Archive for diet
How Perfectionism Can Hinder Your Weight Loss
Posted by: | CommentsThere is nothing wrong with dedication and self-discipline, especially when it comes to weight loss. Be sure, though, that you aren’t being too hard on yourself whenever an obstacle comes along or when you make a mistake. No one ever approaches a diet, a workout or a lifestyle change in an absolutely perfect manner. And on that note, no one’s efforts ever result in a 100% perfect body.
Stick to your plan. Hold yourself accountable. Do all that you can. But don’t be hard on yourself whenever things fall short of perfection. Here are a few tips to remember:
- Perfectionism can cause you to hesitate. If your doubts are keeping you from acting upon your weight loss plan, you will never be able to benefit from it. Sometimes you just have to begin the process and refine it as you go.
- Perfectionism can lead to giving up. Unreasonably high expectations can create the perspective that if you cannot reach certain goals in a particular way or time, you may as well not try at all.
- Perfectionism can cause you to focus on the negative. Over the course of your weight loss, you will likely experience numerous accomplishments on a small scale. However, if you focus on the mistakes you’ve made, you will only see failure where there are actually small incremental successes.
Five Ways to Keep Perfectionism From Sabotaging Your Weight Loss
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If you’ve identified an inner perfectionist, here are five strategies for getting it out of your way before it sabotages your weight loss plan or triggers emotional eating.
1. Separate yourself from your perfectionist. YOU are not your perfectionist. However, if you’ve been applying all-or-nothing standards for a long time, you might feel like you are. Spend some time stepping back and observing your behavior. Get familiar with the perfectionistic thinking. Notice where it comes up and what the consequences are when it does.
2. Label it. Start thinking about “that unhelpful inner perfectionist” or whatever name you want to give this way of thinking that gets in your way. Acknowledge it to yourself whenever you see it—“there goes that unhelpful perfectionistic thinking again.” This is different than “I’M doing it again.” Remind yourself of tip number one. Your inner perfectionist is an it and is NOT you. It’s simply a way of thinking–which you can change.
3. Make a list of all the ways that your inner perfectionist is not helpful or the examples of how your perfectionist has made or can make things worse. Don’t forget to include the guilt and shame that usually comes with listening to an inner perfectionist (because we never measure up).
4. Create an alternate mantra. Come up with a short, sweet message that you can use when the perfectionistic thinking chimes in with “you screwed up” or “you failed” or “now you blew it.” This must be a message you believe to be true. It may be as simple as “nobody’s perfect” or “trying to be perfect is not helpful to me.”
5. Give yourself permission to encounter your perfectionist over and over. Don’t fall into a trap of expecting to be perfect in vanquishing your inner perfectionist. You’ll have success—sometimes—and sometimes you won’t feel so successful. But over time and practice, it gets easier. Really.
Read the Full Story at empowerher.com
Perfectionism and Weight Loss
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Recently the American Society of Bariatric Physicians included an article on perfectionism in their July/August newsletter. The article, written by Dr. John Sklare, stated that perfectionism is the third most common psychological issue interfering with weight loss and maintenance. He also found that 51% of overweight individuals have a serious problem with this.
There are a few questions that he would like you to ask yourself:
- Do you feel that once you cheat – your diet is over?
- Do you believe that dieting means that you can never eat foods you like ever again?
- Do you allow yourself any wiggle room when trying to eat healthier?
- And finally, do you equate a minor slip with complete failure?
Dr. John Sclare has found that a perfectionist brings an unrealistic attitude towards weight management, expecting the impossible and having the “all or nothing” mentality. The perfectionist only has to vary very slightly from their program to abandon their entire effort.
At some point or another, I’m sure that most of us have given in to a moment of weakness and eaten something that we feel has been “off limits”. Unfortunately, once we have eaten it and deviated from our program we feel like failures and so we decide that we may as well eat “whatever we want”. This behavior can doom us to failure and according to research, can result in problems such as:
- Poor self-esteem
- Guilty feelings
- Pessimism about the future
- Depression
- Obsessive-compulsive behavior
- Low motivation
- An a Lack of self-belief
So, what can we do to have a more realistic and flexible approach?
- Firstly, we must set realistic goals
- Secondly, we have to change the way we think by challenging our irrational belief system
- And finally, we have to be prepared for minor slips. Dr. John Sklare recommends we do this by putting together a diet emergency kit. This kit would include a list of a days’ worth of healthy meals and snacks and all their ingredients. He suggests that if we slip we go to our emergency kit and follow the meal plan that we have put together, for the next 24 hours.
