How To Succeed With Your Healthy Eating Weight Loss Plan

If you need to lose weight, youve probably looked at some healthy eating weight loss diets and groaned in disappointment each time. Youve looked at diets that are supposed to be good for you while letting you lose weight. Some claim you can eat things like fatty cheeseburgers and even fatty milkshakes (made with sugar substitutes). While other diets claim that you can eat whatever you want as long as you keep your fat intake low. But chances are that they all restrict or forbid something you really enjoy, and youre not looking forward to going without that favorite food.

What some people overlook is that you dont necessarily have to follow a healthy eating weight loss diet that someone else claims is the best. You can figure out how to eat on your own. The first step is to look at how youve been eating. Obviously, if you need to lose weight youve been following a diet that provides you with too many calories. If your diet is healthy overall but youve been eating too many calories, then you might not even need to change the way you eat much at all. Increasing your daily exercise could be enough to help you lose weight.

If your diet needs an adjustment to become a healthy eating weight loss plan, though, you should look at the parts of your diet that seem unhealthy and adjust them. If you make too big a change from the way you like to eat, youre setting yourself up to be unhappy with your new diet plan. Instead, try to incorporate the things you enjoy into your new plan.

Your healthy eating weight loss plan might not be able to include doughnuts 3 or 4 times a week like youve been eating. But the occasional doughnut as a treat might be acceptable if it fits within your allotted calories for that day. You might be able to have a substitution for a doughnut a couple of times a week, though. A whole grain bagel with fruit-flavored low-fat cream cheese, for instance, is a sweet treat that you could enjoy instead of a doughnut. It might give you the same satisfaction while remaining healthier and truer to your healthy eating weight loss plan.

If you eat a lot of sweets like chocolate, you can still enjoy them in moderation. Dark chocolate can be part of a healthy eating weight loss plan. Dark chocolate contains more antioxidants that many fruits and vegetables. So try dipping some of your favorite fruits like bananas, pineapple or strawberries in some high-quality melted dark chocolate for a powerful anti-oxidant punch that should satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you on your diet.

Almost any unhealthy treats youre use to having can be substituted with a healthier food that gives you at least some of the satisfaction of the unhealthy treat. Mashed cauliflower instead of buttery mashed potatoes, thin-crust vegetable pizza instead of take-out and other tricks can make your healthy eating weight loss plan more enjoyable.

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End Winter Weight Gain With Healthy Snacking
Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP

It’s that time of year we all start thinking about putting on a healthy layer of fat, just like the hibernating bears. From a nip in the air to a massive snow and ice storm, there is a palpable difference in the air. We’ve generally accepted that it is nature’s way of helping us provide a little extra winter fat, storing up for the winter, just in case. But how long since you last had a food shortage or had to wait out the winter for your next meal?

This year can be different.

Today consider making one small change. When you make a small change, it is easier to handle, you are more likely to incorporate it into your daily life and you are more likely to succeed, than if you try to make a global change to your whole way of being.

Instead of taking something away, start by adding more fresh fruit and vegetables to your diet. Just for today, throw out your rules, if you typically follow a diet that forbids fruit or fresh vegetables because fresh foods are too important to miss. Fresh foods are sweet, satisfying and full of vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, and other things that your body requires for optimum health.

Choose a few you particularly enjoy. This time of year apples are great, citrus fruits, bananas are available year-round. Get some fresh fruits you like and start carrying a food sack everywhere you go. Try little packages of baby carrots, or cut up cauliflower and broccoli. A fellow I know always has a bagful of chopped cauliflower, carrots, and others vegis he munches on. That’s smart.

The idea with healthy snacking is that when hunger strikes (or what you think is hunger), no matter where you are you’ll now have healthy snacks handy. No more having to buy a candy bar because you’re famished. My choices for healthy snacks won’t suit everyone, but that’s fine. Choose other things that would work better for you. I enjoy things such as jerky, whole grain rolls or bagels, yogurts, and fresh fruits as I mentioned earlier. I almost always have an apple nearby.

The idea is that it’s not that you couldn’t wait, but what has forestalling your hunger done for you so far? It tends to set you up for later binging and out-of-control snacking. Eating a few healthy snacks during the day can end that pattern once and for all.

Here’s a plan: Think of one or two fresh foods you could carry in a big or small cooler and then do it. As I’m writing this I’m a little hungry and I’m starting to think about having a snack. I might eat an apple, a banana or some jerky because they are all within my immediate reach. That’s far better than not eating anything now, but instead deciding to “wait it out,” while I start thinking about cookies and cake and pizza and other fast foods I can grab on the way home.

Going all day in a hungry or denied state sets you up for late night binging and out-of-control snacking. You’ll never be able to make up for the earlier deprivation. Why bother. I’ve never met anyone yet who got fat from eating too much fruit, so be brave and give this idea a chance.

About the Author

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, author of the free
e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight
Loss, and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

Get The Daily Bites: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and
NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss and Tackling any
Obstacles http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/getnews.html

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Brown bagging it the healthy way
Tony Robinson

When enjoying a healthy lifestyle, one of the biggest challenges
is making meals on the go. Brown bagging is even more difficult
when children are involved, but it is still possible to create
delicious, nutritious brown bag lunches that the whole family
will love.

The most important part of creating healthy, delicious brown bag
lunches is choosing the foods that will go into those brown
bags. It is important to choose foods that are easy to put
together, and to include foods that everyone in the family
likes. Including everyone’s favorite foods is a great way to
make sure the lunches will be eaten instead of traded for
Twinkies.

When creating healthy brown bag lunches for yourself and your
family, try to choose at least three choices from the following
list.

