foxfieldco
10-15-2004, 01:41 PM
Weight Watchers eTools article of the week: Step-by-Step Weight Loss
~~ One Day Closer to Weight Loss
Staring up at a mountain can be exhilarating it can make you feel empowered to climb to its top, and excited to feel the success of achieving your goal once you've made it. However, it can also be scary and overwhelming, and quite possibly make you doubt whether you could make it to the top after all. Maybe you think the rocks look too slippery, or the climb too steep and strenuous.
So you're left with two options: You could give it a go, taking it step by step until you've reached the peak, or you could quit before you even begin because you've already come up with dozens of reasons why you won't make it anyway.
Embarking on a climb toward weight loss can cause many of the same emotions. You might feel like you haven't been successful at losing weight in the past, that your sweet tooth or junk food habit can't be beat, or that trying to eat healthy and exercise is too hard with your busy lifestyle. But instead of staring up at weight loss and seeing it as an insurmountable challenge that you'll never conquer, why not think of the climb as a gradual process that you'll conquer a little at a time until you finally reach the top?
Visualize Your Success.
You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talk about Storyboarding, a powerful resource from WeightWatchers.com Tools for Living. Storyboarding helps you visualize where you want to be, and come up with the steps you need to take to get there. By painting a picture of all the little steps you'll need to take and small obstacles you'll need to conquer on your climb toward weight loss, you'll see that your goal isn't one big challenge, but a series of smaller ones. For example, you could start by saying that you'll go for walks after dinner each evening or limit your fast food visits to once a month.
With this "can do" attitude in mind, you may even be able to enjoy your success each step of the way, just like you would a beautiful lake or sprawling view, halfway up a climb. In time, your goal will become closer and closer. And once you've conquered your weight-loss challenges, you'll really be able to savor the view from the top!
~~ 25 Little Tips for Big Weight Loss
You've decided. You're committed. You're ready to drop some weight. Time to slash your food intake and rent a room at the gym, right? Not necessarily. Small, subtle changes can make a big difference over time. And small changes are easier to work into your current routine.
Think in terms of manageable baby steps, like swapping the cream in your morning coffee for nonfat creamer. There are lots of little changes you can make in your diet and your daily routine that will add up to healthy weight loss over the long haul.
Take a look at our 25 tips below. You'll learn to eat smarter, fit exercise into your busy day and revamp your daily routine. Start by picking five changes that you're sure you can tackle and put them into practice this week. Then try another five next week. (Click the "printable page" link above to print this page for easy reference.)
Not every idea is right for everyone, so experiment and see what works for you. Lots of little changes can yield big weight-loss results and a healthier new you!
Eating Tips
Good things come in small packages. Here's a trick for staying satisfied while still keeping portions under control: Cut high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces. It will seem like you're getting more than you actually are.
Don't give up dips. If you love creamy dips and sauces, don't cut them out of your diet completely. Just use low-fat sour cream or mayo instead of the full-fat stuff.
Get water-wise. Make a habit of reaching for a glass of water instead of a high-calorie snack. It will help your overall health as well as your waistline. Add some zest with a twist of lemon or lime.
Herb it up. Stock up your spice rack, and start growing a small herb garden in your kitchen window. Spices and herbs add fantastic flavor to foods without adding fat or calories.
Slim down your soup. Make a big batch of soup and refrigerate it before you eat it. As it cools, the fat will rise to the top. Skim it off the surface for reduced fat content.
Doggie-bag that dinner. At restaurants, ask the server to put half your entrιe in a doggie bag before bringing it to your table. Putting the food away before you start your meal will help you practice portion control.
Listen to your cravings. If you're craving something sweet, eat something sweet just opt for a healthier nosh, like fruit, instead of a high-calorie one. The same goes for crunchy cravings for example, try air-popped popcorn with soy sauce instead of high-fat tortilla chips. It's just smart substitution!
Ease your way into produce. If you're new to eating lots of fruits and veggies, start slowly. Just add them to the foods you already enjoy. Pile veggies on top of your sandwiches, or add fruit to your cereal.
