple portion control (not to mention easy cleanup).
Shopping, prepping and cooking for several similar recipes at once (cutting veggies for a soup and a salad, or grilling chicken that can be used for a pasta dish and wrap sandwiches, for example) is a terrific time-saver.
There's a financial advantage too: Buying groceries in larger quantities and making only one trip to the supermarket each week saves money in the long run.
Slim Down Your Dieting Time
You don't have to be a juggler to handle all of the tasks involved with losing weight. With some nips and tucks to your current routine, you can easily shed unwanted pounds. It all boils down to time-management.
Keep it Simple
"If you have too many things going on in your life, you cannot properly manage your time, " says Susie Glennan, owner of thebusywoman.com. So think of your life as an onion and peel away any unnecessary layers. For example, offers Glennan, once you've decided which of your day's activities are important to do, find a way to fit them in, for less time. And consider combining steps to get maximum return for your effort, like writing out your grocery list on the train or getting in a walk during a lunch break.
Heeding Glennan's time crunching advice, here's how we suggest you handle some real life "I don't have time to diet" dilemmas:
Dilemma: I don't have time to cook dinner during the week.
Solution: Yes, you do! Start reallocating your time use the 15 minutes it might take you to drive to Mickey D's for a fast food dinner to create a weekly grocery list instead. Base your list upon three, freezable meals that can be doubled for six night's worth of dinners. Then pencil in a few hours on the weekend to shop (you were going to the grocery store anyway!) and cook. Leave Sunday and Monday night's meals in the fridge and then freeze the rest in small, reheatable portions for the rest of the week.
And to help you get out of the kitchen faster, rely upon pre-made staples, such as stir-fry mixes and already-marinated or precooked chicken breasts.
Dilemma: I'd like to work out after work but I get home too late.
Solution: Don't sweat it if you can't make it to the gym. Instead, tag team your activities. In other words, work out while doing other things. Lace up a pair of sneakers and conduct a brief business meeting on a walk. Climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Park at the far end of the parking lot when going shopping, and walk to the door.
Dilemma: I'd like to cook healthier meals for myself, but chopping all that produce takes forever and I lose interest.
Solution: If cooking's not your thing, but healthy eating's a top priority, learn to cut a few corners. Stock up on convenience items to minimize time in the kitchen. Buy already chopped, frozen vegetables and stir-fry mixes (they're usually just as or more nutritious than fresh vegetables) or already cleaned and cut up plain veggies from a salad bar. And when you're really in a pinch, order several portions of steamed vegetables from a Chinese restaurant and keep them on hand.
Dilemma: I feel guilty when I try to exercise like I'm neglecting my kids who need me for homework, to play games and to cheer them on at soccer games so I keep cutting back on my workout time.
Solution: Include your kids in your activity time and you'll "kill two birds with one stone." Ride your bikes side-by-side while you review the new topics they've learned in school, volunteer to help out the soccer coach and warm up with the kids then run up and down the sidelines during the big game. And plan calorie-burning weekend activities that all the family can enjoy, such as hiking, swimming or ice skating.
Dilemma: I get hungry in the middle of the afternoon and the only quick snack around is a candy bar from the vending machine. Who has time to run down to the deli for a piece of fruit or baked chips?
Solution: Forget the vending machine buy an apple at lunchtime and keep it on your desk for later. Also, consider storing staples such as mini boxes of raisins, individual bags of baked chips and microwave popcorn in your desk drawer as a back-up arsenal.
Putting You First
You can't remember a day without a "to-do" list the length of a legal pad, and you're operating on full throttle trying to get it all done. No wonder your mood can turn from sunny to Rottweiler-mean in a heartbeat. In today's I-need-it-yesterday world, it's easy to lose sight of what's really important - and what's not. So, what's the solution? Setting priorities.
Setting priorities means making choices, which isn't always easy. Using the following guidelines, you can set up a personal priority plan that will help you keep stress at bay - and still meet your important obligations.
Survey the situation. List all the activities you do in a week, ranking them from most to least important. If something is unnecessary or extremely unpleasant, cross it off. Be ruthless.
Throw in your chauffeur's cap. Divvy up the driving-around time for your kids' after-school activities between you and your spouse. Or ask neighborhood moms and dads if you can work out a good chauffeur-exchange program.
Get enough shut-eye. If you're sleep deprived, life becomes a muddle. At least twice a week, go to bed by 9 p.m.
Toss it out. Keep things you love, and free yourself from things you don't need.
Release the control button. Trying to change other people is fruitless. Let your friends and family change when they're ready.
Get back to beauty basics. Cancel those extra hours in the salon. Opt for an easy hairstyle. Keep your nails natural and your makeup simple.
Cancel some connections. Do you really need a cell phone, pager, e-mail and call waiting?
Erase some errands. Time-saving devices are everywhere. You can shop online or by catalog, buy food in bulk, have dry-cleaning delivered, bank by phone and pay bills over the Internet, to name a few examples.
