foxfieldco
07-31-2004, 04:28 AM
Weight Watchers eTools article of the week: 3 Steps To Buffet Success
~ Beat The Buffet
Buffets can make even the strongest will wilt. Under those super-powered heating lamps, the weight-loss goals you've set might feel like they're melting away. There are just so many options, and it's harder to choose the healthier ones when the cheesier, fattier comfort foods are just one scoopful away.
With our three-step Buffet Positioning System (B.P.S.), though, you'll be able to navigate a buffet with confidence and ease. Let's get started:
1. Use Anchoring from Weight Watchers Tools For Living.
You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about Anchoring: It's the perfect way to remind yourself what's really important, at the times when you need a reminder most.
2. Steer and slow down.
Decide before you go:
Where will you sit? As far away from the buffet as possible is best.
How many times will you get up to visit the buffet? Three times makes sense: One small plate for the salad bar, one small plate for the entrée, and a dessert.
At which part of the buffet will you spend the most time? The salad bar should be your focus, but watch out for creamy dressings and soups.
You can't control the type or amount of food that's on display, but you can control your choices, your portion sizes and the speed at which you eat. Make a plan in advance about how much you'll take, and how long you'll wait between courses.
3. Challenge "NTGMMW" thinking.
The "I Need To Get My Money's Worth" attitude is a common one, and it makes sense. It's true that you'd get a better monetary value out of a buffet dinner if you ate as much as you could. But would it really be worth it?
When you eat at a traditional restaurant, you'd never order two entrées. So why take two when you're at a buffet? There's more value in taking care of yourself mentally and physically — by making smart choices, you'll feel good and be that much closer to your goal.
~~~
~ Practicing Portion Control
You go out for dinner and order spaghetti with marinara sauce and a side of grilled veggies. The pasta is so plentiful that it's falling off the plate. Yes, your meal is nutritious. But can too much of a good thing be not so good? Absolutely.
How Super Is Supersize?
In the era of the "supersized" meal it's often hard to recognize "normal" portion sizes. Giant bottles of soda, extra-large bags of chips and king-size candy bars are part of our everyday eating landscape. But unfortuantely, as our portion sizes get larger, so do our waistlines. Bigger packages themselves can also sabotage portion control. Research from the University of Illinois shows that people may tend to eat more food when it's served in larger containers. When movie-goers were given the same amount of popcorn in containers of two different sizes, the people given the larger tubs ate 44 percent more. (When in doubt, use a smaller plate at dinner!)
Sizing Things Up
To keep portions in perspective, you need a tool to help you navigate through bulked-up portions. Visualizing recommended serving sizes by relating them to common household objects is an easy and useful technique. By comparing food portions to things you already recognize, you should be able to "eyeball" a food item and "guesstimate" how large it is. Long gone are the days of carrying around a food scale. It's wise to weigh things occasionally to get an accurate idea of how big portions should be, but relating those measurements to common objects and teaching yourself to recognize them will be a great step toward achieving your weight-loss goals.
For example:
Your fist is about the same size as one cup of fruit.
Your thumb (tip to base) is the size of one ounce of meat or cheese.
Your palm (minus fingers) equals three ounces of meat, fish, or poultry.
Your cupped hand equals one to two ounces of nuts or pretzels.
Putting It Into Action
Once you have serving sizes committed to memory, you'll be ready to fit them into your eating plan.
Limit servings of high-fat foods such as fatty meats and fried foods.
Buy single-servings of some foods, such as 1-ounce bags of chips or 1/2-cup servings of ice cream.
Remember that servings of most vegetables are extremely low in fat and calories. Bell peppers and button mushrooms just might become your new best buddies!
~~~
~ 12 Ways to Stop Overeating
You've done it by the book for a while. Watched your diet, made healthy choices, exercised every day. Then suddenly you're undoing all your hard work by saying, "I might as well give up. I'll never lose weight!"
"All-or-nothing" thinking doesn't help. People who overeat often feel out of control and disgusted with themselves. It becomes a vicious cycle, leading to low self-esteem and even more eating.
To regain control of your eating habits, ask yourself why you overeat. Is it your way of coping with stressful events? Has gorging on "forbidden" treats become a substitute for other pleasures lacking in your life? Do you use food to soothe, distract or reward yourself?