Recovering From a Relapse
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Have you ever started a weight loss program and progressed with great results until that one day arrives when everything just seems to fall apart? Somewhere along the way you probably experienced small deviations………little slip-ups or mistakes. When enough of those small lapses have occurred you will find an old problem returning, yes, you are heading for a relapse!
A relapse can occur at any time during weight loss, stabilization or maintenance. Life changes such as moving, getting an injury or starting school can trigger a relapse. This behavior change can occur to anyone at any time and I’m here to tell you that a relapse is inevitable.
Now that we know what a relapse is……..how can we stop it from occurring?
- Firstly, make sure that you have a good support system in place. Family and group involvement will give you social interaction and a sense of them being involved in your efforts.
- Learn to recover or just avoid that first slip. Most people cannot handle “just one”. I have known some people to carry an index card around with them that states their reason for commitment as a constant reminder. This index card can also contain emergency contact information (that is, people that you can call when you need support) and actions to take in order to avoid a slip.
- Learn to be assertive. Be straight forward with your thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
- Take on responsibility for your own behaviors, schedules and priorities.
- It is really important to identify and prepare for high-risk situations. If you recognize the situation, mentally prepare ahead of time.
- Use specific skills or techniques for coping with difficult situations such as positive self-talk, exercise, meditation and relaxation.
- How many of us run into the problem of tunnel vision—–you know——–where we focus all our attention on the temptation at hand? Try not to focus on such things as eating, drinking and not exercising. Focus instead on the things to be gained from losing weight and the personal costs for not losing weight.
If with all of your best efforts you still find yourself relapsing, here are a few suggestions to help you get started again:
- Re-visit your weight loss goals and renew your weight management commitment.
- Review your exercise program.
- Journal! One of the most powerful tools for changing eating behavior is to write down what you eat and the circumstances that lead to the eating.
- Finally, find that support person that you respect and trust.
Nutrition Secrets for Successful Weight Loss
Posted by: | CommentsThere has been a bit of debate amongst diet experts regarding meal frequency; some say that eating three regular meals a day is more beneficial for weight loss, while others say it is better to have six smaller meals throughout the day. The truth is that some studies have shown eating six smaller meals has helped some people lose weight, yet other studies have been inconclusive. With this kind of confusion going on, where does that leave you when it comes time to decide on your eating habits? Here are a few things to remember:
- You should set your food plans to meet your lifestyle. For some, three regular sized meals with a small snack works fine and will not hinder their weight loss efforts. Others may find that six small meals are a better fit. The key thing to remember is that you do not want to get so hungry during the day that you overeat at one of your meals.
- For those who have diabetes (type 1 or 2), it may be preferable to eat smaller meals in order to better manage insulin and blood sugar levels.
- Whatever eating habits you adopt, make sure you abide by them from day to day so that your body can become accustomed to it.
- They call breakfast the most important meal for a reason. Make sure you eat breakfast every morning in order to start off your metabolism properly.
- Don’t eat simply because food is present or has been offered to you, unless it is time for one of your scheduled meals or snacks.
- Beware of the junk-food-for-energy cycle. If we are tired, our bodies can make us feel as if we are hungry, even if we are not. This can cause us to eat junk food with lots of sugars and carbohydrates in order to feel energized. This energy boost is only temporary, however, and leads to a “crash” which leaves us feeling tired again. Sticking to your food plans, getting proper sleep and exercising regularly can help avoid the tired feeling to begin with.
As always, be careful with the kinds of food you choose, regardless of how frequently you eat throughout the day
Our Tips to Prevent Overeating
Posted by: | CommentsJust about everyone has been in situations where they have eaten too much. Perhaps a meal was so delicious that passing on one more helping seemed impossible, or maybe stress has led us to snack on too much comfort food throughout the day. Overeating causes us to fill up on food while not necessarily getting the nutrition we need and can definitely get in the way us reaching our weight loss goals. If you find yourself overeating at times, here are a few strategies to keep in mind:
- Take time to enjoy your food. If you eat in a hurry or eat while doing something else (driving, working, etc.), you brain may not quickly get the message that you are eating. This means that it will take longer for you to feel full and the desire to keep eating will continue. Try eating slowly and waiting half an hour after the meal is done. You may find that you did not need that extra serving after all.