Look for high-fat hints. Want an easy way to identify high-calorie entrees? Keep an eye out for these words: au gratin, parmigiana, tempura, alfredo, creamy and carbonara, and enjoy them in moderation.
Don't multitask while you eat. If you're working, reading or watching TV while you eat, you won't be paying attention to what's going into your mouth and you won't be enjoying every bite. Every time you sit down for a meal, sit down. Chew slowly and pay attention to flavors and textures. You'll enjoy your food more and eat less.
Taste something new. Broaden your food repertoire you may find you like more healthy foods than you knew. Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had jicama, plantain, bok choy, starfruit or papaya?).
Leave something on your plate at every meal. One bite of bagel, half your sandwich, the bun from your burger. See if you feel satisfied eating just a bit less.
Get to know your portion sizes. It's easy to underestimate how much you're eating. Don't just estimate things make sure. Ask how much is in a serving, read the fine print on labels, measure your food. And learn portion equivalents: One serving of pasta, for instance, should be around the size of a tennis ball.
Make a healthy substitution. Learn to swap healthier foods for their less-healthful counterparts. Find a substitution that works for you: Use skim milk instead of whole milk; make up a batch of brownie mix with applesauce instead of oil; try a whole-grain bread instead of white.
Bring lunch to work. Packing lunch will help you control your portion sizes. It also provides a good alternative to restaurants and fast-food joints, where making healthy choices every day can be challenging (not to mention expensive).
Have some dessert. You don't have to deny yourself all the time. Have a treat that brings you pleasure, but this time enjoy it guilt-free be sure you're practicing portion control, and compensate for your indulgence by exercising a little more or by skipping your afternoon snack.
Ask for what you need. Tell your mother-in-law you don't want seconds. Ask your sweetie to stop bringing you chocolates. Speak up for the salad bar when your coworkers are picking a restaurant for lunch. Whatever you need to do to succeed at weight loss, ask for it. Make yourself a priority and assert yourself.
Fitness Tips
Improve your treadmill technique. When walking on a treadmill, don't grip the rails. It's fine to touch them for balance, but you shouldn't have to hold on. If you do, that might be a signal you should lower the intensity level.
Simon says ... get fit. Here's an easy way to fit in exercise with your kids: Buy a set of one-pound weights and play a round of Simon Says you do it with the weights, they do it without. They'll love it!
Make the most of your walks. If your walking routine has become too easy, increase your effort by finding hills. Just be sure to tackle them at the beginning of your walk, when you have energy to spare.
Shop 'til you drop ... pounds. Add a workout to your shopping sessions by parking your car as far from the store as possible, to get more walking in. And try walking up the escalator getting to your destination faster will be an added bonus.
Walk an extra 100 steps at work. Adding even a little extra exercise to your daily routine can boost your weight loss. Today, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or stroll down the hall to talk to a co-worker instead of sending an e-mail or calling.
Lifestyle Tips
Brush your teeth after every meal and snack. This will be a signal to your mouth and your mind that it's time to stop eating. Brushing will also give your mouth a nice fresh taste that you'll be disinclined to ruin with a random potato chip. At work, keep toothpaste and a covered toothbrush in your desk drawer.
Clean your closet! First, it's great exercise. Second, it's an important step in changing your attitude. Get rid of all the clothes that make you look or feel bad. Throw out anything that's too big don't give yourself the option of ever fitting into those clothes again. Move the smaller clothes up to the front to help motivate you. Soon, you'll be fitting into those too-tight jeans you couldn't bear to part with.
Take your measurements. You might not like your stats now, but you'll be glad you wrote them down when you see how many inches you lose. It's also another way to measure your success, instead of just looking at the scale. Sometimes even when the numbers on the scale aren't going down, the measurements on your body are.
~~ Why Slow Weight Loss Wins
Renι is no stranger to waiting. While she was working toward her weight goal and Lifetime Membership with Weight Watchers Meetings, it became pretty clear pretty fast that her weight loss would be slow.
She worked toward her goal for a year and two months, losing less than one pound per week, on average, the entire time. Her determination paid off, though, because she did meet her goal. Then she gained some of the weight back. This time, it's coming off even more slowly.
