Tips and Tricks
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I'll eat a family sized bag of chips in an afternoon, so I had to stop buying them. Maybe when I'm on maintenance I'll try the 1oz portion trick but for now I just have to completely avoid that temptation.
I know what you mean. Sometimes I think it's best not to have them in the house at all, but I rely on others in the house to finish them off and just leave me my couple of 1oz tubs. Last time I portioned out 3 tubs, the last one was stale by the time I got to eat it (about three weeks later). I threw them out!! I felt so much power over those chips - how pathetic is that!!!!????
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some things I can portion out and be ok with; other things are too much of a temptation and I must avoid completely.
I've also found ways to compromise with myself - make my own cakes or cookies or such, make them smaller, swap out ingredients to make them healthier or lower calorie, or find alternatives. For instance: I love chocolate. I found that Hershey's makes sugar free chocolate chips, which, while they aren't low calorie, are made with sugar alcohol instead of sugar, which helps me stay within my sugar goals for the day. I've found that a serving or two of these can satisfy my sweet-tooth - and, because too much sugar alcohol can cause gastointestinal upset, I've learned to limit myself to those two servings because if I gorge myself on half the bag, I quickly regret it!1 -
I have 3 kids, so although I do have chips or snacks in the house, I generally only open my "trigger" foods if I am planning on serving the rest minus my 1 to 2 servings to them. I have not had ice cream in 4 months, LOL, just buy one half gallon, serving it to kids and hubbie and toss the rest. This may sound silly, but there is something powerful in saying, that was my "serving" of ice cream and I am choosing where it goes..(in the garbage). I have been looking at halo top and artic zero ice cream lately and think I will probably try one of them soon.1
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In answer to another question in another post, I've been doing little bit of quick research. We know that increasing our water intake can help our health - staying properly hydrated is good for our bodies and can help curb food cravings as there are times when your brain will interpret your body's dehydration signals as hunger signals instead - that's why its recommended that if you are hungry try drinking some water first; it may be that you aren't actually hungry; your body is actually needing liquid instead.
However, it's NOT true that your liquid intake MUST be water only - the point is that you need to increase your fluid intake; this can be a variety of things and does NOT have to be only water - in fact, it doesn't even have to be a liquid! There are some fruits and veggies that are packed with water and absolutely help with hydration.
The key is to remember: added sugar is detrimental to your health and diet, so you do not want to be drinking a large part of your calories a day. Studies are starting to show that even artificial sweeteners have health consequences and have in fact played a huge part in the so-called obesity epidemic, and drinks that have a ton of chemicals and other artificial ingredients and preservatives are not going to be so good for your health. So while switching your Gatorade, for instance, from the regular to the lite version is of course good since you will be cutting out the added sugar, you still want to limit even the drinks with artificial sweeteners because they too have effects on your body which many actually be hindering your health efforts.
So, if you are the kind of person that just hates to drink plain, unflavored water, the good news is that you don't have to drink plain, unflavored water to count toward your hydration goals for the day - you have options!
Any liquid counts, both caffeinated and decaffeinated; but you need to be smart about it. If you can stand it, drink your coffee black with no sugar or creamer; drink your tea unsweetened - don't drink a lot of added or artificial sweeteners. You do need to know yourself, of course, and what your caffeine tolerance is - some people can drink a large amount of caffeine and have no effects but other people may experience migraines, mood swings, upset stomach or other problems. If you want to limit your caffeine intake but want flavor in your water, you can try dropping fruit into your water or even adding a little fruit juice for flavor. Try coconut water or other types for flavor. You can also reach for watery fruits and vegetables such as watermelon or cantaloupe for a treat. There are lots of ideas online to help.
Oh, and one last thing: while coffee, tea, and other liquids absolutely count toward your hydration goal, there is one type of drink that does not: alcohol. Alcohol has been proven to be a dehydrator, not to mention a huge calorie source, so its best to limit your intake of it if you drink, and to make sure that you drink plenty of other liquids at the same time.
below are a couple of links that I found informative:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/healthy-beverages#1
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965
https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/ask-the-science-chick-does-coffee-count-toward-fluid-requirements.html
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=66701&sc=805
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I have 3 kids, so although I do have chips or snacks in the house, I generally only open my "trigger" foods if I am planning on serving the rest minus my 1 to 2 servings to them. I have not had ice cream in 4 months, LOL, just buy one half gallon, serving it to kids and hubbie and toss the rest. This may sound silly, but there is something powerful in saying, that was my "serving" of ice cream and I am choosing where it goes..(in the garbage). I have been looking at halo top and artic zero ice cream lately and think I will probably try one of them soon.