- Prevent diet sabotage beforehand by limiting your portions. Putting a lot of food on your plate can make you feel obligated to eat a larger serving than you really need. Also, if you place additional serving out of immediate reach—for instance, on the kitchen counter rather than the dinner table—it can reduce the temptation for another helping.
- Have a healthy snack in between meals. Snacks such as fruit or low-fat cheese with crackers can help keep your blood sugar in check, reducing the need to eat high-carbohydrate foods for energy. Eating snacks can actually help you in your weight loss because your body will feel less hungry when meal time comes around and there will be less of an urge to eat a larger meal.
- Start your meal off with some fiber. Salads and vegetable broth soups contain fiber which, in addition to their nutritional value, causes your stomach to feel fuller. Having one of these healthy choices at the beginning can make the rest of the meal feel more satisfying.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day and with meals. Dehydration is one of the factors that cuases your body feel hungry, so drinking a glass while you eat will make you feel fuller than otherwise. The action of drinking will also cause you to eat your meal more slowly.
How to Prevent Overeating
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s How:
your entree.Article from about.com
How to Eat Out Low-Carb
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It’s easy to monitor what ends up on your plate and in your mouth when you’re cooking at home. Dining out presents new challenges. Many restaurants, though, have begun to pay attention to diet trends and help customers eat more healthfully. You’ll find some menu choices marked with special icons designating healthier choices. Just remember, what you want to do is include more healthy carbohydrates in your diet, not eliminate most carbohydrates.
A few tips for low-carb dining. Meat, poultry, and seafood do not contain carbohydrate-none whatsoever. The same goes for most types of cheeses. But even those cheeses that do have carbohydrate, such as feta, have very small amounts.
Keep cholesterol and saturated fat levels in check by ordering lean cuts of red meat, choosing poultry and fish more often, and limiting the amount of cheese. Dishes that are heavy in animal protein and smothered in cream sauce or cheese may be low in carbohydrate, but they’re certainly not heart healthy.
Instead order dishes that have more vegetables-or order more vegetables as side dishes-since vegetables naturally contain very low amounts of carbohydrates. And don’t shy away from fruit: The carbohydrates in fruit come with lots of nutrients. Whole-grain and bean-based dishes provide fiber, protein, and healthy carbs. And as always, keep portion sizes in check. When it comes to weight gain, it’s how many calories you take in. If you consume more calories than you need, you will gain weight.
There certainly is a lot to consider when you’re dining out. In this article, we’ll tell you how to go to various types restaurants — from American and Mediterranean to Asian and Italian — and enjoy your meals while ensuring that you keep your carbs in order. We’ll start with American food.
Read the Full Story at TLC Cooking.
Tips for Eating Out on a Low Carbohydrate Plan
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s tough enough planning what to eat at home so what should we do when we leave the house? PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!
- The more you prepare ahead of time, the fewer choices there will be to tempt you. Often restaurants will post their menus on-line. You could also visit the restaurant ahead of time and ask to see the menu.
- Try going to restaurants that have easy low carbohydrate food choices where foods such as steak and salad come separately. The more ingredients a meal has the more difficult it is to figure out.
- Look for fairly plain meat with vegetables and /or salad.
- Ask for extra veggies instead of potato or fries and always substitute salad and veggies for sides like fries and macaroni salad.
- Pick a sandwich that looks good and ask for the “innards’ to be placed on a salad instead.
- Order a burger or steak sandwich without the bun. Have a salad on the side.
- If a restaurant serves breakfast all day, order an omelet for lunch or dinner and ask for low carbohydrate veggies like spinach peppers and mushrooms. Have fruit on the side.
- Ask for no bread basket or chip bowl or keep it far away from you at the table.
- Keep away from ordering any fried food.
- If you must, take a small taste of something from your table-mate’s plate so that you don’t feel deprived.
- Order confidently and politely. Imagine that you are somebody with a medical condition and you can’t eat certain things. Most chefs are very accommodating.
Need more suggestions on how to make good choices when eating out? Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you with your weight loss journey.
The “Jump Start” Program
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are looking for immediate results and need to lose 8-25 lbs in order to either get motivated or stay motivated while you are losing weight – this program is for you! Besides being motivating, this program is healthy, quick, easy and convenient.
Dr. Clark’s Jump Start Diet-It works!
At CMH we offer a variety of affordable programs that are customized to your particular needs by experts who have dedicated their careers to helping people lose weight. To make it even easier, you can participate in our programs on-site, online or a combination of both! We can accommodate the busiest of schedules.
