Diet Tips For Busy Moms

People Magazine did a special double issue in January with the cover story, "Half Their Size". It was very inspiring to see and read about average people who'd been successful in their weight loss efforts. The story of Janene Campbell (who lost 317 pounds) was especially inspiring. She shared her best diet tips for busy moms in the article. They were:

1. Buy healthy versions of junk-food (such as no-sugar-added fat free ice cream). Kids can't tell the difference.

2. Sneak in exercise whenever you can. Examples: play with the kids on the slide, chase the cat around the house, take the stairs, park far away from the front of stores and walk the distance.

3. Share meals. When dining out, share food with your kids -- especially when eating at a restaurant that serves large portions.

An Incredible Weight Loss Blog

Sometimes you come across something so amazing that words don't do it justice. So I'm not going to try.

Please click the title of this post to be redirected to the blog of a 36-year old married mother of two in Virginia named Carla. She's lost 115 pounds using Weight Watchers and The FIRM.

There are loads of photos....please page down all the way to see them all!

Burn The Fat -- Feed The Muscle

Lose body fat without wrecking your metabolism?

If you've ever started a diet, then smashed into the dreaded "plateau," it's probably because you cannibalized your own muscle and slowed down your metabolism. There's a system that can teach you the only way to prevent your metabolism from crashing. You will also learn more than a dozen ways to fire up your "metabolic engine" and accelerate your body's natural rate of calorie-burning.

Check out Burn The Fat -- Feed The Muscle by clicking on the title of this post. Feel free to leave your feedback here and comment on this post.

Losing The Baby Weight

Although I'm not a woman and can't personally relate, I know this is a struggle for many recent mothers. What makes it extra tricky is that there's a resulting change in metabolism that must also be factored-in to any post-partum weight loss plan.

In my wife's case, she managed to lose 55 pounds after having our last child because she and a buddy religiously worked at it using Weight Watchers. Even afterwards however, there was still the remaining weight from the extra skin around her tummy that could only be removed by surgery (abdominoplasty). She doesn't count that little extra weight loss however. She only counts the 55 pounds lost doing Weight Watchers.

I'm reading a couple of blogs right now that deal with losing your "baby" weight. I'll post links to them here in the near future.

Know Your Body Mass Index (BMI)

As a gauge of your overall health, the BMI is a great tool. It's calculated by taking your weight and dividing by the square of your height. This includes your body fat percentage -- which makes it a better calculation than just using your height and weight alone.

Once you've calculated your body mass index (BMI), you need to know how to read the number. There are BMI calculators available on the internet and they all work pretty much the same. Just do a Google search for "Body Mass Index Calculator" or click the title of this post for a link to a free BMI calculator courtesy of Fitness Magazine.

Nabisco's 100 Calorie Snack Packs

Smart snacking….or just a gimmick? You can make up your own mind, but here at my house, we've become big fans of those little individual "!00 Calorie Packs" that Nabisco has come out with. Especially the Lorna Doones!! A box contains eight individually wrapped packages of bite-size shortbread cookies and the entire package contains no more than 100 calories! What a cool idea!

If you're an avid calorie counter, you can now snarf a bag of these with the knowledge that a walk around the block will also be necessary to burn off the calories. For me, it works better to reverse the process and walk first so the snack pack is a reward after the fact. I'm putting the cart ahead of the horse, but hey….you do whatever works!

Junk Food Survey / Men versus Women

According to a Fitness Magazine poll, eighty-nine percent of all adults say they nibble at least once a day; nearly a third do it two or three times a day. Men snack more than women -- sixty percent of them claim king snack status; while a majority of women (54 percent) agree. The #1 trigger for a snack attack is boredom. Slightly more women (63 percent) than men (58 percent) placed it first.. In second and third place for both sexes -- tiredness and being mentally fried.

The survey also showed twice as many men as women snack four or more times a day. Nearly three-quarters of men and almost two-thirds of women, say the couch is the primo place for between-meal eating. Maybe the coffee table should be renamed.

Have You Heard About Flavonoids?

Red wine, purple grape juice, tea (black and green), apples, herbs (like oregano and parsley), raisins, prunes, berries, chocolate, even beer are all brimming with flavonoids-a term used for a family of antioxidants that may be even more potent than vitamin C or E. For example, the combination of flavonoid compounds in oregano packs 12 times the antioxi-dant punch of oranges, according to a study from the USDA.

Two recent studies found that flavonoids in apples, tea and chocolate can protect against heart disease. Those in tea, called catechins, are also believed to fight cancer and prevent bone loss that leads to osteo-porosis. Polyphenols, another type of flavonoid found in red wine, helps keep blood vessels open, ensuring adequate blood flow to the heart.

Thoughts On Permanent Weight Loss

Breaking the yo-yo dieting cycle is difficult because consistency is everything! Here's some tips gleaned from success stories of those who are no longer "yoyo-ing". You'll never get control of your weight without exercising. Join a gym and take an aerobics class twice a week. A surge in your energy level will be the first benefit. Weight loss should quickly follow. Strength training added-on to your plan will help sculpt your muscles and change your body shape.

You might have a few lapses though. Christmas binges for example, could lead to weight gain. You should start weighing and measuring your food. Once you decide to recommit to your exercise / aerobics / strength training / measuring portions strategy, and your weight loss will become permanent. For those no longer on the weight-loss yo-yo, those are the pieces to the puzzle.

For those doing Weight Watchers, simple replace the "measuring portions" piece with a "counting points" piece. Either way, you should have the puzzle solved!

The Correct Mental Attitude for Weight Loss

Obviously, you gotta get your mind right! But you've also got to organize your actions and follow a mental checklist. Here's 8 good ideas for focusing your mind on weight loss:

1. Define Your Motivation
2. Get Your Priorities Straight
3. Choose an Attainable Goal
4. Uncover Emotional Obstacles
5. Design Your Own Plan
6. Celebrate EveryAchievement
7. Visualize the New You
8. Forgive Yourself
   

Sneak More Fruits and Veggies Into Your Diet

In theory it sounds pretty easy. You eat more fruits and vegetables by "sneaking" them into your daily diet without being obvious. But it takes work. One idea is to buy more veggies than usual and leave them out on the kitchen counter so you'll be more likely to include them in your cooking (or snacking).

A better idea is to combine them with other foods. Cauliflower can be pureed in a blender and mixed into your mashed potatoes without a noticeable change in texture or taste. Grated carrots and/or chopped spinach can also be added to your spaghetti sauce (in the skillet) with much the same effect. A registered dietician wrote a book last year called, Stealth Health to guide people in this process. It should still be available on amazon.com.