Learn to say "No!" For people-pleasers, that's a tough challenge. So make this your mantra: I can't be everything to everybody.
Take mini-breaks. Schedule a couple of 10-minute breaks throughout the day. Go for a walk, sip herbal tea, meditate or take a catnap. Relaxation time should be near the top of your personal priority list - not the bottom.
[ April 17, 2004, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: foxfieldco ]
With all that you have going on, it may sometimes seem like it's crazy to try to fit in weight loss, too. After all, there's barely time for family and friends! And sometimes fast food is seriously the only option.
But are you wasting your time on clutter? Or by being a perfectionist, or by not delegating your work to other members of your family? Maybe you spend a lot of time procrastinating, or you've volunteered to do things you really don't want to do.
It's important to analyze your time-spending habits, because, often, one of the biggest hurdles on the way to a healthy lifestyle is a hefty lack of time. You need time to cook, exercise and make plans for healthy meals and snacks. So thinking about ways to save it is time well spent.
Save Time, See Success
You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about the importance of planning. Spending a few minutes coming up with plans can actually save you time, because it can make you less likely to have to scramble for last-minute solutions.
So plan! And try these five time-tested time savers as well:
Prioritize. Make your health and in particular your weight loss the most important task on your list. Speaking of which
Make lists! They'll help you organize your thoughts and put your plans into action.
Delegate. Once you know what you need to do and you've written it all down, ask your family for help. There's no reason you should have to do it all yourself.
Say "no." If there isn't enough time in your day for you to prioritize your health, you have too much on your plate. Which to-dos can you cut?
Find out how others save time at your next Meeting, ask the friends around you how they do it.
7 Ways to Help Your Family Help You
Does your partner ever say: "If you don't order dessert too, I'll feel like a pig"? Do your kids tempt you with cookies just to test your willpower?
If so, sounds like your family could be hindering your weight-loss efforts.
"Family members often resent changes to their 'routine' way of eating," says Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
"It helps to tell them why you want to undertake a weight-loss plan," Moore continues. "Once they can understand your perspective, and how much you value their help, they may be motivated to support your decision. At the same time, come up with strategies to minimize the impact of your diet and exercise regime so that it won't cause resentment, lack of control or frustration at home."
Here's how:
Offer variety. Reduce the portion sizes of higher-calorie foods and add a greater range of more low-calorie "fillers," such as vegetables, salads and broth- or tomato-based soups. Your family will be unlikely to complain because they'll be enjoying even more taste sensations and choices than they used to.
Have dessert. Offer healthy treats like fruit salad with flavorsome low-fat yogurt and your family won't even notice you're on a diet.
Involve your kids in menu planning. Sit down with your most kid-friendly healthy recipes and ask them to pick which meals they'd like to try. Ask them to help you cook them.
Take up a team sport. This way the whole family can exercise together.
Turn exercise into a treat, and do it together. Go for a walk to a destination the kids like, such as the local park or beach. Play a game of tag with them once you get there.
Make your family a part of your exercise. Ask your kids to check your pulse rate before and after exercise or to go for walks with you after dinner so you're sure to stick with it. They'll likely love to be involved, especially if you tell them you're doing this for your long-term health. Plus, it'll teach them good habits.
Be sensitive to your partner's hesitance. When dieters trade the usual high-fat fare in for a healthy meal, their partners may feel unhappy about their own appearance and lack of motivation to change it. If you suspect this is the problem:
Ask them if they could go on the diet with you to help you maintain your resolve.
Give them compliments when they look nice, and remind them of the traits that attract you to them.
Cook Once, Eat All Week
What's for dinner? If you had a freezer full of meals ready to heat up, you'd always have an answer to that question. And, oh, the time you'd save.
It's not such an unattainable dream all it takes is a little planning in advance. To make your life a little easier, we've developed the Cook Once, Eat All Week cooking series to help you get healthy meals to the table in minutes. What will you do with all your extra free time?
Eight Excellent Reasons to Cook Ahead
You lead a busy life. Cooking ahead gives you more time in the evenings to do whatever else you do.
Have a marathon cooking session one Sunday and you won't have to cook again all week long.
You can make it a fun, weekend family-affair. Assign children age-appropriate tasks like slicing and dicing or sautιing and grilling.
If it's 7:00 PM, you're hungry and you still have to make dinner, you may be more prone to nibbling while your meal cooks a factor that can be counterproductive to weight loss.
Having a well-stocked refrigerator and freezer minimizes last-minute take-out temptations.
Ready-made meals stored in individual- or family-sized containers makes for simple portion control (not to mention easy cleanup).
Shopping, prepping and cooking for several similar recipes at once (cutting veggies for a soup and a salad, or grilling chicken that can be used for a pasta dish and wrap sandwiches, for example) is a terrific time-saver.
There's a financial advantage too: Buying groceries in larger quantities and making only one trip to the supermarket each week saves money in the long run.