I tried the arctic zero this weekend and hated it - I took 1 bite and spit it out! But I've tried several flavors now of the halo top and have liked them all, so I highly recommend them!0 -
bmeadows380 wrote: »In answer to another question in another post, I've been doing little bit of quick research. We know that increasing our water intake can help our health - staying properly hydrated is good for our bodies and can help curb food cravings as there are times when your brain will interpret your body's dehydration signals as hunger signals instead - that's why its recommended that if you are hungry try drinking some water first; it may be that you aren't actually hungry; your body is actually needing liquid instead.
However, it's NOT true that your liquid intake MUST be water only - the point is that you need to increase your fluid intake; this can be a variety of things and does NOT have to be only water - in fact, it doesn't even have to be a liquid! There are some fruits and veggies that are packed with water and absolutely help with hydration.
Thanks for the info. I like to drink water, but sometimes I just get tired of it. I keep unsweetened tea around for just that reason and it makes me feel like I'm cheating a little. Good to have the facts to back up that water isn't the only way to go.
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I just need to point out that not all sweeteners are "bad". The important thing to learn about sweeteners is how your body reacts to them glycemically, its GL "glycemic load." This is true for any food we ingest, really, but in this case we are talking about sweeteners in particular. Sweeteners such as Stevia, Monk Fruit and Erythritol have a glycemic index of 0, meaning they do not induce an insulin response/raise your blood glucose level. While a sweetener such as maltitol has a high Glycemic index of 36. So while I agree, that liquid intake in any form is better than not getting enough hydration- it's a good idea to be mindful of the ingredients in whatever you are drinking. Also, just beware that "Natural sugar" or "naturally sweetened" doesn't make the item inherently healthy for you.0
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sugar is sugar and it's true that too much of any kind of sugar is bad for your health-natural, whole sugars or processed, refined ones. The problem with Stevia (which I use quite frequently myself), Monk Fruit, and especially Erythritol and other sugar alcohols is that though they have a GL of 0, they still have affects on the human body in other ways beyond just GL. The sugar alcohols, for example, cause gastrointestinal problems for many people if they are consumed in too great a quantity. For instance: I like Hershey's sugar free chocolate chips as a snack and to satisfy chocolate cravings. They use sugar alcohol instead of sugar to keep the GL to 0. But I've found that if I eat too many of them, I do end up with a tummy ache, so I've learned to limit myself.
But of course, even things considered not so good in moderation can be perfectly fine (meaning if you want a donut once in a while, let yourself have it and don't feel guilty and don't worry about what other people think!) I'm a firm believer that variety is the spice of life and that keeping your diet varied and learning yourself and your own weaknesses and strengths is the key to being successful. So if you want to use artificial sweeteners, it's okay - people have been using them for years. If you prefer to use Stevia or Monk fruit or such, it's not a problem - I use Stevia a lot to help lower my overall sugar intake and still have a sweetener on hand. I also occasionally use honey or maple syrup, all in moderation, and sometimes I just want plain old table sugar in my coffee. You are right - we just need to be mindful about what we are ingesting period. I've found that lowering my over all sugar intake has made me feel better; but that doesn't mean my strategy must be the only right way, and its perfectly fine if someone else doesn't bother tracking sugar. Some folks keep a close eye on macros; others just focus on the over all calorie intake.
If a person wants to focus on drinking plain water throughout the day, and that works for them, its perfectly fine. I'm just pointing out that it's a fallacy and a myth to think that you MUST only drink only water period as part of your hydration goals, just like thinking that you MUST never eat this food or MUST eat only this kind of food, etc, if you want to be healthy and lose weight. I just posted the information I did to help people who really don't want all that water understand that they don't HAVE to drink it if they don't like it; there are other options that are perfectly healthy and fine. There really isn't a right and wrong answer here: there are all kinds of options out there and plenty of right answers; the key is finding the one that works for you and the foods that you will enjoy the most that can keep you on track. I've seen a lot of posts of people not meeting their hydration goals per day because they think that they must only drink water to count, but they admit that they don't find water palatable. That's okay! If you don't like water, then just find something you do like and it counts - the key is to make sure that it fits within the diet plan you have set for yourself, knowing your own body and what works for you.0 -
Moderation to everything is important. I was only trying to say that sweeteners aren't inherently bad for you. If they upset your stomach, don't use them. Much like how someone would monitor dairy if one is lactose intolerant. Some people get bad diarrhea from coconut oil or MCTs, despite the multitude of health benefits. It's important to understand that weight loss is as much about insulin management as it is CICO. So if you're going to have something sweet, considering an item with a sweetener isn't a bad idea. Provided you understand the particular sweetener. Again, no one should be consuming anything in copious quantities anyway.2
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Thanks guys for the this discussion. I haven't been able to ditch the sugar yet in my morning coffees, although I've cut back on it by a lot since I started out two months ago. I've thought of trying Stevia. Not sure how that would taste. But I'm learning a lot from you guys. What works for one person may not have the same results.0
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I like stevia as a sugar substitute - it doesn't upset my stomach like splenda, equal, or nutrasweet does. However, stevia still has a noticeable aftertaste in liquids that has the tones of an artificial sweetener without being quite as harsh. I don't notice it as much in foods. I have found, though, that mixing stevia with sugar seems to mute the aftertaste quite a bit for me - but that could be because I'm just weird lol So I'll use a packet of stevia and then something like a single packet of sugar where I used to use 3 to 5 packets of sugar. Truvia also makes a sugar/stevia baking blend that I've convinced my father, recently diagnosed with diabetes but who hates all sugar substitutes - to start using; I figure less sugar is better than just continuing with table sugar, right?0
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On my many trips trying to loose weight and keep it off here is a tip I got from Weight Watchers. Paper Clips - for every pound you loose add a clip till you can make a string - if you put on a pound a clip must be taken off the string.