Renι, who now subscribes to Weight Watchers eTools in addition to going to Meetings, isn't fazed. She's simply had to come to terms with the fact that she loses weight slowly. "If I allow it to be discouraging, it will be," she says. "But I refuse to give up. Whenever I feel like I might, I ask myself if I'm willing to live with the alternative to slow weight loss, which would be regaining all that I lost, and possibly more.
"That gets me back on track every time," she says.
Quick Fix, Fast Failure
"We live in a quick-fix society," says Dr. Debra Mandel, a Los Angeles psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. "When we want something, we want it right away."
Worse, we're constantly presented with ways to lose weight immediately advertisements convince us that we can lose inches by tomorrow, and be slimmer by next week. It seems like there's no harm in wanting to lose weight by yesterday. After all, it's possible. Isn't it?
Not at all, insists Mandel. Because when it comes down to it, fast weight loss can't last, because it usually means adapting to very difficult eating habits and an impossible-to-live with lifestyle.
Plus, "[with quick-fix diets], our metabolism slows down, and eventually we're eating fewer and fewer calories but not losing weight," says Mandel. "This leads to anxiety, which prompts us to eat even fewer calories to try to lose. The body rebels against that even more."
So it's a vicious cycle. Because if you don't get enough nutrients which is a major risk when you're going for a quick fix your brain, and then your body, will, well, insist that you eat. To your body, it's nothing more than survival. But to you, it will feel like you're giving into cravings and losing control. Then you'll feel shame and failure, which might very well send you to the fridge.
It's a never-ending yo-yo cycle of weight gain, then loss, then gain again. Go for slow and steady weight loss, on the other hand (a healthy rate of weight loss is two pounds per week or less), and not only will you be doing a service to your body, you'll be more likely to keep that weight off for good. Isn't that better than rebounding?
Why Slow Weight Loss Lasts
"I'm glad my weight loss was slow for me because I feel like I really have made lifestyle changes," says Lyn, a Meetings member. "I just keep at it. I continue to see slow progress but overall a great deal of success. Slowly but surely the weight comes off."
It's that kind of "through thick and thin" attitude that will take people from thick to thin for good, says Mandel. Losing weight slowly isn't just healthier, she says, it's a better investment. Not only are you shaving pounds, you're working on building habits that you'll be able to maintain. And those habits will help you maintain the weight you lost, so you can stay at your weight goal for good.
"Plus, you have more energy to live life in the present, because you're not starving and focusing on food," says Mandel. "You're creating a healthy relationship with food, so food will become your friend rather than your enemy." That's the key to lifelong success.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
All that said, Cindy, a subscriber to Weight Watchers Online, isn't exactly glad she loses weight slowly. "Thankful might be a better word for it," she says. "At least I'm losing and not gaining."
Cindy has also held on during slow losses by maintaining a positive attitude: "I know this plan is something I can stick with for the rest of my life. It's definitely not a 'diet' that I'll go off for a long period of time. It's a lifetime commitment."
~~ How to Make Exercise a Habit
"I don't think exercise will ever be an 'easy-come' habit for me," says one WeightWatchers.com Community user. "More like a necessary evil. Some days I like it, some days I hate it, but I feel so much better because of it. That's what keeps me going."
Sound familiar? All but the part about keeping it going, perhaps? For many, exercise has a perpetual position at the bottom of the to-do list, occasionally rising to the top for two-or-three-day bouts of good will. You know you have to do it. You know it would help you lose weight faster. You know you need it for good health.
But, at the risk of sounding like a whining four year old, you just don't like it. Don't worry. We can help.
Forget the Myths
First of all, these common misconceptions about exercise may be what are holding you back:
Myth # 1. Exercise is never fun.
Not only can exercise be fun (do you hate playing catch with your kids? walking through the woods?), it can help fill gaps in your life.
For example, "if you're around people all day long, you can choose an exercise that allows you some alone time," says Robyn Stuhr, exercise physiologist with the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. If you sit in front of a computer, maybe exercise can be a social thing for you. If you never see your husband, exercise with him.
Find something that works for you on a personal level, too, and that will make exercise more fun. Plus, you'll be more likely to do it if you look forward to it.