At least one fruit or vegetable, either fresh, canned
or frozen. Some good choices include apples, bananas and
oranges. Fruit salad also makes a great choice for brown bag
lunches. A whole grain product like bread, a tortilla
shell, a bagel, pasta, rice or muffins. Milk or dairy
products like low fat or nonfat yogurt, skim milk, cheese or a
yogurt drink or shake. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs,
peanut butter, legumes or hummus A healthy vegetable or
fruit salad

It is a great idea to involve the whole family in the
preparation of these brown bag creations. Why not have a family
session where everyone creates their own healthy brown bag
lunches using the ingredients you provide? Lay out all the
healthy foods, selected from the above list, and let everyone
choose their favorites. Involving the kids in meal planning at
an early age is a great way to help them learn to make healthy
food choices throughout their lives.

Packing those brown bag lunches can be exciting and fun for the
whole family. For instance, why not let every member of the
family choose his or her own special lunch box or bag? Other
good ideas and tips for brown bag lunches include setting aside
one shelf in the fridge for lunch fixings and finished lunches,
and setting aside a drawer in the cupboard for all the packaging
required, such as plastic bags, plastic cutlery, napkins, and
straws.

Of course, keeping the variety in brown bag lunches is very
important, both for the adults and the kids. There are some
great suggestions for keeping everyone from getting bored,
including:

Use a variety of different breads in your sandwiches.
Use a combination of wheat bread, rye bread and pumpernickel, in
addition to interesting bread alternatives such as tortilla
wraps, bread sticks and whole wheat crackers. Pack bite
size vegetables, such as baby carrots, broccoli florets and
pepper slices, along with a low fat dipping sauce. Add
bit size fruit like grapes, blueberries, orange wedges and
strawberries. Use only 100% fruit juice in brown bag
lunches. Avoid fruit drinks and blends, which often contain less
than 10% real fruit. Pick up a variety of single
serving cereal and let everyone choose their favorites. 
Buy a good selection of flavors of nonfat or low fat yogurt
every week, and let everyone choose their favorite flavor every
day. Pack a variety of dried fruit in your family’s
brown bag lunches.

Of course the kids are not the only ones who can enjoy healthy
brown bag lunches. Mom and dad can also join in the fun. After
all, brown bag lunches are a lower cost, and healthier
alternative to lunches out.

Some of the most popular choices for brown bag lunches, both for
children and their parents, include leftovers from the night
before (pasta, rice and potato dishes are great choices), cheese
and crackers, leftover veggie pizza, or a quick sandwich rollup
using a soft tortilla shell or pita bread.

One great way to enjoy a variety of healthy new foods is to form
a lunch partnership with four or five other coworkers. Everyone
takes turns bringing lunch for everyone. This can be a great way
to enjoy healthy new foods and gather some great new recipes.

About the author:

Tony Robinson is a Company CEO, webmaster husband and dad. In
his busy lifestyle he has placed importance on health and
fitness. Visit http://www.eat-healthily.com for good eating tips
and techniques to assist you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Sugar is everywhere you look and it might pop up in some surprising places. Did you know that most whole grain breads have at least one form of sugar in them? We have a national sweet tooth epidemic. Even if you dont eat a lot of sugary treats you may experience intense sugar cravings in the first few weeks of the Atkins diet. So many healthy carbohydrate foods have hidden sugars in them, your body may be experiencing withdrawal.

The problem with sugar is that your blood sugar is tied into your energy levels and your overall health. When your blood sugar is too low, you will experience intense cravings. High blood sugar is a result of eating high-sugar meals. When you eat concentrated sugar, your blood sugar will raise to high levels. Your pancreas thinks there is something wrong and then it secretes insulin to lower the blood sugar. As this happens more, you can create pre-diabetic conditions in your body as your pancreas becomes worn out and eventually cannot secrete insulin.

Fortunately, getting started on the Atkins diet plan can put a stop to this cycle. However, this doesnt mean that sugar cravings go away automatically. Sugar products are everywhere and temptation is sometimes hard to fight.

The best way to approach sugar cravings is with planning. If you maintain a balance of protein, fat and fiber in your daily diet you will prevent blood sugar drops that lead to sugar cravings. Also, do not go too long between meals without eating. Snacks are an important part of keeping your blood sugar stable. Have some handy snacks like cheese, nuts, seeds and boiled eggs on hand with you so you can quickly stabilize your blood sugar without turning to sweet treats.

Sugar cravings can also be a sign of a nutritional deficiency. When you are low on magnesium, you will crave chocolate and other sweets. Zinc and chromium can also stave off sugar cravings. If you arent taking a good multivitamin supplement with these minerals, start immediately. If you are and you are still experiencing cravings, consider trying additional supplements of these nutrients.

Another tactic is to brush your teeth. Many Atkins dieters find that brushing their teeth or using Listerine breath strips can help with cravings. Both methods will numb your mouth and prevent you from wanting to eat. Drinking two large glasses of water can also help eliminate cravings. If your stomach is full, then youll be less likely to reach for a sugary treat.

Sometimes out of sight, out of mind is the best approach. If you find yourself overcome with cravings while you are at home, get outside and take a walk. The distraction will have you forgetting your sugar craving in no time. Calling a friend for support or logging into an Atkins support forum can also go a long way toward preventing you from succumbing to sugar cravings.

Having a low-carb version of your favorite treat is another good idea. You are less likely to feel deprived if you can have a satisfying low carb treat. There are a wide variety of low-carb products available on the market that can beat your sweet tooth. Low-carb yogurt, chocolate, ice cream and candy can all help you stay on the Atkins plan and still get something sweet to eat.

Sugar cravings are a reality of following the Atkins plan, but the previous tips will help you overcome them and stay committed to your weight loss efforts.

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