Weight Loss Max

The focus on exercise these days is strengthening your core. A strong core will assist in strengthening all the other areas of your body. The core consists of your abs, back and pelvis.  Pilates is extremely popular because of its strong focus on core strengthening.  It is the most popular among the Hollywood set because of the definition it can produce. 

For at home work outs an exercise ball can be a good piece of equipment to invest in. It is not expensive and it can work out every area of your body while focusing on your core.  The size of the ball does matter.  There are different sizes for different heights.  It also should not be overly inflated, you need a little give.

Beans are a good source of fiber and protein. They are not a low calorie food so portion size is important when you include them in your meals. Plus, we all know what happens when you over due it on the beans. When eaten in moderation they can be a very successful weapon in the war against weight-loss because they will help your body to feel full while giving you energy at the same time.

Beans can be incorporated into many recipes. There are so many different kinds you can play with you just have to remember to read the nutrition contents on the labels and remember to measure your portions. For an afternoon snack to hold you over till dinner I have found a garbanzo bean recipe that has been doing the trick. I use canned beans because I am lazy. First you preheat the oven to 450. Rinse your beans and pat them dry. Spread them out on a baking sheet and coat with a cooking spray. Sprinkle a small amount of salt. You can use any different seasoning that you like. I have made it with old bay, garlic and I even tried vegetable soup mix. They bake for about an hour. You should move them around about every fifteen minutes to avoid burning. Allow to cool before eating. They are a good thing to throw in a ziploc and take to the movies.

The dinner thing is getting me down.  Trying to come up with new exciting meals is an endless challenge.  Trying to come up with one meal that my whole family will eat and that will work in with my husband’s and my own weight loss plan is for the most part impossible.  I have come to terms with the fact that if my husband and I are going to be successful in this weight loss thing I am going to have to make at least two different dinners.  I want the kids to eat healthy and be fit but if they don’t like what I give them for dinner they don’t eat it, then they are hungry for the rest of the night and end up snacking anyway.  Another endless battle. 

I do try to incorporate some type of new vegetable dish when I can. My aim is that the more I get my kids to try then possibly they will get used to including a vegetable with their meal. 

If I had to pick my favorite fruit it would have to be the banana. Especially in the winter months when most of the other fruits all taste like potatoes. One extra small banana (about 6 oz) contains about 72 calories. Bananas contain three different types of natural sugars;sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber which causes a substantial boost in energy.  It is the number one chosen fruit of athletes because two bananas can sustain energy levels for a 90 minute work out.

I have an easy banana recipe for you.   Slice a banana length wise then in fourths. Spray the banana lightly with a buttered flavored cooking spray.  Cook in a frying pan over low heat till both sides are brown.  Put over a small amount of low fat frozen yogurt or just eat plain.  Yum!!!!

I will not tell you that drinking alcohol will help you to loose weight. It can actually interfere with weight-loss because it can cause your body to go in to dehydration mode and cause you to retain fluid. Drinks can be high in sugar and calories as well. My best weeks of actual pounds lost have been on the weeks that I abstained.

Because I do not choose to abstain indefinitely I try to allow for a drink here and there and substitute it in to my food plan.  For a 6 ounce glass of wine I substitute a fruit serving because wine does have sugar in it.  Sparkling wines have less calories then your chardonnays or zinfandels.  To stretch out the calorie per drink intake you can mix some diet sprite with a glass of the sweeter wines and use a mineral sparkling water for the dryer wines.  Sparkling wines can be mixed with fruit flavored waters.  You can twist any fruit in of your choice.  If your particular food plan does not allow you to eat sugar you probably should abstain from wine because the sugar content is significant.

Liquor and spirits contain more calories than wines, however they contain less sugar.  Vodka and Rums contain no grams of sugar at all.  One of my favorites is a Malibu rum and diet soda.  The rum itself is about 69 calories per ounce.  For those who like vodka one thing to keep your eye out for is what the proof is on the label.  The higher the proof the higher the calories.  Basically vodka used to come in three basic proofs;  100 proof is 82 calories per oz, 90 proof is 73 calories per oz and 80 proof at about 64 calories per oz.  Now there are so many different vodkas with so many things already added to them you must read the labels.  Vodka can be mixed with many different things.  Fruit waters that are artificially sweetened and sparkling waters are two lowered calorie choices.

I have to laugh at people who feel that their weight-loss plan is the best and that anyone could be successful doing it. If that were really true then why would so many of them be out there? When some one is in the zone following their particular diet dujour they can’t understand how anyone is over weight when all they have to do is do what they are doing. If they can do it anybody can. But what about a year prior to this diet find when they watched other motivated dieters adhere to their formulas for success while they couldn’t get it together at that particular time.