Myth # 2. Exercise is a major disruption.
"The bottom line is that exercise, unlike diet, is something you have to make yourself do," says Stuhr. "Everybody has to eat every day, but you have to purposely set aside time to work out. And it's very easy to let other things get in the way."
But there's a bonus to working out that you won't notice until you do it. When you exercise, you get more energy. And when you stop (like many of us yo-yoers do), your energy level starts to drop, so it's even harder to jump back in. Sticking with it helps, even if that causes scheduling problems in the short term.
Make It a Habit
Making anything a habit from exercise to eating right is a matter of having enough "want power," says Palma Posillico, general manager of training and development for Weight Watchers International. "Life gets in the way, so unless you do something proactively, it's very easy to make excuses."
One strategy for acquiring a new habit is to imagine the benefits of that habit in the case of exercise, picture yourself in great shape from becoming fit. This will help inspire you.
Here are some other tricks for making exercise a habit...
Understand that you have to start slowly, says Stuhr. An hour-long power aerobics class on your first day will only discourage you, maybe hurt you, and send you back to square one.
Find an exercise buddy. A workout partner can be immeasurably helpful, because you have a responsibility to your friend not to talk yourself out of exercising. Make sure you choose a buddy who's in about the same shape as you, though.
Pick an exercise you like, then commit yourself to trying it consistently for at least three months. If you still think you hate it after that amount of time, give yourself permission to say, okay, this isn't working. Then pick something different and repeat.
~~ 7 Simple Changes That Will Help You Lose Weight
Beginning a diet doesn't have to mean drastic changes. You don't need to live at the gym or subsist on crackers alone to get your eating and exercising on track.
Instead, think of more realistic, sustainable changes you can make to your lifestyle. Sometimes small, simple changes end up producing the biggest results. Consider the following suggestions, and think about what other small changes might work for you.
Trim back your eating a bit here and there, not altogether. For example, sautι your broccoli with one teaspoon oil instead of two.
Make some wise food substitutions, like opting for low-fat cream cheese instead of regular.
Kick it up a notch in the activity department by taking the stairs instead of the escalator.
All or Nothing
"People put too much pressure on themselves to change everything in their diets, setting them up for failure," believes New York-based registered dietitian Shari Mermelstein. Her advice? Set your sights on making several small dietary and lifestyle changes, and you'll lose weight without really missing out.
Need some incentive? Try this on for size: Cut back 100 calories on a daily basis and you could lose about 10 1/2 pounds in a year. One hundred calories equals:
1 cup of regular soda
1 tablespoon of butter
1 ounce of cheese
Skimming Off the Top
Here are seven simple slim-down ideas:
A spoonful of sugar can add up over the course of a year. Add one less teaspoon sugar (15 calories) to your cup of morning and afternoon coffee each day and you'll save about 10,000 calories the equivalent of about 3 pounds per year.
Slim down that bowl of cereal: Switch from 1 cup regular whole milk to 1% milk (about 50 calories less per cup) every day. Once your taste buds adjust, you'll be thrilled! That's a tad more than 5 pounds lost by this same time next year.
Take the scenic route. Park your car as far as possible from the entrance to your office, the shopping mall or a restaurant and get those legs pumping. Ten minutes of daily moderate paced walking (five minutes each way burns about 20 calories) can take off four-plus pounds a year*.
Get your vitamin C boost with a whole orange (60 calories) instead of a cup of juice (110 calories) each day. Your 12-month weight loss: 5 1/4 pounds.
Go calorie-free by switching from regular to diet soda (150 versus 0 calories per can). If you drink one can per day, that's nearly 16 pounds lost in a year.
Flavor your sandwiches with very low-cal condiments like mustard or vinegar instead of calorie-packed butter. Leave off 1 tablespoon (100 calories) every day and you're looking at close to 10 1/2 pounds a year.
Downsize, don't super-size, fast food meals. Opt for a small McDonald's French fries (210 calories) instead of a large order (450 calories) at your weekly fast-food meal. You'll enjoy the same great taste all year long but with an added bonus: 3 1/2 pounds lost.