You can put this string somewhere that you will see it - for me on my desk in work - no one knows what it is for but at lunch time I try and look at it to remind me to leave the vending machine alone. Hate taking a clip off.
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On my many trips trying to loose weight and keep it off here is a tip I got from Weight Watchers. Paper Clips - for every pound you loose add a clip till you can make a string - if you put on a pound a clip must be taken off the string.
You can put this string somewhere that you will see it - for me on my desk in work - no one knows what it is for but at lunch time I try and look at it to remind me to leave the vending machine alone. Hate taking a clip off.
I'm doing something quite similar (visual/ moving one thing to another). I've got two jars in my bathroom with jelly beans in them (I hate jelly beans btw so im not tempted to eat them lol). I move one bean for every pound lost. It's quite satisfying. I haven't had to move one back yet but I imagine it would be disappointing to have to do that so it does help to keep me focussed. Actually, I'll take a pic and share. Hold on.
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I really like those two ideas. It makes me think I should pay myself with a weight loss jar, and every paycheck pay myself for weight I've lost. Maybe a GB Pound for every pound lost? And use that money for a reward when I hit my goal.
I have lost 35 pounds so far, so [Googling, please hold] I would need to pay myself US$44.79.
.......I think I love this idea. And I did get paid today. Maybe I'll do it!
Thanks for the inspiration, y'all!3 -
thewindandthework wrote: »I really like those two ideas. It makes me think I should pay myself with a weight loss jar, and every paycheck pay myself for weight I've lost. Maybe a GB Pound for every pound lost? And use that money for a reward when I hit my goal.
I have lost 35 pounds so far, so [Googling, please hold] I would need to pay myself US$44.79.
.......I think I love this idea. And I did get paid today. Maybe I'll do it!
Thanks for the inspiration, y'all!
I think you are undervaluing it. Each pound should be worth a ten bob note, then you can get something truly memorable when you lose 100 lbs.
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thewindandthework wrote: »I really like those two ideas. It makes me think I should pay myself with a weight loss jar, and every paycheck pay myself for weight I've lost. Maybe a GB Pound for every pound lost? And use that money for a reward when I hit my goal.
I have lost 35 pounds so far, so [Googling, please hold] I would need to pay myself US$44.79.
.......I think I love this idea. And I did get paid today. Maybe I'll do it!
Thanks for the inspiration, y'all!
I think you are undervaluing it. Each pound should be worth a ten bob note, then you can get something truly memorable when you lose 100 lbs.
That could get veeeeery expensive! Lol1 -
Yeeeah that's definitely too rich for my blood. I accept donations, though!
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I am looking for a new fitness tracker watch with a heart monitor. I recently had an episode where I passed out for no reason and had to go to the emergency room. They sent me to a cardiologist who has me wearing a heart monitor for 30 days. After the 30 days I still want to track my heart rate. Can anyone suggest the best fitness tracking watch with a heart monitor. Thanks guys and gals!1
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Considering your situation you may want to go with one that uses a chest strap, they are much more accurate than ones that monitor via the wrist. I like my FitBit charge 2 but it's not highly accurate and doesn't give a detailed log of the whole day.I am looking for a new fitness tracker watch with a heart monitor. I recently had an episode where I passed out for no reason and had to go to the emergency room. They sent me to a cardiologist who has me wearing a heart monitor for 30 days. After the 30 days I still want to track my heart rate. Can anyone suggest the best fitness tracking watch with a heart monitor. Thanks guys and gals!
Get one that will give you a detailed log, not just during exercise. Polar is a good brand.
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