Breaking It Down
Once you've identified trigger factors, work out other ways to address them. Don't beat yourself up with every little lapse. Instead, focus on positive things you can do to replace or avoid overeating. Pay attention to how you feel when you eat certain foods; you'll start to notice patterns emerging (eating after a family argument, for example, or when you're bored, lonely or disappointed). Consider alternative ways to lift your mood when the urge threatens. Perhaps call a friend, go for a walk or see a movie.
Breaking the Habit
Here are some tips for winning the battle:
Take it slow. Crash dieting is more likely to end in losing control than a slow, steady loss of a pound or two each week.
Don't cheat yourself! Eat a sensible amount of food each day.
Allow occasional treats. If you don't totally cut out "forbidden" foods (such as those donuts that you love), you're more likely to stay on track, because deprivation often leads to overeating. Opt for low-fat versions of favorite foods.
Reward yourself for every win — even splurges averted.
Plan ahead to stay in control. Facing a big test or other ordeal that you fear will send you straight to the cookie jar? Try to keep healthy snacks around to nibble on instead, and exercise to offset your munching — and calm you down, too!
Share your feelings — sad, bad or otherwise — with family or friends.
Seek support from others trying to lose weight — family, friends or online buddies. They're there to help, and want to see you succeed.
Look to calming alternatives if stress is your trigger. Anything from deep breathing to yoga to arts and crafts could help. And don't forget: Exercise is a great tranquillizer. (It also reduces your appetite!)
Count to ten. Is overeating your way of coping with anger? Consider other ways of dealing with negative emotions, such as learning assertiveness techniques.
Find other ways to fill the void. If you typically overeat when you're looking for emotional nourishment; stop. Feed your spirit by caring for yourself as well as you can during times when you feel unloved, under-appreciated or unworthy. Be your own biggest fan and try to focus on your successes, not to the occasional lapse.
Be patient and forgiving of yourself. Long-established complex habits won't change overnight.
Avoid all-or-nothing thinking, such as "I've already blown my weight loss plan, I might as well finish off the box." Accept that you may go off the rails from time to time. So you've lost six pounds and regained three? It's important to congratulate yourself for the pounds that you lost. You're doing a great job!
~~~
~ Portion Distortion
As portion sizes grow, so do our waistlines. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the prevalence of adult obesity has risen an astonishing 8% since 1994 and 16% since 1980. That translates to more than 59 million obese Americans over the age of 18.
Bigger and better?
While the explanations for this growth "spurt" are several, expanding portion sizes seem to be at the crux of the matter. According to Lisa Young, Ph.D., R.D., adjunct assistant professor at New York University, portion sizes have never been bigger. Young's research reveals that fast food, restaurant and prepared food portion sizes are 2 to 5 times as large today as they were in the 1970s.
And unfortunately, studies show that when people are offered larger amounts of food, they tend to eat more. Couple that with a lack of regular physical activity and we've got a serious health matter on our hands.
So how are you supposed to begin to fight this battle? "Portion control is key," says Young, who recommends using visuals to estimate portion sizes. "People have to have an idea…how many decks of cards are on their plate." (One deck equals 3 ounces of chicken, fish or meat.)
Subscribers can check the Portion Primer for visual equivalents for several different food categories. Use these images to help you eyeball serving sizes so you'll know how much you can eat in order to lose weight. Once you've got those images committed to memory, learn how to slim those portions down:
At home
Weigh and measure food items once so that you can then approximate portion sizes by equating them to common household objects.
Take your portion from serving platters and containers, and then put the rest away. You can always go back for seconds but temptation will be out of arm's reach.
Go for built-in portion control: Buy individual servings of items when possible — single serve ice cream pops and not an entire gallon, for example. It may cost you a bit more but, says Young, it's an "amazing health savings."
Eat on smaller plates so healthy portions don't seem lost on your largest dinnerware.
On the Go
Order kid's meals; not the huge meal deals. "Research shows that people eat more out of bigger packages, " says Young.
Make a meal out of appetizers or side dishes instead of larger main entrees.
Avoid getting the larger portion just because it makes economic sense. Ask yourself just how much those extra calories are going to cost you in terms of your health.
Share, share, share. Split something with a friend, or doggy-bag half your meal and eat it another time.