*For a 155-pound person at 3 miles per hour. Based on calculations from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
~~ One Day Closer to Weight Loss
Staring up at a mountain can be exhilarating it can make you feel empowered to climb to its top, and excited to feel the success of achieving your goal once you've made it. However, it can also be scary and overwhelming, and quite possibly make you doubt whether you could make it to the top after all. Maybe you think the rocks look too slippery, or the climb too steep and strenuous.
So you're left with two options: You could give it a go, taking it step by step until you've reached the peak, or you could quit before you even begin because you've already come up with dozens of reasons why you won't make it anyway.
Embarking on a climb toward weight loss can cause many of the same emotions. You might feel like you haven't been successful at losing weight in the past, that your sweet tooth or junk food habit can't be beat, or that trying to eat healthy and exercise is too hard with your busy lifestyle. But instead of staring up at weight loss and seeing it as an insurmountable challenge that you'll never conquer, why not think of the climb as a gradual process that you'll conquer a little at a time until you finally reach the top?
Visualize Your Success.
You've probably heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talk about Storyboarding, a powerful resource from WeightWatchers.com Tools for Living. Storyboarding helps you visualize where you want to be, and come up with the steps you need to take to get there. By painting a picture of all the little steps you'll need to take and small obstacles you'll need to conquer on your climb toward weight loss, you'll see that your goal isn't one big challenge, but a series of smaller ones. For example, you could start by saying that you'll go for walks after dinner each evening or limit your fast food visits to once a month.
With this "can do" attitude in mind, you may even be able to enjoy your success each step of the way, just like you would a beautiful lake or sprawling view, halfway up a climb. In time, your goal will become closer and closer. And once you've conquered your weight-loss challenges, you'll really be able to savor the view from the top!
~~ 25 Little Tips for Big Weight Loss
You've decided. You're committed. You're ready to drop some weight. Time to slash your food intake and rent a room at the gym, right? Not necessarily. Small, subtle changes can make a big difference over time. And small changes are easier to work into your current routine.
Think in terms of manageable baby steps, like swapping the cream in your morning coffee for nonfat creamer. There are lots of little changes you can make in your diet and your daily routine that will add up to healthy weight loss over the long haul.
Take a look at our 25 tips below. You'll learn to eat smarter, fit exercise into your busy day and revamp your daily routine. Start by picking five changes that you're sure you can tackle and put them into practice this week. Then try another five next week. (Click the "printable page" link above to print this page for easy reference.)
Not every idea is right for everyone, so experiment and see what works for you. Lots of little changes can yield big weight-loss results and a healthier new you!
Eating Tips
Good things come in small packages. Here's a trick for staying satisfied while still keeping portions under control: Cut high-calorie foods like cheese and chocolate into smaller pieces. It will seem like you're getting more than you actually are.
Don't give up dips. If you love creamy dips and sauces, don't cut them out of your diet completely. Just use low-fat sour cream or mayo instead of the full-fat stuff.
Get water-wise. Make a habit of reaching for a glass of water instead of a high-calorie snack. It will help your overall health as well as your waistline. Add some zest with a twist of lemon or lime.
Herb it up. Stock up your spice rack, and start growing a small herb garden in your kitchen window. Spices and herbs add fantastic flavor to foods without adding fat or calories.
Slim down your soup. Make a big batch of soup and refrigerate it before you eat it. As it cools, the fat will rise to the top. Skim it off the surface for reduced fat content.
Doggie-bag that dinner. At restaurants, ask the server to put half your entrιe in a doggie bag before bringing it to your table. Putting the food away before you start your meal will help you practice portion control.
Listen to your cravings. If you're craving something sweet, eat something sweet just opt for a healthier nosh, like fruit, instead of a high-calorie one. The same goes for crunchy cravings for example, try air-popped popcorn with soy sauce instead of high-fat tortilla chips. It's just smart substitution!
Ease your way into produce. If you're new to eating lots of fruits and veggies, start slowly. Just add them to the foods you already enjoy. Pile veggies on top of your sandwiches, or add fruit to your cereal.
Look for high-fat hints. Want an easy way to identify high-calorie entrees? Keep an eye out for these words: au gratin, parmigiana, tempura, alfredo, creamy and carbonara, and enjoy them in moderation.