Slim Down Your Dieting Time
You don't have to be a juggler to handle all of the tasks involved with losing weight. With some nips and tucks to your current routine, you can easily shed unwanted pounds. It all boils down to time-management.
Keep it Simple
"If you have too many things going on in your life, you cannot properly manage your time, " says Susie Glennan, owner of thebusywoman.com. So think of your life as an onion and peel away any unnecessary layers. For example, offers Glennan, once you've decided which of your day's activities are important to do, find a way to fit them in, for less time. And consider combining steps to get maximum return for your effort, like writing out your grocery list on the train or getting in a walk during a lunch break.
Heeding Glennan's time crunching advice, here's how we suggest you handle some real life "I don't have time to diet" dilemmas:
Dilemma: I don't have time to cook dinner during the week.
Solution: Yes, you do! Start reallocating your time use the 15 minutes it might take you to drive to Mickey D's for a fast food dinner to create a weekly grocery list instead. Base your list upon three, freezable meals that can be doubled for six night's worth of dinners. Then pencil in a few hours on the weekend to shop (you were going to the grocery store anyway!) and cook. Leave Sunday and Monday night's meals in the fridge and then freeze the rest in small, reheatable portions for the rest of the week.
And to help you get out of the kitchen faster, rely upon pre-made staples, such as stir-fry mixes and already-marinated or precooked chicken breasts.
Dilemma: I'd like to work out after work but I get home too late.
Solution: Don't sweat it if you can't make it to the gym. Instead, tag team your activities. In other words, work out while doing other things. Lace up a pair of sneakers and conduct a brief business meeting on a walk. Climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Park at the far end of the parking lot when going shopping, and walk to the door.
Dilemma: I'd like to cook healthier meals for myself, but chopping all that produce takes forever and I lose interest.
Solution: If cooking's not your thing, but healthy eating's a top priority, learn to cut a few corners. Stock up on convenience items to minimize time in the kitchen. Buy already chopped, frozen vegetables and stir-fry mixes (they're usually just as or more nutritious than fresh vegetables) or already cleaned and cut up plain veggies from a salad bar. And when you're really in a pinch, order several portions of steamed vegetables from a Chinese restaurant and keep them on hand.
Dilemma: I feel guilty when I try to exercise like I'm neglecting my kids who need me for homework, to play games and to cheer them on at soccer games so I keep cutting back on my workout time.
Solution: Include your kids in your activity time and you'll "kill two birds with one stone." Ride your bikes side-by-side while you review the new topics they've learned in school, volunteer to help out the soccer coach and warm up with the kids then run up and down the sidelines during the big game. And plan calorie-burning weekend activities that all the family can enjoy, such as hiking, swimming or ice skating.
Dilemma: I get hungry in the middle of the afternoon and the only quick snack around is a candy bar from the vending machine. Who has time to run down to the deli for a piece of fruit or baked chips?
Solution: Forget the vending machine buy an apple at lunchtime and keep it on your desk for later. Also, consider storing staples such as mini boxes of raisins, individual bags of baked chips and microwave popcorn in your desk drawer as a back-up arsenal.
Putting You First
You can't remember a day without a "to-do" list the length of a legal pad, and you're operating on full throttle trying to get it all done. No wonder your mood can turn from sunny to Rottweiler-mean in a heartbeat. In today's I-need-it-yesterday world, it's easy to lose sight of what's really important - and what's not. So, what's the solution? Setting priorities.
Setting priorities means making choices, which isn't always easy. Using the following guidelines, you can set up a personal priority plan that will help you keep stress at bay - and still meet your important obligations.
Survey the situation. List all the activities you do in a week, ranking them from most to least important. If something is unnecessary or extremely unpleasant, cross it off. Be ruthless.
Throw in your chauffeur's cap. Divvy up the driving-around time for your kids' after-school activities between you and your spouse. Or ask neighborhood moms and dads if you can work out a good chauffeur-exchange program.
Get enough shut-eye. If you're sleep deprived, life becomes a muddle. At least twice a week, go to bed by 9 p.m.
Toss it out. Keep things you love, and free yourself from things you don't need.
Release the control button. Trying to change other people is fruitless. Let your friends and family change when they're ready.
Get back to beauty basics. Cancel those extra hours in the salon. Opt for an easy hairstyle. Keep your nails natural and your makeup simple.
Cancel some connections. Do you really need a cell phone, pager, e-mail and call waiting?
Erase some errands. Time-saving devices are everywhere. You can shop online or by catalog, buy food in bulk, have dry-cleaning delivered, bank by phone and pay bills over the Internet, to name a few examples.
Learn to say "No!" For people-pleasers, that's a tough challenge. So make this your mantra: I can't be everything to everybody.
Take mini-breaks. Schedule a couple of 10-minute breaks throughout the day. Go for a walk, sip herbal tea, meditate or take a catnap. Relaxation time should be near the top of your personal priority list - not the bottom.
[ April 17, 2004, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: foxfieldco ]