Losing weight it self simply comes down to the math. Taking in less calories then your body burns will take off weight. Finding a way to do that is the issue. My sister-in-law did it with Slim-fast. A meal-replacement drink. Well, while the coffee flavor is right up there with a Starbucks frappuccino, I can down one in two seconds and eat a bagel on the side. Yet it works for her. Courney Love is on a macrobiotic plan that includes one meal a day along with two shakes of some type, she swears by her plan and in a recent People Magazine article claimed that the models that say that they can live on fish and broccoli are lying. Shame on you Courney, with all your ups and downs you must realize that just because something works for you today doesn’t necessarily mean it is the cure to obesity.

Life is constantly changing and is in different stages for each unique individual.  Finding your way is a constant journey.  There are good weight loss plans out there.  Some healthier then others.  Some more expensive to join then others.  There is no cure all.  It requires a discipline from with in and finding the best way to achieve your goal.  One that will work in your particular life with your particular food issues. Flexibility is a must because life changes and sometimes because of various circumstances you have to be able to go with the flow.

I have always been a potato eater. Of course my favorites used to include fried potato skins with bacon and cheese(don’t forget the extra sour cream), the old loaded baked, and every kind of hash brown. The potato has gotten a bad rap in recent years as it is being lumped together with breads and sugars in this whole carbohydrate eating debate. When not fried or loaded with extras a potato only has about 100 calories, it is full of vitamins, and the fiber it contains can help sustain a full feeling till your next meal.

I have been making my own french fries and my whole family actually likes them.  First you bake a potato in the microwave and allow it to cool.  Preheat an oven to 350.  Once your potato cools you are ready to make slices, a good sharp knife works best.  You can slice your potato into chips or long ways it is really up to your preference.  I find it takes less time to just slice it lenghwise into fours. Lay your slices on a baking sheet and lightly coat with the spray oil of your choice.  Don’t overdue the spray because it will add calories.  Put in oven and bake, for about 30 minutes and turn each one over, then put in for another 30 minutes. Times may vary according to the thickness of your slices so if you decided to slice real thin it will take less time to bake.  Sweet potatoes can be used as well but remember that they do not take as long to cook as regular baking potatoes.

Who ever said that “old habits die hard” must have been on a diet. Avoidance of food is impossible so changing the way we look at our whole relationship with food is a must. For those of us who have centered our socialization around food we must look for better outlets to enjoy what life has to offer. We must learn to recognise when our bodies are truly hungry as well as when we are truly full. To be successful in actually loosing weight, eating must become a source of body fuel and not a hobby or way to cure what ever life has dealt you today. Over eating nor dieting is going to completely fix any ones world.

 It is definitely not easy to break all our old habits at once but by slowly incorporating new ones that we enjoy possibly we can actually get through those weak times that sabotage all the hard, hard work that we put in to a weight loss plan up to that point.  Plus always keeping in mind that one set back doesn’t have to mean that we have failed in our journey.  One set back should be looked at just as what it was and it is imperative to move on and not let your self dwell.  Just trouble shoot for the next time.

Just read the People article on Kirsty Alley and Valerie Bertinelli, two of my all time favorite actresses.  As I too was a victim of a “noticeable weight gain” I empathized with their plight.  People in general can be so critical of others.  Which in turn causes us to be so critical of ourselves.  I see my young beautiful daughter looking for flaws on her perfect self constantly and it breaks my heart.

A healthy weight is important.  You feel better and yes to societies standards you look better. Since I have been on both sides I can tell you that getting dressed in the morning takes much less time when your clothes fit.  But…  there is always a but….  Getting to this healthy state can be a major struggle for some more then others.  While I am happy for Kirsty and Valerie most people do not have the amount of time to dedicate the diet life as they have been fortunate enough to do. I wish them the best of luck keeping it up because take it from me and Oprah the motivation fades and the battle never ends.

Just as some people are addicted to cigarettes and alcohol, some people are addicted to food.  As with other addictions it can be manageable but it takes a daily effort to stay the course of healthy eating.  Food is one of the most difficult addictions to live with because it will be exposed to the addict daily and there is basically no complete way of avoidance.  We do need food to exist.

I have observed in some cases that a food addict will replace their over eating habits with other new obsessions that can turn into new addictions.  Addictions represent an actual physical dependence on a substance or behaviour.  Regardless they can both interrupt your daily life functioning due to your thoughts constantly being preoccupied with what ever your body is craving.  Unfortunately, many of these new behaviors or substance abuses that the brain will allow you to replace an addiction with tend to be as bad for you if not worse then the initial food addiction.

My conclusions at this point is an addict will always be an addict.  Finding the best way for the person to manage their addiction is key.  Trying to channel the addiction into a healthier one might help. But it is a daily (evenly hourly) struggle for many people.