Don't multitask while you eat. If you're working, reading or watching TV while you eat, you won't be paying attention to what's going into your mouth and you won't be enjoying every bite. Every time you sit down for a meal, sit down. Chew slowly and pay attention to flavors and textures. You'll enjoy your food more and eat less.
Taste something new. Broaden your food repertoire you may find you like more healthy foods than you knew. Try a new fruit or vegetable (ever had jicama, plantain, bok choy, starfruit or papaya?).
Leave something on your plate at every meal. One bite of bagel, half your sandwich, the bun from your burger. See if you feel satisfied eating just a bit less.
Get to know your portion sizes. It's easy to underestimate how much you're eating. Don't just estimate things make sure. Ask how much is in a serving, read the fine print on labels, measure your food. And learn portion equivalents: One serving of pasta, for instance, should be around the size of a tennis ball.
Make a healthy substitution. Learn to swap healthier foods for their less-healthful counterparts. Find a substitution that works for you: Use skim milk instead of whole milk; make up a batch of brownie mix with applesauce instead of oil; try a whole-grain bread instead of white.
Bring lunch to work. Packing lunch will help you control your portion sizes. It also provides a good alternative to restaurants and fast-food joints, where making healthy choices every day can be challenging (not to mention expensive).
Have some dessert. You don't have to deny yourself all the time. Have a treat that brings you pleasure, but this time enjoy it guilt-free be sure you're practicing portion control, and compensate for your indulgence by exercising a little more or by skipping your afternoon snack.
Ask for what you need. Tell your mother-in-law you don't want seconds. Ask your sweetie to stop bringing you chocolates. Speak up for the salad bar when your coworkers are picking a restaurant for lunch. Whatever you need to do to succeed at weight loss, ask for it. Make yourself a priority and assert yourself.
Fitness Tips
Improve your treadmill technique. When walking on a treadmill, don't grip the rails. It's fine to touch them for balance, but you shouldn't have to hold on. If you do, that might be a signal you should lower the intensity level.
Simon says ... get fit. Here's an easy way to fit in exercise with your kids: Buy a set of one-pound weights and play a round of Simon Says you do it with the weights, they do it without. They'll love it!
Make the most of your walks. If your walking routine has become too easy, increase your effort by finding hills. Just be sure to tackle them at the beginning of your walk, when you have energy to spare.
Shop 'til you drop ... pounds. Add a workout to your shopping sessions by parking your car as far from the store as possible, to get more walking in. And try walking up the escalator getting to your destination faster will be an added bonus.
Walk an extra 100 steps at work. Adding even a little extra exercise to your daily routine can boost your weight loss. Today, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or stroll down the hall to talk to a co-worker instead of sending an e-mail or calling.
Lifestyle Tips
Brush your teeth after every meal and snack. This will be a signal to your mouth and your mind that it's time to stop eating. Brushing will also give your mouth a nice fresh taste that you'll be disinclined to ruin with a random potato chip. At work, keep toothpaste and a covered toothbrush in your desk drawer.
Clean your closet! First, it's great exercise. Second, it's an important step in changing your attitude. Get rid of all the clothes that make you look or feel bad. Throw out anything that's too big don't give yourself the option of ever fitting into those clothes again. Move the smaller clothes up to the front to help motivate you. Soon, you'll be fitting into those too-tight jeans you couldn't bear to part with.
Take your measurements. You might not like your stats now, but you'll be glad you wrote them down when you see how many inches you lose. It's also another way to measure your success, instead of just looking at the scale. Sometimes even when the numbers on the scale aren't going down, the measurements on your body are.
~~ Why Slow Weight Loss Wins
Renι is no stranger to waiting. While she was working toward her weight goal and Lifetime Membership with Weight Watchers Meetings, it became pretty clear pretty fast that her weight loss would be slow.
She worked toward her goal for a year and two months, losing less than one pound per week, on average, the entire time. Her determination paid off, though, because she did meet her goal. Then she gained some of the weight back. This time, it's coming off even more slowly.
