Live Diet Free
Instead of going on a ‘diet’ again, make the commitment to living diet free. It is possible to lose weight and keep that weight off by making life-long food and activity changes. Diets can contribute to feelings of failure, guilt and possible regaining of additional weight after going off the diet.
Living diet free allows you to enjoy food and form a healthy relationship with food. Adopting the following habits can lead to weight loss without any special books, recipes, detox or medications.
Drink water before you drink anything else. Replace calorie-filled sodas, sports drinks, juices and energy drinks with water.
Include breakfast daily. People who include breakfast eat fewer calories in the day then people who don’t. If you aren’t hungry for breakfast, stop eating two to three hours before going to bed. When having cereal choose one with at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 8 grams of sugar per serving.
Eat often and include a fruit or vegetable at each time. Eating often keeps your hunger level under control and prevents overeating. By including a fruit or vegetable with every meal or snack you’ll be satisfied with fewer calories.
Tame your sweet tooth. Decrease the amount of sugar you eat by choosing cereals low in sugar, unsweetened beverages and having fruit for dessert. Plan on enjoying two small sweet treats per day.
Find the fat. Choose lean meats and low fat dairy products to limit excess calories from saturated fat. Include healthy fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil and fish. Adopt low-fat cooking methods such as broiling, baking, grilling, steaming or poaching. Limit added fats to dishes and flavor instead with herbs and spices.
Replace processed foods with wholesome foods. Processed foods tend to make us feel less full. They are low in nutrients and fiber causing us to eat larger portions of them and take in excess calories. Don’t let advertising trick you into thinking fruit-flavored snacks or vegetable chips are healthy alternatives to real fruits and vegetables. Whole foods include fresh meats and cheese, whole-grain breads, rice or pasta, and fruits and veggies.
Eat until you are no longer hungry or in other words stop before you are ‘stuffed.’ Quit the “clean-plate club” and become aware of mindless or emotional eating.
Exercise every day. Exercise increases your metabolism and promotes mental well-being. Find an activity that you enjoy or exercise with a partner to make it fun. When you think of exercise as something you get to do instead of something you have to do, your life will truly change.
Diet Free ™ is a concept started by Zonya Foco, RD and further information can be found at the website www.zonya.com.
Each habit discussed above can be a goal to work on until it becomes an everyday habit. Making these habits a way of life can stop the diet cycle. If you are interested in meeting with a dietitian to work on these habits call Clinical Nutrition Services of MMC at 715-685-5460 to set up an appointment.
Written by Theresa Hoyles, RD, registered dietician with Clinical Nutrition Services of Memorial Medical Center