Ask for half portions of entrees when possible. Some Italian restaurants, for instance, will give you appetizer-sized portions of pasta dishes.
~ Beat The Buffet
Buffets can make even the strongest will wilt. Under those super-powered heating lamps, the weight-loss goals you've set might feel like they're melting away. There are just so many options, and it's harder to choose the healthier ones when the cheesier, fattier comfort foods are just one scoopful away.
With our three-step Buffet Positioning System (B.P.S.), though, you'll be able to navigate a buffet with confidence and ease. Let's get started:
1. Use Anchoring from Weight Watchers Tools For Living.
You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about Anchoring: It's the perfect way to remind yourself what's really important, at the times when you need a reminder most.
2. Steer and slow down.
Decide before you go:
Where will you sit? As far away from the buffet as possible is best.
How many times will you get up to visit the buffet? Three times makes sense: One small plate for the salad bar, one small plate for the entrée, and a dessert.
At which part of the buffet will you spend the most time? The salad bar should be your focus, but watch out for creamy dressings and soups.
You can't control the type or amount of food that's on display, but you can control your choices, your portion sizes and the speed at which you eat. Make a plan in advance about how much you'll take, and how long you'll wait between courses.
3. Challenge "NTGMMW" thinking.
The "I Need To Get My Money's Worth" attitude is a common one, and it makes sense. It's true that you'd get a better monetary value out of a buffet dinner if you ate as much as you could. But would it really be worth it?
When you eat at a traditional restaurant, you'd never order two entrées. So why take two when you're at a buffet? There's more value in taking care of yourself mentally and physically — by making smart choices, you'll feel good and be that much closer to your goal.
~~~
~ Practicing Portion Control
You go out for dinner and order spaghetti with marinara sauce and a side of grilled veggies. The pasta is so plentiful that it's falling off the plate. Yes, your meal is nutritious. But can too much of a good thing be not so good? Absolutely.
How Super Is Supersize?
In the era of the "supersized" meal it's often hard to recognize "normal" portion sizes. Giant bottles of soda, extra-large bags of chips and king-size candy bars are part of our everyday eating landscape. But unfortuantely, as our portion sizes get larger, so do our waistlines. Bigger packages themselves can also sabotage portion control. Research from the University of Illinois shows that people may tend to eat more food when it's served in larger containers. When movie-goers were given the same amount of popcorn in containers of two different sizes, the people given the larger tubs ate 44 percent more. (When in doubt, use a smaller plate at dinner!)
Sizing Things Up
To keep portions in perspective, you need a tool to help you navigate through bulked-up portions. Visualizing recommended serving sizes by relating them to common household objects is an easy and useful technique. By comparing food portions to things you already recognize, you should be able to "eyeball" a food item and "guesstimate" how large it is. Long gone are the days of carrying around a food scale. It's wise to weigh things occasionally to get an accurate idea of how big portions should be, but relating those measurements to common objects and teaching yourself to recognize them will be a great step toward achieving your weight-loss goals.
For example:
Your fist is about the same size as one cup of fruit.
Your thumb (tip to base) is the size of one ounce of meat or cheese.
Your palm (minus fingers) equals three ounces of meat, fish, or poultry.
Your cupped hand equals one to two ounces of nuts or pretzels.
Putting It Into Action
Once you have serving sizes committed to memory, you'll be ready to fit them into your eating plan.
Limit servings of high-fat foods such as fatty meats and fried foods.
Buy single-servings of some foods, such as 1-ounce bags of chips or 1/2-cup servings of ice cream.
Remember that servings of most vegetables are extremely low in fat and calories. Bell peppers and button mushrooms just might become your new best buddies!
~~~
~ 12 Ways to Stop Overeating
You've done it by the book for a while. Watched your diet, made healthy choices, exercised every day. Then suddenly you're undoing all your hard work by saying, "I might as well give up. I'll never lose weight!"
"All-or-nothing" thinking doesn't help. People who overeat often feel out of control and disgusted with themselves. It becomes a vicious cycle, leading to low self-esteem and even more eating.
To regain control of your eating habits, ask yourself why you overeat. Is it your way of coping with stressful events? Has gorging on "forbidden" treats become a substitute for other pleasures lacking in your life? Do you use food to soothe, distract or reward yourself?