Renι, who now subscribes to Weight Watchers eTools in addition to going to Meetings, isn't fazed. She's simply had to come to terms with the fact that she loses weight slowly. "If I allow it to be discouraging, it will be," she says. "But I refuse to give up. Whenever I feel like I might, I ask myself if I'm willing to live with the alternative to slow weight loss, which would be regaining all that I lost, and possibly more.
"That gets me back on track every time," she says.
Quick Fix, Fast Failure
"We live in a quick-fix society," says Dr. Debra Mandel, a Los Angeles psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. "When we want something, we want it right away."
Worse, we're constantly presented with ways to lose weight immediately advertisements convince us that we can lose inches by tomorrow, and be slimmer by next week. It seems like there's no harm in wanting to lose weight by yesterday. After all, it's possible. Isn't it?
Not at all, insists Mandel. Because when it comes down to it, fast weight loss can't last, because it usually means adapting to very difficult eating habits and an impossible-to-live with lifestyle.
Plus, "[with quick-fix diets], our metabolism slows down, and eventually we're eating fewer and fewer calories but not losing weight," says Mandel. "This leads to anxiety, which prompts us to eat even fewer calories to try to lose. The body rebels against that even more."
So it's a vicious cycle. Because if you don't get enough nutrients which is a major risk when you're going for a quick fix your brain, and then your body, will, well, insist that you eat. To your body, it's nothing more than survival. But to you, it will feel like you're giving into cravings and losing control. Then you'll feel shame and failure, which might very well send you to the fridge.
It's a never-ending yo-yo cycle of weight gain, then loss, then gain again. Go for slow and steady weight loss, on the other hand (a healthy rate of weight loss is two pounds per week or less), and not only will you be doing a service to your body, you'll be more likely to keep that weight off for good. Isn't that better than rebounding?
Why Slow Weight Loss Lasts
"I'm glad my weight loss was slow for me because I feel like I really have made lifestyle changes," says Lyn, a Meetings member. "I just keep at it. I continue to see slow progress but overall a great deal of success. Slowly but surely the weight comes off."
It's that kind of "through thick and thin" attitude that will take people from thick to thin for good, says Mandel. Losing weight slowly isn't just healthier, she says, it's a better investment. Not only are you shaving pounds, you're working on building habits that you'll be able to maintain. And those habits will help you maintain the weight you lost, so you can stay at your weight goal for good.
"Plus, you have more energy to live life in the present, because you're not starving and focusing on food," says Mandel. "You're creating a healthy relationship with food, so food will become your friend rather than your enemy." That's the key to lifelong success.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
All that said, Cindy, a subscriber to Weight Watchers Online, isn't exactly glad she loses weight slowly. "Thankful might be a better word for it," she says. "At least I'm losing and not gaining."
Cindy has also held on during slow losses by maintaining a positive attitude: "I know this plan is something I can stick with for the rest of my life. It's definitely not a 'diet' that I'll go off for a long period of time. It's a lifetime commitment."
~~ How to Make Exercise a Habit
"I don't think exercise will ever be an 'easy-come' habit for me," says one WeightWatchers.com Community user. "More like a necessary evil. Some days I like it, some days I hate it, but I feel so much better because of it. That's what keeps me going."
Sound familiar? All but the part about keeping it going, perhaps? For many, exercise has a perpetual position at the bottom of the to-do list, occasionally rising to the top for two-or-three-day bouts of good will. You know you have to do it. You know it would help you lose weight faster. You know you need it for good health.
But, at the risk of sounding like a whining four year old, you just don't like it. Don't worry. We can help.
Forget the Myths
First of all, these common misconceptions about exercise may be what are holding you back:
Myth # 1. Exercise is never fun.
Not only can exercise be fun (do you hate playing catch with your kids? walking through the woods?), it can help fill gaps in your life.
For example, "if you're around people all day long, you can choose an exercise that allows you some alone time," says Robyn Stuhr, exercise physiologist with the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. If you sit in front of a computer, maybe exercise can be a social thing for you. If you never see your husband, exercise with him.
Find something that works for you on a personal level, too, and that will make exercise more fun. Plus, you'll be more likely to do it if you look forward to it.
Myth # 2. Exercise is a major disruption.
"The bottom line is that exercise, unlike diet, is something you have to make yourself do," says Stuhr. "Everybody has to eat every day, but you have to purposely set aside time to work out. And it's very easy to let other things get in the way."
But there's a bonus to working out that you won't notice until you do it. When you exercise, you get more energy. And when you stop (like many of us yo-yoers do), your energy level starts to drop, so it's even harder to jump back in. Sticking with it helps, even if that causes scheduling problems in the short term.
Make It a Habit
Making anything a habit from exercise to eating right is a matter of having enough "want power," says Palma Posillico, general manager of training and development for Weight Watchers International. "Life gets in the way, so unless you do something proactively, it's very easy to make excuses."
One strategy for acquiring a new habit is to imagine the benefits of that habit in the case of exercise, picture yourself in great shape from becoming fit. This will help inspire you.
Here are some other tricks for making exercise a habit...
Understand that you have to start slowly, says Stuhr. An hour-long power aerobics class on your first day will only discourage you, maybe hurt you, and send you back to square one.
Find an exercise buddy. A workout partner can be immeasurably helpful, because you have a responsibility to your friend not to talk yourself out of exercising. Make sure you choose a buddy who's in about the same shape as you, though.
Pick an exercise you like, then commit yourself to trying it consistently for at least three months. If you still think you hate it after that amount of time, give yourself permission to say, okay, this isn't working. Then pick something different and repeat.
~~ 7 Simple Changes That Will Help You Lose Weight
Beginning a diet doesn't have to mean drastic changes. You don't need to live at the gym or subsist on crackers alone to get your eating and exercising on track.
Instead, think of more realistic, sustainable changes you can make to your lifestyle. Sometimes small, simple changes end up producing the biggest results. Consider the following suggestions, and think about what other small changes might work for you.
Trim back your eating a bit here and there, not altogether. For example, sautι your broccoli with one teaspoon oil instead of two.
Make some wise food substitutions, like opting for low-fat cream cheese instead of regular.
Kick it up a notch in the activity department by taking the stairs instead of the escalator.
All or Nothing
"People put too much pressure on themselves to change everything in their diets, setting them up for failure," believes New York-based registered dietitian Shari Mermelstein. Her advice? Set your sights on making several small dietary and lifestyle changes, and you'll lose weight without really missing out.
Need some incentive? Try this on for size: Cut back 100 calories on a daily basis and you could lose about 10 1/2 pounds in a year. One hundred calories equals:
1 cup of regular soda
1 tablespoon of butter
1 ounce of cheese
Skimming Off the Top
Here are seven simple slim-down ideas:
A spoonful of sugar can add up over the course of a year. Add one less teaspoon sugar (15 calories) to your cup of morning and afternoon coffee each day and you'll save about 10,000 calories the equivalent of about 3 pounds per year.
Slim down that bowl of cereal: Switch from 1 cup regular whole milk to 1% milk (about 50 calories less per cup) every day. Once your taste buds adjust, you'll be thrilled! That's a tad more than 5 pounds lost by this same time next year.
Take the scenic route. Park your car as far as possible from the entrance to your office, the shopping mall or a restaurant and get those legs pumping. Ten minutes of daily moderate paced walking (five minutes each way burns about 20 calories) can take off four-plus pounds a year*.
Get your vitamin C boost with a whole orange (60 calories) instead of a cup of juice (110 calories) each day. Your 12-month weight loss: 5 1/4 pounds.
Go calorie-free by switching from regular to diet soda (150 versus 0 calories per can). If you drink one can per day, that's nearly 16 pounds lost in a year.
Flavor your sandwiches with very low-cal condiments like mustard or vinegar instead of calorie-packed butter. Leave off 1 tablespoon (100 calories) every day and you're looking at close to 10 1/2 pounds a year.
Downsize, don't super-size, fast food meals. Opt for a small McDonald's French fries (210 calories) instead of a large order (450 calories) at your weekly fast-food meal. You'll enjoy the same great taste all year long but with an added bonus: 3 1/2 pounds lost.
*For a 155-pound person at 3 miles per hour. Based on calculations from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.