Breaking It Down
Once you've identified trigger factors, work out other ways to address them. Don't beat yourself up with every little lapse. Instead, focus on positive things you can do to replace or avoid overeating. Pay attention to how you feel when you eat certain foods; you'll start to notice patterns emerging (eating after a family argument, for example, or when you're bored, lonely or disappointed). Consider alternative ways to lift your mood when the urge threatens. Perhaps call a friend, go for a walk or see a movie.
Breaking the Habit
Here are some tips for winning the battle:
Take it slow. Crash dieting is more likely to end in losing control than a slow, steady loss of a pound or two each week.
Don't cheat yourself! Eat a sensible amount of food each day.
Allow occasional treats. If you don't totally cut out "forbidden" foods (such as those donuts that you love), you're more likely to stay on track, because deprivation often leads to overeating. Opt for low-fat versions of favorite foods.
Reward yourself for every win — even splurges averted.
Plan ahead to stay in control. Facing a big test or other ordeal that you fear will send you straight to the cookie jar? Try to keep healthy snacks around to nibble on instead, and exercise to offset your munching — and calm you down, too!
Share your feelings — sad, bad or otherwise — with family or friends.
Seek support from others trying to lose weight — family, friends or online buddies. They're there to help, and want to see you succeed.
Look to calming alternatives if stress is your trigger. Anything from deep breathing to yoga to arts and crafts could help. And don't forget: Exercise is a great tranquillizer. (It also reduces your appetite!)
Count to ten. Is overeating your way of coping with anger? Consider other ways of dealing with negative emotions, such as learning assertiveness techniques.
Find other ways to fill the void. If you typically overeat when you're looking for emotional nourishment; stop. Feed your spirit by caring for yourself as well as you can during times when you feel unloved, under-appreciated or unworthy. Be your own biggest fan and try to focus on your successes, not to the occasional lapse.
Be patient and forgiving of yourself. Long-established complex habits won't change overnight.
Avoid all-or-nothing thinking, such as "I've already blown my weight loss plan, I might as well finish off the box." Accept that you may go off the rails from time to time. So you've lost six pounds and regained three? It's important to congratulate yourself for the pounds that you lost. You're doing a great job!
~~~
~ Portion Distortion
As portion sizes grow, so do our waistlines. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the prevalence of adult obesity has risen an astonishing 8% since 1994 and 16% since 1980. That translates to more than 59 million obese Americans over the age of 18.
Bigger and better?
While the explanations for this growth "spurt" are several, expanding portion sizes seem to be at the crux of the matter. According to Lisa Young, Ph.D., R.D., adjunct assistant professor at New York University, portion sizes have never been bigger. Young's research reveals that fast food, restaurant and prepared food portion sizes are 2 to 5 times as large today as they were in the 1970s.
And unfortunately, studies show that when people are offered larger amounts of food, they tend to eat more. Couple that with a lack of regular physical activity and we've got a serious health matter on our hands.
So how are you supposed to begin to fight this battle? "Portion control is key," says Young, who recommends using visuals to estimate portion sizes. "People have to have an idea…how many decks of cards are on their plate." (One deck equals 3 ounces of chicken, fish or meat.)
Subscribers can check the Portion Primer for visual equivalents for several different food categories. Use these images to help you eyeball serving sizes so you'll know how much you can eat in order to lose weight. Once you've got those images committed to memory, learn how to slim those portions down:
At home
Weigh and measure food items once so that you can then approximate portion sizes by equating them to common household objects.
Take your portion from serving platters and containers, and then put the rest away. You can always go back for seconds but temptation will be out of arm's reach.
Go for built-in portion control: Buy individual servings of items when possible — single serve ice cream pops and not an entire gallon, for example. It may cost you a bit more but, says Young, it's an "amazing health savings."
Eat on smaller plates so healthy portions don't seem lost on your largest dinnerware.
On the Go
Order kid's meals; not the huge meal deals. "Research shows that people eat more out of bigger packages, " says Young.
Make a meal out of appetizers or side dishes instead of larger main entrees.
Avoid getting the larger portion just because it makes economic sense. Ask yourself just how much those extra calories are going to cost you in terms of your health.
Share, share, share. Split something with a friend, or doggy-bag half your meal and eat it another time.
Ask for half portions of entrees when possible. Some Italian restaurants, for instance, will give you appetizer-sized portions of pasta dishes.